Over the Moon for Mulberries

Thanks to my dear friend Shelley, I now know that our back-deck was NOT covered with blackberries but rather filled with mulberries.  

For weeks, I’ve doubted that blackberries grow on trees but had no other explanation for this “phenomenon.” (Not to mention it's difficult to distinguish tree from vine around here.) I knew the berries on my back-deck were slightly different from blackberries you would find in the store, but couldn’t quite put my finger on it. The berries were black, juicy and tasted berry-like. Of course, turning to google in my confusion would only make sense, but I was too busy for that.

Where they were falling from.
Vine or Tree?

For about two and half weeks I was canning, freezing, making pies, jams, cobblers, anything I could think of! My days were now consumed with berries. 

The berries were falling at such a rapid pace that I was picking close to 8 cups a day for about 6 days straight! To put in prospective how large of an amount this is, 2 cups of berries makes approximately 3 (8oz.) jars of jam! That's 16 jars a day for 6 days!!! There is NO way I could accomplish or afford 96 jars of jam! However, I couldn’t let these precious berries go to waste (whatever they were!) Here are some pictures from our two week adventure with mulberries

Penny loved following me... maybe she thought she was helping :)

Oh yeah, she LOVES mulberries too! 

Lots and lots of mulberries!

Overall, I believe I was able to make four cobblers and can over 26 (big and small) jars of mulberry jelly!  I can’t wait until next year when the mulberries begin to fall again! I think it’s safe to say, I’m over the moon for mulberries! 

Birthday Sailing

Taylor took me to Virginia Beach to go sailing for my birthday. I'm so thankful it was our first stop of the trip! The weather was perfect, our guide was fun and the sunset was gorgeous - couldn't have asked for a better celebration!

Wright Avenue

Well, if you didn’t know, we bought our first home in March!

I haven’t blogged about this yet; because frankly, moving into a house is hard! (A LOT harder than moving out of Texas!) I thought with the space a house would provide it would be easy, as in, no problem. Boy, was I wrong.

We had to haul the previous owner’s belongings out of the house, so we could move in! Meaning, I had to stomach smelly clothes, moldy shoes, stained- yellow pillows and tons of trash. I really can't complain about this because his trash ended up being a tremendous blessing. He left us with a lawn mower, a dresser, a desk, an unwanted library, outdoor table, a blow-up mattress, and other various items we chose to give away. All-in-all, we love the house!

Perks of our new home:

We have a backyard! Penny is still a little timid about claiming this territory. Her skittish demeanor about being outside (and alone) gives Taylor and I some good laughs throughout the day. Every once in a while, I'll catch her bravely stepping out on her own but it doesn't last long. Either she'll adapt or become an indoor dog for life! Also, the yard is landscaped. You wouldn't know this, because it's pretty overgrown. I think it will take awhile to cut down vines and rake-up the leaves (I'm hoping to get to this before the heat hits.) Yes, for all you suckers in Texas, it's been consistently in the 70's! 

We are walking distance from the hottest restaurants, coffee places, bars, and grocer in town. This has been SO fun! The atmosphere reminds me of South Congress, of course, on a lesser scale and minus the trailer food. Several nights, Taylor and I have taken walks up there to grab a bite to eat or even snag his favorite Texas beer! 

We are in a nice neighborhood. Taylor and I looked up our location the other day and it turns out that we are in Sunset Hills on the edge close to Lindley Park. Since most of you reading this don’t know what that is, its like… 35^th Street and Jefferson in Austin; or, the SMU area in Dallas. And for any Houstonians reading, I would say the Rice University neighborhood? Now most of you are blown away by those comparisons… let me just say, we’re in a smaller town where the cost of living is WAY less than Dallas, Austin or Houston. Plus, we bought a short sale home, which equals a great deal!

Favorite Things:

One of my favorite things about the house is that we have a sunroom. I noticed not to long ago that North Carolina lives and breathes sunrooms! Every house comes with one, guaranteed! Now, it’ll be a while before that room is put together and in proper use, but for now, I’ll keep dreaming. THANK you Pinterest for keeping my dreams alive!

Taylor’s favorite part of the house… the potential projects. As you know, we are currently remolding the bathroom but you'd be silly to think that’s all we’re doing! Taylor has virtually (on a program) turned our house into a masterpiece. His favorite thing would be making that masterpiece come to life! I’m sure I'll update the blog as we continue work on the new home!

No doubt, our favorite things will change as time goes on! But for now, that's the lastest update on the Williams' household!

Easter Weekend at Lake James

 This past weekend, Taylor and I were honored to join our new friends Andrew and Lacy (and baby Jesse) on a wonderful campout. We settled near the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains at Lake James State Park. This campout was never short on views and probably one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever camped! Not to mention, the weather was absolutely perfect! Here are some pictures from the wonderful weekend:

view from our campsite!

Bailey - the most athletic dog you'll ever meet.

on our way to Linville Falls

Best Buds.

All Things New

Spring is here! Spring is here! Almost.

At last, spring is JUST around the corner. Not that Taylor and I have reason to complain about winter, but there’s just something rejuvenating about warmer weather. I love seeing fresh new buds on the trees and feeling the cool breeze pass by - puts me in heaven! 

In light of spring, and a “deadline” of March 1^st - Taylor shaved his beard! Hallelujah! This is the longest Taylor has ever had facial hair. He would be proud to tell his man-buddies it was a GOOD 2-inches. Here are some pictures of the big event:

The many hats and faces of Taylor... 

Well, Taylor has his "new–do" and I was in desperate need of chopping my dead ends! So, why not discard a good 10-inches? It was time to part ways from my typical hairstyle. Time for something new. I have never had short hair (EVER) so you can conclude that this is a BIG deal for me! Turns out, it's not that bad. Definitely, worth every inch gone – I love it!

Other than new hairstyles walking around the apartment, we're doing great. We are still in contract with the house in Lindley Park. It's been 4 months now of constantly going back and forth with inspectors, appraisals, and various dilemmas with the bank. (We’re buying a Short Sale home and this is normally how long it takes.)

This past weekend, we personally made repairs to the home without technically owning it. Seeing how it’s only chipped paint in the way of moving in...  why not fix it up over the weekend? Now all we need is one last inspection. That's it!  No official news or a proper yes... yet. I hope that by the end of the month we’ll be signing paperwork and receive the keys for good… fingers crossed! :) 

Perhaps it might be good that we don’t own the home just yet. Taylor started traveling for the first time this week and it looks like this will be a “new normal” for us. Taylor hasn’t traveled before and I can’t remember one time he’s been away on a weekday. This is my first night alone (with Penny of course) and I can't help but sing Celine's, "Alllll by myself!" So, I know there will be a lot of adjusting around here. However I'm more thankful that I only have to handle one big change at a time. 

I think that’s about it… we’re doing great; excited for Spring; have new hairdo’s to show off; and are taking it one day at a time with the house in Lindley Park! 

My, How Time Flies

Penny turns 2 years old this week; which also means we have had her for officially one year! Queuing the cliché lines…   My, how time flies;  Time flies when you're having fun;  Time flies like an arrow 

our first family photo

Doesn’t it though? Time. It passes so quickly. Taylor and I realized this weekend we have officially been in Greensboro for 3 months! Wow. It feels like yesterday we loaded up the truck and drove East. Seems barely months have passed since we got married; And, despite my misconception with time, I feel like we've had Penny our entire lives. So, until lil' human monsters consume our every seconds, I will not waste my time in giving Penny the utmost attention, like a princess. Hints to this ridiculously cute poster I made (because I had free time!) :

Maybe Taylor will hang it in the doggy area at work!? :)  I have no doubt the staff will love on Penny and treat her royally allllll day (like they usually do.) 

The update on Taylor and me:

Taylor and I are great. After the holidays, it took us a while to finally get back into a routine. Staying up late and sleeping-in is a wonderful feeling on lazy, usually cold and rainy, days. (Side note: It rains ALL the time, and the weird part, I have yet to hear thunder. I guess you CAN have rain showers and it not always be a thunderstorm.) However, weather aside, it is back to work we go. 

Taylor was promoted to Project Manager (starting early Spring.) It was suppose to start January 1^st but with a few technicalities and rearranging of projects the position was pushed back.  Taylor is thrilled! He has officially moved into his own office and is looking forward to learning and growing into the new position. The job will require traveling so we’re curious how that will shift our routine, but overall, I couldn’t be more proud of him.

Etsy is going really well! By 'well' I mean, I’m without a doubt enjoying the time I put into LuckePenny. I absolutely love accomplishing and creating new things all week! Last week I sat down, ran through all the numbers, and totaled up cost put into LuckePenny. I was a little nervous with the receipts stacking up, but after calculating everything, I was pleasantly surprised at how well things were going. I was able to set goals for 2012 and am praying that I can continue to run LuckePenny! I understand my plan may take time to reach but I am ready to be accretive and confident in them. If you know of anyone looking for baby gifts or is having a little one, don't hesitate to share my link! :)

In other news, Taylor and I finally decided on a church! We're attending Grace Community. Close to 1,000+  in attendance, this is small compared the other churches we have been apart of over the past several years. We're both excited to be apart of Grace and already love the atmosphere and the people. Taylor and I both felt unexpectedly refreshed at the idea that we could not only know people on staff but also know their hearts behind leading the church. 

I started attending a women’s bible study on Thursday mornings with about 50 or so other women. The ages range from mid 20s to 50s? Which I love! We are currently going through The Amazing Collection: a study that goes through the Old Testament 1 book at a time. The women there are incredibly nice and do NOT hold back on warm welcomes. 

Taylor joined a men’s bible study last week. They meet on Wednesdays, 6:30am (waaaay too early in my opinion!) at a nearby coffee shop. He really likes the men there and told me he’ll go back next Wednesday. 

We are excited about our new church and the people we’ll meet there (and have already met.) Needless to say, we can’t wait to see what God has in store for us.

That about covers it. No big news for now. Taylor and I are just settling into our new life in Greensboro! Can't believe it's already been 3 months... My, how times flies.