random thoughts

Here are a few things on my mind:

I got to drive a Hyundai Sonata around town the past couple of days while my friends in the service department fixed buster.  I actually really loved driving this car!  It brought me back to the good ol' days when I thought I owned those Florida and Alabama roads in my Honda Accord Coupe.  I loooved that little black car.  I think I just might be a car girl, at least until I can afford to drive some sweet Yukon or Jeep Commander.  Maybe one day! 

I'm going absolutely haywire with an excessive intake of this stuff since it is cold, rainy, and lonely here this week. 

Mexican Hot Chocolate! Yummy :)

and for those of you who aren't sure... Abuelita means Grandmother. 

(I have the best abuelitas in the world: Mamaw and Nana)

I'm beginning to get anxious, as much as I have tried to subside it, about where I am going to be in the near future, far future, and all the inbetweens.  I am fortunate for everything I have learned so far, and I am ready to learn the many things that await me somewhere else.  I have a good idea about who I am going to share this next part of my journey with and that alone is an incredible peace of mind.  I consider it one of the richest blessings because it makes the uncertainty of a lot of things okay to handle.  So, again - like I always say, thanks to the family and friends and the extraordinary love that I have found with my new best friend because without them nothing is really possible and I stand firm in that belief always.

I was a pretty good vet earlier today!  I guessed right (well my iGoogle homepage helped me out) but we are going to get little Millie taken care of and back to feeling better.  Bless her heart, she was such a doll in the vet clinic.  Here are a couple of pics!



She's going to be ok!

I hope everyone has a good night, stays out of the rain, and stays warm - I have a feeling that the Alabama winter is creeping in!

Ready for Florida.... my home sweet home.

James 1:12

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those that love Him.

peace and love

baily

piggie goes to the doctor

As we all have learned over Millie Jean's 19-month life, thus far, is that she was bought at a discount price but that in no way mirrored what was in store for us.  She's had her fair share of vet-visits but her delightful behavior and cute little face just make it all worth it. 

But this time it isn't just her seasonal allergies that are under attack (and mine too!) but, just like any other dog that has those precious floppy-ears - - she gets ear infections!!  So, what was an inner ear-infection that she scratched at, it is my un-veterinarianly trained butt that thinks she has an aural hematoma.

Thanks, Google!  We are all so smart (or dumb!) because of Google! Genious though.

I'm off to take her to the doctor to see if my diagnosis was correct.  The aural hematoma is like a little bubble of blood that forms because of her scratching and hurting her blood vessels in the cartlidge of the ear.  It sounds dead-on to the little bubble in her cutesy ear! I feel so bad for her! She is a tough cookie to say the leat - she's pouncing the floor with her leash dragging from her neck.  Her green leash on her blue collar - we're tomboys!

peace & love

get well soon, millie :)

b a i l y

why i love this blog

I write to discover what I think.

-Joan Didion

I do have to stop every once in a while and give a little thanks to this blog for helping me through some rain storms.  Over the past year, I sort of devoted a part of myself to this whole self-discovery and self-actualization whirlwind I found myself in.  One of the smartest decisions I have ever made was to commit myself to finding out just what it was that God was trying to tell me.

Some of those things have been little decisions, but in the end I realize that the little waves here and there are what carry you to a safe shore.  The waves can sometimes resemble the movie The Perfect Storm and I have had my fair share of those this year, but it's the combination of big and little waves that either tear you up or push you to closer to a lighthouse.  With each swell that entered my life in the past year, there is no way I could have survived some of them without the help I get from writing.  I've always been a writer and I have come to find out that it is one of those things that stays with you.  Just like running.  Do I hit the trails for 7-9 mile runs on Monday nights like I did with my cross-country team back in the day? No.  But do I see the world through a runner's philosophy... and go on a trail here and there just to smell the woods and reach that 'high'... yes.  Just like that, I view the world through a writer's eyes.  I look for things to write about, I snap a photo with a blog-idea in mind, and I talk exactly how I write.  It's a style, and I hope more times than not I pull it off with a little grace, as well. 

But in a blogger-world, we are FREE to say whatever the heck we want.  It's a column, where opinions and biased sways are allowed.  Trust me, when I was a newspaper reporter for the Lions Tale in high school, they made sure my opinionated little brat-ass was a columnist - and STILL double-checked the edits in my column-box because I could be known to be a real spitfire when it came to speaking my mind.  (Remember, the cheerleaders hated me for a while for writing a column about them being athletes, but that cheerleading is not a sport.  Again, I hold my argument on this subject with that same claim.) But here in Blogville, this entire page is mine to behold.  I can make it look the way I want and I can paint it with the words I want to say.  I'm sorry if that has ever offended anyone, but feel free to quit reading whenever you want.

So, some may wonder why I air my clean and dirty laundry on this blog.  Here is you answer: it helps me.  It has guided me through a time in my life that I needed a canvas to paint and become me.  I have to type things out sometimes to organize my thoughts and to be honest, sometimes I would MUCH RATHER be writing in my journals as opposed to this Hewlett-Packard laptop.  But, I watched so many thoughts - ideas - words - and lists - go up in flames and are never to be read again.  On one hand, I have found it to be a blessing that some of those journal entries will never be read again, but on the other hand I cannot help but miss them.  In the grand scheme, though, I have to be ever grateful for this blog because it recorded so many thoughts of mine that weren't destroyed in the fire.  Out in that great, big world wide web that we have all come to know and love so well were my words, thoughts, and photos just waiting for me to continue on and keep putting out there. 

You see, being a writer of this blog means more to me than just voicing my every thought.  This blog was a part of me before I lost a lot of me, there for a while.  The past 7 months have been wonderously emotional for me, and I have dug, scratched, and scraped to find the "real me" under all the outward expression.  If it weren't for the help of this blog... being there to remind me who I was before my world went upside down, and for continuing to be here for me to splash with all sorts of my colors and emotions, I just wouldn't be who I am. 

I guess I truly am a writer.  But even better, I've become a teacher for myself and hopefully to others.  For that, I can be happy.

peace and love

baily

It was so important for me to lose everything, because I found out what the most important thing is, which is to stay true to yourself.

-Ellen DeGeneres

dear millie,

Dear Millie,

Do you remember when you were that little?  Probably not - you went balls to the wall at every stride and ended up knocking your noggin more times than us on-lookers were able to count.  You learned to tell me you had to go 'potty' by running full force at the other side of 1008 Oak Avenue's red front door.  You were ferocious in your attempt to knock that wooden door down.  You liked to shred everything up into tiny pieces and leave a trail of your destruction.  You loved to sleep when you finally wore yourself out and you curled yourself up in the tiniest little ball when you would get cold at night.  You were always thirsty and rarely ever were you not capable of leaving a little puddle whenever it was time to do so. 

Do you remember how you used to hide underneat the coffee table when Mommie would try to discipline you?  Do you remember how you used to melt your Mommie's heart (and still do) with those jasmine eyes of yours?  I love you - thanks for bettering my life!

:)

peace and love,

your proud mommie

that's when your ears went through their first funky stage!

silly millie :)

Guatemalan Worry Dolls

When Clay and I were in Charleston for Halloween weekend, we got to play 'tourist' since I was around.  Even though I've visited Charleston several times and have always loved and adored the monumental Southern city, I had never explored it's watercolored streets the way that I was able to with him.  It's sorta funny - the way that he and I do things soooo the same.  We like to take it all in, go to the little places in towns that make up the funky personality of somewhere, and we both like "stuff!" 

That's why we strolled through The Market, making sure that we could stop to visit as many vendors as possible.  What is one of the many awesome things about him is that he appreciates the artsy things that I appreciate.  I think some of our most fun times together include thumbing through vinyl at record stores and shopping for "the little things" in vintage places and market-type places, and playing soccer in our cleats we both carry around in the back of our cars for "just in case" scenarios.  I didn't know my "just in case" was going to be, 'just in case I meet my new bff who will just so happen to love me back'.  I guess that is what I have come to know as being a really important thing - the actually doing the things we both enjoy, which just so happen to be perfect matches as well.  Ding! Ding! Ding!

Anyways, as we were strolling through The Market in Charleston, Clay was drawn to a photography vendor while I mosied over to a little girly gifts and trinket type set-up.  I squealed when I found these:

Guatemalan Worry Dolls!!!!

Muñecas Quitapenas

I sort of had a "moment" when we were in The Market as I tried to explain why I was wigging out about these little mini-dolls in a Crayola marker decorated wooden box.  I'm sure I made no sense but that's when the little message in the box comes in handy.... it reads:

According to legend, Guatemalan children tell one worry to each doll when  they go to bed at night and place the dolls under their pillow. In the morning, the dolls have taken their worrying away.

And since I can sometimes let anxiety override my natural laid-backness in some situations, I bought two little boxes - one for him; one for me.  We each wrote a little love note to the the other on the back of our message inserts.  It is an automatic morning smile to wake up and see my worry dolls and words of love on my bedside table.  One thing is for sure, Clay definitely has that ability to take my worries away.  There's another very important thing to me.  Perf match again... ding! ding! ding!

The reason I had my "moment" upon my Worry Doll find was because when I was a little girl I rocked this really cool headband (imagine that!)  Haha - I am, without a doubt, the headband girl these days but I guess I have always been the type to daunt the cool hair accessories.  My sissy usually had the matching one and we would bopsie twin around town until that became just 'so uncool' of us.  This particular headband was made with Guatemalan Worry Dolls.  To be honest, when I was a little girl, I used to think the meaning of the children standing hand-in-hand next to eachother - which formed a row of dolls on my child-sized head - was something to do with "He's got the whole world in His hands, He's got the whole world in His hands..." but I guess I was wrong.  According to proper legend, those little kiddos on my head were actually supposed to be taking my worries away.  How cool!

I guess that's my story about my "little thing" I found that meant a lot.  I've always preached that those are some of the most important things in my life.  I miss them, the trinkets and little 'finds' of mine that I had laying here and there before the fire destroyed my room.  Thrifting, vintage-shopping, garage sale-hopping - all those things that told a story that were special to me.  But, one of the many important lessons that I learned throughout that fire was to not dwell in the past.  Like Forrest quoted, "Mama always said you've got to put the past behind you before you can move on." I've learned that... and that is why I can be so thrilled, so moved, and beyond grateful for the people in my life that continue to bless me with the little things that matter. 

In this case, I am singing my Thanksgiving song to Clay for the fun we always manage to muster up in the most unlikely of places, and for the worry he has stripped from my life.  I can honestly say that meeting him changed my life, but I know even moreso that the little things we do, the days spent without documentation in FB albums, and the thoughts, words, and lovenotes that we share between ourselves and only us, are what assure me that life can be a joyride and with the right person that beautiful ride can handle any storm. 

And, with a little help from our friends (the folklore 'Worry Dolls') but, more importantly, with faith - all things are possible.

peace & love

baily

To those who have given up on love, I say "trust life a little bit." -Maya Angelou

familyfriendsfootball

I have a feeling that I am about to receive a message or 'tweet' from one of my blog-friends that is intended to get on to me about my lack of blogging.  But, I've been busy to say the least.

Also so, I've enjoyed a great Thanksgiving weekend with family, friends, and football.  What more could I ask for??  A fun, eclectic, handsome blue-eyed blonde? Because, I got 'em.  Hahaha, I don't mean to be so 'cheesy' about my newfound love, but since it seems like half the world follows our relationship to begin with... I might as well mirror a little bit of my happiness onto this colorful little blog of mine. 

Back to family, friends, and football - it was a fun Turkey Day weekend, indeed.  I had an ABSOLUTE BLAST during (the first half of) the Iron Bowl.  Auburn and the probable Heisman-winner (and also probable Heisman-rebuked) Scam Newton came back in a devastating and mood-deflating feat over my precious Crimson Tide.  It hurts - to watch your perfectly polished diamond-brand football team be scratched and devalued with 3 losses.  IT. IS. SO. PAINFUL.  Oh well... life goes on - like always.

But, it still makes me want to vomit all my turkey up at the thought of Auburn winning the BCS Title in our DEFENDING CHAMPION year.  Noooottttt cool.  I had to endure that pain with Duke stealing it from my spazz-ass Tar Heel squad last year.  Hopefully, I can regain some 'glory days' as I channel my Carolina roots this basketball season.  Who knows though - they're all kids these days... some, up to no good.  Cough cough - Scam.

I guess my only purpose for writing this blog post was to vent out my frustration at the undeniable comeback that the cheatin' Tigers had over my authentic Crimson Tide.  Biased much? Me... never!  Anyways, it's time for me to switch it over to hardwood mode... I am a basketball baby, after all!  But first.... I'm an honest & proud 'Gamecock' fan this week... I hope they beat the shit out of Auburn.

Pardon me.

peace and love

baily j

hahahaha

:)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING....

....from Millie Jean & I

she is such a FUN dog! we do EVERYTHING together and we LOVE all of our FRIENDS and FAMILY so much! Happy Holiday Season to everyone! :)

peace and love

baily and mildred

we heart music

One of my biggest beliefs is that two people can't possibly max out their love for one another without sharing a similar taste in music.  Trust me on this one, I have dated my fair share of boys and I have kissed a bunch of frogs.  At one point, I just said "screw it" and convinced myself that there was no Prince Charming for me, and if there was - he just wouldn't have my taste in music because there seemed to be no compatible music lover out there for me.  But - like most of the time, I was wrong!

One of these days I will get around to telling the entire story of my journey to finding such peace, love, and happiness with Clay, but for now I will just tell you a little bit about his good music taste - almost as good as his taste in women ;) Just kidding.

Since I had been hearing about Clay for so long from our mutual family-friends (his Godmother), I decided to "stalk" a little on FB to try to figure out who he was and learn a little more about him.  I mean, if it is on the profile then it really isn't me "stalking", right? ;) Haha

When I found his profile via a link from our shared friend's profile, I was immediately drawn to his quotes.  Always the quotes first, it's me!  I think quotes tell a lot about a person.  He had a Phish quote (one of our faaaaavorite bands).  That propelled me into thinking that he might possibly be just as cool as he was handsome in his pictures.  So, thanks to the Phish quote, I took it upon myself to introduce myself in a FB message and that's where it all began...

Then the texting. And phone calls. And the figuring out of when we were going to get to meet face-to-face.  A lot of our beginning texts and phone calls were about music, and obviously a lot about life in general.  Something huge was in the making... something wonderful... and I really can give a nod of appreciation to the music that we both love for making that come together for us.

And it has been fun, the music that sort of binds us.  Whether it be Phish, Zach Deputy, The Beatles, or Widespread Panic.  It's the sounds of reggae, string bands, and one-man bands that give us the background music we need for our many spontaneous dances we share in the living room, in a parking lot, or at a show we've traveled to go to together.  I'm very grateful for the music, and I'm very grateful for the love it found me. 

Sounds cheesy, but if you are over there rolling your eyes and unable to see the beauty I've found in these two things that came together for me, I'll be the first to say that you might want to listen to a few more jams and take to heart what they say every once in a while - because trust me, you never know what song is next on your playlist in life and if I hadn't been listening I would have missed the best song yet.

He's definitely my favorite song.  And it's a good one, almost perfectly composed.

So open up your hearts and ears to the music because usually, it's about a lot more than melody and lyric - it could be the door that opens up to the life you always wanted.

peace and love

baily

p.s. why am i so high on the music right now? because i have 7,478 items in my iTunes now.  i almost have as many songs as i did before the fire blew my computer up and plucked every torrent i owned (or pirated) away.  how??? that amazing music-loving bf i just told you about let me borrow his external hardrive and since we have the SAME love for peace & love music, well - that shoe fit too! because all of his music fit perfectly into my new beginnings iTunes files.  i am sooooooooo happy.
turn it up...

quote>inspiration>blog

So if you know me, then you are probably my friend on Facebook.  If you really know me, then I have probably let you peep through one of my journals a time or two (except not the juicy stuff, duh).  And if you've been reading my blog, then you've seen me go quote-crazy a time or two.  My Facebook friends see me go quote crazy once a day - usually, and sometimes - even 2 or 3 times a day.  My tweets are often quote-based and my journals are often just a mess of doodled quotes here and there.  I guess that's who I am - a jumbled mess of ideas and words that I wish I could write as well as the person I've quoted.  But nonetheless, that point I was trying to make right there is that I like love quotes.

In school, I've put together a couple of pretty neat projects that were based around quotes even.  I am pretty sure that the wonderful housekeeping ladies @ the Fairfield Inn this summer think I am a hoarder of plastic bins... (that is a special thanks to my Daddy)... and also a hoarder of little scraplets of paper and die-cuts that have meaningful quotes written across them.  Haha, they were totally everywhere - c'mon, I was going through the roughest time in my entire life and so I tended to scribble an inspiring note here and there with high hopes of having just that - high hopes! (And of course I left out any organizational skills that my storage bin loving Dad possibly handed down to me) So when I blew the giant meat-freezer of an air-conditioner that the hotel provides, my little scraps of faith, hope, and love would just go everywhere - absolutely nuts-like... but my gals always had my back and would re-organize them for me on my desk.  Only to be blown away when I got up from the first fire nightmare.  But anyway, I was thinking today (rainy day... the norm for this time of year in Alabama) and thought about how I needed to send down and write and let out some energy that I've needed to exert - and what greater way but to wRiTe!!! None.

But I couldn't think of what I wanted to write about.  Something more than just catching up on what I've been doing.  I needed something a little bit more inspiring than that... just to clear some clouds or smoke or whatever from my head.  So, since I couldn't figure out what to write about I decided I would wait for a good quote to catch my eye and of course that always cures the dreaded writer's block disease.  OF COURSE > a few quotes caught my eye and got me on a little inspirational high... but, in the end, it all comes down to one right? ;)  Well my quote of inspiration for me, myself, and I for today was this (and I hope it maybe inspires whoever else is reading this as well...)

"if there is to be any  p.e.a.c.e  it is to come through b.e.i.n.g and not h.a.v.i.n.g." -henry miller

After what I have been through, there isn't much that I can say to sum it up any better than that.  I have been SO blessed and SO fortunate to  h.a.v.e  all of the things that I do, just 7 months after losing mostly EVERYTHING.  There comes a time in everyone's life, I have come to believe, that you have to get down to the heart of things.  Not just on the surface level, the real level... deep deep down in there.  The soul-wrenching feeling stuff. 

If you are one of the ones that know me, then I'm sure you may have thought that enough had happened to me (the hard way of course) before 7 months ago, and felt the loss with me of all the "things" that seemed to precious to me back then.  Or, if you know me, then maybe you think that I'm a tough little survivor child and I would muster up that inner-strength that I've always been able to show in times of trouble.  If you didn't know me, then you got to read about my journey via this blog that I've seemed to have abandoned here lately.  But either way, you have probably witnessed my passions in one way or another.

-the want to help people
-the need to find the meaning in everything that happens (good and bad)
-the desire to not only find, but also create and keep re-creating, myself
-the love for God, family, and friends
-children
-sports
-new experiences and travel

In basic-mode, those are them - my passions!  Tell me if I am incorrect, but I didn't list a single 'tHiNg' in that list of burning passions I have!  Just meaning, philanthropy, love, children, sports, travel, and creating myself... makes it easier to see, now, why I've been able to handle the brutal amounts of 'stuff' that was lost in that fire. 

But not only did I feel like I lost a lifetime of belongings, I also felt like I lost some success, some hardwork, a couple pieces of my heart, a few tokens from Memory Lane, and a large amount of sanity and peace of mind.  To be brutally honest (and pardon my French) but this summer - I was batshit crazy!!!!!!!!!!!! Spinning out of control and barely keeping my head above water. 

Then I got some of my life back together, I let time do it's thing and move me forward, and I found a peace of mind in myself and in love.  So today when I saw that quote, If there is to be any peace it is to come through being and not having , I truly let it speak to me and ease my mind.  I let the rainy day put me in a tranquil state and I sat down, alone in a room, and I let it remind me of everything I have to be grateful for.  I let it remind me of my passions and how BEING a lover of life and BEING myself is much better than HAVING all of these things to call "mine, mine, mine." 

So, if you were hoping that I would chill it with the quotes on the 'book, my blog, and the tweet-tweets... you are S.O.L. (I'm working on my potty mouth due to my pregnant friend and future job with children... but I'm still Baily).  Everyone needs a good quote once and a while, so if it annoys you I don't care... I get more messages in my FB inbox saying the contrary, so pipe it!

I'm piping it now!

Peace and Love

b a i l y

be as you are

weekend update

friday:
happy hour beers on 'the strip' at the houndstooth with clay
dinner at hooligans (the wonderful little ameri-mediterranean hole-in-the-wall)
1 beer (seriously) at innisfree, overrrr it, watched a movie at home instead

saturday:
GAMEDAY at the university of alabama
tailgating w/friends
yellow hammers at gallettes on 'the strip'
FREE PARKING (on oak avenue, of course)
a bama 'W' against mississippi state
a stadium dog + bbq nachos = best gameday meal in the freaking world

sunday:
rainy day
movie day
chinese food day (but not for piggie because her tummy is upset)

*another amazing weekend.... so glad i got to hang out with the boyfriend, and it was extra nice to get to hang out with kathleen (the best friend with a great family) and have her get to know clay as well. I think he's definitely been approved ;)

peace and love

baily



fill in the blank friday

1. If I didn't have to work anymore I would write a novel, go on a bazillion mission trips, and be an advocate for all the things I'm passionate about.

2.  My favorite thing about a vacation is how dysfunctional some of them end of being... my family's quote is: "We put the FUN in dysFUNctional!"  But no, really - here are my favorite things about vacation: suanas, banana daiquiries, excursions, spending money, souveniers, and the quality time spent with those you love!

3.  When packing for a trip I  pack entirely way too much.  It's embarassing.

 

4.  If I could go on a road trip with anyone (dead OR alive) I would choose  Clay (and the little piggie, Millie) because  I've found someone truly special in him; there is never a dull moment with us; there is absolutely no bickering or sad tears or angry words; and he makes the most beautiful scenery even better looking, and we would go from Key West to Maine on our much-anticipated drive up the Right Coast.  OR on a cross-country road trip to the Golden Gate bridge.  Hey babe, didn't you say you'd drive me through those sunflower fields in Colorado one day?? ;)

5.  My top 3 absolute travel essentials are 1. a journal; 2. a camera; 3. bubble gum

6.  Vacations are awaiting me... I hope.

7.  On vacation you must always  experience the big things, but remember the little things that made those big things so special.  Like Daddy's smile at Kapalua Bay, Mom's humor in Lake Tahoe, and Sissy's spazz moves in a school of fish in St. Thomas.

 

and always, always, always, take pictures! And don't lose your camera.

 

peace and love

baily

 

 

 

 

 

 

the one about south carolina and my hiatus being over

I feel like I have been hounded via Facebook, Twitter, Gmail. and Blogger on my crazy hiatus I have been on.  No need to worry, I have plenty to talk about but it seems like I never sit down and start writing like I used to. I have pretty much stayed on the go for a few weeks now. 


I went to Charleston to visit Clay for the weekend.  It was a really good time.  We got to see a couple of our favorite performers.  American Aquarium played at The Charleston Pour House on Thursday night and Zach Deputy played their on Saturday night.  When Clay and I's relationship began, we sort of had a little band crush on American Aquarium, who his older siblings had told us about.  Then, the Zach Deputy crush developed for him over the past couple of years but as I was leaving him to go back to Tuscaloosa after our first visit, he handed me a CD to listen to on the way home.  Well, actually, he handed me a couple of CDs to listen to on the drive home because they had so many songs with lyrics that sort of explained the connection we had upon our face-to-face meeting.  We had already known before our physical meet & greet that we shared a love for the same type of 'peace and love' music.  American Aquarium is a little bit more Southern Rock and Americana, but they still have some pretty fun and danceable songs that we both enjoy :) But Zach Deputy, he's pretty amazing with his "one man band" type of style.  He's even an awesome writer: check out his blog at www.zachdeputy.blog.com.  Check out his website at www.zachdeputy.com. He's pretty awesome!


American Aquarium, like I said, is a different style but I'm a frequent visitor of their website at www.americanaqurium.net. 


Zach Deputy was really cool after the show.  He gave us a couple free live recordings and I told him that he really needed to come visit Tuscaloosa, ALABAMA.  No, I didn't really say it like Forrest Gump but I wish I had.  Maybe he would have remembered me better if I did.  I sort of looked like Jenny that night though, come to think of it.  Clay & I had told ourselves we were going to dress up.  Well, I ended up leaving half of my 'Penny Lane' costume parked in a car on the other side of town and it was looking doubtful that he was really up for being too extravagant in regard to the Halloween spirit, so we just opted to throw some reg clothes on and go back to The Pour House and look at all the other people's awful, and awfully funny costumes.  Before we went, though, we turned one of my favorite bracelets made of chiffon fabric and silver and gold chains into a headband with the linking of my hair ties.  I was sort of proud of my idea, and he helped with the engineering part.  Stellar teammates! :)  But, I wore the hippie headband and jeans and boots and called it a Happy Halloween.  Especially the part about the point I was trying to make... after the show (which was so much fun - I have, by far, the best dancing partner in the world) we got a chance to talk to Zach Deputy and after I tried to convince him to come to "Titletown" - which I think is the term for Tuscaloosa I used - we gave him an Alabama coozie for giving us those free live recordings.


Baily + Clay + Zach Deputy = BFF


We walked along King Street, partied down in Chucktown, shopped at the Market where I found some AWESOME Guatemalan worry dolls that I purchased for the two of us, we ate fish that would melt in your mouth, and we drank a bucket of beers at "Reds" on a canal by a marina at Shem Creek.  We had an awesome time.  And before we left Charleston Sunday, we were able to spend a little time at Boone Hall Plantation.  (YES girlfriends - where Allie's summer house is in 'The Notebook'!!!!)  I was very very excited that we were able to do this because at first we thought it wasn't going to make it on the weekend agenda, but it happened to work out to where we were able to tour the plantation where we learned about the Gullah nation of the South Carolina low-country, and about the most photographed plantation in America.   IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!


Then the next week we went to Asheville (which I've already uploaded photos of via facebook) but I'll tell you more about that weekend LaTeR!! For now, I'll leave you with some pics of my wonderful weekend in Charleston....

peace and love

baily