Shelby's Last Days

Shelby's last days as a single woman are winding down... and what better way to enjoy them than by spending some quality time with friends. You see - Shelby is not just getting married. She will be moving off to live with her husband in Tucson, Arizona. So we are certainly cherishing these last few days with her.

Last night the girls dined at a fabulous restaurant - Dolce - and I joined them later for some wine. We snapped a group picture and then headed over to their very chic suite in The Westin.

Liz - the Maid of Honor - had these precious cups on which we all wrote our words of advice for the bride. Mine said: "Always make time for yourself! (And keep this cup full!)" Everyone had some beautiful words of wisdom that Shelby can now treasure forever (as long as she hand washes)! We popped a few bottles of champagne and put the glasses to work!

Then it was time for presents - bring on the lingerie!

I got her a sweet little pink cami and skirt.

I know Brad will enjoy everything Shelby received!

After the presents we all changed into our bathing suits and headed down to the hot tub. We had so much and enjoyed ourselves for about 30 or 45 minutes before we were kicked out. The pool area closed at 11 and by this point it was past 11:30. Apparently they are quite sticklers about closing time at The Westin. Oh, well!

More adventures in bridal bliss coming this evening! And the wedding is tomorrow. So I'll have all kinds of good pictures on Monday!

Beach Trip - RECAP

How often do six girls get together and have a fun, drama-free weekend together? I'll tell you. Not often. But we had the best group of girls EVER on our fun weekend beach trip!

We laid out on the beach, visited The Wharf, had a fun night out and a fun night in, and shopped to our heart's content (actually I could've shopped more).

Through the weekend we talked about our relationships, our future, and the impending changes our group will experience soon. We are sending Brittany off to D.C., marrying Shelby and sending her to Tucson, AZ, and welcoming baby Landon (yay!) in September.

I feel rejuvenated coming off our three days together. The sun and sugar white sandy beaches mixed with the best friends a girl can ask for surely make my worries wash away with the tide (or maybe 'makes my worries peel away with the top layer of my skin' is a more fitting analogy at this point).

Bling! Bling! Our bride to be in all her glory!Bachelorettes Dancing on Stage with Man Candy

And the fun isn't quite over yet. We have another bachelorette tonight, rehearsal tomorrow, and wedding on Saturday. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures so you can admire how beautiful the bride will most certainly be.

Giveaway Alert!!!

If you have a blog you are a winner!!! Sounds too good to be true, right? Hop on over and visit Kimba to catch all the details, but Brittany from Lewa's Designs is giving away this amazing extra-large dandelion.

If the winner does not happen to be me (please let it be me) then I will no doubt loathe the person who has this beauty in her home. BUT, all is not lost. Just by blogging about it - I'm hoping to bring this little guy home:

(but I would like a little birdy facing left, in chocolate)

I'm already debating on where he should go. Maybe I need a few more......

I Heart Girl Trips!

I have had a busy day at work today and I'm about to go play some tennis with the husband (tonight is our first mixed doubles match of the season). So I don't have long, but I am still so happy coming off of my holiday weekend with the girls that I wanted to share a few pictures!

This was no doubt one of the best trips EVER! I'll tell you more about it later.

Wish us luck at tennis!!

Welcome to South Meets South

I am so excited to welcome you to my new bloggy home!

I have enjoyed blogging over the past year and look forward to sharing and making many more memories here at South Meets South.

With the new name I'm starting fresh so show me some love and "Follow Me" over on the right.

Let the journey begin!!!

CHANGE

I think we're all about "changed" out after the election season, but I have some news to report about this 'lil ole' blog. Remember this? Well.... it is about to happen!

I hope to be introducing you to my new home next week!!!

Until then ~ I'll be lounging on the beach!!! Remember this? Well it is now!

Have a happy holiday weekend!!!
See ya'll on the other side!

Our 'NEW' Kitchen....

One drawback of our house is the small kitchen. When we bought the house it was painted an awful "salmon" color with horrible curtains and fake ivy running down ugly shelving. Cabinets were stark white with cheapo hardware. The stove and oven were updated and black but the stove hood and dishwasher were white. We painted the walls when we first moved in (definitely a priority to get rid of that color), but painting the cabinets has been on my to-do list for quite some time. I was honestly scared of the project. Luckily being a small kitchen means fewer cabinets to paint. We worked from Sunday to Sunday every single night (or at least I worked everyday - Lucas was out of town with business for a few days).

The BEFORE (previous owner's furnishings):





The AFTER:
Lots of paint and new hardware... even the white appliances were painted....
Say hello to our 'new' kitchen!!


We used our trim color for the cabinets: Benjamin Moore Navajo White. No, this is not white. It is a creamy white and so much better than the stark white of previous days. I tried an 'antique' finish but wasn't getting the results I wanted. I ended up making my own glaze and painting the cabinet details by hand. It isn't exactly what I had envisioned but I think it is nice. Better than it was and MUCH better than the cost of completely replacing it all.

The blank cabinet back (remember we took down that shelving) seen here.....


is going to feature a special treat. (If I had my way we would completely get rid of this and just install a stand alone hood but we are just redecorating now... not remodeling.) Here's a big hint:
I'm so excited about our 'new' kitchen and finally getting rid of the awful white cabinets and appliances. Next up - tile backsplash!!!

Lucas...... LUCAS??? Where did he go?!?

Well, I'll be 'DAM'ed!

Our good friend O.B. recently bought a very nice boat and we decided to test the waters on Sunday. We floated for a while then decided to ride up to the dam. We had a great time hanging out and are looking forward to an awesome summer on the river!

the familythe boys

Mom and Dad ;)

A Glimpse Inside Our Pub Crawl

Musical Mondays: PUB CRAWL!

Hosted by Jori and Diane

Saturday was an epic adventure I'll tell stories about for years to come.

I was invited by some friends of mine on a PUB CRAWL. For those of you who don’t know what that is – it is pretty much bar hopping on a grand scale. Our festivities started at 11:00 a.m. Did you know that bars were open at 11:00 a.m.? I didn’t. Rules of the crawl state that someone must have a drink at each bar visited. We all started having our own beer at each place but quickly realized we would need to share if we wanted to survive in one piece.

Along the crawl we visited some very obscure places – one of which I had to call Lucas and tell him I love him just in case I didn’t come out. After I got over the initial shock of the event, I was whole-heartedly invested in its success. And a success it was. We visited 25 bars in one day! We could have kept going, but I had a husband to return home to and others had events already scheduled for the evening.

I want to thank my friends - including all my new friends I met along the way - for taking me in and showing me how to do a pub crawl right. It was a thrilling experience!

And now for the music -

Between bars we were jamming out to some really good music – The Avett Brothers. I’ve had several friends tell me about these guys and finally checked them out. They have some seriously stellar music. Check them out.

This is one of my favorites -

Shame
by The Avett Brothers




The girls hosting Musical Mondays are having a giveaway this month. Each post you submit for Musical Mondays during the month of May enters you into a contest for one of two gift cards to Amazon and iTunes. Go check them out for all the full details. If you participate, be sure to tell them I sent you. :)

Thirsy Thursday

Yes, every Thursday home game our local baseball team has Thirsty Thursdays - $2 beer - to draw people to the games. The Rookie's girlfriend (Yay! The Rookie has a girlfriend. I can tell you it has been a long time since he has had one of those. I mean a long time.) gets free tickets from work and another guy in our group gets some tickets, too. So that means free entry (I like anything free) and cheap beer. You really can't beat that, folks!

Last night had to be one of the most epic Thirsty Thursday that I've ever been to. Unfortunately, Lucas was on his way back from a business trip so missed all the action, but there were about 12 of us there to enjoy everything local baseball has to offer..... which may or may not have included some woman telling us we were good looking kids, too bad we were going to hell. Wow. We told her we'd see her next Thursday. Haha! A legendary night at the ballpark, indeed.

On a side note, our persistence paid off and we finally got #10 to give Tammy a ball....
After the game, she got his autograph....
.... and his number. Work it, girl!

My Wednesday Nights...

(Yes, Lucas is wearing a motorcycle helmet. No Lucas does not now - nor will he ever - own or drive a motorcycle.)

Every week, our tight group of friends goes to eat Mexican on Wednesday nights. We have coined these our "family dinners", with Lucas and I and our rambunctious 'sons'. Kyle (bottom right) is the problem child and always misses out. But he is leaving us soon for a job in Boston, so he decided he would return to the family for the last few weeks.

This week we all watched Lucas play soccer after work (where he scored a goal - Go Lucas!) then headed over to the restaurant. Over dinner - we discuss work, life, and of course - girls. There are serious moments and there are hilarious moments. We are there to support (or harass) each other through them all. But nothing leaves the table. Everything discussed stays 'within the family'.

I love having these boys around. They are so much fun and truly good friends! Kyle, we are going to miss you!

Another One Bites the Dust

(a symbolic 'pouring out' picture as two of my boys - Rookie and O.B. (top right) - are entering 'relationships')

A look at the past two years...

I have missed a few days of blogging. I've been working hard, organizing pre-reqs for school, and finalizing our immigration paperwork. I am finally finished! I have to get one more signature tonight and then I'm sending it out tomorrow.

While gathering evidence, I had to get pictures of Lucas and I together over the past 2 years. I made a collage of pictures for each month that has passed since our initial interview. There are some good memories here so I thought I would share with you.

(Click on image to enlarge, if you wish)

We bought tickets to an Atlanta Braves game for my parents and grandparents for Father's Day. Fun family trip!

4th of July, Six Flags after our immigration interview, celebrating Lucas's Green Card, and a camping and canoe trip with our friends and parents.

NYC to visit friends and go to the US Open

We bought our first home!

Big local concert and the home renovations begin...

Friends visit from NYC then Thanksgiving vacation to the beach with family

Lucas's birthday and our first Christmas in our home

New Years Celebrations and a New Car!

Celebrating 1 Year

Anniversary Cruise

Summer treats after tennis and soccer

10K and family picture with Rafa, our newest family addition

Kegball (so much fun) and canoe and camping trip with friends

4th of July, Hair Cuts, and new baby cousin

Camping with friends, fun work event, and Rafa's graduation

babysitting

The Real Angel and Demons ;)

Thanksgiving Beach trip with parents and grandparents

Marathon and Colombia

More Colombia

New Years in Colombia, Nashville with friends, and date night

2 years of wedded bliss celebrated in Cabo

Davis Cup tennis, picnics, and family portraits

more picnics, Easter, and fun times with friends

Good bbq and a baseball game

I know Lucas and I have shared a lot of good times together. But looking through our first years of marriage, it is obvious that we are very lucky. From exotic vacations to spur-of-the-moment ice cream runs, I relish everything that life has brought. I am looking forward to the moments and images we'll capture together over the next year for our big immigration submission... but more so looking forward to spending the rest of forever with my soul mate.

Department of Homeland Security,
you can't fake a love like this.