Early this summer I had a weekend get together with my college friends. We have scattered across the Southeast and each summer try to get together. This year we have even decided to take a fall beach trip together! Even though we don't see each other as often as we did in college (which was like everyday), the time I do get to spend with them is so sweet. We are real with each other and as one of my friends stated, "Time with this group is soothing to the soul."
JP and I spent the Fourth of July visiting my sweet Granny Evelyn in Nashville. We took her for lunch at Longhorn for steak. While we were up there, we also got a table that she gave us. This is quite an old table made in the 50s or 60s (not sure but I'll have to check on that) and I'm excited to have it.
Later in the month of July, my other sweet granny, Granny Ruby, turned 90! I was unable to go but my Mom and Aunt took her to North Carolina where she is from. While there they took her to the college she went to. Of course a lot had changed since she was a student, you know... like the addition of a computer lab, but there were still areas that she recognized. Here she is on the wall where they used to all hang out.
The big news of the summer is the fact that we bought a house. There will be a post devoted to that coming up... hopefully sooner than later. As a result, we have been spending a lot of time (and money) at Home Depot. You gotta love the orange! This picture as taken on our very first trip. During this trip, JP insisted we go down EVERY aisle. And we did. After three hours, we finally were done. Towards the end I got to the point where I would just sit on the floor while he looked at stuff. Then I got bored and started taking pictures. Since then we have made several trips. I am friends with the people at the paint counter.
Probably my favorite part of the summer is when we dressed up like cows to get free Chickfila. Cow Appreciation Day was actually the same day we closed on our house, July 8. We closed at 4pm. We had brought our cow costumes with us, changed in the car, and headed straight to Chickfila. I suspect that is not the normal thing to do after closing on a house.
In mid-July, my Mom, Sister, and I went visited Point Clear, AL to stay at the Marriott Grand. There will be a complete post on this to come.
At the beginning of August, JP and I traveled with his family to Hilton Head for a week. Again, a complete post to follow.
JP and I also both got a year older in August. Yep, he married an older woman. For 6 days, he is a different day than me. We both were actually in Hilton Head on our birthdays so that was fun. And yes, I made him wear his Disney World birthday button. Now worries, I wore mine too.
Speaking of Disney World, my Sister got to go to Disney World this summer with PWC, who she got a job with. Prior to her arrival she received an email with instructions to learn a dance- thing Step Sing type dance if you are familiar with it. She had to learn this dance because they were going to do a Flash Mob at Disney World. Once they got there only a few of the close to 1000 people got to do the main part of the dance. I am so proud of my Sister because she was one of the ones chosen to do the main part! If you know how much I love Disney World, you should know how excited I was that she got this dream of an experience!
Towards the end of August my good friend Amanda came from Atlanta to help me paint a room in the new house. She brought her cute puppy Maisie. Once we were done painting we took Maisie for a walk at Samford, and of course she had to meet Mr. Beeson.
I also have been trying a lot of new recipes this summer, especially at the beginning of the summer. In my opinion, these are not only easy but also are great tasting. Plus they all provide enough food for more than one meal... if you are just cooking for two. You should check them out!
Santa Fe Chicken Salad
Southwestern Egg Rolls (or as JP calls them, burritos)- note: I brushed with olive oil instead of using cooking spray. I also added shredded chicken once and shrimp another time. The recipe has no meat.
Apple Almond Chicken Salad (note: I did NOT make the mayo like the recipes. I used good ol' store bought)
Alright, so hopefully I will be back soon with further details on some of this stuff!
