Thankful!

It was so nice having Wednesday afternoon-Sunday off this week! It was a busy (but fun) time. I'll give you the run down of how it all went:

Wednesday - Ryals and I packed up hit the road to Rome early since my boss let us go around 2:30. We got to Rome in time to hang out a little bit and watch some episodes of Dexter before we had to go to dinner. Let me tell you - I am OBSESSED with that show! I need to catch up on all 5 seasons.

Wednesday night we went to our favorite italian restaurant, La Scalla. It was delicious! They have a service that will pick you up in a limo, take you to the restaurant and take you home after you eat. So we definitely took advantage of that! It was so fun and I of course pigged out!

Thursday - Happy Thanksgiving! We slept in a little bit, woke up and spent time with my grandmother (aka Grandmommie). We quickly ate some lunch with her, complete with turkey, dressing, asparagus casserole and roasted brussel sprouts. After lunch, we hit the road to head over to Marietta where my dad's side of the family was gathering. It was so nice because my aunt's home has a really nice porch and outdoor living area complete with a fire pit! We sipped wine and enjoyed getting to see my cousin's baby, Sadie. She is 6 months old and I had never met her until then! She was so fun to play with and laughed the whole time!

Having fun with Uncle Ricky!





Friday - Ryals and I packed up the tahoe with all the tailgating gear and headed to Athens around 11. We made it there in time to have lunch @ DePalma's and watch the Iron Bowl @ Allgood. Mom and I popped in Heery's and Heery's Too for some quickie holiday shopping (Santa may have found some cowboy boots for me in there, but not sure!). I cannot believe the outcome of the Iron Bowl! Alabama got beat by 1 point - crazy!

Friday night was our typical dinner night @ East West Bistro with the Stones and the Mullers. Athens wasn't too crowded so it was nice! After dinner we went to Boar's Head with John and Kelsey and reminisced on old times!

Saturday - I'm so glad we had a night game because we actually got to sleep in for once on a game weekend! We headed over to FIJI around 10:30 to start setting up. It was nice outside (just a little chilly) and we had a great turnout! I think it was the best tailgate of the year. We had a low country boil, chili in a crock pot and Kelsey's pumpkin roll as desert.

Some of the tailgating bunch:



No tailgate is complete without an icing:





Saturday night was COLD at the game! We sipped hot chocolate and watched UGA beat the nerds! We sat with my parents for the first 3 quarters and then were invited up to the sky box during the 4th quarter. What a game!

We made it just in time to hear the trumpeteer - my favorite part!



Mom and I freezing our FACES off:



Sunday - Ryals and I had brunch at NONA (aka Harry Bissett's) and hit the road. We got back to Atlanta in time to unpack and chill out for a little bit. Sunday night was Thanksgiving dinner #3 because we had so many leftovers.

It was soooo hard to get up for work this morning...I am already counting down until next weekend!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

H&H Home

Everyone check out my friend Helen's design business here. I love her look and all of the pieces!

Here are some of my favorites:

















Can't wait until I have a house of my own to shop here!

TGIF!

Hello! I am so happy it is Friday finally! For once in a very long time, Ryals and I are in town this weekend with no plans - yippee! Here's what's on the agenda:

Friday - do NOTHING! We have plans to order pizza, drink wine and watch movies. I am so happy - how nice it must be to get off work on a Friday and not have to either leave town immediately or go home and get ready for a night out.

Saturday - I'm guessing sleeping in is going to happen. With all these early home football games we've been going to, I have not gotten to sleep very late on the weekends! Saturday during the day will surely include some football-watching and cooking. I have three (yes, three) squash casseroles, a bruschetta chicken bake and a batch of sausage balls to make for various events next week. Call me Betty Crocker!

Saturday night we are going out with the Wages and other friends to 5 Seasons Brewery and Ormsby's to celebrate Brian's birthday! I'm so excited - I've never been to the brewery before and have only briefly been to Ormsby's. Happy Birthday to B Wages!!

Sunday - no plans again, but I do have a ScoutMob deal to Murphy's for 50% off, so I would love to go have brunch at my favorite restaurant! Hopefully the weather will be nice enough to take a walk around VA Highlands!

Sunday night will be potluck Thanksgiving dinner with my high school friends (I'm bringing squash casserole #1). I haven't seen Georgia since her wedding, so it will be nice to catch up!

Hope you all enjoy your weekends...

XOXOXOXO

Crazy Week!

Okay I admit, I have been REALLY bad at posting. It is just that this week has been CRAZY! After getting home very late on Sunday from a jam-packed GA/FL weekend (and my 3rd trip to SSI in 4 weeks), I am exhausted! This week I have had something to do EVERY NIGHT after work.

Monday - celebration dinner @ Verde for Ryals passing the Bar Exam with Renee, Maggie, Dave, Meghan and Brian...so fun!

Tuesday - Roy Barnes Donor party @ GA Tech Conference Center to watch election results. Ryals' firm and family are big Roy Barnes supporters, so it was fun to be at the election headquarters with drinks and hors d'oeuvres! He ended up conceeding the race, but it was still a good time (and a late night - didn't leave the party until about 11:30)!

Wednesday - Raced over to H&M after work to try to find something to wear to the game this weekend...and didn't find a thing! After a marathon shopping spree at Atlantic Station, I headed over to Buckhead Diner to meet Grant, his roommate Eric and Ryals @ Buckhead Diner. We didn't get seated until 8:00 PM and I didn't get home until about 9:45. Grant had a gift card that was going to expire this week so we took advantage. Buckhead Diner is CRAZY on a Wednesday night!

Thursday - used my lunch break to start packing for Athens since we had a VeenendaalCave cocktail party @ Ri Ra with clients from 5-8.

Heading to Athens after work today for UGA vs. Idaho St. Didn't have time this week to hit the grocery store, do laundry, work out or pick up essential at CVS I needed. It is all going to have to happen on Sunday when I get back. I will do some blog posts at that time too.

Can't wait to see some of you on Monday to hear about everyone's weekends!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Vue Photography

Check out my friend Amy's wedding photo blog from Vue Photography!

Butter McButter

OMG is all I have to say. I went into our break room at work this morning to find this AMAZING deliciousness:




I would be making this for Girl's weekend, but it seems we already have plenty of sweet treats to go around. I encourage you all to make this at some point because it is amazing. Paula Deen never ceases to amaze me!

Ingredients:
Cake:
1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 16-ounce box powdered sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Prepare Filling

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together.

Next, add the powdered sugar and mix well. Spread over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

Servings: 6 to 8 servings
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 40 min
Difficulty: Easy

This cake makes me want to fall off the diet wagon. Happy baking!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Georgia and Teddy Wooller!

Two weekends ago I had the excitement of going to Rome to see one of my oldest and best friends get married! I am so honored that Georgia asked me to be a part of her special weekend. Friday - I took a half day from work and hit the road towards North Georgia. I was able to meet my mom and grandmother for lunch @ BlueFin in Rome (great sushi/Asian restaurant). It was pretty much just my mom and I the whole weekend since Ryals and my dad went to Athens to see the Dawgs whoop up on Tennessee!

Friday afternoon mom and I got our nails done and started getting ready for the rehearsal and dinner. The rehearsal was at Georgia's family home since both the ceremony and the wedding were taking place there. I was amazed to see that her yard had been transformed with a massive tent, tons of bamboo chairs and new landscaping for the event. It was so nice to hang out with high school pals and Georgia's college friends. Also nice was that they were pouring wine at the rehearsal (woohoo).

After rehearsing we crammed in cars and headed downtown to the Forest Place ballroom where the rehearsal dinner was being held.

Lauren, Tiffany (aka T) and Helen:



T and Lauren on the way!



I was so impressed with the dinner. There was a cocktail hour with open bar and appetizers being passed. The appetizers were mini ramekins of macaroni and cheese and shot glasses full of chili cheese fries - both the groom's favorite foods and so cute! The setting was beautiful with black and green decorations (to correspond with the wedding theme).



Teddy works as a manager for Jason's Deli so his groom's cake was a replica of a club sandwich - so cool and a REALLY good cake! I like that they served it at the rehearsal dinner:



Me and my date!



Saturday I attended the bridesmaid's lunch @ the Coosa Country Club. It was great with mimosa's, quiche and cheese grits. Georgia gave us all monogrammed tote bags from Land's End and I have already used mine many times!

All the girls posing at the luncheon:



Since I did not have to be at Georgia's house until 4, I stopped by to visit with my sweet Mimi (who has recently been in the hospital and was at home resting) who lives by Georgia's house to hang out with her. I headed home and met up with my mom and other grandmother to watch the GA game. I was so happy that we beat our four game losing streak and beat the Vols! We even let Georgie (our dog) come in and watch!

I couldn't get over this pic I snapped of Georgie watching Aaron Murray score a touchdown!



I quickly got ready and jumped in the car with Rebecca (who was keeping the guest book) to head over to see the beautiful bride! Georgia was so pretty in her dress and all the bridesmaids looked great!

Good shot of T and the bride - loved the bridesmaid dresses!



Childhood buds!



Obsessed with her mother's dress from Saks! She looked fab!



The bride striking a pose! She wore a family heirloom dress and veil that was remade for her special day and I loved it!



It was so special that the whole event was spent at her home. I loved the rustic green and white arrangements and being able to be inside her house and out in her yard. The night was spent dancing, drinking champagne and eating New Orleans inspired food. The weather could not have been better. At the end of the night, waiters passed around silver trays full of KRYSTAL burgers! I loved it!

Congratulations to the Woollers - hope you are enjoying Anguilla!