Scarves!

Who doesn't love scarves?! I do... even though I've been (affectionately) reminded by my sister that I have a short neck, and that when I wear scarves and turtlenecks it looks like I'm being "choked." Thank you, Erika ;) Nonetheless, scarves are still my FAVORITE fall/winter accessory. Other favorites include boots, leggings, Uggs, etc. etc. but those are not important right now because no one is giving those other fave things away for *free!* If you're a scarf-lover, or know a scarf lover, or just simply like entering to win things... click here:

WWW.SCARVES.NET

You can enter to win a *free* scarf! It takes 2 seconds, might as well! Just like it only took 2 seconds for me to post this, so if no one bothers to read this silly thing for weeks and weeks I won't feel like I've wasted too much time :)

Patio Season

There are few things in life I enjoy more than crisp, cool fall weather. Atlanta temperatures have finally dipped down into the 70's and the evenings are perfect for patio-sitting! I've been making a mental list of all my favorite patio weather restaurants (it is long) and can't wait to start outdoor dining on the weekends :)
But for week nights, movie nights, and late night chatting - I have been hard at work trying to turn our balcony into a cozier place to hang. Who would have thunk that outdoor furniture/decor could be so expensive? Not me! But I still had hope that I could make it cute on a budget. I have spent a few lot of afternoons bargain hunting to turn our balcony into a quaint little sitting area without having to hide my receipts from Andrew! (I totally don't do that. Not often anyway...)

This side of our apartment gets lots of morning sunshine

The chairs were a cheap find that I stumbled upon earlier this year at Target. They were originally $40 each, and I just couldn't justify it. So after looking elsewhere and finding nothing, I went back to Target a few weeks later and got them 50% off! Two for the price of one? I could deal with that. I thought I was finally off to a good start. However, for months and months, the bare brown chairs were the only thing on our balcony! Then came summer clearance season...

Still needs a few living touches... maybe some cooking herbs?

Target had that itty bitty table (but slightly darker brown) displayed with my new chairs for $80. I absolutely refused to spend that much money on a table that you can't even eat a meal off of. As I was roaming through Ross some random July afternoon, looking for literally nothing in particular, this replica caught my eye - but really it was the price tag ($35!) that got my attention! I didn't have a cart, and I underestimated its weight, but I awkwardly carried it to the check out (back corner of the store to the front... waddling) and hurried home to see if it really did match. Well... close enough! Its a lighter brown, but I figured some cushions on the chairs would break up the obvious color mismatch. Off to find some cushions!

Most days you can see Bella sitting in this window :)

No one told me that TJ, Marshall's, Target, etc. etc. run out of patio decorations (decent looking ones anyway) by Memorial Day. All of the cutsie little things I had my eye on, waiting for a sale... gone. Luckily, I stumbled upon the seasonal decorations at World Market - which is usually hit or miss for me - and discovered that they had adorable patio cushions. Unfortunately, I didn't see the point in spending $30/cushion! True to form, I checked back 3 more times and eventually snagged the last two matching cushions (ok, so solid green wasn't my FIRST choice but they totally grew on me) at 75% off! Also picked up some fun paper lantern green/blue/red/purple lights for half off while I was there. I was so excited!

Too bad I killed my hanging baskets... those would have looked so cute right about now!

The watering can is actually a citronella candle (TJ Maxx) and I am still working on finding some hanging baskets that will survive when I forget to water them the cool weather. I'm hoping that stores will be slashing prices on flowers to make room for their pumpkins soon :) And I'm sure I'll be picking up nick nacks to add while I'm out and about. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying the view of my cuter-by-the-day little balcony through the windows and spending cool autumn nights out there sipping wine and catching up on life with my hubby <3

Exploring the South

One state at a time! Ok, not really... but we've traveled to our fair share of southern states lately. Just in the last month we've been in Georgia (duh) and both Carolinas! This past weekend we made last-minute plans to visit Andrew's brother in North Carolina and spent a few days with him in Carrboro (on the outskirts of Chapel Hill) where we explored the UNC campus, a local farmers market, a really nice Durham mall, and some amazing local restaurants!

If only the majority of the items for sale weren't so perishable, I would have been in heaven!

 While the town and area were scenic and interesting... the real highlight of the weekend was spending time with Andrew's parents, brother and little sister! 5/7 of the original crew (5/8 including me - their most recent addition) made the trek to NC for the weekend :) I was characteristically terrible about documenting our weekend - and I stand by my {frequent} vow that I would be a better photographer and documenter (yes, I'm aware that this is not a word) if I had a *new* camera! - but I did manage to snap a few pics with the fam and then stole a few from my sissy-in-law's cell phone just for my own blurry, bad quality records! Maybe Santa will bring me a nice camera so that I'm enticed to take more pictures.......

Loved getting a chance to spend some time w/ this pretty girl :)

We had dinner on this cool terrace overlooking downtown Chapel Hill - so delish!

 And because I promised my lovely mama-in-law that I would keep her picture off of my practically un-read blog, I have screened her (and my father-in-law) out of this pic taken at dinner. If she ever stumbles upon this, I can already hear her giggle in my head!

Delish dinner at Top of the Hill (Steve refused to be photographed)

 Good food and good times were had by all! We loved every minute of our visit with the fam, and missed the other two sisters who were busy being fabulous in NYC and living the dream in Athens, Ohio!

Now... back to reality. For me anyway! Andrew has the week off - he finished another quarter of chiropractic school on Friday and after kicking booty on all of his finals, he has a week to just relax and recoup. I'll be playing catch-up for the next several days thanks to my impromptu mini-vacation and general lack of motivation to be a law student these days! Life is just too short :)

I've been cured...

...of puppy brain. I know people say that 20-something women get "baby brain" and just like really need to have babies all of a sudden. Well, I'm not quite there yet (thank God). But I've had "puppy brain" ever since I saw the chubbiest, cutest Greater Swiss Mountain Dog/Rottweiler mix on PetFinder.com. I've been scoping out breeders and prices and trying to convince Andrew that we could totally make it work in our apartment! But thanks to our adorable little weekend house guest, I am CURED!

Miss Callie McKee-Milyo

Our friends Katie and Pat were away for the weekend, so we happily agreed to watch Callie for them - their 6ish month old King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. She was the sweetest little thing to have around, but omg was she a lot of work! I quickly realized that having a puppy in an apartment is less than ideal... especially if you take the little thing out to potty frequently enough to avoid accidents in the house! (She only had one itty bitty accident - good girl Callie!) We kept her toys and bed in our spare bathroom - just in case - since the tile would be so easy to wipe up.

Playing with her Monkey

Princess Bella was as curious as a kitty could possibly be... she stalked poor Callie from a distance all weekend haha. I think if they spent more time together they would eventually be friends, but for now Bella is just a little unsure and seems to get jealous when she has to share her mom with this other creature.

Staring at the bathroom door... keeping a safe 3ft of distance between her and the pup.

Callie's gate was really fun to play with though :)

While Callie was closed in the bathroom, Bella roamed around as usual. But when Callie was out to play, our smart little kitty wedged herself in her favorite daytime nap spot - the crevice between the love seat and the living room windows - out of sight, and very cozy!

Perfect spot to nap and watch the birds!

Like I said... I've been cured. You (more like, Andrew) won't be hearing me beg and plead for a puppy any time too soon! We will gladly play the pet-sitter role for our friends on weekends, but our hassle-free life as kitty-owners suits me just fine as long as we're living the city life :) Bella will be thrilled with this news, I'm sure... as will my parents, who happily house their four-legged grandchildren during holidays and vacations haha...

So, no more "puppy-brain" for this girl. And let's hope we can ward off "baby brain" with the occasional weekend babysitting job for a few more years, too!