Friday Five!

Short week or not, Friday is always a welcome sight!

One. Warning: random rant ahead! So my cell's area code is 863 - the area code of my hometown. Apparently this confuses people, primarily clients, since the 3 main area codes in South Carolina are 864, 803, and 843. However, I assure you, my cell number is NOT a typo! My number is correct on my business cards, email signature, and everywhere else - promise! It really is an 863 area code! I'm ranting because apparently, the poor people who have my number in the 864 and 803 area codes have been called multiple times by people looking for me, and I've been told that these folks are NOT too happy to be getting my calls all the time. I feel like I should call them and tell them it's not my fault they keep getting calls for me! How would that convo go? "Um, hi, this is Kristin, the person you keep getting calls for??" Ha! What do you think - should I call them?? 

Two. Let me preface this by saying that I don't have a green thumb, or even a green finger for that matter. Maybe a green pinkie toe if I'm lucky. But I have this itch to do something with our backyard. I feel like it's a big blank canvas just waiting for some color (preferably done by someone who won't kill it immediately). We've been talking about building a firepit and laying sod - I would really love to do that and more this summer. We'll see what we get around to and what our wallet can handle. 

Three.  I'm loving this artwork that I finally hung in the front living room. I deliberated over what I should hang on this large wall above the couch. When I found these pretty matted frames at Michael's on clearance for $11 each, I grabbed three, thinking I'd use them for photos. But instead, I decided to get crafty and create some custom art that matches the room. Full room pics are coming soon!

Four. Now that Memorial Day is over, summer is in full swing! We have a few little weekend trips planned for the summer, but I gotta be honest: the travel bug is biting. I keep thinking about our amazing trip to Italy last year and I really want to go to Europe again! It's doubtful that we can pull that off so late in the game this year, but one can dream. 

Five. My hubby is HOME! After 16 long days away, I'm so glad to have him back. I just missed him so much. Looking forward to spending a weekend with him without too much on the schedule! 

Linking up with

 April, Christina, Natasha and Darci! 

A few thoughts for this Tuesday Wednesday.

1. I love me a short work week, but I am so mixed up as a result of having Monday off. To make things worse, I worked from home yesterday, so today really feels like Monday or Tuesday, and definitely not Wednesday. But, no complaints here.

2. I worked from home yesterday because I'm the proud new owner of a snazzy new air conditioning unit. Last Wednesday, when the high was somewhere around 95, I came home to a warm house. Turns out my a/c unit shorted out and even though it could have been repaired, it just wasn't a wise decision to repait a 36-year-old unit. YES, 36. I'm not sure how much you know about a/c units, but 36 is like a person who is 120. It just doesn't happen. So we opted to replace it. It was exactly how I wanted to spend $4,000. Homeownership...ain't it fun?

3. Monday night, I was pulling double duty: I was watching Alex and the team on the Golf Channel at NCAAs, but they were still playing in a very close race for a spot in match play - kind of like the Elite 8 of the college golf world - when Bachelorette started. So I did the only logical thing I could think of and watched the tourney live on my iPad and had Bach on in the background. (Sidenote: the team didn't make match play, but they finished 9th - the second highest finish in school history! And I got to see and hear the hubs on TV, which was really needed since I haven't seen him in over 2 weeks.)

4. Because of my confusion of the days of the week and thinking that yesterday was Monday, I got excited around 7pm last night and thought: "Yay! Bach in a little bit! The only good thing about Mondays!" And then I remembered I watched it the night before (obviously, I was distracted while watching). Which made me sad for about .25 seconds and then I was all, "Yes! It's already Tuesday!"

5. My husband comes home from 16 days away TODAY! We have been apart for much longer than this before, but I just missed him so much this trip! I can't wait to see him and show him all the little projects I've done around the house since he's been gone. I get so much done when he's not around. Funny how that happens!

And I know the girls will be so happy to have him home! 

xo

KH

Memorial Day in the mountains: views, drinks, shopping, laughter

Nothing like getting back to it after a long weekend, right?! So hard to get things going!

My Memorial Day weekend was, to be honest, much more fun than I thought it was going to be just a few days before it began! Alex has been gone for two weeks - YUCK - for the end of the NCAA golf season, so I was planning to head to mom's cabin and just chill up there with her and my stepdad. Nothing wrong with that scenario...I was just planning on a slow, relaxing weekend. And then my bestie Lindsey from Florida told me she was taking a spontaneous trip to see me - and I was all "YES!" And so it was.

We kicked off the weekend with dinner at the historic Grove Park Inn in Asheville with my parents and some of their friends. [Sidebar: Ladies, make your man take you to this place for your next anniversary. Swoon.]

A very nice way to start the weekend!

I mean, our dinner view was okay...

The rest of the weekend was spent outlet shopping, drinking margaritas, hot tubbing, drinking wine, girl talking, and drinking mimosas. It was a really nice escape for Lindsey and a really fun weekend for me! Getting to spend a weekend with my bestie was, well, the BEST. I haven't laughed so hard in a while! 

A good summary of the weekend: chocolate and cheez-its happy hour; chipmunks; my adorable pups; mountain views

Coffee. Happy hour. Hot tub drinks. Repeat. 

Lindsey left on Monday morning to drive back to Florida, so that left me and my pups to hang around the house, lay out in the backyard, get started on my next book for book club (The Burgess Boys), and watch my hubby on the Golf Channel, doing his thang coaching at NCAAs. 

Ellie, my travel buddy!
Not pictured: the 4-pounder who claims the whole passenger seat for herself.

I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend with family and friends - and remembered those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom!

xo
KH

Five things that have happened in the last 30 days

Greetings! It happened again - I went off the grid for, oh, 4 weeks. NBD. Life got a little bit busy for some crazy reason. Every time I think that this month or that month will be slow, easy, or even just manageable, I tend to be wrong! 

Here's a look at some of the things that have been keeping me from writing. Or, at the very least, kept me busy enough that writing got pushed to the back burner. 

ONE. We hosted Easter! It's turned into a bit of a tradition to host both of our families for Easter. This year, we had A's parents and my mom and stepdad for Easter dinner. It was the first dinner party we've had at our new home, so it was fun to break out the china and crystal, and pluck some fresh flowers from the "garden" (by any other name, the azalea bushes out front). 

TWO. My huge work event that I'd been planning forever (literally since my first week on the job back in August) FINALLY happened! It was postponed due to winter weather when South Carolina had a big snow and ice storm in February. Having this event go off without a hitch was a huge relief. And I'm thankful that the Governor and all my other speakers showed up, as planned. Always a plus!

THREE. My cousin Ginger got married in Pennsylvania! She is only 4 months older than me, and we grew up in the same small town, so we were very close. For the last several years, she's been in PA and I've been in SC so I don't see her as much, but she will always be like a sister to me! She looked absolutely stunning: I've never seen a bride with so much JOY just radiating from her!

FOUR. Another wedding, this one just down the road in Charleston. My sorority sister Angie got married last weekend, and I hadn't seen her in over 6 years! Two other sorority sisters were there too, and I hadn't seen them in almost as long. It was such a fun mini college reunion!

FIVE. I've been working like crazy to get my front living room finished. This room has been the last one to get any attention after moving in. Since we didn't have any furniture for it when we moved in last August, it just sat empty for several months. Little by little, I've been adding to it and completing DIY projects for it, and I'm finally getting close to completion! I'm planning to share all the rooms of our home soon!

Just a sneak peek - nowhere near the finished product! 

In addition to all of this, work has been off the chain the last several weeks, Alex is traveling for the next 2 weeks for work (leaving me as the single parent of the dogs), and we've been out of town almost every weekend for months. I'm pooped! Hoping that the rest of May brings a slower pace as Summer makes her long-awaited return. 

xo

KH

Linking up with

 April, Christina, Natasha and Darci!