Hi!

Hello folks. I apologize for being gone so long. Can you tell things are crazy?

In my absence, it became autumn. I cannot believe how quickly time is passing. Midterm exams are coming up soon, which just completely boggles my mind. There are lots of fun things going on despite all of the chaos. Since I've been gone for a while, I thought I'd give you the rundown regarding what's been going on as of late.

Working on: the October/November issue of albemarle. It will be on newsstands very soon. I am so excited and proud of this issue. I can't wait to hold it in my hands!

Listening to: "Empire State of Mind" - Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys. I think this will be my theme song for the next year. "In New York/ concrete jungle where dreams are made of/There's nothing you can't do/Now you're in New York/These streets will make you feel brand new/big lights will inspire you." Love it!

Looking at: Marie Claire featuring Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page. Vogue featuring Michelle Williams. I love all of these beautiful, strong women!

Watching: The Wackness. Chance and I rented this movie over the weekend. It seems like the desired audience is Chance to a 'T.' Even though I'm not Chance, I thought it was a really good movie.

Reading: Emma by Jane Austen and In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway. This is just a small portion of my assigned reading, but they're both interesting and completely different from one another.

Looking forward to: U2 concert. They're coming to my town next week and I can't wait! It's going to be a great show.

Waiting for: Whip It! Drew Barrymore's directorial debut that comes to theaters on October 2. I love, love, love this girl and I am so excited about her movie. It looks awesome!

Welcome to C-Ville

I recently stumbled upon Kirei Nest, a gorgeous site by Nicole Ossola focusing on 'daily registry and gifting inspiration.' I especially love the site's feature called Locale Lovelies. Special guests from blog-land share lists of what they would include in a welcome basket for people new to their state. I was led to this interesting site through MartaWrites (one of my absolute favorite blogs), as Marta was just featured there with her picks for Idaho.

I was happy to see that the site also has TWO Virginia features (here and here). I loved both of the lists, but it got me thinking of things that I would include in a welcome basket for people just arriving in Charlottesville.

First, I'd have to include some delicious fruits from Carter Mountain Orchard (peaches or apples, depending on the season). Right now, I'd be including some deliciously sweet Gala apples to start the fall season off right.


(Image courtesy of Carter Mountain Orchard)

With Charlottesville's growing wine market (and a few beer microbreweries), I'd have to include an adult beverage or two. With a shout-out to old T.J. (Thomas Jefferson was not only the third president of the United States, but he also lived in Charlottesville and founded UVA), I'd throw in a bottle of wine from Jefferson Vineyards. For the beer lovers, I'd include a seasonal choice from Starr Hill.

I would insist on adding something to satisfy one's sweet tooth. From BreadWorks, I would add a nice loaf of bread, a few Blueberry Streusel muffins, or Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter cookies.


(Image courtesy of http://www.joythebaker.com/)

Other Charlottesvillians would probably kill me if I didn't include bagels from Bodo's. My preference is a Cinnamon-Raisin bagel, so I'd add a few of those as well.


(Image courtesy of Bodo's)

Since there is some major UVA pride in Charlottesville, I would include a UVA foam finger or Cavalier Jelly Bellies.


(Image courtesy of UVA Bookstore)

And a welcome basket would never be complete without an issue of albemarle magazine.

(Image courtesy of albemarle magazine)

What a long list! The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there are TONS of great things about Charlottesville. My list could go on forever.