FALL IS HERE!!

Today is officially the first day of fall and it is supposed to get up to 97 here in the Ham... I am beyond ready for FALL and with it some cooler weather and so I figured that if I made a list of every preparation I have made for fall, maybe the cooler weather would move in more quickly?

REASONS WHY FALL SHOULD BE HERE SOON IF IT IS NOT ALREADY...

1. New FALL wreath has been constructed and is hanging nicely on the door.

2. Table decorations are in place - just for that impromptu FALL dinner guest :)

3. New glade plug-in scent in place - this year's FALL scent: cinnamon apple.

4. New Kitchen Hand Soap - FALL scent: Pumpkin Spice, Pier 1 (Love!)

5. Candy Corn dishes filled with FALL candy.

6. FALL football is underway - most importantly Gators 3-0 this season so far.

7. Annual purchase of new Gator T-shirts for the Hewietts has already ocurred. (Want to make sure we are looking sharp for weekly FALL viewings of #6.)

8. FALL TV show line up has begun!! DVR is now set to record new episodes of Chuck, Glee, Criminal Minds, Fringe, Big Bang Theory, The Office and 30 Rock.

9. Molly has resumed her usual FALL post on the balcony. (Can she smell it coming?)

10. Wedding Album out in view to commemorate the 3 year anniversary of our FALL wedding in October.

O FALL, how I love thee, let me count the ways (check!). FALL, you are awesome and I so glad you are here... now bring on that cool weather and those lovely Birmingham autumn leaves!

WEAR BLUE WHEN THE GATORS PLAY TENN

This weekend Josh and I made the trip to Knoxville, TN for the FL-TN game on Saturday. We met up with Alan and Winnie who let us use Winnie's parents' tickets for the game - so much fun! It was such a relaxing weekend: very good to trake a break from work and school, get away, hang out with great friends and of course see the GATORS beat Tennessee. It was wonderful.

Knoxville is such pretty city - Josh and I had never been there before. UT's campus is downtown and the stadium is next to the river and so it makes for a very exciting and beautiful location!

Josh and I of course made sure we were wearing blue so that no mistake was made as to our loyalties - Winnie unfortunately did not have a good blue shirt to wear, but she did make sure that he shirt was in fact a true gator orange and not a sherbet orange. :) We sort of stuck out a little on Saturday - but o well. For the msot part, all of the Tennessee fans were cordial to us (as can be expected.) However, there was a fist fight that broke out two rows behind us that was a little scary...

Here are some pics from the weekend...

Josh and I were so glad that we got to go to the game - although some of did get a little sunburned. Lesson learned I guess... visitor's sections in stadiums are usually in the section that will be in the sun the entire game, even though the entire rest of the stadium will be in the shade by 5:30PM - you will not be, so plan for it (as I did not). Check out the rest of the pictures from the weekend on facebook.

IN LOVE W/ WALLPAPER

Well not literally... but I really like this. It is official - Wallpaper is back! I must admit I am probably a little behind the times when it comes to this recent development for two reasons - 1. Josh and I rent our apartment currently and so spending the time/money/effort to purchase and install wallpaper is out of the question and 2. the early 90's influx of wallpaper has permanently scarred my opinion (I'm not sure if I will ever recover from this?!?)



Despite me personally being out of touch with this new trend, it is here none the less. I am excited to see such cool graphic patterns that make such a bold statement. If you are thinking about wallpaper - I would totally go for it! I think it is a great way to spice up a room and can definitely bring a whole new meaning to the phrase "accent wall." I think it would be great for a dining room, accent wall in a guest room or office or maybe even above a chair rail in a nursery. Check more cool wallpaper/ fabric out at Mod Green Pod.

VEGAS FOR WORK

That's right, a couple of weeks ago I went to the FABULOUS LAS VEGAS, NEVADA for work. A furniture manufacturer called Foliot Furniture invited several industry designers and specifiers to come and check out their new showroom and manufacturing plant in Las Vegas. They paid for my plane ticket, transportation and 2 nights stay at the Mirage hotel and resort. Very cool.

I went with one of the VP's of my company and had a really great time. We left for Vegas on a Thursday and arrived in time for dinner. On Friday we had the day to site see on the strip. Our first stop was a wax museum at the Venetian. It was tons of fun!! (And we got lots of good pictures - way too many to post!) Here I am with Elvis himself.


Here is Tara giving Tiger some pointers on his next shot.


Here I am breaking it down on the dance floor with Michael.


I took this picture for Josh - it was a massive fish tank behind the reception desk at the Mirage - very cool!

My room at the Mirage for 2 nights - very Vegas, I must say.


At the Venetian - across the street from the Mirage. I think the Venetian might be my favorite.

The dancing fountains at the Bellagio - always fun to stop and see. Now all I can think of though is Oceans 11.


Dinner at a Chinese Restaurant inside the Mirage - very cool atmosphere.

After the furniture event on Friday night, Tara and I had tickets to go to The Beatles LOVE show by Cirque du Soleil. This was definitely my favorite part of the whole trip. I love the Beatles and Cirque du Soleil so both together was mind-blowing! The show was unlike any I have ever seen. Absolutely amazing theatre and special effects, music, performance and costumes.

Overall the trip was a lot of fun. I will say that Vegas is as crazy as people say it is and you have to be very selective about the areas you go to and the places that you stay. I had been once before with my family and we stayed at the Bellagio. This trip at the Mirage was definitely not family friendly and if I go back someday with Josh, I don't think we will stay there. I think I want to check out staying at the Venetian!

GUEST POST

Happy Friday everyone! I am so excited about this 3-day weekend we have on our hands. Today I leave you with a post that I did for my friend Christine who has an awesome design and DIY blog... check it out here.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!