Halloween 2013

 

 

To me, holidays are all about the people you get to spend them with. Jacob is 15, way past the age to trick-or-treat, so I was excited when my friend, Michelle, said "Come on over!" And, you just have to know Michelle .... Michelle ALWAYS has plenty of food and munchies around! Look at the cute treats she whipped up. I stuck to the pigs-n-a-blanket and huge pot of spaghetti though!

 

I love this girl ;)

 

 

Creepy Teeth (apples with almonds)

Bloody Eyeballs (deviled eggs)

 

 

I don't know how to explain it, but the feeling I have hanging with my friends is just the best.

 

 

Tracey, Michelle, Ava & Me

 

 

~ Halloween with my Guys ~

 

 

Jobe & Jacob

Timmy, Tracey & Steve (internet café)

Tracey, Steph & Me



 Us + Our Hostess with the Mostest

(Timmy photobombing in the background)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Fall Back

 

This weekend, Daylight Savings Time will end, and I feel the need to know what I'm going to do with all this DARK time. It depresses me that badly. Yesterday, I got an elliptical to have in my house because I'm really good at reasons not to exercise (too dark, too rainy, too early, too late, too scary). The darkness just makes me so lazy and I wanna be a lump on the sofa and eat and eat and eat. So ~  I have decided that if I can log 100 miles on it that I won't feel badly if (when) one day I stop using it. So, tonight will be the beginning. Not sure if I will record my embarrassing stats here at first or not. But, I will try to think positive!

AND... I have already bought the paint to start on my doors and trimwork. I've been saving this chore. The more I'm inside, the more I will be looking at the walls. Really thinking of ordering some of those cool photo canvases. And, I would love love love to hang something big and bright over my sofa. (Little Sister if you're reading, pay attention! Seems like you're on a bit of a Starry Night run but that's okay too!)

AND ... thank goodness for TV. Tonight, we will be watching Duck Dynasty and recording Nashville. I have to admit that my interest in Duck Dynasty is waning, but it is a good show to watch with Jacob. I have found that people either love this show or hate it. My Mom thinks it's the silliest thing she's ever seen, but I have no doubt that my Dad would have loved it. He was a bit like Ole Si Robertson. Making up words whenever he has the chance. I can't help but love him!

BUT ~ Nashville satisfies that soap opera-lovin' need that I still have. I love the cast, I love the clothes, and I love the storylines. And, you know it has to have that couple that loves each other to pieces but they just can't be together for whatever reason. And, that femme fatale that you love to hate - Hayden Panetierre plays her role to perfection. She's so cute that you just have to forgive her over and over again. Because trust me, she is just plain mean over and over again.

WELL ~ you will probably be hearing from me a whole lot more often. If you do and you're like "I wish Steph would just shut up already" ~ just keep on scrolling by the link. Otherwise ~ I'd love to hear from you on why you read my blog!

Myrtle Beach in the Fall

We decided to weekend in Myrtle Beach, one of our favorite places. Jacob was going to be busy with Scaremare at Liberty on Friday night and OBX with his buddies for the weekend, so I met Steve after his tournament Friday in Clarksville, and we put it in the wind!! The drive down wasn't too bad and before we knew it ~ We were at The BEACH!!

 Saturday was beautiful. We decided to visit all of our favorite "haunts."

 It's almost Halloween after all ;)    

 

 First stop ~ Lunch at River City Café. 

We love this little place. Steve always, always, always gets the Pimento Cheeseburger. So glad that Horseshoe at home now carries that, too! It's just one of those cute laid back places that you can write on the tables, walls, anywhere you wanna make your mark! The staff is always friendly, the food is always good and it won't break the pocket book!

They always serve your drink in these plastic cups that you can take home, so I only have like a million of them hanging out in my kitchen at any given time. When I get enough, I think I will open my own River City Café !!

 

  

When we left there ~ we both had places that we wanted to go to while in town. As it was nearby, we hit the PGA Super Store first. It is HUGE, and we love it. One of us loves it more than the other.

 He is pictured HERE!

I have to admit, I did enjoy it too. Soooo many cute golf clothes! And, with racks of summer clothes at 50% and 75% off, well, I had to check them out!!

I ended up not buying any clothes but what I did buy is a Swing & Grip Trainer. It is suppose to do a couple of things: Train you to have a proper grip and feel a full motion swing. Since it was on sale for just $16.00, I thought it was worth a try. It's weighted so it should build up the muscles that I need. Worst case scenario, I don't use it. If that happens, its perfect to leave near the front door in case I need a weapon!

 

Confession ~ One of the places that I wanted to go to while down here was Old Navy. This is my first purchase influenced by something I saw on another blog. It was just as cute in person and on sale for just $12.00.  You will probably see me wear this a lot this Fall and Winter.

After making this and just a couple of more purchases, wink wink ;) , we made our way on to another one of Steve's faves ~ named after one of his clothing idols ~ The John Daly store.

We have found that this store doesn't have a ton of stuff, but every now and then we have found some unusual items. And, they usually have some shirts that John Daly has worn on Tour. Steve is about the same size as J.D. so he always checks this section out.

On the other hand, I always quickly check the small women's section and then I'm on to investigate the rest of the store and amuse myself. For example, I found Freddie Couples at the back of the store. I think he looks happy to see me too ;)

I have seen Freddie in person playing in Raleigh on the Senior Tour. He's one of my faves.
 Cute and a great golfer. This is him in real life.

But, what I think is super cool in this store and I would love to give Steve are the awesome golf bags that were used by John Daly on Tour. But, they are just a weeee bit expensive.
 But, aren't they shweeet???

 

 

Next Stop ~ Broadway at the Beach 

 

 

 

 

 

There is so much to do here. We just walked and talked and looked mostly. And, then I saw this!!!! And, in honor of this blog and everybody who has taken two seconds to read my little blog, I bought it. The perfect addition to my Pandora bracelet!

 

A Piece to the Puzzle !!

 

It doesn't take much to excite me, and when I saw this cute little thing, well, I had to bring it home!

 I am just so tickled with this puzzle piece charm.

 

And, I don't know about you guys ~ but I love trying new places to eat when I'm out of town. My favorite place to eat while in Myrtle Beach is Chestnut Hill, and we had decided that we would go there after hitting Broadway, but then I saw Sweet Carolina's and thought.... MMMMMM :)

 

 

The sign on the outside boasted "Falling off the bone ribs" and "Cornbread with Honey Butter." I was sold! It didn't take much convincing to get Steve to agree. We were there, it smelled good even outside, and the Virginia Tech game was on inside.  So, we went in, and I swear Adam Levine's younger brother waited on us. LOL. It was a win win for everybody!

 

My plate (makes me hungry all over again)

Steve in his "watching the game" trance.

Cute sign on the way to the restrooms ;)

 

On Sunday ~ we got up and went down to the beach ~ just to snap a couple of pics and look around. I couldn't believe that there were people in the pool! I was wearing boots for goodness sake!

 

 

But, it was a gorgeous day and if we hadn't been leaving, I would have loved to lay out by the pool or on the beach and watch people for awhile.

 

We were heading out of town, when we decided to hit Chestnut Hill for brunch. Yayyyyyyy!! I was so happy. I really had my mouth all set for their "to die for" crabcakes but the Brunch did not disappoint at all! I have decided that I would love to be a food critic and blog about it.

 (New career choice to consider.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn't have a lot of time in Myrtle Beach this weekend, but we made the most of every single minute. As a couple, these little pockets of time are key. I had places that I wanted to go and things I wanted to see, but the main thing I wanted to do this weekend was to be with Steve. I guess we are lucky because we are both so easy going. There is never a time that one of us says, "why do you want to go there?" Instead, we just always seem to work it out. "You're going in Old Navy, okay, I'm gonna hit Dick's Sporting Goods. Text me when you're done!"

 

Great weekend. Hope you liked hearing about it ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Feeling a little like Carrie

I luvvvvv "Sex in the City." And, my friend Tracey luvvvvvs "Sex in the City." So, when I started writing this blog, she has been so sweet and supportive saying "You go ahead Carrie Bradshaw." And, I'm gonna be honest with ya .... sometimes when I'm writing, I picture myself at this laptop and I've got the window open and the sounds of New York fill the room. At least in my head they do...

 

 

Today, I found the best quote and when I saw who the quote was by, I just had to post it.

 

 

From time to time ~ I get really hung up on the When, the Where, the How, the Why...why can't I just relax and see what happens?? Especially when nothing tickles me more than an unplanned day turning out even better than anything I could have planned.

 

Well, I doubt that I will be able to totally turn off the "planner" in me, but I'm going to try not to worry, try not to stress, and TRY to just see what happens. What do you think Tracey? Is that what Carrie would do??

 

 

 

 

 

A Place for Everything

This weekend, I started cleaning and when I did, I found the sweetest note from Daddy to Jacob. My Dad died in December of 2010. So, everything I have from him is a treasure, and when I find something I didn't know I had, well, it's even moreso.

 

 

 

It says, "Hi you little old sweety pie. I love you. What not to love. You are handsom. Sweet. Smart. And loves your Jesus. See you in my dreams. Grand Pa Zee. (In the top left corner, there is a picture of Grandpa crying and it says "No mail" underneath it and a picture of a mailbox. Steve said that he remembers Jacob wishing for mail one time. I'm sure Grandma made this little note happen.

 

 My favorite parts: "I love you." He was always so generous with the way he loved us. "And loves your Jesus." He was proud that Jacob already loved Jesus at such a young age. " See you in my dreams." This is the only time I get to see him now, and I look forward to it.

 

Then, I ran up on a few pics that I used to have stuck to my refrigerator. Decided that my new "Smash Book" would be the perfect place to keep them.

I've had a couple of people ask me what I'm using the Smash Book for and how crafty you have to be to do one. I'm using mine as a journal and place to keep mementos. Pretty much ~ if it's something I want to keep that makes me smile, I put it in the book and sometimes print a picture or two to go in there with it. But, if you want to draw, write a poem, cover it with stickers ~ Go right ahead, it's YOURS!

Anyway ~ here's a simple tutorial.

 

Smash Book

There are about a dozen of these to choose from. I got mine from Michael's ($12.99), but I have seen them at Target and hear they have them at Hobby Lobby, too. The bindings are different colors, and the inside papers are spiral bound and each have a different theme.

 

I've been just letting the next page be the next page. Meaning, I don't look for the paper that matches the best or anything like that. I'm just sticking my stuff in chronological order. Most of the page is covered anyway. This is the next page...

 

 

So, I just started with the most important piece ~ which was the note from Daddy to Jacob. The Smash Book comes with a glue pen but I like using this adhesive best. It's the kind I used to use when I was scrapbooking and it's heavy duty, which means it won't let go, and its super easy to use. Just rolls right on!

 



Once I put the card in place, I had 3 other pics that were just laying in a box. I decided that this was the perfect place to keep them, alongside the sweet note. I decided to write just a few things down...Things that were important to me. Again ~ you can write as much or as little as you want to.

I found these stickers today too ... Pretty perfect if you ask me ;)

Voila! Page complete.

 

I used to love to Scrapbook but this version is something that I don't feel like has to be perfect. I can put the little book on my lap while I'm watching TV and just fill up the pages. I'm already envisioning a cute bookshelf to keep them all on.

 

 

 

Well, a girl can dream can't she???