Sunday, September 22, 2013

The ScareCrow Trail @ The Botanical Gardens













Today is officially the first day of fall! My mother and I celebrated by getting pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks, and we went to walk the scarecrow trail at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens.  This is the first year that I have ever done this. Apparently, every year the scarecrows are based on a theme, and this year's theme was Television.  I loved walking through the gardens and discovering different scarecrows with themes I recognized. 

I went crazy for the Charlie Brown, Sesame Street, and Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory figures. But my all time favorite one was the School House Rock Feature (I'm just a Bill...yes, I'm only a Bill). Of course, I had to pose in the conjuntion junction train conductor cut out. I grew up watching School House Rock, and I promise if I had the DVD right now, I would still watch them.

We only saw about half of the gardens, as there were several trails, and even with the help of the map, we kept getting turned around. So I think I will take Adam back and check out the other half! 

I have to be honest, I've been a little reluctant about welcoming a new season, although I love the changing of the seasons. And I do really love fall- the changing leaves, the crispness in the air,  the earlier evenings. But I just feel like I worked so hard this summer and was in so much pain, that summer just flew by. 

But Starbucks has its fall menu out, my pinterest is full of pumpkin recipes, scentsy has out it fall/winter scents, and I'm already thinking about Halloween. So I guess I am ready after all, so welcome Fall. Be good to us. 

Fall/Winter Scentsy Scents Are Here!


I'm excited to announce that this month Scentsy rolled out their fall/winter and holiday scents! That means the fruity citrus spring/summer scents are on hiatus, a fact that makes me sad. But I do love the deeper and more earthy scents of fall too. My personal favorites so far are Cozy Fireside, Honey Pear Cider, Iced Pine, and Central Park Pralines. So if you are interested in trying any of these out,  you can order directly from my website here or e-mail me at brittanyervin86[at]yahoo.com.I'm happy to answer any questions as well!

Speaking of Scentsy, the other night I spent some time organizing my Scentsy drawers, and I realized I have a problem! I'm a little Scentsy obsessed Check this out:

That isn't even all of it, but I just can't help it. One of my favorite little pleasures is things that smell good. And nothing makes me more happy than when my favorite man in brown, drops these off at my front door!

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Ave Maria Grotto






Adam is out of town this weekend, and after spending most of the weekend watching bad TV, eating bad food, and taking numerous naps, I decided I better get out and DO something with my weekend, lest I become permanently affixed to the couch. I had a few ideas floating around my head, but I knew I didn't want to go too far or spend a lot of money, so I decided to check out the Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, Alabama. 

The Ave Maria Grotto has many miniatures of famous places around the world (mostly religious). They were all completed by a monk who was originally from Bavaria, whose religious leanings led him to Alabama (who knows, how that happen). He was so talented, and he used shells, marbles, costume jewelery, or even cold cream jars to create his sculptures (these were donated by his fans).

I'm kind of crazy for miniature things, which partly explains my love of Legos. And a few years ago when I was in Israel, our tour guides took us to mini Israel, which recreated the whole country in miniature. It even had a little miniature coca cola factory, and the hotel we were staying at in Tel Aviv (I was so in love with that place). And I really want to go to Tobu World Square in Japan. So this was right up my alley.

Some of my favorite miniatures were of the more secular variety like the Alamo and The Coliseum. I had  a really nice time today, although it was hot, hot, hot! But I don't know what I was expected from Alabama in September. 

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Currently:


Excited About: In t-minus two weeks, two of my best friends from college will be here for an all girl's weekend! We are going to see Chicago! I saw it in New York a couple of years back, but I love it so much that I can't wait to see it twice! And I seriously need some girlfriend time.

Listening To: I have recently discoverd the showtunes channel on Pandora, and I am in love! It plays songs from Broadway musicals, Glee, Pitch Perfect, and Disney movies! It even plays songs from the Sound of Music. It makes me super happy and super nostalgic.  And it sure helps the day go by faster at work when I'm into hour 3 of paperwork, and my client's haven't showed up (by the way, Adam told me he has never seen The Sound of Music. This shocks me, so I'm buying it post haste, so he can see it. And I have to ask, if your childhood occurs and you didn't watch The Sound of Music, did the childhood happen at all?).

Reading: I have been reading like crazy lately. I just finished rereading The Great Gatsby. I hadn't read that book since high school and I was so happy to report that it is honestly as good as most people think it is. Not overrated at all. After reading Gatsby, I decided I wanted to read more classic books, so now I am reading The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.  Additionally, I'm listening to the audio book of the hilarious Jen Lancaster's My Fair Lazy: One Reality Television Addict's Attempt to Discover If Not Being A Dumb Ass Is the New Black; Or, A Culture-Up Manifesto. And because I'm totally crazy, today I started reading the true crime novel, Who Killed Betsy?: Uncovering Penn State University's Most Notorious Unsolved Crime.

Eating: I had the best meal today, when I went out with my mom for lunch. We went to I Love Sushi and got a whole bunch of sushi rolls with ginger salads, miso soup, and sesame chicken. I also tried gyoza for the first time. So delicious!  

Working On: Getting my house cleaned, organized, and purged! Adam and I really got lazy this summer when we were both so tired and burnt out from working so hard. And it has really started to get to me! It is time to get back on track.

Loving:  I am only slightly obsessed with these socks.

Recent Buys:  Adam and I finally broke down a bought a fancy treadmill for our house. It was expensive, but it has been so hot outside, that working out outdoors is downright miserable. I like having the option to work out in our home, while we watch our favorite shows!  It does take up half the space in our living room though!

Thankful For: Having been in Alabama for a whole year now!  It hasn't always been easy, but I'm super happy with all the blessing and opportunities that being here has given us.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Sundays Are For....

Football once again! This was the first Sunday we got to put on our jerseys and cheeseheads, and drive down to our favorite sports bar, Knuckleheads, for  a little bit of Green Bay Packer's football! We had fun drinking and eating deliciously bad for us foods. I'm so excited for football this year. I've dipped my toes into fantasy football world by joining up with Adam's regular league. And today we purchased tickets to the Packers vs. Steelers home game for our Christmas trip to Wisconsin! It has been my dream for a while now to go to a Packer game with Adam.

And I don't know if I've mentioned this before (oh wait, I have) but Adam is all about his Green Bay Packers' talismens.  Typically, every year he likes to add one to the mix. A few years ago, Adam was given a Green Bay Packer's toothbrush. But this was off-season and he refused to use it off season. But he kept forgetting to use it at the beginning of the season. So eventually we were gifted another toothbrush by chance,  and the two tooth brushes made the move with us from California. So I was determined at least one of these would get used this year.  And Adam even let me use one! I'm pretty sure this was because he didn't want to add to our grocery bill last week by buying me a tooth brush, rather than the good juju he believes I could provide.

But unfortunately, the tooth brushes didn't seem to help us out today, as we lost. But we can try again next week, to further evaulate their worth.

Game on and Go Pack Go! 

Monday, September 2, 2013

Labor Day Weekend






This weekend we went out for fondue just because we could. Why do I love fondue so much? Is it the abundance of cheese and chocolate (two of the best foods ever)? Is it the dipping? Or is it that it always astounds me how good cheese is with apples? I don't know, but I love it.  Some people think fondue is weird because you are basically paying to prepare your own food, but I disagree. I love fondue because it is an experience that takes a lot of time, that gives you time to talk!

I think the melting pot was having a little bit of a 1920's theme going on. All the specialty cocktails had names straight out of the 20's, like the Speakeasy Smash, Debonair Derby, and the Swanky doll. I had the delish Blackberry Bramble. We went with beer & cheddar fondue to start, California salads for the second course, a mixture of meats & vegetables for the third, and topped it all off with some smores chocolate sauce for dipping. We really had a great time.

And to top off our 1920's cocktails, we went home to watch the new Great Gatsby. I love that movie so much, and Adam didn't hate it (which is just about as best I can expect from him, if it isn't James Bond or a Super Hero movie).
 
We have had such a relaxing weekend. But man, the longer the weekend, the harder it is to go back to work. Not looking forward to that alarm squealing at 6:30 AM tomorrow.