Another Great Weekend!!

John and I had another great weekend!  Friday night after work Owen came home with me and spent a few hours with John and I.  We had a blast!!  He was so funny.  I do have to admit he really tired us out though!

Then Saturday we went to breakfast with our friends and showed them the new house.  They used to live in Mint Hill.  They really liked the lot and house. We then went to Kohl's (I had to exchange some shoes).  We got home and I started sewing on Meg's Halloween costume for a little while.  We then went to Best Buy and John got an iphone and we went grocery shopping.  Came home and made tacos for dinner and I went back to sewing and then relaxed watching TV with John.

Today we woke up later than during the week.  Then I made my apple crisp recipe because Megan and Ken were coming over for dinner.  I went to knit with my friends for a few hours.  Came home made dressing stuffed flank steak, fresh carrots, bread and then the apple crisp with vanilla bean ice cream!  We had a really nice time visiting with Ken and Megan.

We are now sitting here waiting for 9:00 to come so we can see the Season Premier of Revenge!!  We love that show!  Hope it is a good one!

As usual the weekend went by way to quickly with tons of things to do, but it was a great one!!  Hope everyone had a great weekend too!

Season Change Cold

I woke up on Sunday morning very early with a terrible sore throat.  As the day progressed I started with the rest of the season change cold.  I have been going to work, but not doing much of anything when I get home.  Lots of honey and tea for me!  I'll be back when I feel better.

Busy but wonderful weekend!

Now that it is Sunday night and I'm relaxing on the couch, I realised what a busy, busy weekend we had!!  My weekend started on Friday.  I took the day off and went to the Southern Women's Show with one of my knitting friends, Julie.  We had a great day and  a wonderful lunch outside at a nice little restaurant in Mint Hill.

Saturday morning we had breakfast with our neighbors upstairs.  They are also building a new house.  We had breakfast at Skillets in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte.  It was a really nice time.  Then John and I left them and went over to the new house.  John hadn't been there all week.  They have gotten alot done this week:  windows, doors, roof is complete and plumbing is done.  Here is a photo from Saturday:

After we left the new house we headed up to Jenny and Kevin's house to pick up Owen for the afternoon.  Jenny and Kevin had some things they needed to get done and we kept Owen until Jenny came to pick him up around 5:30.  Owen kept Papa really busy while Nana was sewing Auntie Meg's Halloween costume.  I of course, took breaks to play with Owen (and to give Papa breaks).  That little boy really ran Papa ragged but he loved every minute of it!!

Owen was teasing us by acting like he was going to put the checker in his mouth.  As soon as he got it close to his mouth he would take it away!  He loves playing games!

 Owen loves to stack the checkers up and then knock them down.

Owen was getting tired (as you can see he needed his Nuk) and some cuddling with Nana while she was sewing.  He just sat on my lap like a good little boy and watching the sewing machine.  He was a good little boy! Jenny and Owen had dinner with John and I.  Jenny and I also went to Michael's and Target before dinner.

Today I woke up with a cold!  I had been feeling really good until today!  I slept late and then got up to take my shower and go knit with 2 other knitting friends at a coffee house called Madison's.  We thought we would try some where different.  It was really nice and relaxing!  Then I came home and sewed both of the sleeves on Megan's outer coat of her costume.  John and I had dinner and now I'm just chilling out and resting.

As you can see it was a really busy weekend, but a good one!

The Southern Women's Show

(This clip was via the southernshows.com website)

Today I took off from work and went with my friend, Julie to the Southern Women's Show.  What a great day we had!!  There were so many things to see and of course, buy at the Show.  I only bought some handmade hand cream, some lavendar Scentsy-like cubes for my Scentsy burner and some lemon honey for my tea.  I was a good girl!  After being at the show for quite a few hours we went back to Mint Hill and we had a very late lunch at a restaurant called Hawthorne's.  I had a grilled chicken sandwich with fresh mozarella, red peppers and basil-yummy!!!  We ate outside and we were the only ones out there!  It was a gorgeous day here in the Carolinas!

Before we went to the Show we stopped at the new house because Julie wanted to see it.  The plumbers were there putting in the plumbing stubs for the sinks, showers and toilets.  The roof is all done and they will start on the siding next week!

Julie and I were tired when 5:00 rolled around but we had an awesome day!!  Hope y'all had a great day too!

Autumn is Here

(photo via pinterest.com)

Today while driving to work I see the change in the leaves.  I live in Charlotte, NC and Autumn comes a little later here usually, but I really think because we had such a mild winter last year it has put everything about 1 month ahead of the usual time nature changes into another season.  I love Autumn here!  The air lets go of the dreaded summer humidity, the cool air swooshes in, walking after work begins again, sitting on the porch reading in the cool evening air is an option, baking commences once again and natures changes are just so beautiful.  I love baking anything with apples in the Autumn.  The smell of cinnamon and apples baking is just so wonderful!!

I hope everyone is enjoying the changes!  I'm going to leave you today with a southern phrase, "Happy Fall, Y'all!!"

House Update and a Wonderful Afternoon with Owen!

This morning John and I met one of my co-workers and his wife for Breakfast.  Aaron and Kelly were going to see our new house and look at the framing and workmanship.  Aaron didn't find anything wrong with any of the work that has been done so far.  Here are some new photos:

This is the house all closed in and the roof sheathing done.

To the left is the Family Room and to the right is the eating area and part of the kitchen.

 Unfinished Bonus Room over the garage.

The other side of the Family Room with fireplace.

 Office in the front of the house.

This is the garage side of the house.

After we spent some time at the new house ooohhhhing and ahhhhing we went to Michael's.  I needed some things there and then we went home.  Jenny called and said Kevin was weed whacking and a stone hit their sliding glass door and it shattered.  Kevin and Jenny bought a new slider at Lowe's and asked if John could help Kevin install it.  We went up to their house and while John was working with Kevin to remove the old one and install the new slider, I got to play with Owen!!  He is such a sweetie.  What fun we had.  He is getting so tall.  Megan and Ken came for dinner at Jenny's too.  It was good to have everyone together!  Here are 2 pictures of Jenny holding Owen when we were getting ready to leave.

Owen was sad we were leaving :(.  Nana was sad to leave him too!!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend too!!

New House Moving Right Along!

After work today I went to Megan's house.  She and I were going to Hobby Lobby to pick up some lining material for her Halloween Costume.  On the way to Hobby Lobby we went by the new house.  I couldn't believe how far the builder got!

The 2 windows in the garage (which is on the left side of the house) have not been cut out yet.  They will be siding and putting the roof on soon!  They are really moving along quickly!

I had dinner at Megan and Ken's and it was delicious!!

Steampunk Halloween Costume

Last night Megan and Ken came over for dinner.  The reason for the visit is that I am making Megan's Halloween Costume for their annual Halloween Party.  Megan chose a steampunk pattern for her costume.  We had a lovely dinner of enchiladas that Megan made and she also made a corn/black bean salsa to go with some Tostito chips.  Both were really awesome!  She then out did herself with dessert-strawberries stuffed with cheesecake filling!!  They were so good (and she left some for John and I to have tonight too!).  Thanks for everything Megs!!

Here is the Simplicity pattern I will be creating:

I am making the one on the right.  She bought all the material and last night I started laying it out and cutting it out.  WOW 11.5 yds. of taffetta is alot of taffetta-LOL!!!  I think the costume will be just gorgeous when it is all done.  I will post a photo then.  I will probably be sewing on it this weekend.  With only 6 weeks until we move, I don't want to wait until the last minute!!  Wish me luck!

The 11th Anniversary of 9/11

Take a moment today to remember....

First Floor Framing on the New House!

John and I didn't have anything planned today so we took a ride this afternoon.  We decided to go by the new house to see if they had started the framing and indeed they did!  Here are some pictures I took of the first floor framing today:

 This photo was taken from the street.

Iwas standing up close to the house in the front yard for this one.

 This one is from the driveway.

This is the framework for our new fireplace in the great room.

I'm sure they will knock out the rest of the framing this week and will probably start sheathing the outside.  Then comes the roof and windows!!  It is really happening!!

When we met with the builder on Thursday he said the worst case scenario will be the completion of the house and move in date will be the end of November.  Our apartment lease is up 10/31.  We talked to the apartment manager and she said our rent would be $400 more for the month of November!!!  Crazy!!  We may move out of the apartment the weekend before 10/31, put our furniture in storage and then live with Megan and Ken for a few weeks, but that hasn't been decided yet.  I'm sure the house will be done closer to the beginning of November the way things are moving.  The only thing that would hold it up is the Mecklenburg County Inspectors.  They are running behind.  Our builder seems to be on top of all that though.  Very exciting times for us!!

The Depot at Gibson Mills, Concord, NC

Saturday Jenny, Owen and I went on an antiquing adventure!  We went to The Depot at Gibson Mills in the town of Concord, NC.  Jenny lives in Concord and found out about this marvelous place! Here is what The Depot at Gibson Mills website says about this marvelous place:

"an antique and designer mall that was once a mill, located in Concord, N.C. With 85,000 square feet and 460 booths, we have quickly become the largest antique and designer mall in the South. Once a part of the old Cannon Mills, the charm of the 20 foot ceilings, wide wooden floors and exposed brick remains. From antiques and reproductions to imports, collectibles and new furniture, there’s quite an eclectic collection of quality merchandise under one roof."

Here are some pictures I took while we were there:

 This photo is only a very, very small portion of the place.

This was one of the booths I thought had some really nice things in it.

I loved this lace piece and the necklace!!

 I want this chair!!!  I love the toile pillow too!

 This booth as you can read the sign had vintage items in it.  Really nice!

I fell in love with this hat!  Too bad I don't look good in hats.  Just gorgeous!!

Jenny and I had a wonderful day and Owen was a trooper through the whole day!  He sat in his stroller and was singing and talking in his little language.  He also found time to flirt with a pregnant lady!!  The boy has no shame-LOL!!

It's days like this that memories are made!!

I'm a Big Girl Now-I have an I-Phone!!!

Well I have finally joined thousands of others-I upgraded to an I-phone today!!!  I love it! I bought a black one.   I also got a turquoise sparkle shell for mine.  I love that it has a GPS on it!!  All the apps I can download will be wonderful too!  I have already downloaded 2 knittings ones!  If anyone has any advice on some really cool apps, please email me and let me know.  John works for a company that will give us 19% off on our Verizon Account, so we will be combining our accounts and saving more $$.  The savings will probably pay for the upgraded data plan-that is a win-win situation as far as I'm concerned!

Excuse me while I go and try to figure out everything!