Are Pigs Flying?!

Besides unpacking, cleaning, shopping at Ikea, & exploring ATL-I have actually started to....(don't faint)....COOK! All of our family/friends know Kyle is the head chef in our kitchen but my have things changed! (hence the title-this is such a bizarre thing for me) We have recently been blessed with an amazing kitchen that is very open with tons of counter space & pretty nice appliances. Our old kitchen was fine but it was hard for more than 1 person to be in there cooking at the same time so we are very grateful for the upgrade in our new condo/loft/apartment!

So far we have enjoyed Chicken & Jalapeño Quesadillas, Chicken Alfredo (shout out to Rachel for showing me how it's done a couple of weeks ago), & what we call 'Moose Spaghetti!' No not the most intricate dishes BUT this is a MAJOR step for me! :) I'm trying to be a good homemaker since I'm jobless (& ok with it) for the time being.

I know the family/friends needed proof that I actually cooked it so I took pictures. :) I guess I should've taken a picture of Kyle this morning so yall could see that he didn't kill over from eating my food! haha

Cooking!

Chicken Alfredo with FRESH Green Beans & Garlic Bread sticks!

(this is Kyle's plate-he's good with his plate presentation)

This is a noodle in the shape of a Moose!

They sell them at Ikea & we get them because of our DOG Moose! :)

I cooked Spaghetti with Moose noodles & Garlic Toast.

(Can you tell we LOVE garlic?)

Hopefully I will keep up the cooking trend. I love to bake but that's nothing new. I'm really in the mood to make a cake or cupcakes but being here all day by myself is NOT a good match if there's some goodies BEGGING me to eat them!! How could I ever say no?!

Pandora

Dear Pandora Radio,

Oh how I love so! You know just how to put music to my mood. You motivate me with your tunes & take me back to old times. When Rachel & I lived together, you were right there when it was 10pm & we needed a pick me up.

I just have one question for you. WHY is it that you only allow me to skip a few songs?! This really puts a kink in my love for you.

Sincerely,

ME

the BIG move

Kyle, Pat, & Madison (niece) arrived late Thursday night. (Pat & Madison were in ATL for a few days & brought Kyle to Mt P so he could just drive the Uhaul to ATL) Let's just say that Pat had NO idea what she was in for & we had NO idea just how much we needed her. With 95% of the condo in boxes & the clock ticking we started cleaning Thursday night. (we won't get into the details of the cleaning but let's just say that for Pat's sake we will hire Molly Maid or someone to clean up after our next move)

Friday morning started off with a bang! Kyle & I started the day picking up the Uhaul & tying up some loose ends in Mt P (library, bank, etc). Since we had most everything in boxes we decided to start the Uhaul load up in hopes that we could hit the road sooner. (We asked the Mt P Ward to come help us out @ 6pm that evening) After about 378 trips up & down 2 flights of stairs carrying boxes-we finished with what all we could carry. We only had a couple of big pieces that we needed help with (couch, hutch, armoire, etc). Madison wasn't feeling the whole moving thing-I don't blame her-SO Pat the Incredible offered to vacuum & shampoo ALL the carpet if I would take Madison to the beach. I don't think I even finished processing that offer before I answered DONE! It was nice to take in the salty air, feel the sun on my skin, & the sand between my toes one last time. (yes we plan to visit but it will be a while) When we came back the condo had been transformed! It was spotless!

The Adams were the first to show up to help. They amazing & gave us the game Blokus as a going away gift (they always have the funniest games!). I was so happy to see them! I got all teary when they walked in-I just felt so blessed & so sad at the same time. I got over the emotions quickly because there was still stuff to be done. We are SO very grateful for all those that came out to help us move out. Much to our friends' surprise there wasn't much if anything to be moved-depending on when they came by. We had a nice time chatting with friends & spending some final time with them before we left. Kyle & I took one last trip to take out garbage & check the mail. Right as we got to our gate Bishop Young & Jennefer drove up! It was such a surprise! (Jennefer called earlier to check in & I told her not to worry about coming because they were so busy) I got all teary again with much gratitude & sadness.

Friday night we caravan'd to Augusta, GA for the night. We didn't end up getting there until after midnight. The hotel didn't allow pets & we had Moose so.... we snuck her in! Her code name was 'suitcase.' Moose did great!

Saturday morning came WAY too quickly. We got up early. Grabbed breakfast & took off. Come to find out we didn't take off early enough! I had asked our ATL ward to meet us at 9am to help us move in.... I TOTALLY spaced & thought I said 10am. Long story short we got stuck in traffic, my car came oh so close to over heating, & we had to take a back way to our loft which put us at arriving at 11:45am! Our friends, the Crolleys, & the others that signed up to help us move were troopers. They totally waited for us & didn't hate our guts (well maybe they did-BUT they did a great job at hiding it! ha) They did an amazingly awesome job at moving us in. It took less than an hour!

After everything was in Marc, Pat, & Madison took off. I hugged them for longer than I probably ever had before. I wanted to grab them & hold on tight so they wouldn't leave. I wasn't ready for them to go & leave us here-it was making this whole new adventure too real. I didn't want to cry & be a baby so I tried hard not to blink-I didn't want the tears to overflow. They offered their help & worked harder than I could've ever imagined- just for us. Their love was deeply felt. Kyle & I talked about it later & we were overcome with gratitude again.

We went to lunch with the Crolleys. We were tired but starving so we filled our bellies with some Mexican food! It's so nice to have them here. They have helped us so much! We are grateful for their friendship.

After about a 3 hour power nap. Kyle & I went to work unpacking. My ipod was on shuffle & playing some good tunes so we had to take a couple of dance breaks. We still have a mess everywhere but at least some of the boxes are gone.

Last night Minnette (my sis), Avery (niece) & Drake (nephew) stopped by for a visit. (they were on their way back from FL) It was SO great to see them! Minnette offered to stay & help us with whatever but we had done all that we wanted to do for the night. We are planning to get together next week. Hopefully the place wont be such a hot mess by then but we shall see!

We returned the Uhaul, took our showers (we were so very smelly from all the sweating), & got ready for bed. After a long search we declared my pillow as MIA & just went to bed. Sleep still came quickly.

Here's the Uhaul!

All packed up.

(thanks Rachel for taking this!)

Kitchen & Living Room. Anyone want to come over?! We can play a pretty wicked game of Hide & Go Seek!

Guest Bedroom

Our bedroom...eeeeek!

The first wall piece! "Gone to Carolina in My Mind"

Bottles N Brushes!

Last week Mary Catherine (a amazingly awesome co-worker of mine) invited me to join her at Bottles N Brushes for a painting session! The picture of the night was the Carolina Wren. How appropriate to paint the SC State bird before I head off to GA. It will be another fun reminder of my home state! (btw I'm listening to some Bob Marley while I type this & guess what song is playing?! 3 little birds! :) ) MC & I had a BLAST!

I've been to BNB before & painted this little number (rainbow row) with my BFFL Rachel (just wanted to throw this in):

Below is a series of pictures to document my Carolina Wren painting progression:

Again, I had a great time & I believe MC did too! I'm SO excited to hang up my new painting! I believe they have a place like BNB here in ATL too! I can't wait to check it out! Thanks again MC!

Day Dreaming...

Today I can't stop wishing, hoping, dreaming that I was here:


I just have SO very much running thru my head that I am in NEED of a relaxing & refreshing beach day. Next Thursday my BFFL Rachel is MOVING to town. (hooooray!) We are going to a Tim McGraw & Lady A Concert that night & then Friday we heading to the beach ALLLLL day! (Rachel-you're welcome in advance for the awesome welcome to town activities! ha) I am SO looking forward to some sunshine on my skin along with some swimming, snacking, chatting, & napping. I have to get in as much beach time as possible so I can check off my Charleston Bucket List! (more about that later)