Last week, we were lucky enough to be able to go somewhere for Sheffield’s spring break.  We didn’t hit the crowded beaches, but we did get to head over to Savannah.  It was pretty tame people-wise, and had a ton of things for a family to do.

We left out Saturday morning – it took us about 6 hours to get there from Birmingham.  We checked into our hotel, and freshened up.  The hotel was walkable to the main street by the river, so we bundled up and started walking.  We went down, and checked out all the sights to see – Savannah is so beautiful!  Of course, I made Sheff pose with everything.  Savannah is a big St. Patty’s Day celebration city, so there were still a few revelers, and decorations everywhere.

After walking along the river, we headed over to City Market.  Basically it’s a four block open-air market with shops, bars, restaurants and art.  They are an entertainment district, so we got our wine slushies (they were so good!), and walked around a bit more.

We didn’t really eat a huge lunch, so we decided on an early dinner at Crystal Beer Parlor – supposedly the oldest restaurant in Savannah.  They had a little bit of a wait, but we got there just in time, since the rain started shortly after we got there.  B went into the bar to get us some drinks while we waited, and Sheff and I played the selfie game.  It was such a cool spot once we got in.  B and I shared the warm crab dip (so good!), and B and Sheff shared the grasshopper pie for dessert.  We were all pretty tired from our travels, so we turned in pretty early.

Sunday, we knew it was going to be a rainy, gross day.  We started out the day at The Sentient Bean – where Sheff had the most delicious cinnamon roll, and B and I got our coffee fix.  B wanted to get a new coat, since he had forgotten to bring his, and it was a bit chilly.  We decided to head over to Hilton Head Island, since it was only about an hour away, and their outlets opened earlier than the ones in Savannah.  After shopping around, we decided to just hang out there.  It was still cold and overcast, but it wasn’t raining.  We hit up Fish Camp for lunch, and it was perfect.  The view was amazing, and the drinks were amazing.  The oysters below are their low-country oysters – B loved them, and I loved my shrimp burger that I got.  No pics, because I was hungry.

We promised Sheff a walk on the beach if he was good, and he was, so we took a quick and chilly walk on the beach.  They had a super fun bench swing, so we hung out in that for a bit, as well.  And did some souvenir shopping, too!  Sheff loved looking at all the shells on the beach.

After our Hilton Head adventure, we went to check into our new hotel – this time it was across the river at a Westin Resort.  This hotel is pretty much the only thing on that side of the river – it had a heated pool, golf course and spa.  And the view of the city from across the river was beautiful.  After we got settled into the room, we took the free ferry over to the main side of Savannah.  Sheff got some cotton candy ice cram from the candy store, and we did some more walking.  It was such a walkable city, and we really loved that.  We got a light dinner at Moon River Brewing, took the ferry back, put Sheff to bed and B and I had a nightcap on the patio overlooking the river.

I decided to break this up into two posts, lest this one get way too long.  It was a great first two days of Spring Break, and the next two were just as good!

 

B had ordered some oysters from a company, and they finally arrived on Friday.  He chargrilled those guys, put some garlic butter and parmesan on those suckers, and we had them for dinner.  They were so delicious – we paired them with a fresh loaf of French bread, and it was the most perfect way to start the weekend.

Saturday, we got up and got ready to head to Atlanta!  We were finally going to meet my oldest friend’s (20+ years of friendship!) baby, Zach.  He was born last May, so I had only gotten to see him through photos and videos, and I was so excited.  We got there around lunch, and it was just so good to see them.  The last time we were all together was for the Peachtree Road Race in 2019.  He was just the smiliest, cutest little thing.  We went and got some lunch and brews at Sweetwater Brewing – the weather could not have been better.  We got a ton of food at the table, and the kids had a good time playing, too.  After lunch, we headed over to the Botanical Gardens.  There was so much to see and do – plus it gave Sheff some time to tire out and run around.  After the Gardens, we went back to their house and just chilled out.  Sheff gave their chickens (they have 7 chickens!!) some food and played around with one of Brett’s nephews while the adults enjoyed some wine and catching up.  They did a burger cookout for dinner, which was delicious.  After the kids had gone to bed, we had some more adult beverages and played Mexican Train dominoes until after midnight!  It was such a fun game, that we ordered one for ourselves that night!  We got up on Sunday, had some breakfast (we were so spoiled this weekend!), and drove back home.

Sunday was pretty much spent outside just hanging out – the weather was so beautiful.  Bennett put some cool water into the inflatable hot tub, and we just enjoyed the weather.

On a side note, B and I did get our Covid vaccines last week.  We got the J&J one, and it really did knock us on our butts for that second day.  My arm was sore for pretty much the whole week, but the fever and chills and headache were done by the end of the second day.  We were thankful that Alabama opened it up to 1b essential workers, and we jumped on the opportunity to get it.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

 

(linking up with Steph & Jana for SUYB)

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – VE Schwab // I’ve seen some seriously mixed reviews on this one, but I absolutely loved it.  A girl makes a deal with a “devil-like” god, and lives until she is ready not to.  I loved how it went back and forth between time periods, and how she plugged herself into works of art to keep her memory alive.  Wasn’t completely thrilled with the ending of the book, but it didn’t keep me from loving it.

The Wife Stalker – Liv Constantine // I don’t know how I feel about this book to be honest.  The ending confused the crap out of me, and the book was all over the place.  I felt like the authors had a great story, but maybe missed writing something in the beginning?  Or maybe I’m just dumb- I had to reread about thirty pages to make sure I didn’t miss something.  Really liked how they made you think one thing the whole time, only to find out you were completely wrong – that I can get down with.

The Hunting Party – Lucy Foley //  This book took me a minute to get into – I’m not sure why, because at about page 30, I couldn’t stop and finished the rest in an afternoon.  I love these psychological thrillers that take place in the middle of absolutely nowhere – I always feel so terrified for the characters, because I do not handle lonely quiet wilderness well, and it always makes my hands sweat.  I put down The Guest List after about 50 pages, but am definitely rethinking that decision now.

The One – John Marrs // I loved the premise of this book, and I loved the twist at the end even more.  Basically, it follows four main people after they have been “matched” – which is to say that their DNA has scientifically been linked to someone else as being their “soul mate.”  It was such an interesting concept, and I really really loved the ending.  It was beautiful and devastating all in one.  Definitely a quick and intriguing read.

The Wrong Family – Tarryn Fisher // Whew – this one took me for a fun ride.  I honestly had no idea what was happening most of the time, but it wasn’t in a bad way.  This one also had that feeling where you think you know what’s going on, but in the end, you were completely wrong.  Good, quick read.

When We Believed in Mermaids – Barbara O’Neal // All I have to say is wow.  This book – going to take a long time to come down after this one.  It was written so beautifully, and I fell in love with every single one of the characters.  And it made me cry – it has been a long time since a book has done that.  Definitely the best one I’ve read in 2021, and will stick with me for quite a bit.  Read it.

The Answer is… – Alex Trebek // To say that I am a huge fan of Alex is an understatement.  For one, the dude looks like my dad.  And I almost always remember having Jeopardy! on in our house.  I obviously knew nothing about Trebek or his life, and it was fun to get a glimpse inside.  He seems like a pretty normal dude, and I’m glad he decided to write this before cancer took him away from everyone.  A good read if you’re a fan of Trebek and the show.

On Friday night – we had a mama/Sheff date night.  We ordered waaaay too much pizza for the two of us, but we ate a lot of it, and watched Toy Story 4.  That movie makes me cry, you guys – I’d watch it 8000 times if I had to.  Sheff is clearly a fan of pizza.  Those are pizza slices in his hands – completely unprompted – he was just that happy to have gotten to choose his very own pizza – sausage and pepperoni.

 

Saturday, I got up and did my very first live ride with Hannah:  a 45 minute EDM ride that got me revved up for the weekend!  Then Sheff and I went to get biscuits for breakfast – then just lounged around.  At 1030, we had Sheff’s very first baseball practice.  I absolutely loved his new coach, and he took the time to work with each and every kid – quite the departure from what we had with basketball.  It seems he really wants to help the kids understand the game and work on the fundamentals – we’re really looking forward to this season.

The weather was so beautiful on Saturday that we spent the rest of the day outside.  Sheff was playing with the hose, and testing out his newly found baseball swing, and I looked over and this is what he had written for me:  I made his cute little butt lay down next to it so I could take a picture.

We ordered Chinese food for dinner and turned in pretty early.

Sunday was more of the same – gorgeous weather.  A trip to Target and two books read – a few glasses of wine, leftovers and Billy Joel for dinner.  B also took the sweetest picture of Sheff and I when we were dancing on the patio.  I’m glad that he caught that sweet moment for me.

So glad for a nice slow weekend.  I’m hoping this spring weather is here to stay!  Hope y’all had a great weekend too!

Another week coming to a close – hallelujah!  Sheff has his first baseball practice tomorrow.  He’s super excited about it, and so are we.  This league is supposedly a little less competitive than the Hoover rec league, and focuses more on learning the basics of the sport as well as sportsmanship.  We’ll see how it goes!

This week was Read Across America week for Sheff’s school – we had a ton of fun trying to pick out all of his outfits.  My favorites were him as Prince Charming for fairytale day and his “scientist” outfit for what you want to be when you grow up day. That was zero percent prompted – he said he wanted to invent things and be a scientist, so we mussed up his hair a bit and threw a pair of glasses on him.  I’m missing pajama day, but I have a million pictures of him in his jams.

I’m so very glad that there are still new restaurants still popping up in the downtown area.  On Thursday, I headed over to Ampersandwich over in Avondale for lunch.  I got the Italian sandwich, and it was delicious.  The people in there were so sweet and accommodating – I truly hope they make it.  Plus – that happy dancing sandwich?  I’m here for it.

I don’t know what I was doing or how I stumbled across this, but E.L.F. Cosmetics is doing a collaboration with Chipotle – and look at it!  I’m super obsessed with that eye palette – such amazing colors.  It doesn’t come out until March 9th, but you bet your butt I got myself on that notification list.

Sheff and I are having ourselves a mama/kid date tonight – ordering a crap ton of pizza, watching movies and playing video games.  All in our pajamas, of course.  Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend!