Blogging ADD

Lately, lately...

My apologies for taking so long to post.

Lots of things have been going on and there are lots of things that will be going on in the near future. Good stuff. Let's see. I will begin with last weekend. We'll call this part Dallas.

DALLAS
So last Friday, a few close compadres and I embarked on a journey to the large metropolis known as Dallas, TX. We had been planning/talking about making a trip over there off and on for a while now. You see...my dear friend Rachel has a wonderful, welcoming family (the Rhea's) that reside in this town and they have hosted us many a time before. They are always so good to let us enjoy their company, relax on their couch, consume their patented Rhea family coffee (known to us as "mmmm...FLAVIA!!!"), and basically let us take part in a quick vacay from our East Texas lives. This was one of those planned activities that carries you on through the week.

Our trip to Dallas once again proved to be brilliant. The first night there, we all trekked over to a local sushi restaurant (my first time ever eating sushi!) and took part in some fabulous cuisine. I have always wanted to try legit sushi and for whatever reason I haven't been able to accomplish this goal until last weekend. And the verdict is in: I really like sushi. The Rheas let all of us first-timers try some typical sushi rolls that people order and then let us choose our favorite from there. It was such a fun night. Pairing good food with great people is one of my favorite things that I feel blessed enough to enjoy on a pretty frequent basis.

The rest of the weekend consisted of sleeping in, hot-tubbing at all hours of the day, drinking more coffee, good conversation and shopping. Oh, let's talk about the shopping. I am absolutely blown away by the shopping options in Dallas. I literally felt ignorant, and somewhat out of place, walking around the mall and seeing all the shops I did. Now don't get me wrong, I really don't mind my ignorance in this facet, but it was just humorous to traipse around and realize how much I haven't been exposed to...in the world of malls. Asheville has all your staple stores: Gap, Old Navy (newly added), American Eagle, your typical department stores, Target (separate location), and a few fun ones on the side. Once viewing such stores like The United Colors of Benneton, Coach, Louis Vutton, Sephora, BCBG, Betsy Johnson, Versace, Gucci...I was floored. All the designers were out to play in Dallas. And play they did. I just sat the bench.

Before we left, we all traveled to Denton for an outdoor jazz festival! I loved it! Outdoors+music= good combo. Being at the festival provided a nice dose of reality to my life. There were all sorts of people there from all sorts of backgrounds enjoying all sorts of food at the same place. That kind of diversity was refreshing in and of itself.

Great weekend that started my week off to a great start. Next week I'll be traveling to Tennessee to celebrate my sister's graduation! I am looking forward to having some quality time with her. I'm sure by this time next week, we will have had numerous dance parties, conversations, and laughs. Lauren (the sister), my mom, and I plan to make a stop by Gatlinburg, TN on our way into Asheville to do some hanging out. I'm looking forward to it.

That's what has been going on! Today I plan to call some friends back, do some reading, and possibly make another trip to the laundry mat. Oh yes.