Snow White and the Seven Miles North of Dillsboro...

It finally happened. Justin and I both grew up within a stone's throw of the Atlantic coast, so we never got to see much snow when we were kids. When we moved farther north - Justin to Clayton, GA and I to Spartanburg, SC - I think we were both expecting to see snow more often during the winter. But for the last few years, we really haven't had much winter weather other than a light dusting of snow or an icy road...until today!

Well, sort of. In Clayton, it snowed about 3 inches Friday night, but then proceeded to rain on the snow before I got there on Saturday :'( So Justin's yard was pretty, with all the trees draped in icicles, but the conditions were not exactly ideal for sledding and snowman-building...

...so we decided to head north in search of a winter wonderland!

The roads were a little dicey, with mounds of snow up to six feet high in the medians, but the salt trucks kept the roads pretty clear. The dozens of abandoned cars on the side of the road reminded us to remain cautious, though.

We drove just north of Dillsboro, NC (about an hour north of Clayton) before we finally found a suitable place to stop and play in the snow. Our winter wonderland turned out to be the lawn behind a Holiday Inn Express. The snow there was more than six inches deep, but it had obviously been even higher before the rain fell early this morning.

The hard, icy snow was perfect for snowballs and snow angels, but unfortunately it made it difficult to roll balls big enough for a snowman. Oh well, we didn't bring a carrot anyway! We did, however, bring our trash can lids in search of a good sledding hill. We tried a steep hill behind the Holiday Inn, but the grass was a bit too high, so we kept driving north in search of the perfect hill.

We ended up behind a Baptist Church just a few miles away, with a vertigo-inducing 70-foot hill behind it. It was a doozy to climb, but the view was beautiful when we finally dragged ourselves and our makeshift sleds to the top!

We still weren't able to build our snowman, but we had plenty of excitement anyway! I can only imagine how envious the passersby were when they saw the sight captured in this video :)

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I've got drywall dust in my engagement ring....

Can every weekend be a long weekend, please?

I absolutely love long weekends--especially when they are spent taking out authentic 1970's-era fake wood paneling! Whoohoo! For those of you who had the luxury of visiting Justin's humble abode before our weekend project, you most likely will be the only ones who can fully appreciate all of our hard work.

When I arrived in Clayton on Friday night the paneling had already been taken down and the walls were ready to be adorned with drywall...Well, almost... :)

Before we could jump right in and hang drywall, as I make it sound easy, Justin had to do a little rewiring. He had to move a light switch here, add an outlet there. This allowed me to test my ability to interact with him during his fits of frustration. After moving several three-way switches, Justin realized he did not remember which how each had been wired before he unhooked them. He also found a mysterious cord that apparently did not lead to either a switch or an outlet. After trying to reconnect all of the wires and then flipping the switch and still being in the dark, I knew I was about to be tested. I also knew Justin well enough to not try and calm him down with words. I just told him to take a break, clear his mind, and I'd buy him Chinese food! :) Worked like a charm---on our drive to the resturant he figured out the solution! (This means I can give myself credit for him figuring out the problem, right?!)

All day Saturday was spent hanging drywall and mudding the seams. That is some tough work to say the least!  Justin bought both 8' and 12' sheets of drywall in order to minimize the number of seams we would have to mud. I had the easy job; I mudded the screw holes while Justin mudded the seams. Although it took me a little while to catch on to the proper way to mud the screw holes, pretty soon I was on a roll.

After the mud dried I was hand-sanded all of the screw holes while he used an electric sander to sand the seams. As a result of sanding, we spent a couple hours vaccuming, dusting, and washing several loads of clothes. But oh, how it was all worth it!

I am a little hesitant to put a picture up of the living room simply because the picture hardly does it justice. Justin and I agree that the wall color turned out better than we could have ever imagined! Although the living room still needs some work, like finishing up the window, making and putting up the crown molding and baseboards, taking down the wall between the living room and the kitchen (which will be done this coming weekend!), and getting new furniture (I will need to have patience on that last item of business). When Justin gets motivated there is no stopping him! (And I like it! :)

I find it really exciting to be able to help Justin fix up his house---mainly because in 4 months it will be OUR house!

After we finished Justin asked me what I thought his next project should be. I asked if making the hardwood floors would be to big of a project and he said 'No!' :):)  Not to get my hopes up or anything but maybe I'll be able to show you a kitchen with new floors in it before too long....

I will most definitely keep you posted!

One event from Christmas break.....

Just to share a little bit of one of the prettiest places around Pawleys Island...

While Justin was in town I decided that I wanted to take him to a place that I have not been since, oh... probably, a field trip in Kindergarten: Brookgreen Gardens!

 It has over 1,000 scultures by close to 350 sculptors. The main sculptor is Anna Hyatt Huntington who established Brookgreen as a place to protect the native flora and fauna and to display art in its natural setting. 

We had a lot of fun walking around looking at the different sculptures. We walked around for about an hour in the sculpture park and probably did not see even half of them. There were so many! Many were very much realistic, as Anna Huntington liked to sculpt real life.

Although I prefer real life sculptures, I had a hard time understanding why so many of the sculptures had to be naked....and why Justin was so intent on helping only the naked ones keep their balance? Boys. *shaking my head*

There was so much more to Brookgreen than just sculptures. With the beautiful moss covered oaks and walking paths, we almost forgot we were cold!  We had packed our lunch before we left the house and ate lunch in the gardens.

I was especially impressed with the Aviary. As we walked around the aviary and gardens, Justin and I kept comparing Brookgreen to a plantation in Charelston we visited earlier in the year. Everything about Brookgreen was so well-managed, beautifully landscaped, and clean! You could tell several people take part in maintaining the wonderful place!

The price was $10 a person and worth every penny!

We saw plenty of wildlife just hanging around.

 A short story: when we were taking this picture of the geese a car drove by and said, "They're canadian, but you can keep them." As I turned around to see who said it, I noticed the car was from New Brunswick. I couldn't help but laugh.

There was also pretty ironwork all around Brookgreen. I know this isn't a good picture of the gate...but you know I couldn't post something without a picture of Justin and me! :)

The gates reminded me a lot of the gates you can see in Charleston. The attention to detail and elaboration made them beautiful.

When we arrived at the park we first visited the Visitor Center. They told us then that feeding time was around 1pm in the Zoo Area. So we walked around the gardens before and made our way towards the zoo at around 12:45 or so. When we entered we were immediately bombarded by the cutest otters I've ever seen.

I say they were the cutest otters because I do not think I have ever had otters get up from where they were laying, run toward the water, and start swimming and doing tricks right in front of me before. It was so awesome. I assume that since we arrived at around 12:55pm or so, they thought we had food and just got excited.  Either way, I note them as the cutest otters ever.

The zoo at Brookgreen contains animals native to this region of South Carolina. So we saw eagles, hawks, owls, foxes, turkeys, and a few different animals. As we were standing by the fox pen I thought I smelled a skunk. Justin then informed me that I in fact smelling the fox. As you can imagine, I did not find him as cute after that.

If any of you are ever in the area and have time to spend an afternoon at Brookgreen, I really hope you do. Especially if you love the outdoors. Huntington Beach State Park is right across the highway from it and it has a really nice campground!  FYI! :)

Wanna know more about the wedding?

So, the big day is approaching! Only 137 days to go, or for those who need it broken down into months, that is 4 months and 17 days away!

For those who are interested in our wedding and would like a little more information on us, the wedding, our story, and a few activities in the area....please visit: www.weddingwire.com/justinandcasie

We are thankful for all of the wonderful friends and family we have to share events such as these with and look forward to seeing everyone SOON! :)