~Weekend Recap~

As weekends tend to do, mine sure flew by. It's now Sunday afternooon and I feel like it should at least still be Saturday morning. Where's the rewind button?
Anyway, here are a few highlights from my weekend...

On Friday, Chelsey & Kyle welcomes Katy Paige Potts into the world! Katy Paige weighed in at 6 lbs and 9 ounces and I think she looks just like a Parks! I can't wait to meet her. This is a picture that Katy Paige's Aunt Brittni sent over! Just beautiful...

My mom came to Canton to help me paint and pick up the last few items for my half bath project (which is almost complete)! As we were buying paint, my mom suggested that we paint the ceiling light blue. After confirming with my design consultant, Havolynne, I decided to go for it. :) Here are my paint colors...

I don't think I'll be painting anything else (on my own) for quite.a.while.

And, here are some items I picked up at HomeGoods!

On Saturday, Austin and I joined the Rollins family for dinner at Goin' Coastal. This is my second favorite restaurant in downtown Canton. I was a little dissappointed that I wasn't able to order my usual Oysters Rockefeller dish... but my shrimp & corn chowder and mussels were fabulous. Oh, and the two bottles of red wine and creme brulee were fabulous as well. The pinot noir - Cono Sur - is an organic wine from Chile and a blend of various reds.

I met Penny for after-dinner drinks at Downtown Kitchen, my FAV restaurant in downtown Canton. After dinner we met Austin and some of his friends at Sidelines Grille. Check out Penny and Austin breaking it down!!

AND congrats to Candace Harper and her FIANCE! Kyle finally popped the question last night! Check out her beautiful bling - he did good!

And thanks to Danielle's Dish for featuring The Blevins Life. Looks like we share a love for etsy!

My Sunday has consisted of breakfast with Austin, an afternoon nap and now I'm sitting out on my back porch soaking up the sun. I've recently gotten two new bird houses for my back porch...and I'm starting to think this was a bad idea. In addition to waking up to the sound of two blue birds hitting my bedroom window, they've already pooped on their new houses!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday ~ here's to hoping this will be a better week! And one week til my birthday! 

Five Question Friday!

It's FRIDAY! It's been a long week, and I'm ready to RELAX.

Here's to Five Question Friday!

Rules for Five Question Friday: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning! And most of all, HAVE FUN!!

1. Can you drive a stick shift? Nope. Hank Haynes tried to teach me in high school. It didn't work out so well.

2. What are two foods you just can't eat? Apple sauce & oatmeal.

3. Do you buy Girl Scout Cookies? What is your favorite kind? Yes! Tagalongs.

4. How do you pamper yourself? Massage. Preferably 90 minutes and deep tissue.

5. What is your nickname and how did you get it? Squirrel Queen - Austin calls me "Squirrel Queen" because he says I jump from one thing to the next. Whatev.

Thankful Thursday!

It's Thankful Thursday, taken from This Kind of Love!

Just what are you thankful for this Thursday? Here is my shortened list!

I'm THANKFUL for my job.

I'm THANKFUL for my home.

I'm THANKFUL for a reliable car that gets me to and from where I need to go.

I'm THANKFUL for hot yoga.

I'm THANKFUL for red wine. Sure does take the edge off!

I'm THANKFUL for my super-awesome friends!

I'm THANKFUL that tomorrow is Friday...

I'm THANKFUL for Pandora radio. :)

And, last but definitely not least, I'm THANKFUL for my loving and supportive husband!

What I'm LOVING Wednesday!

For some reason I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I just can't seem to get with the program today! So, I thought a little What I'm LOVING Wednesday might provide a little motivation. Let's hope!

1. I'm LOVING my new Judith March dress! OK, I'm aware it's from the fall collection but I'm planning to cut the sleeve off.

2. I'm LOVING my very clean office! I spent an hour yesterday throwing away trash, recycling, dusting, etc. Whew! And, I brought this picture in today of Ella & Huddy.  :)

3. I'm LOVING Glee! In two weeks, Gwyneth Paltrow makes another appearance on the show! I just love her.

4. I'm LOVING my commute to and from work this week. Yay for winter break!

5. I'm LOVING my new "coffee" colored curtains for the bedroom! Next home project = the master bedroom!

6. I'm LOVING "Grenade" by Bruno Mars!

I'd catch a grenade for ya
Throw my hand on a blade for ya
I'd jump in front of a train for ya
You know I'd do anything for ya

4. I'm LOVING that by the end of the weekend, my half bath project will be complete!

8. I'm LOVING that MARCH is mine and Austin's birthday month!

9. And, finally, I'm LOVING that Austin and I are now doing a Gainesville Supper Club with the Curtis', the Allgood's, Hav & Austin, the Nix's, and the Potts'!! So excited for March 11 and dinner at the Allgood's!

Happy Hump Day, everyone! Cheers!

Annual Thrashers Casino Night

Last night, the Thrashers hosted their annual Casino Night at Opera Nightclub! It was great catching up with Erin and Allison, too!

We ran into Sheree Whitfield with Real Housewives of Atlanta! We were a little hesitant to ask for a picture with her, but she was so nice! AND thanks to my fabulous Blackjack skills, I won lots of raffle tickets...and a raffle prize! I guess Austin can enjoy the round of golf for four people (plus cart fee) and lunch at Eagle's Landing Golf Course.

Erin, me & Alli

Alli, me, SHEREE WHITFIELD, Audrey, Erin & Bart

Here are some pictures from last year!

Can't wait til next year!

Transformation Project #1: Half Bath...Take 2

I've got a problem.

I'm officially obsessed with etsy.com! Every time I log on to the stupid site it sends me pictures of items similar to what I've already purchased. It's like it knows exactly what I'm looking for.

So, it's not even lunch and I've already ordered two items this morning for my bathroom. The towel wall hook and bird bell (because who doesn't need a bell in the shape of a bird?!) match my recent wall shelf and light switch fixture purchases. See what I mean? It's all etsy's fault.

Wall Hook - etsy.com

Bird Bell - etsy.com

Also, Brittney Smith introduced me to Vintage Chic Design, which is a local business in downtown Woodstock. The owner - Lacy Phillips - creates chic furniture out of vintage pieces. Check out her Web site, she's got great stuff and hopefully her "curvy french provinvial mirror" will be perfect for my half bath! I'm pretty much already sold on the name.

Oh, and please don't mention any of this to Austin. :)

Happy Saturday!

February Supper Club: Palmetto State Chicken Bog

For last night's Supper Club, Valerie and Christian prepared Chicken Bog. By googling "chicken bog," I found out that this is a very popular South Carolina dish that includes chicken, rice and sausage.

It was SO GOOD! Austin and I both had seconds. Christian promised to email the recipe so I'll be sure to post it for all of you to try!

I made homemade mac & cheese as my vegetable side. We had planned on making fried okra as well but just didn't have the time. So, thank you Cracker Barrel for providing the fried okra!

Chicken Bog, fried okra & homemade mac & cheese

Next month's Supper Club will be hosted by the Blevins'! Any suggestions for a dinner theme?

Happy Friday!

Transformation Project #1: Half Bath...Take 1

To keep up with my bathroom renovation project, click here to view my first post!

After spending a few minutes searching the world wide web, I found three items that I couldn't live without!

OK...maybe that's a bit dramatic. But I at least thought these items would go perfectly in my half bath so they've been purchased and are currently being shipped to Canton, Ga!

I'm hopeful that they will look just as beautiful in my half bath as they do in these pictures! :)

etsy.com

etsy.com

Rug from anthropologie.com

Also, I'm not having much luck finding a white vintage mirror. So I've emailed the owner of Linden (located in Woodstock, Ga.) to see if she has any ideas for the mirror I already have.

Any suggestions?

Transformation Project #1: Half Bath

I've decided to decorate my downstairs half bathroom! I admit, I'm a little nervous, as this is my very FIRST renovation project. I feel so domestic.

Hopefully this is the first of many more transformation projects to come. I have a long list so I thought I'd start with something simple.

Here are my "before" photos. As you can very much see in these pictures, not much has been done to this room. AT ALL.

So, I began this process by researching what color scheme I'd like to go with. I narrowed it down to brown and white. Thanks to Ashley for sending over some pictures of other brown and white bathrooms because this is what I'll be using as my inspiration! In this first picture (below) I really like the contrast between the dark brown and the light brown on the walls. This is what I'm hoping for since I have super-dark hard wood floors.
 



After choosing a color scheme, I decided to look up artwork on etsy.com. Big mistake. That took forever. I finally something that I liked - no - loved. The only problem was the background of the portrait was light blue. This totally messed up my color scheme. So, I emailed my friend Audrey Shuler. Thankfully, she has offered to sponge paint me my very own portrait - much like this one below but MUCH, MUCH better. And I will LOVE it because Audrey does such fabulous work. It's only Day 1 of my transformation project and already I've got two very artsy people on my side.

I also found a vintage white shelf to go in the bathroom, also from etsy.com. Tomorrow, I'll be searching for a light fixture, a towel holder, a mirror, etc. Ideas and pictures welcome!!! Good night!

What I'm LOVING Wednesday!

It's Wednesday already?! Compared to last week, this week sure has flown by!

Here is What I'm Loving this Wednesday! Enjoy!

1.Once again, I'm LOVING the sunshine and warmer temperatures! Seriously. I just cannot get enough of the sun!

2.  I'm LOVING my new Zest & Zing meals! Austin and I tried the beef brisket Monday night and for lunch I'm having their pimento cheese. AND did I mention that they deliver for free?...Now if only I could find a laundry pick-up and delivery service. I'd be set.

3. I'm LOVING the earrings Kelly made me! I'm wearing them today!

4. I'm LOVING that I just purchased my Katy Perry ticket for June 7!

5. I'm LOVING my Michael Kors watch. This was totally an impulse buy last year in Charleston and the sunshine has inspired me to pull it out of the jewelry box (or drawer).

6. I'm LOVING my wedding gift from Callie Hutchins & Tyler Sims. I just love coming home to boxes on the front porch! :)

7. I'm LOVING that February Supper Club is tomorrow evening! The Battle's have chosen a Chicken Bog theme. Apparently, this is a South Carolina dish...sounds wonderful to me!

8. I'm LOVING that my Girl Scout cookies arrived yesterday!

9. I'm LOVING that Miss Katy Paige Potts will be making her debut ANY DAY NOW! Very exciting for the daddy and momma-to-be.

10. As always, I'm LOVING my Ella and Hudson. They make me smile!

Hudson's new hiding spot. No joke.

What a diva.

11. And, I'm LOVING that I've decided to decorate my downstairs half bathroom! Woo hoo! It's about time!

Happy Wednesday!

Saturday night & Aqua Blue

After our fabulous dinner at the Brookwood Grill, Austin and I joined Jenny & Clayton Rhoads for after-dinner drinks at Aqua Blue! Although I cannot speak on behalf of the food, I was pretty impressed with the atmosphere. Very trendy, great menu variety (steak, seafood, sushi) and an awesome wine selection.

Just for the sake of comparison, Aqua Blue reminded me of Wish in Miami. Also very trendy. If you are ever in South Beach, I highly suggest you check out Wish. You won't be disappointed!

Back to Aqua Blue...it was recently named as one of Jezebel Magazine's Top 100 Restaurants in Atlanta!
Next time you are deciding on a dinner location, a place to go for happy hour or to hear live jazz, make reservations at Aqua Blue. I plan to go back (maybe this week?) and actually eat a meal.

Here are a few pictures from Saturday night!





Jenny & Clayton's calamari



The Rhoads!

And the Blevins'!