the queen city

hello bloggy world! HAPPY FRIDAY! it is wonderful to be here writing to you!!

i am going to be real with you all for a moment [i mean, i typically am...but you know what i mean...] i have been in a HUGE writing funk lately. all of my writing outlets are suffering and i am at a loss of how to get past it. i want to write and share. i even spoke to this on my other blog [blackOUT]. it's tough to get going when you don't know where to go. it's tough to get the words out when you feel there are none. BUT! i am going to try. i must. i love to write and share. i think for some reason i feel stifled. there is no true place that feeling comes from. no person, except for myself, has made me feel like i cannot share with the world. so. here we go. new adventures and stories for you.

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two weeks ago keith and i headed to charlotte, the queen city. he had a continuing education course, so we figured we'd make a long trip out of it. we ended up staying for six days. charlotte is a massive city with so much to offer. however, the oppressive heat severely limited our activity. it was almost like it rained for six days straight because we had to spend most of our time indoors. if you know us at all, that is not how we like to spend a vacation [or our time in general]. however, we made the best of it. because charlotte is a large city with numerous suburbs, we did some exploring in and around the downtown area. here are some of the highlights [in no particular order].


breweries: of course this was top on our list of things to do. whenever we travel we scope out beer + food. i mean, what else is there?
charlotte doesn't have as many breweries as other NC cities [raleigh + asheville], but we tried all of them. here are our favorites.

• ass clown [it's actually in cornelius]: they do all kinds of funky stuff with their beer, but they are good at it. salted chocolate stout? please and thank you. 

• triple c: we went there twice. and i had their 3C IPA three times over the course of our trip. this is definitely a brewery i wish distributed locally. 

    

• sugar creek: they make mostly belgian style beers, which typically isn't our style, but they do a phenomenal job. we brought home their first bottled beer, biere de garde. again, this style is definitely not one i drink, but i'd have this again. and again. and again. 

   

• noda: this was better than i was expecting. i am not sure what i was expecting, but they had a variety of styles. i'd go back. 
• sycamore: this is a very new brewery, but so excellent! we also went here twice. we tried two different IPAs + saisons. all were outstanding. they are not distributing yet, but hopefully soon. 

    

• honorable mention: olde mecklenburg: so this brewery is german style beer + food. the beer was ok [at best], but we really do not care for german style beers. however, we could tell it was made well [if that makes sense]. despite the mediocre beer, the food was amazing! we had german brats, sauerkraut, and potato salad. plus, the atmosphere was completely kick ass. they had a large open dining room with long cafeteria style tables. so you could just sit anywhere and make new friends. and they had a wonderful outdoor patio/lawn area with tons and tons of tables, plus an outdoor bar + food truck. the space was really amazing. i do recommend going here in the fall when they will have more seasonal beer on tap. 

   

sorry for the fuzziness.

he's really excited.....

the other stuff:

• reed gold mine: we checked out the first gold mine in the US. who knew it was here in NC? i didn't. it was also nice to go underground when it was 100 degrees outside. we toured the museum, mine and the grounds. we also panned for gold! it was fun to do and brought back childhood memories of gem mining. and keith even found the tiniest gold flake. we're rich, bitch!

 

  

•  UNCC's botanical garden: this was also a beautiful treat. despite the heat, what a gorgeous garden! there were sprinklers going while we walked, so that was a pleasant and welcome surprise. it helped keep us cool. even with the shade and mist of water, once we were done, so was i. the humidity is brutal.

log cabin in the gardens. interesting, huh?

• al mike's: this is a locals restaurant located in downtown charlotte's historic 4th ward. we went there for lunch one day. we didn't order anything extraordinary, but it was just that. it was everything a "hidden gem" and "local spot" should be. quaint. homey. comfortable. welcoming. and delicious. 

• valhalla: restaurant and pub located in the heart of downtown near the baseball park. it was a great local spot to eat, drink, and relax. they specialize in local brew and good food.
• IKEA: OHMIGOSH. that is all. i wanted to buy all the things. 
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we had a great little getaway visit a city that we rarely visit. next time, we'll just come in the dead of winter.

until next time, charlotte....

xoxo,
ks

Introducing....

it's finally time.

i have some exciting news. nerve-racking news. delightful news. 

as you all may know, i am a school teacher, so i have summers off (yay!), but that leaves me with a lot of free time. most of which i enjoy. however, i enjoy being busy more. so, i got to thinking, i need something to do over the summer. there were lots of ideas thrown around: part-time job, babysit, volunteer....blah, blah, blah.
most ideas sounded great, yet, since i had time off away from my job i really wanted to invest my time in something i wanted to be doing...not another job. and the things i want to do are: write (and get paid), volunteer (for real, i mean it), and create art to share with the world (i.e., sell it). 

i find myself creating art projects, from scratch. and i enjoy it. most are fairly simple, yet, have a clean look to them. this idea of selling my artwork all started when i created a simple canvas piece for our bedroom. so, many years later (two, to be exact), i am finally doing it.

so without further ado, i'd like to share with you: buttered ham! i have taken a big, yet small leap and opened my very own esty shop. a shop filling with homemade art projects. some are made from wood, some from canvas, and some are photographs. the shop is small now, but i hope to grow my shop as my art creations grow.

i am very happy to share it with you. however, it is very new and very fresh. if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. i will update and tweak it as necessary. please look around and enjoy; and most importantly, feel free to order something ;)

thank you all for your support!!

xoxo,
ks


oh, and in addition to the buttered ham link in this blog listing, there is a permanent link on WTR. just look in the left column, toward the bottom [it is labeled "my esty shop: buttered ham" and has a bunch of pretty pictures on it!]

do you know your neighbors?

gun violence. it is rapidly becoming a part of the america culture. a part of the acceptable american culture.
there were 2 different gun violence events that occurred this weekend.

there was a shooting in the town i live in on friday.
just before lunch time.
in broad daylight.
for what seems to be no other reason other than to KILL NUMEROUS INNOCENT PEOPLE.
the shooter is a 23 year-old male. he appears to have acted alone.

there was another shooting in atlanta - over some fucking labron james basketball shoes.

this kind of shit makes me so upset. angry, infuriated.

in regards to the shooting in my town, i do not know this man's history or mental status, but i do know that his sole purpose of this shooting was to hurt innocent people. that's it. i am not okay with a person in my community just wanting to go out and hurt people, for no reason. i am not okay with it not being safe for me to run errands or meet a friend for lunch in THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. all because this person felt like hurting innocent people.

now, we do not have many details of the story, such as, the true motive....the real why? what really motivated this person to hurt innocent bystanders?
is he a copycater? did he want to be like the others in the news?
was he mad at an organization?
did someone do him wrong?

in my book...the real motive doesn't matter. this guy and people like him are fuckheads. they are pieces of shit. and they make me sick.
what makes me sicker is that our society and media glorifies this type of behavior. hence, why it keeps happening ALL THE FUCKING TIME.

i live in the middle of no-where eastern north carolina. crazy shit happens here every day. i am used to crazy and crime. however, the crime we see here has a real motive, if you will. someone stole their weed or someone owes them alimony money. most crime here is domestic. people are pissed at people, so they fight. the fight may escalate and someone may get shot or stabbed. oops.
i am not justifying it or suggesting that i think it is okay. however, it makes more sense. at least they are going after the right people. you stole my tractor? well, now i am coming at you with my shot-gun to let you know how i feel about that.
no innocent people involved. they are just handling their business. is the best way to do it? perhaps not. but at least the issue is resolved. now there is no residual anger, someone is jail and they can move on. plus, if this is the only type of crime that is to exist in our community, at least you know that you are safe [unless you are the one who stole the tractor].

these other fuckheads who just shoot-up movie theaters, schools, or towns...just for the hell of it? well, they seemed to have never dealt with some residual anger. and instead of managing the issue with whomever bothered/upset/angered them, they decided that killing/attempting to kill innocent people was a better idea. what the hell did those innocent people have to do with [you] and [your] issues/problems/anger? ohh that's right, nothing. so, next time, why don't we just go ahead and leave them out of it.

our communities should be safe. we should not fear going to the grocery store, to the park or on a lunch date. our towns should be safe. our counties and states should be safe. our country should be safe. we need to take our neighborhood back!

the first place to start? get to know your neighbors.


xoxo,
ks

new face

WTR got a face lift!

this is just a quick post to let you know what you can already see....i've updated the blog a little bit to freshen her up. there are a few new pages at the top. feel free to snoop around and check them out. after all, that is what they are there for. if you frequent my blog, the information really isn't new. if you have any questions/comments/concerns/wonderments, feel free to contact me or comment below!

and hopefully with these changes means a new blog coming your way soon! :)

xoxo,
ks