Saturday, November 28, 2009

Black Friday shopping

Yes, I was among the millions who woke up early to get some deals on Black Friday. I scouted the ads on Thanksgiving and saw some items that were worth braving the cold, dark morning. I was fortunate enough that I didn't have to go alone. My poor husband of course had to work on Friday. (Which was to his benefit since he was the most shopped for on our trip!) Clint's brother Ben mentioned he wanted to get up and go shopping so we decided to go together. I was even more excited when he offered to drive. (Or maybe I suggested it, not sure.) I HATE driving on crowded roads and parking in busy parking lots.

So, what was such a super deal that I had to get out of my warm cozy bed for early Friday morning? The answer: Appliances. I mentioned in a previous post that I might have some exciting news to share. Well, Clint and I have moved forward and hired a contractor to remodel our VERY outdated kitchen!! When we bought this house, we knew that it would need to be done at some point down the road for re-sale value. But, when we received our tax credit from purchasing our house, we thought it would be a great time to go ahead and do it. We both knew it would probably always be something we talked about doing but probably wouldn't do until we decided to sell the house. Why not do it now so we can enjoy the upgrades. Beside, who the heck knows how long we will live here....maybe forever?!?

We have already ordered our counter tops and cabinets. The next item for debate was appliance color. Since we are doing our very best to stay within our tax credit (or right at) we had to weigh our options very carefully since this was a purchase that could easily bust the budget. (Who knew appliances were so outragious!) After doing research and talking to friends, family and our kitchen expert, we decided on black appliances. One for the price break and two for the maintenance. I think having stainless steel would drive this OCD cleaning girl crazy! And really, as our kitchen expert told us, "Everything is a fad and will be outdated at some point."

We had gotten tipped off that Lowe's was going to have an appliance package deal on Black Friday. Something these two budget conscious homeowners had to investigate. Turns out, it was a pretty good deal. We purchased all our appliances: fridge, OTR microwave, dishwasher and stove for the price of what one nice refrigerator would cost! Saved us at least a grand. Have I mentioned, I love a savings?! We still have to pick out our sink, faucet, color for walls and tile for back splash. But, I think we are nearing the end of decision making. It can be so exhausting...but I know it will be so worth it. We are looking at beginning our kitchen renov. the first of January. Stay tuned for pictures.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Grove Park Inn

Last weekend, my cousin Margaret and I made our way to Asheville, NC to visit the popular historic hotel, The Grove Park Inn. It was truly wonderful! I arrived on Friday a few hours before her and had the chance to get lost around the huge hotel. The views of the mountains are breathtaking. And the weather could not have been more perfect. On Saturday, we spent our entire day at The Spa. And I mean entire day. We were there at 9am, left 2 hours for dinner, came back and spent the rest of the evening there until it closed at 9pm. We both are "get your monies worth" kind of girls...runs in the family! I have never been to a more luxurious spa. They really did think of everything. I won't even try to describe all the amenities because I would for sure leave something spectacular out. We both had hour long pedicures that consisted of a mini-foot/calf massage, hot stone massage, sugar scrub, neck and eye scented pillows,champagne, chocolates and of course painted toes! I don't think I'll ever get any other pedicure that will top that one. It had to be one of the best girls getaway trips. Thanks again Margs for everything, but most of all your fabulous company! Sadly, we did not get a picture together. But, who had time for pictures when you are maxing and relaxing all weekend!

The Grove Park Inn (a very small part of it!)

Sunset



Fall colors were still hanging on


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Halloween 2009


I know I'm a little behind on my posting! (Seems to be the norm around here lately.) We had a very peaceful Halloween this year. Chloe had a friend (Charlie) sleep over. We dressed her up in her costume before the trick-or-treaters started arriving. She was a chicken for the 2nd year in a row. The 2 dogs loved having visitors coming and going all evening. We were excited because we had 15 little cowgirls, ghosts, rockstars and creatures. If you remember from our previous Halloween posts, this is by far the most we have ever had. Although, I'm not sure how Clint really feels about it. Midway through the night, as he looked into the dwindling candy in the bowl, he made the comment about turning out the light to save the rest of the candy! I think he was getting too use to not having any trick-or-treaters and eating all the candy himself. Of course we did not turn off our light and were pretty much cleaned out by the end of the night. We also watched a pretty awesome UT football game that night too!



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