🍂Holiday Season

Happy Sunday lovelies!

🍁Fall is a spectacular season. The colors (especially in Tennessee) are stunning each year. I was thrilled when Nathan and I made a quick trip back up to Knoxville a couple weeks ago, because we were able to see a decent amount of Fall colors in the mountains! The weather was chilly and dreary, but it was still beautiful. 

I stopped by The Consignment Shoppe in Farragut to do some shopping while Nathan worked at his observatory. The entire store was decked out in Christmas decor! I finally felt more excited about the upcoming holidays while looking around! 🎄

I ALWAYS find the most one of a kind, unique items at The Consignment Shoppe. I looked over the store about 6 different times, and kept finding things I didn't see before! The prices are insanely terrific. No matter what you are looking for, I bet you will find it at this shop!


It was a short trip to Knoxville, but I was glad we were able to see some friends and enjoy our quick visit!

Our furbaby sure was happy to see us when we got back home! He did not want to leave my lap!

Thanksgiving was so wonderful! We spent Thanksgiving at my Mother's this year; my brother and his family came up to visit as well. I had a blast spending time with my adorable nephew, but sure missed seeing my niece! There was a plethora of food (naturally), and the leftovers filled us up for days! 😆 My favorite Thanksgiving dish is green bean casserole! It is delicious! Our day was spent with too much food, hanging out with family, and just taking it easy.
I rarely participate in Black Friday shopping (I've worked retail and know how it goes) but Nathan and I did stop at a store to pick up a gift that we got a great deal on. Score!

Snuggles with my nephew!💕

Thankful ❤️

Pumpkin Pie!

Walking off some calories, to make room for more food!

With Thanksgiving officially over, we put up the Christmas decorations! It was quite strange not putting up my own decorations in my own home, but I am incredibly grateful that my Mother let me help her decorate her home! The Christmas music was blasting while we decorated, so now I'm even more excited for Christmas! 🎄

I hope everyone else had a fantastic Thanksgiving as well! 😊

QUESTIONS

* What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?

* Do you go Black Friday shopping or shop online?

* Do you put your Christmas decorations up before or after Thanksgiving?

Goodbye TN, Hello SC!

Goodbye Tennessee...Hello South Carolina!

We have MOVED! 

All I can say about moving, is that it is a pain in the ***! 😂 A few months ago, my husband accepted a job offer that required us to move down to Charleston within a two week time span. We didn't hire movers, we did it all ourselves (and with the help of some amazing friends)! Ultimately, Nathan ended up having to go down and start work, while I stayed to finish my last days at work, get new carpet installed in our house, and finish packing/cleaning. The hubby came back up on the weekends to help move our stuff either into a storage unit, or to take items back down to Charleston. Luckily for us, we only moved 6 hours away AND we are staying with my Mother while we look for a new home.

We hired a property management company to help us rent out our home in Tennessee. Within a week of putting a "For Rent" sign up in front of our home, we had a tenant in place to move in!
I've heard plenty of horror stories when it comes to renting out homes. I'm praying that this experience will be a pleasant one, and not turn into a disaster. 🙏🏼

Now we are both officially living in Charleston, trying to get settled in! For those who don't know, Nathan and I met, fell in love, and were married in Charleston, SC ( Magnolia Plantation ). 💕
Charleston has grown tremendously since we left nine years ago. The housing market here is quite tough right now, so we're really taking our time figuring out which area(s) we think would be a good fit for us, as well as a smart investment.

Since we've been back in Charleston for a few months, life has been GO-GO-GO! With the Holidays approaching quickly, life won't slow down for at least a few more months. Who else is freaking out about Thanksgiving NEXT WEEK?? ✋🏽

Of course, we have made some time to revisit old hang outs, as well as check out places we had never been to while we lived here previously.

Searching for seashells on Sullivan's Island (that's quite the tongue twister)!

Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site

Hampton Plantation State Historic Site

The Oak tree was saved from being torn down by George Washington. (Hampton Plantation)

George Washington Oak Tree at Hampton Plantation.

Charleston is beautiful city rich in history, art, amazing restaurants, entertainment, and much more! I am looking forward to sharing more of my adventures while living in this gorgeous city!

QUESTIONS

* Have you ever visited/lived in Charleston, South Carolina?

* Have you ever moved to a different state?

* Any recommendations of places to visit, or restaurants to try in the Charleston area?

GOODBYE 2017

HAPPY 2018!! 🎊

2017 is officially over! 

The last week of 2017 was nice because the hubs and I got to meet up with family in Greenville, SC!

On Thursday, Nathan and I drove to Greenville, SC, to meet up with my Mom, Sister in law, niece and nephew. Our visit was a short but sweet get together. Greenville is such a cute little city, and it makes the perfect halfway point to meet up with family!

By the time we all got into town, it was lunch time. We ate at Tupelo Honey Cafe. The restaurant was packed and we did have a long wait, but it would have been just as long anywhere else. Let me just tell you, it was worth the wait! Our waitress was really sweet, and did a great job! I had the sweet potato pancakes. Holy Moly were they delicious!! YES, that IS fried chicken on my pancakes...

After lunch, we walked to our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express. We hung out for a bit, played some Uno and Clue. Eventually, we were hungry again and walked down the street to Trio for dinner. The service and food was excellent at Trio! They hands down, have the best garlic bread I have ever had in my life! I had the eggplant parmigiana - SO GOOD!!!!

Unfortunately, it was FREEZING outside, so we just couldn't walk around. We went straight back to the hotel and hung out there for a while. One of the many things I adore about Greenville is their Mice on Main scavenger hunt! Throughout the city, there are 9 bronze mice statues! This scavenger hunt is great for kids (and adults like me), which really makes walking around town more exciting!

Lulu found a mouse!

The Holiday Inn Express had a great free breakfast with tons of food options! Our hotel was within walking distance to all of downtown - except it was just too cold for us to do so. Overall, the hotel was perfect for our short visit!

Sisters!

AJ and me!

Family ❤️

Next time, we'll all meet when it is warmer weather so we can truly enjoy all of downtown Greenville! After breakfast and some more hanging out, it was time to head back home.


Sunday, Nathan and I had a fantastic brunch at Holly's Gourmet's Market & Cafe!

Frog in a Ditch with a side of grits!

We had fun looking around McKay's Used Books, and ran some other errands before eventually returning home. It's been too cold with zero snow! 😠

Our neighbors had some really beautiful fireworks going on all night. It was nice to watch them in the comfort (and warmth) of our own home!

I hope you all had a wonderful New Years celebration! Here's to 2018!!

QUESTIONS:

* What was your favorite part of 2017?

* What are your New Years resolutions (if any)?

* What are you looking forward to most in 2018?

🎄 Christmas Recap 🎄

I hope everyone had a wonderful Merry Christmas! 

Nathan's parents, along with Nathan's cousin, drove all the way out from Kansas City, to spend Christmas with us. We only got to spend two whole days together, but we had such an incredible time together! On Sunday (Christmas Eve), the hubs had to work for a little bit, so the rest of us ventured up to Gatlinburg!

Gatlinburg was the busiest I had ever seen it! Luckily, we found parking so we could walk around a bit. We ate lunch at Blaine's Bar & Grill. The service and food was terrific at Blaine's!
Next, we all went up the 407 feet, Gatlinburg Space Needle. I am absolutely terrified of heights, but usually try to conquer my fears. The decision to face this fear was a good one, and I even made myself get to the "edge" to have my picture taken. The picture was taken quickly and with a lot of fear and hesitation, but I did it!!

After our day trip to Gatlinburg, we met the hubs back at the house and ordered pizza for dinner! We watched my personal favorite Christmas movie, "Elf," while we ate our dinner!


Christmas Day was the most laid back, relaxing day. As we slowly woke up, we chatted for a bit over coffee and hot cocoa tea. Eventually, we made our way into the kitchen to bake delicious cinnamon rolls.

After eating a yummy breakfast, we began opening all of our Christmas presents!

Truly, the greatest gift was having family in town to celebrate Christmas. <3

The majority of our time was playing games! We played plenty of Phase 10 Twist! Phase 10 is a lot of fun, but Phase 10 Twist was really cool!

Brain Games, Skip-bo, and Exploding Kittens were some other games we played!

The Cone of Shame - Imploding Kittens!!

The family left early Tuesday morning. It's always sad when they leave, but we'll be together again soon! I decided to start picking up all the Christmas decorations. I have them all together in one spot. However, I couldn't bring myself to take down the tree just yet. I'll leave it just a little while longer!

After a little bit of cleaning/tidying up, I finished the book "The Break Down," by B.A. Paris. It was a really good book, I enjoyed it a tiny bit better than "Behind Closed Doors." I found out about this Author and these books, thanks to the blog - Simply Taralynn

Next up is New Years! I don't know about you, but I am ready to throw 2017 out the window. It's been such a difficult year for me. I know there will be ups and downs in 2018, but I'm really hoping for much more positivity!

QUESTIONS

* What was your favorite part this Christmas holiday?

* Do you leave your Christmas decorations up through New Years?

* What are your New Years Eve plans?

Gobble Till You Wobble!

I hope everyone had a terrific and filling Thanksgiving!!

I had such an incredible Thanksgiving week with the hubby and his rents! The only problem was that time went by way too fast.

Saturday, before Thanksgiving, I spent the day prepping the house for Nathan's rents! Riley certainly was keeping himself entertained.

Nathan's parents came into town late Sunday evening!
Monday, I had to work for a little bit, but for dinner, we tried a place we haven't been to yet, a German restaurant - Restaurant Linderhof! It was beautiful inside! Our waiter was extremely knowledgable about the German food, and helped us make our delicious meal choices!

Restaurant Linderhof

I went with something I normally wouldn't try! I had the eggplant ratatouille with spatzle on the side. Spatzle is a type of egg noodle, and it sure is yummy!

I really look forward to going back and trying their other dishes!

Eggplant Ratatouille

Tuesday morning, we went to Nick & J's cafe for breakfast! Nick & J's was an adorable diner, just like the diners' you see in the movies. The atmosphere was relaxing, yet fun. The service and food was even better!

Nick & J's Cafe

Western Omelette

After a delicious breakfast, we all headed home. Kay and I worked on projects with the Silhouette Cameo 3 machine. The boys worked on their projects and began smoking the meats to have for Thanksgiving.

Silhouette Cameo 3 cutting machine!

Resting Grinch Face

Ta Da!

Figuring out how to work the Silhouette Cameo machine was awesome! The possibilities are endless when it comes to crafting! I look forward to making some new projects! 😄

Thanksgiving Eve, we all went to Painting with a Twist!

It's always such a fun time going to Painting with a Twist. It never gets old!

Ready to start painting!

Our finished paintings!

THANKSGIVING DAY:

We all knew we would be eating a plethora of food later that day, which made us decide to head over to Lilly Bluff first and get some fresh air and "hiking" in. We all wore our new shirts! Nathan and I wore shirts with a turkey that said "Pour Some Gravy on Me," and Kay & Steve wore shirts with cooked turkeys that said "Let's Get Basted." 😂

Pour Some Gravy On Me T-shirt

Lilly Bluff 

The Lilly Bluff overlook is a beautiful spot! 

Obed River

Showing off our t-shirts

Holly

For our Thanksgiving feast we had our traditional Raclette dinner! We brought out the raclette Swiss grill that cooks the meat on the top, and melts the cheese on the bottom. Gruyere cheese is our preferred choice, over the raclette cheese. The turkey had already been smoked, but the grill heated up the turkey on top.

For our side dishes, we had green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and baby red potatoes.

Nathan made an excellent pumpkin pie cheesecake for dessert. Talk about being stuffed! 

SO. MUCH. FOOD.

Thanksgiving Feast

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

BLACK FRIDAY:

Nathan and I both had to work on Black Friday. Kay and Steve volunteered to come to work with me! Thank goodness they were there to help at the store, because we were BUSY! 

Kay and I made snowflake earrings with the Silhouette Cameo 3 machine and faux leather material to wear on Black Friday - along with the Christmas t-shirts we made!

Snowflake Earrings

Cookies!!!!

Meet Molly - Santa's little helper!

Selfies with Santa

After work, we had a chill afternoon relaxing back at the house. 

Nathan's parents had to head back home on Saturday. 😞
It was a pretty chill day, I began putting up Christmas decorations! I can't wait to have them all up!

Beginning to put up Christmas decorations!

'Tis the season for Peppermint Mocha creamer!!

After such an exciting week, it's officially back to reality. It is time to finish putting up the Christmas decorations and clean/organize the house!

🎄

QUESTIONS FOR YOU:

* How was your Thanksgiving?

* What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

* Have you started putting up Christmas decorations?