Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Convention

Alex has been a hardcore Star Trek fan his entire life.  So when our friend, CJ, invited him to go to a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Convention in Cherry Hill, NJ, Alex could not resist.  CJ and Igor took a train up from DC for the event.  Alex bought Vulcan ears and suited up.  I got texts all day from Alex about how awesome the event was!
 
Living long and prospering

 
CJ and a Quark figurine

 
Klingons

 
Igor and Seven of Nine

 
Apparently Avery Brooks' speech was off the wall and blew everyone's mind.

  
Alex could not pass up an opportunity to get his picture taken with Worf.  Check out the ears!

   
Costume contest

 
Spock tatoo!

 
After the convention, they all beamed to Jim's Steaks on South Street for some Philly cheese steaks.

A New England Shower

Hilary had her wedding shower in Massachusetts this weekend.  Alex and I drove back to Philadelphia from North Carolina on Friday and then I headed to Massachusetts early Saturday morning.  It was a lot of driving, but I'm so glad I went.  The shower was held at The Colonel Blackinton Inn.  I had a blast meeting many of Hilary and Shawn's family members and it was nice to spend more time getting to know Hilary's other bridesmaids.  The shower was a huge success.  I think Hil and Shawn can already fill their new kitchen in Virginia!
 

The invitations were adorable.

 
The Colonel Blackinton Inn

 
This is the back of the inn.  It was very pretty!

 
The picture table!

  
 The cake was amazing.  It had one of the best frostings I have ever tasted.

 

 One of the party favors.  Hilary and Shawn love to fish so the shower had a fishy theme :)

 
The tables were so cute!  I got to sit with the Bride to Be!

 
The other party favor was jam wrapped in a pretty dish cloth with a fish spreader.  The jam is fantastic.

 

Brunch

 
Sarah and Hilary

 
Amy and Hilary

 
The first of many cakes to come in the upcoming month.

 

Mom always wraps my gifts so they look presentable :)

 
So many amazing gifts!

 
Sarah made a killer rehearsal bouquet.

 
 Hilary with the moms.

Future mother-in-law

 
Hil's Momma

 
Bridesmaids!  Danielle couldn't come because she was busy running a marathon!  Congrats to D!

 
After the shower, we went to Hilary's final dress fitting.  The dress was amazing and fit perfectly!  When the fitting was finished, we got some yummy ice cream and Hilary gave me a tour of Providence and Brown University.  It was Hilary's Gram's 89th birthday, so we went over to her house for dinner.  Hilary's family is just lovely and I can't wait to spend more time with them at the wedding.  After dinner, we headed over to Amy's house for a bonfire party.  I had an amazing weekend in New England and can now add three more states to my list of visited places!

Another Apartment Hunt

Our time before the Great Migration South is limited, so we headed down to Charlotte this week to find a new apartment.  We searched the internet fruitlessly for the past couple of months to find a place that fulfilled all of our requirements.  We were looking for an apartment that was within walking distance of good food, fancy drinks, and fun entertainment; that was in an area where our car wouldn't need a new window every few months; and that had more space than our current teeny tiny home.  I had big hopes of a kitchen that would hold all of our wedding presents and look pretty at the same time.  Alex wanted a space to record music where he could rock out without bothering neighbors below or above us.  Our dream apartment seemed unattainable and imaginary.
 
We got into Charlotte on Monday and spent the whole day with Katherine, the wonderful Charlotte tour guide.  She drove us through all of the different neighborhoods around Carolinas Medical Center and went on at least seven different apartment tours with us.  By the end of the day, we were exhausted and discouraged.  We couldn't picture ourselves in any of the apartments we had seen.
 
We started off our second day of searching with an appointment at a townhome I randomly found on Craigslist a couple nights before.  When we showed up for the tour, there were two other people waiting to see the house as well.  Once we got inside, we immediately fell in love with the place.  It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a den.  It came with huge walk in closets, a pantry, and a garage!!  The counters were granite and the appliances were stainless steel.  There was even a little balcony for Moo to watch birds!  It was awkward walking around with the other apartment hunters because they clearly loved the place too.  In the end, lucky for us, we won.  The townhome is ours to rent and we move in June 10th! 

 
 The new apartment!!  It is in uptown and only a few blocks away from tons of awesome restaurants, 7th street market, a movie theater, the Charlotte Bobcats stadium, and the Carolina Panthers stadium.  We will only be 1.8 miles from Carolinas Medical Center so I can ride my bike!  Look at that Carolina blue sky!

 
 Ours is the one behind the bigger tree.  I already bought a welcome mat for our stoop!

  
Our garage!  It will be so nice not having to worry if our car will have a window the next morning.  I didn't take any pictures of the inside because people are still living there. 

  
Thanks to Tessie and Katherine for letting us stay with them and helping us find our new place!

Orioles vs Rays

There are many benefits to working at Starbucks.  Meeting extraordinary people is definitely one of them.  A customer at Alex's old Starbucks is the owner of the Tampa Bay Rays and gave Alex and several of his friends tickets to an Orioles-Rays game.  They drove down to Baltimore last Thursday night for their great seats and had an amazing time.  It certainly pays off to know the right people!

 
 Watching the Rays warm up!

 

Walking around the stadium

 
 It was a close game that went into extra innings, but the Orioles won in the end.

   

   
Tom, Britt, Alex and Jimmy

Hilary's Bachelorette Party

We held Hilary's bachelorette party in Philadelphia this weekend.  Hilary's bridesmaids all traveled into town to celebrate the special bride.  We started off the day with cupcake and wine tasting at a winery just outside of Philly.  The cupcakes were made by the owners of Dia Doce... the winners of Cupcake Wars!  We got lucky with amazing weather and the wine and cupcakes were to die for.  It was great meeting Hilary's friends from college and I am looking forward to the rest of the wedding festivities!

  

Started off with a little breakfast before the wine tasting!

 

 We thoroughly enjoyed our wine and cupcakes at Penns Woods Winery.

 

 Each one was more perfect tasting than the last!

 

 The bride and her maid of honor, Amy.

 

 Penns Woods Winery

  

 Amy, Danielle, Sarah, Katie, Hilary, and me!

  

 Danielle and I decorated and made appetizers for the party.

   

   

 We printed and hung black and white pictures of Hilary and Shawn through the years.

 

 This picture is from their senior prom!

 

Presents

   

  

 Opening gifts

 

I made Hilary her most fancy pair of undies :)

  

 Happy bachelorette!

 

 Ready to go out!

 

 We went to Continental Midtown for drinks up on the rooftop bar!