B-School Bound

I am beyond excited to announce that this morning Jimmy was accepted to the MBA program at UNC-W. He starts at the Cameron School of Business in May and the program runs for two years. During that time, he'll attend classes Monday and Thursday evenings and one Saturday a month. It's going to be a tough two years with his full time job at Castle Branch, but I just know he's going to thrive and excel! Couldn't be more proud of him right now. Go Seahawks!!

Happy Valentines Day!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Saturday we "dug out" of the snow Carolina Beach style, with a swim fin, and ran a few errands.Shortly after we got home there was a knock at the door and much to my excitement it was a flower delivery from Jimmy.

The place we had dinner reservations at for Saturday night lost our information, or probably never wrote it down, so we had to improvise on the fly. We ended up going to a fun Japanese Steakhouse called Hiro which turned out to be perfect! You've got to love the cooking in front of you action. We enjoyed some Kirin Ichiban drafts while we took in the entertainment.

So right you are, Hiro fortune cookie...

 

This morning I used my beignet mix from New Orleans to create a Cafe Du Monde experience for Jimmy. They didn't look nearly as good as they do at Cafe Du Monde, but I swear, having had the real thing only a week ago, the taste was right on. 

Sunday dinner was Tyler Florence's Pancetta Carbonara, salad and a good bottle of pinot. Too good for me to pause to take a picture. Here's the link and a picture from Tyler Florence's website. 

Pancetta Carbonara

 

Snow on the beach

Not South Enough...

Here I thought we were safe from all the snow madness up North, but no. Snowing at our house, just 5 blocks from the beach, as we speak. Has me in the mood for the Winter Olympics. RIP Nodar Kumaritashvili...

Eat This, Not That

While in New Orleans, Kelly recommended the book  "Eat This, Not That - Supermarket Survival Guide". As far as I'm concerned, this book is amazing. If choosing healthy foods is your grocery shopping prerogative, than this book is your savior. It tells you exactly what bread to buy, what cereal to buy, etc. based on, not just calories and fat, but also added nutritional benefits. I used to consider my grocery store choices as very healthy, but much to my amazement, I've been eating, and feeding Jimmy, a lot of "Not that" foods and not nearly enough "Eat This" foods. Well this is me turning over a new leaf. Thanks so much for the recommendation, Kelly!

Back from the Big Easy

I just got back Sunday evening from a very fun weekend in New Orleans for Kelly's Bachelorette. Though I am glad the Saints won the Superbowl, man I can't imagine what the city was like postgame, I have to admit I'm a little sick of hearing "who dat". Now let's see, some weekend recaps...

First up was some girly games in our room, you know the usual, spin around ten times and try to plant a kiss on the man poster?!? We also had the "Nearly Wed" game where I had Spencer's answers to some questions that Kelly had to try and guess. She actually did pretty well. I think she cheated ;). Next up was a night on Bourbon Street where all the freaks were out! Kelly was a trooper, letting us subject her to all kinds of embarrassment. Saturday we saw the town during the day. Went to Cafe Du Monde for coffee and beignets and saw a parade. Saturday night was much more low key. We went to dinner at a great place called GW Fins and then went to Pat O'Brien's for their famous hurricane drinks. All in all such a great weekend. Can't wait for BMore for Kelly's Bridal Shower and then the Outbanks for the big day!

What Has Kelly Gotten Us Into?

I'm taking a half day tomorrow to catch a flight to New Orleans for Kelly's Bachelorette Weekend. I better get a good sleep tonight because it's going to be a crazy time. All pictures that pass Kelly's inspection to be posted Monday when I can think straight again...
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/02/04/new.orleans.super.bowl/index.html

Strong Kid

I mentioned young Owen Miller, a family friend from Boone, in a post a little while ago. Owen was diagnosed with malignant brain tumor the day after Christmas. The last month has been pretty tough and the next month or so will probably be even worse. Here's Owen with his surgeon and his pre and post brain surgery pictures.



Owen will get one dose of chemo and five days worth of radiation each week for the next six weeks. I absolutely love the Miller family and can't say enough about how strong and brave Owen has been. Here's a link to Owen's website http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/masterowenmiller for updates on his progress. Keep fighting the fight Owen!