The Night the Stars Feel on Alabama

This past Sunday on a Sunny Afternoon over 35,000 Parrotheads in need of some Changes in Latitudes and Changes in Attitudes, packed up their Fins, donned their finest tropical garb, and headed Back to the Island {well...to Gulf Shores, Alabama} for a free concert featuring Mr. Margaritaville himself, Jimmy Buffett! Now that the Coast is Clear it was time to celebrate our beautiful beaches and help the local economy by Spending Money.



Bret and I were amazed at the crowds that were Bigger than the Both of Us could have ever imagined. Barefoot Children played in the sand while fans from Biloxi to the Coast of Carolina enjoyed a little Barometer Soup and a Cheeseburger in Paradise. With many a Jolly Mon downing Boat Drinks like they were water, it was obvious that Come Monday some would be feeling a little like they'd just eaten a few Fruitcakes leftover from 1980. And then there was one over-the-top man destined to wake in the morning with A Permanent Reminder of a Temporary Feeling when he saw his Rastarfarian braids {a huge Jamaican Mistaka} and Pencil Thin Mustache {Making it look like He Went to Paris instead of Alabama} starring back at him through the bathroom mirror.







Though it was clear that the Natives Were Restless Tonight, we did our best to meet up with one of my best blog buddies, Same Sweet Girl: Memoir of a Southern Belle. Amy was kind enough to send us a pair of extra tickets {Thanks again, girl!} But, Who Are We Trying to Fool? Between the crowds and the concert equipment I would've had more luck sending Amy a Coconut Telegraph than trying to call and text on my iphone. I might as well have been Somewhere over China, I simply could not get a message through. For long stretches of time we were Incommunicado, then suddenly a text would make it through. We'd race to a new location only to have missed Amy and her friends by mere minutes at times. Basically, If the Phone Doesn't Ring, It's Me. I tried everything I could think of to get my phone to work, but trying to reason with technology at times is like Tryin' to Reason with Hurricane Season, a complete waste of time!


Amy and her husband---We missed each other by five minutes here at the Hangout!

As the night Stars Feel on Alabama, it was Time to Go Home. Though this part of the story didn't have a Happily Ever After storybook ending for me and my long-distant friend, Someday I Will meet Miss Amy. Only Time Will Tell where and when! And between now and then the Stories We Could Tell will grow and only get better.


Every time this snazzy golf card whizzed by I cracked up. So of course I had to get Bret to snap a picture.









This was a Semi-True Story, but it's My Story and I'm Sticking to it!



{All italicized words are actual Jimmy Buffett song titles. Click here to see his entire music anthology.}

Click here to enter my newest giveaway (a $45 value), courtesy of Jumping Jax Designs.

We're Back...(Part 1)

After several weeks with little in the way of new posts, I've finally found the time to sit down and blog. So what besides a teething 7 and 1/2 month old has been keeping me too busy to post?
Well, here's a hodgepodge of events from the last week (or two)...

Dining Out
Early in our marriage, Bret and I ate out a lot. We had a fairly impressive stack of take out menus in our kitchen catch all drawer and could've probably dialed the number to Big Lou's pizzeria blindfolded with one hand tied behind our back. Oh how things change! Not as footloose and fancy free as we once were, our dining out habit has been curtailed just a bit. Nowadays dining out takes far more preparation and for lack of a better word, "strategery". And let's just face it, sometimes it just isn't worth all the extra hassle. But at least once a week, we go through all the hoopla and hit a local restaurant for a great family meal. And, every so often, we're fortunate enough to have an extra friend or two tag along.

Blowing raspberries...

Seriously, more pictures? Enough already!

Mrs. Gatewood, Mom (Gammie), and Gillian Grace



Mrs. Gatewood came over for a visit and treated us all to lunch at a local fav, Big Time Diner.

I just love people watchin'!

A little pasta dinner with Gammie and Grandad.

Fridays are my favorite, especially the lunch with Gammie part!

Out of Town
Bret was out of town in Portland, Oregon on business, and as we often do when Daddy is away, Gillian Grace and I headed to my parents' for the week. After all, my man Bon Jovi said it best, "Who says you can't go home, there's only one place they call you one of their own..." Why is it that there are days when I'm home alone with GG that time seems to stand still, but a week spent at my parents' seems to fly by in the blink of an eye? Fortunately for me, Gillian Grace first started showing signs of teething while we were in Pensacola. It was a blessing to have my Mom there to lend a helping hand. While home, I even got to sneak away with the other man in my life, my own Dad, for a half day's trip to Fort Walton and Destin.

Okay Mom, I'm packed and ready!

Shop Til' You Drop
You can ask anyone from family members to former students to name my favorite store and they'll be able to tell you without a second's pause---TARGET! And, it seems that I've done well and successfully passed along my frugalista gene to my lil' one, as she appears to be drawn to the red bullseye as well.



And it was during one of our many weekly runs to Target that I decided to finally leave the stroller in the car and put GG in the buggy. Yes, I know... A real no-brainer for many took a great amount of deliberation on my part. Would she be okay? Was she big enough? Would she slide out? I know, silly right?! Well, needless to say GG loved being in the buggy and our snazzy cart cover allowed me to relax comfortable in knowing that she wouldn't be able to get her mouth near any of the germy cart parts. Ewwww!



More tomorrow...

Love is in the air...

Or, at least on our blog! I could brag and tell you how I spent hours creating this design, but there would be several things wrong with that statement. First and most importantly, it would be a lie. I'm just not that tech savy...yet. And secondly, I just don't have that kind of time...now. I stumbled across this pre-made layout (by Heather at Leelou Blogs) and was able to tweak the title header a bit to make it more personal with the help of an uber-talented friend (thanks, Tracey). Hopefully one day I'll teach myself how to create a blog background of my very own, but until then it's good to have friends with a flair for the fabulous!

Happy Birthday!

A very Happy First Birthday to Baby Jack Reese (future Gator quarterback and boyfriend to one Miss Gillian Grace)!

Jack is celebrating his big 0-1 in grand style, at Disney World. Gillian Grace wants you to say hi to Mickey for her. Enjoy your day, Big Guy!

Lots of Love!

Trimming the Tree

For as many years as I can remember, my Mom has always attended The Gatewood's Ornament Exchange. And, every year since I've been married and had a home of my own I've been vowing to host a Holiday Ornament Exchange of my own. Then as Christmas after Christmas comes and goes I find myself saying, "Okay, next year will be the year..."

Well friends, this was the year! I finally hosted my first Ornament Exchange. Twenty good friends braved the inclement weather (40 degrees with torrential rain) to spend the first evening of December at our house for some holiday revelry. Between the food, wine, and laughter the hours passed quickly and before I knew it, I was closing the door behind my last guest around 10 o'clock. With Mom and Bret's help, cleanup was a snap and the rest of the night was spent reflecting on the success of my first hostessing gig and making notes for next year's soiree.

What holiday parties are you attending or hosting this year?

Front row from left to right: Laurie, Heather, Lynn, Susan, Caroline, Christina, Me, Katrina, Kathy

Back row from left to right: Amanda, Kim, Mom, Elizabeth, Kathryn, Debi, Joan, and Lonnie.

Ready for bed, Gillian Grace gives hugs to Ms. Liza.

Mom and Me

Score! Here's the ornament I was lucky enough to end up with during the exchange game. After having another ornament stolen from me not once but twice, I repaid the favor by swiping this ornament from my neighbor. I knew it would look great on our dining room tree of reds, greens, and golds.