The trouble with leaves...

I did not grow up with a house that had a leaf problem.  I have no idea what kind of massive trees were in our yard, but those leaves did not fall!  When we bought our house, we knew that leaves were going to be a problem, but holy-moly it's ridiculous!  We knew we had to invest in a leaf blower, but that had not been on the top of the priority list.  It jumped to the top when the leaves were piling up on the front porch and you had to kick them around to get down the stairs. 

On Sunday, Ben bought a leaf blower and decided to test it out.  His first comment "it's so bad, I don't even know where to start."  My blunt response was "well, a clear path from the door to my car would be nice." 

He cleared off the driveway and the street in front of our house.  The leaves in the yard itself are out of control so he tried working on them.  I walked outside and just laughed because we officially have a "speed bump" of leaves around the edge of our yard.  Baby steps....

Appetizing Aprons Blog

 

I wanted to share with you a new blog from Appetizing Aprons.  It's super cute and it's brand new!  Be one of the first to begin following the blog.  It will have segments on cooking ideas, family recipes, crafts, and just about anything else around the house.  From what I've been "told", it will also be light hearted :) 

Check it out!  http://blog.appetizingaprons.com/

I'm on a Boat...

These four words were used many times over the past weekend.  Ben and I headed down to West Palm Beach to celebrate our friends Colleen & Guido!  They were married back in March but had a big weekend celebration for their friends and family and the weekend was capped off by a celebration on a yacht. 
The weather was great - besides the massive gushes of wind.  We had lots of quality time with many of our friends AND we got to meet Colleen's cousin, Nick McCrory who won the bronze medal at the Olympics in Synchonize Diving. 

One of our friends put it best when he said that we need to always cherish the time we have with each other.  Since many of our lives have changed over the last few years - marriage, kids, etc. - we don't get to see each other as much.  We definitely had a GREAT time and we are so glad we were able to celebrate the Otten's!



Bless Nick's heart.  He had to put up with us Cougars! He was a champ!



I love Fall...

Living in Louisiana, there was never really 4 seasons, it was just HOT, HOT, and what I thought was "cold", was actually fall-like weather.  People in the north would argue that Atlanta doesn't have four seasons, but I would have to disagree. 

Since the first official day of fall, many funs things have happened and we are looking forward to what else is in store.  First, I got a new JOB!  WOOHOO!!  I'll still be at the fundraising arm for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital but in a different position.  I've been planning events for over 7 years, so I'm excited for a change and the opportunity to join our Branding & Marketing team.  With a new position came the need for a new car (I will no longer have my company car) so we purchased a Chevy Equinox.

Also, since fall began, we got to spend some time with Ben's parents, eat Apple Fritters, watch the Bulldogs (as in the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs) via internet continue to WIN, AND my dear friend Stacy gave birth to two little miracles, Avery and Brooklyn!  God truly wrapped his hands around mom and those two precious babies! 

Since our yard is practically still a disaster, I decided we at least needed our front porch to look festive.  Happy Fall Y'all! 

Farewell Chipper...

Ben knows that I truly love going to the Braves games.  About a month ago, he surprised me with tickets for me and our friends Sarah and Mark.  I was so very excited!  He didn't realize when he bought them that this was the last home series for regular play for Chipper Jones - I've been a fan since the 6th grade!! 

Earlier in the day, I had two root canals - I know, OUCH!  I have started going to this new dentist who drugged me up with valuim and laughing gas.  I wasn't feeling a thing!  We headed with Mark & Sarah to the game and we talked all things weddings!!  (Sarah is my friend who just got engaged)  I love a good wedding and I know that Sarah's is going to be fantastic!  She told me a few of the details, but I've been sworn to secrecy! 

We saw some of the game, but for the most part, it was GREAT catching up with Sarah and Mark.  We are very excited to have them in our life.  Sarah and I both agreed that we have the same goal in life.....to live in the same neighborhood and have our children grow up together.  We have already figured out the suburb we will be doing this in - HA! 

By the 8th inning, all the meds from the day had worn off and I was in pain.  I popped a few pain pills and was good to go.  I'm pretty sure I'll be high on pain pills for the next few days, but at least I'll be able to eat ice cream and drink hot apple cider without having pain! 

Old Married Couple? I think not....

It's only Wednesday and Ben and I have been up past our bedtime for two nights in a row - I know, we are so wild and crazy ;) 


Random picture as we are in the crowd at the concert...

 Monday night, I had a work event that I actually got to enjoy - this was a first!  Ben, his friend Zach and his girlfriend Jackie joined in on the fun with us.  All of us really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, but it ended up being a super FUN night!  We attended a concert of about 150 people that consisted of Edwin McCain, John Michael Montgomery, Sister Hazel, Bo Bice, Justin Moore, Jamie Johnson, Darius Rucker, Jake Owen, and Colt Ford.  Let's just say that Edwin McCain was first and I felt like I was back in High School belting out "I'll Be".  After that I was singing along to JMM's "Sold".  Who knew you could still remember lyrics so well from the 90s?  FUN TIMES!

Last night, Ben and I got to go celebrate my dear friend Sarah as she got ENGAGED!!!  Mark proposed to her via helicopter yesterday evening and then a group of friends were waiting for them at a rooftop bar in Buckhead after the proposal.  This place was super posh, especially for the Worley's!  We are VERY excited for Sarah and Mark and are excited to be apart of their journey through their engagement and marriage.  We will obviously be married couple friends :) 

The Worley's meet the Wilderness

This past weekend, Ben and two of his friends decided to take their wives on a fancy getaway.....camping.  Even though I was not raised a city girl, I have never been camping - like in a tent camping.  I was NOT excited about this little adventure.  The main reason was the mosquitos!! 

Ben and I were suppose to set up camp earlier on Saturday but our plans changed during the day so we didn't get to the Chattahoochee National Forest (yes, the FOREST) until later on Saturday evening when it was almost dark.  We quickly set up camp and waited for our friends to arrive. 

The tunes were playing, hotdogs and sausages were roasting, and the smores were in abundance as we settled into our campsite.  The girls called it an early night, but the guys had a very late night catching up and just having a good time! 

All in all, my first camping experience wasn't terrible.  There WILL be an air mattress if there is ever a Round 2 camping trip.  I think I'll stick to my Marriott's and Hilton's, but if the hubby wants to hit the woods again, I will go with my air mattress and mosquito spray in tow!

Ben knew I was going to need a little treat before going camping, so we stopped by our favorite Apple House in Ellijay to get the best Apple Fritters!! 



 This was definitely not the Marriott...

 I stood there while he built this.  I was of no use!

Coffee was a necessity on Sunday morning, so we hit up a local spot for breakfast and a few cups of coffee!