End of an era

Wow, where did October go?? I must admit, I've avoided my blog this past month. things have been crazy in my life and thoughts, and one way i deal with things is to act like they're not there. speaking of...

well now here's some of the news: i am moving out of my little house this weekend. alas. i knew it was coming, but have been putting off thinking about it. i dont want to leave but that's not up to me. my landlord (he hates it when i call him that), er, my neighbor, had 4 houses and is now down to 1 from foreclosures. he's really had it rough. guess which house isn't being foreclosed on? yup, mine. so the deal was that i could stay until he got the official "boot" from his place. he sent me a text 2 weekends ago, "Dear Amy how about the second weekend of Nov.?" and that's that.

man, i'm going to miss my little house. it was too short-lived. but i have had such a great time living here and will take some great memories with me. I'm going to miss the faint whistle of the trains going by in the distance at night. My crazy neighbor Steve yelling BEARRRRR!!!! at 6 am (dont worry, he's just calling his dog, Bear). Mansour, Deuce, Frida, Keevy, Desmond, morning Starbucks runs, walking to get drinks at Brixx, run/walking with Michelle, early morning runs, and yes i will even miss the little bugs that ive learned to battle like it's nothing. and of course the trampoline!

So tomorrow i start the packing up process. I'm going back home to regroup and plan my next move...

Date Nite

Being in new jersey has been the highs and the lows. tonight i decided to check something else off my list of "things i've never done before by myself"...tonight i went to a movie alone. just me and my popcorn and root beer. feeling inspired and encouraged after mine and michelle's conversation 2 weekends ago, i decided to go for it. i've never been self assured enough to go to movies or dinner by myself. but since i've been traveling by myself for work these past few weeks, it's been my chance to test the waters.

like last week, i was feeling very bold and did not want room service. i was trying to think about what i wanted for dinner, and i got a craving for chicken crispers. i was still feeling nervous about going to dinner alone, so i took another look at the room service menu just in case. but nothing was going to satisfy my chicken crispers craving except the real thing. chili's it is, then! whew, you can do this. i drove to chili's and it's about 8:30...and the parking lot has 2 cars in the lot. i'm seriously debating whether or not to go in, but i am resolved to do this. i opt for a high-top in the bar area (where there are actually people). mind you, there are only 4 people, but oh well. so i sit down with my purse, phone, and yellow notebook (yes, i brought a notebook to write in just in case things got weird and i felt like i had to do something). but that's beside the point. i sat the notebook in the chair beside me and made myself put my phone away. i didn't want to be these cliche' people that can't just do nothing and look at their phone as a way to make it look like they've got something to do (note: i took my phone out to text michelle that i was eating dinner alone. then put it away for the rest of dinner).

A nice waiter around my age comes over and takes my order, John. he was nice and it made the "first dinner by myself" feel really easy, like ive been doing this my whole life. i got my chicken crispers and a blue moon. alas, the chicken crispers weren't as good as i'd imagined, but they were just the thing that got me out of the hotel room. john was being accidentally clumsy and i tried not to laugh. knocking my table when he walked by me, dropping sugar packets (yes, they were already cleaning the restaurant for the night). he was rubber banding the sugar packets together and i couldn't figure it out. then he sarcastically explained that they actually wash the dish things the sugar goes in...who knew! i kept an eye on the group of ladies that were chatting to see if their conversation was dying bc they had already finished their meal. and the couple that was done eating but being really slow packing their leftovers and debating how much tip to leave. i started casually gulping my beer bc the thought of being the last customer in the restaurant terrified me. i didn't want to be that girl holding everyone in the kitchen up. i mean, it was a monday night, but the place was dead at 9pm... so i held out and chatted with john and his bartender friend and told them id be back in hopewell maybe in october. dinner alone wasn't that bad!

and the movie tonight was really fun. i took myself on my very first date lol. i got 1 student ticket, $9 (shush). small popcorn (butter), $6. small root beer (was going for diet coke, but changed my mind...i have a weakness for root beer), $4.75. less than $20, i'm a pretty cheap date! i went to see eat, pray, love because it's a coming of age movie and a chickish flick. i feel like im starting a new chapter too, or want to. i liked the movie fine, even though it got bad reviews. it was just me and another couple in the theatre, but i was actually quite comfortable. i thought i'd be embarrassed to laugh by myself, but i found that when i laughed, so did the couple. i think we bonded. i even said, "have a good night" to them when i left the theatre. it's scary doing things by yourself, but you learn a lot about yourself. it's not too bad once you put yourself out there and stop overthinking everything. tonight's my last night in hopewell, nj. it's like i'm living in a different life up here. when i think about my life in charlotte, it feels like i'm watching my life from the outside. i can't really explain it. but, it's definitely given me time to think. now to act, that's the real kicker.

Lunch Time

Today was a perfect lunch day. As usual, Max and I wandered out to Trade and Tryon with no idea where to go for lunch. We're just about to get to the crosswalk, when we see a chef making some mini feast under a tent with a crowd watching. So we stop to look at what's going on. The guy is French and saying things about cooking in the "oh he's definitely a chef" way. Accent and all. His chef coat even said Jean Pierre. He kept going on and on about how he was making his little chicken sliders with corn salsa. As we're watching (waiting for the free sample), I spy some pretty great people. One of my favorite things to do is take pictures of people, esp intriguing strangers. That's not creepy at all. Max knows the drill, I say, "smile Max!" really exaggeratedly. He smiles, moves to the side and I get a shot of this super stylin' guy. Jeans rolled up, loafters, and raybans. He's way too fashionista for Charlotte. And then, i spot another. Max likes to call him the black Orville Redenbacher, but i prefer Colonel Sanders. Either way, this man was dressed to the nines! I got a good side profile shot, but had Max take a picture "of me" to get the better angle. Still doesn't quite do him justice, but you'll get the "picture." Ah, yes. it was a great lunch. Then we strolled to Just Fresh and ate a Turkey in a Straw, recommended by Mr. Ohlhaut himself. Oh yeah, and the chicken slider sample was delicious too. Free is always yummy. Great lunch break!

Deep Clean

A few weeks ago I decided to give my little house a deep cleaning. I'm talking dusting window blinds, cleaning dirt from the sills, sweeping the whole house, mopping AND windexing. Whew, talk about a chore. It took me over 5 hours to clean my place. I even used the pin sol and red bucket for mopping for the first time. When it's just one person, things don't get too messy, but still. This was the nitty gritty cleaning. The next morning, I was feeling really good about the way the house looked, so I decided to take some pics of the place. It occurred to me that even though the title of my blog includes "adventures of Amy and her little house" that I'd never really posted many pics of the inside of my house. Let me take you on a 10 picture tour...

Breakfast Nook

Breakfast table and chairs - circa 1950, from my Aunt Florence & Uncle Paul's kitchen in Trussville, AL

Picture clock - circa 2005, Target

Placemats- circa ?, Father & Sons in Raleigh

Side table lamp- circa 1960, from my mom and aunt's childhood bedrooms

Living Room

Paris painting- circa 1942, Burlington Antique Mall

TV- circa 2010, hhgregg

Vintage green couch- circa 1960?, Sharon Towers

Coffee table- circa 2004, Rooms to Go Outlet

Throw pillows- circa 2010, Ikea

Papizon chair- circa 2003, Dan's

Kitchen

Sugar, Flour, Coffee Tea, Bread Box containers- circa 1970, Aunt Florence & Uncle Paul

London tea box- circa 2010, Marshall's

NC State Coke bottle- circa 1983, Burlington Antique Mall

Touch-n-toast- circa 1970, Aunt Florence & Uncle Paul

Sugar and creamer set- circa 1960, Aunt Florence & Uncle Paul

Love birds salt and pepper shakers, spoon rest- circa 1970, Aunt Florence & Uncle Paul

Ball Perfect Mason jar- circa 1923, Aunt Florence & Uncle Paul

Hand painted Recipe Book- circa 1970, Aunt Florence & Uncle Paul

View from kitchen sink window to my front yard and driveway

Guest Room/Office/Music Room

from left,

Vanity- circa 1930, Nanny

iMac- circa 2007, Best Buy

Glass desk- circa 2007, Ashley Furniture

Desk chair- circa 1970, Dad

Bookshelf- circa 2010, Target

Records- circa 1940-2010, various (Amoeba Music, Goodwill, Alabaster Thrift Shop, Grandmother, Aunt Florence & Uncle Paul, Mom & Dad, Barbara Pixley)

Record player, AM Radio chest- circa 1950, Aunt Florence & Uncle Paul

Record player (black)- circa 2002, Restoration Hardware

My Room

decorative "A"- circa 2010, The Paris Market in Savannah, GA

Paris painting- circa 2006, street painter in Paris

Disney scene frame- circa 2007, Dan

macaroni frame- circa 2006, Dan

Love photo frame- circa 2009, Urban Outfitters

Costume Changes

(Watching the Emmy's in the background.) How was everyone's weekend? Mine was good! I felt like a bunch of different people all in one. A cowgirl one night, h&m girl the next.

I went to Brad Paisley Friday night and David & Rebekah's wedding Saturday. Dan and I hung out with Max and Elizabeth both nights and had a great time! I love going to weddings where the style and theme of the event is an extension of the couple. The wedding was gorgeous, elegant and very classy. It was my first outdoor wedding at night and it was actually quite lovely...like something out of a movie. Twinkle lights everywhere. Rebekah, I'm so happy for you!

Quote of the night (as I'm folding laundry), Dan: "I need to give you a shirt. Isn't that what boyfriends do?"

Month to Month

Hey everybody! I'm baaaack

Last week, i finally had "the talk" with my landlord. My lease was technically over at the end of this month, but he's going to let me go month to month. sweet! I didn't want to leave this little house quite yet; i'm just getting settled in. so i'm living on borrowed time until he has to vacate his other place and move back. i feel bad for the guy...he got into the "flip this house" hobby right when the market crashed. he was sitting on 4 balloon rate mortgages and just couldn't do it anymore. so now he's just down to my little yellow house. he said it's been a really humbling experience. i'd say.

this past month has been fast. where did the summer go? andrew only has this week left of his internship. i'm wishing that i'd held onto these memories of him picking me up for work more. gah, everything goes so fast. it's been a fun era of work though. i base my work history by my transportation. in the beginning, me and max took the bus together (45x carmel rd), then we drove in together ("luxury" parking by the uptown cabaret next to the ascot inn), then he moved out of his parents' from shaker and i drove to work (always running late, still luxury parking), then i moved to my little house and took the local bus to work (#6 kings dr), and recently andrew's been picking me up for work (baller BB&T parking deck, nothing less for my bro). So yeah, it's been over 2 years and the part i reminisce about the most is my carpooling days and adventures to and from work.

i'm way behind on my facebook pics, but here's the quick version of the past month:

- DC for the 4th

- Dobbs visit

- Savannah to visit Christie

- Volunteering @ kids camp photo class

- Oak Harbor, WA with mom, Mere, Paige, Aunt Karen to visit Ben, Sara and the kiddos

- Seeing a bald eagle

- Seeing a barn burn to the ground

- Sightseeing in Seattle with my mom n Mere

- Ms. Bishop visits

- Laura n Russell visit

- Abbey's bridal shower

- Dancing @ Dandelion Market

PS- on saturday, i had to suit up to do yard work and face the killer mosquitoes. they don't play.

Whoops!

Last night, i baked myself some frozen-healthy mac n cheese. i decided to go old school and cook it in the "conventional oven" instead of the microwave. even though it took 3 mins in microwave and 35 in the oven. i decided i could wait for the better end result. in went the mac n cheese with the plastic cover @ 350*. after it was done, i mixed it with some left over roasted chicken i'd used for chicken mango quesadillas for monday's meal. [recipe compliments of cooking for your man (cookbook compliments of dan)]. i pared the oven-boxed mac n chicken n cheese with mango rice (see comment above), corn from grilling on tues (with natalie, sarah, jessica, dan), and ht sweet tea (from mr. morgan's 60th bday bash). the mac and cheese looked so good right out of the oven that i got tempted, forgot i'd just pulled it out of a 350* oven, and tasted it. BURNED my tongue!! my poor taste buds are still red and mad at me this morning. nonetheless, the mac n cheese was kinda weak, so i added some pepper from the teeny tiny salt n pepper set provided for us when we stay @ edisto. i'm talking there's only one little hole in the thimble-sized pepper shaker, so you really have to work for your seasoning!

i curled up on my couch under my zebra blanket to watch "step up" and enjoy my dinner. i'm long overdue to see that movie, and have a crush on the main guy. (can't remember his name, but he's miley's love in "dear john"). just as i was getting into the movie, mich stopped by as planned, but with a mission for tcby. don't get in front of this girl and her cravings. seeing as i was just finishing my meal, she waited patiently until i finished. feeling lazy and really wanting to finish the movie, i suggested going to another yo-fo place that'd just opened nearby. she replied, "you can stay here or go there, but i'm going to tcby either way tonight." ok then. tcby, here we come! it's in a shopping center past my shaker house, so in my mind, it's really far away. i've got that charlotte mentality that anywhere you have to drive 15 mins to is too long, and you just don't venture out unless it's a necessity. mich offered to drive and we were set.

10pm, drive to tcby. we drive right past the street you'd turn down to get to my shaker house. it was weird just driving by it. i felt guilty and strange not going there or stopping by to say hello. but i didn't feel too bad bc i knew my parents were alone at the house for the first time in a while. why did i know this? bc my dad called me earlier that afternoon just to gloat and tell me this information!

tcby is def the new high school hangout. i thought i'd see matthew and meredith's friends there, and sure enough, our neighbor, meredith, was there! the trip ended up being really good. i got to spend time w my michy, experience ice cream from the future where you self serve, self top, and pay by weight, and venture out of my east blvd bubble.

i woke up this morning and walked to my kitchen and the stove area felt warm... a lightbulb went off: i forgot to turn the oven off last night!!!! oh gosh. it's all good now, whew.

today, im feeling rejuvenated! dan and i are off to visit colby and jacob for the 4th. going to dc for the 4th too! i love feeling patriotic. this trip is in honor of my uncle paul, papa, uncle kelly, zach, wes, & ben.

happy 4th!

Skynyrd

I just got back from one of my "see before i die" concerts... Lynyrd Skynyrd!! (Me, Dad, Andrew & Matthew went for dad's Father's Day present. Meredith and Mom are still at Nanny's.) omg it was just as awesome as id been hoping. ever since andrew and matthew saw skynyrd play with hank williams when i was studying abroad (almost 4 years ago), i've been aching for the day when i could see them too. that band really hits home for me...those songs are like a part of my family's past generations...southern and real. "simple man" says it all.

the concert definitely lived up to the hype i had dreamed about in my mind. the crowd was filled with the best redneck country boys in the US of A. and the tattooed ladies mmm hmm. not to mention, we had the best seats on the lawn. we could see the concert stage perfectly, and had front seats to 2 different arrests! one was in between .38 and bret, and the other was while everyone was getting ancy waiting for skynyrd. the 2nd arrest was definitely the most entertaining. a real redneck brawl. just another family out for a lovely evening together to see skynyrd: a mom, dad, son (who'd just turned 21 today) daughter, bf, cousin, aunt, and a few other assorted family members were sitting/smoking/drinking/dancing in front of us. somebody sitting near them said something, and the dad got really possessive of his wife and starting trying to fight this guy. so, the bf of the daughter walked up to the belligerent dad to calm him down. well, instead of taming the fight, the dad bucked at the bf, so the bf sucker punched the dad in the face. the next thing you know, they're both swinging and tackled each other on the ground. it was chaos. the police got there (along with a crowd of people) in minutes. the dad was put in handcuffs, and the mom got mad and started swinging at police, so mama got put in handcuffs too. bf that started the whole fight had dipped...no where to be seen (smart guy, andrew comments). all this time, the 21 yr old son has been passed out drunk on the blanket, oblivious to everything going on around him. the police kinda stumble upon him, and he's so out of it that he can't respond to the yelling and flashlights in his face. bad news bears. out comes medic and they have to stand him up and walk him out. skynyrd, you didn't disappoint.

for the encore, people started screaming "FREEBIRD!!" and they actually got their wish! who'd a thunk it?? like something out of a movie...all the lighters and "freebird" was quite a moment for me.

Happy Father's Day, Dad! It's because of you that we know about these bands/songs so we can share these times together.

Where'd ya go?

Dang it. I become the blogger that i never wanted to be... the one who starts out strong and then goes MIA for weeks. Sorry.

Every day since my last post (over 2 weeks ago) ive been thinking about what to write about. the only theme that's been going on in my life lately is change. the end of an era. a good one; bittersweet, really. it's been almost 2 years since i started my first big girl job. ive had time to get my feet wet in the corporate world, and id say ive got the swing of things pretty much down. just use the right buzzwords and you're golden. in one way, it seems like yesterday that i was running around charlotte on the "amazing race scavenger hunt" with all the 300+ college hires... in another way, it feels like forever.

we've come to the 2 year mark in my rotation program with work. this means that a few people are going to get their MBAs, some are getting new jobs, and others are waiting on their boyfriends to finish law school. ive been feeling nostalgic about the time me and my friends at work have had together. it's an experience we'll never have again. 1st job, single, free to be and do whatever. i know im living the best years of my life. but yet i feel ancy when another friend gets engaged or people move to new jobs. every time i feel myself getting anxious about trying to move my present quickly to the future i think i want, i just have to slow down and take it all in. and when i really think about it, i am happy and completely smitten. i love living in this little yellow house. i love coming home and not having to do the dishes bc i just don't feel like it. and as much as i can get caught up with what everyone else is doing, it feels really good to just enjoy the moment. sometimes i look up at the sky and smile, thanking God for blessing me to be in this very moment and season of life. i know things can't stay like this forever. just this week things are starting to change at work and people are starting to move away. but i will try to slow down and cherish these times. even when ive had the worst day at work (today) and feel so upset about things (having to move cubes to another building, away from all of my cubemates), i know better things are yet to come.

i'd just gotten done moving all my stuff into my new cube with andrew and max's help. i felt like the pits. even so, i met my new cubemate, mark, and introduced him to andrew. he was so genuinely happy to meet me and excited that he'd have a new neighbor. it's amazing what a smile can do. almost instantly i felt better. i introduced him to Andrew and explained how this was Andrew's very first week! mark kept calling him "big man" and asking questions about everything, wishing him the best.

"every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

Typical

Here's an example of a typical night at the McDonald household: Tonight.

Mom: walking around in a showercap in her hairdyed t-shirt that looks like blood. (smelly)

Matthew: doing HW asking my dad for help filling out a crossword puzzle:

Matthew: what's the word for...

Dad: Tammy, what is that again, the...

Mom: I think it's the vas deferens

Matthew: Yeah, that's it

Amy: walking around the house poking people with a red yard stick i just found in the dining room from Aunt Florence's old house

Meredith: talking about having to take a shower

Nanny: opening up her Mother's Day gifts (yeah):

1st gift: black shawl

Nanny: what is it? oh, it's a piece of material!!

Mom: no, it's a shawl

Nanny: oh, thank you!

2nd gift: Shoe-dini

Nanny: oh wow, i really was about to order this! thank you!

Tammy: i thought you would like it

3rd gift: Cookbook

Happy all around

Weird fact: there's a recipe called "Marge's deep dish apple pie" crazy for those who get it!

Tune in next time for another exciting episode!

Random pic time:

Dan is a baller. He'd just found out he got the job w Compass Group. Holla!!

Me and Sarah at the beach this weekend!

something is just not right (fair) w this pic.

Jimmy

Jimmy (pronounced yim-ee) was a good bird and a loyal friend. We had a lot of fun times together old buddy and we miss you.

Last night, me, Dan, Colby, and Jacob carpooled to Abbey and Nick's engagement shower/party/fiesta. It was an all out Mexican themed affair, and boy did the hosts have the theme down to the T! From the sombreros to the pinatas to the Corona... "they dun good." I felt like I was replaying a scene from Gossip Girl. Everybody looked fabulous and it was definitely "the" party to be at last night. The tent said it all. Just imagine a huge white circus-like tent, and that was in the hosts' backyard! It was incredible.

We socialized and mingled for about an hour and then it was time for dinner. It was a buffet of build your own tacos/fajitas, etc. and it was really good. Jess told Jacob that if he picked a table with the sombrero centerpiece that she'd make him wear it. So Jacob chose the table in the back corner of the tent with a parrot pinata centerpiece. Jess and I sat in the back of table and it was kind of on this incline. We had to laugh forward (weird to do) so we didn't fall over backwards out of our chairs. And discussing this, of course, made us laugh. Did i mention that Jess is awesome? She's our new friend :) Abbey's friend from Raleigh that went to school "in Connecticut." Anyways. We were all sitting around the table eating when someone decided to name our parrot centerpiece. We tossed a few names around, and then i said, "what about Jimmy?" then dan, who obviously was NOT paying attention said, "yeah, Jimmy is a great name for a parrot! when did you get a parrot?" (asking colby and jacob) We all burst into laughter...no dan, not a real parrot, the centerpiece! OH. then Jimmy became more than a silly centerpiece. he became our pet and friend. We talked to him, sat him at the table and put one of our empty plates of food in front of him. Dan (or Jacob?) said, "Jimmy, you cleaned your plate! Good boy!" It was quite entertaining.

Jacob sat Jimmy on his shoulder like a pirate and carried him around after dinner. It was apparent that the 2 were becoming attached. When Jacob went to the bathroom, Colby decided to play a trick on him and hide Jimmy under a table with just his beak and eye sticking out. When Jacob came back, the first thing he did was ask worriedly, "Where's Jimmy?" At first, we pretended not to know, but jacob looked so sad that i decided to move my eyes towards the table to help the poor guy out. Eventually, jacob found jimmy and immediately lit up with elation. together again!

The guys were determined that Jimmy was coming home with us. But how to make an exit without being conspicuous carrying a parrot pinata away? Jacob and Dan stood next to each other and it looked like the plan was fool proof... As we were hugging Abbey and Nick goodbye, i forgot that i had some princess sillybandz to give abbey. I've had them at my house for months and had to give them to her. She loved them and we spent another 5 minutes showing them off to the guests: a glass slipper, crown, castle, and diamond ring! Well, this turned out to be our downfall. In the time i spent giving abbey the sillybandz and saying goodbye, the hostesses were secretly devising a plan to get Jimmy back! Just as we were turning to leave, thinking the coast was clear, one of the hostesses comes up to Jacob (Jimmy is still being held between both guys) and says ever so sweetly, "thank you for holding him," taking Jimmy from his hands and giving him an innocent smile and wink. Jacob and Dan were caught off guard and Jacob was like, "haha, yes you're welcome!" Jimmy was now gone. Dan laughed nervously and said to us, "OK now we really have to go!" Colby and I were just laughing.

RIP Jimmy, wherever you are.