Alabama + Graffiti

This past weekend was a lot of fun – we did a lot of fun things and got to hang out with some friends, which is always always a welcome distraction.

Friday night, we headed down to the Greek Festival – Bennett and I have gone every year that we’ve lived in Birmingham, and it’s always such an amazing time.  Sheff surprised us and inhaled the Greek chicken and the cheese pitas, and he really wanted to go and see the Greek dancers.  Bennett and I both got gyros and salads and split a bottle of wine.  Plus it was such a treat to see Sheffield’s daycare director.  She couldn’t believe how big he had gotten, and she took a picture of him to show all of his old teachers.  I was so glad to be able to get a picture of the two of them before leaving.  And I’m still so so thankful that Sheff went to that daycare.

Saturday, I got up and got a quick ride in.   We had breakfast, and all got showers and headed over to hang out with some friends.  The girls and the kids headed to the Birmingham Zoo for Hoots & Howls.  It was actually a really fun time.  They had little candy tents, the kids got to wear their costumes, and of course we got to see alllll the animals.  We rode the carousel and the train, and finally headed home.  We spent the rest of the afternoon watching football and letting the kids play.  It was a really really good day.

Sunday we got up and got the house in order – did all the laundry, cleaned up.  Bennett’s parents were coming in to watch Sheff’s baseball game.  And Sheff did so well!  He hasn’t needed the tee since he’s started, and he’s definitely their first baseman.  Him and the pitcher have been getting into a good rhythm, so it’s really nice to see.  After the game, we headed over to get some Mexican for lunch.   Sheff was super cranky, so he took a nap while we watched some football.   When he woke up, we popped a ton of buttery popcorn and watched The Muppets Haunted Mansion – Sheff loved it.  We’re definitely going to be watching it quite a bit.

We’ve got Pumpkin Palooza today after school at the public library – not really sure what that entails, but it should be lots of fun either way, but aside from that, maybe a few more Halloweeny things to do this week and taking it easy.  Plus the weather is supposed to be gorgeous, so we will definitely be taking all sorts of advantage of that!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

This has got to be the easiest tailgate food that doesn’t require just buying chips and dips – I made them for our tailgate party at work right at the start of college football season.  One batch makes about 48 balls, so really, you get a lot for not a lot.  Only three ingredients!

WHAT YOU NEED

// 1 pound ground pork sausage

// 2 1/2 cups Bisquick mix or other all-purpose baking mix.

// 1 1/2 cups prepared pimento cheese

WHAT YOU DO

// Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

// Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and mix by hand.

// Shape mixture into about (48) 1″ balls, and place them on the lined baking sheets.

// Bake in preheated oven for 14-17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes and serve warm.

Super easy and quick – and definitely something you can whip up for brunches, tailgates or football snacks at home!

Another weekend gone, and another week here we are.  We had a nice little break from baseball this weekend, and the weather was great.  Which allowed us to listen to some Jazz Festing in place, since it was again canceled this year due to Covid.  We were supposed to be down there this past weekend, enjoying Lizzo and many others, but alas, two years canceled now.  C’est la vie in these times, I suppose!

Friday, B and I got to have a lunch date!!  We used to do that quite frequently when we both worked downtown, but haven’t done it as much since he’s permanent work from home, and I’m back in the office.  But there was an opening last weekend down in the Avondale area of a brewery that already has a location in Trussville: Ferus Brewing.  They are in a former location of a restaurant that I loved, but had to close due to Covid – and it’s still a cute little spot.  I got the beef carpaccio for lunch ( AMAZING), and B tried out the BLT.  He said he’d definitely go back just to eat the carpaccio!

After lunch, we headed over to Hop City to get some new brews to try with our Friday night pizza.  They were so good.  The lemon bar one was great – and actually tasted like a lemon bar – and nobody asked, but that is my most favorite dessert.  Sheffield played around with his candy trying to be a vampire after dinner.  Bennett and I ended the night in the inflatable hot tub watching The First 48.

Saturday, I got up and got a workout in and started some laundry.  B went to get our gameday breakfast – then we finally hit up Aldi’s!  Nadine wasn’t kidding about all the amazing things they have there!  We got so many cheeses and dips!  We had hired a painter to come and paint our living room, and B and I touched up the trim in the basement and repainted the doors.  We took a break to watch the Auburn beatdown, and then went outside to watch Sheff play some bball and to listen to Jazz Fest.  We had a very small dinner and went to bed super early.

Sunday, we got up and did some more sprucing up of the house.  I repainted the kitchen, while B fixed some of the doors that needed done.  To say that I’m really happy with how it all turned out would be an understatement.  It looks so much brighter and happier.  Sheffield enjoyed tasting the honeysuckle, and we made Artney’s pumpkin patch cheesecake.  It was so delicious.  We watched the Packers beat the Bengals, went back on the porch for more Jazz Fest, had an early dinner and everyone was snuggled in bed by 830.

All in all, it was a pretty productive weekend – a good mix of relaxing and getting shit done.  I can’t believe we are almost to the mid-point of October – this month is flying by just like the rest have done! Hope you all had a great weekend!

My graphic for today is representative of how I’ve been feeling lately – just sort of all over the place.  This week hasn’t been as intolerable as last week, but I still feel like I’m under a gray cloud most of the time.  Maybe the upside is, the cloud isn’t dumping down buckets of rain all over me this week.

We had Sheffield’s first ever in person parent-teacher conference this week.  It was nice to get to have that time to sit and talk about how Sheffield is at school.  We learned that he is above-grade level in reading, in the most advanced math group, and is excellent with his writing.  We are currently working on the difference between what is a “big deal” and what is a “little deal,” and the teacher (who we LOVE) gave us a way to start working on this, so we’re working on it.  She told us he is very sensitive (which we knew), but he is kind and has no trouble getting along with everyone.  Which is more important than the actual school stuff – but we’re also proud of him for that.

I’ve also solidified plans to go to Kansas City the first weekend of November for the Packers/Chiefs game.  While I’m not thrilled that my first flight in almost two years will be solo, I’m sure that I’ll be fine.  And getting to see the Pack is always worth it.

Anyway, on to the Friday things –

// Foo Fighters are my absolute favorite band.  I love everything about Dave Grohl – I cannot wait to get my hands on this book.

// It’s Friday, so my mind gravitates toward pizza.  The Founder’s Special at Donatos is my go-to for pizza.  I know that Donatos started in Ohio, and they’re not everywhere (yet), but my goodness do they make a delicious pizza.  It’s more expensive than your Pizza Hut or Domino’s, but man, it’s so good.

// I’ve been debating this trend with the white booties for a bit.  Before pulling the trigger, I had to ask the bestie what she thought.  She told me to do it, and I always need that kind of positive reinforcement in my life.  They are not completely stark white, but more of a bone color, and I’ll think they’ll look great throughout the fall and winter.

// I definitely have a love/hate relationship with clothes from Amazon.  Their sizing is like navigating the jungle, but I keep coming back for more.  I’ve added this to my cart, and am just waiting for the right time to pull the trigger.

// No secret around these parts that Halloween is my favorite.  And I’ve always loved the looks that Pink Lily is putting out, so it’s fun that they’ve done something super cute for Halloween.  I’ve had my eye on this cute little jack-o-lantern with eyelashes tee for a minute.

// I suck at doing my eyebrows – and if we’re being honest, the whole makeup thing in general.  I bought this to try and help, and love it.  It’s super cheap, and I love the little fluffing brush.

// I don’t know why anyone would actual need sushi magnets, but I want them.  They’re so blasted cute, and I’d love to put them on my filing cabinet at work.

We’ve got a super chill weekend on deck – am hoping to check out the new Ferus on 41st for lunch or something tomorrow (before watching what is sure to be an Auburn Football beatdown by UGA), and baseball is taking a break this weekend.  A sort of all-star break if you will – we start again next week.  Hope you all have a great weekend!

Friday night, we kept it pretty chill.  B made some spaghetti and meat balls and we watched the Sopranos prequel on HBO.  It was so good, and Gandolfini’s son was absolutely perfect in it.  We had a couple glasses of wine, and called it a night.

Saturday morning, I got up pretty early to head to Publix to get the days provisions.  Just a side note, but the grocery store at 730 on a Saturday morning is glorious.  Absolutely no people inside and got in and got out super quick.  After that, I stopped at Chick-fil-a for our traditional breakfast before AU games.  Got home, had some breakfast, and cleaned up the house a bit before heading to Ollie’s – I love perusing their books, and was able to scoop up three that I’d been wanting for bit, and Sheff got himself some dog books.  That kid loves his dogs, that’s for sure.  We got home, and I got the sausage balls going for my sister.  It was her last weekend with us here in Alabama, so she was coming over to hang for the day.  And B started his gumbo since AU was playing LSU that night.  We crammed a bunch of stuff into one day – Target trips to buy Halloween decor, making our killer cupcakes and watching Final Destination.  She left before the LSU game, because it started so late – and it was late.  The kickoff wasn’t until 8pm – I hung around for gumbo and until the half, and B woke me up with a minute left so I could see AU win.  It was the first time they’ve won in Death Valley since 1999!! No more 8pm kick-offs, ok?  This girl can’t hang.

We woke up on Sunday and swore that Sheff’s baseball game was going to be postponed because of the weather.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t.  But it did rain right smack in the middling of an inning – their Coach was so great.  He let the kids go run around in the rain and have fun with each other.  It was probably the thing they’ll remember most about the whole season.  It really was so sweet to watch them! The Packers pulled out a win over the Steelers, and we ended the night in our inflatable hot tub watching Tom Brady’s return to Foxboro.

It was a really great weekend – this week should be as busy as last week work-wise, which isn’t totally great for my sanity, but I suppose we will make it through.  Hope y’all had a great weekend!