Sleepy Head

I swear all Bella does is sleep! Last night she found a pile of clean towels and she made herself at home. She loves to burrow into a pile of fresh, still warm from the dryer, towels. But seriously, who doesn't love those towels?!

Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite,

S.O.S.

House Hunting

Since my home is on the market, and has an offer on it, I've been hunting. Let's dive right into whats out there.....

The Circle- The rental company wouldn't meet me at the unit. I could "check out the key from the office [which is 40 minutes away from the unit] and return it when I was done looking at the unit." Umm no thank you. I can't even imagine what kind of landlords that company would be. If the wash machine, hot water heater, or ac broke, do I have to drive them to Clayton too??? Come on, work with me folks!

Apartments/Cottages on Grant- Saw 3 different units and eh is about all I can say. Not bad, not great.

2 bedroom/2bathroom condo in Bishop's Park- Got rented while I was making my appointment to see the place. womp womp

2ish bedroom/1 bathroom condo in Bishop's Park- Third floor walk up, no thanks. I can't carry a 40 pound bag of kitty litter that many flights of stairs. However, even though its only 1 bath, its a jack-n-jill bathroom which is nice when sharing with a roommate. The "second bedroom" is really a glorified walk in closet. It really shouldn't be considered a 2 bedroom condo.

Dylan townhouse- Love, love, love. I know several people in the cul-de-sac but its out of my price range.

Cameron Village townhouse on St Mary's St- Ok, but seemed slightly sketchy- the unit, not the neighborhood. The current tenants were moving out, after living there for only one week. Strange. Plus the bathroom ceiling looked like it was going to come down any moment.

Cameron Village townhouse on Wade Ave- They returned the first round of emails but I never heard from them again. I even called and got nothing. Rude.

Duplex on Chamberlain- No.

Duplex off Oberlin- Love! Hoping to go back for a second look!

2-Story Duplex off Oberlin- Way out of my price range!

That is just a taste of all my hunting. Beyond this list, there have been countless unreturned phone calls and emails. Its amazing how ridged some of these people are about showing their places. I would think they would be ready to collect some rental income!

I know I'm on a time crunch but I'm not going to settle. I know the perfect home will appear. I always land on my feet, and this time is no different.

Happy Hunting,

Southern Gal

Natural Science Center

On Saturday morning I took my adorable nephew to the Natural Science Center. We were busy looking at dinosaurs, playing in water tables, looking at tornadoes, and captaining a ship! Baby J, who is no longer a baby, moves faster than the camera on my phone!!

Tools!!! The little boy just beyond my nephew told his mom that J was "awesome" hahaha.

T-Rex!

We got places to go Aunt BB!!

How did you spend your Saturday morning?

xoxo,

Southern Gal

Anticipation + Patience

Growing up I had a friend, Sarah, whose mom, Mary Beth, was my second mom. Our parents met pre-kids and have remained friends for almost 35 years. Mary Beth was far more hippie than my mom had ever been and she had a way of explaining things to Sarah and I beyond the standard "because I said so."

Yesterday, when I was lamenting over where I'm going to live, my mom reminded me of a 'Mary Beth saying.' I thought I would share this little nugget with you, as I have carried this quote with me through my entire life.

"Patience is a virtue, posses it if you can. Seldom found in women, but never in a man."

I have decided that quote will be my mantra for the next few weeks. Do you have any mantras that you live by?

Happy Wednesday,

Southern Gal

Goodbye Charlottesville

Sunday morning we all got packed up and checked out of the hotel. We decided to have brunch together before everyone went their different directions. We found The Pigeon Hole and it was yummy!

I had some egg, black beans, cheesey dish. I feel like all I did was eat my way through the weekend! Time for nothing but fruits and veggies to recover from all those carbs.

Final cheers of the weekend. Another weekend adventure for the books.

Thanks SMH for getting married and including me in all the celebrations! I can't wait to see everyone in Florida for the big day! Until then, safe travels.

xoxo,

Southern Gal

Wine Saturday

Saturday in Charlottesville was fabulous! We started the day with some Panera Bread. I've never had their breakfast before, and let me say I was highly impressed! Excellent coffee and perfect egg and cheese bagel. Thank you for starting my day off right.

Once we were all ready to roll, our party bus arrived. We used Talcott Limo and they were unbelievable. They truly took care of us on our wine adventure!

First winery- Afton Mountain Vineyards

Good wines, and gorgeous setting. We had our own private tasting room with a full view of the property. Thanks to our excellent tour company, we had a picnic lunch at Afton Mountain. We all bought a glass of wine after our tasting and sat out on the patio and enjoyed every moment. Lunch was yummy!

Second winery- Veritas Vineyard

The picture above is LOVE spelled out in wine corks! So cool! How can I make one for my house?!?! Their tasting room was breathtaking and their wines were delicious. I bought a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to enjoy at home.

I love the logo and the tasting glasses!

PS- One of the girls has a great picture of all of us here, under a pergola. Would you email please it to me if you have it?

Third winery- Pollak Vineyards
So at this point I'd had a lot of wine and I didn't take any pictures. I don't really remember the wine. It wasn't spectacular so it didn't leave an impression. However, I did purchase a bottle; hopefully it wasn't a mistake.

Forth and final winery- King Family Vineyards

I took lots of pictures here! We enjoyed the tasting then we each bought a glass of wine and headed out to the patio to bask in the late afternoon sun.

Cheers!!

Moustache love.

All the gals!

Party bus fun

Everyone at the end of a fabulous day! (Sorry for the glare, guess the driver isn't handy with a camera.)

We rallied for dinner and heading downtown for some Thai then we walked around the Mall area. We were all tuckered out so we all fell asleep early.

You should plan to make a trip to Charlottesville. Have you been? What was your favorite winery? I can't wait to go back (still dreaming about Mono Loco!)

Clink!

S.O.S.

Virginia is for Lovers...

...Or to celebrate lovers!

This past weekend I went to VA for a bachelorette weekend. SMH is getting married in April so we packed up and headed north to partake in some wine adventures.

Once everyone arrived in Charlottesville on Friday afternoon, we spotted this gem across the street from our hotel. Aberdeen Barn lays claim to being Virginia's finest steakhouse. Several of the girls were from the Captial City as well so we giggled how it looks like Angus Barn, even down to the logo. We walked over for a drink and the ACC tourney.

We got cleaned up after our round of beers and headed out for dinner at Mono Loco, which is possibly the BEST mexican I have ever had!! I'm still thinking about that dinner. Anyways, someone sent over shots to kick off the celebrations!

Amazing margs!

MOH, Bachelorette, Bridesmaid

I WISH I took a picture of my meal, but I do know that I ordered Pollo Con Queso, yummmmmmm.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel, had cupcakes (courtesy of my new BFF, Swoop Envy) and a lingerie shower for the future Mrs. G. We called it a night in preparation for our early morning. We had our party bus pick us up at the hotel at 11am for our winery tour. Yes, 11 o'clock in the morning!

I don't want to get long winded so I'll share our wine adventures tomorrow!

Bottoms Up!

Southern Gal

Official

Welp, its official. There is now a For Sale sign in my front yard.

Yes, I blacked out the realtor's info. I don't want anyone buying my home!

Sigh,

Southern Gal

Bella Babe

Thursday night I was packing for a weekend trip and I walked into my room to find this...

My sweet babe found a new spot for napping in my dresser. Love her!!

xoxo,

sos

29 Things

1. I can wiggle my ears.
2. I use to want to be a lawyer.
3. Tulips and hydrangeas are my favorite flowers.
4. I would never see my favorite shows if I didn't have DVR.
5. I eat Moe's all the time. Like one of these days, I'm gonna turn into a burrito bowl!
6. I wish I was one of those people that could wash my hair every other day. I'm jealous of those people!
7. I don't mind doing laundry, or folding clean clothes. However, I fail at putting clean clothes away.
8. I want to become a Mac user but I can't justify that purchase.
9. I want to open my own business.
10. Sometimes I skip dinner and go straight for dessert.
11. I need a hair cut.
12. One day I'm going to take a cake decorating class. Does anyone wanna join me?
13. I love yard sales, estate sales, and the flea market.
14. Twenty One is my favorite number.
15. I miss going dance class.
16. I secretly love staying home on a Friday or Saturday night.
17. I'm going to Virginia this month and Florida next month.
18. My Best Friend's Wedding is my favorite movie. I still own it on VHS.
19. My eyes use to be a true brown. Now they are golden. Kinda weird that they've changed color, if you ask me.
20. I love painting furniture.
21. I love spooning with Bella (the cat).
22. I'm a night owl.
23. I'm going for my first spray tan next month. I'm nervous!
24. I'm in my 10th wedding next month. I have so many cool experiences and unforgettable memories while being a bridesmaid.
25. I have a minor obsession with glassware, especially depression glass. I love buying random plates, serving dishes, etc. I really appreciate vintage glass patterns.
26. Maybe I should write down a bucket list. I know sky diving would be on that list. Got any suggestions?
27. I have a bad habit of not opening emails. I currently have 39 unopened emails in my personal account and ohhh maybe 50 un-open emailed in my work account. Opps! Clearly, I'm not worried, but just to clarify, I do open, read, respond to emails that require attention.
28. My hair color is natural. I can't count the number of times I've been asked who does my low/highlights. No one! There is a lady at work that I've known here for 6 years, and she still doesn't believe me!
29. Today is my 29th birthday!

February Weekends

February was a busy month. Enjoy the photo tour of my weekends recap.

Sorry for the poor quality photo its all my phone could do. Anyways, I saw The Remedy play at 42nd Street for a friend's birthday. We had a blast!! I even got the band to sing happy birthday to the birthday girl!!

Late February, I attended a bridal shower. I helped the MOH with menu and set up. The shower was held a cake shop so the atmosphere was perfect. It was a sweet shower. We had a great time and I can't wait to stand beside the bride on her big day in April!

Close up of the cupcakes at the shower. Then my camera died. Fail.

Awww this awesome kid! My sweet nephew was telling me that is Sunday morning biscuit was "haaaaa" aka hot.

Go Canes! Unfortunately, they lost the game I went to last weekend. They lost in double overtime but it was a good game to watch.

What did your February weekends look like?

S.O.S.

Spoke Too Soon

My Monday post, was a premature celebration. Sunday was suppose to be move-in day. Sadly, it is being postponed or possibly canceled.

On Monday I posted about the celebrations then on Thursday MC stopped by the house to get her keys and take some measurements of her new bedroom. The next day my landlord called with huge news. They are putting the house on the market!

OMG, OMG, OMG, is this one gaint joke on me?!

MC decided to sit tight in her current living situation so I don't have a roommate. Now I am faced with many decisions. Do I stay and see what happens? Do I hope that whenever the house does sell, the new landlords will allow me to stay and not raise rent? Do MC and I go look for a new place together? Do I move in with another friend of mine? Decisions, decisions....

Looks like I have some tenate laws to research.

Looking for the bright side,
Southern Gal