No Ham Like Birmingham

Recently, I got to go to Alabama with friends, and it was WONDERFUL. 

Eleven years ago, these friends and I knew each other but weren't actually friends. We were forced into an English/Writing class thanks to our mothers, a decision I'm pretty thankful for because it has given me some great lifelong friends.

After I graduated high school, a couple of years before the other three did, the class ended. I think that's just the way it was and that it didn't have anything to do with me, although I'd be alright with you making that conclusion. Since then, we've all moved away from Beaufort; Jillian has moved back to South Carolina for a bit right now, Christina and I live in Florida (she's in the Tampa area), and Emily lives way over in Arkansas, which is actually a lot further west than I realized until I knew someone who lived there. So although we had group texts going and occasionally saw each other in our hometown or by visits, we were never all together. 

I think Emily was the one who first moved to have a reunion. Jillian looked up a place that was in between for everyone, and for some reason, Birmingham was the place that was most equidistant (not for Christina, unfortunately). She found a hotel online and booked it, and then we all made arrangements to go to Alabama, either by driving or flying. It was not only exciting that we were going to be seeing each other but that we would be seeing a new place. It seemed more exciting that way!

Emily, Jillian and I all arrived on Thursday afternoon. Christina wouldn't fly in until Friday afternoon because she was working a half day and then coming in - go getter. 

I got to meet my "niece" Tirzah for the first time. She's beautiful and just a little doll. 

Jillian was on a road trip with her family, so she and baby Wren got dropped off in Birmingham while Gary and Graceanna continued on to Texas. Here's a picture of the three little girls together for the first time. 

After Jillian's chauffeurs left, we decided to go to dinner somewhere near the hotel. I'd made a list of places around Birmingham that were local and recommended, but we wanted something nearby and fast so we went to Jason's Deli. It was great and healthy and satisfying. We have one in Tallahassee too, so Carson and I will definitely be visiting.

When we were younger, Jillian used to always like to be in the middle of people sitting on a bench or in a car - not on the edge. We reminded her of that and put her in between the carseats

Everyone was pretty tired when we got back from dinner, if this picture didn't provide a clue. 

The babies got bathed and put to bed in Jillian and Emily's room, while the grown-ups (that's us!) retired to my room to talk and watch the Food Network while we listened for them via baby monitor. 

Representing the Wingate! Woohoo!

I woke up about two hours before we'd decided to go down for breakfast the next morning and took advantage of that time by working out and reading a book - who am I? During breakfast, Wren was squawking a little bit, so I sat down with her so she could grab my nose.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Eli's Jerusalem Grill. We liked this so much that we got takeout from there a couple days later. Great minds think alike I guess, because we all ordered the Kefta Kabob sandwich. Delicious.  

Our next stop was the airport! This sunshiny baby joined Jillian and I as the welcoming committee. Emily and Tirzah didn't join us because I lost them on the highway. I'm apparently not a great lead caravan car driver. 

We reunited with the Davidson ladies at Railroad Park downtown. It was a very hot day, but we enjoyed walking around and talking in the looks-quite-new park as trains rumbled by.

Jillian had spotted a Barnes and Noble at The Summit on our way to the airport, so that was our next stop. We browsed and talked and Emily bought a baby book while Christina and I bought bottles of water because it was SO hot. 

We decided on The Cheesecake Factory for dinner because it was: a. Right there and b. Nobody but me had either ever been or hadn't been since they were little. On the less-than-two-minute drive (we opted to drive instead of walk because the babies hadn't had proper naps and we weren't sure what the evening would hold), Wren fell asleep in the back of my car. Jillian had gone in to get us a table and when I lifted Wren out, she didn't even open her eyes or flinch. She was THAT tired, poor thing.

They seated Jillian before the rest of us even walked up to the restaurant, which was nice. Although it was a hot day, the patio was perfect. Wren snoozed on my shoulder until our food arrived.

And Tirzah was not having this photo op! She settled down for her own nap right before the food arrived.

Emily and Jillian split a salad (they have monster salads) and Christina and I shared pasta, if that doesn't tell you anything about kindred spirits ;)

We went back to the hotel to put the exhausted babies down, and Tirzah decided it was playtime, so she hung out with us in Christina's and my room while Wren slept (again, monitored of course!) in the other room. We watched some HGTV but mostly listened to birth stories, which fascinate me for some reason. 

And Emily brought chocolate. She's friends with someone who makes their own spectacular chocolate in Little Rock. It was the best chocolate I've ever had. I'm going to be honest and tell you that I'm not the chocolate fanatic that Emily and Jillian are, but I really loved this stuff.

Next Up: A day full of exploring! 

I had too many pictures, so look forward to several more posts about our trip :)

My New Hobby

A few Christmases ago, I tackled my first embroidery project and made my sister a pillow with ferns on it. I hope she's thrown it away because it really was terrible. 

And honestly, these are things I'm going to look back on one day and wrinkle my nose at, because I think they're very much the work of a beginner who googles embroidery stitches and tries to imitate them, making it up as I go along. 

But it's fun, and fairly cheap. Hoops are inexpensive, and when I was in Washington we found bulk embroidery floss for $1 a packet of several different colors and bought 10, so for $10 I now have lots and lots of floss that I've dutifully wound onto spools.

So here are a few of the things I've made lately! 

I made this for my friend Jillians birthday.  

And I worked on this one for Emily's baby, Tirzah. The satin stitches are something I think I'm getting better at but still need to improve.

I saw something on Pinterest with a rainbow of French knots, and the first time I tried French knots was on the hoop for Tirzah, so I was feeling confident. I did the knots too close to each other and don't really like how it was going so I stopped working on this after a whole bunch of those stupid knots. I think I've got the hang of them now though :)

I made this one for Morgan's sweet Grayson. The lighting is SO bad, but I really liked this one. 

It also occurred to me that I could stain the wooden hoops, so I grabbed some leftover stain from our rocking chair project and brushed on one little coat on some of my hoops. I wasn't totally sure how people kept the hoops secure when they were all finished, so I hot-glued them  in place. The back isn't pretty, so maybe I should also work on that in the future :)

And last, I've been making these little patchwork states. They've been fun to do and they're helping me practice that satin stitch. If you're a friend of mine, I might have made your state too! 

Fall Burlap Wreath

Sometimes there are Pinterest products that are more "Pinteresty" than others, and I think burlap wreaths fall into that category. This was the first one I've made, despite wanting to make one for a few years. 

Last year, I was chatting with a coworker about crafting and we planned to make these wreaths together and then of course never did. We discussed this on and off for the last year and finally decided to make wreaths just before football season started (she was making an FSU/Alabama house divided version). I was going to do plain burlap but saw this one and changed my mind.

I'm going to say first of all that DIY isn't always cheaper. I think it is for me most of the time because I often look at the prices of supplies for a project and then decide to make it or not. For this one, I was committed to making it already with some coworkers, and I felt bad saying "I know we've put this off for so long already but now I don't want to do it". 

If you're doing this, know that it isn't the most pricey thing ever, but that you'll have to buy a wire wreath form (cheap) and about 15-20 yards of burlap, which I only found packaged by 5 yards, so that price adds up. I had wire chevron burlap ribbon that I'd purchased at Walmart for another project so that wasn't included in the cost. 

We used a YouTube tutorial for the wreaths, and had to watch it on repeat a number of times before we got the hang of it, but once we did - easy! I don't think I could do this in 15 minutes like the video said, but it really could be a very quick project! 

Three people made three different wreaths, and I think adding flowers was a super cute touch. She also used thinner wire ribbon burlap and a smaller wire form. The wire was a bit of a problem but we all worked on it and teamwork prevailed! 

We made cute wreaths!

It may be in the 90s but we are ready for fall!

First Football Game

We got to go to the first football game of the season! 

We arrived two hours before the game, just as the stadium opened. Student tickets aren't assigned to a seat, so unless you'd like to stand up the entire game, you have to get there early to find a seat that you can sit down on. We didn't have to wait very long before going inside. 

We went down to that bottom corner there where there's a bench only large enough for two people. 

We were stuck waiting a very long time because rain was threatening to postpone the game. We saw flashes of lightening and heard thunder in the distance but it didn't even sprinkle on us, although they cleared the field before the game began and began to wait out the "storm". It got a lot cooler in the stadium and there was a great breeze, but it didn't rain.

Finally, after they'd stopped the clock at 70:00 while waiting for the weather to clear up, it began counting down again and the game began at 9:05pm (which on a weeknight is bedtime to us, so we were just sort of barely hanging on).

Juuuust before the game actually started, it began to sprinkle. Not much rain at all, just enough to tease us for waiting around. The game still went on. 

Not the worst view...

The halftime show included a tribute to the 40th anniversary of Saturday Night Live. 

We decided to leave after halftime. Florida State was winning and we were tired and wanted to go to bed. 

And yes, we did win... with a score of 59-16. Sorry, Texas!

All About a Baby

I went to Ocala to hang out with Morgan and baby Grayson over the weekend. We got to spend lots of time cuddling on the couch while watching Say Yes to the Dress (I'd never seen it before!), went to a birthday party, my cousin Stuart's soccer game, Uncle Mark and Aunt Pam's house for dinner, and church. It wasn't BUSY busy but we did actually get out of the house which was nice. It was so great to chat and hold the baby while Morgan slept. I had a great time!