u-s-c goooooo cocks

we spent the afternoon tailgating with our friends which only reaffirmed the fact that the south knows how to do football right. the game was great, except for the refs' ridiculous calls. seriously.so.bad. i'm a little hoarse from cheering on the players and booing the refs. oh, and the best thing about gamecock football (besides being ranked 7th)? this:

the best entrance in all of college football

go cocks

friends + food

pinky's

::

pimento cheese fries with bacon

::

candice and me

4th July

We bought fireworks last night and set some off in front of our friend's house, where we learned that some people are really defensive about their pine straw and that their default mode is screaming at you even when the fireworks were practically in said friend's driveway and nowhere near her beloved pine straw. So we piled in the cars and headed to the park to set off the big explosions (read: roman candle wars and setting off multiple fireworks at once). And I pretended like I was in Harry Potter.

I can talk with my hands.

          A few weeks ago I drove to Spartanburg for a language skills test. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's go back a few years. Back in my college days at BYU, I had just completed a semester of Spanish, and hated every minute of it. I found myself on the hunt for a new foreign language to fulfill a requirement for my major. I was an English major for a reason. I wanted to read amazing books and write about them, not learn a foreign language. At this same time, my amazing friend and roommate Amber had just finished ASL 101 and highly recommended it. Willing to try anything that sounded interesting that also met the academic requirement, I signed up. Best. Decision. Ever. For some reason, ASL just made sense to me. I caught on quickly and retained everything. I dove in head first going to ASL Club, attending the local ASL  branch of my church, and spent time hanging out with Deaf people. Soon, I found myself in love with a language, a culture, and a people. Two and a half years of classes and some invaluable interpreting experience, I was set.

          Fast forward to now. I found an interpreting program that I want to do that will prepare me to become a licensed ASL interpreter. It's my dream career. I love it. I applied to the school and the program, and drove to Spartanburg to do my language skills interview test. The results of which will determine if I get accepted into the interpreting program. I should get said results in a few weeks. And if I get in, I'll be off and running in the Fall.

Columbia

Yesterday Candice, Julie and I explored everything downtown has to offer.

We ate at Mr. Friendly's in Five Points, and I had the most amazing pork chop of my life. It was topped with pimento cheese and an apple wood bbq sauce with mashed potatoes and collard greens on the side. It was so delicious. I only managed to get a picture of the fried green tomatoes appetizer because the pork smelled so good, I was halfway done before I thought to take a picture of it. Then I drove them around to all of the interesting things in Columbia. And Candice snapped a picture of my poor conehead, Stella. 

It was such a fun afternoon; another outing is in order.

the post

It all started with a book. One that was left behind. One that I picked up. One that a few years later, finally made it back to its original owner. And being lovers of the written word ourselves, Elizabeth and I saw this as the perfect opportunity to start up a real-mail correspondence. Because, let's be honest here, who doesn't love getting mail that isn't junk or bills? There's just something about receiving and writing/sending a letter. Something magical. Now if only the post was actually carried by owls. 

And ... the Duggars.

Today my good friend Candice and her husband came into town to spend the day playing around Columbia with me and Spencer. We went all over town and saw all the fun, unique, historic sights. Great food. Even greater company. Just one word for the day: magic. Oh, and the Duggars.

photo courtesy of my friend, candice's iPhone

We took Candice and Reid to see the state house and happened upon the remnants of the Rick Santorum rally. A midst dodging the crazies while walking around the grounds, we found ourselves at the Confederate flag. That's when we saw Jim Bob and Michelle. What the random? Naturally, we had to go say hello and take a picture. And I have to say that they are just as nice and sweet 

in person as they seem on the show. Really. 

The day ended with Cheerwine floats.

Like I said. Magic.

jai ho*

Was reading through some old (read: ancient) blog posts and ran across some links on one of my musings to some pretty amazing things that happened in my life (read: happened Winter semester 2009). Those few months were perhaps the most magical time that has ever happened in the history of the world. Seriously. We're not sure how we passed our classes, or why we did what we did, 

but we know one thing for sure: it was magic.

Anyone remember this?

Or how about this?

Remember when we listened to this on repeat? And this one too?

And we cannot ever forget the awesomeness that was ten at ten.

It will forever top the list of everything that is awesome.

From no boys allowed forts and adventures in the wee morning hours of finals week to the best friends a girl could ask for, it.was.the.best. 

*in honor of the jai ho lap, of course, because who could forget that magic?

e + a in provo.

yesterday i was in provo, and had lunch with this lovely girl. we chatted about life, love, confusion, and the gilmore girls episodes that are our lives. she taught me a useful indonesian phrase ya sudah that i've already used at least twice. long story short, this girl is amazing , and i will miss her dearly. such good times spent during one magical semester that have carried over to a most cherished friendship. so, e, ya sudah for now. come visit soon.

(on a side note, i did visit other equally as amazing friends in provo, but was too dense to pull out the camera to document those visits.)

provo.

tonight we went to provo because spencer's company was a part of a recruitment fair for the business school. while he was off recruiting on campus, i was reliving the glory days with two of my former roommates. first i visited melanie. we went to the store, bought ice cream, went back to her house and relived the 90s - we watched home improvement while sharing a bowl of delicious ice cream. it was so fun catching up on each others' lives.

then i visited elizabeth. we sat at the kitchen table drinking water (which i promptly spilled all over the table - spoiler: i'm a klutz) discussing life, love, and literature - the three most important L's. we talked about all things beautiful and true. from people to postmodernism, poetry to plath. we discussed it all. we talked about the classes she was taking (she is also an English major) and it made me yearn to be back in an academic setting discussing books. there was that little flutter in my stomach at the excitement of sitting in a circle talking about authors and the beautiful things they do with words. talking about literature is just good for my soul. it really is.

friends

today i spent the afternoon with friends. good friends. some of whom i haven't seen in years. isn't it amazing when you're with people you love, you can pick up right where you left off all of those years ago? i was too busy talking to take any pictures, but that's okay. i was so happy to introduce my husband to these great people. reminiscing is one of the best activities to do. i'm convinced.

such a delightful play on words

"mrs. lovett's pie shop. fleet street, london. serving people since 1846."

I came back to my desk after a break at work and this was there. Over the weekend, my amazing friend Sarah made it for me. Such a thoughtful surprise! 

It now sits on my kitchen counter, and I giggle every time I see it.

if you don't get the reference, read this.

a new addition:

Meet Stella!

(named after Stella Kowalski, of course)

She's an 11 week-old half Siamese half Ragdoll kitten.

We lover her. (And so does Chloe).

the boy who lived

maybe tonight we went to a harry potter party.

in E's backyard.

and maybe it was magical.