Decking the Loft

Tis the season to "deck the halls" or loft as we like to say here in our home. Friday night, like we do every year, we loaded Hunny up and headed to get our Christmas tree. It was a little chilly out, but not too bad, so that was nice. Our first year here in Atlanta we bought our tree from a random temporary tree salesman, but since then we have learned that Lowe's has some pretty reasonably priced and great looking trees. Yes, we take Hunny to Lowe's.

Above you can see Hunny and Josh on their mission to find the perfect tree. The dog loves smelling all the trees and gets tons of attention from the other customers there on a similar Holiday mission.

We finally found the perfect one. Just off the truck and ready to be loaded up on top of the car to be taken home for Hesley Christmas 2011.

There she is, just hanging out, waiting for her arms to settle a bit before she is decorated. She looks lonely and bare, but don't worry, she has a date with decorations the next day.

Complete with lights, decorations, her friend Rudolph by her side, and even a couple of presents to guard until Christmas day. She looks 'purdy' if I must say so myself and the smell of Christmas permeates the loft perfectly.

Even Hunny got into the Christmas spirit and donned her Christmas collar for the day. She particularly likes to nip at the various ornaments around the bottom. I think she is trying to find her favorite Golden Retriever ornaments that look just like her. She found one.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone from our family to yours!

Thanksgiving 2011 in Charleston

Thanksgiving was amazing this year. To start the weekend off, Josh and I drove all the way to Summerville Wednesday after work to stay with my dad. We got up Thursday morning and headed to Jeddie and Jessica's for a fun filled day of family, food and cheer.

We got to Charleston just before lunch and Josh said that he wanted to go ahead and give me an early birthday present. I was very excited because if you know me, you know I love presents. Thank goodness Josh gave me my present early because as you will start to see, my pictures are going to be much better and more abundant. Thank you Josh for my new camera!! I am so excited to show you all the pics below that I took.

Isn't Cokey adorable? This is Jeddie and Jessica's second child and she is precious. She is the perfect helper in the kitchen and even became quite the little photographer as I showed her how to use my new camera.

Adelaide is their third child and she has lots of spunk. She pulled me into the bathroom, turned the lights off, and started singing Christmas carols with her illuminated Santa making cool streaks in the darkness. Her favorite is "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."

Ripley is the fourth child and she can hold her own. She loves to bop up and down to music and shake her little booty! I had not seen her in quite awhile and she has changed so much. I can't wait until Christmas to see her grow up even more.

Mom brought Granddad down to Charleston as well. He spent the night in little Jeddie's room, which Jeddie thought was pretty cool. All the kids call him "Little Grandpa" which I think is just about the cutest thing ever. He sits back and watches the chaos of all of us running around and playing with the kids. I am not sure he can hear all that is going on, but mom gives him the low down later. He is just happy to be there and we are happy to have him as well.

I had to get a quick pic with granddad myself. His is the sweetest and most patient person that I have ever known and I can't imagine a world without him. We are lucky to have him in our lives.

Of course we can't forget about Scout. Had to throw one in of him because he is Hunny's best friend and she would have gotten upset if I didn't!

Here is little Jeddie, Adelaide and big Jeddie chilling and watching some football.

Last year Little Jeddie received all of 'my brother' Jeddie's old Star Wars toys. Here he is playing with one of them as Jessica grabs him for a quick picture.

Cokey and myself enjoying the beautiful weather while the boys do something in the yard.

Pretty sure my dad hasn't had to drag kids on the floor around his ankles in a long time. The girls had the best time as did Dad. It was hilarious.

This is my favorite picture of Dad the whole weekend. I caught him in the best smile while relaxing on the porch.

Here goes Ripley again bouncing up and down to music. That girl has more rhythm than me, but I am certain that isn't very hard.

I jumped out from behind the garage and tested out my new paparazzi style camera. Got a pretty good snapshot if you ask me. I love my new camera to death and can't wait to show off more pictures like this one while catching people quickly and not having them to hold their pose for 3 seconds while the flash prepares and the camera focuses!

And then here is sweet Hunny. I can't believe she is 12 and still pretty active. She has select hearing, but this weekend she had a blast visiting at Dad's house and going on road trips galore.

La Boda de Male y Manuel en Mexico

This past weekend we went to Merida, Mexico for the wedding of our dear friends Male and Manuel. Male lived with the Mauldin's down the street from me one summer while I was working at Handpicked and Melanie introduced us. We quickly became great friends as did all of my other buddies! When we heard that she was having her wedding in Mexico there was absolutely no hesitation on our part to be there. We have been so excited and 11-11-11 will always be a date to remember.

The picture above was taken the first night we were there at a place called Rosas y Xocolates. It's an amazing boutique hotel in Merida. From let to right is Caroline, Kay, Susannah, me, Manuel, Male, and Josh. We were celebrating the wedding which was the next day and just happy to all be together again.
The ceremony was at a beautiful church in Merida. The doors were open and the breeze was flowing. It was the perfect night for a wedding. My most favorite part of the weddig was when they draped the bride and groom with flowers. Male's dress was gorgeous as well!

As you can see above, the night got pretty crazy. With the reception starting about 10pm, dinner lasting until after midnight, the partying really got started about 12:30am. We kept the time a secret from Susannah and Kay's mom, Carey, and she ended up hanging until 3am. There were props gallore and everyone dressed up and had a blast. Carey, Susannah, and Kay look great in the party attire!

I had to throw in a serious shot of Josh and myself. Josh was such a trouper on this trip. Traveling with 4 women is an ordeal I am sure and he was very patient. Many thanks to him for keeping us in line and on time!

Josh got the sombrero during the reception and I quickly snapped a pic both with the groom and then the bride. You can tell at this point that Manuel is having a blast.

And here is the pretty bride with Josh!

The night ended at about 5am for everyone and the next day was rough to say the least. It was well worth it though. Even getting pulled over by the cops in Cancun the next day and getting duped out of $75 to get my license back was worth it to have witnessed this matrimony. Note to self, only turn around on Mexican streets at the Retorno. Ugh.

Thank you Male and Manuel for including us. We had such a great time and want to do it all over again!

Garnet Trumps Big Orange

This past weekend Josh and I went to Knoxville, TN to follow the Gamecocks, visit my old college friend Mark, and hopefully bring home a win for the Gamecocks. We were successful on all parts and left Sunday with a smile on our faces and the USC car flags still flying!
Knoxville's tailgating scene is pretty fun. The tailgating is all over the campus, unlike ours where you find yourself knee deep in dust or mud depending on the weather. We traveled around and visited several different tailgates, one of which was on the top level of a parking garage right by the stadium. That was sort of weird, but it was fun as well.

In the picture above, from left to right, is our friend Doolan, me, Josh and Mark. We stayed with Mark and he was gracious enough to provide us with 2 tickets. Thank you buddy!

So the Gamecocks are 7-1 and here's hoping we can bring home a few more W's the rest of the season. I sure would like to go to the SEC Championship again!

Facebook Freebies Work

A couple weeks ago I was checking out Facebook, looking at the daily pictures and reading everyone's status updates, when I noticed a link that someone had shared for a free bottle of L'Occitane lotion. The link said that if the company got 250,000 "likes" that everyone who had clicked to like their page would get a free bottle of lotion. I figured, why not? Well, low and behold, a couple days later I got a voucher via email to find the nearest store location and go pick up my lotion.

I ended up needing some retail therapy yesterday so I headed to Lenox Mall after work. I used my 40% off coupon at Banana Republic, bought some much needed eye shadow from MAC, and then headed to pick up my lotion.

WOW. I love the L'Occitane store. Because I had the voucher, I also got 15% off anything I wanted to buy. I wish I had been more prepared because there were many things I wanted, but they were a little too expensive for a spur of the moment purchase. I got some samples of various items and will probably go back to make a purchase. I seriously want to Anti-Aging Extract. I used it last night and this morning and it's lovely. Smells like lavender too. Yum! Their lavender smells so delicious that I had to buy a little sachet. They say to keep it where you get the most stressed. I am going to keep mine in my desk drawer at work!

Souper Yummy White Bean Chili

Monday night I got a wild hair, per Josh's request, to cook our favorite White Bean Chili recipe. I got this recipe last Christmas from my friend Emily at her "Around the House" White Elephant Christmas present swap. It was so delicious that I needed the recipe as soon as possible so that I could make it for Josh to enjoy as well. Since there has been the slightest chill in the air this year, it seemed like and appropriate time to ring in chili season!

Above are all the ingredients that go into the soup. Because this is not a food blog, I am not posting the recipe. Should you want it, please comment with your email and I will send it to you. After I finish cooking a meal, my brain shuts down and all measurements and ingredient lists fly out the window.
I do know that you must first saute the onion and garlic, which makes your house smell yummy. While this is cooking, you should be pulling the meat off your rotisserie chicken and shredding it to be used later. I prefer the lemon pepper chicken from the K-Roger, also known as the Kroger.

Next you are going to get your deep pot and pour the chicken broth, spices, one can of beans, green chilis, and the onion and garlic saute together and wait until it boils. Once it boils, dump the chicken in and let it come to a boil again. Turn it down and simmer for 20 minutes. Then add the second can of beans, you must strain and rinse all the beans first. Simmer for 10 more minutes and take deep breaths because the smell is oh so devine by now. While you are in the final 10 minute stretch, mix together 2 cups of light sour cream and 3/4 cup of light cream to be poured in at the last minute.

Once the dinger rings, pour in the cream and serve it up immediately.

Add some oyster crackers for that final touch and enjoy!

Hesley Reunion

This past weekend Josh and I headed to Florence for a Hesley family reunion. As you can see above, I was able to snap a pic of Josh, his brother Sam, and sister Elizabeth. I should have kept my camera phone out all day because I missed getting a picture of everyone else and there were many more Hesley family members there from both SC and NC. The picture above it of Catie, Sam and Nilla's oldest daughter, myself and Buck, her dog. We celebrated Catie's 5th birthday at the reunion so I had to make sure I got a picture with the special guest. She and her sister Perry, who is almost 4, are absolutely adorable and made the weekend that much more fun and full of energy!

I can't wait until Christmas when we will get to see them all again. I wish everyone lived closer together so that we all got to see each other more. Maybe one day!

Last Weekend

Last weekend was Decatur Beer Festival and for the 2nd year in a row our buddies James, Jessica and Christine came to stay with Josh and me here in Atlanta. This weekend is always a favorite and we have already marked our calendars for next year. The tickets go on sale "some time" in September each year and they always sell out quickly. This year they sold out in 3 hours. It just goes to show how awesome of a time people have and we are sure to attend each year. Below is a picture I snapped just after the event. From left to right, James, Jenn, Josh, Jessica, Jim (that's alot of Js), Christine and Kyle.After the festival concluded at 5pm, we headed to the Republic Social House to enjoy a little rooftop lounging and outdoor football TV watching. The weather was absolutely perfect so it would have been ashamed to go inside somewhere. Once we needed a little change of scenery we went to the Dark Horse and the 10 High for a little Karaoke. Oh yes, I said Karaoke. Both Christine and James sang a song with a full band behind them as we danced and cheered them on. They were both great and got lots of applause.
Our friend Kay was able to meet up with us as well which was awesome. It's always nice to have surprise visits throughout the day to bring life to the party!
All in all it was an amazing weekend and I am so glad our friends came

to Atlanta to party with us. It's always fun to have a little bit of "home" in Atlanta!

Box O' What?

It's official, this is my one and only brand of water from here on out. Sorry Dasani, Volvic and the occasional Smart Water, there's a new Box in town. Pretty clever invention if you ask me. Not sure what the will come up with next, but if it's Box of Beer then sign me up too!
The picture above is so you can get a better feel for the size of the box. Although the drink holders in your car are round, this one fits perfectly in the void space between my cup holders and the opposite side of my middle console. Genius!

Crab Cake Saturday!

This past Saturday, Josh and I had planned a relaxing day of watching football and cooking up something yummy. We didn't decide what we wanted to cook until early Saturday morning, but we decided on Crab Cakes with Mac and Cheese. No veggies allowed! Actually we sort of forgot about the veggies, but who really cares when it's Saturday right? As you can see above, Josh positioned the prep table right behind the couch so that he could cook and watch football at the same time. This is basically his ideal Saturday and we were both excited about the yummy food to come. After we mixed all the ingredients for the mac and cheese and put the casserole dish in the oven, we started on the crab cakes. We only had 30 minutes until the USC game started so we were completely focused on getting this task done quickly and efficiently. Above is the before picture of what the raw crab cakes looked like just before they became the crisp yumminess that you will see below.

With all the delicious smells permeating the house, Hunny could not help but camp out by all the cooking. As you can see, she is a great assistant cook to Josh. While he was cleaning a few dishes, she took charge and watched the crab cakes and mac and cheese through the oven window. She did a great job because nothing burnt while Josh left her in charge!

And here is the final product. These crab cakes were absolutely wonderful. We made enough for us to even eat them Sunday as well. I chose to put one on a salad for my Sunday meal. I guess I was tying to make up for the lack of vegetables on Saturday. Does that count? Who knows, but the salad was devine.

As for the football part of our Saturday, the Gamecocks lost and we are very sad about it. At least there was some good food to make up for the Gamecocks playing so poorly!

Best Dress Ever

Ok ok, I never post about clothes, but recently I have decided to focus on the things in my daily life that make me happy. Earlier this week I was a bit stressed out so when I got an email reminder from Anthropologie about their current sale, I couldn't help but stop everything I was doing at work to take a look. I am so glad I did because I found the perfect maxi dress. There is no way I would have paid full price for this because I think that Anthropology is seriously overpriced, but I still have a secret obsession for all of their clothing. Anyways, I made the purchase and a couple days later I am sporting my new dress while writing this post. I may never take it off! I can already invision myself flying to Mexico in this dress in November when we head there for a wedding. Makes me even more happy!

Well that about sums up the end to my work week. Glad it ended on a happy note, now off to the weekend to spend time with friends and hopefully watch the Gamecocks beat those War Eagles!

A-MAZE-ING

The McLeod Family Farms in McBee, South Carolina, decided honor the South Carolina Gamecocks and their back to back National Baseball Championships through their annual Maze fundraiser. The cooler part of this story is that the McLeod family is actually a die hard Clemson family. They are just proud of their state and if that means honoring the Gamecocks, that's what they will do!

All of the proceeds from this Maze will go to fund some youth baseball fields which they have already donated the land for as well. This seems like a pretty cool fundraiser. Apparently at every corner in the maze there are trivia questions. If you get the answer correct, as most Gamecocks should, then you are pointed in the right direction in the hopes of making it out of the maze quickly. If you answer incorrectly, you are on your own to figure out which way to go. I wish I lived closer to McBee, SC so I could try this out. Not only would it be fun, but it supports our youth and the future National Champions of South Carolina!

It's not the Gamecocks, but it was fun

Saturday morning Josh and I decided to go to the GA Tech/UNC Football game to check out the college football tailgating scene in Atlanta. Although the game started at noon, and we didn't leave the house until 11:20am, we still had plenty of time to find an awesome parking spot near the stadium, scalp some awesome 4th row, lower level tickets for less than face value, and make it into the game a couple minutes into the 1st Quarter. It was pretty amazing considering we are used to arriving for USC games at least 5 hours before kick off, hoping and praying to find tickets for somewhere in the stadium no matter where it might be, and being lucky enough to jump in someone else's car so we don't have to park somewhere random for $30.
As you can see in the picture above, our seats were great. The game was very sloppy and although the Tarheels fought hard in the end, the Yellow Jackets ended up winning the game. We had some very nice older fans behine us who thought we were great. Josh and I were clearly not in the visitors section as we sat there in our light blue attire. Unlike SEC Fans at big universities, the GA Tech Fans welcomed us to their section and were very nice. They even got to know us as well. Fairly different experience from any other football game I have attended.

I wish I had taken more picture of the stadium. I had an ole'timey feel to it. Very small and probably not a real bad seat in the house. It was also neat to be able to see the Atlanta Skyline in the background. You can see the Bank of America tower in the background of the picture above.

Although the Tarheels were not able to bring home a W, the night ended watching the Carolina Gamecocks bring home yet another! We were happy about that and hope for the same as we play Auburn this weekend. Go Cocks!

12 Going On Annoyed

A couple of weeks ago while Josh was training in Texas for his new job, my friends The Baxter's had a cookout for Jenn's birthday and for the USC/UGA game. I decided to take Hunny to the party as well because she always gets left out of the fun. When we got there, not many people were there yet and she sniffed around the backyard and played with Curtis, the Baxter's dog. Eventually we let the two pups in the house and they hung out and cooled off. As the party got bigger and more dogs started coming over, I could not find Hunny. I searched everywhere and could not find her. Eventually I heard some friends start laughing and Hunny was spotted hiding in the bushes. I guess she got a little annoyed with all the people and dogs around and was trying to hide herself. As you can see in the picture above, we all thought it was hilarious and took a picture with her.Later she went back to the same spot. I guess she thought she was hidden a little better if she couldn't see us. The pretty flowers that just got planted that morning got crushed by her rear end. Sorry Jenn!

The night was awesome as it always is at The Baxter's and the Gamecocks finally decided that they could beat the Georgia Bulldogs after a 3 hour back and forth game which had the whole house nervous. I was in the minority pulling for the Gamecocks so I had to have a quick cheer and then I was quiet about it the rest of the night. As for Hunny, I put her in one of the bedrooms so she could get away from all the people and get some shut eye. I guess the older she gets, the more she just wants to do her own thing. Good to know!

Edisto Island Here I Come!

This tree is a mystery, but it always represents the fun to come as we drive down the road slowly approaching Edisto Island, SC. As this long awaited Labor Day Holiday approaches, I can hardly wait to sit in the sand and relax on the beach with some dear friends. I am sure Josh is excited about the beach as well, but let's be honest, it's opening weekend for college football. That is one weekend I know I can never and will never compete with in regards to where my husband will be. You are probably wondering what I am talking about. How can Josh be at the beach when USC is playing in Charlotte? Well everyone, Josh will be waking up bright and early to drive to watch the Gamecocks play in Charlotte. I, on the other hand, will still be relaxing at the beach happy to watch the game on the TV.

Josh and I are hosting a house party with our good friends Jeff, Christine & Garrett Degood, Susannah, James, Mamie & Lucas Biel, Jessica and Mac Lesley, and Jason Barnes. Our furry child Hunny will be attending and is super excited to catch all the crumbs which will be dropped by the kids. Jackpot weekend for her!

I can hardly wait as I sit here contemplating all the fun we are going to have, all the delicious food we are going to eat, and the even more refreshing beverages to consume over great conversation with some highly missed friends. It's going to be a weekend to remember!

Hunny's New Trick

Ok ok, so this is not Hunny, but wouldn't it be awesome if I could teach her to do this? I found this picture in one of my facebooks friends albums. She did actually see a dog doing this in real life and got a quick pic to document it. That dog must have a wonderful life to be able to kick back and relax!

I swear it's time that I get a new camera. I am dependant on others documenting my life through their cameras, or me taking pics with my IPhone. That generally doesn't happen around the pool so I have no documentation of the awesome pool party we hosted at out house this past Saturday to celebrate July 4th. There was a great turnout of about 15 people and 4 dogs. We grilled out, did some swimming and had a couple cold ones while relaxing in the sun. It's nice to have such great friends here in Atlanta to hang with on the weekends.

We did miss going to the beach, but on Monday it was a nice treat not to have to drive 5.5 hours back from Edisto. Instead Josh and watched HBO on Demand for most of the day. We were complete couch potatoes and we loved every minute of it!

Hopefully I will get better at taking more photos to document our activities. Maybe there is a new camera in my future to help do so!