Our weekend getaway

Ahhhhh....the only word I have to explain our weekend. To celebrate our 7th anniversary we dropped our girls off with my sister and headed off to Greer. I made us (very expensive, but very worth it) reservations at the Red Setter Inn. It has been named one of the three best bed and breakfasts in the county and the best in the state. And I am here to tell you, I can see why! Jared and I agreed that the only problem was that we were only staying one night. We felt like we needed one more because it was so wonderful. There are no kids allowed (you have to be at least 16 to stay) and the staff was so friendly. They will do anything for you! The breakfast we so yummy, an apple walnut pancake with sausage and scrambled eggs. (And Heather, the sausage was not mysterious! I even ate it with no problem!)

When I booked our room I was a little scared because it's not really my style (who really cares anyway?) but it was great. They say that each room has a Westin heavenly Mattress and let me tell you something! It was HEAVENLY! The absolute best mattress I have ever put my body on. I got up early Saturday morning and after breakfast and before checkout I climbed back in bed to enjoy one more delicious nap before we had to go. The best sleep ever.

Here's the cutesy room that I was scared I wouldn't really like:

It worked out great because we were the only room that had its own private sitting area. Jared enjoyed that while I enjoyed my morning nap.

The view from our back door:

It was torture.

Our weekend getaway

Ahhhhh....the only word I have to explain our weekend. To celebrate our 7th anniversary we dropped our girls off with my sister and headed off to Greer. I made us (very expensive, but very worth it) reservations at the Red Setter Inn. It has been named one of the three best bed and breakfasts in the county and the best in the state. And I am here to tell you, I can see why! Jared and I agreed that the only problem was that we were only staying one night. We felt like we needed one more because it was so wonderful. There are no kids allowed (you have to be at least 16 to stay) and the staff was so friendly. They will do anything for you! The breakfast we so yummy, an apple walnut pancake with sausage and scrambled eggs. (And Heather, the sausage was not mysterious! I even ate it with no problem!)

When I booked our room I was a little scared because it's not really my style (who really cares anyway?) but it was great. They say that each room has a Westin heavenly Mattress and let me tell you something! It was HEAVENLY! The absolute best mattress I have ever put my body on. I got up early Saturday morning and after breakfast and before checkout I climbed back in bed to enjoy one more delicious nap before we had to go. The best sleep ever.

Here's the cutesy room that I was scared I wouldn't really like:

It worked out great because we were the only room that had its own private sitting area. Jared enjoyed that while I enjoyed my morning nap.

The view from our back door:

It was torture.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

You might be surprised to know that "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" is one of my favorite songs! So it was only fitting that that was the theme for our Achievement Day's party last night. It was so fun!

A few months ago the girls memorized a song and as a reward we let them help plan an activity. They chose a pajama party. We told them that that's what it would be but didn't tell them anything else we had planned. It was a blast!

We let them make their own pizzas, we danced, we played some really fun games, we laughed, we ate chocolate fondue....it was a ball!

I made a playlist with different "teen beat" songs and had it playing when the girls showed up. There were songs from The Jonas Brothers, High School Musical, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lavato and more. You know, girlie songs. The music blared and the girls and I danced like crazy!

Each girl make their own pizza and after dinner we got to the games. We played a game called "the trash can game" (so fun! For directions, check this out), chubby bunny and "what if?" What if is a classic Richardson family game. There are directions to that as well if you click on the link above.

During the trash can game the girls got so excited they were jumping up and down chanting each others names and cheering each time someone found a gift. It was hysterical! They were so loud but I had to say that I was only adding to the noise. It was great!

Chubby Bunny was also hilarious.

Once the games were over we had just enough time to have dessert. We had strawberries, graham crackers, pretzels, bananas, marshmallows and more for them to dip in the chocolate.

This little gal was the life of the party! She danced harder, played harder and enjoyed more than anyone. She is going to be quite the teenager.

Ahhh...I just love these girls!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

You might be surprised to know that "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" is one of my favorite songs! So it was only fitting that that was the theme for our Achievement Day's party last night. It was so fun!

A few months ago the girls memorized a song and as a reward we let them help plan an activity. They chose a pajama party. We told them that that's what it would be but didn't tell them anything else we had planned. It was a blast!

We let them make their own pizzas, we danced, we played some really fun games, we laughed, we ate chocolate fondue....it was a ball!

I made a playlist with different "teen beat" songs and had it playing when the girls showed up. There were songs from The Jonas Brothers, High School Musical, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lavato and more. You know, girlie songs. The music blared and the girls and I danced like crazy!

Each girl make their own pizza and after dinner we got to the games. We played a game called "the trash can game" (so fun! For directions, check this out), chubby bunny and "what if?" What if is a classic Richardson family game. There are directions to that as well if you click on the link above.

During the trash can game the girls got so excited they were jumping up and down chanting each others names and cheering each time someone found a gift. It was hysterical! They were so loud but I had to say that I was only adding to the noise. It was great!

Chubby Bunny was also hilarious.

Once the games were over we had just enough time to have dessert. We had strawberries, graham crackers, pretzels, bananas, marshmallows and more for them to dip in the chocolate.

This little gal was the life of the party! She danced harder, played harder and enjoyed more than anyone. She is going to be quite the teenager.

Ahhh...I just love these girls!

I'll try anything once

Yesterday I joked with a friend that I'll try to make anything homemade. My laundry soap, my yogurt, my tortillas, my bread and much more. Yesterday I made homemade hamburger buns. I searched a bunch of recipes and finally found one that I thought would be the best. They were very tasty and pretty light but just a tiny bit too heavy for me. I am going to work on them being lighter, like a real store bought bun. Next time I also won't be so scared and I will flatten them out more.

But, the best part? I got to use my new bun warmer for the first time!

My mother in law had the same one, just in a 70's green color. It is so handy and I always thought it was the greatest thing. I also thought that since it was an antique that they were non-existent anymore. I saw that Jared's grandma had one as well so I checked out the brand on the bottom and went shopping on e-Bay! And for $4 I got myself a bun warmer. My new favorite kitchen item!

I'll try anything once

Yesterday I joked with a friend that I'll try to make anything homemade. My laundry soap, my yogurt, my tortillas, my bread and much more. Yesterday I made homemade hamburger buns. I searched a bunch of recipes and finally found one that I thought would be the best. They were very tasty and pretty light but just a tiny bit too heavy for me. I am going to work on them being lighter, like a real store bought bun. Next time I also won't be so scared and I will flatten them out more.

But, the best part? I got to use my new bun warmer for the first time!

My mother in law had the same one, just in a 70's green color. It is so handy and I always thought it was the greatest thing. I also thought that since it was an antique that they were non-existent anymore. I saw that Jared's grandma had one as well so I checked out the brand on the bottom and went shopping on e-Bay! And for $4 I got myself a bun warmer. My new favorite kitchen item!

From blah to beautiful

You guess it, another project. I know I have posted so many lately, but I do it for journaling purposes mainly.

This time it was my piano bench. Now, beautiful might be too generous of a word but it's all i could come up with.

So, here you have the before:

And the after:

It now matches the chairs I recovered last week!