Part 2 North Carolina Visit

Part 2 coming your way.

We did a lot in a little bit of time so brace yourself. On March 21st we headed to the shopping mall. Of course we had to shop, and she may not have bought a lot but I sure did. Your welcome North Carolina economy, anytime. 

Coffee was a must everyday. Why you ask, because Amber and Joe make their coffee half decaf and half regular. This mama needs real caffeine. I don't necessarily call Starbucks real, but it did the trick on this day. I also wanted to buy Grammy a North Carolina mug, so I was able to do both. One stop shop. Hint: We went for coffee number two a couple of hours later. Looking back I think we got coffee out everyday I was there. Awe! I miss them already.

After the outdoor mall, we headed to an indoor mall. Duh! Isn't that how you shop? That's how we do. Don't you love that you can see our waiter in our lunch picture. I think we went to one or two stores before working up and appetite and stopping at this place called Sweet Tomatoes. We had breadsticks, and Capellini Pomodoro. One of the great things about our friendship is that we share everything. Food, clothes, stories, struggles, and advice. If there is more to share, I am sure we share that too.

Second coffee of the day, guess what that meant. That we were wired. MORE SHOPPING!

Sunday, was very relaxing. We went to lunch at Patrick Janes, and ordered way too much food. Started with baked zucchini, then an apple, goat cheese, and candied pecan salad. Main course was a tomato, mozzarella, and arugula flat bread pizza. It was all so good, and we almost finished everything. Like I said it was a lot of food. We ate outside and just chatted the afternoon away. It was a very nice change of pace.

Why is this place only on the East Coast, Darn you Publix! I loved this store. We grabbed a few items that we needed for dinner, and made one more stop on the way home. Kilwin's Fudge. I thought this would be a great place to grab Brian a little souvenir. He loves chocolate, and I don't believe that we have this place in California. Perfect. Amber and I also bought ourselves a little snack. Not that we needed it. We ate non-stop the entire time I was there.

Hello Monday March 23rd. After one successful lunch trip with the boys to La Farm Bakery. Amber and I decided to try it again. And..... It was successful. They did great. We were even able to eat our food while they entertained themselves. Such big boys. After lunch we walked over to Waverly Place. A little outside place center, we figured they needed to run off some of their energy. Oh and they did. Once they decided that they were done chasing leaves, and torturing me and Amber, we strolled over to Whole Foods, to grab a couple of things for dinner again. The tides turned while we were there. So we broke down and pulled out our ammo. Bottles. Yep, smack dab in the middle of the wine aisle we fed the boys there bottles, while dreaming of the one we would consume later. Oh Wine, how I adore you. 

More coffee, the lunch place sold coffee and gelato, so we had both but not in that order. 

Dinner was tomato, basil, and mozzarella panini's, and baked potato chips. The combo was so good. I am still looking for those dam chips to go on sale to this day. I am cheap when it comes to chips. Not on sale, no go. We also broke out that bottle of wine from Whole Foods. It was a very nice last night in North Carolina. I knew that night that it was going to be hard to leave. I had such a great time, and Amber and Joe made me feel at home for the whole 8 days. It definitely made me want to come back and spend more time. They are my family away from family. Love you guys. 

Reality hit when Amber dropped me off at the airport. I was getting on a plane to come home, and although I missed home didn't want to leave. Can't I have it all. Life is too short to have to choose. 

I flew from North Carolina to Phoenix Arizona. In Phoenix I grabbed a beer and some dinner/lunch and watched the end of Smash. I managed to go through both seasons while I was visiting. Ironically the second season was ending and so was my trip. 

I then flew from Phoenix to Burbank, and Burbank to Sacramento. I was very happy to see my family. Brian and Averie came to pick me up, and Averie gave me the best hug and kiss a Mom could ask for. I was back at home and was going to have to get back in the groove of things. It was very bittersweet. I am home now and back at work. It is like I was able to escape life for a minute, even though that was life too. Strange but welcomed. 

Part 1 North Carolina Visit

This is going to be a two part post. My trip to North Carolina was everything I wanted and more. I got to visit with some of my favorite people in the world. I had my bags packed, and a delicious breakfast and was off. 

                      

On March 17th I arrived in North Carolina, Amber was there to pick me up from the airport. It was so nice to see her. I miss her all the time so having her pretty much to myself for 8 days was a great way to spend my vacation. On our way home we stopped to pick up a pizza, and grab some milk. They have this funny store in North Carolina called Harris Teeter. Teeter, haha! It is just a grocery store but the name is a little funny. 

After dinner it was time to retire. It had been a long day of flying and visiting. Oh and a time change that I didn't think would be too big of an issue, but boy was I wrong. 

On March 18th, Amber, the boys, and I woke up ate some lunch and went to the Marbles Museum. It was nice to see the boys play, and to play with them. They had a blast there. Averie would have loved this place. Maybe next time she can accompany me on my visit. I think she would enjoy playing with Caleb, and Lucas. 

Once we got home Amber finished making dinner, which was delicious, I ate it ALL! After dinner, Amber and Joe gave the boys baths, and put them to bed. Then we relaxed and hung out for a bit before heading to bed. Since I am on California time, when we went to bed at 10 pm, I remained up for another three hours until 1 am, but 10 pm my time. I watched SMASH on my iPad every night. 

March 19th, Day 3. We are headed to the Museum of Natural History. It was a little boring, but I didn't care I was having a blast just hanging out with Amber, Caleb, and Lucas. We could have been at the Grocery store and it would not have mattered. Which we did multiple times by the way. After our Museum work out, we had to get coffee at the coffee shop inside. Amber used to work at the Museum so we also went and visited a couple of old co-workers while we were there too.

March 20th we did a lot. We went to La Farm Bakery for lunch (sorry for the half eaten pictures, I was really hungry and it was delicious), and then Amber and I took the boys to wait for it..... COSTCO! I love Costco. I went crazy and bought a ton of stuff. Even peppercorns. I know I am strange, but I don't have a membership and so I took advantage.

Amber and I felt pretty bad that we didn't take the boys anywhere to play so we headed to the Cary Town Mall and let them play for a bit at the play center. They both really seemed to like it.

Friday night was our night, by our I mean Mine and Amber's. We went out to dinner to a place called La Cattura. It was nice to have a some girl time. Joe was a trouper and stayed home with the boys while we indulged in wine, filet mignon, asparagus, a delicious cheese and meat platter, creme brulee and chocolate torte. Oh man we made memories that night.

Next up was the weekend. The plan was for Joe to stay home and Amber and I would shop. More about my trip coming up in Part 2. I can't wait to share more of our adventures, and memories.