A Snow Surprise!

There was no snow for us in Florida!  However, the snow in Atlanta brought us a wonderful last minute house guest -- my Dad!!!  My Dad is a pilot and commutes to Miami from Atlanta, and because of the snow that cancelled flights going in and out of Hartsfield Airport, he was unable to get home after his last trip.  So, he hopped on a flight to Orlando from Miami and spent the last few days with us!  Todd was out of town for work, so my Dad and I spent some time relaxing around the house, having lunch out, and watching movies.  Todd got home yesterday afternoon, and so we all went out for a dinner at Dexter's downtown.  My Dad left early this morning to go back to Miami for his next trip.  It was so fun to have him here! :o)

The Little Wifey!

Todd is on his way home from Miami.  I am have been so excited for him to get home!  So, I took a little inspiration from a post of mine on a newlywed site I guest blog for - you can see it here.  In a nutshell, I took a few notes from my grandmothers' generation, and decided to make our home a place Todd wants to come home to....and his wife someone he looks forward to seeing when he gets there!  Seeing that I am not a traditional housewife, and Todd does not have a traditional office job, this is not something I get to do in the most traditional way on a daily basis.  Todd should be home a little before five, so here is what I have done today in preparation for his arrival home (other than the other mundane things already on my to do list like go to UPS, get gas, etc)........

Took Breck to the groomer - so that he both looks, and smells good!

Not cooperating!

Did every last stitch of laundry - this is still in progress as some stuff is still in the dryer!

Did a quick vacuum of the carpets and rugs - I love how this always instantly freshens the house up!  Oh, and cleaned the bathroom!

Went to Whole Foods in preparation for dinner.  Here's some of the stuff I got that I will be using in tonight's dinner:

See the little champagne grapes in the back?  So cute!! ...all except the price!

Todd has announced that he will be starting a diet as of today (this was a surprise), so I am going to surprise him with a yummy, and low-fat honey mustard grilled chicken dinner with sauteed veggies, and a fruit wedge salad to kick off his diet.  I'm doing grilled pineapple for "dessert".  Here's my inspiration (I'm not sure where I got these recipes from, but I would assume Southern Living):

I put on a little black dress (I am sure it is a complete shock to see me in black! HA!), and decided to wear the apron Todd's mom gave me while we were in Kentucky last month...notice it matches my toes! 

I have not figured out the auto-timer on my new camera, if you can't tell!

Lit some candles, put on some music, touched up my make-up, assembled the chicken and have it marinading in the fridge, and now just to wait for Todd to get home......

Dresses, dresses, dresses!

Todd is in Miami for work....yes, gone again!  SoI decided to spend this time alone running around town taking care of things I had put off for the last few days!  In between my not-so-fun errands, I decided to stop in Old Navy to see if they had any cute summer dresses on sale.  My little "window shopping" stop, turned into this craziness! ...and yes, I realize I have a very serious problem staying away from black clothing!

Horrible picture - but, you get the idea!!

Old Navy trips are always hit or miss, but this one was definitely a hit!  I was so excited to get the following pieces -- 2 little black dresses (I know, I know!!  But really, I think I did well to wittle it down to two!), a pink strapless dress with eyelet details, a blue floral dress, and a black jersey knit skirt and black ruffle tank.

I had to continually move Breck off my clothes.  He thought I must have brought them home for his comfort!  As I write this, he has found most of the tags that were tucked inside of the dresses, and is chewing them off!  He doesn't know it yet, but he has his first grooming appointment since the hack job he had several months ago, tomorrow morning!  I hope he doesn't come home and use the laundry pile as his "I'll show you!" relief spot, again!  In fact, I hope he doesn't come home looking like that again, and then we won't have to worry about an emotional episode!  Here is Mr. Large not-so-large and in charge:

My software does not get rid of red eye, when it is really yellow eye - bummer!

While I was out on my little adventures without Todd today, I found a new Hobby Lobby going in only a few miles from our house!!!  I know this must sound so silly, but up until now the closest Hobby Lobby to Orlando was over 200 miles away -- yes, I checked!!  So, I am very excited for it to open so that I won't have to go every time we are in Atlanta!!  Now we just need a Trader Joes, Dreamland BBQ, and Nordstrom, etc, etc, etc!

Oh, and the grand total of my shopping trip for 4 dresses, a skirt, and a tank --- $85.68!!

Welcome to Miami!

Todd is working in Miami today, so we spent the night here last night. It was just after dinner, and we were in a hotel room, and looking for something to do. We are in Miami -- there are so many things we could have gotten into last night. But, instead we decided to go to a late movie! Which we were actually more excited about than any other prospect, because it is a little nostalgic for us! When we were dating long distance, we would make promises to each other that we would wait to go see certain movies together. The list of movies would get long quickly, and our list of 'to-do's" while together was even longer, especially as we approached the wedding. So, we would run around all day getting things done, and go to the late night movie to cap off our night. I always loved these nights because it was a good way to unwind, and the theater was maybe 3 miles from my house in downtown Atlanta. So, I would change into comfy clothes (only after we were engaged though, I would stay dressed up while we were dating to make sure the ring was on its way and there was no buyer's remorse on Todd's part! haha) after dinner, get a decaf coffee or bedtime tea, and drag myself into the theater for a nice wind down...I'm sure to Todd's embarrassment. And after the movie, Todd would practically carry me home, and I would have to drag myself out of bed for work the next morning! But, I loved these nights, because going to the movies made me feel like a normal couple that lived in the same city and had the time together to do things like go to the movies. I also get the warm and fuzzies when I think about late night movies, because the night we got engaged, we were both so excited we couldn't sleep, so we went to a late night movie on a Monday night! Since we have been married, we still go to movies, just not as much, and never the late showing! Last night was such a treat :)