fashion friday perhaps?

I have been shopping for a little black dress for a special upcoming occasion to go with some vintage Frye boots that I already own. (Nothing to fancy)
These are a few from Mod Cloth.
Any ideas out there?
I really like a slight bohemian, earthy feel to clothing, I am only 5'3 and a little bit and definitely don't have a model-esque body.
I am never sure if it is wiser to purchase on line or look for something in person.
You know what I mean?

Happy Friday, everyone!
Love,
~dee
xoxo

we heart tastebuds of salisbury, nc...

We have been doing a lot of 'we heart thursdays' with artists and artisans but I think we will fill our Thursdays with both artists, entrepreneurs and anyone who we find inspiring especially since we are fairly diverse in that area.

We met Kirk Knapp and unfortunately we didn't get to meet his very creative, talented wife who together run and own, Tastebuds, a wonderful coffee house in Salisbury, NC.
You can positively feel a warmth to the shop before you even enter the doors due to their choice of colours, signage and great front shop windows in a historical brick building downtown.
Because it has been our dream to one day live in or above a coffee/arts business, we both found it heartening to wander into this amazing little coffee shop in Salisbury, NC.
The Knapps live above their business and in our opinion have an extremely inspiring lifestyle.
The vibe of this coffeehouse would suit almost anyone with its slightly Seattle/Vancouver-ish ambiance and creative thoughtfulness to the past and with an edge of 'now'.
Beyond the ambiance is the knowledge of coffee that Kirk Knapp displayed.
He gave us a ton of coffee wisdom, letting us know a bit about the organic, home roasted beans they use, roasted by their family (his wife's cousin, if I recall correctly) at Dixie Roasting in China Grove, NC which will definitely be a destination for a future adventure.
The coffee he made us was the freshest, most delicious coffee I have had since moving to the South.
He is extremely interesting and intelligent, a perfect combination for a barista and entrepreneur.
When we told him a bit about our blog and our desire to make life more of an adventure his eyes lit up and he took us through the back door of the shop into a little patio-ish area (which is gorgeous) overlooking the street in which he directed us to go find the city's very historical cemetery
Which as most of you know was my first experience with exploring a cemetery.
We found Salisbury, NC and Tastebuds to be a complete pleasure.

If you get the chance definitely check out Tastebuds!
It is one great little coffee house here in the South.
Enjoy your 'we heart thursday' and make sure to get out and have some fun.
Love,
Don and Dee
xoxo

hands down the best hotdog ever...

If you are in the Salisbury NC area ever this place is a must especially if you want that retro lunch stand feel, amazing hot dogs and an icy cheerwine.
When we entered Haps Grill the guy behind the counter quickly asked me if I wanted to try the best hotdog in the world.
All I can say is it is totally fun, delicious and made a wonderful end to our trip to Salisbury, NC.
Loved it.

Tell us about your favourite hot dog.
Happy wild wednesday!
love,
Don and Dee
xoxo

the one thing i have never done before....

(click to enlarge and read...I thought it was so true)

Alright so I have never entered a graveyard without a family member or close friend's passing.
I didn't really think anyone did this until a really interesting entrepreneur in Salisbury (who I am going to feature tomorrow) suggested that we should check out a cemetery a short walk away from his amazing coffeehouse.
It really was worthy of walking in.
I somehow am in awe of old tombstones and so interested in the lives that have gone on before us.
Little tiny graves, concrete tombs above ground with their lids slightly cracked from age, interesting branch sculptures to hold candles....call me morbid but there is something in believing in an afterlife that makes it all the more interesting and intriguing to me.
I wonder if in heaven I will meet these people and if they will share the stories of their life with us.
I normally don't think about death until someone close to me dies but in this Salisbury cemetery I did kind of wonder what it will be like to die and if I have been doing well in this journey so far.

(Don ummm...relaxing in the cemetery)

Please tell me that I am not the only one curious about this or I may feel kind of creepy.
(I may possibly have one more post to come today from this interesting city.)

wild wednesdays in salisbury, nc...

I am not sure how to share what a great little city this place is in one post, so I may do several.
The architecture is old, stately and homey, the businesses are crazy good and the people are seriously some of the warmest, most fun and helpful people I have met while here in the South.
We did something I have never done before which I may share later on in the day.
We met the best entrepreneurs of which I want to showcase this week at some point.
We loved the vibe of this city.
It had this rockabilly-indie feel to it, slightly rough and wild and yet pristine and full of history.
Talk about a beautiful juxtaposition.
I will let the photos do the rest of the work of sharing this wonderful spot on the map of the South.

a belated happy birthday...

We want to wish Don's Dad a happy belated birthday and I personally want to thank him for raising
an amazing son.
I love that he taught Don to love God and to put others before himself.
I love that he raised Don with wonderful values.
I love that he was an incredible example to Don of a good husband and father.
Because of all he is and has done, I have the best husband in the world.
Thank you and we want to wish you the best year ever, Papa!
Love ,
Don, Dee, Brodie, Breanna, Bayley and Bella
xoxo

fun without fear...

(Bella, Caroline, Sarah and Uncle Shane)

It is kind of funny to me that only a few months ago our little baby, Bella was afraid of water so badly that it was extremely difficult to even bathe her.
On Saturday we were invited over to her cousin's pool for a splashing event before celebrating my father in law's birthday.
(To whom I owe a huge apology for not doing a post on the date of his birthday.
We remembered his birthday. I somehow 'blog forgot' due to our wild wednesday.
we will make up for that, I hope...eek...this afternoon.)
Bella has the sweetest cousins possible.
Caroline and Sarah doted on her the entire day.
She is definitely over her fear of water thanks to the help of her brothers, sister and wonderful cousins.
Thanks for the fun, Anna, Shane, Caroline and Sarah!

(Caroline, Bella and myself looking like I am yelling)

Be fearless and have a wonderful Tuesday!
Love,
Bella
xoxo

weekends are made for dating...

(The Corduroy Road playing at Pura Vida)

(The Common Market...which isn't common at all. It is a wonderful little deli sent straight from heaven. ;)

(my very cute husband)

In both of our opinions a good marriage needs a weekly date night.
Forgoing the guilt of leaving the house to go off and have a nice time by yourselves.
We both feel family nights are important as well but the benefits of getting out and enjoying the relationship you have together is just as important.
What I really want to say is that Charlotte is not as boring as I had once thought (I know...how negative of me...I truly apologize for the bad attitude.), it actually is loaded with fun little niches and great dating spots and that I REALLY LOVE our date nights.

I guess we just need to get out more regularly just the two of us, pick a date night and go out and play like we did on Friday afternoon/evening.

We totally enjoyed the band, The Corduroy Road at Pura Vida and then went over to a favourite deli of ours, The Common Market.
The hummus, feta, cucumber and tomato wrap I had was amazing and the Steaz organic root beer green tea is my new drink to LOVE!
What is your favourite date spot?
Happy Monday!
xoxo

in the hot sun at the skatepark...

I don't know why I have no photos of Bella and Brodie in this set today.

anoles came to wish a happy friday...

(anoles of NC are quite cute and change colour to match their surroundings)

I am not sure if it is the fact that I am from Canada or if everyone here finds these little guys as entertaining as I do.
They remind me of cartoons for some reason in their bright green and lazy look on their faces.
I found entertainment at all the new creatures to see here at first, like the first time I saw a praying mantis or a Junebug.
The longer I am here the less entertaining some of the little guys are but the lizards of the south still have my attention when they show up on a window to say 'hello'.
(Our youngest son, Bayley photographed this little guy.)

Happy Friday!
Love,
Don and Dee
xoxo