Pinteresting Wednesday Watches

With Monday being a holiday, Wednesday got here fast! This week I am going with a WATCH THEME. Here are my three picks for this week's Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday:

My first pick is the gold Michael Kors watch I have now. Sometimes I think people add too many bracelets when layering with an oversized watch, but (in my opinion) this is a good balance: 

 




Source: s3.amazonaws.com via Lauren on Pinterest

My second pick is this Betsey Johnson Gold Owl Watch:

 

Source: dillards.com via Lauren on Pinterest

My third and FAVORITE watch for the Summer is this aqua watch from Anthrolopologie:

 

Source: anthropologie.eu via Lauren on Pinterest

Too bad 

Memorial Day Weekend

I love a 3 day weekend! I spent Saturday by the pool reading a book and the latest US Weekly. 

Sunday morning Chad and I headed to Atlanta to meet my two best friends from college and their boyfriends for the Braves game on Sunday night. The game did not start until 8 PM so our first stop = Atlantic Station. I live near The Summit in Birmingham which (like Atlantic Station) is an outdoor mall. The Summit is great, but it does not have an H&M or a Dillard’s. Gianni Bini makes some really great shoes and the only department store that carries the brand is Dillard’s. I found 2 super cute pairs of shoes. Since neither pair was available in a 7 ½, I decided to try on some 5-6 inch Jessica Simpson heels for fun.

Give a girl the correct shoes and she can conquer the world (or possibly break her neck/ankle). 

I'd never buy shoes that tall (I stop at 4 inch heels), but I believe Kate Spade said it best when she said -

"Playing dress up begins at age 5 and never truly ends." -Kate Spade

Chad and I are both auditors which requires some travel, but every Tuesday is "Yogurt Tuesday" when we are both in Birmingham. We have eaten at every soft serve yogurt location in town. After we saw Yogli Mogli in Atlantic Station, we knew we had to try it.

After shopping and yogurt we headed to the Embassy Suites to check-in and get ready for dinner. Adam, Lacey, Jason, Amy, Chad and I all met at Taco Mac in the CNN center for pre-game food and drinks.

All 6 of us at Taco Mac

One of the very first dates Chad and I ever went on was to Atlanta to see the Braves play at Turner Field!! That was two years ago and we have decided to go to at least one game a year. This game was the first time we ever sat in the 755 Club.

 Amy, me, Lacey, and Andrea at the game.

 The group - Jason, Amy, me, Chad, Lacey, and Adam

Turner Field

A little bit about Turner Field -- 

Turner Field was originally built for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Before Turner Field, the Braves played in Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. When Atlanta was chosen to host the 1996 Olympic Games, the city did not want to build a stadium for a one-time purpose. The city decided to build a stadium for the Olympics that could later be converted to a baseball stadium. In April of 1997, over 50,000 fans attended the Braves first game at Turner Field and watched the Braves beat the Cubs!

View from our seats


The Braves did not beat the Washington Nationals on Sunday night, but it was so much fun catching up and spending time with my friends!! The 8 PM game was a good choice because the weather was perfect! 

And of course Chad managed to order the biggest hotdog I've ever seen in my entire life.

On Memorial Day, Chad and I ran through the Olympic Park area before leaving Atlanta.

 

It was a great Memorial Day Weekend and I am so thankful for all the men and women that gave their lives fighting for our Country!

"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself." – Joseph Campbell  

Widget / Gadget

This time last week, I didn't know what a WIDGET was. Clearly, I am still very new to the blogging world. It took me 2 hours of research to figure out how to change my background and another 2 hours to get a "widget". 

I am confident that Google has become one of my best friends. After my Google Search, I learned that a widget is a small application that can be installed and executed within a web page by an end user (thanks to Wikipedia). A widget can also be referred to as a portlet, web part, gadget, badge module, webjit, capsule, and/or snippet. Widgets often take the form of on-screen device, such as a clock or countdown. 

Time to add some widgets!! Instagram is my favorite app for my iPhone right now with Pinterest being a very close second. I decided to add a widget for my Instagram account to my blog. After more googling, I discovered http://snapwidget.com/ and I have a new widget!!  

Now here is to hoping my next widget takes less time to figure out. :)

Oh, How Pinteresting!

What was life like before Pinterest?

 

I can't even begin to count the number of hours and/or the amazing things I have found on Pinterest. I now have a ridiculously long 'To Do List', recipes pinned I'll probably never make, and an app on my phone that is quite distracting. As soon as I saw The Vintage Apple's - Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesdays post, I had to join in!! 

I'm going to pick three of my favorite pins each week. For week one:

#1 - This is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE pin so far --

Source: conflictingheart.tumblr.com via Lauren on Pinterest

#2 - This one is perfect for my current age of 27 --

Source: someecards.com via Lauren on Pinterest

#3 - The No. 8 Rule of a Lady (I'd be interested to learn rules 1-7) --

Source: mackenziehoran.com via Lauren on Pinterest

It was harder than I thought to just pick three and I'm already looking forward to next week's pins.

Railroad Park and Parents Visit

Thursday for lunch Chad and I decided to both get out of the office and we went to Railroad Park. The Park makes up a 19 acre space in downtown Birmingham.

I am so lucky to have such a nice park within walking distance of where I work! Every Wednesday from 4-6 PM “Farm Stands on the Railroad” takes place and you can go purchase fresh, local produce. Thanks to Blue Cross and Blue Shield FREE classes are held weeknights at 6 PM at Railroad Park and hundreds of people attend:

Monday – Crunk Fitness
Tuesday – The BE FIT Group Experience
Wednesday – Zumba
Thursday – Yoga
Friday – Night PE

THE WEEKEND …

My parents came to visit this weekend and they brought my little dog MILLIE with them. I still say it’s my dog even though I got her in high school and when I left for college she stayed home.

I had Friday off of work and my parents came after lunch. We met Chad’s mom for an early dinner at Izzo’s at The Summit. It was the first time my parents met some of Chad’s family, but we think it went really well!

 I gave my mom tickets for us all to go see Joel Osteen together for her Mother’s Day present so after dinner mom, dad, Chad and I went to Joel Osteen ‘A Night of Faith’ at the BJCC. Joel Osteen is the pastor at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas and he is watched by approximately 7 million Americans each week on TV. After watching him on TV, it was great to finally get to see him in person.

 

Saturday we woke up and took time to enjoy coffee and rented We Bought a Zoo with Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson. I absolutely LOVED the movie!! Maggie Elizabeth Jones (Rosie) is adorable!!

We sat outside and enjoyed a relaxing lunch in the shade at O’Carrs before doing some antique shopping. Then unfortunately they packed up and headed back to Troy. It was a short visit, but great to spend some quality time with my parents and to show them around Birmingham.

Wedding Season

Wedding Season Has Officially Begun!

I have spent the last two weekends watching couples say "I Do". 

Wedding Weekend #1

The first wedding was for John (Chad’s brother) and Leah. The Rehearsal Dinner was on Saturday night at the Alabama Theatre. The theatre sign read “Congratulations Leah & John”!

The wedding was on Sunday at 5:30 at the Botanical Gardens. Rain was in the forecast but other than one loud thunder sound at the beginning of the ceremony, the weather held off until right after the sparkler send off as the bride and groom departed. The timing of the weather could not have been better! I’ve always heard it is good luck when it rains on your wedding day.

John’s Groom’s Cake was very creative and unique. He requested a Donut Tower and his mom molded the top donuts to read “I Do”. 

John and Leah make a beautiful couple and I can’t wait to spend more time with the Newlyweds!

The Rehearsal Dinner was May 5^th (CINCO DE MAYO) and I happen to LOVE HOLIDAYS!! A couple of my friends were in town and after the Rehearsal Dinner, Chad and I met them at Pablo’s to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. After Pablo's we went to the Back Nine to dance and hang out.

  

From left to right: Keri, Morgan, Lacey, Erin, Sushannah, random band guy that jumped in the picture, me, and Mellie

 From left to right at Back Nine after Pablo's: Chad, Jeff, me, Shelby, Sushannah, Erin, Keri, Chris, Morgan, Lacey, Mellie, Mike, Collin

 with Lacey

with Chad

Wedding Weekend #2

I had never been to Winston Salem so not only did I get to go to an amazingly planned wedding and reception, I also got to see some of Winston Salem. Chad and I flew into Greensboro last Friday and after a short 20 minute drive in a rental car we headed to downtown Winston Salem for dinner. I am a fan of Trip Advisor anytime we are going on a trip. I’ve learned you can’t just look at the number of stars beside each location; you also have to see how many reviews are written. One person saying something good about a place means nothing. How are you supposed to know it isn’t just the owner? After I searched Winston Salem Restaurants, I found a place called Foothills Brewing. 

I guess I should mention that I love doing wine and beer tastings (I can’t wait until BrewFest the first weekend of June). After reading more about Foothills Brewery, I learned it is the only local brewery in Winston Salem. Decision made! Once we arrived at the restaurant, we learned we were seated right where the Director of Mad Men had just been sitting. Clearly, I’m easily amused.  We ordered food and a Beer Flight to sample 6 of the beers brewed at Foothills.

I also ordered a Carolina Strawberry. I highly recommend this beer if you enjoy a fruity/different tasting beer. It’s like Strawberry Wine, but beer…

After dinner and drinks we went to one of the groomsmen’s houses and Chad was able to see lots of his friends from Samford. It was nice to meet several of his college friends and see a few that I already knew. Saturday morning we woke up and drove to Wake Forest University to run through campus. The university was already out for Summer Break and the campus was relatively empty. We followed another couple down a trail and ended up in Reynolda Village. Then on our way to see the Reynolda House and Gardens we found another trail and got to do some trail running. We ended up doing a little more trail running than we wanted. We thought the trail would come back out instead of just dead ending, this isn’t the first time we have been wrong. After finally making it back to the car, we headed back to 4^th Street which was downtown and our favorite street in Winston Salem. After checking back in with Trip Advisor we decided on Hutch and Harris. Chad went with a lunch special of breakfast food (toast, potatoes, eggs, sausage, and grits) and I had the salmon pita with sweet potato fries **if you are ever in Winston Salem, this is a MUST!! We sat outside and had a mimosa. The weather was perfect.

Wedding Time = 5:00

before the wedding with Chad and then with Amy

The wedding was beautiful and the groom’s dad performed the ceremony. The bride and groom are both from Winston Salem and now live in Houston. After the ceremony, we headed to the reception and were greeted with teas, a sushi bar, Mexican tapas, and glass bottled cokes with striped straws.

Everyone socialized while anticipating the arrival of the newlyweds and then it was time to head outside for dinner under the tents. With approximately 600 people in attendance, you can only imagine the size of the tent.

The ‘His’ and ‘Her’ Menus read:
His – Mushroom Ravioli with Marinara and French Bread, Fish and Chips in a Cone with Ketchup, Hot Sauce, and Tarter and Vinegar
Her – Mini Chicken Pot Pies, Roasted Vegetables, Beef Tenderloin Medallions

Every layer of her cake was a different flavor – Oreo, Strawberry, Coconut, Vanilla, Chocolate, and it was all iced in buttercream. Like John, Christian also opted for a “cakeless” Groom’s cake. Christian’s “Groom’s Cake” was a milkshake bar (chocolate, vanilla, and/or Oreo).

The band/mini-orchestra was very entertaining and we had a great time dancing.

After the sparkler send-off we headed back downtown to Finnigan’s which is an Irish Pub. 

Below is a picture of a few of the girls at Finnigan’s.

Our flight Sunday was not until 2 which gave us enough time to stop by Old Salem and Salem College before heading back to the airport.

I enjoyed two back to back wedding weekends, but I did miss seeing my mom over Mother’s Day and I am super excited about mom, dad, and Millie coming to Birmingham tomorrow! I'm truly blessed to have such a fun and loving family. Here we are on Christmas Day!