New England // The Island

So I have always had a fascination with New England. I have never been to any of the New England states, but I plan to some day save up enough and take a road trip and visit a plethora of little towns!

I recently read The Island by Elin Hilderbrand which is a novel about a mother and her daughters who vacation at their summer home located on Tuckernuck Island. The remote Tuckernuck is an island in the town of Nantucket, Massachusetts. 

The island is privately owned by summer residents and only about thirty-five houses have been built on Tuckernuck Island, which makes it even more vacation lust worthy. The island has no paved roads or public utilities. The electricity is from generators or solar panels and water comes from wells on the island. 

I can picture myself swimming the day away and enjoying a freshly cooked meal of crab and a bottle of Sancerre wine. That would be the life!

To me this seems like such an adventure. Unfortunately, to rent a house on Tuckernuck Island it will run you about $3,000 a week a the low end! So this may remain a dream until I make the big bucks (which may be never!). 

Until then, I will dream about a New England home, full of lobster rolls and fried clams of course! 

Summer Adventures // Sipsey Wilderness

What better way to spend a summer weekend than camping?

I have been itching to go camping for weeks. Not the RV, out of your car camping. The real "roughing" it type of camping. No bathrooms, no set campsites, and plenty of hiking!

We chose to drive to Hope, Alabama to Sipsey Wilderness. Sipsey is the largest and most frequently visited wilderness area in Alabama and contains dozens of waterfalls. It is actually nicknamed "Land of 1000 Waterfalls".  The drive is only about two hours northwest of Birmingham, so just a short little road trip. We enjoyed the unique hodgepodge town stores located on the county roads. 

Despite getting lost on the way numerous times, the morning was off to a great start. We arrived at about noon and chose to hike the Borden Creek Trailhead. This specific trailhead is located right off the    Sipsey River Picnic Area and is approximately 2.7 miles. We took the 200 trail which eventually branched off into trail 209. 

The Borden Creek Trailhead is ranked moderate. It is the most heavily accessed trail in Sipsey. We started our trek with the Borden Creek on one side and the bluffs on the other. The scenery was spectacular. Our packs were pretty heavy, so we hiked about 1.5 miles and found a perfect campsite overlooking the creek. 

Once we set up camp we were in exploration mode. I wanted to see everything since it was my first time to Sipsey. We immediately found our way to the creek and enjoyed walking in the cool water. Even saw some baby frogs and crawfish! The water was not deep enough to swim, but sunbathing was a must! 

We then decided to walk some of the trails. The Borden Creek Trailhead has a fair amount of ups and downs though none particularly steep. We climbed the limestone rock bluffs and saw some of the caves. It was a pretty hot day so we did not see any snakes thankfully! I had my "snake stick" just in case, haha!

Although we had looked at the weather online all week to check for rain chances, I had forgotten that the chances were pretty high. Luckily we brought our rain tarps because around 6:00 PM the thunder and rain rolled in. It lasted just a few short minutes, but the wind and thunder was enough to rattle us a bit. Once the storm had passed, we made a fire and cooked our hot dogs and Mountain House packets. I am not one for freeze-dried "astronaut food", but it was delicious. We picked out the veggie rice pilaf and the scrambles eggs! Both were very good!

Now to be honest, I HATE the dark. Always have. I wouldn't necessarily say I was "scared of the dark" but it is definitely not one of my favorite things. As the bonfire was dimming, the noises got louder. And of course I thought back to those scary stories at camp of Red Kelly or those numerous horror movies I had seen over the years of campers getting murdered by creatures of the hills. 

I laughed at myself the next morning for being such a wimp!

We woke up around 8 AM and enjoyed leftover hot dogs and our freeze-dried scrambled eggs. Really, they taste better than they sounds! Camp was easy to pack up and we were on our way! The hike back was nice and we even encountered a few other campers! 

All in all, the camping trip was a success and I can't wait to go back again! 

See you soon!

-H

Jennifer's 60th // May 31, 2014

My beautiful mom turned sixty this month. I know, can you believe THIS woman is SIXTY??

And in our family, we do not take birthdays lightly. In fact this year for my 25th birthday, my parents "pigged" my yard through Flamingo-a-Friend. Think I am joking? Take a look!

This year was a special birthday for my mom. Sixty is a significant milestone! She had mentioned wanting a party but later played if off as though it was no big deal. But I REALLY knew she wanted a party, so I began to plan. 

With the help of Erin and Kristin (my twin sister and sister-in-law), we did what we do best -- PLAN!

The first steps were easy. Ordering the invitations and addressing them to the 150 or so guests who were to be invited. That was checked off the list pretty early thanks to the great ladies at Smith's Variety! They have the best invitations and can have them to you within 2 days! You seriously cannot beat that! 

My gorgeous Aunts and Mom

Our friend Kevin who helps with ALL our party planning. Such a trooper! 

The forever 10 year old cousin Robert. He is in fact 19 years old, but we won't admit it!

Next was to schedule the band. We decided to go with II Da Maxx, who played at my brother's wedding. We wanted a old school band who knew how to get this church going crowd to let loose and dance! We were lucky enough to use the same dance floor built for my brother's wedding and boy did we dance! Alabama heat does not play around though and of course the party fell on a hot and humid May evening. That did not stop my mom and her best friends from busting a few moves! 

Being a southern family, we love BBQ, hamburgers, and hot dogs. And that is exactly what we had catered thanks to Full Moon BBQ! We had them set up a baked potato bar which was a HUGE hit! 

A birthday party is not a real party without a cake. Finding a nice cake to serve this many people may seem difficult, but I knew where to look. Working in the wedding industry, I knew that none other than Olexa's Bakery was where to turn. They did not disappoint. And it tasted DELICIOUS! We may or may not have feasted off this cake for a few days after the party! 

In my opinion, the biggest hit at the party was the Cool Shots Photo Lounge which was generously supplied by my employer at Feel the Beat Entertainment. I think the party started to get a little wild when the photo booth broke out. There had been plenty of time to drink and enjoy the beer from Cahaba Brewery! Drinking and photo booth props made for every interesting and hilarious pictures! 

Here are just a few to show you the madness of the photo booth!

More pictures to come!!

Minecraft // Charlie's 6th Birthday

I have a passion for party planning and earlier this month my nephew, Charlie, turned six. I knew I would be planning this little shindig, so I began to ask Charlie what his little heart desired for his big day. I was expecting Avengers or something superhero themed. So when my sweet nephew told me he wanted a Minecraft party, I was thrown for a loop.

What the heck is Minecraft?!

I felt so old not knowing what the "in" games for kids are these days. So I researched and found that Minecraft is a block building game where kids can design anything and live off the "land" and fight creatures. Sounded right up Charlie's alley. 

That next afternoon I began searching all the party stores around Birmingham. Nothing! I was starting to get discouraged. I then turned to my trusty ole Pinterest and found that most Minecraft parties are DIY. My FAVORITE! So I got to work!

With the help of my parents, twin sister, sister-in-law, and our sweet friend, we began to build the perfect Minecraft party. 

And I do mean BUILD!

We dumpster dove...I mean collected boxes for weeks to construct life size Minecraft figurines. We may or may not have killed a few brain cells while spray painting these suckers. 

We had such a wonderful time planning this party. From the cardboard box Creepers to the balloon dart game! I hope you find some inspiration in our DIY Minecraft party!

Until next time

-H

Follow Hayden's board Minecraft Party DIY on Pinterest.