27 Years

Today is our 27th anniversary! And they said we'd never last! 

oops...

A few days ago I was cleaning up some things on my phone and I deleted all the photos in the picasa album. Which in turn has deleted all the photos off my blog! Dang! That explains all the weird objects where the photos used to be.

Pittsburgh

We are home from our trip to Pittsburgh! 

We left on Wednesday evening and drove to my sister's house at Lake Norman. We spent the night and hit the road the next morning for the rest of our drive. I really hate riding in the car, so this was a big deal for me!

We had made pretty good time and only had one delay outside a tunnel in West Virginia! I was just thankful I wasn't stuck IN the tunnel!

Thursday night we ate dinner with my cousins and then sat out on their deck until it got too cold! Yes, I said cold! The weather was perfect the whole time we were there. Well, it did rain all day on Saturday but it was so cool, I was more than happy to deal with the rain!

Friday we got up and met my other cousins for breakfast and then a trip to the bridal store for teen daughter to have a fitting for her bridesmaid dress. 

The dress is so pretty! And, it looks really good on teen daughter!

After the fitting we hit up a few stores just to kill some time. I had decided that I wanted to try the new Bare Minerals serum foundation and went a couple weeks ago to try out colors. I found the perfect match, but of course so did everyone else apparently, because that color was sold out everywhere in the Charleston area! So I decided to check out the local Ulta in Cranberry Township and bingo, they had it in stock! But, would you believe I got the last one they had? 

Friday night we went to dinner at another cousin's house and were able to visit for awhile. They had all the windows open it was so cool outside!

Saturday we went to the Bridal shower for my cousin. It's always interesting to see how different regions do things differently. Around the Pittsburgh area it is normal to have one large shower hosted by the mother's of the bride and groom and the bridesmaids. It normally includes a sit down brunch or lunch and lasts for several hours! 
To add a southern touch, my mom and I both made cheese straws! We had them on platters by the drinks so that people could nibble when they first arrived.

A photo of the Bride-to-be and her bridesmaids. 

Saturday night was the bachelorette party. Daughter asked if she could go too and once I found out how low-key it was going to be, I said "Sure". Since a few of the girls are under 21 they decided to just go have dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and then go to one of the girl's home for a bonfire. I think perhaps some jello shots were planned for around the bonfire, but teen daughter came home after dinner.
Sunday morning we hit the road bright and early and made it home in about 11 hours! Ugh, I don't want to get in a car again for awhile! 

This week we are having some more work done on the house. This time we are converting our old office into a new closet for the master bedroom. The room was located right off our bedroom and would have been a great sitting area or nursery. We used it as an office and storage area for all my old interior design stuff from when I had my business. Our present closet is off our bathroom and while it is a good size, I would like to expand the bathroom and make our shower larger. 
So, this is the before:

Excuse the mess. I didn't think about taking the photo until I had already started taking it apart! 
Stay tuned for the after!

Road Trip

Daughter and I are heading to Pittsburgh tomorrow. 

~Later

Guess Who's Home?

Our little foreign exchange student! This photo was taken in the early morning hours this past Monday at the Charlotte Airport. Do you think she looks european? ;)

We left last Thursday to go up to our cabin for the long weekend. I figured we could just leave from there and go to my sister's in Charlotte on Sunday, pick up daughter, spend the night and head home on Monday.

The weather was looking a little iffy as we approached the upstate of SC!

Can you believe those clouds! Just a few minutes after I took this photo, the bottom fell out and the wind started whipping around! It was just a little scary!

We got to the cabin, unloaded the car and headed to the neighborhood clubhouse for dinner. The weather was perfect! We left temps in the 90's with very high humidity in the lowcountry, but we were greeted with temps in the 80's and little to no humidity in the upstate! Yea!

Friday we got up and decided to do some hiking and try to find some local waterfalls. We got lost a few times and at one point I actually ate ice I found on the side of the trail that someone had thrown out! But, as I told college son: look,  I am still alive and I wasn't thirsty anymore!

That night we grilled out and then headed to the clubhouse for fireworks and $3 margaritas! Again, the weather was perfect! (I could get used to that!)

Saturday husband and college son went to play golf and I cleaned the cabin. When they got home after a few games of ping-pong at the clubhouse we decided to drive to Dillard GA to eat at the Dillard House Restaurant. It's one of those places you have to try once! It's a family style, all you can eat, southern food place! And, really as a once in while or ever treat, it wasn't that bad! The food tasted like someone's southern grandma was back in the kitchen cooking! Not what I would choose everyday but a fun experience! 

I have become obsessed with sunsets lately:

We saw this on the way back to the cabin. Isn't is gorgeous?

That night we watched the movie A Simple Plan. If you've never seen it, you need to rent it! It is really old, I think it came out in 1998. Billy Bob Thorton, Bill Paxton and Bridget Fonda star in it. Great story and even better lesson!

Sunday we headed to Lake Norman, where my sister lives. Of course you can't make a visit without going out on the boat!

College son and his two little cousins had a blast on the tube! I decided that I would just sit on the boat and enjoy the ride!

Daughter's plane was delayed so she didn't get in until after midnight, but she is HOME! So excited to have her back with us, but also a little sad that she had to leave the host family that was so wonderful to her! She has talked to them everyday since she has been home, so I think we don't have to worry about that relationship! 

Oh, and I DID get her room done! I'll have to take some photos and show the before and afters!

Have a great weekend!