Girls Weekend in Atlanta

This past weekend was wonderful. I spent 3 days with my BFF aka Sister Kristy. No we aren't real sisters....just sorority sisters. I am her "big sis". We call each other "Sister" though and it confuses everyone. I needed some girl time so we planned a weekend getaway to Atlanta. We have been talking about visiting Scott's Antique Market for a few years...so glad we finally got to experience it. I drove to Nashville on Thursday afternoon and rode with Kristy the rest of the way. Of course I had to get a treat on the way. I love Blizzards...havent had one since I was pregnant..it was so yummy!

While we were driving, we saw like 5 rainbows :)

It was so nice to have a few hours of girl talk in the car.

By the time we made it to our hotel, we were starving. It was 9:30pm Atlanta time. The only thing that was open near the hotel was Cracker Barrel....ugh! I was surprised. It was pretty good. We stayed at the Drury Inn in Morrow, Ga....very close to the market.

We woke up on Friday and drove to the market. It was about 9 miles from the hotel. We arrived around 9:45 am and we were overwhelmed. There was so much to see. We parked and started at the South Building. The whole outside was filled with treasures too. I think the outside was my favorite part.

We were in wooden box heaven!

After the outside part, we finally made it into the South building.

There was a booth with some crazy stuff...here is Kristy posing with a buffalo scrotum and a bull penis cane...ewwww!!

I loved all of these vintage maps and botanical prints.

These were all $10 each!!

We each ended up with a wooden box and some necklaces. I also got a few old sign letters. 

Other thoughts about Scott's:

*The South building was better than the North building. 

*It was overwhelming and hot.

*Have a plan. There was so much stuff! If you need furniture, rugs, lighting...this is your place. I wish I had more room in my house. If we ever move and need new stuff, I will be bringing a u-haul and filling it up.

*Bring snacks and water. There is a of good food to buy too :)

*The prices are pretty good...but bargain!

After we were done at Scott's, we stopped at Dwarf House for lunch. It's the original Chick-fil-a.

After a quick stop at the hotel to freshen up, we drove to Ikea. My phone was dying so I didnt take many pictures.

Here is my loot from the weekend. I was especially excited about my chargers and dish towels (that I will use as napkins) from Ikea.

We ate dinner near Ikea at Yard House. It was yummy! We also did some shopping. After dinner we went to Midtown so I could do some Trader Joe's shopping...2 Buck Chuck!!

On Saturday we woke up and went to Lennox Mall in Buckhead for some shopping and ate lunch at Cheesecake Factory. I always forget how good that place is.

On our way home, we went past the exit for Bonnaroo and I could see it from the road....so many rv's and tents!! If the tickets had not been so expensive, I may have made a detour.

All in all, it was a great (and much needed) weekend. Kristy and I always have fun shopping and chatting. Girls weekends are good for the soul....

Why We Work (Our 8th Anniversary)

Joe and I celebrate our 8th anniversary this week. I have been thinking back over the years and wanted to tell you why I think we work. I know all relationships are different but ever since we got married, we have been pretty happy most of the time.

Has it all been butterflies and puppies? No. Do we fight often? No. Do we hurt each others feelings? Of course...we are human. Here are some things that have helped us have a healthy and well-balanced marriage.

1. I admire him. He is the most charming, out going, hard worker I know. When he decides he wants something...he goes out at gets it. He works his regular job, flies for a few cooperate companies, builds things for me (and others) and is in the process of starting his own airline. I think being each others biggest cheerleader is very important.

2. We enjoy doing some of the same things. We both love watching a bunch of the same shows, eating at the same restaurants over and over again (las delicias!), traveling, sily youtube videos, having parties, etc. It's fun to do things together, but we also have our own interests. Joe golfs, I craft. Joe plays disc golf, I bake. We realize that its fun to do stuff together (and important), but we don't need to spend every waking moment with each other. That brings me to #3. 

3. We have time away from each other. Due to Joe's job, he is often away. While I do get lonely and miss him at times, I think we both enjoy our "alone" time. We can take up the whole bed, watch what we want on TV, etc. Absence makes the heart grow finder, right? It does for us. 

4. We fight fair. And infrequently...and its usually about silly stuff.

5. We are smart in different ways and on different subjects. Joe is very book smart, knows to how fix and build just about everything. He can talk about planes until he is blue in the face. I am really good with money, couponing, planning our trips, etc. We balance each other out.

6. We want the same things in life.....kids, a pretty house, stuff from Pottery Barn, to travel, retire early and sail around the caribbean on a boat in our bathing suits....you know the usual stuff. I knew that Joe would be a great dad from the moment I first met him.

7. We both love to travel and it's one of the things that is most important things in our lives. 

8. We support each other no matter what. We have been through a lot in 8 years...job changes, moving houses, having a baby, my mom dying, etc. We have stuck by each other and had each other's backs through everything.

9. We laugh just about everyday.

10. We try to never go to bed angry. If Joe is home, we always kiss each other before bed...we also have a little thing that we have said to each other every night for the past 8 years. Its a very special thing between us.

Happy Anniversary Joe! Life gets more fun everyday! You are the best husband that I could ask for. Thank you for being such a hard worker, a dreamer, and a thinker. I love you so much!!

p.s.

If you want to see details from our wedding go here.

Summer Adventure Plans: Week 2

First a wrap of last week. I really loved having things planned each day. It seemed to keep me accountable. 

Sally did great seeing her first movie :)

She loved the popsicle game that I made for her...I think we played it 5 times in a row.

We had so much fun swimming with our cousins, rode a concrete pig, 

and picked and ate fresh strawberries.

We had a blast at two different story times.

I'l be honest and say that we didn't do everything I had panned last week. We skipped doughnut day and the Pink Palace. We will have to fit that in soon :)

Here are our plans for this week.

Monday: Library

Tuesday: Children's Museum

Wednesday: Story Time at the Main Library

Thursday-Friday: Joe has Sally duty. I am headed off for a Girls Weekend :)

Special Summer Snack

Special Summer Craft

Special Summer Activity

(we never did sidewalk chalk last week so I am moving it on over to this week)