a collection of memories so I won't forget all the good stuff about birthday weekend.

saturday

woke up in boone. went to the farmer's market. got a lemonade spritzer for way too much money but felt okay about it. bought the last muffin from faith hill farms so i only had to pay a dollar. i told him i always try to be loyal to him and none of the other baked-goods makers.

met jenks at horn in the west field. laid out and talked about a lot of things / there were lots of bugs. family, music, boone. dropped off stuff at the goodwill truck. packed and left for raleigh.

arrived in raleigh, and went straight to the girls' apt. showered and dressed while jess, whit, cat, mrs. ray, and john prepared a sweet birthday cook out. i'm beginning to appreciate very simple things like meals (including cut lettuce and tomatoes and onions) i don't have to prepare or pay for!

meanwhile, the drummond household was preparing a special outdoor viewing of my favorite move of all time, HOOK.
let me try to describe it:

the drummonds back yard is a golf course, so we arrive there and go to the back of the house and there is a giant white sheet hanging from the porch on the top floor to the grass at the bottom floor. tarps, blankets, cushions, chairs, and tables are set out on the grass facing the movie screen. the sun is setting and jess sets up the projector. As it gets darker, all kinds of goodies make their way from the kitchen to the yard including popcorn, a tray of chocolate bars, soda, and -the kicker- homemade funnel cakes!

a giant moon starts to come up and turns the stringy clouds all kinds of golds and navy blues. the drummond little brother, sam, and john start shooting of fireworks, laughing boyishly at the risk of disturbing the neighbors. i'm laying down on the pillows and blankets there on the grass with some of my closest girl friends and this movie starts running and it's absolutely perfect.

okay, so after that was over we cleaned up and went back to the girls apt, quickly falling asleep in the dandelion room.


sunday

i wake up at 10:30 to a text saying "you coming?" from one of my best guy friends, matt. the beach!! although i was supposed to be there at 10, i know matt is forgiving of my chronic tardiness and super-power ability to sleep in.

i jump up, quickly gather what beach things i could find, and zoom to matt's.

we get in his car and begin the 2 hour trip down 40 East towards the coast. that's one of the main reasons i love raleigh - it's perfectly central location for spontaneous day trips to beaches or mountains. i haven't been to the beach since last summer, so i'm sure i looked like a 6-year-old little girl with my head hanging out the window that i insisted should stay open as much as possible on the way.

we stopped at bojangles, reared up solid road-trip music, and cultivated solid road-trip conversation. it started to rain, so i prayed that i'd get to enjoy some sun on the beach.

we rolled up in wrightsville, parked, and walked out to a sunny shore.

books in tow and read shoreside:
animal, vegetable, miracle (kingsolver)
a grief observered (lewis)

after a few hours laying out we headed to downtown wilmington to eat supper. we found a bar with outdoor music, and enjoyed a very tasty meal as much as we possibly could while still having an oily-sandy film on our un-showered beach bods.

came home. i went to my parents house and took a shower. relaxed and enjoyed some of the last moments in the house i grew up in for 22 years exactly. next time i come home, that house won't be home any more. very strange.


monday

slept with phone turned off and slept a very long time, enjoying my bed. woke up and listened to my favorite birthday songs

altered images happy birthday
no doubt six feet under

steph and whit texted inviting me to go to the pool at the apt and enjoy a picnic!
wheat thins, cheese, strawberries, jones berry lemonade, and coke!
people magazine, instyle, and seventeen!
friends, birthday.

jess came by with the baby she nannies for, sweet sarah. okay, i cannot stand tiny babies in tiny swimsuits. it is TOO MUCH! she even floated in an inflatable frog with a palm tree shade. too much cute.

met my sister and her babies at goodberries in wake forest and was treated to strawberry custard and good conversation and birthday bangles!

went home, showered, packed, got ready for the NO DOUBT and PARAMORE concert.

y'all.

i wasn't even really reeeeally excited because i have a thing against super-huge arenas where i feel like i'm not even seeing the band play, because it feels more like i'm just listening to the album really loudly over big speakers with about a zillion other people in the sweaty smelly mass of humanity on the lawn.

but holy cow. this was a good concert.

paramore was tight and so entertaining. so much fun!

i've loved no doubt since middle school. my college no doubt hiatus (along with gwen's solo career) kind of lended to this whole... yeah, i like no doubt but, is it enough to see them in concert at sweaty alltel pavilion?

i didn't get excited until about 5 seconds before they got on stage.
and then i realized... gwen stefani is here!!! and all of my middle/high school favorite songs ... they're going to be performed right here right now!
lots of dancing. lots. and good friends and good music.

drove back to boone from 11:30 pm - 2:30 am.

22!!