Alabama + Graffiti

This weekend was full of beautiful weather – we are finally getting a taste of fall down here in the south!

Friday was a work-from-home day, and it was overcast and work was crappy. And after our epic meltdown on Thursday, we got up and got cake pops and pumpkin cream cold brews.  Around 430, I had poured a glass of wine, and we were outside playing in the trampoline and playing frisbee.  B and I got sushi for dinner, and watched Jeopardy until midnight.

On Saturday, we met up with some friends and got lunch at Chubbfathers in Pelham.  After lunch, we headed down to Jemison to Mountain View Orchard for what we thought would be some apple picking.  Unfortunately, what we had read on the internet didn’t match what this place was.  The kids had their hearts set on picking apples, so a basket of apples was bought and hidden among the peach trees that we were allowed to go and play in.  They had so much fun “picking apples,” – and they had so much fun together.  There were some goats and tons of space to run around in.

We were still so full from lunch, that we ate popcorn for dinner while we watched BlackkKlansman, and called it a night.

Sunday, the weather was absolutely beautiful, so we got up and went down to the trail for a three mile walk.  We got home and picked up the house a bit (lit our first fall candle of the season!), ordered pizza for lunch, and watched football ALL DAY.  I love fall Sundays, and I’m thankful for the little bit of normalcy that watching the NFL brings me.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

 

Whoa – four posts in one week – who do I think I am??

Let’s just jump straight in, shall we?  This week has been straight garbage.  The amount of work I’ve had has been ridiculous – I finally gathered some courage to tell someone that I was drowning and needed some help.  That, in itself, is huge for me.  I can barely admit those kinds of things to myself, let alone other people.  But in this dumpster fire of a year, I guess we’re all doing things we never thought we’d do.

This was our last week of two days in-person school and three days remote.  Next week the kiddo begins four days in-person and one day (Wednesday) remote.  I have come to learn that since I have my own little space that I really love working from home, and I really love being able to see Sheff most days of the week.

Yesterday, both Sheff and I had a really bad day.  Sheff came home from school and started crying at almost everything we said.  I got frustrated and yelled at him.  He then decided he needed a nap, but woke up remembering how I had yelled at him.  So cue the mama tears, because hurting your kids feelings sucks.  So as crazy people do, I poured a glass of wine and sat on our kitchen counter and just cried.  I mean, giant sobs.  Sheffield came out from his nap, and was like “mama, what’s wrong?” and as he jumps up onto the counter to be with me, he banged his head on the cabinets and starts crying, hysterically.  I grab him and pull him into my lap, and we’re both just sitting there crying with each other.  In the midst of the bad day, here are a mama and a son just crying it out.  After we had both calmed down, I told him to hop down and grab a bag of open gummy bears that was sitting on the other counter.  And we sat.  We sat on top of the counter, eating gummy bears, while I apologized to him for hurting his feelings, and him repeatedly saying that it was ok.  It was one of life’s messy moments, that turned into something really sweet.  After dinner, Sheff and I snuggled under a blanket and watched football.  It was a perfect ending to a really shit day.

This morning, we woke up and got ourselves a Starbucks treat.  Pumpkin cream cold brew for mom, and a cake pop for the kid.  And if that isn’t the best way to start a Friday, I couldn’t tell you what is.  We are supposed to have some really great weather this weekend, so we will put this week behind us and enjoy it.  Hope y’all have a great weekend too!

 

One of our favorite things to do is eat out.  We don’t do it often – maybe once a weekend, or twice if we’re feeling froggy, but we’re always on the lookout for new places (or new to us) to try.

We have had a sit-down dinner in a few places since the restaurants have reopened , but the for the most part, we’re either curbsiding it or doing pick up.  So during this time, we decided to support a few local restaurants, so if you’re local to Birmingham, I’m hoping you’ll support them too.

 

Taste of Thailand  was the first restaurant we ate in after restaurants were allowed to reopen.  Not to lie, I was pretty nervous about their COVID precautions, but the staff was wearing masks and gloves, and their seating was really spaced out.

We got the Taste of Thailand appetizer, which included spring rolls, vegetable rolls, crab wontons, and 2 Thai toast.  Y’all – everything on that plate was amazing.  Bennett got the pineapple fried rice that came in an actual half of a pineapple, and was so delicious.  I got the dazzling crystal noodles, which I added chicken to, and included stir fry vegetables.  It was so amazing, and  is so close to home, we will definitely be back.

A few months or so ago, a coworker and I started walking/jogging during our lunch break.  So on Fridays, we go for a shorter walks and indulge ourselves in a new to us place downtown.  One Friday we tested out The Lumbar.  They have delicious looking bar drinks, but we were there strictly for the food.  They have all sorts of delicious bar-type food, so we got a ton of appetizers to try.  We got the Matrix Tots (tater tots topped with pimento cheese, BBQ, and served with their green chili ranch), the Bowtie Spring Rolls, the Sweet & Spicy Wings, and the Frito Pie.  We also just got a side of their Shoestring Fries, because why not?  I loved how their ranch was just a tad bit spicy – but the Frito Pie was the real winner here.  And the pimento cheese – really can’t go wrong with pimento cheese.

On another Friday lunch adventure, we went to McFly’s Bird Shoppe.    This entire place is an homage to the 80’s (Back to the Future to be specific).  To the floor filled with old 80’s magazine ads to menu items called Phat Biff and Phat Delorean, it is super prevalent.  Obviously they are a chicken tender spot, but their giant claim to fame is their 16 sauces!  I tried the black garlic ranch (AMAZING!) and the McFly’s sauce (good, but not great).  Their garlic bread was so good, and so were their fries.  You can add old bay seasoning or ranch seasoning to them – it was subtle, but amazing.

I have tried a few more places:  Unos Tacos in the Pizitz (the chorizo nachos are where it’s at), and Jeni’s Ice Cream over in Pepper Place.  Both are solid choices.

We will continue to support our local restaurants any way we can, and of course, I’ll share the findings here!

Our basement has been so many different things.  When we first moved in, it was an unfinished dumping grounds for yard stuff, the treadmill and whatever else we wanted to put down there.

After Sheffield was born, we decided to actually make it a room.  We turned it into a guest room complete with a coffee nook.

Then we realized with a newborn, we really weren’t going to have that many overnight guests, so we transformed it into a playroom for all of Sheffield’s things.

Then, finally, we decided to turn it into an office space for me.  During the first months of hard shutdown, I was working from the kitchen table.  When they announced that Sheffield would be half in person, half remote, I knew that I would need a more practical space for my work.  So we got a desk, but knew that I wanted to make it more comfortable.  So here’s where I’m drawing inspiration from.

 

All of the above are Amazon items and came to under $225.  These aren’t the exact things I plan to use in my space, but I love the look.

1.// I love these macrame hangings – they are so simple and pretty.  Could I learn how to do this myself?  Probably – but for just under $17 for two small ones, it’s best to just buy.

2.// I have wanted one of these ottoman/pouf things for a really long time.  I love the look of this and how easy it is to move around.  There is a couch in my “office,” so I’d love somewhere to put my feet up if I decide to take my work to the couch.

3.//I don’t think anything makes a room more cozy and put together than a rug.  I love bright colors and the ones in this rug are perfect.  The colors really pop in a room full of neutral colored things.

4.// I really love this phases of the moon wall hanging.  It’s just pretty, and I have the perfect spot for it.

5.// We also have a dresser in the basement that we primarily use for storage.  This mirror would be beautiful mounted above it.  I also have lots of scattered about photo frames that I plan to put old family photos in.

There are so many ways to get this office to the cozy space that I want it to be.  I also want to use it for blogging, reading, watching shows, etc.  I have never really had a space in this house that I could call mine – I’m really excited to get it all put together!

This is definitely one of my favorite stages of life right now.   Sheffield’s personality has come busting through, and he is just one happy little guy.

We have started eating our dinners together at the table – and I love this family time.  No TV, no phones, just the family at the table.  And Sheffield has started trying new foods – he even has a new favorite food – cheeseburgers!!!  He had a free day from school on Friday, so B took him to Cook-Out for burgers and shakes, and he said the kid ate all of it.  We asked Sheffield if he had turned over a new leaf, so now he has started asking us if we like his new leaf.

We have started to see his creativity coming out.  He loves to build forts and play with his Legos, and will start giving things voices.  He loves to color and draw.  And he loves math.

Last week he told us about a friend of his at his school – and how instead of a mask, she had a gaiter.  And because apparently this girl is the coolest thing on the planet, he wanted one too.  I’m not sure how I could have told him no, so we ordered him a three-pack from Amazon, and he wore them all weekend (you can see it around his neck in that picture of him and B).

B said when they were out running errands that S was holding the door for people, and saying unprompted pleases and thank yous.  He is starting to learn to play independently, but also still loves to snuggle during movies and give “squeezy” hugs.

He is so positive and so happy – and I know he is my kid, but he is honestly just so cool.  He is unapologetically himself – he always says I love you in the mornings, and will keep saying it throughout the day.

He is just a lot of fun to be around and is so smart.  He certainly has a way of brightening our days – I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings.