This Is Halloween

We have yet to throw an epic Halloween party (it's on the list) but this Halloween was
one for the books (or the blog). We started out the week carving pumpkins with friends.

The night before Halloween we went to a good old fashioned corn ' fright' maze and let's just say I saw a whole different (scared) side of Kyle.

For the actual All Hallows Eve, we went up to Baltimore, Maryland and ate at the Paper Moon Diner,

which was the most eccentric, odd and overall fun restaurant. They are known for their Pez candy dispenser collection.

We next went over to the burial spot of Edgar Allen Poe. 

The catacombs underneath the church. These have been underneath the church since the early 1800's. 

They had someone reading the stories of Edgar Allen Poe and it really added to the creepiness level of the night.

Earlier, Kyle had taken a pill to help with an allergic reaction. As the night came to an end, it turned out to make him extremely drowsy and I took this gem of a photo at a stop sign while driving us home. I was dying. It was a struggle to help him walk into bed since that's all he could do once we got home. 

The following Sunday, we had Kyle's Uncle Ray and Aunt Kristine over for dinner and

I broke in this new skull mold and made a skull cake. It was 'to die for'.

Happy Halloween!!!

Summer Coming to a Close and a New Table

Oh, I haven't wanted summer to end but it eventually does come to a close. We decided to get a camping trip in before it got too cold. I love that this guy made this fire in the rain. Talent. 

S'mores always.

Onto the real reason behind this post. We finally finished our table! I should say, KYLE finally finished our table. He was amazing and worked so hard on it! I loved how it turned out. On the day we were moving, I looked at my email and saw that someone had posted 'free table and chairs' for pick-up. Since we already had the moving van, we ran over to claim it. Once we got there however, we realized that the table had not been cleaned for probably 5 years. It had been painted black and it was sticky all over the place. We scrubbed it a little bit before we brought it in but I was ready to get going on the sanding and repainting immediately. 

Once we realized how long it would take for us to sand the chairs, we decided to give them away and buy new chairs. All that was left was our little table. We spent days after work sanding and buffing the paint off and prepping it for a new coat. 

There's the good looking guy right there.

The next step was picking a color. This was BY FAR, the hardest part. It's so hard to know what a color is going to look like on a wall let alone a table. I knew I wanted a gray blue but when we got to the store, I realized I wanted more blue than gray....

...which resulted in this color. 

As Kyle started pouring it out I got a little nervous but then thought, "Well, we can't go back now."

And look at how it turned out! We are really pleased with the final product.

Thanks Kyle for always making me laugh.

To be, rather than to seem (to be)

'Esse quam videri' or 'to be, rather than to seem (to be)' is North Carolina's state motto. And how right it is that the very people we love and hold dear in this state exemplify that phrase. The Garners are, as we put it, the 'very salt of the earth'. The kindest, most giving and genuine people we know. They were there for Kyle when he lived in Roanoake Rapids doing Teach for America and would have him over for supper all the time. Once I entered the picture, they welcomed me in with open arms and I stayed with them a couple of times when visiting Kyle. It's become tradition for us to drive down and visit with them over a weekend in October. You can see 2013 here and 2014 here. We love it! This year we skipped the NC State Fair (deciding to spare our bellies and wallet) and took a drive out to Blowing Rock, NC and saw the neatest community along with plenty of beautiful fall leaves on the Blue Ridge Drive.  

Christmas tree farm!

Fall decor. Dying I loved it so.

The best ice cream (besides Kyle's homemade, of course).

And the drive begins. 

More Christmas tree farms!

We stopped to pick us up some apples and fresh vegetables for dinner the next day.

Kyle and his apple slushie (yes, there is such a thing).

We pulled over to different lookouts and the day was mysteriously foggy. Just in time for Halloween.

The most wonderful people on the planet. 

They wouldn't let us leave without getting a good old fashioned North Carolina meal complete with ham, sweet potatoes, coleslaw, white bean soup with tomatoes and vinegar and hush puppies with cooked apples and vanilla ice cream for dessert. We are spoiled by them every time we travel down. Thank you Garners for having us down again for another adventure! 

D.C.'s Own Homemade Ice Cream Jubilee

We took a trip down near the Potomac Harbor on the east side to try one of D.C.'s well known homemade ice cream spots. Ever since Kyle started making his own ice cream we like to get out and try different types. This one was amazing! This woman just started making ice cream and it got big. We will definitely be back! (If you're in the area, we recommend Caramel Popcorn and Cookies&Cookie Dough)