Alabama + Graffiti

Get ready for a lot of posts coming at you – and by a lot, maybe like two more after this for this week.  Back like the old days of blogging.  I did hang up two mini disco balls on my fan pull in my office, and when the light hits them, they make this really beautiful light display.  I’m glad I spent the $8.99 on them from Amazon.

Anyway, the past week (or so) was really good.  On a Friday, we got to try a new pizza place downtown.  It’s nestled back on Morris Avenue – the old cobblestone street downtown – tucked inside the Market on Morris.  There is also a gelato place back there that we’ll need to try at some point – but this day was all about Pizza Grace.  They’re in a cute, very unassuming space – with an open kitchen and some family style seating.  We started out trying the bacon bombs – and that was not a mistake.  The rolls were so soft, and the bacon was so good, and they served them with this amazing butter.  Then it was onto the pizza – we got the margherita, which was good – but we’ll definitely be trying one with meat in the future.  All in all, it was a great lunch – and definitely somewhere you can take the kiddos, too.

Then, that Saturday, we got to do something we haven’t gotten to do since summer started due to sports and other obligations – we got to head to Pepper Place Farmer’s Market.  We got snoballs, peaches, some delicious seafood sauce stuff, jalapenos and some local goodies at Yellow Hammer.  We had started that morning by going to American Kolache in Vestavia (owned by former AU player, Chad Slade!), and then hitting up Vapor Thrift basically right next door.  We found Sheff so many gently loved items of clothing and an awesome new batting helmet.  Was definitely a successful trip.  After that, we slugged around all weekend – got Butterbeer donuts from Hero to celebrate Harry Potter’s birthday, and ended the night with a viewing of the first one and half of the second.  It was a great weekend!

Monday started the week of festivities for Bennett’s birthday – one of his favorite artists, Andrew Duhon, was playing Dave’s Bar downtown.  It was such a small and intimate show – B even got to have a conversation with him and get his picture taken.  Thanks to our babysitter for keeping an eye on the Sheffster so we could have a weekday date night!

We ordered in sushi for Bennett’s actual birthday – and we both took Friday off to head down to NOLA.  Gigi and Pawpaw had wanted Sheff for a weekend this summer, so he stayed back and had the best weekend – getting to eat pizza and going to the Safari Park just south of Montgomery.

NOLA will be an entirely separate post, because we went to all new places – not a single repeat location was to be had.  It’s been a great few last weeks of summer break – cannot believe that there will be a second grader roaming around the house in just a few short days.

I meant to get this post up last week, but I don’t think I got any posts up last week.  It was a busy one followed by a fun weekend, so I’ll get to all that later on.

This summer we signed Sheff up for Y summer day camp: besides him loving it, he got to sign up for a summer sport with no registration fee.  Since he was too young for 3×3 basketball, he picked soccer.  As has been our experience with Y sports, this one was also a big disorganized.  Our coach quit before she even coached a single game, but we were all kind of glad for it, because the coach that stepped in was awesome.  He was the dad of the girl that Sheff knew from camp who was also on his team.  He is an assistant coach for the Hoover high school basketball and football team – and he was really good with the kids, too.

I honestly can’t tell you what their record was, even though there was score keeping.  Sheff picked up on the sport pretty quickly, so we might sign him up for another season.

These kids were so sweet and they definitely gave it their all – especially running around in mid 90 degree weather.  Not too much to say, really, but wanted this moment of summer kept in the good ole internet scrapbook.

Sheff starts second grade (!!!!) this week – I’m definitely looking forward to getting back into that good school routine, and I always love seeing everyone’s first day photos.  Hope you’ve had a good start to the week!

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.