Life Lately - May

Can anyone believe that it's almost June? I know I can't - and yet my calendar tells me we are about to flip it over and we will be closing in on the mid-point of this year! It's a little mind-boggling to me! As summer approaches, here are some things I've been loving lately!

Eating - Y'all know I always eat well, ha-ha! The beginning of the month was spent in Gettysburg and my wonderful boyfriend made us Chicken Alfredo that was absolutely delicious! On Mother's Day weekend the family ate at one of our favorite DC area restaurants, Clyde's - I had to die for Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup! *drool* I also enjoyed my Mom's galoumpus, a Strawberry Shortcake trifle that my Dad made and ice cream at Newtown Creamery!

On our travels in May, I finally had Hattie B's Hot Chicken in Birmingham - pretty tasty! I had the vegetable plate (including macaroni & cheese - which Ryan says isn't a vegetable) and a slice of Peanut Butter Pie at Weidmann's in Meridian and a delicious pasta dish at Harvest Grill in Meridian. The treats at my cousin's wedding were tasty and on the way home, we made sure to close out our visit to Gatlinburg at Pancake Pantry - where I had the Blueberry Pancakes!

Watching - Once Home Town ended, it just rolled right into Home Town Takeover and I just rolled right into watching that, ha-ha! Ben & Erin of Home Town have been working to revitalize the small town of Wetumpka, Alabama and I've enjoyed seeing the stories and design reveals. I also started watching Shadow & Bone on Netflix while I'm exercising and so far, I'm intrigued enough to keep going with it and see how the story plays out.

I also got to go to the movies again for what felt like the first time in months. I actually think it was the first time I went to the movies and was able to sip on a drink, not wear a face mask (hallelujah vaccination) and just enjoy myself. Ryan and I saw A Quiet Place II - and it was great!

Wearing - Oh my goodness... a pair of sandals I picked up while I was in Mississippi! They are made by Pierre Dumas but they are almost a perfect look alike of Tory Burch sandals but they were a fraction of the price you'd pay for the "name brand". 

The sandals I purchased are exactly like the picture - but I purchased a pair in a pewter color - which goes with pretty much everything! And honestly, I have been wearing them with pretty much everything! 

Bought - I grabbed two of the cutest dresses from Target that will be perfect for the Summer and honestly, I now think I could transition one into the Autumn with a long sleeve tee and tights! So fun! I have had my eye on the blue/green/lavender printed dress for weeks and weeks but the dressing rooms were always closed - so I finally just went for it.

Happily the floral dress fit perfectly and I also grabbed up the yellow tie-top dress and immediately wore it to the office with a cardigan! I stumbled on the above picture and suddenly a million other ideas came to my mind for how I could wear my little golden dress throughout the Summer and Autumn!

Want - Well y'all... I just don't know what I want really! I mean, I'd like some extra hours in the day to read... ha-ha! I told my boyfriend I wished I knew how to apparate (like in Harry Potter) so I could hop back and forth to PA whenever I wanted. But honestly - I don't think I want for too much and that's a blessing. 

Reading -  I finished What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins at the start of the month and also read The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave; I enjoyed both of them! The books were incredibly different but each one told an intriguing and engaging story and I read both of them fairly quickly. I can't believe that those are the only two books I read in May.

I am planning to start The Search for Significance by Robert McGee ASAP - and I also have Skye Falling by Mia McKenzie, The Maidens by Alex Michaelides and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid on the way!

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That's all she wrote for the month of May! I can't believe we are already on to month six of this year!

Watson Wednesday

This little fella has been living his best life recently - some antibiotics cleared up a cough and kidney infection and he's been living free and easy for the last few weeks. He's enjoying the retiree life with my parents - lounging in the sunshine, having treats and taking afternoon naps.

The Cicadas Have Arrived

Well - I blinked and that weekend was over! Whoa! I cannot believe how quickly the weekend went by! I didn't do much this weekend and I was pretty happy with that; it was nice to have nothing on the schedule.

Friday night was really chill - after dinner at Texas Roadhouse, I really just passed the evening chatting with Ryan and doing a whole lot of nothing. Again - it was nice to have nothing on the calendar for the weekend. Saturday morning after coffee and breakfast, I got in my exercise before the temperature got way too warm - let me just say - it's already really warm right now!

 

Saturday afternoon we toured an absolutely gorgeous Air BnB that is literally right around the corner from my house! The Farm at Clover Hill is a gorgeous farmhouse that was originally built in 1781 and the owners have lovingly restored it and rent it out. The farm is on a beautiful plot of land with rolling green hills, flowers and in the distance - hops growing! 

 

Another interesting aspect of this weekend was investigating the Cicadas that have descended on the area as part of the 17 Year Cicada migration or emergence or whatever... it's gross, I know that. There are empty shells everywhere and we popped over to the Mt. Hebron Cemetery and there were cicada everywhere - on everything! There is something especially creepy about seeing headstones covered in giant bugs while the screeching sounds fill the air... eek! 

 

 

Perhaps it's a random personality quirk but I do love exploring cemeteries and I probably could have explored Mt. Hebron even longer ... but a twig got stuck in my sandal, I thought it was a cicada and I screamed and flung my sandal. So - I thought it was maybe too high energy of a situation, ha-ha! 

I had ice cream for dinner from Newtown Creamery; the most delicious Key Lime Pie Sundae, and ended the evening with the new episode of Home Town: Takeover, a bubble bath and a call with my boyfriend. It was a good weekend and it was a fairly restful weekend too! 

24 Hours of Mountain Madness

Sunday afternoon and Monday morning were an absolute whirlwind of time spent in the Smoky Mountains - but it was an awfully good whirlwind. Ryan had never been to Gatlinburg and the surrounding areas and I was excited to show him a place I spent so much time growing up. 

 

We arrived in the Smokies around 3:30 and headed for The Sinks; a spot with a small waterfall and also a place where my Mom used to leap from rock outcrops into the water below. I grabbed some snapshots of similarly adventurous people who were leaping into the chilly water - not something I'd be up to doing! Ryan and I wandered all around the rock outcrops and snapped tons of pictures - as you do.

 

The next stop that we made was the old Elkmont Campground area that was once a playground for the wealthy in the 20's and 30's - most of the cabins are being saved as part of a restoration project and we popped in and out of some. We also climbed up to where the Wonderland Hotel once was and saw the only thing that remains - an old stone chimney rising up between tree trunks blackened from a fire that burned down the shell that was left. 

 

Our final stop of the day (before dinner and the hotel) was hiking to Laurel Falls. The hike itself isn't too bad as the path is paved all the way, but it does wind up the mountain for most of the hike - so know that going in. We were about 3/4 of the way up the mountain when other hikers pointed out to us a mama bear and a baby bear up in a tree - it was definitely the closest I've ever been to a black bear and maybe it was a little too close... *nervous laughter*

Ryan and my Dad were intent on getting excellent pictures while I was intent on backing away from the Mama bear so she didn't try to attack us. She even snorted at them at one point - and it made me back up ever farther. I love them both dearly but I didn't want to become bear bait! Thankfully, they got their pictures and we finished the climb to the falls - which were beautiful! As you can see - Ryan couldn't resist doing just a little bit more climbing. 

We had a pretty delicious dinner at Bennett's BBQ Pit and then checked in at Margaritaville - which is where we have stayed twice now and we really love it! Monday morning we got up and went to our favorite spot - Pancake Pantry - and introduced Ryan to all the pancake options and piles of butter! After breakfast we hopped on the sky life to Anakeesta to explore for a couple hours!

 

The views from Anakeesta are lovely and there is truly so much to do at the top of the mountain! They have beautiful gardens, a tree walk, ropes course, a viewpoint tower, plenty of spots to sit and take in the gorgeous views - it's just the best spot! We even decided to be brave and stand on the glass panels on the viewpoint tower - which was really stepping outside the box for me because I cannot stand heights!

 

 

We ended our visit to Anakeesta doing the Treetop Walk and then headed down the mountain to check out of the hotel and head on our way to Virginia and home. We snapped one last picture after we checked out from Margaritaville and y'all - that picture is now in a contest to win a two night stay at the resort - so that's fun! It was such a great time - even though everything about the five days seemed like it passed in an absolute whirlwind! 

Five on Friday - Wedding Weekend Edition

I don't know if I've ever been so glad to see Friday. Just kidding... but man, this week has been a bit of a stressful one. I'm looking forward to a really low key weekend, so I don't have much to share on that front! However, I did want to share all about the wedding aspects of the weekend and I thought this would be the perfect spot for that!

One. Weekend Lodgings - We stayed at the most delightful place in Meridian and I can bet that a lot of Meridian people don't even know it exists! The Lion & the Harp Bed & Breakfast is a gorgeous home situated on a beautiful patch of land with some really lovely rooms and delicious breakfasts! The home also has a lovely sitting area on the second floor filled with books, movie and a big television!

The breakfast each morning was delicious and our hosts (Janet & Tom) always had coffee ready each morning - which Ryan and I especially loved! We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the B&B... but I do have to share that we were also their last customers! Janet and Tom are getting older and so they recently sold the house and will be moving to South Carolina soon. It was a delightful stay - no doubt!

Two. Practice Makes Perfect - Friday evening we attended the rehearsal for my cousin Colton's wedding at the MAX; Meridian's Arts & Entertainment Center located in downtown Meridian. There were people milling about everywhere and I mostly enjoyed seeing some family again for the first time in a while... and blessedly it wasn't too hot!

My cousin Jodi's little boy (who isn't quite two) was one of the ring bearers and watching him "practice" what he was supposed to do was absolutely hilarious. It was also absolutely hilarious when we sat down on a park bench and the other ring bearer (not quite three) walked over and said "um - we was sitting there first!" Cue all the laughter! 

Three. Winner Winner, Rehearsal Dinner - After the rehearsing... comes the dinner! We walked right around the corner (after watching the Clydesdales open the Threefoot Arts Festival Parade) to the MSU Riley Center for dinner. The food was delicious and the company at our table was a delight - although I have to be honest and say I just walked to Ryan a lot. 

 

When the dinner was done, there were speeches that made a lot of people teary eyed and a video that really made me feel some feelings... *sigh* I miss my grandparents. The dinner was Caesar salad, chicken, macaroni & cheese, green beans and bread pudding - it was all really tasty and the snack spread for later in the evening was also really delicious!

Four. I Do - Saturday at 5:30 was the big day and so we put on our fancy clothes (they were sort of fancy) and off we went to the MAX for the wedding! The sun was shining, the sky was blue and everything went off without a hitch... well, except that Colton and Alexa were hitched at the end of it, ha-ha!

 

The ceremony was lovely and meaningful... my favorite part was definitely when Colton saw his bride for the first time - although watching the little ring bearer make his way cautiously up the aisle until he saw my Uncle holding a small blue tractor and racing to the front... that was pretty cute too! It was a really wonderful wedding and I'm so glad we got to attend.  

Five. Cutting the Cake & Cutting a Rug - Once the couple were all hitched up, it was time to party and have some tasty treats! The reception was spread out in the courtyard of the MAX and there was a live band - I actually got to dance with my boyfriend at the reception - what a thrill! And if you think I'm being sarcastic there, I'm absolutely not. I've been waiting a long time for Ryan and I'm loving every minute.

 

We danced and had some of the delicious cakes - the wedding cake was strawberry and my cousin's groom's cake was chocolate chip cookies sandwiched with icing, forming a cake-like tower. It was good y'all! We cheered and rained down flower petals on the couple as they made their get-away and then the night was over!

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Like I said - I'm so glad to see Friday. Last weekend was excellent and filled to the brim with things to do, places to go and people to see. I'm very much looking forward to this weekend being less busy and maybe sleeping in on Saturday!