what's up Wednesday, June edition

 

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm linking up with Shay for this blog post.

What we're eating this week:

A little of everything! We had pasta one night, a loaded baked potato bar another night, pizza and also on the menu for the week are grilled chicken and veggies and either hamburgers or tacos. I had a massive trip to the grocery store on Sunday after church, because I was gone all last week.

What I'm reminiscing about:

Oh, you know—just the fun I had while at the beach.

I wrote a whole post about it yesterday, if you're interested in reading about my trip. 

What I'm loving:

Reading on my Kindle. It's so easy for me to pick it up and start reading because I don't have to make sure my light is just right.

What we've been up to:

Going through all the things. We're doing some room rearranging this week because Drew is moving out on Friday night. We've been sorting/purging/organizing since Sunday night. The upstairs kind of feels like a wreck, but I'm leaving it alone because it's going to get worse before it gets better. 

What I'm dreading:

Friday night, when Drew moves out. I know I'm going to cry.

What I'm working on:

Our Bible study that we'll be doing at church in the fall is in the final days before it gets published! We're pushing to finish it all this week, so I'm helping with the editing process. We're studying Esther! I'm really exited about it, the book is so good and the providence of God is such a beautiful thing. I'd love for you to join us if you're local! 

What I'm excited about:

Lots of things! I'm excited for Drew, because it's fun to move out. I'm excited for Jonah and Noah, because they will no longer have to share a bedroom. I'm excited for tonight, because it's Bible study night with Fries & Friends to follow. I'm excited for the weekend, because I love the Fourth of July and fireworks. 

What I'm watching/reading:

I'm loving this new-to-me author! This is the book I'm about to finish, but I've got some great ones lined up. Because I've been reading so much, I'm not watching anything new. Well, binge watching, that is. I'm always watching Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, The Pioneer Woman and lots of short half hour shows on The Discovery Network and the Magnolia Network. I don't count those, though.

What I'm listening to:

All the summer playlists! 

What I'm wearing:

This dress on repeat, because it's cool and breezy! I get so hot in the summer. I bought FIVE of these at Walmart! Two came from the store and I ordered three more online that were different colors.

What I'm doing this weekend:

Helping Drew on Friday night, if he wants our help. I'll probably spend Saturday either with my mom and sister, or I'll be staying home if Noah needs lots of help moving into his new bedroom. I have church on Sunday and I'm singing on the praise team, which means I'll be there bright and early.

What I'm looking forward to next month:

I have an upcoming girlfriends trip that I cannot wait for! We're going to Nashville for the weekend on July 9. Missy, Teresa and I are going together for two night and we're all so excited about doing fun, new things and swimming at the hotel at night.

What else is new:

Here's the new Scripture writing plan for July that Shannon from Sweet Blessings put out! Want to join me? I'd love for you to do this alongside me.

Thanks for reading my blog! Love to all. 

What I Did Last Week

 Happy Tuesday, friends! A few weeks ago, a friend approached me at church one Sunday and asked if she thought I'd be able to come (along with the writing team) to her house at the beach for a few days. It wasn't planned and was a last minute decision, but my husband encouraged me to go, even if I was the only one able to go. There were four more of us that were invited, but it ended with two of us who were able to go and spend the week there. So, on Sunday morning last week, I picked up my friend Barbee and we took off to Destin. 

Eight hours and several Sonic stops later, we arrived at Dedee's house! The traffic wasn't bad at all because it was a Sunday and we ended up getting a late snack for dinner before we made the final thirty minute drive. We had fun even just traveling and talked about all the things. Barbee loves her sweet tea like I love coffee and books. We unloaded and went in to settle in for the night. Dedee showed us around, we sat and chatted, then we all went to bed.

I loved my room for the week!

I love that heart shaped throw pillow—if you know me at all, you know I have a thing for hearts. This is the only picture I am sharing from her house. I never feel right about sharing things like that because it isn't mine to share about, but I feel safe with this one picture. Also, the bed and the bedding were so comfy! I slept like a rock all week long.

Everyday we kind of did the same thing—we would get up and drink our beverages of choice (coffee/water/tea sweetened with truvia and garnished with mint), eat our breakfast (I had a protein drink everyday and brought mine from home), then get dressed to go sit on the beach. The first couple of days it was rainy and the ocean was angry, but by the end of the week it had settled back down and the water turned turquoise.

We would sit out there under an umbrella and talk, then we would go in for lunch. We would snack for lunch and then go back out, them to the beach and I went to the pool. Here's the thing about me—I love to gaze at the ocean, but I don't swim in it. I get really hot and want to swim, which is why I almost always end up at the pool and spend more time there. It wasn't a hardship to be alone, I had my Kindle to keep me company and I was able to actually stand in the pool and read it while I floated. 

I would do that for a bit, then I'd go back to her house and shower and read while I waited for my hair to dry. I fell asleep every time I did that, which is really nice.

They would come back and shower and then we would go to dinner at four. In Destin, if you want to eat before ten o'clock at night, you go to the restaurants early early. We ate so good while we were there! I had seafood the first night—bacon wrapped shrimp that was stuffed with crab, Mexican the second night, a late lunch and yummy desert on the third day and McGuire's pub on our last night, where I ate the best steak I've eaten in ages. We also had the most amazing homemade tortilla chips and spinach artichoke dip at McGuire's and I was so full that I was almost TOO full. I was determined to finish my steak, though and I did.

One night after dinner, we drove around to look at houses that were on our way to the restaurants. I loved doing that and loved the ones that were close to the beach and also on the bay area where all the boats set off from. 

The flowers we saw at the homes we drove around looking at were gorgeous! Some of the homes had turf for grass, which is brilliant, in my humble opinion. 

We stayed up talking late every night and we never once ran out of things to talk about. Imagine that! It was really nice getting away to a beautiful place with godly friends for a few days, but we missed the other two ladies who couldn't join us. Hopefully we'll get to try a getaway again with all of us there at once, even though that's yet to happen. We're all in different stages in life, so it's just a busy time for all of us and it's hard to get us all at the same place at one time. 

Funny story about this picture right above—even at four o'clock in the afternoon, McGuire's was packed and we ate upstairs and outside. We were all fine with this and at times there was a great breeze blowing off the water, but when mine and Dedee's steaks came on a sizzling iron plate, the surface of our table heated up a good fifteen degrees! We were basically dying by the time we left and the whole underside of my hair was soaking wet. Even with that, the food was great and it was worth the extra heat. 🤣

The sunsets were incredible! That sky was breathtaking. 

The food was fabulous and the memories we made while we sat at this table are priceless. The keylime pie I had there was so good I almost cried. 

On our last night, they did fireworks right there on the bay. It felt appropriate.

We got up early on Friday morning after loading the car and started the drive home. We made several stops, but our favorite was this market in Andalusia, Alabama.

It was so cute! We each walked away with treasures.

The laughter, the time we spent talking about the kings of the Old Testament in the Bible, the food, the fun, the weather, the time we spent praying together our last night—every bit of this was so precious to me. I will forever hold the memories we made together near and dear in my heart and I feel so very blessed to have had the opportunity to go away for a few days. It was the perfect amount of time! As much fun as we had together, there is never any place quite like home and I was so glad to see my people! 

Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all.