Glow Car Show

We actually went downtown over the weekend and gawked at the buildings to the point where people probably thought we were just small town folk who had never seen anything higher than 2 stories. It's pretty amazing that we can create skyscrapers.

The prettiest Ferris wheel I have ever seen



There was a festival downtown at Market Square park and we missed the earlier festivities of beer and soda cocktail samples but we were just in the time for the glow in the dark car show and some live music. Here are some pictures.



Coolest car I have ever seen. Who wouldn't want a chicken car!?



MOMMA!!! A margaritaville car all the way in Texas!! Straight outta Key West properly equipped with margarita machines and pink flamingos. I could drive this around alll day!


Zebra car anyone?


For Shane:

Hippie car. Belongs in Asheville.


Dia de los muertos car!

stegosaurus car!? This would've been my dream dinosaur vehicle as a child.

The Jitterbug Vipers. Lots of fun!


and a random enormous statue.


Came home and hung out with the neighbors in the courtyard till nearly 3 am playing apples to apples and drinking too many beers. Life is good.

Groceries

What $20 will get you at Canino Produce Market...

5 lemons, 5 limes, green onions, 5 prickly pear cactus fruit, mini and regular bananas, 5 peaches, 2 sweet potatoes, broccoli, spaghetti squash, 6 mangoes, grapes, 4 kiwis, 1 zucchini, 2 cucumbers, 4 tangerines, 1 plantain, 2 bell peppers, 2 grapefruits, 1 romaine lettuce, 1 avocado, 3 plums, and cabbage.

Feeds us for 2 weeks...but the fruit seemingly disappeared in about 5 days this time! It's pretty ridiculous that this amount of food costs about $60+ in the regular grocery store here. Peppers alone are $4 each!!

Houston has brought on some seriously healthy eating! Yum!

Max Patch

I'm going back in time for this post since I just realized I forgot to post these amazing pictures from Max Patch in North Carolina.

First off, if you ever go to western North Carolina you must go here. Second, Googlemaps LIES. This is NOT an hour away from Asheville. It's more like 2 and a half. And most of the ride is on a gravel road that will absolutely mess up your car. BUT..it's soooo worth it. Your first views are these beautiful and calm rolling hills and meadows...

Once you cross the meadows...this is your view. AMAZING (though not panoramically correct in placement, oops be sure to click on the picture!)


You also have an endless supply of wild blackberries to eat all along the way.


this is a happy dog.

picking wildflowers. I forgot to take a picture of the bouquet I left with.


Seen any bear poop lately? They sure love berries!


Spreading world peace.


To Kyle and Cernuda...you boys would have crossed this marker on the Appalachian Trail had you not quit so early!!


I'm not sure if you can see the black specs in most of these pictures...


they are actually sparrows speeding through the air all around you and somehow they manage never to hit anything. Here's one in action:


Possibly my favorite place on Earth.


On the way back we stumbled upon the St. Jude's Chapel of Hope on the way home. Pretty lucky considering I bookmarked it as a place to visit when I saw it featured in WNC magazine. Very pretty non-denominational church open to the public 24/7.


and it was next to this beautiful river and barn.

You MUST go here if you are ever in the area! More Texas current events to come!

some quick shots of the apartment

This is where we live...


For my momma who worries about the neighborhood I live in: It's a street full of lovely houses!



Here's the courtyard


And the living/main/dining room


modeling the couch


the "kitchen" or more like extremely tiny space good for preparing only frozen dinners. I'm constantly running into things in here. Things get ridiculous when two people and a dog are crammed in. Makes for interesting cooking experiences. Just don't turn or make any sudden movements with a knife in hand!


The empty looking bedroom which is surprisingly pretty large. We have a big desk to the right of the bed. Lots of space! 3 closets!


For Aunt Carol:


Tom insisted on taking a picture of our fridge


Our outgoing mailbox. It gets the job done.


And here's the little monster after his brawl with the neighbors sweet little dog Bella. They were friends hanging out in the courtyard for hours until bad looks where exchanged and Poof decided to attack for no good reason. He got what he deserved (a huge huge gash above his eye that I thought would require some serious stitches...and getting beat by a girl half his size) but it healed up shut by morning. It also did some serious damage to my wallet for the vet bill the next morning. Oh, Poof.

Houston

I'm so excited for Houston, I can hardly contain myself! I'm ready to try out big city life. I'm ready for a massive road trip halfway across the country. I'm ready to start exploring "The West!"

Houston, here we come!!!


We have yet to secure a place to live but we have narrowed it to the Montrose area. It's less than 5 miles from the university of Houston downtown campus. There are plenty of hip small apartments, houses, and plexes that we are in to. My only concern is being able to somehow grow things. Whether it is on an apartment balcony or in an actual yard. Montrose is known as the "hip" neighborhood with lots of thrift & antique stores, restaurants, bars, art galleries, and crazy street art like this!

a vortex/tunnel built connecting two neighboring condemned houses with scrap wood!


I'll be shopping at this local produce market. I cook too much so this is my absolute dream market. Bins and bins of produce, spices, and more.


I'll be witnessing some seriously awesome sunsets. We'll see if they'll top what I've seen in South Florida over the years.


I'll be back near the wetlands. Gators, snakes, and lizards oh my!


Apparently their are fields of wildflowers all along the way to Austin. It's less than 3 hours away and I've heard nothing but great things about that city.


Oh, and have I mentioned I'm excited about the beach? Galveston Beach here I come!!!!!!



I plan on conquering the Texas coast.


Less than a month to go!!!