Sometimes it amazes me what little things can make a big difference. This is our sixth week in Charleston, and we still had not met any of our neighbors. Although we have talked about it often, Michael and I have yet to reach out and introduce ourselves. After conversations with friends and family, we decided to make cookies for a few of our neighbors as a way of saying “we live here and want to be friends!” Last night we delivered the first batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies and had such a positive experience. Our next door neighbors, Sharon and Ray, have two kids, Olivia (11) and Owen (8). They are an incredibly neat family and we spent 2 hours talking to them just outside our front doors (these are townhouses, remember!) “Why did this take so long?” is what I thought all night. But there is timing in everything. We enjoyed our conversations very much with the McGuirks and are looking forward to many more gatherings together over the next year.
Then, to place icing on the cake, as we were talking, another neighbor down the road with 2 pugs came over to chat. They no longer have the 2nd pug as they are a pug foster family and had just given one away to adoption. I FINALLY got to play with the little pug named Jaba who I have been admiring for weeks; I also got my “pug fill” in for a few days. I am obsessed with them. I may have mentioned this before, but I have an adorable little nephpup named Winston who I love and don’t get to see as much as I’d like to. Here he is:
I have been begging Michael to let us get one eventually, and after talking with these neighbors, I think I may have warmed him up to the idea. Brandy and Justin are a part of a large pug rescue I the Charleston area and might have convinced us not to go with a puppy whenever we get a dog (which probably won’t be anytime soon, Mom!). They, like us, are wanting to know their neighbors more, and especially the young adults (they are only a few years older than us). We gave them cookies too.
On Sunday evening our HOA is having a neighborhood cookout which will allow us to meet most of the rest of the division, which excites us.
So, a little batch of cookies can go a long way.
-LR
Thankfully the rain held off during the game (the women in front of us were married to some of the Battery players, so it got intense at times!)
Enjoying the action (I think this was right after a Red Card on the Battery)
The Blackbaud office building I work in
Even though the game ended in a 0-0 tie, they still had fireworks!
A few weeks ago, four of my girlfriends and I created a blog, Five Foodie Friends, for the five of us to share recipes and food ideas. It was also created as another way for the five of us to stay close together, even though we all live far apart. 
My sweet friend Rachel came to visit with her new precious dog, Rainey from Sunday to Tuesday. I took off work to play at the beach all day on Monday, and it was well worth it! We baked in the sun and cooled off in the water, before Rainey took off running down the beach! Rachel had to run almost a 1/2 mile just to get her...it was quite funny to watch!
We know how to show a good time down here, and the two of them can attest to that! Rachel's friendship is so precious, and I am so glad she decided to share some of her break with us. PS- dogs are welcome, too!
Carolyn also keeps up a cool blog of all her wedding creativities (my new word!). 