This weekend, two of my best friends from childhood and their significant others came down to visit us (hooray!). Most of our time was spent in general relaxation (eating, taking walks, eating, playing board games, eating, and chatting), but we did plan one big activity – canoeing down the Haw River! It’s something I’ve wanted to do for over a year now, and we figured special visitors were a good enough excuse to make it happen.

Our rental was through Haw River Canoe & Kayak Company, based in Saxapahaw, and we chose the “half day” Bynum Upriver Paddle. It was $50 per couple, and they’re really flexible about what time you want to head out and come back (the whole experience took about three hours). We completely lucked out with our weather – mid 70’s and sunny!! We’d love to try a few other trips they offer in other seasons, so I doubt this will be our last canoe trip, but we’re glad to have one under our belt!

See my full 60 Before 30 list here!

Hello, friends. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Monday’s post. I was sad to hear how many of you have dealt with homesickness, but also not surprised — it seems like very few people our age live in the same place they grew up, wouldn’t you say?

A few of you asked me to write about making friends in a new place. While I would love to tackle that topic, I have to think some more on whether I actually have anything useful to share. I feel like we lucked into our friends down here, which is not a very replicable strategy! But I will think on it.

In the meantime, I wanted to touch on a different related subject, and one that is a little cheerier: how to find “your people” after a move. Nope, not your friend people — your service provider people! Moving to North Carolina was the first time I really had to search for a whole new roster of talented professionals — I went to college only two hours from home, so I kept the same hair gal, doctor, etc. throughout undergrad. To be honest, I kept many of them for our first few years after the move, and just scheduled a full slate of appointments for my trips home!! But eventually it got old to be filling my time up North with appointments instead of fun, and I realized that if I were to get sick, it would be better to already have a doctor than to try and find one while feverish.

Over the last five years, I’ve found a guy or gal in almost every category, but some were easier than others! And each seemed to come via a different route. A sampling:

— Hair stylist: Friend recommendation. Tried two other places before settling on this one!
— Ob/Gyn: Yelp, of all places! I started out by asking for friend recommendations, but some weren’t terribly happy with their current provider, and others were located too far from me to be practical. My doctor got glowing reviews on Yelp, so I decided to take a chance, and have been so happy with him! (Yes, him! Didn’t see that one coming, either.)
— Realtor: Friend recommendation
— Vet: Google
— Eye doctor: Yelp again!

This isn’t really meant as an advice post, but written more out of curiosity. If you, too, had to replace your pros, how did you find your new ones? Anyone else have surprisingly good luck with Yelp?!

P.S. If anyone wants my Triangle recommendations, I’m happy to share!

We had our first weekend at home with no visitors or big events in a while, and it was nice to have a chance to check a few things off the to do list and also have time for some mini adventures!

We got to take a hay ride tour of Maple View Farm while attending a two-year-old’s birthday party. The baby cows were so cute, though the teenagers are pictured above, and they were pretty cute, too! (For those not in the know, Maple View has the BEST ice cream in the area!) We planted tulip, daffodil, and hyacinth bulbs along the edge of our back deck. I have no idea which bulb is which, but there are some really beautiful varieties, and we’re crossing our fingers they’ll all pop up next spring! John finally got a chance to try Saltbox Seafood Joint in Durham. I even tried a bite of his shrimp roll, and admitted it was quite good — as you can probably see from the photo, they use many more herbs and seasonings than your average seafood shack. Finally, we completed our first Craigslist purchase on Friday night!! I’d been searching for a Jenny Lind bed on and off for the last year or so, and was delighted to see one pop up on Thursday night for a great price. It felt a little clandestine and weird to arrange the pick-up, but the whole experience was quite exhilarating! :)

What were up to this weekend, friends? Happy Thanksgiving week!!

September was SO good! As many of you know, it’s my very favorite month of the year, and here in NC we had picture perfect weather — warm, with the perfect note of crispness in the air. Our windows were open almost every day, and all that fresh air definitely confirmed for me the start of a new season.

We capped off a wonderful month with a visit from my parents this past weekend! My bluegrass-loving father was collecting on a birthday present: tickets to a massive festival in Raleigh! A highlight was seeing George Banks play banjo.

But on to goals! I did well on my list for September — we hung our curtains (made such a difference!), painted a chalkboard wall (love it already!), planned Kate’s shower (so excited for this weekend!), and celebrated our anniversary (love that man). I STILL have not checked off refinishing our table, which to tell you the truth kind of makes me annoyed at myself. I think this goal intimidates me because I’m not sure how I’m going to get our (very heavy, solid mahogany) table outside, and I’m not sure what I need to do to it once I get it outside. But, it badly needs to get done. So, it’s going on my list of goals… for the third month in a row.

— Refinish dining room table
— Volunteer at our church’s ham biscuit booth at the State Fair
— Deck out our mantel and front steps with fall goodness
— Photograph and post about how + why I use my planner
— Finalize and print our household maintenance tracker

With three trips, two sets of weekend visitors, and a fall to do list, I think that’s quite enough for October.

In other goal-related news, after almost three years, my second 101 in 1001 project has come to an end! I am formulating my thoughts and a post will be forthcoming, but you can check out my final results here.

Friends, what do you have planned for October? I would love to hear!