follow me
Home blog Susan supports videos

I've had the privilege of working at great stations in several markets and can think of nothing more satisfying than helping to tell someone's story. Thanks for visiting my site. Read more...


  •  


Posts Tagged ‘charlotte’

Fabulous Birthday

Friday, March 26th, 2010

There’s nothing like a Facebook birthday.  This is my second one I’ve had and I have to say, it’s pretty awesome (what’s not to like, you get dozens of birthday wishes)!

Hubby calls March, the birthday season.  Anything he does, buys or presents to me is part of the celebrations!  I love it!

This year my birthday started with my favorite mint chip ice cream cake made especially for me by my best friend, Carrie.

I’m a bit more sentimental this year because I’m away from my Charlotte home, family and friends.

Lucky for me, my friends here in Boston, especially Helen and Alfonso, made sure I didn’t spend the day alone!

Thanks for the love!

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in blog | No Comments »

I Love Charlotte

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

I’m currently in Boston working as a freelance reporter for the NBC affiliate, WHDH-TV.  Boston is one of my favorite cities.  I went to college at Boston University.  I also worked as a reporter at the Fox affiliate, WFXT-TV, before I moved to Charlotte.  My recent return feels a bit like a homecoming.

Everyone here wants to know what I think about Charlotte and I answer honestly, I love Charlotte.  I love the weather, the people, the big city offerings in a manageable smaller city and of course my friends.

Right before I moved here to Boston, I spent a gorgeous ‘Chamber of Commerce’ day Uptown.  I walked around and captured some snippets I wanted to remember about Charlotte during my time away.  I thought you’d enjoy it as well.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in blog | 8 Comments »

Follow Friday Friend WXBrad

Friday, March 19th, 2010

When we first moved to Charlotte in September of 2006, the first thing I noticed was the weather.  Each day felt more spectacular than the last.  Fall was gorgeous, winter was mild, and spring was perfect.  Then summer hit and it was humidity like I’ve never seen and ridiculously fierce thunderstorms.  The craziest thing was how quickly it all hit and changed.  I instantly knew, this would be a meteorologist’s dream!

Maybe that’s why I find Twitterer and WCNC Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich so interesting.  I follow him (@WXBrad) on Twitter and I’ve seen his tweets at all hours of the night.  Sometimes when I catch him on the news, I’ll see a tweet during a commercial break.  Many of my friends send him tweets requesting very specific forecasts and he often responds with alacrity!  (Please note: I worked at WSOC and I have mad love for Steve Udelson, John Ahrens, and Keith Monday.  They jointly utilize @WSOCWeather.)

When I sat down with @WXBrad, it became clear this new father, Cleveland native, and rabid Buckeyes fan, had found the perfect medium in Twitter to share his passion: the weather.  In 140 characters he can easily give you a forecast.  And he loves the social aspect, the give and take.  He can pinpoint weather for your picnic, golf game, or afternoon run.  And when there is severe weather, he receives Twitter updates from weather watchers and pictures.   He sees it as a win-win!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in blog | 3 Comments »

Spray Tan

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

UPDATE: BEFORE and AFTER pictures below!!!

I don’t even know if I want to share this… but here it goes.  I got a spray tan! 

Here’s the thing… I love being tan.  I grew up in Los Angeles.  When my friends Carrie and Becky started driving, our first trips were to the beach.  We all used to meet at Huntington Beach, lifeguard station 17.  The things we did to get a tan, now that I think about them, were absurd!   They included: staying at the beach for about 5-6 hours using only baby oil, baby oil with iodine (I don’t know the rational, I was young and stupid), Hawaiian Tropic SPF 0, and nothing at all.  Crazy right? 

In Boston, we had beautiful beaches like Singing, Crane, Nauset, Surfside, and West Dennis.  They were a bit far, a full day trip.  So when I only had a couple hours, I headed to Revere or Wollaston. 

Then in Charlotte, we first lived at the apartments at Phillips Place.  The pool there was open year round.  When the thermometer went above 70, I’d lounge in shorts and a t-shirt.  At 75, I’d be in a bathing suit.  By this time, at least I was using sunscreen.

Now to the present; we live in a condo complex with no pool.  For the past two years, I’ve crashed my friends’ pools (thank you Tim, Ben, Heather, Brian, Katie and Mike).  But this winter has been brutal.  No January or February ‘sunning’ days.  And I’m starting to freak-out more about looking leathery.  So when a friend recently told me she got a spray tan and the results were inconspicuous, I though, perfect.  I tried it.

Poor Paola, the hot girl at Palm Beach Tan, had to counsel me for a good half-hour before I felt comfortable enough to do it.  Fortunately, my tweet asking for advice resulted with me, at least, arriving fully exfoliated.

It was a weird experience.  You go into the booth wearing only a hairnet and this ‘air brush thing’ sprays you from top to bottom.  It was cold!  It was quick!  But the results, pretty darn good.  Good enough that I’d do it again.  I’ll have to, it only last for about a week.  I look tan and I didn’t have to freak out about wrinkles.

(Before and after spray tan.  The kids… they’re good props.  I’m kidding!)

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in blog | 19 Comments »

My Favorite Things

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

I’m a superlative kind of person.  I like using words like: the biggest, best, brightest!  It’s all well and good (for me) but my friends find it a bit overwhelming because I insist on knowing their superlatives.  For example, say we’re having a great meal, I want to know which was their favorite dish.  If we’re traveling or out, I want to know what portion of their day was their absolute favorite part.  I often get an eye roll or guttural response, which gets me to nudge just a little bit more.

In the spirit of superlatives, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite things.  (All things listed are Charlotte based unless otherwise noted.)

Best place to have a casual dinner: Dandelion Market

Best fried chicken: Price’s Chicken Coop

Best bartender ever: Paul at Capitol Grill

Best place to get a pint: Connolly’s on Fifth

Best Vietnamese spring rolls: Lang Van

Best Vietnamese sandwiches: Le’s Sandwich & Café

Favorite diner: Landmark Diner

Best Chinese food: 88 China Bistro

Best places for brunch: Pewter Rose (butterscotch scones), Boudreaux’s (beignets), Lulu (green eggs and ham), Custom Shop (pitcher of mimosa)

Best ice cream: Elizabeth Creamery

Favorite bagel shop: Owen’s Bagel and Deli

Best soup and dessert (I know, weird combo): Amelie’s Bakery

Favorite place for oysters: Capitol Grill (high end), Hickory Tavern (affordable)

Favorite casual places for lunch: PioPio, Kabob Grill

Favorite places to take out of town guests: Mac’s Speed Shop, Panthers game at Bank of America Stadium, US National Whitewater Center, Charlotte Motor Speedway Coca-Cola 600 Race, NoDa, Charlotte Cultural Campus (Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, and ‘coming soon’ Mint Museum Uptown), Ice skating at The Green (winter only)

Best outdoor festival: Speed Street

Best gift store: Paper Skyscraper

Biggest selection of designer jeans in petite sizes: Belk’s SouthPark

Favorite person at make-up counter: Joseph @ Bobbi Brown, Nordstrom

Favorite mascara: Too Faced Lash Injection (department store), Rimmel Glam’Eyes Mascara (drug store)

Favorite lip gloss: Lancôme ‘La Laque Fever’ Lip Shine (department store), Rimmel Vinyl Gloss (drug store)

Best acne spot treatment: c. booth DERMA 17 Salicylic Acid Problem Spot Treatment

Favorite treatment skin care line: Obagi (high end), Olay (affordable)

Favorite hair guy: Donald, Carmen Carmen

Favorite nail salon: Polished

Favorite sitcom: Modern Family

Favorite reality show: American Idol

Favorite drama: Grey’s Anatomy

Favorite books I read this year: Little Bee, by Chris Cleave // Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford

Favorite books I often recommend: American Wife, by Curtis Sittenfeld // The Blind Side, by Michael Lewis

Favorite books of all time: To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee // Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan

Favorite books non-fiction: Game Change, by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin // The Girls in the Balcony: Women, Men, and the New York Times, by Nan Robertson

Favorite dog park: Fraizer Park

Favorite online shoe store: www.Heels.com (local), www.Zappos.com (everywhere)

Favorite non-profit to donate money: www.DonorsChoose.org

Fundraiser that’s most fun: Mustaches for Kids

Favorite school: KIPP Charlotte

Please tell me about some of your favorite things in the comment section below!

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in blog | 17 Comments »

Newer Entries »