Getting Away

It’s Wedding Season

Posted at May 14, 2012 // Celebrations, Getting Away

Fo sho.

Our refrigerator is officially covered with those little save the date magnets and wedding invitations from all over the place.

Before we were engaged it sure felt like Chad and I were the only ones who weren’t married – and of course I felt the need to tell him this from time to time. Yet somehow, almost three years later the invites keep coming.

With one of us in residency it’s pretty tough to get away to all the events, but we managed a trip to Austin this weekend for Chad’s cousin’s wedding thanks to one very generous grandma. Have we told you guys how wonderful our family is?

So today we give you the wedding of Brett and Kate. It was held at Spicewood Vineyards. In keeping with the wine theme, the couple’s favors were monogrammed corkscrews/wine pulls. But we had to leave ours behind – we’re carry on people not checkers.

Loved the pillow with their wedding date on it and the chandeliers hanging from trees. Classy but comfortable. This wedding had so many personal touches that really made you feel special for being included. And white wine sangria which also makes me feel special for other reasons.

The groom’s cake was made by his mother, out of Rice Krispy treats.

Congrats to one very happy couple – and our new cousin Kate!

Thanks for putting up with one more trip related post! We’ll be back later in the day with a giveaway post – all about your house. We’re pretty excited about this one. Hope everyone’s having a great Monday.

J. Brown & Co.

Posted at May 9, 2012 // Getting Away, Shop Til We Drop

Sorry for the absence and general lameness in posting as of late. My other half and I have been super-busy at a work conference in DC this past weekend. We both work in health care related fields so it was nice to get to tag team this time and see each other werk it and be seen on Capitol Hill.

Of course a lack of posting pictures does not mean that I didn’t find time to take any or to sneak away for an extra-curricular thrifting/shopping. We stayed in Old Town Alexandria which is a charming little area full of antique shops, restaurants and stores full of cheese. Today, I highlight my favorite.

If you’ve ever been to J. Brown & Co. and are like whoa. Don’t worry – I didn’t buy the $700 lamp, or the $400 lamp, or heck not even the $250 “clearance” lamp. But I did enjoy browsing and holding my ginormous purse very close to me as not to break and have to buy any million dollar items.

I think that this 600 square foot store had about a dozen crystal chandeliers inside.

They also had a lot of topiaries. Loved these things. Unfortunately Mr. Brown’s were very very expensive. However I have already found plenty of less expensive options. A test run will be coming shortly and I’ll let you know how that goes.

Finally look at this clearance room. I am rarely cool enough to ever get away with describing something as a hot mess – which is not even a cool thing to say anymore from what I’ve been told – but regardless. Look. This is a hot mess if ever I saw one.

But do you see what I see? On the bottom shelf?

That’s right it’s one of these beauties that I picked up for $50. I normally wouldn’t spend so much for a jewelry box but they are pretty fantastic and I knew I was getting a bargain. Plus, we weren’t paying for our hotel this trip – so why not?

I felt like pretty woman walking back down the street to my hotel with my giant J. Brown and Co. shopping bag. No one has to know I only spent fifty bucks. Except you guys.

Getting Away: Isla de Vieques

Posted at April 24, 2012 // Getting Away

Last week we had the great fortune to spend five days on the island of Vieques which is just off the coast of Puerto Rico. See below.

Yes, they filmed a Bachelor episode there. Lame.

The trip we took + the wedding we attended = not lame.

We’ve been referring to the wedding of our friends Jon and Mary Jane for a few months now, however it is likely that you paid very little attention since those posts were just about my shoes, sunglasses and dresses and not about Durham, paint or the pups.

Hopefully this post will make a better impression as we describe our travels to Lovefest 2012. John and MJ even used our nickname for their wedding on their koozies! We felt so cheesy and so flattered at the same time.

There is a lot to cover in the post, in an attempt not to stretch out the news over our trip over too many days which will inevitably lead to boredom/envy on your part and depression on our part. You understand I’m sure. So find a comfy seat, maybe even a cold beverage because here we go.

General Thoughts on Travel

Expedia.com gave us a great deal on tickets, less than $300 each. This is not cheap when multiplied by 2, but is amazingly affordable for tropical airfare. Plus, it’s also cheaper than almost any plane ticket we’ve purchased to visit family in Texas.

We flew up to Philadelphia and then out to San Juan. Strange but cheap so we ask no questions. Once we arrived in San Juan we hopped on a puddle jumper (aka teeny) plane to take us to Vieques. We used this company and these flights were $115 each.

I have never ridden in a plane the size of an SUV, so I was admittedly a little freaked out. It worked out completely safely but I would like to note that we had only one pilot. No co-pilot. It was only a 22 minutes flight but Chad and I made sure to create an emergency plan between the two of us just in case the pilot had a stroke or got a cramp or something and there was no one available to land our Suburban of the sky.

Here I am trying to act relaxed about the whole thing.

We couldn’t take photographs during the flight but it was pretty neat to fly off of the main island and out to Vieques. There were only the two of us on the plane, which landed right by the door to the airport but they still put our bags through a teeny baggage claim. It made us laugh out loud and we may have offended more than one airport employee.

Except for that animal carrier. We’re not sure who it belonged to, it just kept circling around and around. Unfortunately Barton and Lucy had to stay behind.

In case you’re planning a trip to Vieques, there is also a ferry that only costs $2 per person. We took that on our way back when we weren’t in such a hurry.

Where to Sleep

Basically the hotels in Vieques are located on either the North shore or the South shore of the island. The good news is that it only takes you about 15 minutes to get from end to end of the island by car. So you could really stay anywhere.

We opted for the North shore which was close to the wedding reception we attended, and stayed at charming little villa community called Eva Mer. Eva Mer is operated by an awesome guy (fellow-Texan) named Marc who knows everyone on the island and everything about the island. He even upgraded us to a oceanview villa for free when it wasn’t booked by anyone else. We stayed in Mira Mar for $125 a night.

Here is the view from our door.

We had a private patio and outdoor shower as well as an indoor bathroom of course and a kitchenette. It was great, really functional and perfect for a beach vacation. Very reminiscent of something from House Hunters International.

Here’s a shot of the inside of our mini fridge a la Cribs.

Our hosts left an adorable welcome bag in our room full of maps, local information, rum, sunglasses, sunscreen and previously mentioned koozies.

Some highlights from the welcome packet include the following tips:

You are safe on this island, but please just leave your rental car doors unlocked, even your windows open. Petty theft is rampant on the island and you can expect a broken window if you don’t just leave your car accessible for someone to rifle through. Marc said that in 12 years this has only happened to him twice though.
Please leave your illegal substances at home and away from the wedding reception (mandatory warning of wedding planner. Our friends are high on life and don’t do drugs.)
Wear your seat belt. It’s a HUGE fine and the only real traffic law enforced on the island.

If you’re looking to hold a crowd or just want a pimp place to stay we can also recommend the Dacha which is where the wedding party stayed and where the reception was held. It was an awesome house.

Oh and that sculpture? Don’t worry we see it too. You don’t even have to squint.

Things to Do

Four wheel drive was pretty much a necessity on this island. We learned that the local government purposefully leaves the roads in a horrible state in order to deter development by hotels and other big businesses. But you have to have a car to get around on Vieques as the taxis are completely touch and go.

Someone didn’t seem to mind. Someone was living out his dreams from when he was 16 – like he was in a Jeep commercial.

If off-roading isn’t your thing there are plenty of other options like snorkeling, scuba diving (we don’t scuba), kayaking a bioluminescent bay (really cool by the way, read more about it here), or just hanging out on the beach. We did a lot of this.

Plus coral collecting which was really easy here. I violated the signs in the airport that read “keep paradise in its place.” It’s place is in Pottery Barn so why can’t it be in my house too? For free? Plus, I didn’t take much, I think Mother Nature will be cool with it.

There was only one home decor shop on the island so I was in major withdrawal mode. The one shop though was really cute and called the Funky Beehive. No Goodwill Paradiso.

They used wine corks to line their columns and ceiling. Quite the drinkers they must be – or they get them from bars. There are lots of bars on the island.

Still need something to do? You can also go hunting bombs and land mines. Well, not really because have the island is restricted. However, the Navy used part of the island to test weapons in the past and many of them haven’t yet been removed. Plus there are a lot of sketchy “radar” facilities in that area of the island that cannot be photographed. Very LOST-like. I’m still waiting to hear of a polar bear found on the island.

These signs I did not ignore.

Where to Eat

Of course great seafood was everywhere to be seen. Our favorite and one “fancy” meal on the island was at el Quenepo. Also the wedding catering was delicioso and provided by Next Course. Biggest lobster tail my mouth’s ever seen.

The other highlight of the trip was chai tea from Roy’s. I know I have a sickness.

Don’t get the breakfast burrito from here though. You’ll be exceedingly disappointed since it looks like it came from Sonic, tater tots and all.

Save the authentico quick bites for the Sol Food truck. It parks at the corner of the entrances to the beaches on the South side of the island.

They can hook you up with everything you need for a nice beach empanada picnic, including pomegranate Arnold Palmers.

We also had breakfast at Belly Buttons which was pretty tasty but standard. Not anything different that you could find in NC. However, after a little asking around we discovered the best breakfast on the island to be at the hotel Hacienda Tamarindo. It was delicious and free if you’re a guest. Otherwise it was $15 each which is steep for breakfast but it was all you could order of anything on the menu – and we were on vacay so we splurged.

Island Animals

One of the neatest things about Vieques is the fact that horses just run free. Some of them are owned by people but most of them just hang out in groups on the beach or even on the side of road.

This made driving at night somewhat interesting – especially considering that these horses didn’t really fear cars and didn’t necessarily feel the need to move out of the road when one was coming.

But our favorite island animal is tied between the pig we saw on a leash and this little guy. Okay so I’m lying, it’s definitely this little guy. No contest. I named him “pupito.” He freely roamed our villa property and often came in to greet us in our room. Definitely gave us our puppy fix while we were away – all the way to trying to sneak off with some of Chad’s stuff.

There were a lot of stray dogs and cats on the island that will make you pretty sad if you come from a home with happy, healthy, spoiled pets. As wedding favors, the bride and groom made a donation to the island’s humane society in honor of their two pups that couldn’t attend. We thought that was pretty awesome of them.

Here are a couple hanging outside the bakery looking for a friendly tourist.

I was a friendly tourist to many a pup on this trip.

The Big Day

And then of course there was this wedding we went to. Here is Chad with the bride and groom. Isn’t she the prettiest bride? Seriously they Ken and Barbie, only much cooler. For some reason I assume Ken and Barbie are snobs. Jon and MJ are the exact opposite of Barbie snobs.

The Texan played the ukulele for the couple’s first dance. I can’t describe how incredibly cute it all was so you’ll just have to watch. This first dance was a surprise for the bride. Sweetest. Thing. Ever.

Jon was full of many surprises, including also playing the first dance songs of all the couples at the wedding during dinner. There were lots of sweet side dances and tears welling up. I’d recommend doing the same if you’re planning a smallish wedding in the near future. We got to hear Lyle’s “She’s No Lady” and Ben Fold’s “Luckiest.” That’s right we kind of have two. If you want to know the story just ask and I’ll tell you.

So What Did We Learn From This Trip?

It’s good to spend a little money (if you can) and get away every now and then. It’s even better to do this with a group of great friends.

It’s thrice as nice with those friends and a bottle of $4 Boone’s Farm on the beach. Classy.

Yeah I cropped out my bum in the swimsuit. It’s my blog and I can do that.

Getting Back on Track

Posted at April 23, 2012 // Getting Away

We’re back this morning from the beautiful beaches of Vieques, Puerto Rico. As much as I still feel like I’m on island time work is being done and I’m spending the morning crawling out from under the piles of real mail and e-mail. Lots to come tonight and the rest of the week. Thanks for bearing with our little vacay. I’m sure you were all extremely concerned with our absence.

In the meantime, the in between time. Enjoy this.

It was all very final season of Lost.

Easter in Saxapahaw

Posted at April 12, 2012 // Barton and Lucy, Getting Away, Local Love

We’re a few days behind all the “hey look what we did for Easter!” posts. But oh well. You’re getting it anyways, we think our parents will like to see the events of the day. However, be warned that when it’s just us on Easter there are no fancy clothes or egg hunting involved. Being outside with our dogs is mandatory though. Last year this all took place at Duke Gardens.

So here’s where we went. Saxapahaw, last seen in this post of yore here.

This was AFTER we drove out to Hillsborough and discovered that everything, and we mean everything, was closed on Easter Sunday. So the pups got some extra road trip time and no one seemed to mind.

Once we reached Saxapahaw, the General Store was all we needed to enjoy the day. A tiny bottle of Prosecco on the patio with our pups. A steak salad and a burger didn’t hurt either.

Here I am, mid-drink.

And Lucy:

Just being Lucy.

Who needs bunnies?

Recent Acquisitions

Posted at February 18, 2012 // Getting Away, Girly Stuff

I’m a long term planner if nothing else. But this is Puerto Rico people. The game must change.

Here are my most recent aquisitions in preparation for Lovefest 2012, also known as our friends Jon and Mary Jane’s wedding. It is still months away, yes.