On Tuesday night, I attended Eating Local in the New South, an event at the Levine Museum of the New South promoting the local foods movement here in Charlotte.  Nearly 200 guests of all ages  showed up to enjoy a down home local spread by Mert's Heart and Soul and a talk given by two women firmly rooted in the local foods movement. Kristin Davis, extension agent for the NC Cooperative Extension and Cassie Parsons, executive chef at Harvest Moon Grille and owner of Grateful Growers Farm shared their personal stories,  how they came to know local food and the way in which it has impacted their lives. 

Guests gathered in the atrium for an incredible Southern spread  featuring Southern fried chicken, Grateful Growers NC style pulled pork, green beans, decadent macaroni and cheese and mini-loaves of cornbread. I opted for the pulled pork since all of the tables set for dining were full and  I couldn't quite figure out how to gracefully navigate fried chicken while balancing dinner in my lap. 

Check out my dope plate...
Dr. Tom Hanchett, staff historian at the Levine Museum of the New South, opened the talk with a fun Q & A session about Charlotte's torrid history. Guests asked questions (Who's Sharon anyway?)  and learned interesting tidbits about our beloved Queen City. 

We were then introduced to Kristin Davis, extension agent for the NC Cooperative Extension. Davis is responsible for educating the public about local food, food safety and farmer's market outreach. She shared her journey to wellness and  stressed the importance of eating local and educating others about why local food matters, particularly relating it to the dramatic improvement in her own health. 

Davis was once sentenced to the early onset of diabetes and through dietary changes alone, altered her grim medical future for the better, receiving a clean bill of health just one year later. Today, she shares a passion for local food with people like Cassie Parsons, who she called a "trailblazer" in the local foods movement. 

Parsons, a chef, farmer and self-proclaimed pork peddler, joined the conversation relating her passion for the "forgotten arts" and knowing where our food comes from. Parsons herself has contributed $400,000 to locally produced food and briefly touched on the positive economic impact that can happen when a community buys local. Davis and Parsons both encouraged the crowd to rally support through education, involvement and dollars to local farmers.  
The message was clear. Local food awareness is steadily gaining a presence and the community plays a great part in its continued momentum. A number of organizations are joining the cause to support these endeavors . Davis says that the NC Cooperative Extension is making local food awareness their flagship cause this year and have already launched the 10% Campaign to build the local food economy. 

Want to stay informed? Check out the Mecklenburg Friends of Agriculture on Facebook. 
 
 
I took more pictures in 2011 than I have in my entire life.  My introduction to Instagram didn't hurt either. I took a moment to collect some of my favorites.  From the looks of it, there was a whole lotta love. It warmed my heart to see it again.  Love is really all there is. Look for it in the everyday. The beauty will find you. Promise.  xoxo! 
 
 
When I crossed the finish line at the inaugural Rock-and-Roll Marathon this past Saturday, I checked off one for the bucket list. This race was a culmination of weeks (17 to be exact) of hard work, not to mention, a personal accomplishment that represents the last few years of personal transformation for me. This was a super big deal on so many levels, honestly. I haven't felt so gushy since I fell in love with the Mister.

It was also my first time in Savannah. Although the race and recovery afterward kept it low-key, we still found time to enjoy some of the sights. Here's  recap of our lovely marathon weekend: 
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Savannah Riverfront
Savannah is a city rich in culture and history and is rumored to be one of the most haunted cities in America. The buildings openly show their age, some appearing near ruin, yet there exists an eerie beauty that permeates the streets. We chose to stay on Tybee Island, a short drive across the Georgia marshlands,  where we rented a cottage. Once checked in, we headed straight to the Expo to pick up our bib numbers and mingle with thousands of other excited runners. 

We weren't that excited, really. 
We took some time to walk along the riverfront and take in the pre-race excitement. To be honest, I was exhausted from an already busy week and was looking forward to taking it easy. We  headed back to Tybee where we had our pre-race meal at A.J's Dockside, a recommendation given to me by a former Savannah local. If you're ever in the area, be sure to get the crab stew. It was amazing. 

I fell asleep eeeerrrly, like 8:30 p.m. early. It was good thing because we had an early wake-up call.
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Rise and shine!
We had some difficulty getting to the start line due to poorly organized transportation from Tybee Island into Savannah. In fact, we had to go renegade by hitching a ride with a couple lady runners who just so happened to pull up at the right time. No big whoop, it was only our first marathon. No need to warm-up or take time wrap our heads around this monumental feat. 

Despite the obstacles, we were hell bound on making it to the start.  It certainly wasn't my preferred method of starting the longest race of my life, but hey...we made it albeit thirty minutes late. We sprinted to the start and hopped onto the course, a little ruffled but ready to run. 
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That's me in the hot pink shirt and white hat. chugging along.
26.2 miles is hard, I ain't gonna lie!  I went through moments of doubt wondering "Why the hell did I sign up for this?!?" and broke down at the half-marathon point.  But then, there were these beautiful moments filled with support and community and spanish moss and rock bands and  I knew that everything would be okay.

Our toughest moments began around mile 18 and we endured a dreadful stretch of highway between miles 21-24, like "I would rather run a 5K on a bed of nails" kind of dreadful. It sucked. Nuff said. 

Once we got through to mile 25, we were home free.  I thought I'd be crawling to the finish, but I was exhilarated and so, so happy to finish. Check us out on the home stretch...
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Home stretch
This is my uncontrollable, "I'm so happy to be done" face. It ain't pretty, but that's the real deal. Look at my swollen fingers. I like to think they're swollen with awesome. 
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Running Paht-na's
I didn't spend too much time hanging out post-race because my legs wouldn't allow it. I was surprised at how my whole body hurt, even my shoulders. That's never happened before, but I guess when you run four plus hours, body parts are bound to rebel. I made it back to Tybee for a scalding hot shower,  nap and generous slathering of Tiger Balm for my sore muscles.  I smelled so purty. 

Rest was short-lived because I had dinner reservations at Moon River Brewery where I met up with some fellow bloggers. Unfortunately, the only blogging buddy I knew didn't make it to dinner that night.  That's alright, though, I made some new friends and got to connect with fellow runners. 
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Allison from Happy Tales Blog and her beau
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Meghann, Ben and Katy
It was great to socialize with new people and fellow racers, but the Mister and I were off to a walking ghost tour so we took off early. I heard there was a  delicious ice cream stop after dinner that we missed. For the record, I usually don't miss important events like ice cream. 

Check out the posts from all the folks I met at our post-race dinner plus one from my "missing" buddy, Kelly.

Kelly's Race Recap
Meghann's Good Times
Shirtless Ben's PR
Katy's Half-Marathon

Overall, I had an amazing experience for my first marathon.  I couldn't have asked for a better friend and running partner and the Savannah experience, minus the transportation debacle, was fantastic. I'll definitely be back to peruse all the wonderful antiques shops I spotted but couldn't quite get to and to capture all the beauty of the city.  There's hella-good design going on in Savannah too. My poor legs and time constraints just wouldn't allow too much sightseeing.  
I did, however, take some photos on Tybee which I'll share with you in a post coming soon. 


Thanks for reading! Happy Tuesday! 
 
 
I took a few pictures over the weekend whenever the mood struck. Here's what made me happy: colorful doors I spotted while on a walk, a toddler with the most awesome T-shirt, my DIY Saturday, running, the farmer's market, the Mister and the most awesome server who never fails to make us laugh during breakfast.  Enjoy! 
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And my most favorite picture of the weekend.....
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My fave server at Cafe 100, best flat top fade I've seen since 1990 and best Aaron Neville impression EVER!