O.T.W- A Cottage Escape

We loaded up over the weekend and headed to Gulf Shores, AL for a girls weekend get-away!!

Friday happened to be my mom's birthday so we got to celebrate that and Saturday we had a little bachelorette bash for my cousin.

I love the beach and all that it entails. Seafood? Yes please! Florabama? How I've missed thee! Waves upon my feet? Why, I think I'm in heaven!!

We went a different route this beach trip. We normally rent a condo right on the beach but since there were nine of us going we felt like a house would be a better option. My cousin, Lane, mentioned staying in one of the cottages at the Alabama Gulf State Park. It was a much better deal price wise and would house everyone comfortably.

I was a little unsure what type of living conditions we would have for the weekend, but I was going for it.

You see, when I think state park I think rustic wood cabin and communal bathrooms. Let me tell you how wrong I was!!

We stayed in the Gulf Shores State Park Lakeside Cottages and they were so. stinkin. cute!! I loved it!!!

Check out our little weekend abode:

Three bedrooms and three baths.

Coffee was consumed one of the two screened in porches.

We didn't see any aligators but mom did check for any signs of them.

Friday night we had dinner at DOC's Seafood and hit up the infamous FLORABAMA. Bushwackers were downed and dancing was done!

Shrimp Boil!!

Deidra got a little flirtatious with B, the Cowboy.

He was a cutey.

Aunt Elaine met a guy... who apparently told her a secret...

... and then fell asleep. I'm telling you Florabama is filled with all kinds of people. You never know who you might cross paths with.

Saturday we had breakfast at the cottage and then hit the beach.

It was so HOT. I'm talking So. Freaking. HoT. But we just got in and out of the ocean to stay cool.

Saturday night we hosted a little bachelorette party for my cousin, Anna. She had a great time.

To wrap up the weekend we hit up Live Bait for karaoke and made one last pit stop at Florabama.

Overall the weekend was so much fun. I loved being at the beach with family and friends for a girls' weekend. Sometimes we all just need a little time away!!

TV Time

In looking back over this here blog I realized that I have done multiple post about different TV Show that I watch.

It made me feel as though I should state for the record that I actually do have a life, but on week nights nine times out of ten times you can find me fresh off of a work out chilling in front of the TV.

It's what I do... Work, hit the gym, eat, watch TV, hang with Ryan, and wait for the weekend.

I wanted to tell you about two shows that I am loving right now.

The first is a show that comes on Thursday nights on USA called, Suits. 

Ryan and I are really into it. Every episode I kept saying "where I have seen the guy that plays Harvey" and Ryan couldn't help me place him.

Then one day E! played the movie, Because I Said So and there he was... I had placed him.

Now, this show is about lawyers but it's a new take on it. Tune in!! It's gotten great reviews and has been picked up for another season.

In a completely different direction... I am also loving the Lifetime show, Picker Sisters.

Two girls travel the back roads in search of "junk" that they turn into "treasures."

I love the friendship the girls have, but most importantly I love to see what they turn there finds into.

It comes on Tuesday night!

I hope you add these two shows to your TV line up.

Pinning Like Ya Mama*

*sing to the tune of stuntting like your daddy.

So Pintrest has grabbed hold of practically everyone I know. Its full of all kinds of ideas and inspiration.

Just this past Friday night over dinner, Deidra and began discussing the many uses of pallets according to Pintrest. This not only made for great conversation but also inspired us to actually go out and collect pallets.

Pallet Inspiration via Joy Ever After

So obviously after a few glasses of the vino Deidra and I found ourselves behind the local Piggly Wiggly attempting to load a pallet into the car. It was quite the sight. Dumpster diving late night.

Well last night as I was searching for fashion inspiration I came across this pin:

Via

I thought: That is really kind of cool. Ryan has lots of shirts I can turn into a shirt dress!!

My wardrobe was about to increase by tenfold!!

So I hopped up and tested it out. Here's how it went down:

Step 1. Dig in closet and find a shirt similiar to the one above:

Srep 2. Put on big shirt. (leave on leggings and footies since you just got back from the gym. Also, leave hair looking crazy.)

Step 3.  Tie the arms of the shirt around you and knot. Let hair down for a fresher look.

Step 4. Crack up at how ridiculous it is that you are tying up your man's shirt in attempt to make a shirt dress.  

Moral of the shirt story. No one could actually wear this because it would never stay up.

Happy Pinning!

O.T.W. - Swamp People

It's Wednesday and I'm just now getting around to telling y'all about this past weekend. It was a big one.

In short, I celebrated Deidra's Birthday, harassed the Swamp People and lost a cookie cake.

Let me recap...

So you may recall me posting about being a big fan of the Swamp People (click the link to watch a clip.) It's a show that comes on The History Channel. Well, my mom also happens to love the show as well.

Mom caught wind that Troy and Jacob Landry, alligator extraordinaire, would be in Montgomery at the 2011 Annual Buck Masters Expo.  She sort of mentioned it one day while we were by the pool and the next thing I knew we were planning to head to Montgomery, AL to meet them sometime in August.

For those of you not from the South let me explain the Buck Masters.... It is probably the most stereotypical picture one could paint of Alabama. Lots of camo, deer, rednecks (but not all rednecks), lots of men who love all things hunting related, and a bow expo tossed in for good measure.

It's what movies portray Alabama to be. And I would say, yes Alabama is a lot of that, but Alabama is also pretty girls, good manners, kind gentlemen, football, family and God. Is that sterotypical too?

I digress. Saturday morning I tossed on my holiest jeans in an attempt to blend in with the crowd that was sure to be taking Montgomery by storm and we hit the road.

We were going to meet The Swamp People and we were stoked! Upon arriving in Montgomery I got a bit turned around which was cool because I was able to snap these pics:

I had the doors locked in this neighborhood.

Montgomery is our state capital and it is filled with history, but it can also be a bit sketchy in places as the pictures about might show.

The Buck Masters was everything I thought it would be:

Deidra and Aston and Mounted Deer

I think I'm testing a tree stand.

Ryan's cousin is having a baby girl... Baby gift perhaps?

More deer.

Camo bathing suits = taking it too far.

But I was there for one reason and one reason only. I wanted to know where they Swamp People were!!

I grabbed a man working one of the booths and demanded he point me in the right direction. And being the kind stranger that he was he walked us to the lobby and said, "See all those people, that's where the Swamp Folks are."

Now, I was fully prepared for a small wait. We were thinking roughly thirty minutes. We would grab a beer (because there was also a bar at the Buck Masters) and wait it out.

I see the crowd of people and decide I need to locate the line. I turned to a police office and inquired. He simply pointed down a hallway.... I followed the line which went down a hall, down a flight of steps, into a lobby, out a door, and wrapped back around.

It was CRAZYTOWN!! I did NOT realize The Swamp People were so popular.

I'm no fool. I was NOT about to wait in that line. NO Way!! So we did what any normal people would do. We posed in front of the booth and snapped pictures. In between one person's turn to meet them and the next, we said hey to Troy and Jacob.

This is what we learned:

• Jacob is much cuter in real life. Deidra should have been on that.
• Troy is also much more attractive in real life. He has very muscular arms.
• Their thick Cajun accents are really that thick. Troy would say, "Choot dat camera, man!" and would get big laughs.
• They are obviously making bank due to a little show on the History Channel. (yet another reason Deidra should have tried a little harder to sweep Jacob off his feet)
• People are batshit crazy for waiting in line for 4-6 hours to meet to ordinary alligator hunters.

Fmaily Affair.  Please note Dad and Justin rocked camo head gear.

After returning from our trip to camo country we met up with Ryan and friends for a birthday dinner for Deidra, as Saturday was her birthday. According to her dad she's entering in her late 20's. Deidra says she still in the mid-20's. 

Which was lots of fun!!

The night ran really late and turned into a sleep over at our house. We ended up with more people than we had beds so I busted out an air mattress in the kitchen.

It blew Maggie's mind!

On Sunday after lunch Ryan mentioned wanting something sweet... and it hit me. I ordered Deidra a cookie cake and hid it so that she wouldn't see it until Saturday on her birthday. For some reason I hid it in our office and never thought about it again. I texted Deidra a picture of it... and Ryan and I ate it up!! Yummmm!

Sunday I watched Steel Magnolias and cried. Gosh I hate that Shelby has to die. 

It was a good weekend with friends, famous folks, and fun.