Friends, Food and a Baby Bump!

This past weekend involved some much needed girl time with some of my best friends! There is a group of about 10 of us that were all sorority sisters in college and still are very close. We will make up an excuse for just about anything to be able to have a get together. So it was only appropriate that we celebrate the first baby in the group by having a slumber party! It was a night filled with lots of food, laughs, games, wine and great company!

Is it sad when you plan out things with

each other up to a year in advance???

Awesome Diaper Cake that Jamey made!

Reliving our day in college.

Me with the Mama to be.

Cheers to starting a new chapter in our lives...BABIES!

(and yes those are sippy cups we were drinking out of!)

Friday night wife...

So this past weekend was great... we did NOTHING. Well some would said we did, but at the rate we have been going lately staying in town on a weekend in considered nothing. We had planned on grilling out Friday night and enjoying the evening on the deck, but nature had other plans and it poured for hours! Bella was not a happy camper about the rain.

Look at that pitiful face!

So since the grilling out was not going to be happening that night I decided I would be a domestic lit wife for the evening and whip up something.

Thanks to my good friend Mrs. Smith who had just posted about a yummy recipe in her blog.

I followed her recipe but I did add chicken to mine.

And after 2 hours slaving cooking in the kitchen we had a nice little dinner to enjoy in the dining room! :-) It always make me happy to eat in there.

After having a quiet evening at home we decided we would go out and about Saturday night. We had planned on going to a restaurant her in town called Yazoo's just for an appetizer and drink. We hadn't been there since we first started dating so we wanted to check it out before committing to eating dinner there. Good thing we didn't have or heart set on it because it is CLOSED! No telling how long it has been, but we just never go over that way. So we decided to head to Epiphany Cafe and do the same thing, get an appetizer and drink, just to check out the place, and then head across the street to Chuck's for sushi.This turned out to be the best decision we have made in a long time. It is our new favorite spot. We of course love Chuck's because of the sushi but we were so impressed with Epiphany it was hard for us to leave. Everything on the menu is from local farms so the menu changes a few times a week depending on what they get in.

We sat at the bar with a very friendly/helpful bartender named Anthony. I told him I wanted something fruity and just to make me whatever he was good at. Well he made me a watermelon martini. And I am not talking about with watermelon liquor... I am talking about freshly cute YELLOW watermelon. It was super yummy!

They have 1/2 price appetizers Monday - Thursday from 5 to 7. We will definitely be going back again soon. Always fun to find a new "spot".

We ended the evening with meeting up with some friends and then headed on home. We aren't as young as we use to be! :-)

2 Years down, a lifetime to go!

Well today is our 2 year anniversary! It is crazy how the time flies by so fast. Ted and I had decided that we weren't going to really do anniversary gifts this year. Between our trips, a new vacuum, things around the house... we gift ourselves enough already. However a lit surprise waiting on me when I got back from lunch never hurt anybody!

Happy 2 years to the best husband in the world!

This was the happiest day of my life!

And this is why there is never a dull moment with us...

But he is a keeper...

(Sorry it is proof,  I didn't have another one on the computer. Thanks to The 215 in Gadsden for the awesome

photos of our special day.) 

The Windy City...

As I mentioned in a previous post Ted and I got to travel to Chicago during June. I had to go for work so he tagged along as well. We squeezed as much as we possibly could during our 5 days there, which is very tiring when you have to work all day too. So here is a few pictures from our trip!

Cubs Game!

It was extremely HOT!

Exploring around Wrigleyville!

Went to a bar called the Houndstooth... see Alabama representation in the back.

This is a local beer that is pretty tasty, and I am a self proclaimed "beer snob". (because I don't really like it that much)

This is Sue... the largest T-Rex in the world.

She lives at the Field Museum.

Navy Pier

Architectural Boat Tour

By far the best thing we did there!(well the Cubs game was really good too)

 I think I took about 500 pictures of buildings. It is really interesting to find out the story behind each one.

Found a local lit Blues bar one night after dinner. I think you have to be a big fan of Blues music to appreciate it but Ted really enjoyed it.

Went on a sunset dinner cruise.

As you can see... this is the BEST way to see the city!

No we didn't go to this, I just liked how the picture turned out.

Thanks Chicago for a great time!

(and me getting a little work done along the way)

War and LoveS...

After being in our house for a little over a year now, I have a continuous WAR on pet hair! Don't get me wrong, I would not trade Bella Baby for the world, but her hair is a different story.

I mean how could you not love that sweet little face?!?!?

We have a combination of carpet, tile and hardwood in our house, all of which have a different method of cleaning. I have tried it all... vacuum, broom, mop, steamer, swifter, if it is out there, I have tried to conquer this never ending battle.
Well when my vacuum of over 6 years went out 2 weeks ago I started doing my research. And I knew it had to be done fast!
So now I would like to introduce you to the new love in my life.
Drumroll please...

The Dyson DC14

I CAN NOT imagine my life complete without it. I consider myself a pretty good little housekeeper. And let me just tell you that I am not sure if I was more impressed or embarrassed after the first time I ran this little piece of machinery through the house. Pure amazement! However I am pretty sure I was more embarrassed hence why I didn't take any pictures of the aftermath! And note... this is just the entry level of the Dyson family! Nothing fancy just a wonderful piece of work that I will never live without again!

Now even though this is just the entry level Dyson, they aren't known for their small price tags. I have been known by a few to be a bit on the thrifty side. I love finding a good deal, sale, coupon... I consider it a challenge and I get a high from NOT paying full price for something. So you can imagine my excitement when I found it at another one of my "loves"... Treasure Hunt!

What is Treasure Hunt you ask? It is paradise right here in Tuscaloosa, AL! Ok... well maybe not paradise for EVERYbody, but I love it! Some of you might have heard of Hudson's or Dirt Cheap, well this is similar but this is the King of them all! (and not quite as dirty) Anywho, it was there, I spotted it, still in box, never been opened and 40% off! I swear a beam of light shined down on it at that moment! I registered with Dyson online to insure my 5 year warranty and now I won't have to live a day without it in my life ever again! Ahh the joy!!

Traveling far and wide...

So it turns out that 2 blog posts in 1 day was, in fact, me being majorly over excited. It's been a couple of weeks now since those posts and I am just now able to stop to catch my breath to think about another one! We have been what seems to be around the world and back the last few weeks! So it might take a few posts to catch up. But  here is a glimpse in our life for the time being.
First stop on our tour : CHICAGO!!!

This photo was taken on our dinner cruise! It was stunning to see the city from the water at night!

From that we head to there we then headed to the big city of Prattville, AL for the celebration of the "Nelley Wedding"!

Here is all the girls with the beautiful bride!

Then from there we headed down to the beautiful beaches of Destin, FL for the 4th of July and to celebrate the engagement of our friends Chad and Ashley!

The whole group enjoying day on the beach.

Right after Chad proposed!

So once I get uploading and editing  all 2,000 something pictures I will post in more detail about our adventures. We had a great June and 1st of July and now The Bakers are looking forward to some much needed down time!