7 Quick Takes

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Two weeks ago was my mini high school reunion. We did a potluck pool party, and it was SO much fun. We decided that this needs to be a yearly thing since weddings are officially over and baby showers (firsts anyway) will probably be ending in the next few years. I really could have sat and talked with them for double the time! I love that we can all get together and have a blast even with the vast amounts of changing we have all done. History is a powerful bond! And yes.... it does make me feel really old that it was around this time a decade ago that I was moving into my college dorm. High school feels that far in the past but college does not!

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I didn't ever post about our delicious couch arriving! The cushions.... so fluffy! Propping my feet up...so comfy! This may go down in history as one of our best purchases ever. Also, it saves SO much space in our living room compared to our other furniture! I love an open room.

See that white frame on the wall (it's our guestbook!)... our old furniture extended just past that!

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Before I tell you about last weekend, I have to tell you about my friend Jean Marie. She lives such an adventurous, romantic life. I live vicariously through her for sure. She is a world traveler, mostly for school which is the way to do it. She is officially a phD now, but was in Mexico at the beginning of 2012 gathering field data for her dissertation. On Valentine's day she was at a church function and was fun/pretend married to a guy she never met before. Well, they started to get to know one another and started dating. She came back to the states in the summer and he later visited.... she got a ring! They traveled around the states by car so he could meet her friends and family and he intereviewed at various colleges/universities for some work on his phD. He got accepted for a 6 mo. position at Harvard so... they were married in December and promptly moved to Boston! They stayed there for 6 months and are now headed to Mexico where Jean Marie will work part time at the National Institute of Health and her husband, Obed will teach a few courses. Then next February they are headed to France for a year for him to continue working on his dissertation. Back to Mexico for 6 mo- a year after that, and then either the US or Germany. Is that not exciting and romantic? This homebody prefers hear about it than live it, but what fun memories they will be making their first few years of marriage! 

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Anyways, so she was leaving for Mexico last Sunday so I drove down to my college stomping grounds, Columbia SC (where they house sat for a few months after Boston before Mexico so she could defend her dissertation), for a quick visit since it will be a long time til I see her again! We, as usual, didn't shut up the entire visit. She took me to the Congaree Swamp which is a national monument and I'd NEVER been to it while living there! We also went to a sweet Main Street Market. 

They had a mosquito meter up and that day was a level 6, the worst level, called "War Zone". Um yeah, they weren't kidding. The swamp was really cool though! You can walk right through it on low board walks.

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And to keep packing in the weekend fun, my parents are coming this weekend for tax free weekend, which is the LAST one NC will be doing! We are going to go to the outlets Sunday morning and hopefully it will be a little less crowded then. Then once they leave, Elizabeth and family will be arriving. We've been online friends for quite a while so I can't wait to hang out with them! We have lots of fun plans for the week! But first, tonight is date night where we are eating out at Red Lobster via gift card.... coconut shrimp DROOL.

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Then next week we have a Matchbox 20/Goo Goo Dolls concert (totally humoring my husband on this one but I'm sure I'll enjoy too), and the next week we have a free neighborhood concert. August is packed with fun! Usually I'm hiding out in the house away from the oppressive heat, but it's been fairly mild this year so I'm excited to have all these fun plans. 

 --- 7 ---

Friday Question: If you plant a garden, what are you planting for fall? My summer veggies are mostly done-zo and I haven't even started thinking about fall planting yet!

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