Happy Halloween!

Yesterday we celebrated Halloween. True, it was a day early, but the city of Columbus decided that trick-or-treating would be on Saturday night, so we went with the flow.  All we did was visit my Mamaw's house and our friends, The Kelly's house, but we did get some decent candy there!  Our little cowgirl was adorable with her pigtails and she really got into the spirit!  When we got home we had droves of trick-or-treaters and finally had to turn out lights out by 8pm before the next wave wiped us out completely (we didn't want to have to dive into Rylie's stash).  Here are a few pictures of Rylie's 2nd ever Halloween!  Next year should be even more exciting with Rowan here too!  Happy Halloween ya'll  =)

Trick or treating at Mamaw's house!

Look at all that candy!!

Kissed by her favorite Ninja Turtle...Julianne!

Yay! Halloween was a hit!

I hope ya'll all have a safe and Happy Halloween!  Tomorrow we'll be travelling up to Atlanta to spend the night a block from Egelston Children's Hospital (at Emory University) and we'll be reporting to the out-patient surgery department at 7:30am.  Rylie's surgery is at 9:30am and should last an hour or so.  Please lift her up in prayer (and us). I'm just ready for this to be over with and for them to hand me my post-surgery baby back...that's the moment I'm looking forward to.  I'll keep you all updated via Facebook or Twitter. Love.

Weekend Ready + A Game of Tag

I'm very excited about this weekend.  Today Rylie has her first ever school/class Halloween party!  Sadly I will miss some of it to go to the OB and take my dreaded glucose test, but my amazing Dad is going to stay with Rylie until I get there (because he's the best Papa a Rylie could ever have!). I hope to get plenty of pictures of the festivities. Then on Saturday morning we have Christmas Made in the South!  We've been going to this arts and crafts event for years and love it!!  We've assembled a great little group of us women to all go down there and have fun on Saturday morning.  Saturday night we'll take Rylie trick-or-treating.  I'm not sure what our exact plans are yet, but we'll be sure to get lots of pics then too.  I'm going to try and focus on all the fun this weekend and not Rylie's upcoming surgery on Tuesday, if I think too hard about that I'll just worry myself silly. Below is a survey that I borrowed from my fantastic cousin Jessica.  She's my fashion inspiration and an awesome blogger. If you feel so led, blog your own responses to the questions. I love reading about all my bloggy friends!  So if you blog and you read this, consider yourself tagged! I hope everyone has a safe an happy Halloween!!

Tagged...

I kickstart my day with... Coffee. My husband grinds the beans himself every night and brews it first thing in the morning. He even delivers my coffee ready-made in the morning (half & half and splenda in it) in my favorite mug...b/c he's THE best.

Other daily essentials... iphone, Carmex chapstick, my baby and husband.

Recent splurge...no REAL splurges lately, we have a baby on the way. The most I've splurged is when Jason and I bought a bevvy of Yankee Candle's this weekend ($76 worth of candles for $24...love coupons).

Dreaming about...my baby boy...and my nephew...can't wait to meet them.

Beauty indulgence...the occasional pedicure (I'm in great need of one now). Other than that I'm obsessed with dark fall nail colors (but they don't have to be expensive).

Can't stop watching...Glee. Jason and I am late to this game, but we were fast fans.  We're watching Season 1 on Netflix and slightly obsessed. We are true "Gleeks".

Top shop...Well, clothes really aren't my thing lately since I'm pregant (no huge investment pieces are going to be bought now). Lately I've been enjoying Target, TJ Maxx and Amazon.com.  When I'm not preggo I'll be scouring the stores for some new cute clothes!

Working out to...ok that's it. I'm going to be walking my preggo booty more. I've been slacking off for sure.  But a few months ago my beloved workout mix on my iphone consisted of OK Go, The Ting Tings, Kesha, Jamirquai, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Daft Punk and more.

Signature scent...I don't really have one...I need one. Suggestions? I currently use the Sweet Pea body spray from Bath and Bodyworks...sad but true.

You won't find me...on the phone much. I hate talking on the phone unless it's to my husband/sister/Mom. Otherwise I'm not a fan. Email me, text me, FB message me or tweet me. Please?

I heart...my family and friends. I'm so incredibly in love with my husband and Rylie that it's unreal.  Besides my little family unit I have a huge and awesome family.  I'm not a person who has TON's of friends, but recently I've made some very dear and true friends...and I heart them very much too!

Wordless Wednesday: Baby in Red

Pumpkin Banana Bread

It's no secret that I'm a bit pumpkin crazy lately. I'm also quite thrifty when I need to be too! Yesterday morning I walked through my kitchen and realized I had 2 bananas that needed to be used NOW. I also knew I had 1/2 a can of pumpkin in my fridge that was about to get thrown out if I didn't use it soon (the other 1/2 can went in the pancakes last week). With this knowledge in hand I consulted Google and found a few recipes I liked and edited them until I came up with this delicious Pumpkin Banana Bread.

Here are the ingredients, you probably have most/all of these in your kitchen now.

Mix your wet and dry ingredients separately and then slowly mix them together (in 3 parts).

Spray the loaf pan with cooking spray and dust it generously with cinnamon/sugar.

Pour in the loaf pan and bake @350 degrees for 45min-an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool...I promise your house will smell amazing at this point!

Slice, slather with butter and enjoy!

Pumpkin Banana Bread

2 Mashed Ripe Bananas

1 cup(or 1/2 a can) Pumpkin Puree

2 T Canola Oil

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

2 C Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

2/3 C Sugar

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp Cinnamon

*For the cinnamon/sugar I mixed about 2-3 tbsp of sugar and a tsp of cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease loaf pan and set aside. Combine mashed bananas, pumpkin, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, add remaining ingredients. Add the dry ingredients in about 3 parts. Stir the batter after each addition until smooth. Combine your cinnamon and sugar in a separate bowl and then sprinkle mix into bottom and sides of greased pan. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 45 min to hour or until toothpick placed in center comes out clean.

5 Things: Random

Morning! It's Monday and I'm sitting here sipping my coffee. Rowan is doing his morning calestenics in my belly and I'm thinking about the week ahead. Here are 5 things that are on my brain lately. Enjoy (or scratch your head at) my randomness.

1. One week from tomorrow my baby has a 2nd surgery on her eyes. I'm scared, nervous, worried, anxious and just ready for it to be over with. This surgery will be 11 months and 1 day after her first surgery. Last time she was 10 1/2 months old, would go to anyone that wanted to hold her and was completely unaware of what was going to happen to her that morning. Now she's almost 2 and it's not the case anymore. She knows something us up in doctor's offices, she's very clingy to her own little family and when she's not happy about something she'll make sure everyone knows. I'm not worried about how the surgery will go. I adore her doctor and have full confidence in the surgical process, I just anticipate many more tears this time (from her and I) and I just want this surgery behind us. Please pray for us!

My baby pre-surgery.

Look at how small and chubby she was! And how much more hair she has now!

Immediately post-surgery with Daddy.

2. On a lighter note. I'm way excited about the Rocky Horror Picture Show episode of Glee this week!! Yes, my husband and I are new found "Gleeks". We just started watching the show a few weeks ago and love it! The musical numbers are SO good and the range of music they perform on there is incredible! We admit it, we love music...so when we decided to try this show we were hooked! This week is the Halloween episode and they're doing Rocky Horror Picture Show music....which is admittedly a weird movie but for some reason as a senior in High School I loved this movie. I love most musicals...as a teenager I had the soundtracks to Annie, West Side Story, The Phantom of the Opera, and yes Rocky Horror in my car. When I met Jason he told me that he had been to a dozen or so live viewings of Rocky Horror in the theater (you know, the ones where they dress up and add their own dialogue during the movie). Weird and random thing I loved about him. So yes, call me a "gleek" think I'm a little strange, but I am pumped up for tomorrow's Glee episode.

Image source (here)

3. I'm a little worried I won't pass my 1-hour glucose test this week at the OB's office. When I was pregnant with Rylie I failed by something crazy like 5 or 6 points and had to go back for the agonizing 3-hour test. I passed that with flying colors...it was just a pain to have to sit there for 3+ hours and have them draw blood from me 4 times. Amy also failed her 1-hour test a few months (by 4 pts) ago and had to take the 3-hr. For her they just pricked her finger 3 times...but still annoying...and she passed just fine. I'm just hoping that I don't have to go through the 3-hour test, and if I do...I hope I pass it! I sure have been enjoying things like Pumpkin Spice lattes, Pumpkin Scones, and possibly some Pumpkin Donuts (SO good from Dunkin Donuts). Yes...I have a sugar AND a pumpkin problem. My test is Friday...here's hoping I pass!

How can something wrong taste SO right?

4. I have a confession. After doing my crafty makeovers I think I have a problem. I'm obsessed with doing crafty makeovers. I constantly read blogs like The DIY Showoff and have ideas of how to re-do ugly things and make them pretty. Ugly chair at a yard sale for $4? No problem. Spray paint, chic fabric and a staple gun will make it brand new. Outdated brass lamp with ugly pleated shade? Not an issue! With spray paint and a new simple shade that ugly lamp will be super stylish again! Yes. I'm a bit obsessed. I think it's the fact that you can transform things so inexpensively and have such a sense of accomplishment when you're done...did you see my crafty makeovers? I can't wait to do more!

Check out the DIY Project Parade today and join in on the fun!

But keep in mind...below is what Rylie was doing while I was crafting. So this IS a risky obsession =)

Dramatic hair, leopard pants and the use of a whole box of tissues(dramatic much)? Maybe she's auditioning for a spot on the Real Housewives of New Jersey? LOL

5. Despite all the worry I have over my baby going into surgery next week and my glucose test...I feel really blessed to have the husband that I have. I always do, but this morning in particular I'm feeling reminded of how lucky I am. God had such a purpose when he put the 2 of us together. I never ever dreamed that I'd find someone that got my jokes like he does or would take care of me in such great ways. He's amazingly smart, he's such a talented musician, he's SO thoughtful (he's honestly thinking a step ahead of me most of the time), he has my coffee ready for me every morning, opens my car doors and makes sure I get lots of hugs (and I need lots). He makes me want to be a better person....and I couldn't ask for more in a husband. Love you babe!

On that silly note, have a great Monday folks!

Crafty Projects!

The past few weeks I've been planning on doing a few easy crafty makeovers. This week I finally found the time to devote to them. Lots of glue and paint on my hands later I achieved 2 makeovers I was really pleased with. The first was the makeover of a wicker toy basket we have in the living room. Since everything else in our living room is black or dark brown as far as furniture goes I thought the basket looked way out of place...but it fits so nicely over in it's little spot so I decided to use some textured spray paint I already had in the basement and give it a little face lift. A few coats of the "hammered black" spray paint and I think the basket looks great! What do you think?

The next project I attempted was a little more time consuming but I think it turned out very cute! At a huge consignment sale a few weeks ago we bought a shelf for Rowan's room. It needed a little work but I loved that it had moon and star cut outs (since Rowan's room is going to be spaceship themed!). After some research I decided on using Mod Podge to cover the sides of the shelf with craft paper that matched Rowan's room color scheme. This was my first experience with Mod Podge (since I was a teenager). Before I started the entire project I spray painted the shelf white, then I roughed up the surface with a little sanding block and wiped the dust away. Then I measured and cut out the paper and gave it a light spritz of water. After that I applied mod podge (the glossy variety) to the surface of the shelf and carefully used an old debit card to smooth out any air bubbles (for about 2 minutes solid). After about 15 minutes I painted a coat of mod podge over the paper and let it dry. Next I added the second panel of paper in the same way and when I was done put about 2 coats of mod podge over and let it dry. Repeat on the other side of the shelf and then used I some leftover paint from Rowan's room and painted the sides and top of the shelf.

Pics of the process. Sand, measure, mod podge, dry (with a fan).

Yes I used the ugliest of Jason's bachelor bedsheets to cover my table with =)

What do you think? I am quite proud of it =)

Close up

Now that my little projects are done I'm ready to enjoy the weekend ahead. Jason is going to continue moving his office stuff out of what will be Rowan's room and we'll slowly start setting up Rowan's Rocket Room! Only 12 weeks and 2 days until his due date and I'm getting anxious to set up shop in there. I hope everyone has a beautiful fall weekend!

Beef Stew

It's getting a little cooler these days and that means it's time for all those yummy soups and stews that I looooove to cook. I'm especially a fan of anything I can throw in the crockpot and have ready at 6pm when Jason gets home. I've made this stew several times and it's always a hit. It's rich and flavorful, hearty and filling and perfect to soak up with a nice french loaf of bread which is how the husband loves it and the leftovers are even better than they were the day before. I always amend recipes to my liking...hey...that's what I love about cooking (as opposed to baking), it's a free for all, just throw in what you like and move on. Here is the recipe from Allrecipes.com. At the bottom I'll put in my version and if you want to make this you can try their recipe, mine, or throw in whatever you like to eat! First of all, here are my ingredients (minus the beef broth which I forgot to put in the picture).

As you can see, I omitted the 1 stalk of celery and added mushrooms. I'm not buying a whole bag of celery for 1 stalk...but if it's your thing...add away! You basically toss the meat in the slow cooker with 1/4 cup flour and your seasonings, toss to coat, chop all your veggies and add those, toss it up and add your beef broth. It takes a bit of time to stand there and chop the veggies but it's worth it! The original recipe calls for 1.5 cups of broth but I use a whole pint (sometimes a little less if you like your stew super thick. Here is what it looks like all ready to go.

Put your slow cooker on the low setting and leave it for 6 hours. I promise your entire house will smell amazing. They don't make this smell at Yankee Candle (that'd just be weird), but it will make your mouth water when you walk in the door! Make sure you take your bay leaf (or two...yes...another way I change the recipe) before you eat. Or if you want to have fun, leave it in and the person who gets the bay leaf gets a surprise (I only kid). Butter and toast up your bread and you're left with this delicious dinner (or lunch, or breakfast if that's how you roll).

Simple and delicious Beef Stew. YUM.

Ok, so click on the Allrecipes link if you want the orginal recipe and below here is my changed version. Cooking is fun, so don't stress over exact amounts or ingredients and just enjoy the stew...please? It's a winner!

Beef Stew

1 1/2-2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes (I use kitchen shears to cut mine smaller than what the grocery store sells)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt (I use more, I like a saltier stew)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 clove garlic, minced (I use about 3)

1 bay leaf (I use 2 small ones)

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (I use about 3)

1 onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups beef broth (again, here I use about a pint, one of those cardboard cartons you buy...but use however much you want)

3 potatoes, diced (I use 2 big ones)

4 carrots, sliced

1 stalk celery, chopped (I'm not buying a whole bag for 1 stalk so I omit)

* I add about 2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms an hour before the stew is done.

Directions

Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.

Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

Now go forth and make beef stew ya'll. You won't regret it!

I Can't Wait to be an Aunt!!

One thing that I know I was blessed with in this life is being a twin. Being born an identical twin has been nothing but wonderful for me. I have an ally, a friend, someone I can be completely honest with, someone who knows exactly what I'm going through. Do we have some sort of weird twin-sense or twin-speak? No, not really...but we sort of DO. If you're around someone nearly 24/7 for most of your life, you'd be the same way. When we each got married and were not around eachother so much it was tough, but we make it work. Text, phone calls, Skype, coffee dates, house visits....and we live in the same town!

One of the best things about becoming a mother was watching Amy get to become an Auntie. Rylie adores her and Amy clearly adores Rylie. I know that Amy loves her SO much...you can see it on their face when they're together and it makes me SO happy. Having been a mother for 21 months and knowing how much I love Rylie, I just CANNOT wait for Amy to experience the same love for little Elliot. Seeing her pregnant and becoming a Mama has been one of the best experiences of my life...really it has! She is going to be amazing and I'm sure that I'll learn so much from HER. Selfishly though...I'm JUST as excited to become an aunt! I feel sure I'll love Elliot like he's my own baby. He's only a month away from being here and I've got butterflies in my stomach at the thought of holding him and smelling his sweet baby head! So, Matt and Amy, thanks for (soon) making me an Auntie. I cannot think of any better parents for my little nephew....I just can't wait to meet him!

Love these pics of Auntie and Rylie!!

Wordless Wednesday: My little rascal!

Pumpkin Pancakes

Yesterday morning was a nice relaxing morning. I had some Mill Mountain coffee. Rylie didn't wake up until 8:15 (unheard of for her) and we just relaxed and enjoyed being home! Finally by 10am I decided we needed to eat...and eat GOOD. I pulled up Google and pulled out my griddle and made Pumpkin Pancakes. These happen to be the best pumpkin pancakes I've ever tried thus far. I think the secret is the fact that there is a little bit of vinegar in the wet ingredients which results in the fluffiest pancakes I've ever made. I'll be adding it to future pancake recipes that it doesn't even call for! Here's how to make them...and yes they're from scratch but honestly if you keep a few cans of pumpkin in your pantry (like I do all fall/winter) then you should have all these ingredients handy.

First I mixed all the wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls. I looooove doing this anyways...I feel so prepared if they're all ready to go and then at the moment you mix them the vinegar reacts to the baking soda/baking powder and instant fluffy batter...it's like a cool science experiment!

Look at all the delicious spices and brown sugar in that dry ingredients bowl!

Next you spray (or butter up) a griddle and pour your pancakes out. I like to use a ladle. This batter was particularly thick and bubbly.

A thing of beauty. I think next time I'll add chopped pecans at this stage in the game!

You give the pancakes a few minutes to firm up and then you flip them over. We like ours nice and golden. Believe me, at this point you're mouth will be watering from the aroma alone. At this point I started getting out my butter and syrup (and powdered sugar or sliced bananas if you have them...I was ALL out).

Can I get a yum yum?

When they're done enough for you on the other side, pull them off, butter them up, dress them in which ever manner you see fit and dig in! They will be light, fluffy and taste deliciously like fall! Here is the recipe I used from allrecipes.com I'll note at the bottom how I edited it a little...it just wouldn't be me if I didn't edit a recipe a little, right?

Pumpkin Pancakes

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

1.In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

2.Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

*First of all I scaled this recipe down to 4 servings and I still have 6 pancakes left for Rylie and I eat off of this morning.

**Also, I didn't want to mess with separate spices so I just added about a tablespoon (more or less) of pumpkin pie spice.

***Finally, I added about 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla to the wet ingredients.

Please try these if you have time. You will not be disappointed! I promise =)

...on top of Mill Mountain, all covered in LEAVES...

In 2008 when we went to Mill Mountain I was pregnant with Rylie and just 2 years later she can walk the beautiful trail with us! We're so blessed!

Hi! We're home from our yearly Virginia trip! We had such a wonderful and relaxing time this year spending time with family and friend and visiting some of our favorite places. We were SO sad to pack up and leave on Friday morning but it feels really good to be at home! The trip home was long and hard on Rylie...all day in a car seat is tough for a 21 month old! We're so thankful for our time in Virgina and what amazing family and life long friends we have there. Here is some more recap of our trip.

Ha ha. Sorry my blog title was a little goofy. But I got a laugh out if it, right? This year our trip up to the mountain was considerably warmer than it usually is. Thankfully the leaves had changed some (I've been praying for beautiful leaves for weeks now). No jacket needed this year, but Rylie was quite amazed to see something...her favorite word in the entire world to say...STAAARRR!!!!

Look at the sheer joy on her face upon seeing the Roanoke Star!

Look at how happy they are =)

We let Rylie walk around the overlook area and we took in the beautiful view from way up there. I was thrilled to notice that some of the leaves were in fact changing! From this point you can see Roanoke Valley...what a sight! Here is our annual family picture at the lookout area.

Rylie wasn't terribly interested in staying in one place too long. I think she's really diggin' this walking thing (although she's not quite at expert level yet with her balance). We walked the short trail around and let her look at all the leaves and flowers blooming up there on the mountain. I think her favorite spot was right up on top of Jason's shoulders! She's going to be just like me and LOVE heights. I think she feels like the queen from up there. Here she is on our walk down the the Discovery Center.

Snuggled right up on Daddy =)

I especially love the pictures of Rylie with her Mae Mae!

As many years as I've been going up to Mill Mountain with Jason we've never visited the Discovery Center. It's just a cute little building that has information about the history of Roanoke and about the animals that live in the area. Rylie loved the fact that it was open and flat and she could walk all over the place.

Rylie and Mae Mae making animal tracks in the sand!

I'm so glad it was a beautiful day up there! Rylie really enjoyed herself. I think next year we'll venture into the Mill Mountain Zoo and hope that it's cooler next year when we go up. It was a little hot to be walking around the zoo. Plus we were "hawngry" as we say down here in Georgia! Before we left I snapped this adorable picture of my girl. My my how she's grown since we were here last year!

I'm SO blessed to be her Mama!

After our journey up the mountain we headed to one of my favorite places to eat in Roanoke. I hadn't been back there since my first visit to Roanoke so I was very excited! It's called Wildflour. There are a million healthy options and they make tons of delicious breads and goodies too. The photo is a little blurry but I got a Old Southwest Burrito. It was on the vegetarian options and it came with a delicious salad and tortilla chips. Rylie LOVED it...you can see her hand in the pic trying to get into my sour cream!

Serious deliciousness!

After we ate there we needed something sweet before we headed home so we cruised byBubblecake. I've never in my life had better cupcakes (and cookies and brownies) than they have here. The selection of goodies is set up SO beautifully and the little bakery is in a beautiful house. How can you not love a house with pink shutters? Here is Mae Mae, Jason and Rylie, ready for cupcakes!

Inside is where the real dilemma begins. How do you not get one of each cupcake they're offering that day and how do you choose what to get? LOL. This was what we were faced with.

We decided on 3 cupcakes, a brownie and a cookie! Our flavors of choice were a Berry White, Peanut Butter and Chocolate and Caramel Apple cupcakes, Creme Brulee cookie, and an Extreme Chocolate brownie. When we got home we made sample platters for each of us and devoured our selections. It still took us several days to finish them off. I cannot pick a favorite because they were all SO delicious!

Too many wonderful and fun things happened on this trip to blog about them all but I hope that you enjoyed my recaps of several of our days there. We're SO happy to be home safe and sound and we're already planning where we'll be taking the kids (yes! we'll be a family of 4 by then) next year!

Shoppin' at the Market and a Reunion

Hi there! Another update from our vacation in Virginia. Saturday morning Jason and I decided to head to the downtown market in Roanoke with Catherine for a little sister (and sister-in-law) time. Before doing so we had another fantastic breakfast as a family. With full bellies we left Rylie here with her Mae Mae and headed downtown. I love love love the market downtown in Roanoke. The farmers or vendors back their trucks right up to the sidewalk and sell their food, jewelry, soaps, and crafts in a beautiful bustling area.

I bought some 4 delicious apples from this farmer for $1.50. Locally grown too!

Catherine and I browsed the jewelry and went in a few shops. I couldn't get over how beautiful all the produce was! Gourds, pumpkins, mums and funky looking squash were everywhere too.

I love all the fall colors!

After looking through the market we browsed an art gallery and then walked down to my favorite coffee place in the world. Mill Mountain Coffee. Catherine and I got vanilla latte's and Jason just got a cup of good ole' Mill Mountain blend. We sat down in the back and talked for almost an hour. It did my soul good just to laugh, drink my latte and catch up with my deliciously fantastic sister-in-law. It was incredibly relaxing.

After coffee Jason and I decided since we were downtown we had to grab lunch at The Roanoke Weiner Stand. This place has been around for ages and it's truly a hole in the wall. There is a small bar of seats around the room and a standing table in the middle of the room (with no chairs). The man that works there (that makes all the chili dogs) has been there for 49 years...in the same spot...slingin' chili dogs out for customers. He is a sight to see! The chili almost tastes like it has a hint of cinnamon in it?

After lunch we had to head home, spend some time with Rylie and then get ready to head out to Jason's 20th High School reunion. I was nervous I'd be overdressed or under dressed or disliked, out of place. None of that happened. We just had a great time. Jason has such a great group of friends from high school. They were so welcoming and had such nice things to say about him. My heart was happy because I could see how happy he was just to be around these guys.

Here we are before heading off to the reunion.

We had a fantastic time but wow did my feet hurt when we left Appomattox around 11:15pm. We're usually fast asleep by then. We then made the journey back to Roanoke and got in bed around 1:20am which is unheard of for us. Thankfully Rylie slept until 8am! Yay...she did her folks a favor and let us get some good rest. Today we took it easy until around lunch time. We headed out to the mall and I realized just how much damage I'd done to my feet last night. My feet NEVER got swollen when I was pregnant with Rylie, well today I feel like I have sausage feet (I'm sure the piece of country ham I had for breakfast didn't help with all the swelling). After hobbling out of the mall we went to Macado's. Jason says that they're a reigonal thing. We certainly don't have them in the deep south. The menu was giant. Any sandwich you can image. I got a Cowpoke, Jason got the Titanic and Rylie got a PB and J. They were all amazing and we came home w/ half of each sandwich and 2 blondie brownies to go.

Sooooo delicious! My Cowpoke sandwich from Macado's.

After Rylie's nap we headed over to Catherine's apartment for a delicious dinner. Homemade spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread and cookies! We had such a great time. Catherine has such a beautiful apartment and has such a gift with decorating and crafting. Now we're home, Rylie is in bed and yes, my feet are up. We're not sure what adventure awaits us tomorrow, but we're excited to be here. Now if we can just get some delicious sleep. Gnight!