Twenty-Six

Twenty-Five was a great year in my life. I married my partner in crime, became a homeowner, and crossed some things (para-sailing & zip-lining) off my bucket list.

Twenty-Six is off to a great start. I encourage everyone to take the day off if their birthday lands during the work week. Chelsea (my birthday twin) persuaded me to play hooky for the day and she didn't have to twist my arm twice to convince me.

Not waking up to that brutal alarm was a gift in itself. My day was already off to a happy start. I did some quick freelance work and took Apollo for a nice walk and then it was off to see my nephew, Keegan, who I hadn't seen in quite some time.

Post-walk drool. I love him anyways.

Hanging out with Keegan and Mrs. Huxtable!

After my visit with my parents and Keegan, I had a visit with The Cheesecake Factory, accompanied by some of my favorite people; Jeremy, Chelsea and Aimee. Lunch was delicious followed by my favorite, Dulce de Leche cheesecake. Oh. My. Goodness. Sooooo so SO good.

Heaven.

I love sharing my birthday with her!

I've been pretty horrible about going to the movies lately. Jeremy always fusses that we miss the good ones because of me. To end this complaining of his, we went to see 21 Jump Street after lunch. That movie had me laughing the entire time. Loved it! Go see it if you haven't.

Once home, I got another gift from Ellen Degenerous and Jason Mraz. They may not know they gave me a birthday present, but they did all right. Ellen is my favorite comedian/talk show host and Jason Mraz is my favorite everything. He performed and talked on the show ON MY BIRTHDAY! Jason also just happened to release his 4th studio album, Love is a Four Letter Word, ON MY BIRTHDAY!!! How cool is that?! I also got to meet him 4 years ago ON MY BIRTHDAY. He must know.

love love love!!!!!

Jason Mraz birthday love.

Anyways, his new album is AMAZING and if you haven't got it, what are you waiting for? Go get it!  I've listened to it non-stop and I've got nothing but love for it! My current favorite song off the album is "Everything is Sound".

Ok, ok, enough about Mraz. Let's get back to my #1 love, Jeremy :) He outdid himself this year and made me search for my gifts around the house by doing a scavenger hunt that he created. I must say, I love his creativeness and how he thinks outside the box. He had me all over the house...under the sink, in the refrigerator, in the TRASH. Clue after clue, I was lead to the next destination. I love him for making me work for my gift :)

Birthday scavenger hunt!

I hope you all have a great week! Thank you for all the birthday love on Facebook and Twitter! You guys are the best :) Oh, and cheers to being 26!!!

Weekend Photo Blog

Wow. I had quite the weekend. It was jam packed full of love, friends, music and work. To keep you guys in the loop, I have decided to post a photo blog. We shall start on Friday the 13th. Dun dun dunnnnnnn....

Nathan Angelo and Steve Moakler were headed to Charlotte to play at one of my favorite venues, The Evening Muse. A night out in NoDa is always a good one. Elyse and I started our night out with dinner at the Crepe Cellar and ended with dessert at Amelie's. An awesome show by two good lookin' fellows filled in between.

This. Was. Amazing.

Enjoying dinner at the Crepe Cellar!

The Muse.

Steve Moakler

Nathan Angelo

With Steve Moakler

With Nathan Angelo

Dessert at Amelie's, a 24 hr bakery. YUM.

Friday the 13th didn't end up so bad after all. Next up, Saturday, April 14th. It was the perfect day for a wedding! My good friends, Josiah and Heather, finally tied the knot! I couldn't be happier for the couple and Jeremy and I are glad we aren't the only ones in the group that are an old married couple.

Right when we pulled up to park, we were greeted by this guy.

Gotta love a barn wedding. Heels + Dirt.

Mr. and Mrs. Prince!

Love these guys so SO much!

After the wedding, Jeremy and I headed uptown for the release of the Spring issue of Charlotte STYLE Magazine where they revealed the cover that I designed.

Butter!

25 Most Stylish People in Charlotte, Spring 2012

At Butter (NC Music Factory)

It was a very exciting night to say the least. Sunday, April 15th rolled around and I got to have Breakfast at Tiffany's. It was time to celebrate the magazine (Charlotte Style) by snacking on delicious breakfast food and browsing stunning jewelry that I'll never be able to afford. It never hurts to look! :) Mini quiche, chocolate chip croissants and a delicious mimosa + diamonds make for a wonderful Sunday Morning.

Tiffany & Co. at South Park

Nom Nom Nom

We all know what a blue box means

My work on display :)

And there we have it. My weekend in a nut shell. Hope you all had a great one as well! Before we know it, I'll be 26 :)

Paint with a Twist

I can't paint. That's why I'm a graphic artist. I do all of my work on the computer. The thought of painting terrifies me. 

These thoughts flooded my mind one week ago but now the idea of painting doesn't scare me one bit. In fact, I want to do it more often!

A week ago I had the pleasure of joining the ladies of my Life Group of Forest Hill at a cute little painting studio, Painting with a Twist. We decided to have a Girls Night Out by trying something outside the box and that we did since none of us had any experience painting. The idea of Painting with a Twist is to paint (step by step) with an experienced local artist while sipping on your favorite bottle of wine. At the end of the class, you end up with a one-of-a-kind masterpiece to hang in your home!

I'm not gonna lie. I was a little stressed out at the beginning of the class. That white canvas staring back at you was a little intimidating. The first stroke was a straight line across the canvas. Not so bad. Once I got rolling I felt like a natural pro. Key word: felt. I know that I am in no way a professional painter but as the class went on, it really did feel relaxing to paint! Below is my painting coming along step by step.

2 hours later, I had a beautiful sunset looking back at me! So cool. Who would have thought?! Not me. But alas, it was possible. If I can do it, you can do it.

Below is a picture of everyone and their paintings. We had such a good time and I feel very fortunate to have these women that I can now call friends in my life. Cheesy, I know. But it's the truth :)

I can't wait to go back and try my hands at another painting. They offer many classes multiple times a day. Check out their site here and pick out a painting. Let me know if you want to go sometime!!

Basketball Diaries - 5

Part V: Opportunity is Knocking

So it took me quite some time to finish my blog about coaching in the YMCA basketbal league. That championship loss stung a little more than I anticipated.

Anyway, life has moved on as it always does. As much as it sucked, losing in that championship game presented another awesome opportunity for myself and Nathan (my other coach). After the championship game, the opposing team's coach came up to us and asked us if we wanted to help him coach an AAU team. He was also recruiting one of our players to play on the team as well, but he liked how we coached and used players effectively.

Of course we said yes.

Nathan and I were orginially "hired" to coach the 2-3 grade team due to the lack of patience the head coach has for that age group. Understandable, but to be honest, I didn't want to coach them either. One of the main reasons I chose to coach the Y team was because they were middle schoolers and not 2-3 graders. Anyway, we ended up not getting enough team members to play in that age group, so it dissolved and we're just part of the coaching staff for our middle school team. We also have a 9-10 grade team, and a 11-12 grade team (those guys are good).

We went to the tryouts and have been going to the practices. It's much different from coaching at the Y. While coaching at the Y, we had to do much more teaching and really highlighting the rules and fundamentals of the game. The league was full of players that wouldn't ever play basketball at a very high level. The AAU team, however, is loaded with potential. The coaching has become more about sharpening skills, learning plays and developing talent. The differences are VERY clear.

Our first tournament is this weekend (March 23-25) here in Charlotte. I'm pretty hype about this and can't wait to see the teams in action. I'll keep everyone updated here and through tweets. Stay tuned, it will be a summer full of basketball!