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    A snowy, long Weekending Part 1

    As we were not able to make it to Atlanta to see my in-laws over Christmas, we drove up on Wednesday to take advantage of the long weekend. You might want to grab some tea, coffee, or beverage of your choice because this is going to be a long one. We packed a lot into a few days! I’m going to break this into two parts.

    We drove up on Wednesday night so that it would give us a full day on Thursday.

    On Thursday, we spent the day around my in-law’s house. We all had some work to do, and wanted to rest since we didn’t get in until nearly midnight on Wednesday. Amanda, Nana and I visited Valor Coffee since we wanted to return since our first visit in 2019. It was just as good as we remembered!

    Friday dawned cold and breezy. Joel decided to take my car in for service while we were here so I didn’t have to worry about it next weekend. It was due for it’s first service so it was easy to take it in to the local Volvo dealership. While that was being worked on, we took MARTA to the Georgia Aquarium. Fun fact, in the 26 years that my in-laws have lived here, we have never taken the train into Atlanta.

    It’s been years since we have been to the Aquarium and we picked a good day to go. It wasn’t too crowded so we could take our time with the exhibits. It was a nice way to spend a few hours and get some good photos.

    The adventure continued on Saturday when we went to The High Museum of Art. I wanted to see Picturing the South: 25 Years, but we missed the Obama Portraits as the tickets for that exhibition was sold out for Saturday. Interestingly enough, the photography exhibit is one where I DIDN’T take any photos. Well, I took a couple, but not like the other areas of the museum. We saw a mixture of classical paintings, modern art, folk art and African art. I loved that exhibit and could have stayed there for hourse looking at it. We were with my in-laws and needed to get back to prep for Joel’s surprise 50th birthday party. His birthday isn’t until the 29th, but his parents wanted to take advantage of having us here for dinner and cake!

    Joel’s 50th Birthday

    Ok, that’s it for now. I have to pack for our trip home tomorrow, but I still have the Sunday Snow Day to show you!

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    Weekending

    Well, I actually had more planned to talk about, but I was stuck on a TEAMS call for my last semester of grad school (thank goodness) then got involved in sorting through my clothes and closet. I’ve lost about 50 pounds since July and lots of stuff needed to go. I had planned to drive to Winter Haven today to Four Purls, but put that off for another day. Hubby decided that since we missed Christmas with his parents, we would go up on Wednesday which resulted in me having to scramble to get time off and get some assignments turned in that are due next Sunday.

    I think I mentioned in the last post that I am attempting Project 365 and thought that I’d share my weekly photos on Sunday. Since today is the 9th, there are 9 photos here, but going forward, there should be seven. Click on the photos for the full version. For full description of the photos, hop on over to my Instagram page. I’m looking forward to our trip to Atlanta and can’t wait to share our visit.

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    A visit to the Chihuly–Blogmas Day 11

    Amanda needed to go to the Chihuly Collection in St Pete today to film footage for the final that she is giving to her students next week, so I decided to tag along since it has been a few years since I have been. It’s a beautiful collection and I highly recommend a visit if you are in St. Pete. I’ve added a few of my favorite photos from today.

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    It’s been a day….Blogmas Day 8

    Pandemic teaching is a lot. Some days are better than others. Today, the kids were fine, it’s admin that’s driving me nuts. You win some, you lose some. So, not to dwell two much on the negative, I present to you some of my sweet girl Idunn (pronounced Eden). She is looking at me over the ottoman because there’s a tennis ball under there that she wants me to get for her, despite the fact that are at least 10 other tennis balls scattered around. She turned 8 on Sunday and is my shadow. When I was home for most of November, she wouldn’t leave my si

    Idunn is peeping over the ottoman because there’s a tennis ball underneath and she want is.
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    Ten on Tuesday—Blogmas Day 7

    If you have been reading blogs before Instagram and TikTok took over, you may remember when Carole over at Carole Knits hosted a Ten on Tuesday. I think she still does something similar, but not as often. Anyway, I thought I’d dust off that tradition and try out a Ten on Tuesday. Today’s list is Ten of my favorite things about the Holiday Season.

    1. Christmas lights!
    2. Cooler weather means lower electric bill. (I’m in Florida, I’ll take what I can get!)
    3. Being able to wear long sleeves.
    4. Christmas decor.
    5. Hallmark Christmas movies! (My family makes fun of me, but I think they secretly like them)
    6. Being able to read for pleasure. Currently grad school takes up that free time.
    7. Knitting!
    8. Starbucks holiday drinks (Well, not the last two years since they discontinued my fave…gingerbread latte.)
    9. Holiday Break
    10. Homemade Christmas Candy. (I like to make my Great-great Aunt’s Heavenly Hash candy)

    What are your ten favorite Christmas or Holiday things?

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    Sunday-ing. Blogmas Day 5

    For the past six years, our favorite place to go while in St. Pete is Bandit Coffee on Central Ave. (I think I discovered it a year after it opened). For the last few months, Amanda and I have made it a Sunday morning tradition to go get coffee and breakfast, often getting the newest pastry offerings. This is one of the most welcoming and unpretentious coffee shops in St. Pete. Prior to the pandemic, it wasn’t unusual for Amanda to head up to work for a while, and even now, it’s not unusual for us to make a run over the Skyway after work for a coffee fix. (Yes, it’s 20 minutes from home, but it’s worth it.). Their interior has been closed since March of 2020 but has managed to survive, thrive AND expand it’s food offerings for drive up only. Earlier in the year, the Tampa Bay Times wrote an article on how they stayed open through the pandemic when many places closed. If you’d like to read about it, go HERE. Sara never fails to ask how we are doing when we see her, and I can’t wait for the time when they are ready to reopen their interior. If you are in St. Pete, please stop in for a coffee and a pastry made by their amazing pastry chef. Today I had their parfait bowl because I’m still not back to eating bread, but oh, my goodness, there is some sort of glaze or syrup on this that is just delicious. Just look at the strawberries, blueberries, bananas and this luscious granola, all on top of some silky smooth Greek yogurt. Follow them on Instagram Bandit St. Pete for photos that will make you want to get up on a weekend, or any day, and grab a coffee and a pastry. PS. We adore the shortbreads 🙂