Labor Day Weekend AKA All the Football + an Announcement

We are coming off of a lovely four-day weekend here!  Friday B and I traveled to Atlanta and I stopped for my first pumpkin spice latte of the season!  For those of you looking for it, yes, they do have it despite the fact that you can’t order it on the app yet.  It was definitely a little piece of heaven to take along for the trip! 

My appointment was a big disappointment as I had assumed it would be.  The specialist who has been treating my back issues told me that since the treatments hadn’t helped any that there was no need to continue, and he also said that since my pain pattern is so odd there was nothing else they could do for me.  Sigh.  Back to square one. 

That did put a quite a damper on the morning, but I surely wasn’t about to let ruin my whole weekend.  B and I googled “best pizza in Atlanta” and it lead us straight to Labella’s Pizzeria in Marietta.  It was New York style pizza and it was definitely good.  Not the best we’ve ever had, but good.

We arrived back in town just in time to get some kidless grocery shopping done for our party the next day, and then we headed to pick up the kiddos a little early.  Since it was too early to go to dinner we surprised them with a trip to the downtown playground… one of our favorites!  They played and ran and then we walked down by the river to see if we could find some painted rocks.

We decided to try a new restaurant for dinner, and B and I shared a cheese board with a glass of wine for me and a beer for him.  While the cheese board selection wasn’t my favorite (the biggest portion was something similar to gorgonzola which makes me sick), the rest of everything there looked amazing, the atmosphere was perfection, and we loved all of the healthy options that they have.  We will definitely be going back and trying something different!

After dinner we stopped by the ice cream shop downtown, and I was actually going to be good and not get anything, but they had their s’mores ice cream and I had been wanting to try it, so I decided to go ahead and indulge.  Dare I say that it rivals the best ice cream I’ve ever had?  If you have a Kilwin’s, RUN, don’t walk, and get a S’mores cone.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.

The kids wanted to take a few pictures by our favorite mural, and then it was back home for bedtime and binge watching for B and me.

Saturday morning we spent the morning getting ready for our football party.  I baked my mom’s famous Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake (recipe coming soon!) and I also made a cold Mexican dip, and then we cleaned the house and got ready for our guests later in the day.

Our friends Randi and Donnie arrived with their two girls in the late afternoon, I whipped up some Moscow Mules, B fired up the grill and made burgers and hot dogs, and we all sat around for the rest of the evening eating and drinking and watching our beloved Dawgs play while the kids ran amuck.  Haha.

During halftime we all went out to the back yard and ran the kids silly… otherwise known as Operation: Tire Out the Kids.  For the second half of the game, we turned on Sing in the playroom and the kids all snuggled up in the tent to watch while the adults finished the game.  We ended up getting a solid win against our opponent, so we started the season out right even though our starting QB ended up getting injured.

Sunday morning we lazed around a bit, and then we headed off to my MIL and step-FIL’s for lunch.  The kiddos played in the yard for a good long time after lunch, and then we headed home for naps and quiet time.  During QT I finished decorating for fall and I also did some work on Olivia’s baby book.  Her second birthday is officially documented!

Sunday evening was dinner at my parents’ house accompanied by lots of good conversation, good food, and of course, a bottle of wine.  Wouldn’t be Sunday without it!  My Mama Cass (grandmother) brought me a couple of clippings from her hydrangea and I’m so excited to hopefully have some fresh blooms next year for the house!  Now to see if I can keep it alive…

Monday started out with donuts, because it wouldn’t be a holiday weekend without them!!  Unfortunately all of our Dunkin Donuts have started bringing in frozen donuts instead of making their own, so they were all hard and really unappealing.  It was quite a disappointment.  Guess we’ll have to start using Krispy Kreme again!

Sunday afternoon was filled with lots and lots of errands – running to Bath and Body Works to load up on fall soap, stopping at Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, and Kirkland’s to look for the last item for my fall décor, stopping by Lowe’s for some mums and potting soil, and also a quick stop by Fresh Market.  Somewhere in the middle of all the errands, we stopped for lunch at Chipotle and we also met one of my girlfriends and her two boys at the park to play for a bit.  The kids had a blast and they also found another painted rock!

We let Olivia skip a nap so that we might have an easy bedtime, and she did pretty well.  I cooked rosemary wine chicken (also coming soon to the blog!), mashed potatoes, and broccoli for dinner, and then B and I put the kids down for an early bedtime so that we could watch more college football! 

Whew.  It was such a full four days and we are just so glad that fall and football are BACK!

Now for the announcement…

I have teamed up with some other ladies to do another mug exchange and we would love for you to join us! 

Sign-ups open September 4th and close September 12th. 

You will be partnered with one person to purchase and mail a mug to.  Mugs should range between $10-$15 BEFORE SHIPPING.  Partners will be picked and notified by September 15th.

Complete THIS FORM to join the exchange.

You can link-up and share your mug details on September 28^th and you can also join us by sharing your mug on Instagram using #MugLoveExchange

Due to shipping costs this exchange is only open to U.S. residents.  Sorry Canadian friends!  :o(

And now it's time for the Tuesday Talk Link Up!

Hosted by:

Beth at Our Pretty Little Girls | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Crystal at Hall Around Texas | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

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Stefanie at Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam, & Dylan Too | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Stephanie at Wife Mommy Me | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Becky at BYBMG | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram
Lindsay at Lindsay's Sweet World | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram
Sarah at Sarah E. Frazer | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Justine at Full Hands, Full Heart
Christina at Waltzing In Beauty | Pinterest | Instagram
Meghan at The Adventure Starts Here | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Tina at Go Big or Go Home | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

Whitney at Polka-Dotty Place | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram

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