Go Dawgs!

Sorry this is so late! My life has been extremely busy :)

Austin and made the trip to Athens last weekend to see the Dawgs play South Carolina. How sad that they weren't able to pull it together, but we still had fun tailgating!

Me & Havs

BP, Saxon & Austin

Allison!

We'll be back in Athens for the Mississippi State game on October 1! Hope to see everyone on Lumpkin Street :)

What I'm LOVING Wednesday!

I hope everyone is having a great week...here's What I'm LOVING this Wednesday!

1. I'm LOVING that today is the last day of August. Hello September, skinny jeans, boots & scarves!

2. I'm LOVING that it's Labor Day weekend...a little bummed about not going to the beach anymore but glad to spend the weekend at home and by the pool.

3. Although they were total impulse buys, I'm LOVING my two new pairs of Tory Burch shoes... no buyer's remorse here :)

4. I'm LOVING that football season is officially HERE - Athens here we come!

5. And last but not least, I'm LOVING that I just walked in from work to a clean, clean house!

I could get used to more weekends like this.

To celebrate my upcoming new job in Roswell, Austin surprised me on Saturday with an overnight get-a-way to Atlanta! Hotel reservations were made at Loews in Midtown and dinner reservations were made at Chops in Buckhead.

My second surprise...Havolynne and Austin were joining us in Atlanta! After meeting at the hotel, the four of us were shuttled to Chops for a fabulous dinner. My Oysters Rockefeller and 6 oz. Lobster Tail did not disappoint.

At Loews with Hav, Austin and Austin

Hav & Austin at dinner

Chops

My Congratulations dessert from the waiter

After dinner, we went over to Joe's on Juniper for after-dinner drinks. Thankfully, no one was robbed or held at gun point as Austin Saxon suspected. :)

Austin

Hav is loving her martini!

Round 2...

After several drinks and 3 rounds of shots = Hav and Austin dance party

We then walked over to this new night club (forgot the name) on Peachtree Street. Upon arriving back at the hotel, there was a huge party in the lobby. I thought for sure that I'd spotted Cee Lo Green...I walked over to ask this woman standing next to him if that was actually Cee Lo. She said no, that he was some big music producer...when I turned around, I was face to face with Theo from The Cosby Show. Of course, I had to ask for a picture! 

The bar inside Loews

Hav, Theo and myself at Loews

My third surprise from Austin was an hour-long deep tissue massage for Sunday morning. Sooo nice! I think I could have stayed a few more days at Loews...

Akon's car spotted outside of Loews

We stopped at Food 101 for brunch and I somehow convinced Austin to being seated on their porch. :) Check out this chicken, cheese, egg and buttermilk biscuit. Talk about a massive amount of food.

Brunch at Food 101

I could definitely get used to more weekends like this! I spent all of Sunday napping and catching up on Lifetime movies while Austin played golf.

Canton Weekend

Quite a few of our Gainesville friends came to visit us in Canton this past weekend!

We grilled baby back ribs Friday night with the Whit, the Curtis family and a few neighbors. I made hashbrown casserole and a trifle, Britt made an awesome broccoli casserole and Whit fired up some veggie skewers.

On Saturday, we spent the day at the pool, playing corn hole and waiting on Alyssa and William, the Sims, Dally and Chad, the Sligers, and Christy Xmas to arrive. After the pool, we grilled mini hamburger sliders and sat around on the back porch while the guys played corn hole.  I still can't get over all of the amazing food everyone brought.  I had leftovers for two days...sure wish all of Ash's mac & cheese hadn't been eaten.

Chad & Aus

And although I love, love, love my back porch - or any back porch for that matter - I have surely paid for it this week. My ankles, feet and arms look like I was attacked by mosquitoes. This was even after my back yard was sprayed, citronella candles were lit AND bug spray was applied.

I spent most all of Sunday being lazy.

This can probably be blamed on the fact that Alyssa made me stay up until 6:30 in the morning.:)

Thanks to everyone that made the drive to Canton!

Sol and Chris

The girls! (minus Christy and Whit(

Weekend Re-Cap, Gville Supper Club

My relaxing weekend was spent with neighbors and Gville Supper Club friends. As usual, it went by entirely too fast. How can it possibly be Monday again?

On Friday, I kicked off my weekend by having a few glasses of vino with Brittney and Amy. How nice! Afterwards, Austin and I went to dinner with Emily and Matt Rollins to celebrate Matt's 31st birthday! We shared calamari and oysters rockefeller and Austin and I split the broiled seafood platter. After dinner, we went over to the Duncan's for a few (more) drinks. Emily, Lisa and myself stayed up talking until 2:30. Needless to say, I slept straight through my yoga class Saturday morning.

I spent Saturday doing all things domestic - laundary, dishes, antique shopping, painting a table, planting flowers, etc. On Saturday night, Austin and I made the trip to Gainesville for Supper Club!!! It was our turn to host - and since my mom had just returned from the beach - we decided to treat everyone to dinner at SideBar, a new Mexican restaurant on the square.

Allgood's, Curtis', Potts, Hav/Austin, Nix's and the Blevins'!

With the Parks girls :)

 I so enjoyed catching up with everyone! After dinner, we headed over to Luna's for a few drinks - and dessert! Looking forward to next month's SC hosted by the Potts!


After breakfast in Gainesville...and another breakfast in Dawsonville with the in-laws...I spent the rest of my Sunday at the pool with all of the neighbor-friends. :)

An Antique Table & Crackle Paint

I've decided that my back porch needs some help.

I went on a mission this week to find an outdoor rug, which wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. After searching at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target, AND TJ Maxx, I finally found one at Bed, Bath & Beyond on sale for $44!

My new rug!

Next on my list was to find an antique table for my potted plants, which I found this morning at a local antique store in Canton. The guy even knocked the price down to $25!

Before

Before #2

After my table purchase, I went over to Home Depot and found exactly what I was looking for - Martha Stewart Crackle Specialty Finish! That Martha. She thinks of everything.

Crackle!

After priming and applying the Crackle goo..and a little bit of sanding...my antique table was complete!

Here is the finished product with my potted plants!

Complete!

Happy Saturday! Austin and I are headed to Gainesville for Supper Club!

Myth Bustin' Montana-Style

I just spent several days in beautiful West Glacier, Montana. There are really no words to describe just how breathtaking Montana is. The weather was a bit chillier than I thought it would be - and even cooler in the evenings. I sure am glad I made that last-minute trip to REI.

The reason behind my trip out west was to attend Meg Cary and Bennett Sumrell's wedding. Meg and I were college roomies for a year and a half at North Georgia College & State University. So myself and few other crazy college friends made the trip to West Glacier - and I sure am glad I did!

I flew out of Atlanta early Thursday morning (as in Austin and I left the house at 4 a.m.), arrived in Chicago at about 7 a.m., met up with the one and only Whitney Rice, and we arrived in Kalispell, Montana at about 12:30 p.m. After Meg and Emily picked me, Whit, Elaine and Christy up at the airport, we went into Whitefish to catch up, drink some wine and get ready for a night out on the town.

The pizza place we ate at was delicious! Liza a.k.a Lizard came to meet us for the night from Missoula, about three hours away, and Meg's friends - Rachel, Marissa, Ashley and Avid - also joined us for a fun and absolutely ridiculous night out!

Emily, myself, Christy, Lizard, Whit and Meg

After dinner, we went to a few places in Whitefish, local bars and such. Huckleberries are everywhere in Glacier, even in the beer! Watch out - it'll creep up on ya!

My Christy

Whit, Meg, myself, Christy and that Lizard

The following picture was taken on our first trip inside of Glacier National Park. Just lovely.

The next picture is of Avalanche Creek - one of the most beautiful things I saw the entire trip. I can't get over how white the water is!

On Friday, we spent most of the day inside the park and at the resort. The rehearsal dinner was so much fun. We sat around outside, talking, eating...and mostly drinking. Meg had arranged a shuttle for us crazy kids to ride in to and from the dinner. Does this bride know her guests or what?

The guys actually talked the restaurant into letting us take the keg back with us to the resort. Just picture a keg in the back of a school bus.

After the rehearsal dinner, we all went back and sat around the campfire...and yep, drank some more. Someone's crazy uncle was shooting off fireworks, Bennett's sister was lighting up sparklers. I'm just glad our chalet didn't go up in flames!

On Saturday morning, we went inside the park to take a wooden boat tour on Lake McDonald. I just can't get enough of the snow-capped mountains...our tour guide filled us in on all sorts of Glacier history, like how the mountains were formed, what makes the water so blue, and how forest fires are actually a good thing.

After our tour and afternoon inside the park, we went back to the resort to get ready for the wedding. Meg was already getting her hair and make up done. This is us standing on the front porch before heading to the wedding site. Props to Elaine for heading over early to hand out invitations.

Christy, myself, Meg, Whit and Emily

Wedding Ceremony

The wedding was absolutely stunning. It was the most intimate ceremony I've ever attended. And, speaking on behalf of someone that's witnessed quite a few weddings, I think I can say that. Meg and Bennett were only focused on each other, but imagine watching two people say their "I Do's" while standing in front of the most beautiful snow-covered mountains ever. It even brought tears to Whitney's eyes. And Christy - well, she balled like a baby. It was a little embarrassing.

After the ceremony, we walked down to the reception site, which was set up perfectly. The trout (with huckleberries I might add) and wine was delic, the band was a blast, and the photo booth was quite the hit. 

I hate that my trip in Montana trip is over..mostly because it isn't too often that I get to see these girls all at the same time. We all live in different locations - Dallas, Canton, Dahlonega, Atlanta, Gainesville, Asheville and Westcliffe. But fortunately, we all have Dahlonega, Ga. to thank for bringing us all together! I sure had some fun times with these lovely ladies in college - most of our stories can probably not be repeated on this blog - but needless to say, we've never skipped a beat when we're all together and this trip did not disappoint. I laughed, literally, until I cried...and on about 137 different times during the trip. I have sore abs to prove it!

Congrats to Meg and Bennett and thank you for allowing me to be a part of your wedding. I hope you both are enjoying your time in Canada. 

And, I'd like to give a shout-out to Marissa, Ashley and Avid - hope to see you crazy girls again real soon (I'm guessing at our next Myth Buster's meeting?)! And in case I forgot to say this Sunday, I apologize on behalf of everyone for any crude, rude and utterly absurd behavior you may have witnessed. :) 

Photo Booth!

The Funky Paintbrush

Last Thursday evening was Girl's Night at The Funky Paintbrush in downtown Woodstock.

Blending the colors was actually much more difficult than I thought! Thankfully I had my vino :)

We first had to paint the sky...

Next came the rolling hills...

And finally..the tree!

I always enjoy getting together with these girls! Thanks Linds, Bets, Amy, Penny, Lauren and Britt for a fun evening!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Here's a little What I'm Loving Wednesday! It's been a while!

1. I'm LOVING that Ashley and Sam are looking at houses closer to me! No, not in Canton, but the Gwinnett area is much closer to me than where they are now!

2. I'm LOVING that Ellen and Mitch set a wedding date! April 14th in Dahlonega!!

3. I'm LOVING my Girl's Night planned for tomorrow at The Funky Paintbrush with Britt, Linds, Bets, Amy and Penny. Me, a paintbrush and a bottle wine = could be a disaster.

4. I'm LOVING that in one week I will be getting ready to board a plane to Montana for Meg's wedding! I am so excited to spend four days out west with some of my favorite girls ~ Meg, Whit Rice, Christy and Emily!

5. I'm LOVING that we have nothing planned for the weekend (other than hot yoga and the farmers market...lame I know). Unusual...and kinda nice for a change!

6. And I'm LOVING that Austin and I booked our plane tickets to Denver yesterday! We will be spending New Year's Eve in Colorado with the Sliger's and the Johnson's (and hopefully the Curtis')!! Austin told me it was too early to get excited...but I think he's wrong!

Happy Hump Day! Two more days 'til the weekend!

Saturday Morning & The Canton Farmers Market

I need more weekends like this past one. It was so relaxing and the furthest distance I had to drive was to the pool on Saturday and Sunday and to dinner on Saturday night.

On Friday, Austin and I grilled burgers at the house with Linds, Justin, the Rollins family and Erin Papka. On Saturday morning, I went on an early-morning walk with Lisa and her pup, Harlie. Great start to the weekend!

After breakfast and our morning coffee, Austin and I went to the Downtown Canton Farmers Market to help support our local famers. We met Erin and Linds, my mother-n-law Donna, and Brittney and the kiddo's.

I was pretty impressed with the purchases we made~

Cheddar Cream Cheese Bread

Gooey Butter Cake (to die for!)

All Natural Homemade Granola Bars (dried fruit and peanut butter)

All Natural Cran-Oat-Honey Granola

and Sweet Orange Almond Butter Lotion

I'll be going back this Saturday for more granola! Happy Wednesday, everyone, and Happy Birthday to Ashley Sliger!

Happy Birthday's!

June = many, many birthdays! Add in father's day and I'm already broke!

Every June, the girls get together and celebrate Kelly, Allison and Ashley turning another year older! In past years, we've gone to Atlanta and had cook-outs on the lake.

This year we chose to meet in Gainesville to try out a new Mexican restaurant on the square - Sidebar. Great margaritas! This particular Friday happened to be First Friday, meaning we could walk around the square, shop, drink and listen to live music.

I'm really digging the long dresses so I bought myself two at Dress Up. :)

I always enjoy getting to go to Gainesville and see everyone. Unfortunately, Austin wasn't able to make this trip but we'll be back for the next Supper Club!

So happy, happy birthday to Kelly, Allison and Ashley!

Chris, Britt, me and Whit

Whit, Alli, me and Britt

w/ two of the birthday girls!

The Girls! Caroline, Randi, Ash, Alli, Whit, Kel, Molly, myself and Britt

The Johnson's: en route to Denver

Brooke and Andrew (and Penny) left this morning for Denver, Colorado!  

Although I am VERY excited for these two, I admit that I'm a little sad. I guess Austin and I will have to go ahead and book our Denver tickets for New Year's Eve to cheer me up!

Here are a few pictures from Brooke and Andrew's Going Away Party last Sunday in Gainesville.

Brooke and Andrew

Alyssa, William, me and Austin

Daniel, Andrew, Blake and Brannon

Brooke, me and Christy

Andrew and Ryan Gurley

Whit, Brooke, myself and Jared

Brooke and her dental friends!

Aus and Christy

Albert, Court, Brooke and Andrew

If you don't already, check out Brooke's blog about everything COLORADO!