Sunday, November 27, 2011

Engaged!!!


Oh my geez! Where to even begin?! Sara here...feeling pretty good about this guest post!

I really have no idea where to begin, but here goes… This weekend has been the best yet! Kyle and I started by celebrating turkey day with both our families together, which I was very thankful for and absolutely loved! We spent the day together and planned to hike on Friday, little did I know this was not going to be a typical hike. Friday afternoon we headed to Cootie Brown’s, a local restaurant here in JC that we both really like; afterwards we headed up to Roan Mountain. This is one of my favorite places to hike and we both decided it is definitely one of the most beautiful places in the world! The day was absolutely perfect, the sun was out and the temperature was just right. We walked around at the top of the bald for a little bit before resting and taking in the views on some rocks. We decided there was more to see so we walked around and ended up on the other side of the bald where there were not quite as many people and stopped on a boulder that was perfectly sized for two people! While taking in more views Kyle mentioned that he had made me something and began to pull a small book from his backpack. Not thinking anything about it I began to turn the pages filled with pictures from all our years together. I found myself getting quite emotional so I asked Kyle if this would make me cry where he simply stated, “I don’t think so”. Feeling silly I told myself to pull it together. I kept flipping through the pages and made it to the very last one, where Kyle had written, “Now…I just have one question to ask you…” At this point I realized what was happening! I looked at Kyle where he was pulling a small box out of his pocket and getting down on one knee! The next part is quite a blur, but I know he asked me to marry him and I THINK I responded with something along the lines, “oh my geez, is this real life? Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES! And finally, did you ask my dad?” I can honestly say I have never been happier in my life. We opened a bottle of wine and spent some time together taking in the moment and how beautiful my ring is! 
The rest of the day was a whirlwind and I am still on cloud nine! We returned to Johnson City where I was again surprised by our families welcoming us with champagne and pizza. Later all of our local friends joined us in a celebration! (Don’t worry out of towners we can all re-unite and celebrate again) It was the perfect ending to a perfect day!

Now, if you know Kyle and I you know we have been patiently waiting for the right time for this to happen! We could not be more excited to start this new adventure together and I cannot wait to be Kyle’s wife! I am so thankful and feel so blessed by the love and support that everyone has shown us! Get ready for a great celebration!

p.s. sorry ladies he is officially taken! And he is all mine!  

Monday, November 21, 2011

Thumbs

I am so tired of thumbs...

Tyler Bray breaks his thumb on his throwing hand, out for 6 weeks.
Jay Cutler breaks his thumb on his throwing hand, out for 6 weeks.

WHY???????? Give me a break.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

American Tobacco Trail

There is a great 'greenway' here in Durham called the American Tobacco Trail.  It is 22 miles long.  The ATT is a part of the Rails to Trails network in North Carolina, where old rail beds are converted into recreation spaces.  The ATT is great for running, walking, and biking.  It gets tons of use.  The trail is made of different materials in different sections.  There are paved sections, fine gravel/dirt, and sections with a combination of paved and gravel.  Great ground materials for both bikes and running.
I took my bike out and rode 22 miles yesterday.  The weather yesterday and today was perfect.  There needs to be more trails like everywhere.  Raleigh-Durham really does a great job at providing open spaces and trails both in an urban environment and in more rural areas.  Most cities/towns really fail in providing these types of spaces.  In Johnson City and Baton Rouge for example, there is nothing to be found.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Maps

I saw these maps on a blog of one of my fellow MLA classmates and thought the were really interesting.  The inner landscape architect in me finds different ways of mapping and representing large scale landscapes on a 2D plane very fascinating.  In this case, only text is used by a graphic designer to create lines and textures to form the maps.
The site:  http://store.axismaps.com/

ASLA's blog, The Dirt, had a post about some more of these maps done by another graphic designer last week.  Paula Scher created a entire book of these mappings using mostly text to convey all types of mapping information.  Fascinating.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Accolades

I've been part of some cool awards in the last couple of weeks...


First off, LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture is again a top ranked program.  For the second year in a row, the undergraduate program is ranked #1 and the graduate program is ranked #2.  The graduate program has been ranked either the second or third best program in the country for the past five years.  Awesome.

Second, HadenStanziale was recently named by the North Carolina Chapter of ASLA as the Firm of the Year in the state of North Carolina.  This is very big honor.  This is a recognition of contributions to the profession and great design work over an extended period of time.  The award came as a complete surprise to everyone and everyone in the office is very excited.  Will be a great selling point for the office to get new work.  Awesome.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Duke

On Sunday, Sara and I went to Duke to walk around campus.  Really nice campus.  First time I have really spent any time on campus other than running through it.

If you have ever wondered what Duke's campus looks like.  Here is a little taste...
The infamous Cameron Indoor.  You would have no clue that  it was a basketball arena without the seeing the sign.  Tiny.
Science Hill High School has a football stadium of about equivalent size.  Really strange to see such a small stadium at a D1 school.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Falls Lake

Sara made her first trip to Durham this weekend.  On Saturday we went to Falls Lake State Park.  The park is about 20 minutes northeast of my house in Durham, surrounding Falls Lake.

Fall color is just now starting to wind down here in Durham.  Got to see some pretty nice color on Saturday.
If you are wondering why there are no pictures of Sara...its because she wouldn't let me take any.  Someone tell her to stop being a weirdo.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

IPA's

As the season for pumpkin beers and other various fall beers is upon us, I like to go a different route...my favorite no matter what the season:  IPA's.

These two beers are delicious and as your resident IPA expert I want to recommend them.

Very hoppy.
Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
Just thought I would pass this info along to other IPA lovers out there.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Xylo Myloto

Coldplay's newest album, Xylo Myloto, came out last week.  Strange name, great music.  It is really, really good.
Love this:
Go out and get it immediately.