Our Weekend and Day One of Staycation

Each year we take a week's vacation in May, usually near Hubs' birthday (May 7th).  This week is our vacation and we decided to have a staycation this year.

Our vacation really started on Saturday.  Hubs worked around the house all day and then met me at a wedding. I spent the day decorating and getting beautified for the wedding of my one of my oldest friends. 

I met up with my friends at a local winery and event venue called Vizzini Farms Winery.  We decorated early for the evening wedding then headed to a local hotel to get ready.  It was a nice, busy day full of laughter and good company.  They introduced me to mimosas.  Wow I was missing out! 

 Forgive the blurry pictures.  These were the best I could get in the crowded hotel room.  But above is the bride herself and me before we dressed. 

Above is the maid of honor and my dear friend G and I after we got ready. 

The wedding took place at 6pm.  The weather was picture perfect.  N chose navy blue and gray for her colors.  Instead of tuxedos, the groom and groomsmen wore gray pants and vests with navy blue ties and each bridesmaid had a different style dress in Davids Bridal in marine blue.  Instead of traditional bouquets, the bridesmaids carried white lanterns.  After the ceremony, guests enjoyed to wines made the property (the green apple Riesling was my favorite) and a buffet of chicken Parmesan (with white alfredo sauce), potatoes, mixed vegetables, and rolls. There was dancing and some pretty amazing cupcakes (made by the bride).  We gave the newly married couple a candle-light send off.  It was a great evening for a wedding.

The only bad moment came on the way home.  There was a bad wreck and traffic was down to one lane.  As we approached the wreck, a cop stopped us then asked us to pull over.  We were very confused but I pulled out our registration papers and proof of insurance.  When the officer came to the window, he said they had received reports all evening that we were joyriding drunk, running people off the road and being reckless.  We were stunned.  We both said it couldn't have been us and that we had only gotten on the interstate a mile back and had been at a wedding for hours and hours.  I was still wearing my bridesmaid dresses and we still had the candles from the send off.  The candles were still warm.  I was even prepared to call the bride's family.  He didn't exactly believe us and had Hubs do an eye test.  He concluded that he wasn't drunk.  Well of course not.  I informed him again that I promise it wasn't us.  He sort of apologized and let us go on.  It was the weirdest 5 minutes of my life probably.  Being accused of something pretty horrible and yet we really couldn't defend ourselves without coming across as being disrespectful.   He never asked us for identification or anything.  I hope that if the "reports" were real, that that person was caught.  It was quite scary and just strange.  We drowned our nerves in burgers and chocolate shakes from Steak and Shake.

So for our first day off, we slept in late.  10 am.  We never do that!  We ran errands and enjoyed some Mexican food for Cinco de Mayo.  Hubs worked outside a bit more and I visited with him while he worked.  Now we have been enjoying a Dr. Who marathon for the past 4 hours.  A very nice staycation day.

Invading the Alabama Gulf Coast

For the week of July 4th, Hubs and I were invited down to the Alabama gulf coast with our best friends.  Ash's dad lives near Orange Beach, Alabama, so we crashed his pad for some beach fun. Jim, Ash, and their Princess headed down on Saturday and Bob and I met up with them on Tuesday evening. We had a great time despite a not so great weather forcast.

Here's a recap...

1. Shrimp Basket - AMAZING! We arrived on All You Can Eat popcorn shrimp day!

2. We visited the Dollar General in Orange Beach every single day. We bought everything from poptarts to contact solution and ice to a nerf football.

3. Fresh shrimp from Billy's Seafood in Bon Secour. Their motto is "if it swims, we got it." They have fresh seafood including 5 sizes of shrimp for unbeatable prices! We had ours steamed in cajun seasoning and devoured it later with potatoes, corn, and hush puppies. I took 5 more pounds home to my dad!

4. Our car broke down behind Souvenir City on the evening of the 4th. HUGE thanks to Hub City Towing and Wayne, the driver, for helping us out! We got it fixed enough to get us home. Although it was a huge ordeal at first, the entire adventure only cost us a $20 part once we got home! Oh and thank God for roadside assistance!

4b. While my car is broken down in a parking lot 250 miles from home, do not approach me if you are drunk. The anger that spews forth cannot be matched. Just keep walking buddy.

4c. EK may or may not have peed in the bushes while we hung out in the parking lot.

4d. Seeing what great friends you have while you are crying in the parking lot is a great feeling.

5. We were very let down by the fireworks....or lack of. It was crazy windy so they were afraid of blow back into the crowd and the condos so fireworks stopped after about 60 seconds.

6. Bob finally got to try Lambert's Cafe. He was in food heaven. We all left full and happy! Even the Princess enjoyed some "mashed taters."

7. Staying up ridiculously late and eating ice cream ridiculously late is not usually in a runner's agenda but it was this week and we all four enjoyed it immensly!

8. We didn't run at all! I know really - shame on us. But it was a nice break.

9. Jim and Ash probably brought back 20lbs of sand in their car. It was our beach vehicle.

10. After having ice cream everyday and eating not great bad ANYTHING we wanted, I didn't gain a single pound!

Hubs and I waiting to eat at The Original Oyster House

Jim, Ash, their girl....and some Hubs in the background

Uncle Bob and the Princess

Breaking down on the 4th

A Weekend in the Smoky Mountains

Hubs, my cousin K, and I spent a long weekend in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN in early November.  I love that part of Tennessee and it was the perfect time to visit.  The leaves still held so much of their Autumn oranges and reds yet things were decorated for Christmas.  We spent a full day in Dollywood, Dolly Parton's theme park.  We had dinner and a show at Dixie Stampede.  We had great weather and lots of beautiful scenery.  And we ate...a lot.

Hubs and I at Dollywood

Hubs could have watched the sandcasting and blacksmith guys all day.

K at the Grist Mill

The chapel inside Dollywood.

The steam engine that takes you on a trip through the mountains.

There is tons to see and enjoy for all ages.

Defintely one of my favorite places.

Hubs.

Mobile Uploads

The wonder of social media!  In a matter of seconds, my Facebook friends and Twitter followers can see what I see.  I was looking through my mobile uploads album on Facebook and found some interesting moments over the past year or so.  

 Hubs mopping.  He loves to mop. And vacuum.  And steam-clean our carpet.  I'm a lucky girl.

 This is our friend Jim.  We were at Pump It Up (you know...the fun inflatables place) for a birthday party.  He thought he was being cute.  But in 10 seconds, I had this image forever captured on the internet.  Good thing you can't see his face.

Wing Fest at my in-law's!  We bake 10lbs of chicken wings and I make some awesome cheese fries for this event. 

Family reunion.  Southerners can eat.  We each brought a soup or stew in a crockpot (it was November).  Some people went a little crazy (ie my Mother with 5 crockpots full of stuff). 

A random moment of creativity.  Zebra Fabric + Glass Plate + Mod Podge = awesome plates! 

There is some joy in helping your parents get ready for a costume party.  There is a lot more joy when you get to do your dad's nails for said party. 

 Tupelo, Mississippi.  We stopped at a gas station outside of town on our way to Tunica earlier this year.  In case you live under a rock, Tupelo is the birthplace of Elvis Presley.  And in case I have never mentioned it, I think of Elvis as a family member.  He (in some way or another) has been a constant presence in my life since birth.

 This is a scene of a random work night with Amanda.  You can see pins, thread, fabric, and of course chocolate.

 My dog has a love/hate relationship with the car.  He LOVES to "go for a ride" but he freaks out once he is in the car.  His favorite spot is in the driver seat (most always with me) with the window down.  But, he only watches from afar.  He doesn't dare stick his little head out the window.

This is what happens when you don't have power for 5 days so [first] you can't see and [second] you have run of out of white socks.

This was my view Thursday afternoon when we pulled up at our hotel. 

More to come about our mini-getaway.

We are booked!

Carnival Elation (courtesy - http://www.carnival.com/)

I cannot express my excitement for this trip.  Hubs and I enjoy traveling but generally we are 5 or so hours from home.  This cruise will be a whole new experience.  We booked 5 rooms last night.  In total, we have 11 people in our group - Mom, Dad, Hubs, Me, Brother, Brother's BFF C, Parents' friends P,M,A,K, & N.  It is going to be a blast!  We will be visiting Cozumel and Calica.  Just to be off the ship in another country is very exciting!  Now we just have to wait for August to get here!

Here are some details about our Fun Ship.

Total Staterooms - 1,021
Decks - 10
Passenger Capacity - 2,052
Total Crew - 920
Officer's Nationality - Italian
Ship Size - Large
Tonnage - 70,367
Ship Length - 855 feet
Registry - Panama

An Ode to Panama City Beach

Hubs and I love vacationing on the white sand beachs of Panama City Beach.  In fact, I called yesterday and booked a room for a long weekend in early May to celebrate Hubs' birthday.  Our love affair with PCB really started with me.  My family vacationed there and I had not been in 10+ years.  For the first years of our marriage, I tried to convince Hubs to travel but he was a real homebody.  But, in 2009, to celebrate 5 years of marriage, Hubs and I spent the week on the emerald coast.  He fell in love.  We returned again in the early summer of 2010 for even longer.  Since we are going on a cruise in the late summer with my family, Hubs and I were heartbroken that we wouldn't see our beach this year.  However, some fancy talk by me and an AMAZING room rate at our beloved Osprey, we are going for 4 days and 3 nights!  PCB - we are coming back to you!





Beachside Dinner

Beautiful Sunsets

Hi Hubs!  On the Balcony.





Wordless Wednesday

An Experiment

Over Christmas weekend, Hubs and I committed to going on a 5 day cruise with my parents, my younger brother, and his best friend.  I use the word committed because that is what it is for us.  You see, Hubs and I are used to being by ourselves.  We almost always travel by ourselves and find that we enjoy doing what we want - when we want.  There are only two of us so we can do what each person wants.  Anyway, we feel that a cruise is the best way for all 6 of us to do what we want - spend time together, alone, I can read for hours on end while my mom visits the casino, etc.  It's a giant floating playground where we can all find happiness.

So our experiment is not whether or not I will commit a crime against one of my family members on this 5 day vacation but rather can we pay for our complete vacation without touching our regular budget or emergency savings account?  Is this possible? YES!  I can look back at my online banking and see time after time when we wasted money, overspent, etc. 

For the next 8 months, I hope to document our shopping and random expenditures to show how easy it is (hopefully) to be budget conscience.