Vacation. Memphis. New Orleans 2011

Many months ago we were thinking about where we would like to go on vacation.  We decided to drive to our destination so our only requirement was that it was only a 12 hour or less drive.  So with that in mind we decided on New Orleans.  In the last few weeks before vacation we decided it would be best to make a pit stop in Memphis to split the drive in half and to check out Beale street as well. 

Memphis: 
We stayed at the Westin which is right across from the FedEx Forum where the Grizzlies play.  I am not an NBA fan but still kind of cool.  Beale street was really fun!  We ate at Rendezvous and had possibly the best brisket I have ever had.  Yummy!!  We also got to see the Peabody which is a famous hotel where they have ducks that walk through the lobby.  We didn't see the ducks but it was still a very cool building.  We also got to hear a ton of good music!  Some of these bands should already be famous!  We also got to see the Coyote Ugly bar.  I am a fan of the movie so I had to see it! It was actually very similar because they were singing and dancing on the bar.  haha

New Orleans:

What a place!  I had a whole list of things that we wanted to see and do while we were there so we hit it hard when we first got there.  Our first night we decided to eat at Hardrock because neither of us are seafood eaters which is the majority of food in New Orleans.  We were still able to find places to eat though!  We had a good meal and then went to Cafe Du Monde for beignets.  This also on the top list to do while in New Orleans.  It was yummy! Then we walked along the river for a little bit and hit some decorations stores on the way back to the hotel.  We stayed at the Omni Royal Crescent which was one block from Canal street and 2 blocks from the French Quarter.  Our hotel was cool because it had the old architecture style and a real New Orleans feel to it.  There was a roof top hot tub and lounge area that was really cool at night!  We went up there and took some pictures and enjoyed some time in the hot tub.  The views were awesome as well! 

Thursday we got up early and went to the Audobon Aquarium.  That was also really cool and we saw some really fun animals.  There was an Otter that Justin decided if Louie were another animal he would be an Otter. :-)  Then we walked down Bourbon street and found a place to eat for lunch.  We ate at Arnaud's Remoulade and it was tasty also! We had mufaletta's and Po Boy sandwiches!  Then we took the street car all the way from Canal street through New Orleans!  The Garden district was so beautiful!!!  So many homes that would be dream homes!  This is where some of the celebrities that live in New Orleans live.  It rained on and off while we were there but we managed to avoid it for the most part.  Then we went back to the hotel for a break then back out again to take the Ferry over the Mississippi.  Justin loved this because we got to see alot of industrial type boats.  Definitely a guy thing!  :-)
Then we went back and got dressed up to go to a nice dinner.  We ate at Cafe Giovanni which was amazing!  The meatballs were as big as my hand!  They were huge!  That was my favorite meal!  Then we went to Harrah's Casino to try our luck at the slots.  No luck! :-)  I had to have some Pinkberry frozen yogurt while I was there, which did not disappoint!  Then we walked the river again and had a romantic evening. :-)  Such a good time with my hubby! 

Friday morning we had scheduled to go on an airboat tour through the swamp where we would hopefully see some gators!  We sure did see them!  Unfortunately I had started feeling congested and started to feel sick on Thursday night so Friday morning it was in full swing, but I made it through and still had fun! 

The tour guide had such a crazy swamp man accent!  They feed the gators marshmallows!  So crazy! They love them!  Oddly enough they were kind of cute! We didn't see any giant gators but they said they usually only come out at night.  We went back to the hotel and I got some much needed medicine.  Later that day we went down to Bourbon street which was our first time to make it down there to check out the night life.  It was crazy dirty and stinky! We would be walking along and get a big smell of sewer or trash.  We went to a few places and had the signature New Orleans drink and had a Lucky Dog from the hot dog vendor which was also on my list to do.  Yummy hot dog!  We also saw several odd people who were doing things for tips.  There was a girl posed in the middle of the street with a bike and dressed in white and had her face painted and a trumpet.  Also there was a man dressed in gold with his face painted gold who would stand perfectly still.  We only spent a few hours walking around and then had enough and went back to the hotel.  It was fun!  Just really dirty! I think Canal street was more my style. :-)  With all the shops! 

The next day we were suppose to stay another night but decided to make the 12 hour drive on Saturday rather than Sunday so we could have a day to relax before work began again.  Overall we had a great vacation, but there is something to be said about having your own home and all of the comforts of your home including our bed! 

The basement story

Well it has been a long time since I have done a post.  I have been waiting so I could post pictures of our basement.  We are still in the process of getting everything done.  We FINALLY have dry wall!  We hired it done and they were here for about a week.  It is all done now and this last weekend we did all of our painting.  We were finally able to agree on a flooring and that will be delivered tomorrow.  It seems all we do anymore is work and work on the basement!  I am looking forward to our vacation at the end of July!!!!

Before drywall

Bathroom in progress

Bathroom in progress

Drywall in progress...

The painting is done!!!! 

Painting is done, now we just need flooring! 

More pictures to come!  

Alive.

Yes, it's true.  I have not fallen off the face of the blogging world.  Life has been one crazy whirlwind lately.

We are still working on the basement.  I was way off base when I thought we would be done with everything quickly.  There are so many little details to get done before you can get to the good stuff like actually having walls and a floor.  I can't even imagine what those people go through that build a house from scratch.  Justin has been working downstairs on plumbing, electrical, and more framing since my last post.  I am starting to get anxious to just get it done and finished, but doing it right is the most important thing right now.  I am most excited because if all goes as planned we should be able to get the drywall done in the next month!  That will really make it look like more of a living space and make it more real!  Flooring would be the next big thing and we have decided to go with bamboo for the basement and at the same time we will be replacing our carpet upstairs with the bamboo as well.  That is the plan and of course it is subject to change. :-)

Next up is getting rid of more stuff!  Before the wedding we got rid of a ton of random stuff that was just lying around taking up space in Justin's house.  We arranged with the Council for the Blind to come pick up a whole truck load.  We have quickly accumulated more stuff to get rid of and believe it or not I think we will have another truck load to donate.  We are going to try to sell some of the bigger stuff on Craigslist and if it doesn't sell it is going to charity! 

One of my new favorite things is to play around on a newer site called Pinterest.  It can be so addicting!  They have a ton of awesome DIY ideas for decorating and also have tons of fun recipes.  I just made one today.  They are Nutella cookies.  They are very tasty and pretty much taste like brownies.  Here is a picture:

Oven: 350
Bake: 7-8 Minutes

Ingredients:  1/2 cup sugar
                    1 cup all purpose flour
                    1 Egg
                    1 cup Nutella

Mix all together and form into 1 inch balls.  Take a glass cup and press down firmly then bake.  Yummy!
You should try them! 

Back to work tonight after 6 days off! :-(  Saturday we are going to celebrate my best buddy Mel being done with her Chemo treatments by having a Wigging out party.  Everyone has to wear fun crazy wigs!  I will post pics later! 

I am no Lindsey Vonn....this is true.

One of the few times that I was standing. :-)

Such amazing views!  These mountians were not messing around!

Me, Mackenzie, and Bayli outside at the Keystone ski lodge.

Me, Bayli, and Marci outside while it was snowing.

Me and Marci

Colorado was so much fun!  The mountains were so pretty!  We stayed at Keystone Ski Lodge with the Water's family.  I have only skied once before and that was in KC so it doesn't really count. :-)  I had a lesson on Friday and it went ok.  I still ended up falling several times and the instructor recommended that I take the lift back rather than ski down the mountain like normal people.  So I took the ride of shame down the mountain.  Oh well!  Saturday I was not sure whether or not I was going to attempt to ski again, but at the last minute decided to go ahead and go for it.  We went all the way to the top of the mountain which is 3 1/2 miles high.  We decided that I would probably be able to do the easiest run down the mountain which is called school marm and is a green.   We realized this was a bad idea after I fell about 100 yards into the run.  I fell all the way down the mountain.  No seriously....I did. :) It took me 3 hours to get all the way down the mountain!!  (But I did finish, even though I considered quiting many times.)  God bless Justin and Marci for sticking with me and starting and stopping so frequently.  I was so bad even the little 4 and 5 year olds were going around me!! Ha ha ha.  (I can laugh now, but it really wasn't funny at the time.)  Even though I had a terrible experience getting down the mountain it did not totally turn me off to skiing.  I would like to try again, but many many months from now.  Justin and I were so sore when we left we could barely move!  We decided I just needed more practice, confidence, and less steep hills.  Overall we had a great time and made some great memories! 

March. Madness.

These words mean a few things to me:

1. Bye Bye husband!  Basketball madness will be on all day and all night!  I know that I am in for more than I bargained for this year since this is my first married march madness.  I don't know how much basketball I can take.  We shall see!

2. Work has been crazy!  We are short handed right now so we are all picking up extra shifts.  This is great for my paycheck but bad for my sleep schedule. 

3.  Our social life has also been madness.  On my off days we have been very busy.  My family visited last weekend and this coming weekend we are going to Denver Colorado to visit Justin's family.  I am excited but a little nervous how I will do snow skiing.  Hopefully I do not break a bone! 

4.  Spring is here!  This gives us a taste of what summer will be like right around the corner.  I don't know about anyone else but after blizzard weather this winter I am ready for some sunshine! 

Love my new bedroom decorations!! 

Living. Room.

For most of you the last time you were in our living room it was either white or white with a few sample paint colors we were trying out.  Here is the new and improved living room of the Wolfe's.  I have a few more things I want to do with it before it is complete but I am loving the way it looks so far. 

The newest addition: White curtains from the Pottery Barn and our wood blinds!

See Louie peeking in the background.

Another new addition from Mrs Melanie Blair!  Super fun! 

Next post will be pictures of the new and improved bedroom!  I ordered our new duvet from http://www.serenaandlily.com/  I am excited for it to get here! I hope it gets here before my mom and Rodney get here on Friday. 

One more thing!  Friday is mine and Justin's 6 month wedding anniversary!  How crazy!!! I can't believe how time flies!  I love that man! 

DIY

I am obsessed with HGTV and fixing up our house.  Not that it needed fixing up but when Justin purchased the house 3 years ago it was brand new and everything was white.  I have taken over the house one room at a time!  I started with the kitchen before we were married.  I just recently did touch ups on the kitchen and have perfected my edging on textured walls and ceilings thanks to some creative thinking and Lowe's.  :-)  We hired the living room to be painted since it is a larger space and where we spend most of our time.  We were going to hire someone to paint the bedroom as well, but I felt more confident in my painting skills and decided to take on the task.  I spent last Friday painting the bedroom "milk chocolate."  While I painted my husband was in the basement working on framing the walls of his new Man cave.  It took me 8 hours to paint and I finished at 1:45 am on Saturday morning.  It turned out great!  

We then decided that maybe we had too much brown going on in our bedroom.  Brown walls, tan floors, brown furniture, brown curtains, and a brown duvet.  Obviously I like brown.....but it is a bit much!  :-)  Shopping time!  Justin agreed that I could use our state tax return to purchase a new duvet and linens to spice up the bedroom with some color.  The verdict is still out on which duvet I will pick!  I ordered some swatches of fabric and they should be in soon!  I will post pictures of our new and improved bedroom once we actually purchase the duvet and get everything settled. 

This Friday my husband and I plan to work on the basement together.  I am not sure how much help I will be since I am not exactly a master contractor. :-)  It should be a great learning experience for me as long as I don't injure myself in some way, which is always possible with me. :-)  We are looking forward to getting the basement finished so we can start enjoying it!  Hopefully this time next month it will be finished!! 

Next week will be a busy week as I work 4 12 hour shifts, but we are looking forward to my mom and stepdad coming to visit for the weekend!!