Thursday, May 19, 2016

Mothers Day @ Cotton Row


Cotton Row is a restaurant in Downtown Huntsville that I've been meaning to try for quite a while. So I finally decided to do it by taking mom out to brunch there for Mothers' Day. 

And I'm so glad I did, it was so worth it! 

Cotton Row is in an old converted bank, it even has a huge safe to prove it. The restaurant is in three levels, and we actually ended up eating down in the wine cellar, which was nice and quiet. 

We started with mimosas and an appetizer of fried green tomatoes, which were super crisp. Mom got the river fly farm granola crusted french toast, and I ordered the chicken and waffles.  Both were excellent.

I've had chicken and waffles before, but not ones with gravy, syrup, and hot sauce. I loved that combination, and the chicken was super tender.

I can't wait for my friend Anna (a total foodie) to come into town at the end of the summer, so I can try their supper menu.



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Sunday, May 15, 2016

Adam's 32nd Birthday


Adam turned 32 on May 6th, and we had a good couple of days celebrating in low key ways. Adam likes to be low key for this birthday most years, so I try to honor that, while still making him feel special.

On the Thursday night before his Friday birthday, we went to the late screening of Captain America: Civil War. We went to a recently renovated theater in Madison, that has glorious recliners that go all the back. The seats even come with a pillow! It was lovely.

We really enjoyed the movie (Captain America is our favorite of the Marvel breed). But of course, we got home late, and we were super tired. Every time we go to those late movies, we end up regretting it the day after, when we have to go to work. So we promise ourselves we will never do it again, and then we do it AGAIN. 

But I think we might just be getting "too old" for midnight movies now.



The next day was his actual birthday. I had gotten him 2 of those adorable Funko Pop figures from the X-files. I also got him a blanket rack. He'd been talking about wanting to have a place to store blankets in the living room, instead of them always being on the couch/floor. He really liked this simple gift.

I cooked him a spaghetti dinner and made peanut butter cake for dessert. His company sent him a big ole' cookie cake from Mrs. Fields. So many sweets in the house all weekend!

All in all, I think he had a really nice birthday!


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Thursday, May 12, 2016

Nashville Rock n' Roll Half Marathon

Friday after work, I jumped in the car for a quick and solo trip to Nashville. In my quest to run 12 half marathons this year, I had booked the Rock n' Roll half for my April race. I really wanted Adam to come, but unfortunately he couldn't take the day off, and I had to be there by the evening to make the expo. But I love my solo yolo trips as well.


The traffic was somewhat bad, so it took me longer than I would have liked to get to the expo. I picked up my race packet, and then walked around the expo for a bit, checking out the gear. I picked up some shot blocks for the next day, and then bummed around Nashville a while. It truly is one of my favorite cities. So happy that it is so near by.

I originally was going to go eat at one of my Nashville favorites, Puckett's Grocery, but they were pretty crowded. I wanted to make sure I rested well, so I decided to just go back to my hotel. But I was so excited to see a Jack in the Box (fast food joint), near my hotel. We have none locally, and it was one of the places Adam and I frequented in California. I was pleased to have some of that for dinner. It really is the simple things sometimes!


The temperature was perfect when I woke up for the race, but the weather not so much! It was raining and HARD. The umbrella helped some what, but I still ended up getting my socks wet before the start of the race, which is a RACE DAY fail.

The race was delayed for an hour due to storms in the area, and I just stood around waiting to get started. But finally the weather cleared up, and the race got started.

It was a tough race, one of my toughest halves by far. Nashville (and Tennessee in general) is always hilly, and that is OK. But just tough! And due to the wet socks, I developed painful blisters pretty quickly, that started bursting about mile 9. Yuck.


But I finished! A full 15 minutes after the time I completed my last half in, but I did finish, and that is all that matters. This was my 6th Half-Marathon, and I'm still soo happy every time I cross that finish line.

However, I won't talk about the extra two miles I walked just trying to find the car, while crying to Adam on the phone, that I was LOST. But like I said, we won't talk about that! 



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Saturday, May 7, 2016

Project Life: Week 15 & 16


I'm still going strong with my Project Life, and I can't believe we're already in May. I love the month of May, it is truly my favorite. Birthdays, good weather, and Spring, does it get any better?


I really enjoyed this kit from Studio Calico for the month of April. Just love the colors and the whole feel of it. On this side, I documented a favorite corner in my craft room, the crazy amount of Wild Cherry flavored water Adam drinks in a week, a current favorite dinner, and one bad run. Because not all runs go excellent!


I documented a few other details of the week on the right side. Two work happenings (the resignation of my boss and planning meetings for our summer program), a trip the the barre, and Adam doing yard work with Linkee supervising. 

This is another layout I'm pretty fond of, I love the mixture of black, white, and soft pinks. 

This side has a cute picture of Link & Luna on the way to daycare, a new favorite piece of jewelry, and the bundt cake I made.

The weekend dominates the right side, namely going to the see the Jungle Book & the first food truck fair of the season.

Materials Used:
Studio Calico: Film Club Kit



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Monday, May 2, 2016

My First Dia & Co Box



Not a sponsored post.

I had heard about Stitch Fix a couple of months ago, and I thought it sounded like an excellent service. A personal stylist sending clothes to my house to pick and chose from? YES PLEASE. But I was bummed to see it was not for the plus size ladies. I can fit into some "non-plus size" garments, but I'm still mainly a plus sized girl.

Recently, I learned about Dia & Co, which is a similar service, for curvy girls. I was so pumped, and ready to give it a whirl. I filled out a survey with my size/preferences/likes, and I ordered my box right away. 

When the box arrived on my porch, I was so excited. The box included a decorated quote, and a note from my stylist explaining why she picked certain items and suggestions on how to style the garments. The box had 5 items-a pendant necklace, black leggings, a wrap dress, jersey twist top, and a patterned/lace top. I actually ended up loving most of it and liking all of it.

I narrowed my choices down to the dress and the two tops. I could only afford to keep two!


I ended up keeping the two tops, and I love them! I feel super cute in them.

Fashion has never been my thing. I've spent years hiding under my clothes, and I figured my clothing didn't matter, as I was "too fat," that it didn't make a difference how I dressed. Yes, I know I was wrong, and I should have dressed with confidence all along. But I'm starting now, and I can't wait for my 2nd box.


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