Friday, October 31, 2014

Anniversary Weekend: Cape Charles, VA

This weekend D.J. and I are going to the Eastern Shore of Virginia to a quaint little town, Cape Charles.  I have been looking forward to going on our mini vacation for quite some time now.  If you remember, we were supposed to head out west and visit San Diego for the first time, but baseball played the "not-so-fast" card on us and made us change our plans.
So we ended up going with plan B, which I am almost looking forward to more than I was San Diego.  I love the fact that its close enough to go for a few day and drive home Sunday without spending a whole day traveling.  Here's my top 5 things I am looking forward to the most this weekend!

one: anniversary cake


I cannot wait to get a taste of our extra fresh anniversary cake that Just Cupcakes is making for us on Friday! We decided that instead of trying to free the cake from our wedding, we are going to have a new one made fresh.

two:  Aqua


We got our first experience of Aqua when we were on the Eastern Shore for Ansley & Chris' wedding back in September 2013. I cannot wait to go to dinner here on Saturday night! I'm thinking lobster mac and cheer and crab lollipops?! No idea what those are, but they sound fun!

three: Chatam Vineyards


Excited to check another Virginia Vineyard off my list this weekend.  As long as the weather cooperates.

four: The Shanty 


Looks like DJ and I are going to be doing a lot of eating on this weekend trip! The Shanty is a place that has been recommended to us by multiple people, so I am looking forward to dinner there tonight probably.  

five: time with the boo
I am really looking forward to spending time with DJ.  We have been so busy since he got home and I am excited to just relax and hang out with each other!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend and I will be back on MOnday to recap our belated anniversary celebration! Follow along on instagram for updates! 

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

#shortpeopleproblems

Yea, yea, I'm short.  And I love it! I can wear heels whenever I want (even though I dont..), I can always push my way to the front of a concert, and I never have to worry about growing out of my clothes! However, there are always some things that I cannot stand about being short....especially when my husband is 6'6 and I am 5'2.


1. When we take pictures and it's a great picture of me, but DJ's head is cut off. #shortpeopleproblems

2. When I get something from the grocery store and DJ puts it away... on top of the fridge...or in a cabinet I cant' see into. #shortpeopleproblems

3. Kissing my husband is a pain in the neck. Literally. #shortpeopleproblems



4. Buying pants is always a struggle.  Either they fit in the waist and are too long or they are perfect length but wont button. #shortpeopleproblems

5. The fear of getting elbowed by someone taller than me is a constant battle. #shortpeopleproblems

6. Never being able to borrow clothes from friends because their dresses are like knee length on me. #shortpeopleproblems 

7. Unless you are in the front row, concerts are just live music - you can't see the performance. #shortpeopleproblems.

8. The drivers seat in the car can't get any closer to the steering wheel. #shortpeopleproblems.

But, you will always have plenty of room on a airplane! 

What are your #shortpeopleproblems??


Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Pumpkin Carving 2014 Edition

I know I am a little late to the party, but we have been crazy busy around these parts the past two weeks.  I have been working late a good amount and we were finally able to get our pumpkins this past weekend and now the thought of carving them is driving me crazy! I have no idea what route I want to go with my pumpkin, let alone when we are going to have time to carve pumpkins! So here are a few of my faves for this years options! Let me know what you did at your house or what your favorite one is!


monogram option 1


monogram option 2


stripes/chevron/dots option


easy traditional jack-o-lantern


Be on the lookout later this week or next to see what we decided to go with! 

Monday, October 27, 2014

Weekend with the Browns

After working all last weekend for the annual Fall Fair and Homecoming weekend at the school, I finally had a weekend to relax and enjoy the fall weather.  Friday night DJ and I had a long overdue date night.  We skipped out on a dinner but we went to the movies and saw Fury.  A little violent, but with a movie about WWII, what should I have expected.  If you need a movie choice besides Gone Girl or Best of Me, I would highly reccomend Fury.  I started reading Gone Girl this weekend and I am excited to get into it some more so I can be ready to see it when it comes out on Redbox.  

Saturday morning I had my last middle school volleyball game of the season.  It was pretty exciting because we were playing the other middle school team, so the girls were playing for bragging rights! After losing the first game of three, my team came back and killed it in the last two games! GO OAKS! We made a pit stop at Walmart for pumpkins and some flowers before heading home to do some yard work before the in-laws came in town.  DJ mowed the grass while I potted the plants and picked up dog poop.  So fun right?! 
The Browns pulled up around 1:30 with Stef, Jayden, and Amy in tow.  We knew about Stef and Jayden, but they surprised us with Amy! They unpacked their stuff into the house and we sat outside all afternoon drinking, talking, and practicing our golf putting!


We decided to take them out to the oceanfront for dinner at Watermans around six. We pulled up right in time to see a beautiful sunset to the west and a pretty sky over the Atlantic. 
 

Dinner was to die for.  Amy, Stef, and I all got the famous orange crush for drinks and we shared a ton of different appetizers! I would have been fine with just eating that for dinner! But I decided to order the crab stuffed flounder and it was amazing.  DJ and I will be going there again soon for another date night :). Jayden had us all cracking up at dinner when he was saying "Halleboohyah" because he went to the bathroom and was a big boy!
 

Three generations right here y'all. Dennis in 30 years in the background (aka Dennis, my father-in-law), DJ, and our nephew Jayden. 


After dinner we stopped over at my aunts house to say hi and digest our food.  By the time we got home, everyone was tired and we watched some TV and called it a night. 
We woke up Sunday morning and Jayden was such a snuggle bug.  He came and woke up and we were singing Let it go, All about that bass, and shake it off.  Too cute. We all went to breakfast at Sandfiddler and the Browns got on the road soon after we were finished.  
I decided that my breakfast did me in and I napped from 11-2 and when I woke up we went over to my parents house and kayaked/fished for about an hour.  Nice little shoulder/abs workout! It was so peaceful just being on the water without anything to do besides paddle.  It was a nice way to wrap up the weekend. Dinner was served at my parents house later that night and DJ and I ran some errands before hand.  
All in all, another great weekend in the books.  Be on the lookout for some blog posts this week! I have been crazy busy and not setting time aside to blog or prepare for blogs, so I promise to be better this week!

Happy Monday y'all!

Friday, October 17, 2014

Adjusting to life with my husband home


Now that D.J. is officially in the off season, We have had a few adjustments to make since his arrival.  Even though the season ended at the beginning of September, he has been gone for the past 5 weeks and now hopefully should be home till Spring Training starts.  

Needless to say, living by yourself is one thing and having your husband home is another! Today's 5 on Friday I'm bringing you into the Brown's house to see what things I am having to adjust to with my hubby home!

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one. bed space
When it's just me and Stryker at home in the  bed, we sleep so nicely together.  Sometimes he rests his head on D.J.'s pillow or is curled up in a little ball at the end of the bed.  He likes to stretch out and when it's just us it works perfectly! But when D.J. comes home, its a whole other story.  Replace the little child in the picture below with an 80 pound lab and you got yourself the image of what every night in our bed looks like! 



two. the snoring problem
If your husband doesn't snore, you are living in the fantasy world that looks like this...


If you live in my world, you probably consider this ever night....



three. bathroom sharing
In our house before D.J. left for this season, I was using the guest bathroom as my bathroom and he used the master bathroom.  Our master isn't big enough for both of us to share and plus, the guest bathroom is just prettier and much more counter space.  When he left for the season, I moved my stuff into the master so my roommates could have the guest bathroom.  Now that he's home I haven't decided if I want to switch back to the guest bathroom or stay in the master.  I love how convenient the mast is next to the room! We will see...

four. grocery store bills

Holy hell.  When D.J. is home we always have A TON more food in the house than we do if I was just shopping my myself.  Having a full grown man in the house that eats a hefty amount of food at each meal requires a lot more planning on what we will be cooking for dinner.  One of my goals this off season is to try new recipes.  I need to figure out how to cook some food for this guy of mine! 

five. two vs. one
In general, I have been used to being by myself and making my own decisions.  Now with D.J. back at home, I need to start thinking as a couple again in decisions that we make rather than just deciding what I want to do like it has been all season.  

Adjusting to life with my hubby home is always a challenge, but one that I will GLADY accept any day :)

Happy Friday y'all! 


































Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Guest Post: My Nana


A few weeks ago, D.J. gave me the best suggestion about the blog to date.



"Why don't you ask Nana to do a guest post on the blog?"

How perfect, I thought. My Nana is probably my most loyal blog follower.  I blog for fun but Nana thinks I missed my calling on being a journalist - HAHA! I appreciate the compliment, but I just type as I go and barely ever re-read what I type.  I just got back to the words with the little red lines under them to fix the spelling and call it a day.  When I asked Nana if she would do a blog post, I told her that this would mean so much to me and that all of you all would love to hear her words, she finally decided to write a little something up.

So ladies and gents, here goes my Nana - Edna!

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When my granddaughter, Cayte, asked me to write something for her blog, I wasn’t sure I could write about a subject her readers would be interested in.  Cayte gave me some suggestions, but there was one thought that was foremost in my mind today – what a great daughter-in-law I have.



I never had a daughter, and my one and only daughter-in-law, Gretchen, is Cayte’s mother.  I fell in love with her from the first meeting when my son, Steve, introduced her to me. When Steve, announced that he was going to marry her, I felt that he had made a great choice.

My first meeting with Gretchen’s family was at her wedding shower in Pennsylvania.  I had never traveled there, and I was so impressed with how beautiful the state is.  At the shower I got to meet her family and friends, and I realized why she was so sweet, because all of her family and friends were so nice and made me feel welcome to the fold. 

Since Gretchen was in the Navy and lived in Fredericksburg VA, I didn’t see a lot of her until the wedding and afterwards.  I learned right away that she would always include me as a member of the family.  I felt so loved when on their wedding day Gretchen included me in the group who was there while she was getting dressed for her wedding. Gretchen’s wedding dress was beautiful, and had sleeves which could be worn on the shoulder or off the shoulder.  Gretchen’s mother, Kate, who had become a dear friend, suggested that Gretchen wear the sleeves up, but Gretchen wanted them off shoulder. During that time, strapless wedding gowns were not so acceptable. Gretchen turned to me and asked what I thought.  I was speechless, because I didn’t want to come between a mother and daughter on her wedding day.  My answer was “It’s your wedding day, do what makes you happy.”  She chose to wear the sleeves off shoulder.  She was a beautiful bride, and the ceremony was breathtaking.  One of the sweetest gestures Gretchen made during the ceremony was to present the mothers with a red rose as a sign of love. Gretchen also gave me the honor of doing the table decorations at the wedding reception.

After marriage, the newly-wed couple started looking for an apartment.  Steve’s dad and I suggested that they invest in a house rather than rent.  They took our advice and found a nice house in Fredericksburg VA.  They asked us to visit and give them our thoughts on purchasing the house.  We agreed that it was a good investment, and encouraged them to buy it. To this day they still own it, and the rent has helped with college tuitions for three children. The newly-weds celebrated their first Christmas in their new home, and they honored us by asking us to visit them. Gretchen asked me help decorate their first Christmas tree. To this day, Gretchen still uses some of the ornaments that I made for their first tree.  Each time I see them, I remember those happy days.


As the years went by, Steve’s father developed cancer and died.  By this time Gretchen had been selected by the Navy to attend the Navy Postgraduate School in Monterey CA to get her master’s degree.
This was just shortly after Steve’s father’s death.  Because of her thoughtfulness toward me, Gretchen was going to turn down the opportunity the Navy was giving her because she felt like they shouldn’t leave me here in VA.  I told her I appreciated her thoughtfulness, but I would not let her pass up this opportunity. 



Their tour in Monterey turned out to be very memorable because this was where my first grandchild, Cayte, was born.  I was so happy when they told me I was going to be a grandmother. Cayte was such a beautiful, happy baby, and I was able to visit them a couple of times while they were in CA. 

After graduation from the school, they were assigned to the Navy base in Norfolk VA.  Again, they asked my advice on the purchase of a home.  It was a great home which they still reside in and have added two more wonderful grandchildren to my life, Bobby and Julie.

I later remarried a wonderful man, Cliff, who fit right in with my family.  He loved my family almost as much as I do.  He being a retired Air Force officer and her a Navy officer, they had subjects in common to talk about. Cliff and I moved to FL, and unfortunately I missed out on a lot of my grandchildren’s younger years, but Gretchen was always thoughtful to send me pictures and spend their vacations with us in FL.

Some years later, Cliff passed away and I moved back to VA.  Steve and Gretchen and her wonderful sister, Patty, encouraged me to sell my home in Portsmouth VA and move closer to them.  Gretchen and Patty found the house for me, and the whole family moved me into my new home.  The move has been such a blessing for me because it has enabled me to attend the children’s functions and sports activities at their school.  Gretchen always made sure I was aware of each event, and she always saved a seat for me.


When I turned 70 years old, Gretchen gave me a surprise birthday party and invited my friends and neighbors.  I don’t know why it surprised me because she is always thoughtful regarding me.  Now that I am about to celebrate my 80th birthday, I rely more and more on Gretchen each day. Not only does she fix my computer when I do stupid things, she insists that I send her an email every day to let her know how I am doing, and if I go someplace at night, she wants me to call her and let her know that I am safely at home. 

Gretchen insists that she goes to my doctor’s appointments with me so that I understand what the doctor’s diagnosis is. My doctor commented that I was very fortunate to have such a thoughtful daughter-in-law.  When I had surgery a few months back, Gretchen was right there with me at the hospital making sure all my needs were met.  She brought me home and took care of me until I was healed.

These are just a few of the instances where Gretchen has shown her love for me. Each day, I thank God for her. God has blessed me in so many ways, but Gretchen in one of my greatest blessings.  I wish everyone reading this could be so fortunate.

Y'all, how awesome is that story.  My nana is so awesome. I hope everyone has the opportunity to have someone that inspires them to be a better woman like my nana does for me.


Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Pregnant Blog Friends

Over the past few months, a few of the blogs I read have had their first baby and there hasn't been that many bumpdates on the blogs lately!
Well, I'm sure that will be changing! TWO of my everyday reads just announced they are expecting in April!! So excited for Chelsea and Elise and to see what the next chapter holds for both of you!

On that topic ...

When D.J. and I got married people were making bets that we would be pregnant before our first anniversary, and I am happy to say I BEAT THE ODDS! We are happy to announce that we are NOT pregnant :).  For all those people who bet we would be, here's to proving you wrong! Love ya, but not quite yet people!!

For now, we will continue to blog about our crazy baseball life, home improvements, and our fun, CHILDLESS life!!

Happy Tuesday!

Monday, October 13, 2014

Weekending Solo

This weekend....
.....was my last weekend flying solo without my hubby for a while!
.....I read some of this awesome book (more on this later)
.....I watched Amazing Race
.....I woke up Saturday morning to find it pouring rain....
.....and went to Race for the Cure anyways! It ended up clearing up and made for perfect running weather
.....after the race we watched the Dawgs smack Missouri and move up to #10 in the poles
.....I went to dinner and drinks with some great friends Saturday night
.....then went to see The Judge - must see movie! 5 star rating in my opinion!
.....I slept in late Sunday to catch up on some sleep
.....I got some deals at the Williamsburg Prime outlets. Cannot waittttt till Christmas for Santa to bring me that drop dead sexy Kate Spade wallet!
.....I watched some football and did some yard work
.....I made a delicious dinner for my parents
.....and I ended the weekend with a relaxing soak in the hot tub at my parents!


Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Week 8: Entryway + Fall Decor

Holy crap.  It's been wayyy to long since I posted about our home updates! Even though I haven't been posting,  I have been updating.  I got a rug for the living room, went through the spring and summer seasons dressing the house up, and finally have finished the entryway and almost finished with the way I want it to look.  Thanks to my dad, the mirror is actually hanging on the wall instead of sitting on the piano.  The bat is just there while the mantle is being used with all the fall decoration.
 I put the B up on the wall next to the front door.  I think I am going to paint it, but haven't decided on the color yet.

The table has a little fall decor as well! I found these cute little pumpkins on the way out of Marshalls when I was about to pay.  I swear they get ya when you are walking thru the checkout line! And they were only $6.99! I was given the table runner as a wedding present last year and I think it really brings the fall season into the house!



 I found the perfect frame for my print from The Burlap Bungalow that I won on a give-a-way that the lovely Elise did a while back! Doesn't it look so good in the frame next to the lamp shade?!


 And gotta love the Haloween "trick or treat" bunting that I made for the mantle! You can't really tell, but the fabric is spiderwebs! 


How did y'all decorate for the fall?! Hope you all are having a fabulous week!! 


Friday, October 3, 2014

Anniversary Trip: Update

Beware: Bummer alert ahead.

Remember when we were planning to go to San Diego for our anniversary? Yea well, baseball called and we ended up cancelling our trip.  I tried to reschedule but I couldn't get myself to spend the extra money to change the flights and additiona money the hotels were going to cost at the new time we were looking at going.  Our fall schedule was already sooo booked up so trying to reschedule was giving me a minor panic attack.  No, seriously, ask D.J, I was getting so flustered and it wasn't worth it.  I just wanted to be with D.J. for our anniverary and create another memory in a new city. 

Well lucky enough, we live in a pretty awesome area.  When we first went over to the Eastern Shore for Ansley & Chris' wedding, we fell in love with the area.  Cape Charles is such a hidden gem over there.  Beautiful beaches, quaint little town, and delicious sea food.  Although we were a little preoccupied the one weekened we were there, we both knew we wnted to go back at some point. 

Cue anniversary trip plan B.

I AM SO EXCITED TO BE HEADING OVER TO CAPE CHARLES, VA! The area is stunning and this time I am looking forward to taking in what the town has to offer.  Time to start doing my research on things to do! Be on the lookout in a few weeks with some of my favorite must-see's when we go on our mini vacation!



Thursday, October 2, 2014

#baseballwifelife: A Continuous Learning Game

Yes- it's the off season. Yes- we are still talking about baseball.  

I have found over the past two seasons that this journey is a continuous learning game.  I have found that in the off seasons I learn things behind-the-scene that I wouldn't have the opportunity to learn during the season.  

For those who are not baseball savvy, let me lay the groundwork for you.  Each professional baseball team (Indians, Dodgers, Braves, etc...) have minor league teams that are affiliated with them.  Sometimes those teams are owned by the major league affiliate and other times they are owned by local business people.  In that case, the major league affiliate will sign a contract with the team to have their affiliation be a part of that team.  And when the contract is up, that's when things get interesting. 
 
For example, the Player Development Contract the Indians had with the Carolina Mudcats was up at the end of this season.  So the Mudcats had a decision to make - stay with the Indians or open up to hear offers from other organizations. 

So I am going to try and put this as simple as possible.  5 teams were up for contract negotiation - Carolina Mudcats, Lynchburg Hillcats, Myrtle Beach Pelicans (all in the Carolina League), one team in the Florida League and one team in the California league. Word on the street was that the Braves (Hillcats) were going to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.  But that was all just word on the street!!

The first move that happened was the Cubs came into the Carolina League and are now affiliated with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.  After that, the Indians announced they were going to be moving their affiliation from the Mudcats to the Hillcats (more on how I feel about that to come....). Then the Reds announced they would be coming back to the east coast and joining the Florida league.  So that leaves the Braves and the Rangers (Hillcats and Pelicans) homeless.  Their only options left are the Carolina Mudcats and the California league team.  For all my baseball followers out there, you know that the Cali league is one of, if not, the worst league to play for in the entire minor leagues.  Lots of wind, old ball parks, and little to no fans. So needless to say neither of those teams wanted to move out there. The announcement was made on Monday that the Braves would sign with the Carolina Mudcats which left the Rangers with the California League.  I feel for them because going from Myrtle Beach to California League is like going from a BMW to a Kia.  Not the best move for them, but someone had to do it!

So - long story short, if D.J. starts next season with the high A team, he will be in Lynchburg, VA with the Lynchburg Hillcats! As much as I loved the Mudcats, I am also excited to explore a new city if we are there.  For now, this is just a general announcement about the Indians, not D.J! So until the end of Spring Training, we will enjoy the off season and look forward to what next season brings!





Wednesday, October 1, 2014

4 out of 6 2014 Weddings: Stephanie and Matt

Stephanie and Matt have been some of my dearest friends since freshman year at JMU.  I met Steph when we were making up our pledge class song and we both decided to take charge.  Of course we did - because that's the type of people we are! We ended up living together in the AST house and moving into 855 in Forrest Hills the next two years after.  We shared so many memories and I was so excited to see her marry the love of her life, Matt.  Matt has always been so endearing to Stephanie and I loved being able to see their relationship blossom over our college years together.

The wedding ceremony too place at St. Veronica's Church in Chantilly, VA.  The ceremony was a full Catholic Mass and was so beautiful.  I loved the way the priest engaged the couple and made it all about them.  D.J. specifically loved the pews becuase they had so much leg room!



Steph made a beautiful bride.  The dress was stunning and her flowers beyond gorgeous. After the ceremony was over, we had a little time to kill before heading out to the reception.  We checked into the hotel with all of our friends and had a drink or two before calling a cab to take us to the reception.

The venue they had for their reception was STUNNING.  The view when we pulled onto the property was one in a million. I was so excited to see the entire place.  After we got out of the cab (yea.. rolled up to the mansion in a cab --classy) we walked down to the renovated barn where we had cocktail hour.  The first thing I saw where these beautiful flowers. AHHH! BEAUTIFUL!


We walked in, set our gifts down and were able to see the timeline for the night.  It was a nice touch that allowed the guests to know what was happening during the night. 


 Love the way that this is so neatly done, but I can still tell it has a little "Stephanie" touch to it!


Another beautiful bouquet of flowers from the bridesmaids.  


Guests were directed to their seats from these cute name cards that matched the program from the ceremony as well as the invitations.


On the other side of the cocktail hour barn area were the cakes.  Such a beautiful (and delicious) wedding cake and pretty awesome grooms cake.  Although I am a Georgia fan, it was fitting for all the Gamecocks in the house. 



Out back behind the barn was another beautiful view of the outskirts of Northern Virginia.  Such a pretty area and crazy to think how close we were to all the hustle and bustle of the DC area. 


 Best wedding date ever right here y'all. 

 The tables were awesome.  It was one big table with all of our friends from JMU.  It was perfect and allowed us to all catch up while we ate.  The food was delicious.  I had chicken, salmon, potatoes, and veggies. YUM!


I have some hot friends! 

Ok - I won't bore you with a bunch more photos, but the sunset was gorg.  We all took a million photos out by the sunset during dinner.  The speeches were priceless and the dancing was top notch.  The guest book was so awesome.  We were able to take the polaroid camera and answer a question we wanted the bride and groom to look at later down the road.  What a fun way to remember everyone that was a part of your special day! The bride and groom exited to a sparkler walkway and then this picture happened...


Needless to say, I think we had a great night! Matt and Stephanie -- congratulations on a beautiful wedding and marriage.  We cannot wait to see what the future holds for both of you and little Nugget! 

Next wedding - November 8!