You’ve Got Mail

There’s just something about opening the mail box and finding a letter or card that makes me so giddy. It must be something about the personal touch—that someone took time out of their day to think about finding the perfect card, writing the best message, purchasing the stamp, and taking it to the mail drop to be sent out – that makes it so special.

I absolutely LOVE when I open up box #204 and find “snail mail”. Recently, while my parents have been working on restoring/ renovating their new house, my mom has been sending me letters about what has gone on. It has been so special to receive these notes and laugh about what happened to my parents. She has written about the time when a hawk came down near our pond and tried to grab my dad’s hat off his head or the time that she found and old deed to a plot of land our family used to own.

I know it may sound silly and they could have just texted me about their daily lives—but that is just something that most people don’t do. Most people don’t chat about “normal” day to day stuff, instead people tend gossip about something crazy that has happened or just say happy birthday via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.— boring.

It’s the heartfelt hand written letters and cards that I cherish. Here are just a few of my favorites:

I also enjoy sending out mail too-- especially because I get to use my personalized stamp from Three Designing Women (eBt above). I am always sure to have stamps nearby, in fact I carry post card stamps in my wallet because those are hard to find when traveling—owning it! And I have a box of cards (blank and the Hallmark kind) for whatever occasion right at my desk. You never know when you need to send a card to say Thank You or Happy Birthday and I think people should try to say it more—using Snail Mail. It’s wonderful medicine and can brighten even the worst of days.

Do you enjoy receiving snail mail?

xx

Catching Up

Over the past two weeks I have been traveling A TON! In the past two weeks I have been in 5 different cities over the course of 12 days-- and i'm glad to finally be back! Through all of my busy days of traveling (mostly for work) I have neglected the blog, but I am happy to say that I’m back!! I wanted to share a round-up of what I have been doing over the past two weeks + some fun that I had back in Charlotte this weekend.

Raleigh:
Celebrations for my mom's birthday, grandfather's 95th birthday, and getting to see my parents house they are renovating & eventually going to move into {so far, they have removed trees/bamboo in the back yard and have a new hvac installed} I should also mention that my car had some trouble and it took my brother and I an extra 2 hours to leave Charlotte on that Friday-- we were so thrilled!

Orlando, FL:
Every year FD has an Annual Leadership Conference where over 1,200 team members gather to review business and learn about what is coming to the stores for 4th quarter {Halloween, Harvest, & Christmas seasons). This year I was asked to speak on stage in our version of the Today Show when we featured Halloween. From early mornings to late evenings the team learned a ton, but we also had a little fun too! Some highlights included getting to go to the wax museum - can you guess which one is me?, stuffing SWAG bags for the Today Show, Universal & islands of Adventure party, and great food and catching up with co-workers.

Charlotte: 
When I got back to Charlotte to say I was exhausted is an understatement. I am pretty sure that Jack would say I slept through the weekend just in time to leave again for another trip. Besides sleeping I did get out a little bit. On Saturday I was able to take Alex to the airport to catch his flight to China... at about 4:15 am. My mom wanted a picture--so here you go mom! On Sunday Jack and I went to a day trip to Mount Airy to visit his family & have lunch and dinner.

Chesapeake, Va:
Monday I left with co-workers for a 7 hour bus ride to meet our counterparts at DT corporate. This was my view for the entire trip, which was nice because after I got bored watched almost 3 movies on the way up I was able to enjoy the scenery as we pulled into the hotel. Also after a week off from the gym I hit up the hotel exercise room. I was pleasantly surprised at the equipment & that they had free weights!! 

Charlotte: 
Finally back in Charlotte again I was able to meet up with some friends to catch at The Wine Loft. Recently two of them have gotten engaged-- 2016 is going to be a busy year! 

Weekending:
My weekend kicked off with an evening walk, wine, pj's, and Panthers football! I was so happy to see that the Panther's won their first pre-season game and hoping that means we are going to have a good year ahead of us {Jack was in Cali, so I kept snapping him bits of the game to enjoy}. Saturday and Sunday were spent trying new things. Saturday Sara and I headed to Orange Theory  for a mid-morning class. This was my first time visiting and I cannot wait to go back. The workout is intense, but you leave dripping in sweat knowing that you got in an amazing workout. For the afternoon we stopped at Sycamore Brewery, again first time there, and enjoyed a cold beer + live music. 

Sunday Jenn, Sara, and I went to Cafe Monte, my first time, and I had the Croque Monsieur with side salad. The sandwich was to die for & the service was great. I cannot wait to go back for an omelet or french toast! For the afternoon I me up with Hannah, Kayla {two engaged from above} and Patricia for The Bridal Showcase hosted by Belk. Although it was so overwhelming to have all of the vendors in one place it was nice to see a little bit into that industry. Afterwards we had wine & joked about how we will not go to another show-- here's to trying something at least once! Sunday evening I finished up the first season of Bloodlines and now will wait until season 2 releases.

How was you weekend? Try anything new?

xx