Tired.

Tired does not even cover how I feel today.  After not feeling like I had a weekend, Monday morning was not welcome.  I honestly wish it was Friday already. 

I did learn a valuable lesson this weekend; I can no longer travel with my parents.  As much as I love my parents, I just cannot do it anymore. Without getting to much in it, I do know that it’s true that as people get older they should no longer travel.  Period. 

It was great getting to see my cousins and aunts/uncles that I do not get to see near as often as I wish.  Just wish I had gotten a chance to spend more time with them than be at my parents’ whim.  The wedding was beautiful.  I didn’t get a chance to take many pictures but I did get one of the couple dancing their first dance.  I remembered to look at my cousin as Kate walked down the isle to see his face; he was almost in tears.  It was so sweet.

Patrick & Kate Montgomery

 

Brian was a great husband and accomplished his “honey-do” list and got to have a fun weekend.  His weekend was by far more fun than mine!  I was so jealous when he said he went to the Stables with Chad, Allie, Megan, and Cole. Then went to Romie’s for the nigh.:(  I need to get back in to the swing of things today.  I feel like I have missed something that I need to do due to being gone.  

Oh!  I found my new toy I want.  The Nook.  I love it so.  I was able to read in the car without getting sick and to me it’s worth it just to be able to do that!!!  I was able to complete one book and get about halfway through another one that DeAnne had on it.  It’s great.  Maybe I will decide to get it for my birthday instead of Christmas.  Christmas is too far to wait for a new toy! :)  On the other hand, I created a monster with my phone.  DeAnne took over my phone to play Angry Birds and decided she wanted an iPod touch just so she could play games on it.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!  This weekend will be a work weekend for us; we are tackling the laundry room. 

Call me crazy.

Go ahead and call me crazy. I’m already thinking about Christmas; presents, parties, decorations, baking,etc! Don’t get me wrong, I love all holidays, but Christmas is too much fun.

I have picked up a couple of Christmas presents for Nona, Krista, Anne Klaire, Emma, and Lauren. I have plenty of projects that could keep me busy WAY into Christmas. I am already planning the cookie swap I decided to throw this year. I even bought a new address stamp for Christmas cards. Don’t you like it?

Today is my Thursday! :) This weekend I’m headed to Shreveport, LA for my cousin’s wedding. DeAnne and I are going with Mom & Dad. This will be the first trip the four of us have made together in about 11 years or so. I’m sure it will be interesting to say the least. It will be a mini family reunion as well. One of my uncles that I haven’t seen in years will be there along with his two sons.

Happy Things:

• Getting motivated to actually finish the Couch to 5K program. I have started this several times but plateau around week 3. I have still been running but not following the program.
• Audiobooks. My sister let me grab some of the books she has onto my iPod. I have really enjoyed listening to the first Harry Potter and Gone with the Wind at work. It really makes the day go by faster. I had forgotten how much I love Gone with the Wind. It’s timeless.
• Rain.
• Re-reading the Harry Potter books.
• Wonderful friends who share the same nerdiness of the Harry Potter books who want to re-read them too and discuss them. :)

She & Him

What a lovely weekend we have had!

Yesterday we got a mid morning start to the day by heading to Chick-fil-a for breakfast.  After breakfast I wanted to run by Hallmark to pick up some ornaments for this year.  Yes, I know it’s July, but this is when Hallmark has their ornament open house.  I picked up the ones I get Emma and Lauren, then two for myself. Brian didn’t see one he wanted this year yet (more will be out in October). We then hit the road to Birmingham. 

Once we go to 5-points we checked into the hotel and wonderful up the street for drinks.  We spent the afternoon at The Mill.  I found a new summer beer I LOVE.  Hard Cider by Original Sin Brewery.  LOVE THIS.  It’s tastes just like champagne.  Which could be a bad thing. :)  Highly recommend this for everyone this summer.  Not sure if you can find it in MS, but maybe you can. While we were there the band (not Zooey or Matt) for She & Him came in for lunch and drinks.  Granted at the time we did not know until we saw them later on stage; but hey, still cool.

The show ROCKED!  By far one of the best shows I have seen in awhile.  The opening act was the Chapin Sisters. They were great!  It was just 2 sisters singing and strumming.  The last 2 songs the band from She & Him joined them; last song Zooey came out to sing back up for them.  Zooey is teeny tiny. She is no more my height and Lisa frame.  Brian and I both were surprised at how small she was.  Gorgeous as ever too.  She & Him were incredible.  Brian was really surprised at how rocking it was.  He was expecting it to be a laid back, mellow show and was being a sweet husband and going with me (plus what guy can say no to getting to look at Zooey all night), but he was pleasantly surprised.  M. Ward is a small guy as well.  I didn’t realize how cute he was either.  He was amazing on guitar.  Zooey really took charge of the stage and commanded.   When we saw them on Letterman back in the spring, she looked so scared to be performing but live was completely different. Only negative thing about the show was you weren’t suppose to have cameras.  I could have snuck mine in if I had put it in my pocket, but didn’t want to take a chance. I did grab a few pictures with my phone, but they aren’t the best.

Sloss Furnace. The building to the left in the picture is where the stage was.  This is right outside.

Inside.  You can see how big this place is and how cool.  From what we were told it’s haunted.  Next time we will know not to “dress up” but wear shorts and flip flops. 

The Chapin Sisters

The Chapin Sisters with She & Him band.

She & Him.  Wish it was better picture but you can see M. Ward & Zooey.

She & Him.

She & Him.

Zooey playing the mandolin

Wreath & music

Although summer is half over I finally found a summer wreath for the front door.  I can’t wait to get it in!  It’s made fresh before shipping.  I wonder if there is a spray you can put on fresh/dried flowers/herbs to help prolong their life.  Anyone know? Tonight is the first Down on Main concert for the summer series.  John Paul Keith & the 145's and Hill Country Revue will be playing tonight.  Brian and I are volunteering for the first couple of hours then we get to enjoy the rest of the night! 

Saturday we are heading to Birmingham to see She & Him at Sloss Furnace.  Looks like it is a cool venue.  I’m looking forward to a fun night downtown Birmingham.  We are staying at one of my favorite never fail hotels, the Doubletree.  Casey, where are some fun places to eat downtown? 

Girls’ Weekend 2010

This weekend was the 3rd annual Girls’ weekend in Savannah with husbands in tow.  We had a wonderful weekend!  Friday afternoon once we arrived Casey drove us around the Isle of Hope and the entrance to Wormsloe Plantation.  If I could afford to live in Isle of Hope I would be there in a heartbeat.  This neighborhood is filled with old homes and streets lined with 100-year-old oak trees with Spanish moss.  I could spend all day just walking around here.  Wormsloe is unbelievably beautiful.  This is what I would love my driveway to look like.

Brian & I standing in front of the driveway at Wormsloe.

After falling in love with Savannah from the beginning, we headed downtown to explore Riverside.  Brian was in charge of the camera most of the weekend.  Here are some of his shots.

 

 

 

 

 

Friday night we went to Forsyth park to watch Galactic and G. Love sponsor by SCAD.  The park was packed full!  Here is a glimpse of how many people were there.  We were about in the middle and there was hardly any space open in front of us or behind us.

Saturday morning we headed to Back in the Day Bakery while we waited on Chip and Lisa to arrive.  Such a charming little bakery!  Saturday we wondered around town some more.  Casey cooked us a wonderful meal of Roy Finamore’s stuff game birds with arugula and asparagus and lots of prosecco and red wine.  Casey out did herself with the meal.  For dessert, we had fresh strawberries and peach over pound cake topped with homemade whipped topping. 

Sunday was a first for us (well Casey, Michael, Brian and I).  Chip and Lisa have started kayaking and thought we would enjoy it too.  I will admit I had the most trouble starting out, I was afraid I would lose my balance and tip over.  We started out against the current and strong winds; you could not let us paddling else you would lose the ground you covered plus more.  Once we got into one of the marsh streams it was very easy and we got to enjoy it more.  I did not take many pictures (Brian took a few) due to once again I was afraid of losing my balance. Coming back was a breeze since we were with the tide and the wind.  Here are the few pictures I have from kayaking, but head over to Casey’s blog for more.

After working muscles harder than you should on a vacation, we headed over to Tubby’s for some beers and seafood.  We ended the weekend with a haunted hearse tour of Savannah.  It was very interesting to hear stories about how many people are buried under the city and that several of the older building are built with bricks made from old gravestone markers. 

Our hearse for the night!

Here are all the pictures from the trip.   I always love getting to spend time with Casey and Lisa!!!  Cannot wait to start thinking about next year’s Girls’ weekend!

Oxford and Gardening

Saturday morning, Brian and I headed to Oxford for the day. We have been wanting to do this for awhile but just never found the time. We started out by having break at BBB. We got there around 9:15 so we couldn’t take advantage of the SnackBar being open to order a mimosas or blood Mary. I’m not a big fan of eggs unless they are in an omelet for breakfast, I was trying to decide between just ordering sides or getting the French toast. I’m a sucker for the traditional breakfast; sausage, grits, biscuits & gravy, and hash browns. One of these days I’m going to try their French toast. I have heard it’s delicious.

After breakfast we went in the Depot just to look around. I came across this little jewel. It’s perfect for us! We haven’t decide where to put it yet, but I love it.

Next we headed to the Square to do some window shopping and see where the day lead us. We weren’t hungry for lunch yet, but we didn’t want to pass up lunch in Oxford if we did get hungry. So we headed to Larry’s to see if we could grab a seat on the patio for a few drinks. I found my new spring love; Abita Strawberry. If you have not tried this yet, drop what you are doing and head to the store to see if you can find some. Tupelo is now sold out of it. :(

Sunday afternoon I decided I couldn’t wait any longer for my herb seeds to really spout. I headed to Lowes to see what I could find in department of herb plants. Here is the first herb garden.

Clockwise: rosemary, tarragon, oregano, cilantro, parsley, basil.

I decided to put mint in is own container since it tends to take over. Mojitos!

I also have a cherry tomato plant.

Which I forgot to take a picture of, but it’s doing really well.

And a couple of jalapenos. (Please do not look at all the little weeds growing on the patio. We need to pull them up.)

At times I wish I had a sunny spot in the backyard for a true garden. I love my shady yard, but it would be nice not to have to do container gardening. Although I have gotten pretty good at it over the years since I have been doing it.

I hope they do ok while we are gone for the week. I’m going to see if Alicia will water them if they look like they need them while she is feeding Sunni. I’m hoping it rains some while we are gone, my poor yard needs it. I’m still waiting to see which seeds took and are spouting up. I have another whiskey barrel that I will use for those that make it. I still have a lavender plant that needs a home, but I had to put it alone and nor do I want to put it in the whiskey barrel alone. Depending on which seeds do not grow I’m going to be hunting for a few more herbs that I wanted to grow this year.

Happy gardening!

A cold sunny day

I started a nice long blog yesterday but never finished it. I'm currently sitting at the lobby of the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale waiting on Lisa to get here. I should have known that google maps over estimated the time to get here. We have a wonderful day planned. We are driving down to Merigold to shop and lunch at McCarty pottery. On the way back up to Clarksdale, we are stopping by Mound Bayou for a little shopping at Peter's pottery. What better way to start the night other than having dinner at Madidi's and drinks at Ground Zero later. Who knows maybe Morgan Freeman will be in town and we can snag a photo with him. Last time I was at Madidi he was there. I'm hoping I brought enough warm pjs for tonight. It's suppose to be in the upper 20s tonight. I brought an extra afghan to wrap up in to stay warm. I'll make sure to post pictures next week.

Casey's Wedding

This past weekend Casey and Michael got married. Casey is a dear friend and such a beautiful bride! Brian and I headed down to Clinton Friday afternoon to stay with Chip and Lisa. Once we got there we quickly got ready and headed to Vicksburg for the rehearsal and dinner. The dinner was at the Anchuca Historic Mansion and Inn. The Anchuca is gorgeous! It’s tucked away in downtown Vicksburg just a few blocks from the river. Dinner was divine, great food and great company. Saturday before the wedding we spent the day around Clinton and Jackson with Lisa (poor Chip had to work) and then back to lay by the pool all afternoon. The wedding was beautiful and Lisa and I did a great job reading (according to our husbands) regardless of how nervous we were. The reception was at the BB Club just a block from the church. It was GORGEOUS!!! I didn’t get as many pictures as I should have of the reception area, but it was so pretty. The food was wonderful; my favorite was the mini shrimp and grits martinis. I should have had more of those.
Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Chip decide to go all fancy with a new piercing. (Fake, the stud from the place cards.)
Brian and me at the rehersal dinner.
Chip and Lisa
Me, Casey (don't you love her dress, it was her mother's that she had altered), and Lisa.
Chip, Lisa, Michael, Casey, Me, and Brian. I love these guys!

Brian, Me, Casey, and Michael

Me and Brian at the reception

PS: Lisa you are one lucky woman to have a husband who makes GREAT coffee for you! (Chip makes the best coffee. :))