Love, Lydia - Notes from a geeky, plus sized artist.: NC
Showing posts with label NC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NC. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Beach Week Aftermath

Welcome back everyone!

I ended up taking time off of blogging while at the beach.  Obviously I didn't intend to, but the week ended up being a busier one than I anticipated.  I didn't even get any reading done!  However, I did spend lots of time with a great bunch of people playing board games, card games, computer games, going on a double date night, having late night chats, making a trip to the outlets, and celebrating my birthday.  I've been reviewing all the photos I took today, but also relaxing because I don't feel so hot.  It's really rather nice to have an excuse to relax after such a busy week.  I know most people don't feel like a vacation is work, but when I'm around a lot of people and get no real time to myself for a while it can be really draining.

Here are some highlights from the week at North Myrtle Beach:

On our first night there the moon was still nearly full and begging to be photographed, so I did!

The yard leading up to the beach.

I stayed up all night Tuesday because the air conditioning was out at the beach house, but in the morning when it was a bit nicer out (it was incredibly muggy all week and mostly very hot with the occasional thunderstorm) I went out to the beach and watched the sunrise with my camera and a couple of the guys.








And finally a little close up nature shot, my favorite kind!



As for the indoor activities I didn't take many photos at all.  Just a shot of the tournament poster I made for our Magic: The Gathering tournament, which I did surprisingly well in.  

On the way home we grabbed Michael to make things more fun and stopped at South of the Border, one of the kitschiest little bits of America that ever happened.  There we saw:
A terrifying jaguar with an unhinged jaw, the horrors!

Our brother Davey, flying his kite.

A very fake shark.

The sad mannequin, with tear stained cheeks, the poor limbless guy.

King Kong and a menagerie of other fiberglass creatures, real and imaginary.  My favorite was the lavender jackalope, I should have taken a picture of it and now kick myself for missing the chance.

The giant sombrero tower.

And the iconic sign.


We also saw plenty of fiends of old corn, peanuts, and tobacco (what's pictured above).  We got stuck in traffic on I-95 multiple times before and after lunch, and eventually got off of it altogether.  But we did enjoy the side trip for a fantastic Cuban lunch in Fayetteville, NC at Habana Cuban Restaurant.

We may have gotten home Saturday, but Sunday was busy too as Allan (Bryan's dad) and I went to see Garrison Keillor on his Prairie Home Companion: The America The Beautiful tour.  I had heard about it only a couple weeks before and near the same time heard of Keillor's upcoming retirement.  Having listened to the show with my parents many Sunday afternoons I had fond memories of his show and wanted to be able to see a bit of it live just once, and thus asked for a ticket as a birthday gift.  While the performances on this tour aren't all aired on the radio they have many of the same features as the show, plus some delightful sing along elements too.  We had a wonderful evening with perfect weather, and a fantastic venue in the Koka Booth Ampitheater in Cary, NC.  I'm hoping to take Bryan (and anyone else inclined to go) back this fall for some of their more moderately priced bluegrass concerts.






I'll be back Wednesday with another set of book reviews.  Thanks for reading!

Love,
Lydia

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Blue Moon Fashion

Hi everyone,

Today we've got a blue moon in the sky (a blue moon is when there are two full moons in the same month) and I thought I'd share a rare outfit too in keeping with that theme.  What I did was allowed my husband Bryan to choose an outfit for me to wear on our date night this week, and I opened up my closet so he could use things in and out of my capsule wardrobe, coaching him through how things might work.  Here's what we got:

Top - Macy's, Necklace by Suzanne Love Jewelry (Raleigh artist), Purse - Target, Skirt - Torrid, Shoes - Toms
And here's an OOTD (Outfit of the day) I wore to the family reunion in Georgia last weekend:



The hair clip is from Modcloth, Top - Catos, Skirt - Catos, Sandals - Modcloth (Keri was my photographer here!)

The next day on the drive home I wore this comfy outfit.
Top - Anthropologie, Neckalace Phoebe Marie (Cleveland, OH artist),
Shorts - Levis via Amazon.com, Shoes Converse Kids via Macy's


And here are some shots from the trip and the reunion itself:

Hummingbird moths!



Mist on the Nantahala River


Teaching Keri to play Ricochet Robots



The yearly DS party

Sharing chips with our 8 year old cousin

These shots are at what has got to be one of the most beautiful rest stops I've ever seen.





All the Confederate flags!! But it was a cool little flea market.


At the Blue Ridge Parkway Folk Art Center...the lighting from those windows was too good to pass up!



As you can see I really enjoy taking pictures of nature when I can get out into it some!  It's been a busy week here and we're packing up to head the the beach, with DJ valiantly staying home to take care of the bun (our rabbit Scarlet, which you can see a video of here).  I'll write again once I get to the beach.

Love,
Lydia

Monday, July 20, 2015

Getting to Know You: Durham

Hey folks,

So Bryan and I have lived in Raleigh the past 2 and a half years and we explored the city a bit.  But Bryan grew up there and knew a lot of interesting things to do and we didn't even get to all of them before moving.  Now here we are in Durham and I can't wait to find new places to eat, shop and hang out around town!

One of my goals is to try a new restaurant every month, and since we go for a date night once a week it's perfect for trying them.  I thought I'd share some of our discoveries with you all since some of you might be locals or visiting Durham sometime!



Our June discovery was The Blue Corn Cafe.  They're a fantastic little family run restaurant on 9th St near Duke University.  They specialize in Latin American foods of all kinds.  I think Bryan and I were both a little nervous since we're not as familiar with most of the foods on the menu, but everything we had was delicious!  We tried their chips and queso with refried beans as well as their homemade salsa, which all had just the right balance of savory and spicy flavors.  Bryan had the Ropa Vieja, it's a steamed beef dish with red sauce over saffron rice.  He also had a side of Cuban bread with it, which proved to be a favorite.  The Ropa Vieja is definitely a comfort food type of dish, it's hearty with a good bit of spice, but not too much for a wimp like me.  And then I had the fish special of the day, which featured locally caught fish over rice with salsa (spicier than I thought it might be, but so good!), as well as fried plantains, and a side of refried beans.  While I really enjoyed it I'm looking forward to going back for the Chicken and Mole, and Bryan has already asked to return for some Ropa Vieja.  The staff at Blue Corn was fantastic and we felt so welcome during our visit.  We hope you'll stop by and check them out too!



Now that July is here we decided to head back the the 9th St neighborhood and try out Heavenly Buffaloes.  I had seen them on Google maps, which can sometimes go really well, but can also have interesting results.  In this case it was both!  I got all dressed up thinking we'd be going inside and sitting down, but when we got to the restaurant it was actually just a cute little place with an order window.  We weren't perturbed though, and since Bryan and I had been thinking about wings all day we decided it would be a good night to watch a movie together at home.  So we tried out the Honey BBQ, (good, but not a stand out) Carolina Honey Mustard (sooooo good, I don't know how I'll manage to try many more sauces because I know I'll always want to get this one now), and the Zesty Garlic Parmesan (just the perfect amount of spice with plenty of complexity to the flavor, Bryan loved it), with a side of waffle fries that were also seasoned with Garlic Parmesan (great flavor too, but eat them before they get cold or they're not nearly as good).  I loved it and Bryan enjoyed it too, though I think we was slightly more disappointed it wasn't a place we could go inside to eat.  However, they do have late night hours Wednesday-Saturday, so I think we've found our late night food stop.



Hope you find some good eats too.  Feel free to tell me about your local favorites in the comments!  Until next time.

Love,
Lydia

Friday, December 19, 2014

National Park Adventures Part 3

Hey folks,

So here's the second installment about the trip Bryan and I took down the Blue Ridge Parkway in September.  The weather was much more cooperative this day, so I managed to get better shots of the stretch between the Museum of NC minerals and Asheville.

For starters we made a stop at the museum, which sounded pretty great, but turned out rather disappointing because the museum was a bit rundown.  It looked like it had been updated about 10 years ago, but had bits that were broken or badly maintained and some outdated science thrown in for good measure.  Though Bryan was the one who spotted that bit, not me.  Bryan and I were both feeling under the weather, having caught a nice cold.  We decided we'd start on the parkway and see how we felt, which like the weather got a bit better.  Neither of us had the energy for the planned stop at Mt Mitchell, however, which was a bit of a letdown after how much I'd read about the unique environment there.

Mt Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi River at 6,684 ft high.  Because of the elevation there the climate is more like Canada than North Carolina.  If you visit there are many dead tree skeletons, Fraser Firs, which have been killed by a combination of acid rain, air pollution, and possibly invasive insects as well.  We stopped often to catch views of Mt Mitchell as we climbed our way up to Craggy Gardens, our next stop.


All these shots are from various overlooks along the way, with my husband, Bryan in the one on the bottom there.  The views at each stop were spectacular.  The beetle is from one of the stops just as we were getting into Craggy Gardens; there were picnic tables nearby and he was happily taking in a bit of sun.  I believe it's an Oil Beetle - Meloe Impressus, probably a male because he has a kink in his antennae. Here's a closer cropped version -


As we approached Craggy Gardens I knew there would be a lot more rhododendron bushes present, but I really didn't realize there were incredible open meadows and very little tree cover.  The name for these open areas are balds.  They are generally believed to occur naturally, though some experts theorize they were created by Native Americans as areas to aid hunting practices.  Most balds present in the Blue Ridge Mountains have been vanishing over the last century, taken over by woodlands again.  In any case, Craggy Gardens still hosts many impressive balds, which took my breath away.  In some ways they reminded me of the Irish countryside, especially that of the Burren and Connemara where there is also little tree cover and the rocks jut up from the sides of the low mountainsides.  Additionally, the elevation was still quite high at Craggy Gardens, and there were Juncos present singing and flitting between the rhododendron bushes.  It was a happy little surprise for Bryan and I since they're one of his favorite birds, which is only present in Raleigh during the winter.  Below are a couple views of Craggy Gardens plus the sunset along I-40 on the way home.



After Craggy Gardens we descended in elevation growing closer to Asheville.  Our next stop was the Folk Art Center at milepost 382.  I was blown away by it, as it's really more of a museum in some ways with a huge craft store alongside.  Most of the work was truly art, made in both the traditional styles of the mountain culture and in more modern forms as well.  They boast 3 galleries over 2 stories, with beautiful architecture throughout.  The artists in these galleries are members of the Southern Highlands Craft Guild, and some of the same artist's work was available at Moses H. Cone.  The mushrooms pictured below were on the lawn outside the building.  We completed out trip with a visit to the headquarters of the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 384, it was no standout, but had a couple of fun activities and displays for kids.  Then we head back east to Raleigh, having seen the first few fall leaves of the year, and carrying a bit of art back home with us.



I've been quite busy with commissions, new art pieces, and preparing for the holidays this past month and regret that I didn't finish this post sooner.  However, I've got more posts on the way, and I'm looking forward to a new project for the new year.  I plan to be exploring a Pinterest pin every day of the next year and blogging about my experiences.  I'll be covering all kinds of pins from food, art techniques, cleaning tips, beauty tutorials, and more.  I promise there'll be something for everyone, and I'll be taking you readers along with me each step of the way!  It's going to be a big year!

Til next time - Love,
Lydia