April in North Carolina

So, I'm getting caught up on my April North Carolina trips! I've been twice and plan on going again next weekend... In the beginning of April, Darrin and I went to stay with his younger brother in Raleigh. We went to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers play and it was an awesome show! I have never seen Darrin so pumped before! The next day, the guys took me around Duke University and I was in awe. The campus was so gorgeous and it made me want to be back in college again. Miss Maddie Duke got a picture in front of the chapel of course! We had lunch in Chapel Hill and saw UNC. Their sorority/fraternity row was so beautiful. It reminded me of the houses in Palo Alto.

Then last weekend, my Mom came to visit! She flew into Charlotte and we stayed the night. The next morning, I showed her around the area and she was very impressed. Then we headed off for a two hour drive to Asheville, NC. I had no idea this town was so artsy! I felt like I was in Santa Cruz again. We had lunch downtown at Mayfel's which is a New Orleans style restaurant. The fried green tomatoes with goat cheese and muffuletta were sooo good! This place had such a cool atmosphere and loved how they were dog friendly;)
I found this Antique Tobacco Barn that is #1 in the Western NC. My Mom and I drove up and our jaws dropped. This place was 77k sq. ft. and we had only an hour to look before they closed! This store was amazing and not like the crappy antique malls. I wanted everything, but found one item I will cherish forever! That will be a separate post:)
That night we wanted some Carolina bbq, so I found this cute place online that had great ratings. We had the best ribs, collard greens and mac and cheese! We had the best Bloody Mary's too! They make a BLT Bloody Mary, which we didn't try. It had bacon, lettuce and tomato all stuffed inside the drink. Talk about Southern! Yep, we ate pretty well on this trip.


Our last day was spent at the Biltmore Estate. One of the most beautiful house tours I've ever been too. It makes Hearst Castle look tiny!
This weekend we are going back to Asheville again and it will be fun to experience it with Darrin this time.

Miss Maddie Duke at Duke Chapel.
Who's named after her Daddy's favorite bball team.

HUGE!!

The Biltmore Estate

The Estates Backyard. It was a gorgeous day.

My big redneck NASCAR weekend!

My first NASCAR experience in Martinsville, VA was a great one! 

I remember watching a couple of races with my Dad on t.v. while growing up, but NASCAR is not a big deal on the west coast. I would have never imagined going to a race, but now that it's on in our house eleven months of the year on Sunday afternoon's, I am beginning to like it. Mostly, I like the goss on the racers and the wrecks. Then Darrin fills me in on the rest, ha!...The past weekend was quite an experience and quite a party! The weather was absolutely perfect, but the ticks were out in full-force! I had a total of 7 blood sucking ticks attached to my skin! I guess that's the nature of camping in a field;)...We had a group of about fourteen and we all wore our high fashions from Walmart! Goooood times!

"If you ain't first your last!"--Ricky Bobby

American pride.

Of course you have to have camo solo cups!

Camping field that was right next to the track.

Will's sweet mullet for the weekend!

So stylin'

Chuck who's creeping in the back.

Race time!!!

My man Tony #14 didn't win, but his team mate Ryan Newman won.

March sunroom goal: Completed

My whole family and my coworkers have been really sick this whole winter and I'm surprised I haven't gotten anything. I thought it was helpful since I have my own office and don't pass tons of germs?... Well, this week was my turn and then I passed it to Darrin yesterday:(  I took Monday off since my head was pounding. I tried to rest, but that didn't last, since it was lawn day around our neighborhood. That didn't help my head at all! So, I got busy on more house projects.

My goal this month was to get the sunroom done and it is 90% done! It's pretty close to my board I did a few weeks ago. Just need a few more items to fill it, but I feel this room will be always changing. I'm just happy it's not empty anymore;)

Craigslist buy

NOOO!!! Caught her in the act!

This painting was a surprise gift for Christmas from my Dad and his wife.
It was painted by their friend who is a local artist in Clear Lake, CA.
It's very special to us because it's a scene at the winery where we got married.

Left over shelf that I did in the kitchen, so I bought three Anthropologie door knobs.
Screwed them in and instant coat hanger!

Also, this past week we had a lot of FIRSTS: 

1. First bbq at our house. We need to buy a real homeowners bbq soon! 
2. Darrin mowed the lawn for the first time and I planted new flowers.
3. Maddie got her first haircut at the groomers
4. Maddie was boarded for the first time. Don't think she slept one bit!
5. Our nephew turned ONE. 
6. Our other nephew turned FIVE this week.
7. Both nephews got their first Virginia Tech hat!
8. Finally found a good hair salon! I don't have to fly back to CA to get it done;) Close to home and reasonable!
9. And this weekend will be my first NASCAR RACE!!! CAN'T WAIT for the GOOD people watching!! I promise I'll post pics.

First cookout on our deck.

Savannah wanted to join.

First snip snip and got a cool bandanna too!

What's all this excitement about?!

My buffet bargain find

My hunt for a buffet/bar is over!


Buffets are so expensive at Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel and right now, I couldn't imagine spending those prices. Since getting all new barware from our wedding registry, we haven't had anywhere to display them. I have been looking for a nice bar for a long time and I finally found one at a garage sale last fall!


Our reaction pulling up to this garage sale was pretty funny! We felt as if we were in a horror movie out in the boonies. I asked the lady if she had any bigger furniture and she pointed out to her cow pasture towards this metal shed. I didn't get it? It didn't look like any place to put your nice furniture. I was imagining that it would look like Dexter's kill room inside, so I made Darrin come with me. After struggling with the massive metal door, we opened it and my buffet was starring at me! There were about four dressers and other junk in this shed. I saw the imperfections in the two pieces I took and all for $30 each! 


I knew the buffet would look nice stained... but that meant hard work for me. 
This was my project while staying at Darrin's Mom's in December, while we were waiting to move into our new house.

It was in pretty bad shape.

Maddie didn't like the fumes

A lot better, huh?!
Next: The reveal of the dresser. I've been staining it this week!

Room of the month: Sunroom

My goal this month is to get the sunroom done! It's been empty since we moved and we just can't close the door like the other two empty rooms we still have. In California, sunrooms aren't that common like they are in the South. Just like basements (which I'm actually bummed we don't have one in our new home), but we couldn't get everything on our wish list!...Anyways, our sunroom is between our kitchen and garage. Sort of like a closed in breezeway. I love it because it's not all windows like a traditional sunroom. It will be perfect when we have little ones for a playroom too, but for now, it will be our cool hangout room! I wanted this room to be hip since it's also right off our deck. So, it will be like a party room when we have bbq's (cookouts;)!... I have a lot of ideas, but due to budget, I've been bargain shopping! I already found some furniture at thrift stores/garage sales and just waiting for our couch to ship! I SCORED on this purchase! More about that down below... This design is nothing like our normal rooms in the house, but I'm stepping out of my comfort zone from plain solid colors to modern, aztec! Eek!


What do you think? I can't wait to put it together this month!

I've purchased most of the idea board. Here's where and how much I spent on this room:


1. Modern sun mirror-- BigLots = $16
2. Vintage shabby door with hooks--Best garage sale find yet! =$15
3. Oval white lamp--Thrift store =$5
4. Industrial cart--Urban Outfitters =$99 (Out of Stock now)
5. Aztec 5x7 area rug--TJ Maxx=$139
6. Modern stone sleep sofa--Target =$155!!!! Originally $229+$60 shipping/tax, but then it went on sale to $199, then to $160 this week. I signed up for the Target RedCard to get free shipping and got another %5 off. Plus, I already found a $5 coupon code online. I was thrilled!... Yes, it might not be the a coziest couch and have the highest review ratings, but I didn't want to spend a lot on something that will get torn up by kids one day! Also, it's a sleeper for more guests! I'm so happy about the bargain hunt I found! 


We'll see how everything will look once it's all put together. I might have another idea? ha!