Weekend Recap Archives - 2 Cats and Chloe

Such a crazy weekend + essentials!

May 18, 2015 by Susan 8 Comments

{This post is sponsored by U by Kotex.} What a weekend. Seriously, it was one of the best weekend’s I have had in a very long, long time. We may only be in early spring, but I’m hoping it was a preview of the awesome summer to come! In the last 72 hours my hubby and I officially sold our house, packed up a few more boxes, I hit the road with my mom and auntie from Switzerland, we set up and broke down Camp Jellybean and cooked multiple meals over a fire. I went to my first music festival and saw one of my favorite bands, Carbon Leaf, perform three times! We took a break from the Ragtime Carnival to attended the RVA Homearama. We did a little shopping at the Williamsburg outlets. Hello Kate Spade. We spoiled ourselves and enjoyed some Rita’s Italian Ice, and then had a sushi date with my husband before attending the grand opening sales event at the new Kroger.

How in the world is such an awesome Spring weekend even possible? All thanks to a few little things…

Comfy, yet stylish clothes. Plus a ball cap and/or a wide brimmed hat. I can’t go anywhere without my hat, sunnies, and sandals. My mom and Auntie decided that the hat I wore all weekend (above) was very appropriate for camping… as it’s basically the same hat that Smokey the Bear wears! HA! A spill proof travel mug. If you haven’t experienced the amazingness of Contigo Mugs yet… you need to get on that. They won’t spill. Even if they are upside down in your bag. Perfect for travel, shows, camping and a crazy busy Spring weekends!

Toiletries. You know you need the essentials like hair products, makeup and a toothbrush. But let’s not forget about the unmentionables that need to be mentioned. U by Kotex® offers a full line of feminine care products for periods including pads, liners and tampons. Outstanding protection that keeps you one step ahead. U by Kotex® has a bunch of new products that not only take care of the job, but they have brilliant and colorful packaging that you will love! Try the U by Ultra Kotex® Thin Pads with 3D Capture Core, a one-of-a-kind center that locks away wetness to help stop leaks. U by Kotex is also giving away FREE SAMPLES so you are ready for your crazy weekends and will #SaveTheUndies! Try them out for yourself by clicking here! Food + Beverage. We got to the campsite and realized that we forgot our food for the weekend. Seriously, who does that?! Apparently we do! We munched on festival food and then ended up making a run to the nearest grocery store so that we could cook a few bites over the fire. (More on this tomorrow!) We didn’t, however, forget the wine or the rum. #Wehadourpriorities.

Homebase. With a weekend as crazy as ours, it was so nice to have a homebase. Somewhere to go back to. Somewhere that was cute, comfy and felt like our home away from home. This weekend, our home away from home was my favorite… Jellybean.

So what do you think? What else is crucial for your crazy weekends? What did you do this past weekend?

Many thanks to U by Kotex for sponsoring this post! Now clear your schedule and pack your bags! Let’s do this weekend all over again together next week!

Houses, Terrors, Guns and Pumpkins!

October 27, 2014 by Susan 11 Comments

It was such a crazy, busy, festive weekend. While my to-do list is about four and a half miles long and has hundreds of things on it… we spent most of the weekend doing everything else. It wasn’t the most productive weekend, but it was nice. Rather than writing all about it, let’s just do a good ole photo dump.

Friday

Michael doesn’t work on Fridays. I work Fridays but I usually mix it up between my contracting jobs and my wedding gigs. I didn’t have any weddings this weekend, so I spent the morning working for one client, and the afternoon helping my mom visit builders and agents at the Hampton Roads Homearama. Since Michael wasn’t working, he tagged along, so we could ooooo and ahhhhh over these homes together.

Our plans include wrapping up our current home projects, selling our house, and then building a custom home in Suffolk, VA next year. Going to Homearama was a great way to gather ideas and take our Christmas Card picture:

Nuts of Suffolk! Moving to Suffolk

So basically we were nerds and took pictures of things we loved in these fancy shmancy houses. Things like $20,000 closets, um, yes please. Things like classy trim and crown molding that we both agreed on, because who knew I would be so picky about trim… And things like flooring, ceilings, and kitchens.

After Homearama, we rushed home to change and get ready to pee our pants. I don’t know why I thought going to Busch Gardens’ Halloscream would be a good idea… I mean, I despise horror movies, I hate clowns, and I am constantly feeling like someone is lurking around every single corner, with or without the presence of a haunted maze.

If you like said terrors, I highly recommend you check out Halloscream next year. Busch Gardens really knows how to do Halloween. {But I much more prefer the way the celebrate Christmas…}

There were seven haunted mazes/houses/events and many halloween related shows in addition to all of their regular theme park rides. But even when we were not in a scare house, we had people chasing us with chainsaws and things of that sort. Personally, I hated it. I don’t like the feeling of knowing someone is going to jump out at me. I did, however, REALLY enjoy sitting on a bench and watching other people get scared. That being said, I would NEVER bring a child to Halloscream. While most of the kiddos there were handling it better than me… there were some that were simply terrified.

I snapped the picture below because I was beyond impressed by the Busch Gardens Scarers. This girl was TERRIFIED. She was sobbing and hysterical, and her family was surrounding her while trying to get her through this village. One of the Vampires realized what was happening, walked up to her, took his costume teeth out, made her look into his eyes and reassured her that everything was fake. He told her that by making an X with her arms she was telling all Scarers to not scare her. {I secretly made a mental note of this, and casually crossed my arms whenever I’d go around a corner.}

Snaps for this guy. Way to go Busch Gardens. I was extremely impressed by this vampire’s compassion. It is reassuring to know that behind the scary masks, face paint, and costumes, the terrors hiding throughout the park really were putting guests first.

Saturday

Saturday was a wash. I popped a muscle relaxer before I went to bed the night before, so this girl slept in for the first time in a while! We did a few chores around the house: I worked in my office while my husband worked on organizing the Man Room. We spent the evening at a cookout with some friends. It was a great day.

Sunday

Sunday was a full day of errands… mixed with a bit more festive fun. We left home in hopes of finding lunch, in addition to tools and pumpkins, and a stop into the gym. While I didn’t make it to the gym, we did find ourselves at the gun range. {I needed to go shoot my new gun before my Monday night gun class in Norfolk.} And yes, of course we used the hot pink target.

We wrapped the weekend with a pumpkin carving party! Two good friends came over, with many pumpkins in tow. My husband used the carving books, while the rest of us free-handed our designs. I love the way theses pumpkins turned out!

I decided, as a blogger and marketing junkie - a Hashtag Jackolantern was fitting and fun. Michael used really cool eyeballs t make his pumpkin pop!

Oh, and did I mention, that in the midst of all this festiveness, I managed to cook a Paleo Apple Crisp? Join me tomorrow for the Celebrate Southern Linkup and this delicious clean, paleo recipe!

I wish I had just one more day left in this weekend, but alas, it’s Monday. I’ve got work, blogging, and my gun safety class on today’s agenda. I hope you all had a lovely weekend! See you tomorrow for the Celebrate Southern Linkup! xxoo

Thursday’s Memorial Weekend Recap

May 30, 2014 by Susan Leave a Comment

What’s the best part of blogging, you ask? It’s the fact that you get to make your own rules.

Rules like recapping a holiday weekend on a Thursday. No, unfortunately my weekend did not last until now. No, I was not swept away after our Summer Kickoff Blog Series. And no, thankfully I am not so incredibly sunburnt that I cannot type.

I’m just busy.

Crazy busy actually. Last weekend was my last free {read: not-working-a-wedding} weekend until mid-july. You can bet your bottom dollar that I will be doing NOTHING when I actually have a free weekend.

So of course I spent every second of Memorial Weekend, simply, enjoying myself.

Can you tell we are sisters? {don’t even ask - we aren’t twins. but we do both thoroughly enjoy champagne on the river.}

The weekend wasn’t all play. There was a bit of work. But work that didn’t involve weddings or brides or real estate or marketing or home warranties or house chores…

I volunteered to pressure wash our dock. Yes. You read that right. I volunteered.

There is just something absolutely nerdy, deep inside of me, that loves pressure washing. I’m not sure if it’s the misting water, the fact that it’s actually a great arm workout, or maybe it’s just the thought that I am “making something pretty” that causes me to adore this chore.

Seriously. It’s hard work. But I consider it to be the adult power tool version of those painting-with-water books from our childhood.

Without glitter this time, I did leave my mark. And the year. #happysummer

There was a little bit of boating… just a bit though. We didn’t get too carried away this weekend. Do you see that hunky dude below? And the hat that Sandlot’s Smalls would be jealous of?! Shortly after this picture was snapped, that hat went flying. The hubs could’ve cared less. But what does this girl do? She makes him turn the boat around! {we are on a budget after all!}

It was his first time driving the pontoon. Circling back and getting close enough to said hat was not an easy task for him.

Only because there was no other choice - I had to jump into the middle of the river, full of cold h2o and rescue this flat brimmed hat. And that’s when summer started.

{Of course, only to be warmed up later with some more champagne in the sunshine.}

Remember how last week I told you that this cottage is over run by k9s? Well friends, we’ve hit an all-time low. (Or all-time high if you’re talking to one of the dogs…) After 8 summers, BrownDog discovered the porch swing. This is where she decided her time was better spent relaxing than chasing the ball.

#snoozinandtreats #treatsandsnoozin

And just an FYI - I may be moving away from the summer in a cup… and embracing a Chocolate White Russian made with Dark Chocolate Almond Milk.

#delicious #nolactaidpillnecessary

#riverhair

So yeah. Life is a bit hectic right now. I swore to my best friend that I would continue blogging and writing because I love it. And she says she loves reading it. But as wedding season is in legit full-gear and my house is under construction {we’re redoing our floors in addition to a few other things in hopes of getting it on the market ASAP!} please be patient and maybe just read some blog posts from a few May’s ago. Use your imagination and pretend they are from 2014… not that much has changed in my life right?!

For the love of the riverhair and chocolate russians in my cup!

Until next time… xxoo

Rainy Weekend Vacation Recap

July 1, 2013 by Susan 1 Comment

Rainy-Vacation-Journal-Log: Day One. Eleventh Hour. Twenty-Ninth Minute.

Yep, that’s right. My summer vacation at the river and the forecast is calling for rain all week. So I’m making the most of it. I am yet to have anything exciting to share with you so how about a weekend recap?

My weekend pretty much started on Thursday. I’m not complaining…

My friend Kim decided she would be my date for the evening. I needed to go check out the restaurant I am 95% positive we will have our wedding rehearsal dinner at, The Conch & Bucket, in downtown Hampton, VA. It’s got a bit of flair and a really great wine list… what more could a girl ask for?

So we went. We ate. We drank. We indulged in dessert.

Friday morning started like any other. Not really.

Friday morning started with a giant pile of crap. Quite literally.

It may not look so hefty but it packed a wallop. I should’ve thought through my photog skills a bit more and included my jeep in the picture. That alone would prove to you the actual size and girth of this pile.

Moving it to the street was a workout. And you know how much I hate working out. But you want to know what I hate more than working out? Finding slugs in my hair after said workout. Pretty positive I will be sticking with the gym from this point forth. That pectoral fly machine might be bad but I’ve never walked away from it with escargot in my hair. Just sayin.

Then it was time for THE road trip. Any road trip that involves two crazy cats in a tiny red Prius, packed with odds and ends and a Christmas Tree, gets a capital THE in front of it. While in the driveway I wanted to snap a quick pic of me and my fe-lions. I had no clue Spitty would smile for it!

This pretty much sums up the first hour and forty-five minutes of the two hour ride.

What about the last fifteen minutes you ask? Rockie finally fell asleep when we were 15 minutes out…

And Spitty, no joke, she settled in, FINALLY, when we were pulling into the driveway at the cottage. That’s just her style.

Then the weekend started. Our river cottage on the weekend vastly resembles a dog pound. At any moment’s notice you are probably going to find more dogs than humans. The smell of wet dog wafts through the house as tumble weed furballs roll across the screen porch. And yes, there is that one dog who firmly believes the picnic table is her pirate lookout perch.

So to handle our weekend stresses of excess dogs and excess rain we eat cookies. Lots and lots of Ghirardelli cookies. And we photograph it.

Then we drink Spiked Riverwater. You cannot, and will not, go wrong with Firefly and lemonade. The liquid in the glass may look like you scooped it straight from the Perquimans River but it tastes a trillion times sweeter. And has less seagrass.

After a full day of rain, God blessed us with yet another beautiful Perquimans sunset.

So we celebrated with moonshine and a bonfire. Because what else do you do to celebrate three straight hours of no rain?

And then we ate more cookies. Ghirardelli cookies. With marshmallows melted in between. #paleowhat?! #thisisntnormal #dontjudge

As the rain returned on Sunday, my family and friends left. They left me, the two cats and chloe in a big, quiet, river house. The quiet and the rain were getting to me, so I went to my grandmother’s house for a visit. And had such a wonderful time.

We sat and chatted on her dock (when the rain let up for about 20 minutes). Then she offered me an italian dinner and booze. The was the first time in my entire life I have had a margarita with chicken parmesan. I will say, it’s not my favorite combination, HOWEVER Narnie’s Italian food goes well with anything under the sun.

Note to Readers: You will NEVER have better Italian food than the Italian food my English Grandmother makes. I am not sure where she got it from but this woman could outshine Marie Barone in an Italian bake off. Here’s hoping I inherited more than her ability to politely curse in the midst of a casual conversation…

So here I sit. In the rain. On a Monday morning. Day one of my summer vacation. Blogging. And planning my next move.

It’s noon. It’s raining. It’s vacation.

It’s time for a cookie and a nap.

Until next time…

Glitter and Cracks: Weekend Recap

June 24, 2013 by Susan Leave a Comment

Is today Monday? Ever since I moved to my new house I have given up the power of sleeping well. I sleep, until I dream of zombies or until Chloe hears a noise and we all jump off the bed and do a freak out dance. Yep… pretty positive it’s Monday… which means it’s a-ok in blogland to do a weekend recap right?

Here we go!

Friday night we found ourselves a little over involved with the glitter. I am just now realizing that my wedding is not nearly as far away as it appears on the calendar. As I age, my knees ache a bit more and I begin to move a bit slower… but time seems to triple its speed every year. Even though my wedding appears to be months away, now that I have turned 29, I am practically only 17 minutes and thirty-two seconds from walking down that aisle. So I better get working on all the little details I have in mind. Good thing I had Chloe’s help… {And how incredibly terrific are these clothes pins? A tutorial on their awesome-ness will be available soon!}

Saturday started off early. I am bartering a month-of wedding planning package for yard work. I had the groom (soon to be cousin-in-law) and a couple others drive up from North Carolina to turn my jungle into a backyard. What do you think?

I love the fact that I don’t feel like I’m in the movie Honey, We Shrunk the Kids when I step into the backyard now. Huge plus.

Saturday night I was lucky enough to get another Birthday Present! One of my dear JMU friends, Caitlyn, bought me a ticket to see the Avett Brothers! We met for dinner, where I enjoyed a Dark & Stormy (one of my all time faves when made with Goslings) and then headed to the show.

Unfortunately, the walk to the venue was simply tragic. Imagine the one person (or thing) that is always there for you… She wakes up next to you and goes to bed next to you. She helps you when you’re lost. She helps you stay current with your chores (such as maintaining your farm). She tells the world your secrets, only when you want her to.

Imagine such a friend.

Then shatter her into a million pieces.

That is what happened to my iPhone. On the concrete. In a gross parking garage. Where I saw someone peeing next to my car later that evening.

The photo really does not do the phone cracks justice. She still works, but she is in “spiderweb mode” now. My sister had to use my phone today and actually said “I’ve seen cracks before - but never like this!” (Assuming she was talking about my phone and not my new shorts…)

But the show must go on! And so it did! We danced, we jammed, we hopped and sang… we had a good ole time and as we drowned our iPhone-less sorrows in live music.

I suppose the weekend is not complete without Sunday!

My Sunday was relaxing. I slept in, as much as I possibly could considering my body passionately dislikes sleep. Then I chatted a bit with Michael who is still stationed in Japan. I realized that my Bridal Shower is coming up and that our wedding registry needed a little work so I spent some quality time in Target. (Never a problem.)

I wrapped up the evening at one of my new friends’ home. We sat on her back deck, drank wine, ate the most scrumptious store bought, frozen pizza I have ever eaten, and watched the birds. (The ones in her backyard… not the movie.) It was quite a great way to end a great weekend… cracked iPhone and all.

Hope y’all had the loveliest of lovely weekends! Until next time…