Valentines, Schmalentines

To Feel The Love  

Forward: When I sat down yesterday to write this post I wasn’t sure what to say, or how to say it. I didn’t know my ending goal or have a point to my story, I just felt like writing about what love meant to me. Here is what unfolded after I sat down.


I don’t know how to start this post and I’m not really in the mood to write it. Tomorrow is Valentines Day and I will be celebrating with the one I love.

I love, love. I am a hopeless romantic. I am a super huge fan of movies that make me cry. My favorite part of any TV series and Movie is always the love story. I.E., Rachel and Ross, Noah and Allie, Jim and Pam, Olivia and Fitz, just to name a few. I am secretly sappy. Love is hard to explain, and the word is thrown around so much that it’s not always believable anymore. The reason I am even doing this post is because not everyone is surrounded by love, and when you are someone who happens to be lucky enough to have and be loved, then you should embrace it.

My heart has been broken to the point I felt as if there was no return. But, I come from a family who showered me with so much love that it was impossible to give up in life. Love isn’t just about flowers, heart candies -although delicious, cute, and wonderful-, and teddy bears. To me, love is a blessing. I am not bragging, I am not gloating, I am just simply recognizing that my parents and grandparents, along with close and distant family members were the first people in my life to show me what true love was supposed to be, and how it was supposed to feel, and I am forever grateful.

My Grandparents were married for 50 years. My Parents divorced when I was 1. Not a day in my childhood from birth to 18 went by without the support of both my mother and father. They might not have loved each other, but they loved me so much that it taught me how to truly care about someone. After I left for college, obviously, I didn’t always try to talk to my parents everyday because I was too busy trying to “discover myself”, but I never forgot how I grew up. When someone would try to take me down, mentally, or by breaking my heart, I would remember how much I love the world, how much I love to laugh, and how much I love the idea of creating the perfect life for myself, and I would get up and move on. Love is hard. It’s hard to find, it’s hard to maintain, it’s said to be easy with the right people but that doesn’t mean it is effortless. It’s only easy because love is the common denominator, and when that is understood, you can overcome anything.

The older I get, the more the definition of love changes. I mean, I have always loved pizza, cats, cheese, and ice cream but, saying you love someone, and committing to that in reality changes as you become older. When I moved to North Carolina 5 years ago, love showed up. My Mom and my Dad, whom don’t speak to each other, drove separately to Pittsburgh from Columbus, helped me pack up a van, a station wagon, and a car, and we all followed each other on this 8 hour adventure. 3 cars, all of us seperate yet, all of us doing this together. I was moving from Pitt to Raleigh because of a boy. Even though I kept telling myself it was for a “change in career”, and to be somewhere warmer, I knew it was because of a boy, and so did my parents. My divorced parents drove me from PGH to NC so I could be with the one I love. I don’t know much more of a love story than that. They moved me into a random house, with random roommates, and “the boy” was there to help. Afterwards, they kissed me on the cheek and separately drove back to Columbus, OH, as Mitch and I waved goodbye. That is why I love, love.

Mitch and I met in middle school, went to high school together, then didn’t see each other for about 8 years, or talk for that matter. On my 26th birthday I came to Raleigh, NC because my best friend was here on business and heaven forbid if we weren’t together to celebrate the big 26! Mitch happened to have a place in Raleigh for us to crash that April, and then, well, that following August I moved here. I’m now 31 and we will be celebrating 6 years together this spring. We both came from terrible heart aches, and helped each other back into trusting someone. He is my rock, my best friend, and he makes me feel like I must have done something right in this world, to have been so lucky to land someone like him. I love you, babe, Happy Valentines, Schmalentines Day.


I’ve decided to share some of my favorite photos with you guys! Scroll through to see the fun times we’ve had over the years, the awesome Pizza my Dad sends us on Valentines Day, the pancakes I made one year that spell out “I Love You”, and my favorite way to show him I care, the art of the sandwich. 

Snowmageddon 2017.

Edible, I Love You’s.

42nd St Oyster Bar.      -Raleigh-

When You Love Someone, Make Them A Sandwich.      -2015-

“Smile” ( He said he could pose better than me.)     -Just A Wedding-

That One Time My Dad Sent Us Heart Shaped Pizzas From Lou’s For Valentines Day!

A Foodies Way of Saying, I Love You, Honey.      -La Farm Bakery-

One Rad Wedding, 2017.     -Colorado-

One of My Favorite New Staples in Raleigh.     -Lucette Grace-

Brewery Hopping.     -Bond Brothers-

Happy 5 Years.     -2017-

Cheers To Year Number 6!     -Chocolate Chip & Bacon Pancakes-

Why It’s Not OK, If You Haven’t Been To Sommelier’s Roast in Raleigh, NC!

As I walked into Sommelier’s Roast on October 26th, with barely a foot in the door, immediately my nose started doing the happy dance. The smells, oh my goodness, the smells. From the freshly roasted coffee beans, to the mini cupcakes and beautiful cakes on display, to the amazing hot and cold sandwiches, gourmet salads, and speciality sides they have available, I was in love immediately. 

In the beginning of summer 2017, a couple of old friends called me up and told me they were going to finally open up their own coffee shop. What seeed like a casual phone call was actually an, OMG our dreams are finally coming true, phone call. It was a miracle, a beautiful blessing, if you will.

I met Lance and Ashley Odvody back in 2014, when I was running the Baguettaboutit Food Truck & Cafe out in Durham, NC. They have three of the most adorable children on the planet, all boys, and I absolutely LOVED when they would visit our cafe. Their boys would run around with more energy than an entire Kindergarten class, and it just filled the restaurant with the most amazing energy every time they were there.

Lance worked at the Angus Barn at the time and Ashley was busy tending to her three little children – a 24 hour job. Any chance he got, Lance would always bring us his Bethesda Roasting Company coffee beans, and I started becoming addicted to them. Those beans were so fresh and it always smelled up the entire cafe, and it was glorious!

Fast Forward 3 years later when I got that phone call; I’m pretty sure I cried a little. What had seemed impossible for the Odvody’s was now becoming a reality right before our eyes. I was fortunate enough to sit in meetings, drink endless amounts of coffee, take part in tea, and lunch meat tastings from all kinds of vendors, and help out in any possible way that I could. It was truly an incredible experience and I could not be happier, or more proud of these two individuals.

The name Sommelier’s Roast came about because Owner and Operator, Lance Odvody, is a certified sommelier. A Sommelier (pronounced, Sew-Mall-Yea) is a trained wine professional specializing in wine tasting, food pairings, and service. This training uniquely qualifies Lance to bring out the subtle flavors of coffee, to create food and beverage pairings, and to bring excellent service to the everyday coffee experience.

Sommelier’s Roast is conveniently located at 3700 Glenwood Avenue Suite 150 Raleigh, NC 27612 on the Ground Floor of the Grubb Ventures and Regions Bank Building, right at the intersection where I-440 meets Glenwood Ave.

Whether you’re going to or from work, school, or meetings, you must stop in for some of the best Coffee, Tea, and Gourmet Cafe Food, that you will ever have; ever, I’m serious! They have a handful of house made items, like this incredible Veggie & Hummus Wrap!

Along with their house made items, they brew their own coffee, and mix in some special treats provided by local vendors; one being the ever so famous, 9th Street Bakery!

They are open 7AM – 4PM, M-F, and occasionally host tea and coffee tasting events on the weekends. Make sure to check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or by visiting their Sommelier’s Roast website!

And this is, Why It’s Not OK, If You Haven’t Been To Sommelier’s Roast in Raleigh, NC! You’re Welcome 🙂

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