long weekend = long post

I hope your Labor Day Weekend was as wonderful as mine was.

Our road trip began Friday evening...(if you didn't know already, Justin likes to make scary faces in photos...)

We weren't quite as hyper once we hit bumper to bumper traffic in Atlanta, but what can you do? We decided to pass the time by only listening to our favorite '90s songs on the iPod. We're talking Semi-Charmed Life, Alanis Morisette, Boyz II Men, Hootie and the Blowfish, 10,000 Maniacs and anything else from the '90s from CHARLOTTE TO ATLANTA. We arrived in Atlanta closer to midnight, and were thrilled to see Emily and Rob (AND their new home!) They have recently bought a new to them, but old in reality condo on the edge of an EXPENSIVE history neighborhood. Their condo is basically what dreams are made of... high ceilings, huge windows, hardwood floors, state of the art kitchen and retro bathrooms. Here is a very poor quality photo of their dining room and screened in porch from their living room.After staying up till the wee hours of the morning, we slept in on Saturday morning, ate a wonderful breakfast together (oatmeal pancakes, berry compote, scrambled cheddar eggs and bacon), then headed into midtown (I think that's what they call it) for a little SHOPPING. My heart skipped a beat when I saw this...

It was Justin's first time at the big blue and yellow box of bargains and fun. I was so excited to spend my recently earned fun money...Four hours later, I had finished my shopping, with a final score of: 1 coke float, 1 hot dog, 2 cases of shelving for my laundry room/pantry, 1 accent pillow for the guest room, 1 pair of curtains for the guest room, 1 roll of drawing paper for Justin's classroom, 1 metal planting box, 1 clock, ALL of the candles for the wedding, and ALL of the candle holders for the wedding. Considering that we are having candles EVERYWHERE at the wedding, scoring the last two items on that list are like finding the Golden Snitch at Hogwarts. After the day-o-shopping, Justin and the car looked like this...We only had to fold the middle seat down :) We had dinner at a sweet little Thai restaurant, then went home at watched Planet Earth.

Sunday morning, we decided to celebrate God's creation by trying to be the first in line at the Georgia Aquarium. Holy moly. That place was nothing short of amazing.

(that's a BELUGA WHALE... baby beluga...)

I have so many photos and videos of the fish and WHALE SHARKS, that it would take me years to post them on here. You all should just go to Georgia and see them for yourself. Sunday night we went to FOOD 101, an unbelievable restaurant in Atlanta. We all stuffed ourselves, and were quite satisfied, especially after the after-dinner drinks...

Again, after dinner we went home and watched more Planet Earth - this time the "Shallow Seas" disc to finish off our ocean-inspired day. Monday we woke up, packed up, and drove home so that I could teach a class. However, this did not keep me from stopping at the Pottery Barn Outlet in SC, and doing my part to help out at their Labor Day Sale. 70% off clearance = New Organic Duvet, and 4 Pillow Shams for our new bed!! (The same bed that I'm not allowed to sleep in until we're married... at least it will look pretty for 3 more months)

I cannot WAIT to show you all the stuff and fun design projects that I am going to do in the coming weeks, thanks to IKEA and PB Outlet... Guest Bedroom Redo and Laundry Room Redo comin' up. Oh yeah, and I'll refinish that hutch sometime, too.