Viva Las Vegas

On Sunday I left for Las Vegas. Yep, gone for Christmas, back home a week, gone to ATL, home a week, then gone to Vegas... all I want is my bed and my puppy!

There is one thing I do love about Las Vegas - the awesome food!! Seriously people, Erin does not turn down free five star food. I had a steak at Mastro's that would make you change religions and tell your grandmomma to her face.

I must preface before I get too far into this post that there was a little chaos Sunday before I left. I woke up and had that all too familiar pain in my throat and ears. Little Clinic confirmed, tonsillitis and ear infection again - AWESOME! And to top it all off, they couldn't fill my prescription for 4 hours and I was flying out in 2 hours. I loaded up on over the counter drugs and headed to the airport.

Monday was business as usual and I really didn't feel all that bad. Tuesday, that's a different story. Seriously, it was one of those days where I had to keep talking myself out of vomiting in crowded hallways, running out of appointments, etc. So to recap, Monday=okay, Tuesday = not a cool day to be Vegas!

On the bright side, my room at the Bellagio had a great view of the strip. Since it's a work trip this is about as much as I see of Vegas except from taking a cab from the hotel to market each day. Maybe I'll actually get to see the city sometime!

{the water show was really nice to see from my room}

Tuesday night one of our vendors was nice enough to purchase tickets for our team to attend one of the final Cher concerts. Apparently she won't be performing or doing tours anymore. I felt terrible, but I couldn't not go after they spent all that money on a ticket for me. I drugged up, dressed up and headed out for CHER!

It wasn't quite what I expected, but it was still a good show. I think if I had personally paid the $300 for the ticket I would have been a little disappointed. You weren't allowed to take any pictures in the arena, so this is the only gem I have of the evening.

{yes Gals, those are Guys!!}

I'm back home now, but unfortunately still sick. All I know is that no matter how many fancy restaurants or CHER concerts there are, NOTHING is as good as home!!!

{well, unless someone was to give me free money to gamble with. That may keep me away from home for a few extra days!!!!}

Iced 'Lanta

The year has come and gone and that means traveling for me... lots of traveling...

We got home from over a week in SC then I was off to Atlanta for market. The day before I was supposed to leave the whole southeast was hit by a winter storm. It wasn't too bad by normal standards, but since it is the south and we are not well equipped for this sort of thing, it became a state of emergency.

Nashville got some pretty snow, but Atlanta got ice. Now, I don't know about you, but I felt better knowing that Megan McGlover with WMLM was keeping me up to date on the current weather conditions. Her winter weather advisory reports really put my mind at ease.

Christmas in the 'Boro

Christmas has come and gone and it's been a while since my last post. Matt & I have been recooperating from the holidays and just been plain lazy. It's Jan 8th and we just took down our decorations today.

We spent the holidays in SC with our families. This was one of those rare years that will most likely never happen again. Matt and I had 11 days off of work. Seriously... it will never happen again! So we took advantage of the time, packed up and were off to Grandma's house {well, Sadie's grandma anyways} we went.

We spent the first part of the holidays with my family.

Christmas Eve 

Mama getting some sugar from her favorite great grandchild!

After all the Christmas and weekend festivities were over {seriously, there are a lot of Christmas's to be done in SC} Matt and I finally had a second to breathe and realize "hey, we're on vacation!". Matt spent his "breathing time" setting up his new PS Move and playing with it while I went for a little bit of shopping with my mom.

Tuesday we packed up and made the very long trip 2 blocks over to Matt's parents house to stay for the rest of the week. Matt's brother and his family from NJ came down to spend the rest of the rest of the holiday week in SC. There were 4 sweet kids that were very excited to see their Uncle Matt and we were so excited to get to spend the week with them!

 {Uncle Matt's Sidekicks}

 {Jillian and her Sidekick Sadie}

 {the cuddle couch}

{Jilly and her 2 besties!}

Wednesday it was mini golf in Hilton Head...



NYE we all went for a relaxing walk on the trails...

Then it was time for the adults to celebrate the new year. Matt's parents watched the kids and Matt, Andy, Ashley and I headed into Charleston for a yummy dinner, some drinks and good company.

 {midnight}

Being with everyone in SC for the holidays was nice, but lordy is it great to be home! Even if it does feel really depressing now that all the Christmas decorations are put up :(

Matt's Birthday

Matt's 36th birthday was Tuesday. I tried to think of something interesting to do, but couldn't really think of much. The only thing was that I maybe had to be out of town for work on his birthday. That fell thru, but I never told him so that I could create a surprise.

The morning of his birthday after he left for work I hid clues around the house to send him on a scavengar hunt for his present. At the end I would be there with his present and them we'd go out for the night. He was depressed all day thinking he would be by himself.

When he got home from work {unbeknown to me} the carbon monoxide alarm was going off, he missed the first and second clues, he thought Sophie was missing, he was on the phone with his dad and just other non-sense. All the while I was waiting outside by the mailbox waiting for him... in 22 degree weather... COLD! It took what seemed like forever. I finally called him after a while and was like, "have you found the clues?" and he was like, "yeah, I found a few, but I have other stuff to do so I'll finish it later". UGH! I strongly urged him to finish to which he replied "it's my birthday, don't yell at me!". I'M FREEZING!!!

Long, Long, Long story short, Matt kind of ruined his birthday surprise and all my planning for undone. I told him I'm never planning a surprise for him again! We managed to salvage the evening and went out for a nice dinner. He enjoyed all his nice cards, phone calls and presents. The furry girls were excited it was his birthday too.

{yes, I make Matt do pictures!!}

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

We had a wonderful weekend here in Nashville. The weather was a chilly 23 degrees {yeah, that's been the high}. Matt & I aren't complaining though, we LOVE it!!

Luckily we had 2 days of rain coupled with low temperatures = SNOW!! Matt is especially enjoying it since he hasn't had snow for his birthday since 1999. It's kind of reminiscent for him. I just love that it's finally cold enough to get me to put on a jacket. I love cold weather :)

Anyways, here's some pics of us enjoying the our little pre-Chrismas blessing...




Merry & Bright

Matt & I love this time of year. It's filled with so many things we love: my birthday, Thanksgiving, Matt's birthday and then Christmas {and sometimes if we're lucky... snow}. I must admit though, I think it makes holiday merriment a lot more enjoyable since Matt is just as excited about it as I am!

Each year our decorating gets a little larger. This is our second Christmas on Chapelwood Drive and we just love this house for decorating. Our tree gets prime placement in the middle of the house. It requires us moving out a bench and a large wall clock, but it's so worth it. Our neighbors tell us how much they like see our tree through our windows.

Another reason we like this house so much is the shelving that makes decorating so much fun. Since we don't have a lot of extra money to spend on decorations, a lot of our stuff has come from sample sales. It's definitely about making the most with what you got!

{our card holder tree is starting to fill up. i love christmas cards!}

{this used to be our door wreath, but it's too large to fit between our wood door and the glass storm door. We HAD to find a new place for it. I love it too much}

{the little nook in the front of our house}

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is always a nice time in our house. Family comes to visit, the weather turns cold, yummy food and shopping! The only spoiler... getting sick.

My parents got to town Wednesday evening then had dinner at Cheesecake Factory. The guys played golf on Thanksgiving while my mom and I hung out at home and I cooked. Then it was time for turkey!!

{Pecan Pie & Pumpkin Cheesecake}

Friday morning my mom & I woke up at 4am and started our shopping at 5am. It's kind of a tradition for us that we haven't been able to do for a couple of years now. Only problem, halfway through the day I started feeling bad... then worse... then SICK.

Saturday morning I went to the doctor. Infected tonsils and a double ear infection. Awesome! The rest of my holidy weekend was spent either in the bed or on the couch.

Saturday night was the Clemson vs. Carolina game. It's a big deal in our house since we are a house divided.

{Sadie helping Eddie deal with Clemson's loss}

{A little something to help celebrate Carolina's win and to soothe the sting of Clemson's loss}

How Was I to Know - that it was Reba!

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned the big 26! It was a great day. Went to work where I was greeted by balloons, flowers presents and welcoming faces. Lots of phone calls throughout the day full of birthday wishes. Lunch with the girls and my boss, who treated, then a yummy cake for all the Kirkland's gang.

When I got home Matt surprised me with a lovely card and 2 bottles of fabulous wine.

{all my nice cards and b-day gifts}

Then it was off to dinner at Eastland Cafe. It was one of the few places in town neither of us had been to. We had a wonderful corner window table with a perfect view of the entire restaurant. Granted, Eastland is no bigger than our house, it is a great space. We sit down, order our drinks and start looking over the menu. I look over to my left and the lady at the table to our left. I thought, "hm, she's a very pretty lady". Then she turned to the side and then I thought to myself, "hmmm, that lady looks like Reba McIntire". Then she opened her mouth and spoke and I thought to myself, "O-M-G!!!! THAT'S REBA MCINTIRE!!!!!!".

After confirming with the waiter that I was indeed NOT going crazy, we sat in awe... we were sitting next to Reba in a restaurant for my birthday dinner. Now, here in Nashville there is an unwritten code of conduct that people/fans do not in general both celebrities. It's one place they can just blend in and be normal. So, in line with the code, nobody was bothering her. Even though I wanted to, I didn't bother her either.

However, I did go to the ladies room at the same time she did and was lucky enough to stand behind her and also be handed off the door from her as she said to me, "pardon me, here you go". AHHHH!!!!

Dinner was delicious and then it was time to go. We all just so happened to leave at the same time. AHHHH!! It was a serious sighting.

We came home, had some cake and then went to bed.

{Reba & I having a glass of bubbly}

{Reba & I blowing out my candles! She sang to me!!}

I'm maintaining that this was the best/memorable birthday I've had thus far in 26 years. Thank you to everyone that helped to make my day very special!!!

XO