Evergreen Week

Last week was Evergreen Week , which is time that management takes to celebrate and recognize their employees. It kicked off with a food drive for a local charity. The winning team would win a "Beat the Traffic" ticket. The Comp & Executive Comp team won!!! Compensation brought baby pictures in and we spent the week trying to guess which was which. Actually kinda difficult on some. Wednesday was our Comp & Benefit Tailgate Party. The managers were treating us to hot dogs and everyone was bringing snacks to go along with our all day partying. We also got to wear blue jeans that day, which is a rare treat! Thursday was the Amazing Race. I partnered up with Kim for this event. We had challenges and clues to locate along with over coming detours (some planned as a part of the game and one not) in and around the building. Lessons learned: (1) eight tootsie rolls are too many to put in your mouth at one time & (2) the physical location of the county courthouse versus the federal courthouse. Overall, it was the best event! Then, Friday morning we had our HR Department breakfast. It was a great week!

Declined

I didn't get the job :-(

The Town

Sunday afternoon we watched The Town movie. It was better than I expected and I did enjoy it. Loved Ben Affleck in the movie too!

Railroad Park

Sunday morning we headed downtown to check out the new Railroad Park that had open the previous day. It was 19 acre green space designed to celebrate both the industrial and artistic heritage of the city. Of course, the trains are visible as they drive pass the park, hence the name! We walked the entire trail checking out everything there. Two cute playgrounds for kids, skateboarding site, pavilion and water features. It was great to see recycling bins located in the park. It was educational to see the history timeline displayed at the main entrance. Not being from Bham, there were many events that I was not aware of prior to reading. Really neat how they incorporated recycled bricks into brick walls around the park. Also loved seeing the park rangers riding green Regions bike as they patrolled the park! Looking forward to visiting on my lunch break and eating a boxed lunch from the vendor. Will have to come back and post pictures later.

Walking

My husband and I are trying to squeeze in a walk in the evenings. Man, we have some hills in our neighborhood!

If I had . . .

a million dollars! Every morning I drive past some pretty homes. One of the houses that I always look at is now up for sale. Too bad its listed for 1.6 million dollars! Wow, but it does have a pool.

Nice

I saw a Ferrari this morning!!!! It was so pretty and had a sweet sound as it drove past me on the Red Mountain Expressway . . .

Staycation Day 4

Today we ran a little slower! Took the dogs out to play late in the morning. Man it was hot, where did that cool weather go? Afterwards we ran to Hoover to run some errands. Michael needed a UT color mat for his football picture he wanted framed. I picked up a frame for one of my old sorority pictures. Then we headed to Moe's for a little lunch. Then off the the mall as I searched for small AU & UT flags for the front yard. Found the Auburn one, but will be waiting for them to order the Tennessee one. Got home and put the flag up! Looks good and now we are displaying team spirit.

Jasmine ready for her toy. . .

Catching it in the air. . .

and on the ground!

Auburn walking to see me.

Running for his ball.

Moonflowers

Nine Lovely Blooms
Close Up of Three

Just One

Staycation Day 3

Wow, what a day!

Today we planned to look at the antique stores located in downtown Birmingham. The first place on the list turned out to be in the Pepper Place Market, which is somewhere that neither my husband nor I had ever visited before. Turns out this is the location of the early 1900s Dr. Pepper Syrup & Bottling Company and Martin Biscuit Company. We visited shops. My favorite was the General Store which had Alabama made food, pottery, jewelry and gifts. I am totally going back for some Christmas gifts this year. Also, hope to attend the farmer's market one of these Saturdays.

The last antique shop on our list may just be a winner for us. We have been searching for a buffet/sideboard for our formal dining room that will blend with our current dining table. This has been a challenge. My husband actually liked this piece first and it has grown on me. All we know is that it is an English oak buffet and that it is currently 50% off the asking price. It is unique and we are pondering our options.

Our evening plans were to attend The Cocktails In The Gardens event held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. This event was located in the Hill Garden area. Music performed by Hunter Lawley. We drank wine/beer and sampled on some yummy hors d' oeuvres - mini pulled pork sandwiches, Kobe beef sliders, mac & cheese tarts, herb marinated chicken & tortellini, mini grilled cheese sandwiches, grit cake and olive and fruit pie shooters. Picked out a lovely butterfly necklace from the gift shop before leaving. We had a great time and would love to attend another event in the future!

Meanwhile, we had the Auburn & Mississippi State football game recording. As soon as we got home we started watching the game. Had me worried there towards the end of the 4th quarter, but AU pulled it off with a win of 17-14.

After that I switched over to the season premier of the CW's Vampire Diaries!

Dr. Pepper Company Building

Martin Biscuit Company Building

The General Store

English Oak Buffet

Cocktails In The Garden

Staycation Day 2

We have been spoiling the dogs this week. Usually we put them up at night, but this week we have left them lose and of course they sleep in our room. We got them a little off schedule with potty breaks with our running around that day. Thus, at 3am my little Auburn started pacing in the hallway and then walks over to my side of the bed and goes into repeat mode. I got up to take him out and of course Jasmine wanted to go too. Might as well take her then. Needless to say, I slept in this morning! By the afternoon we were headed to Trussville to check out an antique store. As we pulled up, I asked if the place was an old school. My husband informed me that it was an old nursing home. Interesting. Saw some neat pieces but didn't see what I was looking for which be a buffet or a sideboard. On our way back we ate lunch outside in the Cahaba Village - Newks for me and the Noodle House for Michael. Stopped in Whole Foods to see if they had the wine my dad told us was on of his favorites, but didn't see it. Next stop was the Pottery Barn at the Summit. Michael actually saw a buffet that he liked, unfortunately it was mahogany and would not match our decor. Oh, well. While looking at this piece, we did notice that they had empty wine bottles staged in the decor, one of which happened to be the kind we were looking to find for my dad! Beef tips and rice for dinner as we watched The Killers movie on tv. We actually enjoyed it!

Staycation Day 1

This week my husband and I are both out on vacation, however it will be a staycation this week. Day one started with a trip to the eye doctor. We were both well over due. Turns out according to the doctor, I'm a reliable test taker! Due to my poor vision I get to take additional tests and pictures (referred to my husband as video games) which causes our trip to take about two hours. Next stop, Green Valley Drugs for lunch. Yes, lunch! I had never been here to eat but I had coworkers talk about going. I believe this place has been in business since the 60's. Ate the cheeseburger and fries and ate a little of my husband's chocolate malt - yummy. From, there we headed over to the Antique store in Hoover. I'm looking for either a buffet/server or a china cabinet to go in our formal living room. Saw one piece that looked neat, but didn't wow me. Not sure if it is because I have my heart set on hanging these two butterfly prints and this furniture would of been too tall. Nonetheless, I love looking at furniture and did see neat items. Final stop, Alabrew in Pelham for my husband to check out. He is looking into making homemade wine and they have the supplies needed. Looks like the starter kit is about $80. Sounds like an item to add to ones Christmas list!

Fabric Store Hopping

I have been hopping from one fabric store to another! We bought some UA pink & white fleece but had the hardest time finding a pink to match for the other side. Went back this weekend and still no such luck and they were out of more UA fleece at the location on 280. Headed over to the Hoover area to check out Jo-Ann's Fabric store for the first time. Wow, there was a ton of material! I even found the shade of pink fleece that I needed. But they had no UA material. So, we went to the Hancock's Fabric store around the corner and found what we needed. So, I am now making three UA fleece blankets to give as baby shower gifts. I hope the families really enjoy, as it was painful for an Auburn & Tennessee fans to bring that team spirit logo, aka crap, into our house!!!!

BTW, September is National Sewing Month!!!

Labor Day Weekend

No big plans for us this weekend, other than taking it easy. We grilled steaks and asparagus to go along with our baked potato. Enjoyed a nice glass of red wine too as we watch the When in Rome movie on tv.

Momma & Baby

Sunday morning, the dogs and I were sitting out on the deck. Auburn started barking and when I looked up, I saw a momma and baby deer passing through the yard. This was probably the smallest baby deer that I had seen in a long time. Wish I had my camera!

I see you

I had just let Jasmine out to potty and I sat down on the stairs connected to our deck when I noticed a deer staring at us in the backyard. I quickly coaxed Jasmine to come back inside, for had she seen it she would of chased after it. I went inside to get the camera. As I walked closer to snap a picture, we really need a zoom lens, it saw me and casually walked into the woods.

Cow

Wednesday at work we had the Chick-fil-la cow make an appearance! Passed out coupons for some free stuff. Love that!

Oneonta vs Susan Moore

Tuesday night we traveled to Oneonta for the JV football game, so we could see my niece cheer again. Got there just in time for the game. Unfortunately, I wore the wrong color shirt and thus looked like I should of been sitting on the other side of the field! We sat with Aiden & Chris for most of the game. Moved closer to get a few shots of my niece and their half time routine. So glad we could make it to the game!