Fall Bag

Recently, I was on a business trip in Chicago and spotted this beautiful pumpkin colored Kathy bag (oh how I adore Kathy) that I couldn’t get out of my head. After the conference was over, I went back to rescue it from the restraints of retail so it could sport around with me during all my fall adventures. It was a must have and I’m loving this color. There’s so many gorgeous fall bags out there, I’m also loving the big hobo style metallic’s.

I loved this fun print on the inside too!

The season of Pumpkin Spice and Mums have arrived!

Oh, how I adore Fall! Regrettably, living in the sunny state does not allow us to get the full effects of this fabulous season, which makes me miss living in Virginia just a little bit. However, the temperature does drop at some point and in the meantime I get to decorate with some of my favorite colors and sip the 'oh-so-yum' Pumpkin Spice Latte!

This past weekend, Billy and I took a "quick" trip to Lowe’s for some items to help us finish a few house projects we have going on (more on those later). Just before check out I spotted this gorgeous mum and had to have it! Mums are one of my favorite components of Fall and I love how the yellow mum adds a little "pop" to our entry way. Now I just need to find (or create) the perfect wreath for my front door. I’m also thinking about a hay man too for the rocking chair, hmmm. I must find an old pair of overalls!

Waiting Pays Off

Recently, Billy and I had a “date night” that lead to pure excitement! We were going to do the usual dinner and a movie since he had worked all day and we wanted something low key. However, after dinner we had about an hour to spend before the movie. We discussed browsing the furniture store because…well, it’s just plain fun! What we didn’t know is that we were about to miss our movie and purchase the very dining table set that I’ve had my eye on for almost a year. When we were engaged I had spotted this table and loved it but had sticker shock and walked right out the store. After pining over this table I do believe the Lord is GOOD and saved it just for me. When I walked over to the table and the sign was slashed with a red marker (Oooo, I love those red markers!) I began to feel like it was Christmas morning…you know that giddy feeling when you know something great is about to transpire!? Needless to say we missed our movie and went home happy-happy campers. Here’s my 60” table of goodness that we purchased for half off. It pays to wait. Unfortunately, it’s not the best picture as I have a bad habit of taking quick photos with my iPhone instead of pulling out my camera. I’m thinking that date nights now just may be a bit dangerous – we spotted a lovely leather piece I think would look perfect in our family room. :)

Ten states in Seven days!

Billy and I had the last week of August off for vacation. We didn’t really have a plan, we just wanted to be off at the same time and enjoy each other. We decided to head to Atlanta for the weekend to visit with his sister, Peggy, and thought we’d catch a Braves game while we were there (a once a summer ‘must-do’ according to Billy). At the Sunday afternoon Braves game Billy said, “Wouldn’t it be fun to keep going and head north”. I wasn’t sure if he was serious so I told him not to tease me. We talked about doing this at some point, maybe next year, but never did I think we were going to take this trip now. He wasn’t kidding, he said it would be fun to just get in the car and see where we end up, start by heading to Washington D.C. So we did! I was excited; I love a good road trip and was SO thankful that we both had over packed. After the game we headed to Wal-mart, a necessary pit stop before any road trip! We got an oil change and shopped while we waited. It was fun loading up with water, cheez-its, candy, you know... fun car food. Shortly after saying goodbye to Peggy & Mark, whom I sure thought we were nuts, we were on the highway. We arrived in DC by Monday AM and immediately started touring (yes, with no sleep). It was Billy’s first trip to DC and I haven’t been since a kid so we both were looking forward to sightseeing. By late afternoon we found a hotel downtown and decided to clean up and find food – we had been living off of car goodies and needed serious nutrition! Monday evening we continued touring and saw the Washington monument, Lincoln memorial and the White House. Luckily, Obama was on his 25k vacation so we didn’t have any run-ins. :-) Tuesday we toured all the Smithsonian museums, exhausting but it was a blast. DC really is a wonderful place full of interesting sights, tons of history and free things to do.

Ha-ha! He was "blending in" with the display.

Former First Lady, Barbara Bush's, Inaugural Dress

Wednesday we decided to head north again, ending up in Baltimore for breakfast & to see the Orioles stadium. We made it to Philadelphia in time for lunch – a Philly Cheese steak was a must. I saw the Liberty Bell in college on a road trip but wanted Billy to see it as well – we walked around Philly and had a great time!

Liberty Bell

Isn't he the cutest?

New York City, my favorite place on earth, was our final destination. We arrived in NY for dinner and enjoyed a couple days in the big apple. Billy wanted to see the Yankee Stadium (if you haven’t noticed a theme, I have a major baseball fan on my hands!) and I wanted him to see all the touristy sights, Lady Liberty, Times Square, Macy’s, Central Park…you know, the good stuff! We had fun riding the subway and getting around Manhattan. I’m proud to say we didn’t get lost once – years of riding the subway, I think I finally “got it”. I love the fast pace and rush of the city, however, after the big city Billy said he was just about ready to head back to Georgia. He’s such a southern man but I love that about him. Thursday evening my Aunt Donna & Uncle Jimmy treated us to a boat ride to Fire Island (no cars allowed on the island!) for dinner and a sunset toast. We had a lot of fun and it was the perfect way to end our fun spontaneous summer vacation!

Central Park is beautiful

Lower Manhattan, near Wall Street

We were beat! Tons of walking the entire week and we were at the end of our journey.

(Subway)

Aunt Donna & I on Fire Island

Boat ride to Fire Island

Friday morning it was time to head home, we wanted to recoup before “life” hit again on Monday. We drove; correction…Billy drove, the entire 18 hours home! We hit traffic and bad weather on the drive home so it extended our trip by 3 hours. We arrived back home by 3:30 AM and I have NEVER been so excited nor thankful for my bed. It was such a fun trip and I’m glad we were able to have this adventure together. Five major cities: ATL, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC; 2,300 miles; 450 pictures; $52.60 in toll fees; 10 states in 7 days and all with my best friend!