Valentine's Day

Since it's tax season, weeknights are pretty much out for any type of "fun" things.  We celebrated Valentine's Day on the Friday night after V-day.  I had a four day weekend for Presidents day, and I LOVED every minute of it.  I felt like it was summer, waking up drinking coffee and watching the Today show in bed on a weekday.   Friday night we went to a restaurant that I have been wanting to try called Local Three.  It was pretty good, I would definitely say that the atmosphere was better than the food.  We had brussel sprouts to start, I had steak and David had a pork special. 

Saturday was about 70 degrees, it felt like spring!  Here is what we spent the day doing:

And, we could probably fill another 25 bags this weekend !



Family Time

Two weeks ago my dad, mom, and sister came to visit.  My parents came down first and then Jill flew down on Thursday.  We had a great time, but we were busy!  My dad helped me put up new drywall in the half bathroom, after ripping off two layers of wallpaper and painting the walls, it looked like crap.  The only option for making it look half decent was to put up new drywall, so that's what we did.  It was pretty easy (since my dad did most of it), and all I need to do now is sand it, primer and paint it! 

We have had beautiful weather here...until the weekend my family was here.  On Saturday it was FREEZING!!!!  The temperature was 30 degrees, and with the wind chill it felt like 20!  During their visit, we did the normal attractions of Atlanta: CNN, World of Coke, and shopping:)  It was great to have them come visit, and as always, it's hard to say goodbye to family. 

Chicken, Waffles, and Wreath

A few weeks ago David and I went downtown to eat at Gladys Knight's Chicken and Waffles.  We have wanted to try it since we moved here, but there is ALWAYS a wait outside.  Since we had a 50% off coupon from Scoutmob, we decided to deal with the wait and try it.  On a Sunday morning, we got there around 11:30, 30 minutes after it opened.  There of course, was already a 45 minute wait.  I gotta be honest, it was not as good as I expected.  David and I both got the two pieces of chicken and a waffle...the waffle was excellent, but unfortunately the chicken was just ok.  I have defintely had better friend chicken, it was a bit of a let down.  Luckily thanks to our coupon, we only paid $20 instead of $40. 

On to Valentine's Day....I had nothing for the front door.  I found an idea I liked on pinterest, that looked simple, so I went Michael's to get the supplies.  I only spent $11 on everything.  All I did was cut circles of red felt and folded them into fours and pinned them on to the foam.

Christmas - Part II

On Tuesday, David's sister, brother n law and two kids came to stay at David's parents.  It was so much fun to see Daniel and Sophie!!  I am not just saying this because they are my niece and nephew, but they are the CUTEST and most well behaved kids EVER!  I want to post pictures, but I don't want to post pictures of kids without permission.  I realize the only people who read my blog are my relatives, but I still don't feel right.  We played a lot with the kids, and hung out with everyone, it was a great time.  The only thing I have to say is that it rains ALL THE TIME!!!  On Saturday, we went to Caerphilly Castle, about 15 minutes away from David's parents house.  It blows my mind that towns have a castle in the middle of them, so different than in the U.S.  I guess what we consider "old" is "new" to people in the United Kingdom. We left on Tuesday and it was hard to leave.  Coming back to reality and going back to work the next day was not fun.  So, like any normal people dreading going back to the "real world"  (in other words, work), we discussed what to do over spring break and where to go next.

Christmas in Wales - Part I

Happy 2012!!  We spent Christmas and rang in the new year in the United Kingdom, and we had a great holiday.  We left the Thursday night I got out of school, December 22nd, and returned home January 3rd, the night before I had to go back to work. 

We had a wonderful Christmas, woke up and opened presents, then had a wonderful Christmas dinner.  During dinner, we watched the Queen's speech on tv since I had never been there over Christmas before to see it. 

On Boxing Day we went to visit David's family in Birmingham.  We saw his Grandma on his dad's side and his aunt, along with his grandma on his mom's side  (or I guess I should say mum's side).  My camera battery died, so I only got one picture:(

Tuesday morning, David and I went into Cardiff and did some shopping.  Things are so expensive!!!!! The rest of the week we spent time with David's sister, brother and law, and our niece and nephew.  More to come on that next!

Christmas a week away!

We have had a great Saturday!  Today we braved the mall, Costco and the Post Office.  They were crazy!  We waited in line at the post office for 45 minutes to mail gifts to my family.  Then, we went to Ballard Design outlet and got my Christmas present, three stools for our kitchen.  Now, they in no way match our kitchen, and our counter top isn't even designed for stools, but I have always wanted them and they were 75% off!!!  We paid $90 for all three!!!!!  One day when we update our kitchen, they will match and look perfect.  For now, I will enjoy sitting in them as David makes dinner:)

We also opened gifts from my family, since we will not be celebrating Christmas with them this year.  I feel old, suddenly I get excited over gifts I would have had no clue about when I was younger.  Some of my highlights were my new lunch bag, label maker, a velor sweat suit, and laminator.  David got a Best Buy gift card, pajama pants, and a cookbook.

On another note, last weekend we ran a 5k, the Jingle Jog, in Dunwoody.  David of course finished before me, but we had a great time.  Then, Saturday night we had some people over and we all (well most of us) wore ugly Christmas sweaters.  It was a lot of fun, and the first time we entertained in our new house!



It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We have a fake tree...well two fake trees, and I miss the smell of real trees.  Today I bought an air freshener that smells like a real Christmas tree.  It's amazing to me how one smell can make my mood change.  I have been walking around the house spraying it and singing Christmas carols, I think there are few, if any, things that can change my mood during Christmas time.  I put up some Christmas decorations in the house this weekend, and I think the only thing I have left is to finish the outside of the house.  Hopefully I will be done tomorrow.

The Christmas Tree in our Family Room

So excited I have a chimney for Santa!

The Christmas Tree in our formal living room

Nativity Scene in Dining Room

We saw THE best Christmas movie this weekend "Arthur Christmas".  It was great, and even though some people don't like animated movies, I highly recommend it.