Wineries of North Georgia

Andy and I headed to Dahlonega this past Saturday to spend the day at the wineries in the North Georgia mountains.  We both had never been before and thought it would be a nice, close trip to celebrate our 3rd anniversary, which is tomorrow!

We started the day off at Three Sisters Winery where they were having the 10th Annual Georgia Wine Country Festival.  There was live music, BBQ, and a "wine garden."  We weren't that impressed with the wineries that had come to be a part of the wine garden and actually liked Three Sisters Wine the best of what they had to offer there.  

 Andy was excited to discover that the Miata's sister decided to park next to her in the parking lot of Three Sisters when we were leaving!

 The next stop on our tour was Frogtown Winery.  This winery had a lovely setup--up on a hill overlooking the vineyards.  The views were beautiful!  We enjoyed a panini lunch on a covered porch and a tasting of their wines after our meal.

 It was cool to see the wine grapes growing on the vine!

 Our next stop was Blackstock Winery.  This winery had the best views of the North Georgia Mountains.  Unfortunately, we got there just as the live guitarist was finishing up but enjoyed a glass of wine in rocking chairs on their porch while taking in the scenery.

 Andy in the vines at Blackstock Winery.

 

Our last stop was Wolf Mountain Winery.  In our opinion, we concluded the trip with the best wine.  We enjoyed a tasting and chatting with a couple we met who live in Roswell.  In the picture above, you can see the pavilion where they were setting up for a wedding ceremony!  Beautiful location for a wedding! :)

 We spent the evening in downtown Dahlonega, going to the Corkscrew Cafe and staying at Park Place Hotel.  Overall, we had a great time and although I'm sure it's no Napa Valley, it's only about an hour to hour and a half drive and we look forward to going back again!

Our New Home!

We moved into our new rental home this weekend!  It feels so good to be out of our little old apartment after 3 years of marriage.  The move went smoothly and I am loving our new home.  We still have a lot of work to do in the way of unpacking and getting organized!  We also purchased a new memory foam queen sized bed (we've been on a double for 3 years) that will be arriving on Saturday!

Now I just need to get everything in working order before I host my "Flight of the Kiwi" Wine Night on June 3rd!

In other news, two more half days of school with the students!  Wahoo!  Summer here I come!!!!

Happy Easter!

Christ the Lord is risen today...alleluia!  Hope y'all had a fabulous Easter!  We went to church and lunch with my parents today.  The weather today was gorgeous--sunny and warm.  When we got home, I took a nap, cleaned, and relaxed.  

Our dog, Spot, had to spend the night Thursday at the ER vet and then at the regular vet all day Friday.  She came home Friday night.  So with her home and happy this Easter, we couldn't ask for anything more!  God is good!

Update on recent happenings!

Gosh, I'm a horrible blogger!  It's been an entire month...and I've been busy!  I was back to school last week after being off for Spring Break the previous week.  During Spring Break, I was busy with wedding preparations for my sister who got married last weekend!  It was beautiful and I can't wait to tell you all about it in an upcoming blog post!

In other news, I'm excited to say we are moving into a house!  Wahoo!  It's a cute little brick ranch house about 2 miles away from our current apartment.  We are still just leasing--it's not the time to buy since we are not sure where we'll end up next year when Andy graduates.  Regardless, we're extremely excited! 

I truly believe this rental house is an answered prayer.  After giving our 60 day notice at our apartment complex, I started getting stressed and worried that we would not be able to find anything we liked at the right price and in the right location (Smyrna is very hit or miss).  Well I started praying about it and low and behold after work a couple Fridays ago I drove down the street that I like, turned the corner, and there was a new for lease sign!  The realtor, owner, and current leasers were standing in the driveway talking and I opened my car door and asked if the house was still available.  They said yes and invited me in to look around!  The price was right, the area was right, and I knew it was the one!  They actually had just put up the for lease sign 15 minutes before I pulled up.  Talk about perfect timing! :)

I thought that it would be difficult convincing the husband that this was the one--but it actually wasn't as difficult as I thought!  

So, we signed a lease 3 days later and we move in May 21st.  Now to start thinking about packing everything up!  Pictures to come.

Hope you have a fabulous week!

ABCs of Me

A. Age: 26

B. Bed size: Double...too small for a husband, wife, and dog!  Can't wait to get my king-sized bed!

C. Chore you dislike: Quite a few but taking out the trash and cleaning the bathroom top the charts!

D. Dogs: The sweetest dog you'll ever meet, Spot.

E. Essential start to your day: OJ and the Today Show

F. Favorite color:  Pink and teal.

G. Gold or silver: Mostly silver but I've recently added in some gold.

H. Height: 5' 5"

I. Instruments you play(ed): The flute for 4 years starting in middle school.  I was required to take piano in college for my degree but sucked at it.  I cried when I had a required "private" lesson with my teacher because I was so terrible!  Pitiful!

J. Job title: Middle School Dance Teacher

K. Kids:  Hopefully sooner rather than later.  We'll have to talk to the husband about this one!

L. Live: 900 square foot apartment.  Hopefully moving in 2 months when our lease is up!

M. Mom’s name: Diane (Hi, mom!)

N. Nicknames:  Andy and I have called each other Bro (pronounced "brew" with a NZ accent)since our trip to New Zealand over Christmas 2009....see video below to fully understand!  Also, my dad used to call me Little Britches as a kid

O. Overnight hospital stays: Fortunately, none.

P. Pet peeves:  People pretending to be someone/something they're not

Q. Quote from a movie: "I want it now!"  Veruca Salt on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  I can quote the whole song!

S. Siblings: Beautiful Bride-to-Be (April 9th) Sister, Stephanie.

T. Time you wake up: About 7am on weekdays.  Although I like it staying light later in the evening, I am really HATING the dark mornings!  I sleep much later on weekends if I can.

U. Underwear: Thongs.  Would hate to have a panty line!

V. Vegetables you don’t like:  Not very many.  I think I tried to like brussel sprouts a few years ago but haven't had them since.

W. What makes you run late: Wanting to sleep for "just 5 more minutes" and not being able to find something to wear.

X. X-rays you’ve had:  Foot and back back when I was dancing but they never did find anything wrong with me.  I guess that's a good thing? 

Y. Yummy food you make:  Fajitas!  Simple, but good. 

Z. Zoo animal favorites:  Pandas!

Coming Home

Sorry it's been awhile since I've blogged.  I've certainly lacked some inspiration and time lately but oh my gosh was I moved and inspired last night!  Did y'all watch the series premier of "Coming Home" on Lifetime last night after Army Wives?  The show documents military dads/husbands coming home to their family.  The twist is that one of the dad's child/wife does not know their dad/husband was coming home from Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. at that time.  It certainly makes for an emotional surprise when they show up!  I was bawling like a baby.  Check out the emotion when they first see their soldier!

Probably my favorite story of the night was the high school football player at his college signing day.  The HS senior is sitting at the signing table and they ask him where he will be playing next year.  He reveals he is signing with the Air Force Academy.  Dad comes out, the son does not see him yet, and yells, "That's my boy!," something Dad would always say as his son ran down the football field towards the end zone (they showed home videos before the surprise).  The son is so surprised and moved that he starts crying and the two embrace in one of the biggest man hugs I have ever seen.  They say how much they missed each other, love each other, and dad says how proud he is of his son.  Bring on the tissues!

My heart certainly goes out to the soldiers for their bravery and service to our country.  It also goes out to the families they leave behind here in the States!  I can't even imagine the sacrifice these military families are forced to make each and every day.  So, THANK YOU for your sacrifice!

Mondays Aren't So Bad (when you don' t have to work)!

I enjoyed lunch and a movie with my mom today.  When I was working part-time at the school and the Loft, I often had week days off when I could do this exact thing with my mom.  It was great--we saw so many movies together.  Now that I'm teaching full time, it is definitely a bit harder to have this time with my mom.  Because I'm off this week, we took full advantage and went and saw:

This movie is up for some Oscars and won a few Golden Globes.  It's based on the true story of King George VI and his speech impediment of stuttering.  It was a bit long at times but overall pretty good.  It definitely had a feel good ending to it.  I'm sure my speech therapist best friend would enjoy it! :)

After the movie, we went to T.J. Maxx for a return and I ended up with these two fun items:

 A yummy Yankee Candle for only $7!

And some fabulous red flats!  These are Nine West that were compared at $70 but I got them for $35.  So cute but I still need to figure out (or go out and buy) something to wear with them!

I do love me some T.J.Maxx!

And speaking of shoes, I found these cuties on www.endless.com.  I'm just not sure I can justify the $89 price tag!