she's come a long way.

Remember Cindy, my friend from childhood whose art is being featured at the Coastal Living Show House on Daniel Island?

This is us in high school, '95-'96-ish, tailgating before a Carolina game in the Olympia parking lot, likely up to no good.

We've certainly come a long way.

Most importantly, we don't wear business casual to football games anymore.  (Nice vest, geek!)

But also, we've discovered our passions and are pursuing them passionately.  Her with painting, and me with writing.  

Tomorrow, Cindy's passion will be out on display in Mt. Pleasant at her art show.

To say I'm proud of her might imply that I had anything to do with her talent and her success, and clearly that's not the case.  Yet, I am proud. 

Mostly, though, I'm just so very excited for her.   

I always knew she'd go on to do great things - I mean, back in high school she managed to make a Nissan Stanza Wagon look cool.  And that's hard to do.

But her very own art show?  Well, that's big.

Congrats, Cindy! I wish I could be there.

Charleston peeps - please go check out her art show.  Non-Charleston peeps - you can check her art out here. 

independence day.

Well thanks to all of YOU, my dreams of becoming a super model have been realized.  I won the Sandpiper contest and a $200 gift certificate to my favorite store.

THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU! 

In sincere gratitude for your votes, how about some pictures from July 4th?  Jacob and I spent the holiday with his family at their home in Debordieu, a beach community just south of Pawley's Island, South Carolina.

Everyone in Debordieu celebrates Independence Day in a big way - like a morning golf cart parade>afternoon beach games>evening picnic>nighttime corn hole - kind of way. 

Really nothing says "freedom" like a military flyover and a golf cart disguised as an alligator, am I right?

We soaked up every ounce of sun, sand, beer and wine the weekend had to offer, and capped it off with a trip to Lake Murray to see my parents on the way back.

One set of parents at the beach, and another set at the lake?  Hard not to feel lucky about that. 

Also, we forced invited my parents to watch a Phish concert when we were at their house.  I'm not so sure they were impressed.  They didn't get up and leave, but they weren't exactly moved like we were.  My dad had the best line of the night, however, when he said, pointing at Jon Fishman, "So does that guy always wear the donuts?"

An instant Chuck Gallman classic.

many, many thanks.

Wow.  Thank you so much. 

Rarely am I at a loss for words, but your sweet comments about Tuesday's post (I'm gonna be an aunt!) and your willingness to "like" my pseudo-modeling picture have truly overwhelmed me this week in the best way possible.

Between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine and this blog - the fact that you're not completely sick of me is remarkable.  I'm a bit sick of myself to be honest.

When my friend Kyle asked me if I would participate in a Facebook contest for her clothing store, The Sandpiper, we laughed about it together on the phone.

"Self-promotion?  Pictures of myself on Internet?!  Duh, of course I'll do it," I joked.

We joked, because Kyle and I lately have both felt disgusted with Facebook - specifically the tendency of certain individuals to share every single detail/emotion/picture of their lives as they are happening in real time.

A picture of myself, pleading for votes?  Participating in Kyle's request meant I'd have to become the very person I'd come to loathe.

Sure, sharing details, emotions, and pictures is a part of what I do as a blogger, but I assure you the sometimes intimate details of my life are never shared in haste (and pretty much never in real time) - and though the grammatical errors might lead you to believe otherwise, I'm actually quite thoughtful with the things I write about and the pictures I post. 

Moreover, I really don't love pictures of myself - especially ones where I'm alone or worse - the dreaded selfie.  Side note: Stop it with the selfies, America.

Plus, despite all evidence to the contrary, I really have a hard time with self-promotion. 

I do enjoy the spectacle of social media, however, and I'm all about new experiences and I've always wanted to be a fashion model - so dress up and pose for a picture?  Well, sure! Anything for a friend! 

The photo shoot at the Sandpiper was, in a word, hilarious.  I've shopped at the store for years (and if you're in Atlanta, you should too) and am used to Kyle giving me the royal stylist treatment.  But this time, in addition to dressing me up, she also served as photographer - giving me tips on how to pose, shaking her head in disgust when I would mess with my hair, and at least once, physically moving my chin to do what she wanted it to.

There were a lot of laughs and even more joking (but not really joking?) about me using my extensive social network to beat out the other ladies who had subjected themselves to such scrutiny.  It's certainly too soon to tell whether or not I'll be the winner, but the shares, the likes, the sweet comments were worth it regardless.

So, thank you very much.

And if you haven't already "liked" my picture - you can do so here.  And if you're in Atlanta, go visit the Pipettes at the Sandpiper. 

I'm staying in town this weekend, with absolutely no plans, which makes me very happy and thankful, though admittedly I already miss the sand beneath my feet.

What are YOU up to?