i choose the light.

Peach House in Kinston, North Carolina

Over Memorial Day weekend, Justin & I managed to marathon-watch the entire Harry Potter series on film. Every time I watch the series as a whole, I'm struck deeply, emotionally, by the epic battle of good & evil, of right & wrong, of light & darkness. The stark contrast of the two always takes me by surprise, & I am always, always subject to what feels like an emotional cleansing of sorts. I am always renewed & refreshed & restored. 

It's easy to remember who has wronged us in this life. It is easy to tether ourselves to firmly-rooted grudges. It is easy to look upon a memory with rolled eyes & a seething, muttered word. It is easy to avoid places that garner feelings of inadequacy, places that remind us of the wrongs that have befallen us at the hand of another. 

But, imagine returning to those places & choosing to see only the light. To see the solid wood frame of a house, peach-hued in color, with a creaking porch & a screened-in swinging door. To pour yourself a styrofoam cup of sweet tea, awaiting the arrival of your not-really-that-good quiche & better-than-you-expected spread of fruit. To sit at a back corner table alone, soaking in only the delightful & painted pastels of your time in this rural, archaic town. To remember only the wondrous routine of rising early, dressing to the nines, & shivering in your office while clutching a steaming cup of black coffee from the kitchen. To call to mind the nervous stomach that preceded adventurous trips home. To remember with a pang of sadness the night you spent distraught in front of the baggage claim, & crying all the way to Kinston from Raleigh. To remember that there can be joy in sadness, because it means you are alive, you are feeling, you are attuned to the importance of every little other life that happens to overlap with yours.

There is comfort in knowing that we, as humans, have a choice. We can choose to be bogged down & loathsome. We can choose to stew in our miseries, to cast blame & proclaim doubt. Or we can choose the other side: we can choose the light. We can choose to brighten another's day, whether or not we feel it necessary. We can lighten another's load, we can smile & that be enough. We can be kind & good & helpful & vivacious. We can choose to be a beacon for others lost at gloomy sea. 

I have the emotional wherewithal to choose the light, & choose the light I will. Every time.

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christopher's.

the whole time we were both in kinston, justin & i had been meaning to go to a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant called christopher's. finally, during justin's vacation week, we made it to this downtown staple.

i'm glad we did.

when you look around, you'll notice all the trappings of a well-established, well-loved diner: pictures of hometown heros, softball teams, & t-shirts bearing the place's logo adorn the crowded wall-space. the chandalier-esque light fixtures, juxtaposed with the open-air kitchen, industrial coffee machines, & well-worn booths offer a cozy, grandma-and-grandpa's-house ambiance that'll make you feel as if you never want to leave.

and then, there's the food, which tastes as if it were made with love & pulled straight off of a hot stove, which it probably was. the fluffy, crispy, perfectly-browned belgian waffle is sure to satisfy when paired with the sugary sweet maple syrup.

we loved everything about christopher's on our initial visit, so we went back again that very same week. if you ever find yourself in east carolina, christopher's is a place to check out. you'll leave feeling that just-visited-grandma's-house feeling.

and, really, everyone needs that once in a while.

photos: christopher's in kinston \ instagram

out on the road again.

tomorrow i am hopping a plane & will be reunited with my fiance after a day of travel.

i have greatly enjoyed my visit here in shreveport, but i am so ready to see justin!

i've gotten a lot accomplished on this visit, & i can't wait to divulge the details of my shower.

today will be spent soaking up every last little bit of my hometown vacation with family & friends.

here's to safe travels!

kinston, nc: a little peek at this little town.

soon, i will be sharing an in-depth town profile,

as well as some restaurant reviews...

so be on the lookout for those!

photos: all around kinston \ iphone

a quote that really takes me back.

quote: rascal flatts

photo: iphone

may photo challenge, day two: skyline.

photo: iphone

link up: fat mum slim's photo challenge

see previous days:

1

a little golf date.

back when we were still in college, as well as when we were still living in shreveport,
a favorite pastime of justin's was to hit the course for a round of golf.
when he wasn't going to meet up with his friends, i would often accompany him.
now, don't be fooled: my golfing skills could definitely use some work.
mostly, my involvement out on the course includes
indulging in my current read, cheering on the good shots, & encouraging on the not-so-good ones.

i'm happy to say that nothing has changed.
last sunday, for the first time since our move to kinston, we hit the course
at falling creek country club for an afternoon of sunshine, reading, and, well.. of course, golf.

not only did justin get to brush up on his skills in preparation 

for the sae golf tournament he'll be playing in next weekend, 

but we also got to spend some quality time together [and i got to read harry potter]. 

it was the perfect little lazy sunday afternoon, & i can't wait to go back.

photos: iphone

the trek to kinston.

the morning after our engagement party, we woke to a breakfast of coffee, 

snickerdoodle cake, & living room conversation. it was moving day.

with visions of the previous night's fete fresh in my mind, as well as a series of teary-eyed goodbyes, i climbed into the passenger's seat of the 4runner & prepared myself for the 17-hour trip that lay before us.

highlights of the trip included five guys burgers, beautiful scenery, sentimental 

mix tape cds from years past, & a stay in our beloved greenville, south carolina.

and while the stretch on i85 between charlotte & raleigh was blustery & 

seemingly interminable, we finally pulled up at RDU to retrieve justin's tahoe.

a hop, skip, & rural jump later, we were pulling into kinston & having dinner at east coast wings.

if only my bags could unpack themselves... my belongings have exploded all over our apartment.

here's to new beginnings & the promise of adventure!

photos: iphone

carolina new year: the coast is close.

while visiting kinston, i got to experience first-hand just how close to the coast we will be. hop in the car, & our feet can be touching water in new bern in about 37 minutes (yes, indeed, we calculated). and then, if we want a true beach town feel, all we have to do is go just a little further, to morehead city.

y'all... there are boats EVERYWHERE. little surf shops. and little restaurants on the water. we ate at ruddy duck tavern while i was visiting, but i can't wait to go spend weekends there & try some of the other places.

photos: iphone

carolina new year: the main moon effect.

on one of my evenings in kinston, we went to pick up dinner at a little chinese place called main moon. it's a place that justin had told me about on one of our countless phone calls since he moved there. it even became a little joke, since the name of the place is admittedly silly. so, you can imagine my excitement in finally getting to dine at this little hole-in-the-wall myself.

and it really got me thinking: this is the kind of thing i'm looking forward to most about living with justin. the little things we'll get to do together, the little dates we'll get to go on at the drop of a hat, since we'll always be in the same place. the little things we'll be able to celebrate, every single day. i hope that we'll treat many things like the main moon experience: taking something seemingly insignificant, & turning it into something to enjoy, celebrate, & savor. the main moon effect.

when i move to kinston, i will never take being in the same place for granted, ever. because now we have known what it is like to live states apart.

carolina new year: new year. new bern.

after i arrived in raleigh a little before noon on new year's eve & we made the trek over to kinston, we relaxed for a while before getting ready for a dinner in the neighboring town of new bern.

to get to new bern from kinston, you drive east for about 28 minutes (give or take), then you are on the water. there are boats everywhere, & even though it was cold on that new year's even night, i insisted we walk by the docks & take in the sights. i love being on the water. 

we ate at persimmons waterfront restaurant. it was cozy & delicious (and i thought i saw robert deniro, my favorite). i can't wait to go back!

when midnight actually rolled in, we celebrated by watching the ball drop on tv as we lounged on the couch together, eating donuts & drinking chocolate milk - who said we don't know how to have fun?

photos: iphone

a kinston playlist.

while it's true that this was indeed the last playlist of 2011, it is also the first playlist of 2012. 

i'll admit it - there is some christmas music on this particular list. 

give me a break, though - some of us have more trouble letting go of the holidays than others.

kinston bound.

today i am headed toward my brand new town, for a week-long visit. it will be my first time there ever, & as i have said in previous posts, i am absolutely thrilled to finally put places & faces to descriptions & names. justin has been living & working in our little east-coast town for about a month & a half now. i'm planning to get acquainted with the area, try out exercise routines, find the local coffee shops, take road trips to the surrounding areas, & above all - spend time with justin in what will soon be our home.