Taste of Carrollton and Fall Weather

Thursday, Julie, Adam, and I decided to take a day trip out to Carrollton. We left right after breakfast to get there right at lunch. We met my sister, Katie, (who works in Carrollton) at my favorite restaurant out there - The Corner Cafe. Katie had to go back to work right after, but Julie and I walked around the Square and visited some bookstores.

We followed that by going to the University of West Georgia to tour the campus. I'm an alumni there and Julie had never been. I had heard that the campus had changed quite a bit from just five years ago when I graduated. It has expanded a lot and it looks really cool - with a new dining hall and nursing building. I was really impressed. Plus, it was a beautiful day and seeing all the greenery was always one of my favorite things about the campus.

Adam was pretty pooped after being in the car and then in the sun all day, so Katie let us relax at her house until the Taste of Carrollton started. Adam wouldn't take a nap like I wanted, so we just played quietly and Adam got to have some time close-up with Katie's cat.

Our final stop was the Taste of Carrollton! I've been to several "Taste of's" and this one has always been one of my favorites. This year was no different! I had pork and chicken salad, a bagel with strawberry cream cheese and chicken nugget, a pumpkin roll and red velvet cake. Adam and I were pretty full by the end - and it's a good thing we arrived right when it started, because when we spent our last tickets, it began to rain.

It's been getting chillier and chillier over the last couple of days along with the rain. Although the rain is preventing us from playing outside, it's allowed me to pull out Adam's fall wardrobe. He is so cute in his long sleeves and long pants and hoodies.

A couple of days ago, Rusty volunteered to watch Adam for a little while so I could get some cleaning done around the house. After I finished and was ready to give Adam a bath, I walk into Rusty's office to see him playing a video game and Adam sitting right next to him with an unplugged controller. It was so cute because Adam mimicked Rusty in whatever he does. I love it so much!

Yesterday was Julie's last day of freedom before she started work, so I told her we could go anywhere - and she chose 2nd and Charles. For all of you who know Adam know that he LOVES books. He was so excited and wanted them all. I finally got him to settle down to read some books, but he was still overjoyed. Afterward we stopped by the aquarium store and Hobby Town just for fun.

I also got this cute pic of Adam and Kirby looking out the window.

As of today, Julie has started her new job. From the texts I've received, she absolutely LOVES it! I'm glad she held out for this job, instead of jumping on the first one that offered her one. It sounds like a cool company with that start-up feel. Fingers crossed that it keeps getting better!

To celebrate with her, I made a special dessert and it was SOOO delicious (if I do say so myself). You can check out the Cinnamon Cheesecake filled Apples with Caramel Pecan drizzle recipe here. The title sounds more complicated then it actually is.

Oreos and Puppy Kisses

Congratulations Julie! After a couple of months of applications, interviews, tests, etc., she got a couple of offers this week and accepted a position at a company in Buckhead! I'm so excited for her to start this new adventure. It's completely different from what she's done before, but I still think she'll be successful!

To celebrate this, Rusty and I took her out to her choice of restaurant. Her only requirement was beer - so we went to Taco Mac. Apparently, they give two Oreos with their kid's meal, so Adam had his first Oreo. He took it, pulled it open, ate the insides before eating the cookie. I took note of this because this is EXACTLY how I eat them, but he has never seen that because we don't keep them in the house.

On Friday, Rusty was out late, so Adam and I decided to do some gardening. I got some tulips and planted them in the flower beds in front of the house, so I hope they bloom! I don't have much of a green thumb, so we'll see. Adam thought it was great to dig in the dirt and hand me bulbs, only to cover them back up.

I feel like I'm constantly finding interesting and fun things to bring Adam to, which is fantastic! This week, I found out that the skate rink, Sparkles, has a Toddler Time once or twice a month. For only $7, you can bring your toddler, and a riding toy if you wish, to run and ride around the rink for hours. They open up the playground area too. After a couple of hours, they also do crafts and lunch if you wish, but because of other obligations, we didn't stay for those activities. He had a great time, even if he did try to steal another child's riding toy.

We went from Sparkles to the library to get library cards. I haven't had one since I was a child (other than the one for college) and was pretty excited. Since we go to the library almost every week, it only made since that we got one, plus I've already gotten three books!

We went to a baby shower this weekend for some of Rusty's college friends and literally a couple days before, I decided I wanted to make a baby patchwork blanket for them. I had already thought about it, but kept putting it off. I finally decided I definitely wanted to do it, so after Adam went down, I started cutting and sewing and I love how it turned out! I asked Tiffany (the mom-to-be) earlier what the colors and theme were so that I could match it. When they unwrapped the gift, she almost cried (which is actually my goal, ha ha).

Sunday, we dropped off Kirby before church to Memaw's house to be groomed. After church, we took her out to lunch as a thank you and picked Kirby up. He looks SO AMAZING! She always does a great job, but I really can't stress how fantastic her skills are.

The last couple of times Kirby got groomed, Adam was scared of him because he really doesn't look like the same dog. This time, however, he couldn't stop giving Kirby kisses and it was just so sweet!

One more thing, I don't know if I talked about doing the 8 week course to lose weight and tone up from Fitness Blender, but that concluded on Friday. I'm actually a little bummed because even though I do feel better and have more energy, I didn't lose any weight. Everyone keeps saying that the scale doesn't matter, but the problem with that mentality is that I am considered overweight, if not obese, so the scale does matter. If I was within a healthy range, I wouldn't care as much - but I'm not. I need weight gone. With that said, I decided that I can't quit because that won't help my situation at all, so Monday, I've begun another round and feel good about it. I definitely feel better about this go around, but I probably need to focus a lot more on my eating habits.

Showers and Chalk Art

Well, I'm pretty sure they're conspiring against me...

The last part of last week was all about prepping for my cousin's shower. My sisters and I decided to throw him and his fiancee a wedding shower brunch with a fall theme. Honestly, it's been one of my favorite showers so far. Plus, we've got to see all of my dad's family sans my Uncle Bubba. Here's a sneak peak picture, but you can find the whole shower here.

After the shower, since it was so early, Adam and I took a nap and them met Grandpa and Grammy along with Adam's cousins, JoLynn and Jade at the park (Rusty and Julie went somewhere else). They played and played. We all went to dinner after.

It was a bit chilly this week, so Adam got to wear this adorable hoodie I got on sale. Some people seem to not like it, but I think it's fantastic!

I bought some chalk this week to use outside. I though Adam would enjoy it because he wouldn't be confined to a piece of paper. After dinner yesterday, Rusty, Julie, Adam, and I drew all over our driveway.

This morning, we were loading up in the car to go to Toddler Time and our neighbors were in our driveway looking at our chalk artwork. They thought it was awesome. They also though Adam was looking too cute in his overalls.

Falling In Love: Wedding Shower Brunch

Today, my sisters and I threw a fall-themed, wedding shower brunch for my cousin and his fiancee.

At the entrance of the shower, we had a wreath, a pumpkin guestbook, and recipe cards for guests to write their advice for a successful wedding.

At the fireplace, which was the focal point of the room, I made a large sign with the theme, Emma made another wreath, and we also had a simple cardbox.

In the center of the room, there were couches, chairs, and a coffee table. We placed fresh sunflowers (the bride-to-be's favorite flower) on the table as well as coffee bean candles to set the mood of a brunch through scent.

In one of the corners, that was kind of out of the way, I set up Adam's picnic table with some wedding-themed coloring pages and crayons. I knew there would be a couple of little ones and I didn't want them to be too bored.

 Now with everyone's favorite part of a shower - the food!

In keeping with the brunch theme, we offered the following feast:

We started with a biscuit bar, including biscuits, sausages, gravy, homemade jam, homemade apple butter, local honey (from my sister's bees),

We also had sausage balls, fresh fruit, three different breakfast casseroles, and coffee bread.

For dessert, we couldn't very well do something out of the theme, so I made Pancake Bacon cupcakes with a Maple Butter Bacon frosting. I also threw together some candy acorns out of Nutty Butty's and Hershey Kisses.

To drink, I made Apple Cider Punch, which ended up being fantastic. We also provided orange juice, regular and decaf coffee (with different flavor creams), and a Keurig on hand for other options.

Finally, for favors, we offered strawberry jam in 4 oz mason jars.

 Overall, it was a fantastic morning and the great thing about a morning shower is that by the afternoon, you're all done! Here's a final picture of me and my sisters along with the bride and groom to be.