see ya next time, Wilmy.

A play-by-play of our last day in Wilmington...until next time, that is. :)

we began by eating Sunday brunch at The George [also known as Le Jorge] and it was absolutely, positively the best meal I've ever had in all my trips to Wilmington. yummy, yummy in my tummy!

before this trip, no one had EVER signed my table. and NOW look at it. to say I was infuriated is an extreme understatement. all those little chicks need to get their own table! GRRR! garbage.

well, hot dog. there we all are!

 we stopped by Lucas' house before we headed home, and P. Sawyer discovered that touching us with her new scarf that has built-in spots for your hands was quite enjoyable. did we agree? we'll let you decide.

bidding adieu to our beloved rivercourt. and look...there's Belle!

true or false: we love the rivercourt.

the sky is so perfect in this shot of the court. makes me a little teary looking at it!

and then I was all alone on the trip home. if they didn't previously know that their driver could multi-task while driving 70 mph down the road, they do now. don't worry, ladies, Hales always takes care of her chi'rens. [i.e., always use crosswalks!]

We made it home in record timing [thank you, daddy, for blessing me with such great genes that make me a driving machine], and then I got a surprise visit from my sweet, sweet fancy. YAY! He had come home this weekend, and stayed late so he could see me before he made his way back to Clemson. He even took me to dinner! And on that note, I'm pretty sure there was some sort of Santa Clause meeting  tonight at Fuddrucker's. Weird. Okay, back to me having the best friends and husband-to-be in the world...I have the best friends and husband-to-be in the world. Yepp, that about covers it.

I love Wilmington. I love walking around downtown a million times over the course of only a few days. I love all the boutiques and unique shops that line Front Street. I love eating Kilwin's ice cream and immediately falling into a sugar coma. I love eating at the same restaurants over and over again, just because they're our favorites. I love randomly running into cast members in the street, even though they're usually not in their best form. I love planning follow-up trips before we're even halfway through the current trip. I love everything about being in Wilmington.

But most of all, I love being there with people I love.

I can't wait until I get to show Teesh around the city for the first time, so he can finally see and begin to understand why I love it so much. I hope that we take vacations there year after year and that our kids grow up loving Wilmington as much as I do. I'm excited to say that I think I've got plenty more thrilling trips to this adorable little city in the future. And one day, P. Sawyer will have a family and so will B. Davis and we'll vacation there together once [or twice] a year all together.

Ahhhh, dreams. I've got lots and lots of them. This is just one of my favorites. :)

a splendid Saturday.

Today was very unique from our typical days in Wilmington. We didn't look for filming, we didn't sit in our folding chairs for hours upon hours waiting for someone to notice us and come over to say hello, we didn't meet any new friends who are fellow OTH fans.While I love doing all of those things, I enjoyed what we did today much more. I simply just spent time with two of my closest friends in one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. Sure, there was a little OTH thrown into the mix every now and then, but, for the most part, we just walked around the city and enjoyed ourselves. It was a perfect Saturday, and here are some pictures to prove it.

 just call me Neal. Neal Caffrey.

 photoshoot in the mall while we wait on B. Davis to finish up her shopping spree? umm, yes please!

 we loooooooove eachother.

 we visited Wilmington's mall and took a looksy at the carousel where Lucas and Nikki...well, you know. this was one of the few filming locations I had never seen before.

 I can't imagine loving this place anymore than I already do.

 nothing beats a sunset over the water. so beautiful.

 Hales. P. Sawyer. B. Davis. <3

 vogue.

I can assure you that eating this bbq chicken pizza for dinner tonight was an incredibly good decision.

After we ate our pizza and had a little dessert at Caffe Phoenix, we decided to walk up and down the street one more time before making our way back to the crazy eight. We walked down to The Calico Room, a popular bar/lounge downtown, and who do we see sitting outside having drinks and smoking cigarettes? Why, we saw James, Stephen, Rob, Eve (Bono's daughter/James' flavor of the week), and a random girl we didn't know. It was thrilling for the first few seconds, but then something very strange happened. I felt nothing. Well, maybe not nothing. But I definitely didn't feel like I usually do. For the first time in eight years of fantasizing about meeting the cast members (James, especially), I found myself thanking the Lord for giving me such wonderful friends rather than getting all googly-eyed over them. It. Was. Strange. I guess when you find out that the on-screen character that you've grown to love so much over the years is really quite opposite of that in real life, the fire just kind of burns out. Like I said, strange.

Welp, we leave tomorrow. It's going to be a sad day, but the good news is we'll be coming back in March. Yay! Well, at least I hope I will. This whole having-a-job thing really gets in the way of doing what you want. My fingers will remain crossed until I receive the verdict from the boss lady. Feel free to cross yours in my honor, too! :o)

Gooooooooooodnight!

day numero dos.

1. we are our characters, even down to the shoes we wear.

2. the view of the exterior of Clothes Over Bros from the rooftop.

3. yes, you read that last one right. and we were proud to have been so brave!

4. we found filming!

5. oh you know, just hanging out on our street corner. freeeeezing our bootays off.

6. I met Quinton Aaron, one of the newest characters on OTH & Michael Oher's character in The Blind Side. SO flipping exciting!

7. Ialso met another new character, Ian, who will make his debut within the next few episodes.

8. WE SAW RUSSELL! fact: I was more worried about not seeing him than I was about not seeing anyone else. I just love him!

9. I don't know what I'd ever do without my P. Sawyer.

Goodness, I love this city.

#HPBdoWilmy.

I am currently sitting in a Super 8 motel room with my P. Sawyer and B. Davis, having already embarked on our first day in Wilmington of the year 2011. That's right, the fifth edition of #HPBdoWilmy has finally arrived. YAY!

Last night, we talked for hours, made our own t-shirt creations, and finally got in the bed around 2 a.m., giving us an anticipated three hours of sleep.  5 a.m. came WAY early this morning, and we were an hour behind schedule when it was all said and done...BUT we hit the road at 7 o'clock on the dot and pulled into Wilmington four and a half hours later!

We were not successful in finding filming today, but we got to spend a lot of time rummaging through the city, which is one of my favorite things to do anyways! Here is a brief recap of all the fun we've had over the previous 24 hours. Enjoy!

 we made awesome, hand-crafted t-shirts.

 we managed to get ourselves up and ready before the sun came up.

 B. Davis continued her tradition of always sleeping in the car.

 we arrived in Wilmington to discover that it was even more beautiful than the last time we visited.

 I got to spend ALL DAY with my favorite Tree Hill girls! and lucky for me, that'll be the case for the next three days, too!

 we ate at Dixie Grill and P. Sawyer and I had our usual lunch: roasted turkey and bacon wrap with sweet potato fries. SO stinkin' yummy!

 we sat in the booth right next to Joe Davola, one of One Tree Hill's producers. pretty sweet!

we had a tasty glass of wine at The Fortunate Glass, which is SO cute, by the way.

 we visited the location for Brooke's bachelorette party and each drank from a boot in honor of Millie's performance on the last episode.

I discovered that not only is my ring BEAUTIFUL, but it also GLOWS IN THE DARK. I don't care what you say, that's the coolest thing in the whole world. and again I say, WAY TO GO, FANCY!

I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us, starting with the sleep I'm about to catch up on right...now.

Sweet dreams!

no really, we're famous.

Last night, I changed back out of my pajamas at 9 o'clock [that I unashamedly had been wearing since 5 o'clock, by the way] to make a quick trip to Walgreen's to pick up some extra copies of the paper to make sure I had plenty to use for different things. Little did I know I would walk into the Walgreen's on Laurens Road a normal gal who just happened to be engaged and come out one half of a famous soon-to-be married couple. Yepp, you read that right. Here is how it went down:

I walked into the store, grabbed up all but one of the papers they had left [I couldn't be greedy and take them all, you know], and the hopped in line to check out. When it was my turn, I greeted the lady who was ringing me up with a huge smile and handed her the papers. She jokingly asked if there was a big sale I was hoping to take advantage of, and I told her how my engagement was in this week's paper. She lit up like the fourth of July and opened one of those bad boys up to look at our article. As she was reading, she asked me what our story was. I only got to the part about us being together since ninth grade, and then she started yelling for the other staff to come over and have a listen. By the time I got to the end of the story, there was a group of seven Walgreen's employees standing around me with their jaws all dropped to the floor. It was so funny!

And as if that didn't make me feel special enough, one of the girls snuck away while the first girl was finally checking me out, I heard this over the loud speaker: "Congratulations to Anna and TJ on their engagement and up-coming wedding! We, at Walgreen's, are so excited for ya'll's sweet story to keep getting sweeter and sweeter!" Then they all started clapping and hugging me.

The most bizarre part about that whole story? The part where it actually happened. I was only joking when I said we were famous in a small town. I guess I was wrong!

Thennnnn today, I came home to 10 more copies of yesterday's Lifestyle section sent to us by Greenville News. That means the count is up to 16 copies...just in case. :o)

173.

famous in a small town.

hey, look! we're in the paper!

check it outttttttt. we're getting MARRIED!
**eeeeeeeeeeeeek!**

"A woman knows the face of the man she loves as a sailor knows the open sea."
-Honore de Balzac

the clock is still a tickin'. 174 days until I can call myself the WIFE of the perfect man for me! I'm one day closer to being a Mrs. today than I was yesterday. And I sure do liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike it!

as iron sharpens iron.

Wednesday nights are my new favorite. Before today, Wednesdays were hump days  that let me know the week was halfway over and the weekend was only two days away. Not anymore, though. All of my Wednesday nights from now until May are going to serve one specific purpose: accountability. Nitty, gritty, get-in-your-business, tell-the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but-the-truth-so-help-me-God accountability. And the best part about it is that I get to dive into all this madness with my Cait Cait.

We've been talking about starting something like this up for several months, but never really had the time to get it going. Welp, lack of time is no longer an option; we picked a day, and we're going to stick by it for the next three months. I've always been a firm believer in making time for the things most important to you, and now I get to practice what I preach. Accountability is so important, and I can't think of a better way to go into the homestretch of this season of engagement in my life.

Side note [of great importance]: I have been blessed with the most amazing friends on the planet. I'll argue anyone to the death on that. That's why it made having a small wedding party impossible. Narrowing it down to eleven girls was one of the toughest things I've ever had to do, I keeeeed you not.

I can't wait to dig deeper into the Word with one of my best friends. I can't wait to watch her develop her wings and take off in her journey to change her world. I can't wait to feel the fire in my belly as I prepare to make changes for the better in my own life. I can't wait to make a best friend an even better friend along the way [if that's even possible]. I can't wait to hear words that sharpen my character. I can't wait to do life with Caitlin for the next three months, even more so than I already do.

"Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”

-Hebrews 10:24

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."

-1 Thessalonians 5:11

I want to build up, not tear down. I want to spur the people in my life towards love and good deeds. I want to love everyone I meet, regardless of their past. I want people to look at me and immediately think to themselves, "There's something different about that girl." I want to be a constant source of encouragement. I want to be a shoulder to lean on. I want to be able to spout out scripture during every situation I face. I want to be a great listener, yet still know when to speak the truth in love.

I just want to be like Jesus.

six months.

It is SO hard to believe that we will go from this...

...to MARRIED in exactly six months.

I only have three words to say about this quickly-approaching event: bring. it. on.

I'm so excited & I just can't hide it!

forty-six years young.

I couldn't have said it better myself. :)

Happy birthday, pop!

I love you a little bit A LOT!

reminiscing.

Completely engulfed in God's creation. In a constant state of awe and thankfulness. Pinching myself every morning when I wake up just to make sure that I'm really awake. Meeting a client and instantly feeling an overwhelming amount of love for them, even though I may have only known them for a few minutes. Knowing without a shadow of a doubt that I'm living in the moment where I get to do the thing I love most in this whole world. Laying under a cloudless sky and falling asleep gazing at the millions upon millions of stars above me. Waking up to the the sun peaking over the mountain tops and shining on my face. Trying things I've only dreamed about doing. Making a difference in the world, even if just for a moment.

I'd give anything to go back in time and relive my twenty-first summer over and over and over again.

Who is currently missing their life on the coast of the Pacific Ocean? Guilty as charged. And who is currently SO thankful to have been able to experience all of the wonderful things while living as a California girl for three months? Also, guilty as charged.

"Everything changed the day she figured out there was exactly enough time for the important things in her life."

-Brian Andreas, Story People