Believe it or not, this glorious three day weekend was not due to National BBQ Day or National Mattress Sale Day. I have to admit, had I not been reminded by other people's much wittier words, I may have coasted through this weekend without even thinking about why we didn't go to work on Monday. I've seen a lot of photos, stories, etc. summing up this weekend, but this one is my favorite. So rather than speak uneloquently about Memorial Day, I'll let you read this.

I kicked off Memorial Day weekend a little early with Girls Night at Marietta Wine Market on Wednesday.  My mom and I stumbled on the shop a couple weeks back and I noticed they had wine tastings on Wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons. Dominica and I went two weeks ago, and now we're hooked. Of course, on our first visit we became best friends with the owners - so now we're on a first name basis and feel super cool. Now that I've been 3+ times in two weeks, I do not feel super cool - I feel like a super creeper. Anyway, Dominica and I decided the next girls night had to be at the Wine Market, so off we went!

On Friday, our office closed at 1pm and since Adam's last day of school was Thursday, we decided to spend the afternoon at the pool.

I found these bad boys in Food Network Magazine this month and decided to make them to mix with my Vodka Sprite at the pool. They took me all of 15 seconds to make, but I felt so crafty and original! (And they happened to be super refreshing and delicious.)

Typical, I covered myself in sunscreen but still got burnt in the most random places. AWESOME. We headed back to the house and got spruced up to head to a few graduation parties. (Let's remember, Adam's a high school softball and baseball coach, so he had a few invites. We don't hang out with high schoolers on the reg.) They actually ended up being pretty fun. The other coaches are always a good time, and who doesn't love drinking some wine poolside on a cool summer evening?

Saturday we were up bright and early to walk up to the Farmers Market. I told Adam I wanted two things: fresh squeezed lemonade and a puppy. (They never sell lemonade or puppies.) Lo and behold, they had the cutest little lemonade stand this week and for $1.50 my thirst was totally satisfied. And then (OF COURSE), some lady was walking around holding this puppy that looked just like Ruthie. After a few pets, the woman said "Do you want her? She's free to a good home!" (Are you kidding me, lady!? Get me away from that thing!) After politely declining - and then being told by a couple randos that there was some lady giving away a dog that looked just like ours - we ran into her again. I am so proud of myself. Adam was over there saying "It's fate! You wanted lemonade and a puppy!" and I stood my ground. (But let's be real, if we had run into her again I would have bought into the whole fate thing and we would have a puppy destroying our house right now.)

Moving on - Saturday was my dad's 54th birthday, so we met up with my parents at (you guessed it!) the Wine Market for the wine tasting. (Seriously? They have to be so sick of me by now.) After wine, it was grilling time at my parents'. Check out these bad boys!

Happy birthday, daddy!

The boys got up early Sunday to go golfing, and my mom and I spent the morning checking out different antique malls. We always end up trying on obnoxious hats and just about peeing ourselves from laughing so hard. Real mature.

Adam and I have been lucky enough to receive a good amount of gift cards for restaurants, and we finally decided to redeem one of them on Sunday night and have ourselves a date night. We chose Salt Factory Pub in Roswell, and I was super impressed. Highly recommend the Calamari and Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps. The best part (other than the company, of course) was that we scored outdoor seating! They only have 4 little tables outside, and the stars aligned for us to get one.

On Monday, I felt like we had to do something patriotic so we decided to hike up Kennesaw Mountain. Turns out we weren't the only ones with that idea. We pulled up to lots of cars and people watching a reenactment. (At that point I spazzed out and fumbled to turn off the radio blaring music that I'm sure wasn't supposed to be part of the act.) We kept driving and scored a parking spot at another hiking trail, so that sufficed. Well, if you asked Ruthie I bet she loved this walk even more because it included a trip to a creek - which she immediately decided was her new home.

We ended the day with some pool time (guess what? I got awkwardly burnt again, even covered in SPF30...again.) and an early night. I was in bed by 9PM - keeping it real crazy over here, y'all!

I thought I'd be ending this post saying it was a pretty low-key Memorial Day Weekend, but after recapping all of that - it ended up being pretty eventful! Thank you to all of those who have and do serve to ensure our freedom. We are forever grateful for your sacrifices.

more ME... and other useless information

This is getting serious. My blog titles are on the fast track to being named "Week of July 30 - August 5." How do people think of witty titles on the reg? More power to you!

Anyway, since both sets of parents were busy on my birthday (can you believe that? On my birthday?!), we postponed my birthday dinners until this past week.

First up, dinner with my parents at Little Alley Steak. WOW, the food was so amazing. It's pricey, but worth the splurge if you have the means. Let me make it clear that Adam and I certainly do not have the means, hence the fact I made my parents take us. :)

My parents also spoiled me with this fabulous Hobo briefcase! I've been using my mom's since I got the new job, but was so excited to finally have one of my own! (Thanks to this picture, I can now see that my disgustingly beat-up yellow flats do not photograph well.)

After dinner, we headed over to my parents' house to wait for one of my very good friends, Christine. She was flying in from NYC, but was leaving first thing in the morning for a wedding in Nashville - so we only had a short window of time to see her. Of course, her plane got delayed and that window ended up being from midnight-2am. Dominica came over and we bothered Mitchell's friends to pass the time, and then we finally got to see our Christine!

Saturday was a lazy, rainy day that Ruthie and I both enjoyed napping through after walking up to get breakfast at Hoboken with that handsome hubs of mine.

That night was another round of ME at the Bakers. We had delicious tacos and she made a Ding Dong cake! It's basically made of Ding Dongs and whipped cream - and so worth every calorie.

Once again, I was so spoiled! Turns out my fabulous MIL (one of the two people I know that actually read this... HI DEBBIE!), has been turning to my blog and Facebook posts for present ideas. Come Christmas time, this blog will strictly be a wish list.

Anyway, Debbie and Dave got me this gorgeous monogram necklace - LOVE!!!

Kelsey got me this B-E-A-Utiful necklace, and Meagan & Nathan bought me a book (Water for Elephants) and my favorite Skinnygirl cocktail! What a wonderful, wonderful birthday!

Side note: I also got these bracelets from Dominica and Natalie (respectively), and some earrings from Alysa. I guess this was the birthday of jewelry - which I am not mad about!

This is such a terrible picture, and doesn't do the bracelet any justice!

Yesterday the weather was beautiful, so after an awesome morning of church and brunch, we spent the afternoon at the pool where I got to start my birthday book - so far so good!

Have I mentioned how much I love hanging out with Adam? I guess it's pretty convenient that I like him almost as much as I love him. Seriously, I don't think any couple has as much fun as we do. And then you throw Ruthie in the mix? We are just the happiest campers, ever! Actually, I think Ruthie and Adam would be content without me in the picture, but they're not getting rid of me. :)

Ok - final random blurb. I tried this new thing called Stitch Fix. Basically, you sign up and about a week later they send you an in-depth fashiony questionnaire. (All these fashion sites try to make it "Invite Only" and so exclusive, but really  I think it's their way of justifying the fact that they take their sweet time getting back to you initially.) Moving on! After I filled out the fun questionnaire, I paid $20 and in a week they sent me a box of 5 items based on what I filled out. If I decided to keep anything, the $20 went toward my purchase, and if I decided to keep all 5 items the $20 goes toward it and you get 25% off! I decided that I just had to keep one item, since it will probably be the last time I actually do it. It was super fun, but I find much better deals at TJ Maxx! If you'd like to try it (it's fun - just do it once!), then here's the link. I have to admit, if you use that link and actually do it, I get a credit. If you don't want to help a sister out, just go to their homepage - you won't hurt my feelings (only because I won't know you STABBED me in the back!). Totally kidding...kind of. Here's the loot I got! I only kept the fun dress on the far right.

Well, that's my week wrap up! Maybe next week it won't be all about me... but maybe it will. :)