One Year Gone without a post.....2023 Part 1

So it has been way too long.  The last update was October 2022.  But to be honest, that makes sense!  It has been a crazy year!  So let's get updating in a few parts.

November 2022 - that feels like ages ago, but Gatsby and I headed off for a month in Asheville, NC.  We rented a little house with a big fenced in backyard and had a lot of fun exploring the very dog friendly city.  We actually got there on Halloween, so Gatsby got to wear his tiger costume that my mom bought him.  He had basically outgrown it that day, but we squeezed it on him. 

Halloween in Asheville

Just a typical rainy day in Asheville

We spent lots of time visiting local breweries, restaurants, wineries and hiked A LOT while I worked remotely for a long term client on a project that wasn't going to be delivered for a year.  We even managed to have a few visitors.  My cousin Abby came with her dog to stay, and my parents were in town for Thanksgiving.  We hit Christmas at Biltmore and had lunch at the Grove Park Inn.  I need to get back there for sure.  I love that town and could definitely see myself back there a bit more long term in the future.

Dog Friendly Winery

The two dogs meet

My parents with their Grand-dog

Biltmore Christmas

Grove Park Inn Lunch

Then it was back to Pawleys Island for a bit before the drive back to Ohio for Christmas.  I got to stop in and say hi to Greg in Charleston for a day which was a nice surprise.  He got to meet Gatsby too.

The drive back to Ohio was an interesting one.  My parents had been in Nashville visiting Brock's family.  And I wanted to meet them at an old house I was going to look at renovating in the mountains in Virginia.  We did make it to the town, saw the house and the day before we were going to continuing driving back to Ohio, I had some major car dramas.  After many calls, we did manage to get my car towed to the nearest dealer in time to load up all of my things (and Gatsby's) into Dad's car so we could drive back to Ohio.  We only just made it out before a big snow storm, and I think it was Christmas Eve.  So we nearly had to stay in the middle of Virginia for Christmas with pretty much nothing!  Unfortunately the house renovation project turned out to be too much to take on.  But we were glad we made it back to Ohio in time for Christmas.  It was a very white winter in Ohio and brutally cold.  Gatsby loved playing in the snow so much.  

At our house in VA

A little wreath project my dad and I made

Mom and Gatsby in matching shirts

My siblings and I teamed up with a friend of my parents to throw them a surprise 50th Anniversary Party in Ohio at the end of January.  So we started getting the details together.  Unfortunately, Dad's mom died earlier in the month, but I was glad to be in town for that as well.  Brock and Rachel made it to the funeral, but Jonny couldn't come.  Jonny and Brock did make it to the party, but this time Rachel couldn't make it.  The party didn't exactly become the surprise we were hoping for, but my parents were very surprised when Brock and Jonny walked in the door the night before the party!  We had a special catered dinner at home that night with Rachel on the phone.  The next night we all went to the party.  It was a blast.  

Not long after the party, Gatsby and I drove back to Pawleys Island.  It was time to get back to the beach and our temporary home.  We had a few visitors planned so we needed to get back.  Before the start of the visitors, I met my friend Sara in Knoxville, TN for a long weekend.  Neither of us had been there, and it was a nice midway point between Pawleys Island and Memphis where Sara is.  It was a great weekend of mostly good food and drinks.

Knoxville

The first visitor to Pawleys Island was my college roommate, Bettina.  We spent a bit of time in Myrtle Beach, went to high tea in Charleston and tried to ignore that it wasn't as warm as we hoped.  We even did a bit of vintage shopping relating to the Hallmark podcast....long story.

Gatsby had his first birthday and Mom and Dad were in town for it.  Hard to believe he is actually near 2 now!  He was a very cute birthday boy though.  

The next set of visitors was the Brookes Family.  Kristy, Fran, David and I spent time in Myrtle Beach (even went to Medieval Times), spent time singing our favorite songs, and hung out at the local beach.  Gatsby even managed to find a great big conch shell for David.  Lucky for all of us, the weather was pretty cooperative, so we had a great time.

Not long after that, I had my friend Dawn and her niece, Laura, visit from Spain/London.  We planned a bit of a road trip to Savannah and Charleston, plus spent a bit of time locally.  In Savannah we did a booze/ghost tour pedal bike thing, had lunch at the Grey Market, had high tea at the Gryphon Tea Room, went on a great Midnight in the Garden tour and made sure we had as much yummy food as possible.  Such a great town Savannah.

On the booze/ghost cruise

Just before heading out in the pouring rain for dinner at the Pink House

At Grey Market

Then we spent a couple days in Charleston.  Laura wanted to see Boone Hall where they filmed some scenes from The Notebook.  So we went there, spent some time downtown Charleston and stopped at a plantation for High Tea on the way back home.  

At Boone Hall

At Hopsewee Plantation

Then it was back to Pawleys for a few more adventures before the headed back overseas.  I managed to have a bit of time off work too so it was a lot of fun.  I really enjoy Savannah in particular, so if you are ever heading that way, let me know.  I have many recommendations!

Dinner in Pawleys

Brunch in Pawleys

With Gatsby at the Beach at Pawleys Beach

That gets us up to about early May 2023.  And there is still so much to share.  But let's close this one out for now.  There are still more visitors to Pawleys to come, moving back to Philly, plus a whole extra round of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas to go -- plus the delivery of my gig.  

Just for the curious, currently (Feb 2024!) Gatsby and I are hanging in Pawleys but just to escape the winter in Philly.  We are planning on heading back there probably in mid-March.  Looking forward to getting back to Phillies games and warmer weather.  

Let me know if you will be in the area.  We love visitors!

Sarah and Gatsby xo

Wrapping up 2022 in one post?!?!

Wow.  2022 seems to have gone away pretty quickly.  But I managed to do A LOT this year.  Was nice to actually be attending and working on events.  The Special Olympics USA Games seems like a while ago now, but happy to share how it all went down.  It was a blast.  Let's get going on the updates!

I was in Orlando until early July.  The Opening Ceremony was in June at Exploria Stadium (where Orlando City plays).  Got a few American favs involved - Anne Tanaka, Sara Shives and Mike Foley came to play.  Very excited that Sara Bareilles came and sang her song BRAVE in the ceremony.  It was such an amazing experience.  

I also had some time to relax and just socialize.  The Spa at the Ritz Carlton was only 5 min from my apartment, so Iva, Connor and I hit that up right before we got too busy to do anything.  I also managed to get to see Bruno Mars at the McDonald's convention.  So fab to see live music.  My friend and neighbor, Meghan from Philly came down, and we spent the weekend in Siesta Key - one of only 2 times I actually made it to the beach while living in Florida.  So nuts.  

But after that, it was all Games, all the time.  We moved into the stadium and got very little sleep, but it was so rewarding.  After the Opening, we had to deliver the ESPN Executive Challenge.  It was a tremendous success.  Then we slept for a day before putting the last pieces together on the Closing Ceremony.  At the Closing Ceremony, I got to see my friend, Chris Nikic, who lit the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony.  He is an amazing athlete who just competed in ANOTHER Ironman.  So inspiring.  

Anne at my place for dinner

Bruno Mars!  They actually lost the entire lighting rig right before he went on, but managed to restore it.

Iva and Connor drinking in the Ritz Spa Pool

Meghan and I at the beach in Siesta Key

The fun begins on site...

Connor, Shives and I as the Cauldron goes in

Sara's Rehearsal Day

Tom B and I totally excited to see her with us

Connor on Sara Bareilles' IG Feed!

All the athletes in the Stadium!

Executive Challenge!

Closing Ceremony with Chris Nikic

Shives, Connor, Foley and I at Closing Ceremony

Some friends on site at Wide World of Sports

So post event, I had a few days off before I had to pack up and go back up to Philly.  I did manage to get to ride the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride at Epcot.  It was amazing.  Totally recommend it whilst in Orlando.  I also had a weekend in Naples.  Seems so surreal now as the town of Naples is totally different post Hurricane Ian, but I was glad I got to see it and just hang out in the lovely water.  

On the Guardians Ride...

Naples Pier Pre-Ian

And post hurricane...

Probably about a week before I was supposed to start my drive back to Philly, I got a strange infection in my knee and spent about 4 days in the hospital in Orlando.  It took up a lot of my precious packing time but I managed to get better and get everything in the car.  I spent the 4th of July in the hospital, but I could probably see about 20 different fireworks shows from my window so that was nice. 

My friend, Angela from Philly, flew down to Orlando to help me with the drive back.  We stopped in Savannah for high tea and to pick up fried chicken for dinner, stayed at our place in Pawleys Island for a night, stayed in Richmond, VA and met some lovely people from Texas and had lunch in Baltimore before making it back to my place.  

When I got back to Philly, it was only going to be for a few weeks as I decided to rent out the house again for at least one more school year.  Connor got a job in Philly so he came up to visit and find an apartment.  We did the Pat's/Geno's taste test, went to a Phillies game and came second in the local pub trivia.  So glad to see him in Philly and can't wait to visit him on the regular.  

I did manage to take a few days off with the Brookes family up in Saratoga Springs, NY.  We had an amazing time.  We went to the springs state park, got David in geocaching, played with some goats, went to the drive in, won some money at the races and swam in the lake.  It was a lovely, relaxing time.  

Before heading down the beach house for a while, I managed to get in a few more Phillies Games.  Love those Phills and am very excited for their World Series appearance!  GO PHILLS!  I met Mom and Dad at Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright house for a couple of days before driving over their place.  On kind of a whim, I adopted a 5 month old mini-Aussiedoodle rescue puppy who I named Gatsby.  After only a few days, I had to get in the car to go to Tennessee to visit Brock and family in Nashville and to be in my best friend Sara's wedding in Memphis.  So Mom and Dad got first hand puppy training experience right off the bat.  They did a great job, but I am sure they were glad when I returned.  

Kristy and I at the Phillies Game

Fallingwater

Gatsby comes home with me

Mom and Dad with Gatsby

Nora and Malcolm at the Science Museum in Nashville

In their matching Jackbox shirts

All lined up in Memphis

Sara, her sister Lisa and I

Off they go

Table 13!

Me post wedding

So now, Gatsby and I are down in Pawleys Island at the beach house.  We did have to leave for a few days during the second landfall of Hurricane Ian.  But all was fine at our place.  The beach was closed for quite a while though.  It opened up about 10 days ago which has made Gatsby very happy!  We are heading to Asheville, NC for the entire month of November to check it out.  A few people will come visit then, including my parents for Thanksgiving.  The house we rented has a fenced in yard which I know will be great for Gatsby.  I am working for myself at the moment and am keeping busy on some consulting projects.  More info on that soon!  

Gatsby photo drop - he will be 7 months old on Halloween

In his Bryce Harper jersey which I know helped him hit so many homers post-season!

The Hallmark Podcast is happening again so have a listen if you get a chance.  I am still biking a lot.  Was hoping to get an actual road bike, but Gatsby is a bit little to bike with me just yet.  Looking forward to lots of hikes in the mountains in Asheville.  Will aim to get the blog updated again maybe just in the new year.  Our plan is to return to Pawleys Island after Thanksgiving for most of winter.  The spring may take us to a new place for a while, but we will see what happens.  If you need a break from your own winter cities, let me know.  There is plenty of room for guests.  

Lots of love,

Sarah and Gatsby xo