a sleepy cat

Spoon had a busy semester too. No, not really. But he did spend a lot of time finding warm places to curl up for a little cat nap.  He especially loves the heating pad and heated blanket; he's a smart cat.

  

 

xoxo

passing

(Sweet notes from ashley)

So yes, most of the reason for my absence on the blog (and in life) was my dissertation proposal and gearing up for its defense. After I passed (holla!) much celebration was had.  

Immediately after, we went out to Kipos for lunch and drinks.  

Then the next day, Jonathan planned a little surprise for me, gathering our friends at my favorite brewery, Big Boss! 

I then had a few days to relax and prep for Christmas before heading to Cali to celebrate with my friends and family!

xoxo

back on track

Happy New Year! 

I hope y'all had a lovely holiday season! 

It's been two months since I posted, which is beyond terrible.  Last semester was super busy for me but I have now successfully defended my dissertation proposal! Which really means I just have to finish my dissertation to be done, yeah! 

I've never been one for resolutions, but I do promise to go back to blogging this year! Don't worry, you can expect a lot of recaps of what did happen in the second half of last year. 

So here's to a new year with 2014!

xoxo

ps. here is another great license plate from NC:

peachy keen

Early fall was still hot in NC, which called for tequila.  I mixed this craving with peach and lime juice and it was delicious! I've been using the Dixie Peach juice from Trader Joes. They still have it so you should probably pick some up while you still can.

hmm, let's call it

Summertime? Madness 

just for jake! ;)

***

1 part tequila

2 parts peach juice

dash of lime juice

on the rocks.

Keep your spirits up! 

(see what I did there?)

xoxo

the cat won't let me

it continues to be a super busy fall, or year i guess, making for slow blogging.  but i think we know who is really to blame...

yup, always trying to stop me from working! 

even now, as i type this he's laying in between me and the computer. 

ridiculous!

xoxo

nc craft beer tour: what we are doing & stop one

Jonathan and I have decided to do something a little crazy: visit all of the craft breweries in NC.

Whoa indeed people.  I don't know when we decided this was a good idea, or how we would get it all done, but we did. And so now, a new journey has begun.

Step one was deciding what was a craft brewery.  There are varying reports, definitions, and lists.  After some serious research and review we settled on a list of 97 establishments in the state.

That's right 97 craft breweries in 31 counties. 

Curious who made the cut? Explore our list here. 

We have previously visited nine of these places before we started this little project, but we decided that we would revisit those guys along the way. 

So our first stop was in Asheville, on the way to Arkansas in June. 

We went to the Asheville Brewing Company, which was one of the places we had gone to previously, so it seemed like a good place to start. 

It was delicious, again and a nice way to begin the tour. 

More updates to come.

xoxo

to new adventures: tour de fat

So the biggest thing that happened this summer was Tour de Fat. 

If you are unfamiliar, Tour de Fat is an epic event hosted by New Belgium in a few cities across America every summer. It's like a carnival with beer and games and lots of bike love.

The focus of the event is presenting the city with their bike trader.  A bike trader is a badass individual who gives up their car (donated to charity) in exchange for a new bike with the commitment to live car-free for a year.

Sound familiar now? Ashley was the Durham trader last year and has been chronicling her adventures here. 

And this year, Jonathan took the leap and said goodbye to the echo and hello to a jamis.  His blog (yes he's blogging!) is here. 

So in June, New Belgium came to Durham and we celebrated the bike! 

Even Chloe made the trip:

The day's events: 

The crowd:

The stage:

Jonathan being presented:

Jonathan post presentation: 

A jumbo game of connect-four:

And just general hanging out:

 

A couple of days after the event Jonathan went and picked out his mate -- a brand new jamis from the great team at oak city cycling:

(this was his test ride - he of course, always wears a helmet!) 

Thanks New Belgium for this incredible adventure! 

xoxo