Currently, April

• Wearing  this shirt and leggings around G&P's house. Note: a messy bun may or may not be part of the look ;]
• About to start reading  my third Rainbow Rowell book. If you've never read her stuff, start here. Such a simple read but so addicting. I'm a huge fan of how she writes and so far I've finished two of her books in a couple days each.
• Watching  and re-watching  Maroon 5's new video for "Sugar" & wishing they'd show up at my wedding (date: TBD, lol) 
• Laughing  so hard at this opinion of Coachella, lmao.  
• Amazed  at how fast AND slow the last 7 months have been. A piece of my heart will always be with this Metro academy class. 
• So excited  baseball is back. #GoBraves!
• Wanting to create  a mini book of lists similar to my blogging friend Monika. I love knowing I'm not the only list-lover in the world. Page one may just be a list of all my lists :]
• Playing  everyone I know in Trivia Crack (you play too? @jennbartley
• Planning  to try dinner at The Southern Gentleman while I'm here. With a name like that, I'm sold!
• Still using  the best after-shower hair product I've ever found. Smells amazing and works magic if you blow-dry. I'm hooked.
• Starting to brainstorm  Mother's Day ideas with my sister. This card and a waffle bar for brunch sounds like my kind of party!
• Missing  Pepper. Because, well duh :]

Part 2: a little G&P update

Before I get into part 2 of my trip update... today may have been the prettiest day, ever. Staying on track, of course, with the most unpredictable weather I've seen in a long time! In a world full of all the best filters, this didn't need a single one :]

 

It's been an event-filled past few days. I've always said I need to write a book. Not necessarily to be published and for the public to see, but for sure to have some of the funny and memorable stories of my life written down in one place to look back and laugh at. You know, when my memory may not be so clear on that horrible first date with whats-his-name or the time my sister and alcohol convinced me I'd look great with a pierced lip (Sorry Mom!). Finding a frog next to my bed the other night would most definitely make the book.

Before you judge, I get it. Everyone from my mom to the neighbor next door has reminded me that frogs are harmless. I get it. But it doesn't mean you'd sign up to share a bedroom with one overnight! And I'm from the desert. Regardless of any desert myth, I've never had a scorpion or tarantula in (or probably even around) my house. Thanks to land development and pest control, unless you're living in a tent near the mountains, I don't think many people ever see one themselves. But in Georgia, I swear there has to be a new breed of insect and any animal you can think of, all living directly in the woods in your backyard. That scares me so much!

I went into my room to head to bed around 2am (fact: Pops doesn't share the remote, so I have to catch up on my shows after he's gone to bed. We're all addicted to the Duggars, Royals and Married At First Sight, right? Right! :]) I saw a spot on the wall and thought "that's a huge cockroach", but getting closer I realized it was really a frog. A little one, just a tree frog, about 3 inches big while sitting and more like 6 inches stretching out. It really sucked to be the only person in the house that could handle that problem. Right then and there, I wondered how to tell my grandparents I was heading back home, haha! I seriously considered waking Pops up, but he can't move fast enough to catch a frog. Granny was actually my first thought, but nothing scares her and at this point it was literally climbing around the crown molding on the ceiling, so I just knew she'd say to leave it be - and that wasn't an option. It took 40 minutes, a phone call to a friend in Vegas to hear me use every curse word I could think of, 3 trash cans, and a whole lot of courage to catch him. Or her. I don't like things that move or jump faster than I can think. I really hope there's only one frog story in my to-be book. I haven't gone to sleep since without doing a full scan of the entire room and walls...will life ever be the same?!

 

Yesterday was a blog post writing itself. I woke up to Granny at my bedroom door saying "Jennifer, he's really gonna do it this time!" I don't even know what went through my head. Pops has and will always do absolutely anything he wants (fact: it took so much convincing to have him pay his taxes this year lol, "the IRS can just come and ask me for them if they really want it!" was his mindset). I like to think of it this way: when you have twenty years on the door greeter at Walmart, you kinda walk around life doing what you want. He's not my 89 year old badass for nothing! I follow her outside to find him behind the wheel of my new car. Mr. One Eye doesn't drive anymore, you're welcome Atlanta. "I'm just seeing what it feels like" he said. He asked to drive down the street...and I caved. I'm pretty sure that's illegal on every level, but it was worth letting him feel independent and be in control (with my hand on the E-brake!). Granny wasn't happy, but she still got in the backseat for a quick ride.

 

Ironically, he did really well. He's a huge fan of having cameras that show what's behind and next to you on the screen. He can't believe he didn't think of that himself and wants to know if he can play a movie on there as well :] I can't wait for him to pull the "one eye" card with me next. I'll have to remind him of his little rendezvous driving the car....so remind me again why you ate pie for breakfast and are making a milkshake for lunch? You can't see what?? (fact: that happened today.)

Can we love these two any more or what?!

A little G&P update...

I'm back in the South.

Don't act so surprised :] It was planned to come towards the end of April, but life doesn't always (read: ever) work as planned. So I'm here now, just in time for Spring to be in full effect and witness the most bipolar weather going on in the States. It's no exaggeration when I say my suitcase has a little of everything in it - you'd think I was leaving for a year...but nope, just a couple weeks in Atlanta, where we've experienced about all of the seasons on an every-other-day basis! It's currently raining, which was supposed to happen all of last week. But instead, last week we had 80 degree weather for a few days followed by a couple nights of weirdly cold temps, and absolutely no rain besides one random downpour on my way home Friday morning (where I learned windshield wipers are nothing but a joke on the GA-400 when you can't even see the car next to you). Coming from Vegas, I can so appreciate a nice rain (aren't they supposed to happen something like in The Notebook?!), so no real complaints over here on the current situation. Tomorrow may be a different story :]

I don't know where to begin with Granny and Pops. Honestly, the only real routine we have each day is Judge Judy at 4pm. Everything before and after that is all over the place. We usually have an idea of what we they need or want to do. But timeframes don't exist in retirement, and it's so much fun that way :D

Easter might just be Granny's favorite holiday. I woke up extra early with her that Sunday morning to share my makeup and let her browse my closet to get ready for church. I love how she asks me about the kind of makeup I use, where I got my shoes, or if she can wear one of my jackets. Proves that being a girl is fun all the way through ...80 something? I actually don't know how old she is. I'm pretty sure I ask every once in awhile, but she does an amazing job at avoiding the answer or distracting us long enough to forget why it even matters. Haha, I guess a lady never tells!

I convinced Pops to dye eggs with my cousin, Granny and I. He says he's never done it before - but I think there's no way you raise 5 kids and get a pass on dying Easter eggs. I mean, there's no way, right?! He wasn't a fan. He dipped his egg in the green dye, dried it off on his paper towel, poured a glass of wine, asked if they were raw or cooked, and started cracking his open before I'd even finished my first multi-colored masterpiece :] His idea rubbed off on the rest of us though. My cousin started eating his, I stopped caring about the cute picture of all of our eggs and started eating mine, and Granny held onto her pretty blue one for about 15 minutes before we convinced her to let us have hers as well. He doesn't know it yet, but we're so doing it again next year. If I can get him to show up to the table I'll even let him use wine to dye his egg like he was asking to do this year lmao. #thesunneversetsonabadass

We've had doctor's appointments, trips to Home Depot, lots of icecream and we're currently planting and placing flowers all over the place. I'll be back tomorrow to catch everyone up to date to now about my visit. I left out the most recent things, like finding a frog in bedroom at 2 am (currently the scariest thing in my life!) and waking up today to Granny knocking on my door saying "Jennifer, he's really gonna do it this time!" ... lol, there is never a dull minute over here :]

See y'all <3 



My best advice to date...

"It's way weird, I used to be by the book, follow all the rules, and have a plan for everything. But I lost my dad at 19. He is the best thing I've ever had in life. And when you're faced with that kind of reality, it changes you. I think for the better. Money is irrelevant, the richest people suffer privately. Plans are bullshit, they can change on a whim. The only thing that's real is who you are and what you want. If you fail so what? Try again or find a new route. If you fail a million times, guess what, you have more stories than the person who didn't. The way I see it, life is always a win-win. You either get what you want or you had fun trying." 

It's been a whirlwind of a week over here. But I think that's what your 20's are for: the good, the bad; the expected and the unforeseen. What's important is staying true to yourself and following your heart. 

So as my chapter at Tao Group ends, I'm so grateful for the experience & the lifelong friends I've made. And to the future... Nice to meet you, I'm Jenn. I think we're gonna have a lot of fun! :] 

Spring forward.

 My plan really wasn't to blog and then quit, but it sure looks like it, doesn't it?! :)


It's been such a busy week. Changing your clock forward and switching time zones in the same day makes for a rough week. 

I've literally had to stop Pepper from trying to lift his leg on my luggage (which just happened to get unpacked today, in true 'because I had to' fashion!). Being in Atlanta 4 times in the last 5 months means he's grown to recognize what the suitcase signifies - and he's not a fan.


Coming home to consistently sunny weather in the mid 70's means Spring is just about here! I'm making it my seasonal goal to fill my house with every color tulip I can find on a weekly basis. But as much as I'm ready to start Spring cleaning, decorating in pastels and over-indulging in flowers, I can't help but be so excited for St. Patrick's Day. I can't wait to shake my shamrock and over-do it for a day of #allgreeneverything! 

That being said, this is what March 17th will look like in my festive little corner of the world ;)

Paper Straws,   Doggie Bow Tie,   Lucky Socks,   'Green Eye' Cocktail,   Potato Pie Recipe

I look forward to adding more holiday socks to my growing collection, sticking a fun little bow tie around Pepper's neck, and trying some new food and mixed drinks. It'll be the best Tuesday of the month! I've always loved St. Patrick's Day...it goes hand-in-hand with my dream of visiting Ireland someday (random fact: Pops was born there in 1925!). 


I'll be back this weekend with some of the crafty things I've been working on this week :)

Right here, right now.

Oh heeey :]

I've spent a lot of time forever trying to decide what my first blog post would be. Why is "the first post" so intimidating? Am I supposed to talk about me? ...That's awkward. Do I start with a quick explanation of why I'm here and what I plan to blog about (spoiler alert: it's gonna be a whole lot of everything, because I love random!)? Should I plan something out? ...while I am a fan of planning, I also just think some things you need to follow your gut on. 

That being said, lets talk about right here, right now. Pops decided sometime in the last month that he'd just throw away his old license. Why? "Because I've only got one eye!!" That's his favorite excuse. He actually does have two. But he can only see out of one now, and he will pull the one-eye-card any time he can (ex: Why are there 9 tubs of icecream in your freezer?! One eye...of course!)  He kept in his is wallet for the last 5 years since it expired and he doesn't drive, but naturally, threw it away the month before he'd need it. Like to buy a car. So checking off things on our to-do list (lalalove those!) while I'm here, we woke up nice and oh so too early for the DDS. In Las Vegas, it's the DMV, here it's the DDS. Worldwide it's known as hell ;) Pops needed an ID card. 

Anything outside of a five mile radius with two people in their 80's, I call a field trip. Everyone likes them, but it's just not practical to have one every day. Today was a field trip and a half! My old people do what they want, when they want to. Just imagine one unbuckling herself while on the freeway, me leaning back with one arm to help her re-buckle, reminding her it's illegal and dangerous to not have it on, while the other is pushing every single new button he sees and admiring the touch screen on the dash. There's a new description for multi-tasking in my world, and it's driving on the Georgia 400 with half of yourself helping someone in the backseat while being blasted with A/C and then extreme heat, the windsheild wipers turning on and the emergency flashers going off. Lookout Atlanta, the #hotmessexpress is headed your way!

Believe it or not, we were only 15 minutes from the house. We got to the DDS and I laughed at the 182 person max capacity. At home, there's usually 182 people in front of you, not in the building entirely! But I wasn't complaining, less than an hour there and we were on our way. Time flew by, which was great because when your hearing isn't what it used to be you also don't tell secrets that greatly. So the guy with the ugly neon shoes Granny pointed out now knows about his fashion fail in her opinion, as does the guy in front of us with the pants falling down "so you can almost see his butt!". And Pops made sure to tell each employee we talked to that he doesn't understand why it takes so long, "it's ridiculous!".

I've yet to have a couple toddlers, but if/when I do, I imagine an outing alone with them to be much like what like these field trips are. It's funny. And frustrating. And tiring. And so so so worth the memories :] 

So, that's what's happening. That's how this first post is going down. And to be honest, I couldn't think of a better start - than 2,000 miles away from home, in Atlanta on a last minute trip to G&P's (that's Granny and Pops, for anyone who doesn't know me :]), helping out my favorite old people. If you keep reading, you can get to know me a little down the road, I'll probably really never do an "about me" post (again, awkward!) or end up sticking to whatever blog plan I thought I'd make and keep, but that's how my life is. Some fun, some crafty, some random, some G&P, and a whole lot of Pepper! 

**Side note: not sure on the title yet. We'll figure that out later!