Pretty Flowers

Tuesday, I was surprised at work with a delivery...of pretty flowers! Miss Jennifer sent me these beautiful flowers for helping at Doug and Leslie's wedding...They have made my office smell wonderful all week! Since they are still so pretty, I brought them home this evening to brighten up our house (and our living room is already smelling like stargazer lilies)!

Busy Weekend...

Friday, I attended a CLE in Batesville. Mama was so nice; she came and picked me up and drove me to Batesville so that Charles and I could ride all the way home together Saturday night...
Charles picked me up from the CLE and off we went to Hattiesburg for Charles's brother's wedding. We made it just in time for the rehearsal Friday. The wedding wasn't until 4:00 Saturday afternoon, so Charles and I enjoyed lunch at Villie's - delicious!! The wedding was just a bit delayed because of a heavy rain storm, but once it passed, the wedding began. We stayed to clean up after the reception and made it home around midnight -- by then I was even more thankful that Mama had picked me up!
Since we won't be able to make it back down to Hattiesburg, Miss Jennifer (Charles's mom) sent my birthday present back with us. It is from a cute little store in Hattiesburg - Bloom's. I just can't wait to open it!!
Sunday, Mama came up, and we all enjoyed a nice dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse and Cats at the Orpheum...

Toula's new home...

Toula could not let Father's Day pass without getting a present for her daddy... And for being such a good bunny (and just because she really needed one), Charles and I gave Toula a new home today.
She had too much fun chewing on her old rug, so we found a new one that will hopefully hold up to her playing (at least for a while)...

She was a little apprehensive at first and had to slowly check it all out. She started by heading all the way to the back...
and then slowly sniffing her way to the front...
and she was on alert the whole time she was investigating...
It didn't take her too long to figure it all out and settle into her new home!

We think she likes it!!

Brady's Birthday Party

So earlier today Charles and I went to John, Molly and Brady's house for Brady's 2nd Birthday Party. We had a great time!
Brady loves tractors, so he had a tractor themed birthday party which tractor invitations, tractor plates and napkins, a farm and tractor themed cake and (John Deere) green and yellow streamers. He had on a very appropriate little t-shirt with his name and a tractor on it.
Here is a picture of Brady playing around before everyone arrived and the party started...
Here is a great picture of Molly, Brady and Uncle Jason (Molly's brother)...
And a great one of Molly's mom and Ella (Jason and Leslie's daughter)...
Ella is too cute and such a happy little baby! She smiled and laughed every time someone even looked at her! I had lots of fun holding her!!

Molly's dad grilled delicious hot dogs, and to go along with the hot dogs, Molly served chips and dip, Cheetos, slaw, cheese spread sandwiches, pineapple sandwiches and cooked peanut butter and Ritz sandwiches. She also made a cute little farm themed birthday cake, little cakes in ice cream cones and ice cream sandwiches.
Here's Brady's birthday cake...

Right before we began to eat, Brady and Wyatt decided to check out some of Brady's gifts...

After getting all the children away from the presents, we ate. Brady enjoyed his lunch and had a lot of fun playing peek-a-boo with his Cheeto!

The birthday boy (and the other children) liked their birthday hats and really liked the birthday cake!!

After cake, it was time to open Brady's presents! He got lots of help opening his presents...

Brady got all kinds of fun toys to play with!
All the kids enjoyed his present from Molly's mom and dad -- a fun sandbox!!

We had a great time at Brady's birthday party!

Now we are resting for a while before we head to Batesville for a wedding this evening.

Miss Toula and her friend...

After I finished blogging about last night's baseball game, I went into the living room to find Toula waiting for me on the couch. After going to get her a treat from the kitchen, I came back to find this...
Toula had brought her friend into the living room to play with her! How sweet is that?

Triple A Game

Last night Charles and I went to Autozone Park to watch the Memphis Redbirds take on the Iowa Cubs. Even though our team lost, there were lots of other Cubs fans there (a couple even sitting two rows up from us), and we had a great time!
We arrived early - before the gates opened. Here's Charles at the entrance of Autozone Park while we waited to go in... Once inside the park, we found our seats and then took a look around the field.
We walked around to the picnic area on the left side of the park and saw the Memphis Redbird logo sign...

Looking back across the field from that spot, we got a great view of the "skyscrapers" of downtown Memphis...
Then the announcer introduced the Germantown Little League team by team...they were so cute, especially the little Cubs team!!
We then walked around to the opposite side of the park. We enjoyed some delicious Rendezvous BBQ nachos...

and while enjoying the nachos, we were able to check out the pregame activity in the Cubs dugout...We then went back to our seat which was right between home plate and the Cub's dugout and only five rows back (the seats in the rows in front of us were only very partially filled, so we had no trouble in seeing all the action)!

Before the game, Charles headed a few seats over to the Cub's dugout...

and got several players' autographs...
The players then took the field for last minute warmups and stretching...
Then headed back to the dugout...
These were our first glimpses of Felix Pie...
Next came the National Anthem...

Then it was time to play ball!

Batting first for the Cubs was Pie...
Since he has played with the Chicago Cubs in the past, even I knew who he was. See how close to the action we were...

Batting after Pie was Matt Murton -- another player who has been called up in the past. I was really excited to see him!We were so close to the action that we could pretty much see the players' facial expressions!

Koyie Hill (another former Chicago Cub) was the catcher...

We missed Rich Hill -- he pitched the night before but is still not doing too well.

I had to take a picture of the scoreboard showing the Iowa Cubs logo...

And of course we had to take a couple of action shots both in the daylight...and under the lights...
Charles and I both had a great time! We enjoyed the full baseball experience. We saw day ball and night ball. During the game we ate hot dogs and peanuts. The Redbirds even played "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch. Of course, we sang the line: "Root, root, root for the Cubbies" and afterward said, "Come on Cubs, let's get some runs!" Too bad we weren't able to sing "Go Cubs Go" on the way home...

I really enjoyed my first AAA game!!

Tuesday Tennis...

So, Molly and I played tennis again tonight. Although we are still not ready for Wimbledon or Roland Garros, we played well and had a great time!!

Below are my purchases from my girl's day with Mama for her birthday...

Since I have burned almost all of our summery smelling candles, I was on the lookout for a new one - our living room is smelling so good now! While at Oxford Floral I also found the McCarty's shell - I hadn't seen one that size before, and I think that it will be perfect for dip at our next get together!! I have been wanting one of the pocket books but since I really like my big purses at the moment haven't bought once since I knew that I would not carry it. Well, tennis with Molly is not only fun for us, it was the perfect excuse for buying the pocket book. I carried it tonight and it worked out great for my driver's license and key! While walking through The Weather Vane, we saw several framed pieces with different sayings. While I liked them all, my favorite was the one which states: "You are my sunshine you make me happy." Mama bought this one for me to bring home. Now I just have to find the perfect spot for it...

I also brought home some new travel pieces... I have been wanting a new makeup bag for a while. While I still like my old one, it is heavy and the way it is made makes it a little difficult to quickly get in. Since Charles and I are planning a trip to Atlanta later this summer, I thought what better time to buy new travel pieces. Once I decided on the makeup bag (even though it doesn't match my travel tote pattern, it is in the same color scheme -- pink -- and shouldn't show dirt as much as my tote pattern which has more white in it), I thought the matching brush case was just too cute to pass up! Then I ran across the luggage tag. Since our suitcases are black, a colorful tag is just what we needed to make our luggage easier to spot. Now, I am ready for our trip so that I can test it all out!

Happy Birthday, Mama!

Today is Mama's birthday. For her birthday present this year, she is going to see Cats with us. However, the performance isn't until later this month. So, to celebrate her birthday, Mama and I had a girl's day Saturday. Neither of us has been to Oxford lately, so we thought the perfect outing would be to look through the little shops...

I picked Mama up around 10:30 Saturday and after brief stop at Blossom's in Batesville, we headed to Oxford. Unfortunately, Pearl Street Pasta is only opened for dinner, so we enjoyed lunch at Oby's. After lunch, we strolled through a couple of antique shops, and at one I found the perfect bookcase for the back wall of our living room! We next stopped at Creme de la Creme and then went to the Oxford Square to window shop and look through Na Ann's, Elizabeth Christopher, The Lily Pad, Mississippi Madness and The Weather Vane. Of course, we had to stop by Oxford Floral too. We picked a perfect day for this trip too -- it was so hot and humid!! So, after Oxford Floral, we decided there was no need to stop anywhere else. After getting back to Batesville, we stopped by The Candle Shop. We were both so hot, we picked up a shaved ice (Mama enjoyed a banana one, and I enjoyed a strawberry banana one) which hit the spot!

We had a great day!! I felt kind of bad though because it was Mama's birthday trip and she came home with nothing while I came home with a few bags!

Today, Mama came up to Hernando to have lunch with Charles and me for her birthday. We enjoyed good food and good company at the Olive Garden!

We'll always have Paris...

Charles and I have been on a trip down memory lane this week and thought you might enjoy too!


Here I am upon arrival at Charles de Gaul -- and after a LONG flight across the pond...
We settled into our room at the Ambassador Hotel.

The next morning we started our tradition of cheesy eggs, croissants and strawberry preserves for breakfast at 16 Haussmann.

We then stared our first full day in Paris with a tour on the double decker bus -- Les Cartes Rouges. We saw most of the must-sees from the bus and hopped off at several stops to see tour the sights.

The Seine...

We hopped off at the Trocadero stop to get perfect views of the Eiffel Tower.

Charles at the Trocadero Metro stop... (notice the little white rabbit on the advertisement sign) Megan and the Eiffel Tower...

Charles and the Eiffel Tower
Then we hopped off to see the Arc de Triomphe.

Everyone stopped for the same photo op...

We climbed to the top and visited the museum...
The views from the top were spectacular...Of course, we had to ask someone to take our picture atop the Arc de Triomphe with the Eiffel Tower in the background...

Here's a picture of me standing under the arch...


We next stopped at Notre Dame...

We had to take a picture of the flying buttresses...
Notre Dame was beautiful - especially the stained glass rose window...
Charles and I enjoyed a little rest in the garden behind Notre Dame...
A picture of me in Notre Dame's garden...This is the park which is right beside the Eiffel Tower. Charles and I returned here one evening and enjoyed people watching and a delicious French pastry while gazing up at the Eiffel Tower which is beautiful lit up at night...

Us by the Seine...
We passed the Place de la Vendome...
We saw a statue of Winston Churchill...

We passed by the Latin Quarter...

And here I am at the Trocadero Metro...
We started our next day off by touring the Louvre. Here is Charles at the entrance...
This picture shows more of the enormity of the museum...
We saw many paintings and statues such as The Coronation...

Of course we waited in line to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa,

Here I am with (3) of my favorites, The Four Seasons. I have all four seasons framed and hanging in our kitchen...
Then we toured the Orsay which we both enjoyed. We saw beautiful impressionist paintings and sculptures. Here Charles and I are in the Orsay...
We also strolled through Les Jardins des Tuilleries...
Here is Charles in the garden...

And here I am in the garden with the Place de la Concorde in the background... This picture of the Place de la Concorde was taken from the tour bus...

And this one was taking as we approached the Place de la Concorde for an up close viewing... Charles got all wet standing by the fountain in the Place de la Concorde...
This marker stands where the King and Marie Antoinette were guillotined...

Charles enjoying a rest and a mille feuille along the Seine...

We started the next day off at the Bastille monument...
Then toured the Hotel des Invalides...
This is the chapel's ceiling - absolutely beautiful...

Here we are in front of Napolean's tomb...
and in front of a statue of Napolean...

We then took a boat tour of the Seine.

We saw many houseboats along the Seine...
This is the Concergie where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned...

The Louvre from the Seine... The Orsay Museum from the Siene...

A pont (bridge) across the Siene and the Eiffel Tower...

Too bad this one is blurry. It is a paddle boat named The Mississippi... I just thought that was too neat!!
We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Altitude 95 in the Eiffel Tower...

Then enjoyed an evening at the Moulin Rouge...
I had to take a picture of the famous windmill...
This mural of can-can dancers lined the entrance of the Moulin Rouge...

The next day, we toured Saint Chapelle...
I was amazed by its stained glass windows...

The lower floor was where the commoners originally worshiped and was much more plain; however, the second floor was breathtaking...
We then toured the Paris Opera House...
and saw the chandelier which inspired Phantom of the Opera...
and viewed the amazing painted ceiling by Chagall surrounding the chandelier...
We then boarded a tour bus for Giverny -- where Claude Monet's home is located.

I love this picture of Charles and me in the poppy field...

Here I am at the entrance to Claude Monet's house... A glimpse of his beautiful gardens...
Another picture of the gardens...
The gardens were extensive. Here Charles and I are in the gardens...
After touring the gardens and house, we crossed the road to view Monet's water garden which was beautiful as well.

Here is Charles and the famous water lilies...

After returning to Paris, we decided it was time to stop just looking at the Eiffel Tower... It was time to go to the top!

Here is Charles waiting in line...
And here were are atop the Eiffel Tower...

Our last day in Paris, we visited Versailles...

Charles and I in the Hall of Mirrors...
After touring the inside of the palace, we enjoyed a quick tour of the gardens. Unfortunately the fountain wasn't running in this picture...
Charles in the gardens of Versailles...

After a long day of touring, I needed a quick pick me up - a Magnum bar, and Charles just had to take my picture eating it...


Of course, I had to take a picture of him enjoying escargo!
We had a wonderful time in Paris and hopefully will be able to return one day!