Alabama + Graffiti

 

Whew – what a week it’s been around these parts.  In addition to Sheff starting first grade, I was mandated to come back into the office full-time.  I’m not happy about it – I’ll leave it at that.  So this week was my first full week back – I started working out in the mornings to be able to have extra time with Sheff in the afternoons.  So put all of that together, and I’m just one exhausted human being.  Plus we got instructions for our very first school project for the weekend – so woof.  I’m excited for my glass of wine after work today for sure.

Favorite treat:

Yesterday after school, Sheff and I headed over to Crumbl Cookies in Vestavia for a treat.  Sheff has had a great week in school, and I just felt like we deserved it.  These things are enormous, and man are they so good!  The chocolate chip is amazing, and that rainbow frosting one up there was amazing too.  They also have mini versions, so we may need to hit those up too.

Favorite Read:

 I finally got to dive into this book this week.  Andy Weir is absolutely the only author that can get me into science stuff and keep me hooked.  I honestly just love how he writes – and how he can make even the most sciency of science something you can understand.

Favorite sweatshirt:

I was meandering through Target, as one does, and came across this sweatshirt.  It is so so soft, and it even has thumbholes and pockets.  I naturally gravitated toward the black one, but forced myself to get this orange dip-dye one, and I love it.

Favorite meme:

 

Hope everyone had a great week – looking forward to a low-key weekend with absolutely NO TRAVELING!  Have a good one!

Over the summer, B and I were lucky enough to have a weekend getaway to New Orleans.  One place I had been dying to go to was JAMNOLA.  It’s a pop-up experiential art exhibit that showcases New Orleans music, art food and theatrics.  It is honestly an Instagram influencer’s dream, but even when you’re not (hello, there me!), it’s still really fun.  B and I had a really good time here.

The very first room was a tribute to the French Quarter and to the infamous po’boy.  We took turns being silly and taking photos of us “eating” the giant po’boy on the wall.  Also had to take a picture that looked like we were on the balcony of a French Quarter home – got to love that beautiful architecture!

The next room was an ode to Mardi Gras beads – they were embedded into the floor of two rooms – one light and one dark.  Plus they had these mirrored balls in each room that were really fun to take pictures with.  The next room had a tree that was covered in sequins, but when you rubbed it, it turned black.  B had a lot of fun with that!  Plus a giant alligator was in the middle of the room, so he needed to have a kiss!

Our most favorite room was the crawfish room.  You could pose in a pot where it looked like the crawfish were boiling you, hang out with one in the bathtub, and even chill on the patio with one.  The wallpaper in this room was incredible – each depicting a new crawfish scene.  It was so cute, and so fun.

With your ticket, you get a boomerang video of you in the spinning umbrella room.  After you take your photo, you go through a room dedicated to the Mardi Gras Indian culture.  From all sorts of different suits that have been made to getting to pose as the big chief himself.  I had fun pretending I was on a Mardi Gras float – and the last room was dedicated to the famous faces of New Orleans.

It was such a fun place that I wanted to do a post for it on its own – of course, I’m still super behind on getting the rest of the trip up, but I’ll get to it some day!  If you’re in New Orleans, definitely check this place out – it was such a good time!

Yesterday, our Sheff Beff started the first grade.  Last week, we were fortunate enough to have a Meet the Teacher event at the school, and we were finally able to see the inside of the school, and actually have a chance to meet his teacher face-to-face – two things we were unable to do all of last year.

He was so excited to start school again – he couldn’t wait to be back with his friends.  He literally jumped out of the car and ran into that school when we dropped him off.  Later, after school had started, B went to drop off Sheff’s medicine, and the resource police officer had to walk him down to the nurse’s office.  He asked B if he was Sheffield’s dad, and B says yes, and the officer tells him that Sheffield is one of his favorites, and he always goes out of his way to make sure he sees Sheff or talks to him.  It was so sweet to hear, and makes me feel so good that someone is looking out for him during the day.

We picked him up at the end of the day, and he couldn’t contain his excitement about his day.  He loves his teacher, he told us all of the kids that were in his class, that he had pizza for lunch, and how his best friend isn’t in his same class, but they see each other at recess – and that’s just as good.

One thing that I love that his teacher does is upload photos and updates from the day onto an app called Class Dojo.  We had never heard of this, but downloaded it with the instructions she had sent home, and got to see what all he did during the day.  It’s also a good progress report, as she gives points for being respectful, responsible and safe for the day.  It’s a good measure to see how Sheffield has been during the day and what might need some work.  Below are some photos she posted in the app of Sheff on the first day.

I love how happy he looks!  I know that he will have another great year at Shades Mountain!

Just a few miles away from Chattanooga is the little town of Wildwood, GA.  This is our second year staying in this cute little place, so I’m going to talk more about it.  We didn’t venture at all into Chattanooga – we were/are worried about the covid surge, and we didn’t want to chance it with Sheffield starting school so close.  We got to explore a lot more of Wildwood, and it was awesome.

Firstly – they are a hang gliding town.  No joke – the place we stayed at was super close to a hang-gliding airport.  We watched the planes and hang gliders pretty much all weekend. On our last day, we finally drove over to watch the gliders come in and the planes take off with them.  It seems terrifying at first, but the more I think about it, the more I think I’d really like to learn!

WHERE WE STAYED

As mentioned above, we have stayed at the same place the last two years we’ve been there, and it’s because it’s amazing. It’s called the Rustic Watering Hole, and it is just a unique little spot.  The pool is cool and refreshing, the hosts supply you with everything you could possibly need, and it even has a quiet private room off the main house.  The beds are not super comfortable, but honestly, everything else makes up for it.  Check out how happy these guys are!

We had a lot of fun playing in the pool – we cooked out burgers Saturday night, and played a board game that had been left there by other guests.  It is so dark and peaceful, so at night we sit and wait on shooting stars.  We saw one of the best ones we’ve ever seen Saturday evening – and we use our SkyView app to check out the rest of the stars.

WHAT WE ATE

Like we did on our last trip there, we stopped and ordered pizza on the way in.  We stopped at Rafael’s Italian Restaurant – and we got two large pizzas, breadsticks and a salad for $20.  The pizza was so good – and just what we remembered from last year.  Plus we had plenty leftover to snack on during the weekend, and bring a lot home.

The next morning we went to Corner Coffee – it was such a cute little coffee shop.  It reminded me of something straight out of Stars Hollow!  B and I got Chai Lattes and we split the morning panini.  It was so good.  Added bonus?  We got to hear the barista talk about his hang gliding adventures.  It was so interesting!

For lunch, we went to Pigeon Mountain Grill.  It was a little bit of a drive from Wildwood, but the drive was so beautiful.  It was a cute little place with a great big yard, outdoor seating and delicious food.  B got the pork tacos, I got a cheeseburger and Sheff, of course, got chicken fingers.  The tacos and burger were so good, as were B’s onion rings.  Probably some of the best we had.  Also, when I ordered a can wine to drink, the waiter brought out the above drink, saying one of their other waiters was a genius mixer and brought this out to me.  It was absolutely delicious and so pretty.  It was really nice to have lunch with that amazing view.

WHERE WE EXPLORED

The only thing we actually “did” the whole trip was head over to Cloudland Canyon State Park.  Since we hadn’t really planned on doing a whole lot of hiking, we did some pretty easy hiking trails.  Both B and Sheff were in flip flops, so no strenuous climbing or descents for us.  But the Canyon was absolutely gorgeous.  There are trails for bikes, people and horses, plus campgrounds and disc golf.  We can’t wait to go back and actually do the waterfall trails.

This place was so nice, and everyone we met was super nice.  I hope to one day go back and do some hang gliding lessons!

As a pitstop on the way back home, we stopped at Noccalula Falls.  Luckily, you can get to see the falls without paying entry to the park.  Unfortunately, it was pretty tame, and the falls weren’t in peak form.  Glad we stopped though, and got it knocked off the list.

I think my most favorite part about the whole trip was that there was literally no cell service.  It was so peaceful, and it was a nice way to bring in the new school year!

This past weekend we got a real treat – we got to head to Atlanta to see an old friend of mine.  I have known her since high school – so a total of about 23 years! She sat behind me in homeroom for the entire four years – so some could say it was fate all along.

The last time we saw each other was for Sheff’s first birthday party – and I hadn’t even met her youngest yet.  I won’t lie – I was a little nervous.  It had been so long – and while I like to think that I haven’t changed a lot in a few years, I know that not to be the case.  Neither one of us are those kids from high school anymore – we have families and jobs and a million other things on our plates that weren’t there when we didn’t have to be responsible human people.

We met them at their place for a cookout and beverages before heading down to the Braves game.  When she opened the door, I got the most overwhelming sense of relief – it was my Robin.  It also came with a rush of crazy nostalgic emotion that I swallowed down – like calm down, Laura.  Don’t be weird, right?  Her house was beautiful – and it was so nice to get to see how big her kids had gotten.  The one thing that I didn’t know how much I had missed?  Robin’s laugh – she’s got a good one folks, and just thinking about it now can make me smile.  I didn’t know how much I needed that sound in my life  – so much for the not being weird thing, right?

Anyway – they cooked out some burgers and hot dogs, and she made a special cocktail with purple gin called the Royal Hawaiian, and it was so good.  She was sweet and gifted us a bottle of the gin and one of the mixers to be able to make our own at home.  We got ready and headed down to Truist Park to watch the Braves.  It was a hot one – but our seats were great.    My favorite player hit a home run, and then he hit a grand slam, so it’s safe to say he knew I was there.  We stayed for the whole game, so it was close to midnight before we got checked into our hotel for the night.

It was so nice to catch back up and reminisce on old times.  We left with a promise to not let another five years go before we see each other again – am hoping we can get them in our neck of the woods for next time!

Also, shout-out to the husband behind the blog – it’s his 37th birthday today.  We’re celebrating with cookie cake and seafood – and he wouldn’t want it any other way.