Weekend in Atlanta

First of all, let me say thank you to all the service men and women past and present who put their lives on the line to protect our country! You are appreciated!

I went to Atlanta this weekend with some friends this weekend. A good time was had by all! We did a lot of eating, talking and partying. We hit up the Jazz Festival Saturday and some went to a house music party Saturday night. Church, a WNBA game and a Ladies at Play game on Sunday.

Thanks to BR and RH for being such wonderful hostesses!!! Looking forward to my visit to Atlanta next month.
Here are some pics from our weekend. I didn’t do much snapping this time. Very unusual.

How did you spend your Memorial Day weekend?

Peace and blessings,
Michelle

 

Making Plans and Moving On…

I moved to Dayton in 2000, and since I have been here I have met some wonderful people and done a lot of things. I like the city and the things that it has to offer. But, I knew when I moved here that this would not be where I would lay my roots. Over the past year I have been talking with a friend about moving to Atlanta. I decided about 6 months ago that once I graduate and find a job down there that is what I will do.
Upon my arrival in Atlanta I will rent an apartment, but my goal is to purchase my first house. As you all know, I love decorating, and I am very excited about decorating my future first home. As a result, I have been scouring the net to find inspiration.
Here are some of the photos that I have found. (All photos are from the DwellingGawker app).
As you all know by now, I am an Ikea lover. I constantly read the Ikea Hacker blog. Here is an Ikea hack that I absolutely love.

I currently live in a one bedroom apartment, and I have art all over the apartment. Once I buy my home I plan to go to oversized art. There is something about it that I am really attracted to.

I love how these homeowners have put images of their kids above the sofa. I plan to do this with some of my family photos. I also love the white sofa. It allows you to put pops of color and still have that clean look.

These last photos are of looks that I like. I can see something in each room that I can pull out and add to my home. As you will be able to tell by the photos, I love decorating with white!!!

Where do you get your decorating inspiration?

Peace and blessings,
Michelle

 

Newboy Cap for Molly

Molly (not her real name, just a nickname that I gave her) and I have been friends since I started working at the Post Office in New Jersey in 2000. She was one of the first people that I met, and we clicked right away.

Over time I have friends who want projects made. I have promised Molly so many items that I figured I better get started on the list. I can now cross item number one off my list…a newsboy cap. I hope it fits since she didn’t send me her head measurements, and she’s natural. Since it has been years since she started requesting items, I guess I should cross a couple items off the list. She wants a pair of knit socks. I will see if I can handle that without getting SSS (second sock syndrome). Where you finish the first sock and don’t want to do the next.

Here is the final product. The hat is made with Taupe Cotton Ease yarn. The pattern was purposed on Etsy from the shop CrocheTrend.

Hope you enjoy it Molly.

Peace and blessings,
Michelle

 

Happy Birthday Bestie

Today is my bestie’s birthday, and I want to take the opportunity to wish her a happy birthday publicly! She and I have been friends since 1999 and I will go on record as saying that I know without a doubt that she will walk through the fire for me. There aren’t many people in my life who I feel have my back 100%, but I never had that concern with her, which is why she is my best friend.

As all friends do, we has disagreements, but this has never disrupted the harmony of our friendship! I know that if I called and needed her today she would do whatever she had to do to get to me. Because of this, I want to thank her for always standing by me, even when others walked away. Thanks for putting up with me when I was in a bad mood. Thanks for laughing with me, and crying with me. Thanks for all the times that you listened as I poured out my hurt, my fears and my concerns. You aren’t just a friend, you have become family to me. I am closer to you than I am to some of my blood relatives!

To all of you who have a best friend, make sure you remember to cherish them. They don’t come around too often! I am thankful for mine, and B.C. I want you to know that I love you with all my heart!

Peace and Blessings,
Michelle

 

Time to Reconnect

I saw this picture on Pinterest and I immediately had an “aha moment”. A mom made up this basket with a sign that says, “Be with the friends who are here”. When her children’s friends come over they have to drop their cellphones in the basket.

I thought back to my family reunion, and at one point all the people from age 14 to my age group (39) had their cell phones out doing something. It didn’t hit me then because that is the norm now, but after seeing that picture yesterday, it really made me think about how disconnected we are. Instead of going to visit friends, we text them or we Facebook them. I spend a lot of time on my phone…not really on Facebook a lot anymore, or even texting, but I spend a lot of time looking at decorating sites and things of that nature. I felt my own disconnect when I saw this picture. Even when I am with friends or family I find myself checking my phone. So, I am making the pledge to reconnect.
I want a basket just like this in my entryway, so when friends and family come over, we can honestly be present in the moment, and not tweeting or checking our statuses on Facebook!

Have you found that you have become disconnected from what really matters?

Peace and Blessings!
Michelle

 

Another year that God has kept me…

I celebrated my 39th birthday on September 27th and I am so thankful to God for allowing me to see another year. I acknowledge the fact that every moment is fleeting, so I must make the best of every moment that I have. I look back and a line from the song Native New Yorker by Oddyssey comes to mind, “Where did all those yesterday’s go?”

Although I spent my birthday working and attending Spanish class, I am thankful that I have a job to go to and that I have the ability to learn. After Spanish class T took me to Jeet India for dinner, which was very good! All in all I must say that I had a blessed birthday!

I received a few gifts this year, and I am thankful to each person who thought enough of me to spend their hard earned money on me. The woman who gave me life picked up the hint that I put on Facebook and bought me the Dooney & Bourke bag that I wanted. I am not a big designer purse person, but I fell in love with this bag!

My bestie had her gift sent to me 11 days early, so I had to go through the torture of not opening it. I did read the card though, and of course I cried. She also picked up what I was putting down on Facebook, and bought me the new ironing board cover that I wanted.

I live 5 blocks from my job, so I walk in to work. It was raining on Friday so I rolled up and jeans and walked to work with my golf umbrella. When I got to work I told my supervisor/2nd mom that I had to get some goulashes so that I don’t have to hike my pants up to walk in to work. So, she bought me a cute pair of DKNY goulashes! It is raining now so I am going to wear them to my Child Welfare class.

T asked me what I wanted for my birthday, so I gave her my Amazon wishlist. She got me a Groupon for a mani/pedi, a Groupon for the Indian restaurant, 3 of the books I wanted and some items from Bath and Body Works. I love it all!

Pledging to live more, learn more and love more this year!

Peace and blessings,
Michelle

 

Girls Day Out…

On Saturday I went to see Friends With Benefits with a group of my girlfriends. I must say that up until that day I had not seen a preview for the movie. I thought it was a good movie, and I found Woody Harrelson’s character to be extremely funny. This is definitely a movie that I would buy on DVD.
After the movie we went to Friday’s for dinner. We had a few drink problems (not enough liquor) and a food problem (fries too cold). But, at the end of the day we enjoyed each other’s company.
After dinner four of us went down to RiverScape to check out the Celtic Festival. We saw lots of kilts and beer.
All in all I would say today was a good day.

How did you spend your weekend?

Peace and Blessings!
Michelle

 

My Weekend, Part 2

My friend Kelly turned 30 on the 21st of August. So, we decided to take her out to dinner to celebrate. She got to choose the restaurant. She chose Benihana. I chose this restaurant for my 37th birthday celebration, and I loved it. So, I was gung-ho about this one.

I ordered the scallop dinner. I love seafood. They were so tasty.

Our gift to her was a book about making metal jewelry. She has been talking about making silver jewelry for the longest. So, when I saw this book I felt that it would be the perfect gift for her. She seemed excited about it.

For her 30th birthday she went on a trip to D.C. She stayed with a friend who lives in a communal house. She lives with 4 other women, and they split everything 5 ways. They are all working toward social justice in different areas. I don’t know if I could do communal living, but it sounds interesting to live with 4 other people who share your values.

She brought us all a gift back from her trip. Alice Walker’s book We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For, and a Michael Jackson tribute CD. I started the book the next day and I am enjoying it. I actually got a few aha moments from the first few pages. Especially when she talked about June Jordan . I thought about what kind of legacy I would leave behind, and how I need to be more involved in helping the economically, spiritually, politically and socially oppressed. So, I am on a mission to make a difference in the lives of others!!!

All in all, we had a wonderful time. Now I am trying to decide where I want to have the dinner for my 38th birthday.

Sidebar: My stationery is in and I am in love. We both like the square stationery the best. I can’t wait to use it!!!

 

Thankful for so much…

Turkey Day is finally here. I wish you and your family a happy, healthy and blessed Thanksgiving. I am sitting on the couch with the Mrs watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. This is the first time that I’ve ever watched it….even when I lived in Jersey I never watched.

Even in times of recession, we all have a lot to be thankful for. I am thankful for my health, a loving wife, my job, and my friends and family.We were going to cook and have friends over to our home, but our friend Stevie invited us to have dinner with his family. So, we will be heading over there this afternoon to eat. We have invited friends to come over tonight at 8 for dessert, wine, and some games. We always have a blast when we have game nights. We are making cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies.

So, you all know that I got my hair cut yesterday. I have a TWA. I love the fact that it’s all natural, but I do not like the style on my face.   Last night a friend twisted it for me. My wife says she likes the twists, but I am not sure that I do. I think the issue is that I have never had short hair…so, I need to find a style that compliments my face. I will be experimenting for a little while to see if I can find something that I like. I will post pics soon. Not comfortable right now.

Well, I am going to relax for a little while. I am washing clothes, so I guess I should go downstairs and put them in the dryer. Be blessed everyone, and be safe.

Peace and blessings,

Michelle

 

 

 

Another busy weekend…

Once again, the Mrs. and I had another busy weekend. It all started on Friday. I decided to have my birthday dinner on Friday, instead of waiting until Sunday. My dinner was held at Benihana. It was wonderful. 8 of the 13 who were scheduled to come showed. Some people text when we got there saying they couldn’t make it, and some didn’t text at all. So inconsiderate.

The food was delicious. Had the best California Roll in my life at Benihana that night. My friend K.S. ordered some and she left me taste it. It was just so fresh. I also had some Edamame and as my main dish I had the seafood combination, which included shrimp, scallop and lobster. Everything was so tasty!!!

On Saturday, I was still craving California Rolls. I wanted to go to Benihana to get a to-go order, but it is a little out of the way. So, we decided to go to Bangkok Bistro instead. We went by the Family Christian store to get Maya’s christening gift. After that, we went by Michael’s so that I could pick up some yarn. Our friend R. had given me a gift card for my birthday. We chatted with our friend K.S., and made plans to meet up at Bangkok. She didn’t get off work until 5, so we decided to stop by The Snooty Fox. I have been wanting to go there for a long time.

I bought a shirt, a dress and a nice gray sweater. The prices were very good. My wife bought a cordorouy coat for her goddaughter Maya. I can see her rocking it with some pink on with it.

While we were eating my friend Brandi text me to let me know that she would be in Dayton for one day. She was flying to El Paso Sunday morning for work. She asked if we wanted to drive up to Dayton to  meet her. She was driving to Dayton from Cambridge after her grandmother’s retirement dinner. She was to get to Dayton around 9. Then she called back and said 10.

We made plans to go to Therapy Cafe. When we got to Dayton, we found out that they were having Salsa night. So, we decided to go a couple doors down to the wine gallery. I am glad we did. It was nice and quiet in there. We ordered some food to share, and we sat around laughing and talking until 1:30 in the morning.

My wife and I arrived home at 2:30 am and crawled into bed. We had to get up at 7:30 am to drive to Columbus for Maya’s christening. We were all kinds of tired. After the christening we went to Golden Corral for dinner, and then we made the trek home.

Even though the weekend was a very busy one, it was a fun one. Thankful for good friends…and good food. LOL

Peace and Blessings,

Michelle