Mom and Dad's Vist to NC (Part 2)

On Tuesday, Steven and I had to go to work again, but I was glad that Mom and Dad had plenty of time to rest and relax at home while we were gone. 

After returning from work, we sat around and decided on a restaurant to go to for dinner.  We originally planned on going to Persimmon's, but their winter time hours are only Wednesday through Sunday.  Dad really wanted a steak, so we ended up going to The Baron and the Beef, which is a little steakhouse on the way to Kinston.  I have never been dissapointed with anything that I have eaten there, especially the awesome salad bar.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Yesterday, Mom, Dad, and I went to the mall after I got home from work.  They were having an awesome sale at Belk, so I got a few things (Thanks, Mom!!!).  Afterward, we went home and ate the best/biggest dinner ever.  Momma is a great cook, so if she offers to make you something, you should never turn it down.  After dinner, we cleaned up and drove over to Johnny's convenience store in Cove City.  He sells the most amazing ice cream cones for only 50 cents each...you can't beat it!  When we got home, we all sat in the living room and watched our favorite show, American Idol, together.  I don't know exactly why I love it so much, but I do.  I can't help myself!

This morning was really sad.  I didn't want to leave for work because I know that I probably won't see Mom and Dad again until our vacation in July.  They really blessed us this week.  We were so lucky to have them in our lives. 

xoxo,
Ashley

Mom and Dad's Vist to NC (Part 1)

What a blessing it is to have family who love us enough to drive all the way from Alabama to North Carolina to spend their vacation with us.  We could not be more happy to have Mom and Dad here for the week!
Our visitors arrived on Saturday after turning a 12 hour drive into a 16 hour drive...Needless to say, they were exhausted, but in good spirits. We showed them around the house and sat and talked for an hour or two.  We even had multiple guests come by the house, one to deliver girl scout cookies, another to welcome made for my parents' visit (Bridget is too good to us...seriously).  Mom and Dad were both tired, so they took a nap while I went to a Lia Sophia jewelry party that my good friend, Misty, was hosting. 
Later that evening after some much needed rest, we all went out to Famous and enjoyed a fantastic meal.  We took Mom and Dad to eat there on their last trip and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy it, so we thought we might as well stick to what we know.  Afterward, we caught up on old episodes of American Idol that we had missed during our busy week.  We are all pretty addicted...It was a great first day with Mom and Dad!

On Sunday, we woke up bright and early and made our way to church in Asbury (a whopping 4 minute drive from our house).  It was a great day, and the preacher's sermon was exactly what I needed to hear.  It was so good to have my parent's there.  I value their opinion and discernment esecially when it comes to church.  They both really enjoyed the message and said they could see why we love it there so much.  God is so present in that place.  I love being there!

After church, we went to town and ate Mexican for lunch. It takes a lot to impress my dad, but he said that it was as good as Casa in Muscle Shoals, which coming from him means something.  The rest of the day we decided would consist of being lazy, so we watched movies, sat out on the front porch, and even got a nap in.

On Monday, Steven and I had to go back to work, which is always hard to do, but having Mom and Dad at home gave me something different to look forward to.  When I pulled up at home, I could already smell the scent of food being cooked.  It was such a treat to be cooked FOR instead of being the cook.  Mom made beef stew and Mexican cornbread, which is one of my favorite meals, while Daddy and I sat out on the front porch and enjoyed the 75 degree afternoon.  When Steven got home, we ate an early dinner and then made our way to the first regional basketball game at WCHS.  The boys were awesome.  They one by 20 points and everyone got a chance to play.  It was also really fun for Mom and Dad to get to see where I work and meet some of our friends.  I think that they really enjoyed themselves, and I definitely had a great time! 

They will be here for a couple more days, so I will keep you updated!  Happy Monday!

xoxo,
Ashley

Love Day

I know Valentine's Day gets a lot of flack for being a shallow consumer-driven holiday invented by card and candy companies, but I personally think it's great.  Why not celebrate the greatest gift God has given us to enjoy here on Earth.  Love is a tremendous thing.  There are so many people that I love and who I feel loved by in return. I think February 14th is a wonderful reminder of how we should treat others every day.  We should live each day as a celebration of our love for others which serves as a walking demonstration of God's love for each of us. 

I have been so blessed with a wonderful husband who was my "main squeeze" on this very special day.  We decided to celebrate a little early (like we do for almoste every occasion).  Steven made reservations at a restaurant in downtown New Bern called Christoph's by the water for Saturday night.  We got all dressed up and ate a lovely dinner.  Steven and I are both observers by nature, so it was fun to see all the couples in red dining out for their Valentine's dinner.  I especially love to see senior couples who I always imagine have been in love for decades and have stood beside each other through thick and thin.  I pray that the Lord continues to bless mine and Steven's relationship and that we are still as happy together as senior adults as we are now. 






Steven and I before leaving for our Valentine's dinner :)

    But let's not get exclusive here.  I think that Valentine's should be an extention of love to anyone and everyone that mean something to you.  So, if I don't tell you often enough, here goes.  I love you.  You mean the world to me.  As Blair Waldorf so elequently put it to Chuck Bass, "My world wouldn't be my world without you in it."  Yes you.  I'm talking to you.  Happy Valentine's Day!

xoxo,
Ashley

My parents are coming early!



Mom, Dad, and I after AU graduation

 My parents have been planning a trip to visit us for the past couple of months, but recently they decided to come a day early, which means (drumroll please) that they will be here tonight!!!  I am beyond excited!  I haven't seen them since Christmas and this will be the first time that they have seen our house in person. The best part is that we have made absolutely no plans.  I just want to hang out, maybe go out to dinner, or hit a few shops in town.  I love that they are so easy to have over.  They are just as happy to eat dinner at home and watch a movie as they would be to go out to a fancy restaurant and walk around town.  AND since Steven and I will be working during the days, they will both get plenty of time to rest, which is what they both want to do anyway.  Happy Friday everybody!

xoxo,
Ashley

Kitchen Mini-Renovation

When Steven and I first moved in to our new (to us) home, there were a lot of things that we knew we would want to change right off the bat. However, after making the down payment and paying our first mortgage bill, we both came down with a bad case of "lack of fundage." I had LOADS of ideas for what we could do to update our kitchen (most of which were out of our immediate price range). If it was up to me, we would replace all the cabinets with a beautiful French country white set and change out all the appliances for stainless, but my husband scaled my "high fulalutin" ideas down into a much more modest range. We decided that for now, we would simply paint the cabinets white and wait a while to replace the appliances (although I am constantly itching to get rid of them NOW).   One day, we would also like to put in granite coutertops and continue the wood flooring into the kitchen, but for now we are happpy with the small changes we have made :)

Now, without further adieu, the before and after pictures.

Our kitchen before.  Feaux wood countertops on the same color wood cabinets.  Not ideal.

Notice the super cool hunter green wallpaper with tiny white flowers.  Steven called it our "Magic Eye" room.  Also, not ideal.  We had to get rid of that asap.

First, we took off the cabinet doors and used liquid deglosser to remove the shiny-ness (it actually worked and we didn't have to do one bit of sanding).



After removing the doors and before painting.

After: Our kitchen after a little paint and TLC.  We are very happy with it.  You can't really tell from this pic (because it was a gloomy day), but it is so much brighter in the room than it was before.  Steven also wants to add a little more molding and trim to the back of the bar area.

After: The kitchen from another angle.  We still have to add hardware to the cabinets, but we haven't picked any out yet.  That's the next step.  And eventually, Steven wants to build a banquette on the wall, which will add not only seating but a little storage space :)

This has been a total learning process for both of us.  We are trying to take things one day at a time and pick up advice and tips as we go.  Now that we have completed the mini-reno on the kithen we are working on the flooring in the living room and dining rooms.  We are over halfway finished.  I can't wait to have my living room back and not to have powertools laying around everywhere, but it is really satisfying to do the work yourself.  I am definitely enjoying the process :)

xoxo,
Ashley