Alabama + Graffiti

A weekend in a listing of memories only:

// Spending $140 at Publix in snacks and booze for the weekend, only to turn around and go out to lunch on Saturday.

// Looking like robbers with a flashlight trying to turn the hot tub on.

// Leftover chicken alfredo in the bed.

// Spending a whole 45 minutes at the beach before it started raining and lightening and thundering.

// Massive social anxiety from all the people at Pineapple Willy’s.

// Extra shots in our daiquiris!

// Flamingos dancing in the pool to Tomorrowland.

// Marshmello!!!

// Steel Magnolias, Titanic and all the dips.

// Snapping a picture of us with Rosie on the bed.

We had a lot of fun and are hoping to do it again next year!!

 

 

 

This week has been a lot calmer than last week – hooray!  Sheff had his soccer game on Tuesday, that he did really well in: two saves and two goals.  He seems to have picked up on the game really quick. Plus, he’s just the cutest ever.

Other than that, it’s been a lot of reading and show watching in bed.  Our power went off yesterday during the bad storms, so we lit some candles and ate dinner, and it was kind of nice.  It came back on, but the internet was down, so we all crammed into our bed and watched dog videos on Tik Tok.  So cool, I know.

Anyway, here’s what’s been happening currently:

Listening: Afrojack’s newest single, Worlds on Fire.  Actually any EDM right now since Tomorrowland is taking place. And I guess, that’s pretty much all the time.  Anyway, listen to this one: it’s pretty awesome.

Watching:  The Bear on Hulu.  As previously having worked in the service industry, this is a pretty good representation of what goes down.  But also, I love the characters in this show.  They’re all really well written.

Lusting:  Over these throwback mustard yellow Reeboks.  They are completely sold out in my size, but they’re still fun to look at.

Reading: Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier.  I picked this up on a whim during a trip to the library just based on the cover, and it’s actually a really good book.  I’m about 3/4 of the way through and can’t wait to see what happens.

Loving:  All these Little Miss throwbacks from @littlemissnotesapp on Instagram.  They are so cute, and I love how some of them just speak to me.  Especially that one up there!

I hope y’all have had a good week – I’m headed down to the beach after work today for a sister weekend!

 

28 Summers – Elin Hilderbrand // I didn’t finish an entire book the month of May.  I needed something to get me back into reading.  To be fair, I did listen to this on audio, but it was just what I needed.  Even though I have incredibly mixed feelings on Jake, you could really feel the love between him and Mallory.  This was my first Hilderbrand on Nadine’s rec, and now I’ve got them all on my TBR.

The Sixth Wedding – Elin Hilderbrand // Nadine told me this was a short story follow up to 28 Summers, so I was all over it.  And while I really enjoyed the update on everyone’s lives, I hated the ending.  Really really hated it.  Without saying too much, it could have gone a better way at the end to not make Jake and Mallory’s relationship seem so surface level.  With that being said, if another one comes out for 28 Summers, I’m in.

The Maid – Nita Prose // Oh man – this one sucked me in so good.  It was such a good little mystery, and I loved the little twist at the end that I didn’t even come close to seeing.  I loved Molly’s character so much, and love that she found her people at the end. “You can be so important, so crucial to the fabric of things, and yet be entirely overlooked.”

Wicked Beauty- Katee Robert // I’m obsessed, y’all.  This is Robert’s third book in the Dark Olympus series, and I am so hooked.  This one is a super sexy retelling of Achilles, Patroclus and Helen, and it is steamy.  I don’t normally do series, but this one I am in to.  Her next book releases in February, and you better bet I’ve already got it pre-ordered.

Wish You Were Here -Jodi Picoult // If I’m being honest, I’m still not sure what to think about this one.  I’m all for finding and following your path, but I don’t know if I was up to being taken back to beginning Covid times.  It kept me interested – read it in about day and a half, and I have to say, I really liked the ending, but I’m still reeling.  Worth the read, I think, unless you’ve got some Covid PTSD.

The Guilt Trip – Sandie Jones // I flew through this in a day.  At times, it seemed a bit childish for a group of 40-somethings, but I still wanted to know what happened and who to trust.  I did like the ending, and will probably read some more by the same author.

The Younger Wife – Sally Hepworth // I don’t know about this one, guys.  I really liked the ride throughout the book, and it definitely kept me hooked, but I was not a fan of the ending at all.  I’m cool with an open-ended ending, but this one left it waaaay too open-ended.  I honestly have no idea what happened or who did what.  Could definitely have used more closure, and just didn’t get it with this one.

The Paris Apartment – Lucy Foley // I saw a lot of people that really hated this book for some reason, but I really liked it.  It was definitely a slow-burner, and there were some parts in the book where nothing really happened, but I thought it all came together pretty nicely in the end.  If you’d read Foley before, you kind of know what you’re going to get, but I loved the main female character and the dysfunction of the family.

Book Lovers – Emily Henry // Nadine let me borrow this book, and I tore through it in a day.  I loved all of the characters so much, and I loved the ending.  I think one of my favorite things about the author is that you can literally feel the tension when you’re reading her books, and it’s amazing.  I needed a good love story, and this one delivered.

Last week was definitely the busiest week we’ve had of summer.  I think I’m still recovering from it – as in forcing myself to bed at 9 every day this week.  I’m really happy that we’re having an eventful summer, because as mentioned sappily before on this here blog, we only get so many summers with our kids before they leave us.

Monday was the only day I didn’t have plans last week – I say “I” because B still had to take Sheff to soccer practice, and also take and pick him up from his baseball camp last week.  I made chicken alfredo for dinner, and we called it a night.

Tuesday we went to Sheff’s game at the Y in Alabaster – it felt like the seventh circle of hell outside, and I have no idea how those kids were running around in it.  I think they won, but honestly, there is no one who is keeping record of the scores of the teams, so it really doesn’t matter.  He had a good time, and his friend was there, and he has taken a liking to the sport, so there you have it.

 

Wednesday, we had tickets to the World Games softball bronze medal match.  It was Taipei vs. Australia, and even though it was supposed to rain all night, it didn’t.  The weather was perfect, and I was really glad that we went.  It was our last event for the World Games, so we geeked out and got t-shirts.  It was definitely more fun than I thought it would be.

Thursday, I had a girl’s night out with my girl Lindsey.  We hadn’t seen each other in forever, and we had signed up for a flower class at Post Office Pies in Mountain Brook.  We had some wine, ate an amazing pizza, and went home with a beautiful bouquet of flowers that we had arranged.  Side note: that will definitely never be a profession of mine.  It was so nice to catch up on each other’s lives and just hang out for a night.

Friday afternoon, Sheff’s best friend invited him out to the Y for cookie cake and swimming since they couldn’t make his birthday party the next day.  Before we headed over there, we went to the library to pick up some books and get Sheff’s reward for 500 pages.  It was so sweet of them to get him a cake and gifts – Sheff felt like a million bucks.  They played in the pool for a couple of hours, then we headed home for pizza and a screening of the “Bob’s Burgers Movie,” which was awesome.

Saturday we got up and got the finishing touches for Sheff’s party.  Picked up his cake and made up the goody bags, and then we were good to go!  Sheff wanted a bowling party, so a bowling party we had.  It was actually a super cheap option, even adding pizza and drinks, and no clean up!  He had his two buds from school there with him – they bowled for two hours, ate pizza and cake, opened presents and then it was over.  Having a summer birthday is rough, so I think this may be the end of birthday parties – we had a few people RSVP that didn’t bother showing up, and it put a bad taste in my mouth for going forward.  We may just take the day off work and do fun things all day for his actual birthday – and have a few kids over for pool time and cake.  But that’s another discussion for another day – Sheff had a great time, and that’s all that matters.

And then, on Saturday night, our neighbors were throwing a luau, so we definitely had to attend.  Of course, they had done an amazing job decorating their house and all the food, drinks, etc, were on-theme.  Sheff had a few friends to run around with, and we had some food and some beverages, chatted with the neighbors, helped clean up and went on home.

Sunday, B’s parents came up for one more birthday celebration for Sheff.  He opened his presents, and then we went out for Mexican.  After they left, we spent the rest of the day watching Tomorrowland – ate dinner and all went to bed early.

Luckily, we don’t have nearly as busy a week as last week.  We’ve only got a soccer game for today planned, and then it’s business as usual for the rest of the week.  We were super exhausted, but we definitely did have fun!!

This weekend was a fun one!  We packed a ton in, and oh yeah, we celebrated double birthdays!!

On Friday, B and I set up Sheff’s new room – his birthday present from us.  We bought him a loft bed with a desk underneath, which completely opened up his room, and gave him space to draw, color and do his homework.  He got a sweet lava lamp and a gaming bean bag chair to round it out.  We made a frozen pizza with mozzarella sticks for an appetizer for dinner and called it a night.

I got up early on Saturday to get a workout in and shower before heading to the airport to pick up my sister!!  She was coming in for her and Sheff’s joint birthday celebration.  As soon as we dropped them off at the house, we were off to Sumo Wrestling for the World Games!  We met up with some friends at the venue and had a great time.  I’m glad that we got to go to an event while the World Games were in town – we have tickets to softball tonight, but the weather is supposed to be garbage, so we’re hoping for a reschedule.  It felt like such a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I’m glad Sheff got to be able to see it.  When we got home, my sister and I went snack and booze shopping and came home to just chill before our evening got started.  Sheff had a babysitter that night, so the four of us could go out and have a good time.  Unfortunately, the weather had other plans for us.  We got drenched walking to the restaurant – Five Points Oyster House – and had to basically eat our dinner in soaking wet clothes.  It will definitely be a dinner to remember though!  We had plans to go out to fun rooftop bars, but with the weather, we all went home to change into leggings and hit up On-Tap by the galleria.  We were the only people in there – had a few drinks and a celebratory shot and went home.  We had a few more drinks and played Beat Saber and then went to bed pretty late.

Sunday was my sister and Sheffield’s birthday!!  I still can’t quite believe that I have a seven year old now, but it’s the truth.  Sheff opened his presents in the morning, and my sister and I went shopping around.  After we got back, we did the activity that Sheff picked : Dave & Busters!  We always have a blast there playing the games, and Sheff was running around like a crazy person.  After all the credits had run out, we went home and got in the pool, then got ready for the Taco Mama tradition.  We ate tacos and cheese dip and a pitcher of adult beverages, and my sister and Sheff got their traditional picture in front of the green door.

Sadly, that 7 balloon took a trip to the sky, but we still had cake and sparkler candles and everyone was happy.

It was a super fun weekend, but I was definitely in the bed by 8pm on Monday.  We’ve got a pretty busy weekend on deck, but should start to slow down by the beginning of the week!  Hope you’ve had a great start to the week!