Mom Visits!

My mom came to visit for a few days this week! I was so excited to spend time with her! It was so much fun to have girl time and we did a lot of things that I've been wanting to do in Savannah ever since we moved here over a year ago.

She arrived Monday afternoon and after introducing her dogs, Bailey and Luke, to my dogs, Emma and Jack, we scooted off to grab some lunch. It was really nice to eat and talk and just catch up. After lunch I drove her around where we live and she got to see a more extensive look of Savannah and the new area we moved to. Monday night she was such a good sport and came to our soccer game. We won the game, but I played poorly. I think I was nervous because my mom was there, ha!

Tuesday my mom and I started our day off early. We headed straight down town and ate breakfast at Caraway Cafe & Market. Their food is delicious and the atmosphere was comfortable. I had the salmon and goat cheese omelet. YUM! The breakfast came with a homemade biscuit that tasted like my Great Aunt Pat's biscuits which really topped it all off!

After finishing our breakfasts we headed off to do a trolley tour. I've wanted to do one of them for a long time. Not necessarily because of the trolley, but because I wanted to learn about the history of Savannah. The tour did not disappoint! A friend had told me the best trolley service to use was Old Savannah Tours because they are a local company (Old Town Trolley Tours are all over the nation) and locals get to go for free if you bring an out of town guest. We had a very friendly tour guide who reminded me a lot of the fairy godmother in Cinderella, in looks that is. We also did the 9 am tour and were very pleased that we never had to use the fans that the driver had supplied us with. The weather was actually really enjoyable! I completely forgot to take pictures... but that's okay, just shows how wrapped up I was in the history of the tour.

After the tour mom and I headed back home to let the dogs out. We decided to take the dogs to the park so they could burn off some energy. This was a bad idea. It was blazing hot by the time we got there. The heat was so intense that even the dogs didn't want to run around. Rather they just sniffed and Emma was smart enough to dig a hole in the shade and lay in it. Needless to say, we didn't stay there very long! But on a dog note, I'm also happy to report that my mom's dog, Bailey, who isn't ever going to win any Miss Congeniality awards, did very well with Jackson! We didn't have to put her muzzle on the entire visit! Yay! Go Bailey!

"Yawn... this heat is making me sleepy!"

We went back home and put the dogs up, got our nails done, and then headed out for lunch. My friend had recommended we try out the Gryphon Tea Room. I am sooo glad we went there! It is in an old building that decorated with Tiffany lamps, a wallpapered ceiling, walls lined with bookshelves filled with old books, leopard print carpet, a couple of old arm chairs and sofas upholstered in rich velvets, a baby grand piano, and music from the 1940's. The food was delicious too! I got a summer salad with poached salmon, mango, strawberries and nuts. Very refreshing and tasty! 

After lunch we were stuffed and went home to relax and chill a bit before heading back out to dinner with Miguel at one of our favorite restaurants, Cha Bella. We all really enjoyed our food! Mom and Miguel got a grouper and I got beef. After dinner we enjoyed the city at night and got some cocktails from a favorite local martini bar of mine. 

The cozy dining room at Cha Bella. Photography by Tim A. Rutherford

Wednesday morning mom and I headed to Wormsloe Plantation. This is literally right down the street from where we live and I have been wanting to visit there for a while. I am so glad I finally got there and am very happy that I went with my mom. We both share a love of history and I enjoy sharing these experiences with her! The lands are breathtaking and we both learned a lot about Georgia history! The main road to the old house and museum is lined with over 400 Live Oak trees! The pictures just don't do it justice!

The entrance to Wormsloe

Click on me to enlarge!

The owner of this property was a man named Noble Jones. He was one of the first families to settle here with Oglethorpe. I learned a lot about the history of Georgia from Jones' story. Did you know that alcohol, slavery, catholics, and lawyers were banned from Georgia? And Georgia wasn't a Royal Colony until they tore up their laws against slavery? Also, poor Noble Jones, who was a surveyor by trade, was commissioned to do such a plethora of jobs that I don't know when the man slept.

Just of few of the jobs that Jones had...

The park ranger spent his time casting pewter spoons and then filing them down

The house that Noble Jones built back in the 1700's no longer stands. Only the ruins remain. However, an interesting fact, his descendants still live on the property in a private house. I'm glad someone still gets to enjoy the fruits of Jones' hard work!

The plantation ruins

After leaving Wormsloe we went to go see Midnight in Paris. I generally don't like Owen Wilson, but he did really well in this role. The movie was sort of a period film and the characters were a lot of famous artists and authors, which really appealed to me. Again, I was thankful to go see the movie with my mom, as we both agreed afterwards that the guys would have been bored. 

via

After the movie we went to lunch at a local favorite, Sweet Potatoes. They serve southern homemade cooking. We got jerk chicken and pork over sweet potato mash with black eyed peas. Very tasty! 

The rest of the day we spent doing girly things that we miss doing with each other, like going shopping and getting our makeup done. 

Once Miguel got home the three of us started making dinner, though Miguel was the master chef! He grilled us some really delicious lamb. I generally am not a huge fan of lamb but this meal was very tasty and changed my mind on lamb all together! We had a lovely evening at home eating a wonderful meal and watched a movie. It was so nice to me to just relax and spend time with family!

Thanks for grilling, babe!

I loved having my mom down for a visit! I miss her a lot! However, it is really nice to have the house nice and quiet without four dogs! All the dogs together was just overwhelming! Especially when each dog wanted to be the center of attention!

My mom is under there somewhere!

Finding dogs in all sorts of places... :)

Again, it was so much fun to spend a couple of days hanging out with my mom! Now I'm counting down till we have our family trip in a few weeks! And then I get to see the whole family! Yay!

I'm Going To Be An Aunt!

 

I am so thrilled to say that at the end of January I am going to be an aunt! This will be my sister and brother-in-law's first baby and Miguel's and my first time having a niece or nephew! It is so strange to think of this little person, who is just the size of a lime right now, and how he/she is going be a part of our family for the rest of our lives! I don't know anything about Baby Ray, but I already know I love him/her so much and if I love this little baby this much I can't imagine the love my sister and brother-in-law have for Baby Ray! 

We were lucky to see Sarah and Jared over the 4th of July weekend and when we saw them we gave them some little gifts for Baby Ray. Miguel and I gave them a onesie that says "My Aunt and Uncle Love Me" and some little hats, bibs, socks, blankie, a book Guess How Much I Love You and the baby's first UGA shirt! Every time I see anything remotely baby related I want to snatch it up and send it to Seattle for Baby Ray. It will help my shopping once we know if it is a boy or a girl! 

(Okay, these pictures were taken after traveling and during a really emotionally hard weekend... so we don't look the best, but it was Baby Ray's first gifts so I'm posting the pictures anyways!)

We are soooo excited! Counting down the days till January....! Eeeeeek!!!!!!

Something Must Be In The Water...

Something must be in the water... I feel like every time I get on facebook someone is announcing they're pregnant! Although Miguel and I are not in any hurry to have kids any time soon, I am so excited for all my pregnant friends! To celebrate I have been making some little gift baskets. I put homemade onesies and a pregnancy journal in the basket. 

I bought plain white onesies in early month sizes. They were each only $2.

Next I drew out a picture of an alligator and then traced it on stencil maker.

Then I put it on a cutting board and used an exacto knife to cut it out.

Thennn I used some fabric paint and a foam brush to fill in the stencil on the onesie. I had to make sure to put something on the inside of the onesie so that the paint wouldn't bleed through.

When you're using a stencil it's important to not have very much paint on the brush. I blotted it on some plastic before applying it to the shirt.

Finally, I pulled off the stencil and used some orange paint to add some detailing. I used blue and orange because one of the couples are Florida fans. 

I also made a giraffe one.

Finally I made a pregnancy journal to keep a record of milestones and memories. I took a plain journal and covered it with yellow card stock. 

Then I cut out a onesie out of some heart paper. 

I used some cardboard to make the onesie cutout pop a little from the journal. I cut two small strips and used a hot glue gun to attach them to the cutout. Then I attached the cardboard pieces to the journal.

Ugh, I know I need to get my nails done BAD!

Next I took some blue ribbon and tied it into a small bow. Then I glued that to the cut out. 

To top it all off, I took some striped paper and made two boarders along the top and bottom of the journal. On the inside flap I wrote a bible verse and a message to one of my sweet friends. 

Here are the finished products all together:

I rolled up the onesies and tied them with some yellow, polka-dot ribbon.

I took a small basket and placed the items in it. Then I used some cute animal ribbon and tied it around the basket. It happened to have alligators and giraffes on it! What luck! =) 

So that is my solution for a celebration gift that is thoughtful (homemade) and inexpensive. I hope all my friends who are mommies to be enjoy their baskets!