Cool stuff I've done in the past 48 hours (In no particular order):

I have finally found success in grilling tofu! I made a ginger terayaki sauce, marinated the tofu, and grilled it up to perfection:

Finally got some good ideas going for outdoor signage and a logo for my shoppe on Squam, which will be opening no later than June 15th. (Sidenote: I just scheduled an Open House for July 11th, so mark your calendars!)

I ate this salad, which MIGHT be quite possibly the best meal in the city in terms of value and healthiness. I dined at Scully's on Walnut St., where I sat in the sun, drew in my sketchbook (my shoppe design, actually!) and ordered their chef salad, which included grilled shrimp and spicy walnuts. Homemade dressing, sliced avocado...yum! Only $8.00!

Got my eyebrow repierced. I couldn't get my jewelry in (I took it out about 5 years ago or so), so I went and saw Chris at Mystic Tattoo, and he stabbed a needle through me eyebrow. Man, I forgot how much I love that feeling. I will most likely be returning to New Hampshire with a face full of metal.Then Chris gave me this fortune cookie: It's not the having, it's the getting. Hmmmm.

Went to the Grey Eagle for a live acoustic show: Nikki Talley. I love this place and got there earlier than I meant to, so I shot some groovy pictures of the stage:

Played some make-shift Pictionary at the bar with my friends as we were waiting for Nikki to start singing (I just HAPPENED to have some Sharpies and a notebook). I think this was the funniest drawing-- Lin's rendition of 'shake your booty'--ha! Reminded me of my friends back home and the killer games of Pictionary I have played (and can't wait to play!) with my friend, Rox. :o)

Yay! My two friends: Jerri & Kim. They're super great.

Nikki Talley was amazing. She had an honesty to her lyrics that I clung to all night, and a beautiful vocal range. Her mom came up for her last song and sang a duet with her, and we all danced with Nikki's grandmother, who was rockin' out in her wheelchair in the audience. She was so sweet..."girl," she told me, "if I didn't have a bad hip, I'd be dancing just like you. I may be old on the outside, but I'm 21 on the inside!" She was absolutely adorable!

Aaand, I also watched an embarrassing number of 'the Office' episodes. I was waiting for Jim and Pam to hook up, and now that they have, I still cannot look away! I'm addicted!

Obama Nation.

What a beautiful thing to look back on an important day in history and recall the details of what you were doing and how you were impacted so profoundly. As a recently transplanted resident to Asheville, I have been thrown in the middle of a flock of Obama Mamas and supporters, who had been waiting for this day for a long time. Don't get me wrong, I was and am 100% Obama. But there is something different in the North Carolina air that rings a bit louder than anywhere I have been since he began his campaign. The fundamental grass roots campaign that helped him win the election is still uniting the community through continued volunteering, faded Obama stickers on the back of car windows, hand painted lawn signs, and even the frequent cheer across a crowd of Yes we can!

I wasn't quite sure I realized the profundity of the situation until I sat and watched the inauguration at noon on Tuesday. When Obama won the election, I kissed and hugged a close friend and went to sleep feeling great about the brink of change our nation stood upon. But when he was inaugurated, I cried. I cried so hard and so unexpectedly as it all hit me at once. Granted we have a ways to go, but all of a sudden I realized I'm not as scared to look to the future. We have a black president. Someone who, amidst the complete chaos our country is in, calmly and confidently expresses that he is certain we can unite to make it strong again. Among so many other great things, we can take pride in our president once again.

All of this said, I don't want to get on a political soapbox, and politics is something that I rarely discuss with others. But Tuesday...this was not a night to be home in a city that comes alive after 10:00 and would be out joining hands in celebration of this amazing change. So while I was tired in the legs from a new dance class I had joined earlier that day (ugh...I am so out of shape!), and I had but a few bucks in my pocket, I went down to the Grey Eagle for the Obama Celebration. It was any other night at the Eagle since I have been there...the $2.50 drink specials...plywood floors...the smell of fried green tomatoes wafting in from the kitchen. But that night offered a certain magic in the air. Between the eclectic mix of a bluegrass and a sweet funk band, amidst the nag-champa filled dance floor, friends seemed to hug longer and smile harder when they greeted each other, chanting and stomping when the bands called out “Obama!” You could feel the change in the room alone, which made me excited for the rest of the world outside of the Grey Eagle, and all that is to come.

The evening's feature was 'Soul Driven Train,' a funky soul jam band, that ended the night in a beautiful drumming session.

Pop Asheville, part deux.

Night 2 of Pop Asheville. Didn't take as many pictures, but spent the night at the Grey Eagle (my official new favorite bar and club in the area), after riding around in the La Zoom bus because...well, because I could. Man that thing is so much fun! I caught 3 of the bands: Holiday Childress, The Champion and His Burning Flame and HeyPenny (shown below).

It was a more laxed evening, but the crowd was building at the Eagle to see the festival feature: StephaniesId. They were the band that started the phenomenom of PopAsheville last year, and played the last set of the evening. You should check them out on You Tube, if you get the chance...they're not going to be playing small venues for long!

The powerhouse lead singer, Stephanie Morgan, rocked the stage and captivated the audience with her amazing voice. And, she is absolutely adorable.

This was the We Are The World-ish ending to the festival. Oh, and look! It's Ami Worthen from Mad Tea Party over there!

So...that was my first weekend in Asheville. :o)