Five On Friday – Weekend Trip to ATL

Hellooooo errrrybody, It's Friiiidaaaay!!!!  Can you tell I'm just a little excited?!  I'm currently on my lunch break from work and wishing that it was 4:30 because...

O N E 

Could I be more excited for this weekend?!  My parents are keeping the kiddos while hubs and I head to Atlanta for the Dave Matthews Band concert at Aaron’s Amphitheatre.  This will be my 19^th time seeing them since 2002, and I’ve seen them every single year since then, with the exception of the fluke year of 2011 when they decided not to tour (talk about withdrawals).  I know I’ve posted this picture before, but this is Boyd Tinsley (the violinist for DMB) and me back in 2013… BUCKET LIST CHECK!  Now to meet Dave… 

T W O 

I’m still trying to figure out what to wear, but I think I’m leaning toward this dress because it’s low maintenance, comfy, and cool since it’s supposed to be 90 degrees and sunny.  I wore it when we were at the beach, and it is seriously the most comfortable dress ever… and I don’t have to wear a strapless bra with it!  Anybody else hate those as much as I do?  Just me??

This picture doesn't really do it justice... it's much cuter in person and the lace detail is fantastic!

T H R E E 

Speaking of ATL… while we’re there, we’re also heading to Ikea to pick up a few things before the concert… Momma needs some hanging frames!  I’m gonna grab nine of the trusty rusty Ribbas for a gallery wall and then my home office/craft room will finally be finito, DONE, COMPLETE!!  (After the painstaking chore of hanging them, that is.  Anybody wanna come do that for me?) 

F O U R 

After Ikea and before the concert, we are heading to dinner somewhere… still trying to decide where, but I’m fighting the urge to just go to Cheesecake Factory, our old standby.  We don’t have one here so we always jump at the chance to eat there whenever we can.  However, I just know that I will feel miserable if I eat a food portion fit for the Jolly Green Giant followed by a chunk of a cheesecake bigger than my dog (because you can’t not get cheesecake when you’re there) and then sit out in the southern summer heat all evening, so I think it’s best to try to find something a little less filling.  I’m leaning toward Max Lager’s Wood-Fired Grill & Brewery or SweetWater Brewing Company and I will probably grab something a little on the lighter side.  

F I V E 

Did I mention that my parents are keeping the babes over night?  We all know what that means… Brian and I both get to sleep in on Sunday!!  AT THE SAME TIME, Y'ALL.  Happy weekend to us! 

Y’all enjoy your weekends!  XO

Today I'm linking up with:

A. Liz Adventures, Carolina Charm, hello! happiness, and The Good Life Blog for Five on Friday

and

A Little Bit of Everything Blog, Momfessionals, and Grace and Love Blog for Friday Favorites 

Memorial Day Weekend

Whew, I feel like I need a weekend to recover from our weekend!  We were constantly on the go this weekend so it went by in a blur (as always).  It is wonderful to know that we have a short work-week this week, though!   

Friday night we took the kids and met my parents and some friends downtown for the outdoor concert.  Jacob was thrilled because a couple of fire trucks were parked down there.  We went over to look at one, and one of the firemen came walking over and asked Jacob if he wanted to get in it!  (In case you didn’t already guess, the answer to that question is yes, it’s always yes.)  The fireman lifted him up in the truck and then put a fire hat on him.  The hat was so heavy that Jacob couldn’t even hold his head up! 

Later, we stopped for frozen yogurt like we always do after these outdoor concerts, and Jacob made friends with a horse. 

We didn’t get home until almost ten so the babies were worn slap out.   

Saturday Brian started cleaning out his office to prepare for the addition that is supposed to start this week.  I am so, so excited for that to be done so we can move everything out of the garage and into its final destination.  Ever since we’ve been married, I’ve felt like we’ve been in a constant state of transition – moving from our first house to an apartment while our house was being built, moving into our current house, and then shuffling stuff from bedroom to bedroom, closet to closet, and finally to wherever we could fit it as we had kids and filled each room.  Once the addition is done, we will be able to get everything settled into its final resting place, and the game of musical rooms will be over for good!   

We also squeezed in some playtime during all of our cleaning… Olivia went for her first laundry basket ride and she loved it!  Ah, life’s little thrills… 

Saturday evening we went to church and then out for Mexican food and margaritas, and Saturday night after the kiddos went to bed Brian and I actually had time to watch a movie!!  Say whaaaat?!  Shut your mouth!  These days we’re either on the go or we’re catching up on our TiVoed shows, so we just don’t have time to watch movies like we used to.  We often have Netflix movies sitting in our house for months before we finally watch them.  We watched Maleficent, by the way, and it was really good!  

Helping Daddy water the plants... his new favorite thing to do!

Sunday we spent the early afternoon at Brian’s mom and stepdad’s house for lunch and we spent a lot of time outside since the weather was so nice.  

Then Sunday evening we went to my parents’ for dinner and after dinner we all walked to the playground by their house to let Mommy and Daddy the kids play.  We They had a great time swinging, and Olivia went down the slide all by herself for the first time! 

Monday we got up and headed out for some errands – Lowe’s for a couple of things, Best Buy to recycle some old electronics that Brian had cleaned out of the black hole that is his office, and then we took the kids to brunch downtown where Olivia amazed us with her fork-using skills that we didn’t even know existed.   

After brunch, we took the kids to the splash pad… Olivia toddled right over to it, but the first time she got soaked, she was done.  And Jacob, our timid first child, wouldn’t even go near it.  I swear, I don’t know where our kids got their fear of water… B and I have both been swimming like a fish since we were little!  I used to live in the pool during the summer when I was growing up, and Brian is a mean water skier and knee boarder.  Seriously, our kids need to get with the program!  Since they weren’t interested in the splash pad, we let them run amok in the grass down by the river until it was time to go home for naps.  

Oh no you di-in't make me get wet!

Monday for dinner we grabbed some Chick-fil-a and then we headed to watch our nephew’s little league game.  Unfortunately it rained for most of the game, so I didn’t get a chance to take any pictures… it’s hard chasing after a tiny little monkey while holding an umbrella (to try) to keep us both dry.

All in all it was a great weekend… lots of time with the ones we love.  And we are forever grateful for all of those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we might have the freedom to enjoy these wonderful moments!  

Hope y'all enjoy your evenings!

Five On Friday

Y’ALL.  It’s finally Friday.  I’ve been so thrown off all week... Wednesday I woke up thinking it was Thursday, and Thursday I woke up thinking it was Friday.  Definitely made the week feel super long. 

O N E 

This boy.   

A couple of nights ago, Brian was patting him to sleep and Jacob just randomly started talking about insects… “Insects have three body parts – a head, a forax (thorax), and a adomen (abdomen).  Ants are insects and flies are, too!  Spiders aren’t insects.  They only have two body parts and they have eight legs.”   

I mean, seriously.  Mind.  Blown.  He’s only three!  When stuff like that comes out of his mouth it makes me so incredibly proud.  This kid is like a sponge… he just soaks it all in and he retains it!!  This is one of the things that I love most about parenting… continuously being amazed by my children.  It never gets old.

T W O

Are y’all watching The Bachelorette??  I could not be any happier that Kaitlyn was chosen.  I don’t think that I could watch it if the guys had kept Britt.  (Yeah right, I could never tear myself away from it.)  She drives me up the wall with all of the drama!  Of course she’s drop dead gorgeous, but thank goodness those boys had sense enough to look past that.  Bye, Felicia.  We will not miss this...

 

T H R E E 

This has to be my favorite work out tank ever… I bought it last summer on Jane.com for only $12!  I posted it on Instagram last night and I’ve had a few people ask me where it’s from, so here it is!  Now get you one and get that booty in shape!! 

 

 

 

F O U R  

In case you missed it, I finally made a decision on a gold handbag, and I am absolutely loving it.  You can see my reviews here. 

 

 



F I V E 

Everybody put your hands together for the three-day weekend!! 

Word to ya motha.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linking up with:

Momfessionals
A. Liz Adventures
A Little Bit of Everything Blog

The Search for the Perfect Gold Handbag

Last week, I mentioned in my Five On Friday post that I was in search of the perfect gold handbag.  After much deliberation, the search is over!

What do I look for in a handbag? 

I am not one to pay a lot… most of mine come from Target and are under $30 or $40.  The thought of spending more than that makes me cringe… don’t get me wrong, designer handbags are gorgeous and I wouldn’t be one bit mad if, say, Coach decided that they just had to send one to me, but I just cannot bring myself to spend the same amount on a handbag that I would spend on a large TV.  Or a piece of furniture.  I would buy 35 Target handbags before I would buy one very expensive one.   

And y’all, the older I get, the pickier I am about them… it used to be all about the look, but now function is just as important, and I have a lot of requirements: 

• At least two large separate compartments – one for my wallet and makeup bag, and one for my planner.  I don’t like for everything to be loose and floating around in there, because inevitably, whatever I need at any given time will have made its way to the bottom and I won’t be able to find it.
• A massive zipper pocket large enough to hold ear buds, lotion, medicine (ibuprofen, etc.), emergency inhaler, epi-pen (I’m allergic to a lot of things and I have seasonal asthma – so lame.), and a plethora of other odds and ends.
• An inside pen pocket and cell phone pocket
• An outside zipper pocket for easy access to my keys

All three look great on!

Handbag # 1: The Walmart Handbag, Found Here 

Pros – Two large separate compartments, a massive zipper pocket, and a bonus small inside zipper pocket 

Cons – No inside pen pocket or cell phone pocket, and no outside zipper pocket…  Seriously, what were they thinking??   

Verdict – While I loved the style and size of the handbag, I didn’t love the shade of gold… it just didn’t look as nice as the other two bags (which is expected since it was from Walmart), and I also didn’t like the lock charm hanging on the front.  None of that really matters, though, because the lack of pockets was a deal breaker.  I just can’t wrap my mind around why they didn’t include pockets!  Where the heck do you put your phone?!  I couldn’t return this bag fast enough! 

Handbag # 2: The Amazon Handbag, Found Here

Pros – Two large separate compartments, a massive zipper pocket, cell phone and pen pockets, a bonus small inside zipper pocket, and an outside zipper pocket!!  Score!! 

You would think this would be the winner, right?!  It has everything!  But it wasn’t…  

Cons – Super floppy, weighs about ten tons without anything in it, doesn’t stand up by itself, handle is always in the way, and I don't like the black interior... it looks like a black hole and I'm afraid everything would get sucked in and lost!

Verdict – While this handbag has every single feature I am looking for, the design is just awful!  The purse has to weigh at least two pounds with nothing in it.  Add all of my crap to it and that’s just a recipe for a future shoulder surgery!  Seriously, I have enough stuff of my own to put in there… I don’t need the purse weighing more than the stuff itself.  Also, it is so floppy!  There is no support whatsoever, and the handle is always in the way!  You’d never even be able to open it appropriately to get anything out.  I’m so easily frustrated, I would end up throwing it out the window the first time I had to get my wallet out to pay for something.  On top of all of that, the gold color and overall look just doesn’t live up to the Macy’s bag.  Therefore, this bag has already been packaged up and sent back to Amazon… thank goodness for free return shipping! 

Handbag # 3: The Macy’s Handbag, Found Here

Pros – Cell phone and pen pockets, an outside zipper pocket, a bonus small inside zipper pocket, super wide opening, cute interior lining, and it’s GOOOORG! 

Cons – No separate compartments and no massive zipper pocket, and more expensive than my usual handbag purchases. 

Verdict – Well, you would probably think that I would be sending this one back too, but lucky for me I came up with a genius plan to solve all of my problems.  I purchased an adorable Bando iPad sleeve at Marshall’s a few months ago for only $5, and I haven’t used it because I don’t even own an iPad.  This sleeve fits perfectly right in the middle of the bag, thus creating two separate compartments and a massive zipper pocket all at the same time!  Genius, right?!  Also, the bag is lightweight (before I put my stuff in there), and it was by far the most beautiful of the three.  As stated in the cons, it was more than I usually spend on a handbag, but I got it on sale, and I was also given a Macy’s gift card for Christmas which covered the whole thing, so I didn’t have to feel bad about spending too much money. 

So there you have it, folks – I got to keep the prettiest bag + it’s as functional as it is pretty!  Macy’s for the win! 

Y’all have a good Thursday night… I’m already going through Scandal withdrawals.  :o(