Miscellany

Just bear with me on this post... it's all over the place.

Fall just might be officially here! After a few days of 85 degrees and 100% humidity, I'm starting to feel a cool "crispness" to the air today. To get in the spirit, Mom and I adorned the table with some fall flavor.

I'm a lover of all things summer... the heat, the water, the sun, the clothes, but mainly the heat. I love to exit a frreeeezing building and walk outside to air so hot and humid you can cut it with a knife. I love it. {And I'm pretty sure I might be the only person on God's green Earth who feels this way}. So sometimes, I'm reluctant to see fall coming... but that just means Christmas is coming soon and that's alright with me. Speaking of my favorite holiday, these two items are on my Christmas list this year:

I've been obsessed with this watch for a looooong time. When I was younger, tortoise shell was very "in" and I always WISHED I could wear my Mom's jewelry but it was "too grownup looking" for me to wear. Well, I would now consider myself a "grownup" and hopefully I will get my wish this year ;) ;)

And of course this talented lady is on my list:

And the title is calling my name!

Moving on...

Has your room ever looked like this?

I was looking back at pictures on my mom's camera from a couple of months ago, and I came across the memory of this chaos. I feel like this picture sums up our life sometimes... Packing and unpacking. I am confident other baseball readers would agree! It took me an entire WEEK to unpack and organize when we got home from the summer.

It has to get worse before it gets better.

I spy two little kitties! They were such great help.

Oh, and don't worry... something didn't jump out and get me... I survived and so did my room.  

Aaron just loves sleeping on brown zebra print sheets underneath a ballerina.

Since we're kind of on the subject of home decor... I found this cute little end table at an antique shop in Fairhope and the price was too good to ignore.

She's a little scuffed up but I think I like her that way. No, I don't have a home for her but maybe soon! Maybe!

Speaking of pretty little things...

I've been having fun with my new camera!

Jenny modeled for me the other day...

She's a pretty little girl, even with just one good eye. {She's blind in her right eye}.

In tall grass, an innocent passerby could easily mistake her for a little bear cub.

She frolicked and played and I played too. This camera was worth every penny.

And how could I forget these two characters.

Life sure is hard... but someone's gotta live it.

Are you still following along with me? Usually my posts are based on events, but now, since my life will be somewhat normal for the next few months {Praise the Lord!} I will be posting about real day to day life... Hopefully I won't bore you to tears!

A Full Weekend

I use the word "full" to describe our weekend not because we were busy {which we were, but that's not the point I'm trying to make}, but because our short two and a half days there were filled with spending quality time with people that mean so much to us.

Catching up with college friends and close relatives, laughing until we almost pee in our pants with my sisters... and actually with Aaron, Mom, and Dad too come to think of it... being back in Starkville, cheerin' on the Dawgs, and I could go on and on about what made this weekend special... So I'll just show you the highlights in pictures!

We stayed at the cutest little bed and breakfast in Columbus owned by Ms. Betty Jo Backstrom. It was like staying at your Grandmother's house.

The antique furniture, her historic home, her delicious breakfasts...

We made ourselves right at home!

On Saturday morning, my mom and I made our way to the Chi O homecoming brunch. I knew this would be the best way to see the most amount of people in one day and I was right!

Oh Megan, it's just been way too long. Seeing you was the highlight of my weekend.

Just being in the Chi O house and catching up with college friends was like a breath of fresh air.

To me, tailgating is one of the highlights of coming up for a football game. You get food, fun, and fellowship all under one tent!

Aaron loves his sisters... and oh, how they love him... So much so, I get kicked out of pictures! :)

And we love our cousin Garrett... Is it just me or do we all look "related" in this picture?

I didn't take near as many pictures as I should have {surprisingly}, but I do think you've gotten the "jist" of it all, right?

Moving onto the game...

I love the Dawg Pound Rock... It's takes me back to the "old days" of State games... and all the cowbells of course.

We had great seats thanks to a very nice player friend...

The moon was pretty impressive.

The Dawgs pulled out a win but I guess with every game no matter how good or bad you play, a win is a win. Beatin' the Gators in the swamp one week, then pulling off a not-so-pretty win the next was a little nerve-wracking to watch, but they found a way to pull through and it was so refreshing. Sports are so dramatic! I guess that's why we love it though.

I write about our weekend "filled to the brim" and so thankful for our time spent with special friends and close family.

Oh, and thanks to all of you blogreaders who I can now put a face to a number on my sitemeter! It's encouraging to me how many of y'all there are and it means so much that you take the time to read this. Heck, thanks to ALL of you out there whoever you are!

I Bit the Bullet

As many of you know, I have been dreaming of a nice camera for quite some time... "Dreaming" should be translated as intense research, reading reviews, studying photography tutorials, talking with "nice camera" owners, and photographers... this has been going on for months.

Needless to say, Aaron was like, "Just bite the bullet and go get your camera already!!"

You see, I am a pretty frugal person and forkin' out that amount of money is not easy for me. BUT, I know how much I will use it so it really is worth it... {or at least that's what I tell myself!}

I've had my heart set on the Nikon D5000 for a while now and then I made a trip to the local camera store and stumbled across this BRAND SPANKIN' NEW model that Nikon just introduced... the D3100. It is basically a D5000 upgrade and it could not have been introduced to the market in better timing. And thanks to Santa Clause thinking ahead, I got a Tameron 18-270 mm lens that I absolutely love and I will probably never take it off of my camera. It zooms, shoots in macro, as well as big open spaces and it couldn't be any more perfect! Oh, and I might just love my camera strap as much as I do my camera! It's my color.

I have been thoroughly enjoying this new toy of mine...

Can you tell?

Mom and I were total photography nerds and went down by the bay to play with our cameras...

I'm still working on learning my ISO settings and aperture... and all that photography nerd talk. ;)

And keeping with the "nerd" theme, did you know that these Monarchs just made their migration from South America to here? They were actually flying past us all day when we were fishing in the Gulf.

Also, I had to snap a picture of Mother's purty fall decor.

All the traveling we do... Aaron's baseball games... the babies in our distant future... you name it... this camera is an investment... and will be instrumental in recording our lives as we know it right now... as well as this blog... I promise I don't have "buyer's remorse" {Can you tell I was a Marketing major?}... I'm just typing out loud a few of the MANY reasons this camera is a good thing.

Y'all just THOUGHT I put up a ton of pictures on the blog before... Just GET READY.

The Urge to "Nest"

If you didn't already know, or haven't already realized, Aaron and I have been living with my parents since we got home about a month ago... and I know, we're a newlywed couple and everything but I promise, it's really really fun!

However, every time I come home for the off season (which has only been twice, but still) I get this overwhelming "itch" to have our own little home. You might be thinking, "Well you could rent a little house while you're here..." But you see, renting a little home in Fairhope, Alabama is not exactly the most affordable option when it's only for a few months in the middle of the year... not to mention the thought of moving two times in five months makes me want to hurl.

Oh wait, I just did that!

So we are living it up with Mom and Dad and I have NO reason to complain! They are so generous to let us live with them, eat all their food (Don't worry I cook!), hog two spots on the couch, hang our huntin' boots dry on Mom's decorative home lanterns, etc. Gosh, we are so thankful for them.

FYI: these are not pictures of my parents' home... Theirs is beautiful though!

Buying/building a house will be in the near future I think... {I hope!} and Mom and Julie and I toured the "Parade of Homes" in Fairhope today and boy did those model homes get my wheels a turnin'!!

These are some random home photographs I have saved off of various home websites that I am obsessed with... None of these gorgeous rooms {mostly kitchens :) } are anywhere near our budget but a girl can dream can't she?? KEYWORD: DREAM

And mind you I have been thinking of my husband too...

In his WILDEST dreams would our home ever look like this... It is beautiful though.

In my WILDEST dreams would our huntin' camp ever be this luxurious.

So anyways, I just thought I would show you some "eye candy" today... I drool looking at these homes do you?

I am content where we are with our crazy, roller coaster life and all {really and truly, I WOULD NOT HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY} but I do believe I have a God-given desire to make a home with my husband and one day, raise my little chicks in our nest, but until that glorious day comes, I will be content in my current circumstances AND adore looking at other people's dream homes.

Am I weird???  Please tell me I'm not!

I will be back soon people with some "real life" photos next time... Until then folks!