Birthday New Beginnings

I have been 35 for five days. Just five days into a brand new year for me.  I love birthdays because, well let's be honest, I just love a party especially if the party is focused on me. But even more important, or at least equally important, I love a chance for renewal. A chance to look back at what I have done so far and what I want to do in the future. I look forward to New Year's every year and I definitely set those goals. I write them down and look at them frequently to check them off.  I have never met all of them.  For example, I have yet to make a sugar free cheesecake but regardless of the things I have not accomplished there are things on my list every year that I do accomplish.  But I don't just have one list, I have two.  To me birthdays are my own personal New Year and I create my own to do list with both fun and serious items to accomplish before my next birthday.

This year is a big year. To me, 35 is a milestone because there are five years left in my 30s. I don't usually plan in five year increments because that is too overwhelming to consider but this year I gave it thought and there are some definite things that I want to accomplish before 40.  However, in order to accomplish big goals, you have to first create smaller chunks of them.  Therefore, I have my list of things I want to do during my 35th year that will take me several steps closer to the ones I wish to have accomplished by 40.

Like I said some are silly  and some are ambitious because a balanced life has both.  I will share a few with you for examples. Maybe you will be inclined to start your own.

1. Since life has been super busy lately with work commitments, I have let my hobbies go. I am tired when I get home and I over committed myself with other after hours projects. Now some of those projects are done and I am refocusing my priorities on revisiting my hobbies. I want to create again. I want to paint. I want to photograph more and actually frame some of those pictures. And yes, I am totally in the nesting phase so I want to decorate the house, make things to fill the house and cook all kinds of new recipes.

2.  I understand that this goal is somewhat superficial but nevertheless I still want to do it. I am proud of my age. My mom always was and I am not ashamed to admit what my age is....but that is a whole other blog topic. However, I still want to look as young as possible. So one goal this year is to "grow younger." Bring on the healthy eating and exercise. Time to shop for some new clothes.  And slather my body in all types of anti aging creams and treatments.  This focus is a nice release for me and it is fun to get pampered.  A pampered me makes for a happier me.

3. Write. Write. Write. I want to publish a book. I want to write a ten minute play. I want to have a really cool blog.  I let other things get in the way constantly. Time to make it a priority!

4. And the last one I will tell you about....travel to a new place. The Dalai Lama says to do this once a year. I am not Buddhist but I am smart enough to follow the advice of a very wise man.  I don't know where yet but I will figure out a place to travel before I turn 36.

Yes, there are more goals. I will tell you them as they are accomplished.  Until then...start your own list!

7 Months!

Today Ed and I have been married 7 months!  In honor of hitting number 7 in our newlywed year I give my top 7 favorite things about being married.

7. Cooking dinner at home on a regular work day evening. Eating and hanging out with our fur baby Lulu Belle while fighting over which tv show we watch (we have very different television viewing habits).

6. Dreaming about all the trips we want to take in the near future. Currently planning our first year anniversary trip!

5.  Planning our first holiday season together!  I am loving picking out our decorations and trying very hard to figure out a way to sneak in glittery decorations without him making too much of a fuss.

4. Grocery shopping together. It is a very simple task but it happily reminds me we are married and we have a home together.

3. Entertaining together.Our home is usually the venue for some social gathering about once a week.  I love having a full, busy home!

2. Encouraging each other to go after the big dreams. He is constantly pushing me to write and believes that I can finally write that great novel. On a side note, I am using November to get back into my writing routine and I am participating in National Novel Writing Month.

1. Seeing his wedding ring on his hand and getting feelings of love and comfort knowing he is my sweet husband who is totally committed to me. 

Bring On The Holiday Commericals (My soapbox for the day)

Getting dressed for work this morning, I heard Jingle Bells floating through the house but the words were slightly changed to advertise the local business.  I love this time of the year!  No, you will not catch me complaining about the onslaught of holiday commercials that start slowly peeking out around October 20th but become a regular occurrence by the beginning of November.  It is fun! And why complain about fun?  No, Christmas is not here yet. We still do have Thanksgiving to celebrate and of course my birthday as well!  But do the Christmas commercials take away from my ability to celebrate Thanksgiving or my birthday or the rest of football season? No!  It just reminds me of all the fun times coming up.  No one ever complains about a summer vacation commercial in February.  We still celebrate Valentine's and play in the snow but when we are freezing it reminds us that warm times will arrive again.  So to all the bah humbuggers out there, stop complaining and start enjoying all of the holidays. It is suppose to be fun and your yearly ritual of whining about the holiday commericals coming on to early won't stop it so keep your negative thoughts to yourself while the rest of us happily hum Jingle Bells!

Marry Me Monday: Back in September

School is starting and you can definitely feel the energy of all the college students coming back to our wonderful, little town of Oxford.  To accommodate all these students means a lot of work to keep the excitement from turning into chaos.  So I will be taking a short blogging break to give my focus to my work and I will return on September 16th with even more stories of life in the fabulous South!

Marry Me Monday: Crockpot Cooking!

When other friends got married, they did not get just one but received several crock pots.  The slow cooker item seemed to be the go-to gift for many so hubby and I were very excited about picking out the one we wanted and looked forward to receiving it.  Simple pleasures...I know.  Anyway, we received all kinds of wonderful gifts at our showers but no crock pot.  Until finally when we thought we were not going to get one, we received it! 

Now four months into our marriage and fully involved in a busy work life, social schedule and work out routines, we are committed users of the crock pot!  I absolutely loving coming home and dinner is done.  The only drawback with dinner being ready right after we get home there is no excuse not to work out except maybe the sweltering weather we have been experiencing lately. 

I will be sharing some of our crock pot creations in the near future but here is a very simple one to get you started. 

Shamefully Easy But Delicious BBQ Chicken
Package of Drumsticks
Bottle of Sweet and Spicy Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce (or your favorite BBQ sauce)
A pinch of salt and a touch of pepper (my touch is a little bit on the heavy side because I love pepper)

Put thawed drumsticks in crock pot and dump entire contents of BBQ sauce bottle on top. Throw some salt and pepper in there.  Turn the crock pot on low for about 6 or 7 hours.  The chicken is so moist and delicious you will definitely enjoy!

Married Mondays: Husband's First Married Birthday

We celebrated Ed's first married birthday this weekend.  I think I had as much fun as he did and unfortunately, I ate like it was my birthday as well!  We started off the weekend with an early before work breakfast of shrimp and grits at Big Bad Breakfast.  We continued eating through the rest of the weekend with a Saturday lunch of seafood at Pelican's Cove on the reservoir in Jackson and spent the afternoon floating in the cool water.  Thank God we could float after everything we ate! Although floaties did assist in the process.  We celebrated with both families with two huge southern style meals made by his mother on Saturday night and my mom on Sunday.  We are stuffed!  Ed feels the love of so many and thoroughly enjoyed his birthday! Cheers to many more birthdays to my sweet husband that I love so much!

My handsome husband on his big 39 with his cake and present from me!

Married Mondays: Birthday Week

This week is a busy one with my mother's birthday starting the week and my husband's birthday finishing the week.  I am thrilled because I absolutely love celebrating birthdays.  I don't believe in just a day either...I say get as many days to celebrate your birthday as you can. I have personally managed to celebrate mine in the past for about a week but a weekend is a definite must every year. 

This weekend, we packed as many fun activities and food in the two days as possible.  Mom and I had a girls day on Saturday that started with shrimp and grits at Big Bad Breakfast followed by a birthday pedicure.  A birthday pedicure is very similar to the traditional pedicure but when you say "birthday" before anything it just makes it that more special!  So we had birthday coffee, birthday pedicures, birthday shopping, birthday wine....then ended the Saturday with my husband joining us for a drink on the balcony of City Grocery followed by dinner at Ajax. 

Sunday, my mom's actual birthday was spent by the pool and then the day ended with a dinner my husband and I hosted at our house for my mom and a couple of friends. In our almost four months of marriage, Ed and I have hosted several dinner parties. We are a great team getting these parties together.  For my mom's birthday, Ed took care of all the balloon blowing up responsibilities. Yes, any activity where he can use a machine makes him happy so he happily used his air compressor (I hope that is the right name of the machine) to fill our house with balloons.

The evening was unseasonably cool so even after we spent the day decorating, we all congregated outside on our deck and enjoyed my husband's boiled shrimp accompanied by my green bean bundles and rosemary roasted potatoes.

It is a wonderful weekend celebrating my mother.  Now we are all way too full and trying to eat light the rest of the week just in time to gear up for my husband's birthday weekend!

Fall Feelings

Thrifty Decor Chick (Inspiration for our outdoor display.)

Last night while cooking dinner, my phone beeped. It was a text from my mother that read, "I just got a fall feeling." Yes, we celebrate the feelings of the upcoming season in my family. I get excited when any new season approaches.  I get painfully excited when summer starts to appear because I long to get out of my winter blues.  And even though I know winter blues follow after fall I still love the warm comfort of autumn. 

Mom and I started calling these feelings "Fall Feelings" when I was a child.  The phrase is used to describe feelings that can wash over you at any time of the year but are particularly strong around this time of the summer leading into fall.  A warm, cozy feeling that makes you happy is the best description of a "Fall Feeling."  Any unexpected event can give you the feeling. A certain savory smell of food can bring it on.  A cool breeze on a late summer afternoon can remind you that cooler temperatures are coming.  Talk about football plans definitely make you feel the approaching season.  Or just simply the surprising golden lighting of a day can make you feel the warmth of autumn.

I thought mom and I were the only two that felt this way until about 8th grade when one of my friends used the same phrase. Later in college, another friend used the phrase.  So maybe you all know what we are talking about.  Or if not, maybe after reading this blog you will start to recognize these feelings. I hope so because "Fall Feelings" are definitely one of life's little pleasures that everyone should enjoy.

This year I am particularly excited about enjoying my first fall as a newlywed.  I love the rental house we have because I think it is a very "homey" type home and lends itself to lots of fall decorating.  I am already brainstorming ideas so that I can be ready to decorate when the calendar changes to September. Pinterest is my go- to for all kinds of ideas.  These are some of my favorite ones so far. I hope looking through these pictures gives you a "Fall Feeling" today! 

I love this wreath from Etsy.

I first saw this idea in my cousin's house. From: womansday.com

I want to try this craft!

Definitely want to use this idea for the table top behind the sofa.

Married Mondays: A Reflection Dinner

I attended a conference this past week in New Orleans and the keynote speaker told a story about her and her husband at an upscale restaurant that they go to once a year. They get dressed up, make reservations and take a notebook with them to dinner.  They only go once a year as a treat and a time of reflection of their relationship.  They use this special time to make notes on what was beautiful and what worked as well as what did not work in order to do better in the year to come. I have heard of many couples doing a reflection over the past year but I really liked making the occasion a special tradition.  What other married traditions do you like?

Married Mondays: The First 100 Days!

Today marks 100 days of married life!  I remember the excited I felt when we finally hit 99 days until our wedding.  Those 99 days were packed with parties and wedding preparations but the time seem to slowly drag until the big day. Now 100 days after our wedding, the time has sped by.  These last 100 days have been filled with all types of events in our lives, both happy and sad. We have had exciting times and social times, however, we have rarely had one mundane moment because we have stayed so busy.

I have learned a lot in just these three months of marriage and I am excited to see what the rest of the year will bring. Reflecting over the last 100 days, I have learned the following:

The Hardest Year? Not so sure....
They say the first year is the hardest.  Well we have made it through 100 days so now only 265 more to go and we are out of our first year.  But I don't think so far it has been that hard.  Sure there have been times that we have learned to adjust to each other but most of the adjustment has been relatively easy. Summing up the mood for the last 100 days really would be more like fun and not hard.

Oops! I Forgot to Pick My Battles
Our biggest fight was our silliest.  I can't believe that I am even admitting that we fought over the existence of ghosts.  No, I am not kidding.  We could have argued over politics, religion, money, even food but instead we had a heated debate over spirits.  I can be a very determined person. Unfortunately, my determination in this heated discussion really cost me credibility points and sleep.   So moving forward, I will make an effort to make sure I pick my battles and not include those that involve spirits...whatever kind of spirit that might be!

I Actually LIKE to Cook!
I am so much more domestic than I ever thought I would be. I love to plan the meals and cook new things.  I am loving my new hobby. No longer do I just pin ideas, I actually try them.  This blog has benefited and will continue to do so in the future as I write about my pinterest adventures.

Southern Living Magazine
I am insanely clean. I thought I was clean before but now I realize that I take order to a new level.  My husband is also neat but can let a lot more slide than me. I don't think this is going to change about myself because I feel less stress when things are in their place. I can come home and relax when I consider everything to be pretty.

I read the perfect line the other day about being content at home, "Return everything  back to start before you leave a room."  Ed is starting to understand this characteristic about me or at least deal with this part of my personality.  He probably still thinks I want to live in a museum. I tell him, "No, I don't want to live in a museum. I want to live in Southern Living magazine!"

Marriage is Different
Enjoying a Sunday morning breakfast the other day on our patio, we talked about the first 100 days of marriage.  Both of us agreed that marriage is different.  We knew it would be but never before grasped what that would mean. The difference is hard to describe.  Right after I got married, a friend of mine who had been married a few years looked at me knowingly and said, "It is different, right?"  The shared understanding glance that she gave me was like an initiation into a private society that only the ones that cross over to this world of matrimony understand.  I returned the knowing look because someone else got it.  She understood that all this happiness is so genuine and at the same time so hard to describe.  I ask my husband how he would describe the difference and use the word comfort which is the word that I often use as well. So to attempt to describe the indescribable: to be married for us moves us from a dating love to a deeper love. Our dating love was so special because it led us to marriage but after marriage the love turns more comforting and is on a deeper level. I guess the comfort comes from knowing that you move from being someone's girlfriend to being family.  And family is forever.

Can you tell we are happy? Cheers to the next 100 days!

Married Mondays: Introducing Lu Lu La La!

We have a new addition to our family!  A one and half year old toy poodle named Lu Lu La La or Lu Lu for short.  I found out about her on the 4th of July.  Two days later, mom and I drove a short 45 minute drive to pick her up from a very loving family that realized they just could not give her the attention she needed.  So she is our new doggie child and we are loving spoiling her!

Married Mondays: The Curtains Martha Stewart Would Hate

Since getting married a little under three months ago, I have discovered the very domestic side of me.  While I have no desire to be a Martha Stewart, I have accomplished a lot of home projects in a few short months. However in my projects, I definitely "Casey-fy" the process. For example, if Martha Stewart wanted a new roman style shade for her tiny half bath she would probably first raise a sheep, then take the fur from it, spin it into fabric and dye the fabric. From there, she would then proceed to cut perfect lines and sew it into a beautiful, quality roman shade that would last for years. However, Martha Stewart most likely does not have a tiny little half bath like I do and no one has time for a Martha Stewart style life. 

So what does a newlywed do who wants to make her bathroom cute with a very tiny budget and no sewing skills?  She goes to Pinterest and YouTube to learn how to do a no-sew curtain!  She buys fabric from fabric.com for a great price. And that is just what I did. However, this newlywed has no measuring skill or logical way of thinking when it comes to home projects so way too much fabric arrived!  No-sew pillows will be the next project. Yep, the entire house may have to be decorated in this material.

But I did it!  Martha Stewart would turn gray with disdain at my method. I cut my fabric with some cheap scissors and the lines were jagged and crooked.  I used stitch witchery instead of a needle and thread but realized I am very good at the no-sew thing!  The hem is of excellent quality just don't pull at it. And yes, there may have been some safety pins involved but I believe that since safety pins were invented  they should be used. Martha would have done the whole curtain process from sheep to window in probably 20 minutes. My no-sew roman shade took me about 2 hours but it is up and exactly what I wanted.  I am so proud of myself and my dear sweet hubby loves it too.  So all you not-so-domestic goddesses out there know that you can do this too!  The front looks great and no one should be looking at the back of curtains any way. 

The Before...curtains were fine but not the style I wanted.

Getting ready to cut. This part is when I was really nervous and wondered can I do this but then remembered I had a plenty more fabric in case I made a mistake.

After measuring and cutting the fabric, I pinned the fold to make sure the hem line was straight before adding the stitch witchery.

What you use when you don't sew.

I carefully followed the directions on the stitch witchery package and it worked!

I hemmed the top section with a big enough space in it so that a rod could fit through it.  I then pinned two pieces of ribbon around each side.

More pictures of my little beach themed bathroom to come...

The Balconies of My Life: Florida

Every summer we head south to a Florida hotel room or condo that has a balcony with a beach view. My love affair of Florida balconies began about four years ago. Since then, summer is not complete if I don't get the chance to stand out on a balcony over looking the white sand and sparkling blue waters of a Florida beach.

The first thing I do upon arriving to our Florida destination is run through the hotel/condo to the balcony. I push back the curtains to reveal emerald waters and happy beach goers. The loud sounds of the waves that muffle the sounds of people screaming over the water fill the balcony.  I feel like an excited kid. As happy as I am to stand on the balcony, the first view of the beach from that vantage point makes me feel uncomfortable with excited energy. I am ready to get to the beach!

Usually by the first evening, after spending the day on the beach, the best place to end the day is back on the balcony. I am really surprised I even see the rest of the rental. As on all the other balconies, the days are started off with coffee and breakfast on the balcony and the days are ended with a glass of wine and talks of good times.  Life is good any day on a balcony.

My first view of the beach.

Sunsets always look better from a balcony!

Best view of the beach life!

I took this picture on our "honeymoon re-do" from our balcony.  The chair set up was not ours but for a family staying in the condos. I loved the picture so much that I had it framed and hung in my "beach" bathroom at home. It reminds me that no matter where my family may be we will all get together often to enjoy each other, beach time and balconies.

Married Mondays: Just Married, Will Travel

We have been married 79 days today which include 11 weekends and out of those 11 weekends we have taken 8 roads trips together.  We have been busy having a lot of fun!  Those trips include our first attempt at a honeymoon (but I developed an eye condition prompting us to quickly return home), a fast weekend road trip to Houston, a couple of boat trip weekends, our Honeymoon attempt number 2 (successful after my eye healed!) and finally our latest trip to Panama City for my cousin's wedding.  Never a moment to be bored!  In the midst of all the travels, we are slowly fixing up our home and I will be sharing decorating updates in the weeks to come.  But for now I will let you oooh over where have been the last several days.

Majestic Beach Resort

On Vacation

The Balconies of My Life series will return next Thursday with The Balconies of Florida. I am on vacation right now and currently on a balcony in Florida!

Marry Me Mondays

Starting next Monday the focus of the Marry Me Monday posts will change slightly from wedding details to the adventures of married life.  I am running out of ideas about weddings and I have plenty of wonderful things to say about marriage so I am changing the series to Married Mondays.  There might be some wedding ideas that slip in there occasionally, but there will also be stories of our newlywed experiences as well as tips that I have learned from other people and websites about everything from food to decorating. 

On a date to The Ravine in Oxford.  We went with friends, Adam and Mollye.  It was the first experience for all of us to eat at The Ravine and have tapas.  We will definitely be going back!

The Balconies of My Life: The View from Jubilee Landing

Pink Sunset, Jubilee Landing Balcony

"I want the condo to be a place that all of my family can enjoy.  Bring family pictures to put up." Christy told my mother right after they purchased Jubilee Landing.  I wrote this blog post last week for Christy.  I wanted her to know just how much spending time with family at Jubilee Landing meant to me.  I wanted her to know that she accomplished her goal of having a condo for all her family to enjoy.  As I wrote last week, I was hopeful yet worried that she might not get the opportunity to read the post. I quickly chased those thoughts away knowing that she would be around a few more weeks. On Monday, we realized a few more weeks with our Christy was probably not the reality.  I thought about sending her this post but I knew she would not be able to read it.  I stopped the scheduled publication date since the blog seemed trivial in the midst of losing my cousin who is more like my sister. However, I realized these memories are what we need at this time because Christy really lived. She taught me a lot over my life but in the last seven or so  years of living with cancer, she taught us all how to enjoy life even when everything is not ideal. She inspired me to not worry so much, take up every sweet moment, and be a spirited strong woman when voicing opinions! Most importantly Christy loved deeply and we love her.  She would not stand for us being sad for too long so this blog is about good family times because she always said she loved a full house of family and friends.

The Original Blog Post
In the mornings, after just a few hours of sleep, we return to where we left off the night before - the balcony at Jubilee Landing. Mom is usually the first one out after starting the pot of coffee followed by Ed and me. It is quiet.  We are all sleepy but want to savor every precious minute of sitting on the balcony.  Coffee cupped in hands, we quietly watch the waves and look for dolphins.  Boats slowly drive by for a morning fishing expedition.  The only sounds are of seagulls and waves in the distance.  Closer by, a low roar of a boat motor gently splashes through the bay trying not to leave a wake. Other family members start to drift out one by one as we wake up on the balcony.  The quiet sounds turn into sleepy conversation and morning laughter that becomes more boisterous as the coffee begins to take effect.

The mornings lead into days spent water side.  The days turn into evenings back on the balcony as the sunset awes us  for a quiet moment until the loudness of my family once again takes over. Ever heard of the phrase gumbo ya-ya?  I heard the phrase about a year ago and finally found the perfect description of our family.  The Cajun phrase means everyone talks at once.  We are an excited bunch and while we don't mean to interrupt, if you want to get in and stay in the conversation you have to work at it. We all talk over each other but are rarely offended because somehow we all manage to hear what everyone is saying.   The conversations get deeper or sillier or a combination of both. The topics of discussion all just depend on the mood that our beverages take us to at that time.

The sun finally drops into the ocean and the lights of  the condos surrounding us reflect into the bay. The guitars come out and the singing begins.  The evening gets later but every one pushes on, not wanting the balcony party to come to an end. Eventually the beds call and the energy quiets for a few hours.  The sun rises and the condo rituals start once again.

I love that place.  The times spent on the balcony of Jubilee Landing is such an accurate depiction of so many characteristics of our family. It is one of those places that I genuinely feel like me because my family is me.  The happy family times created over the last two years stay with me long after summer turns into winter.  Put me on a condo balcony, even if it is not Jubilee Landing, and the memories are so real that I can feel my family around me even when they are not there.  The memories create real feelings of comfort and a deep contentment. I am beyond blessed to have my family and a place where we all gather every summer.  I can't wait until the next time I am on the balcony of Jubilee Landing.

Morning begins

Watching the morning

Magnolia smells like salt water

Murdock

My love

Orange Sunset, day turns into evening

Cousins and Champagne

Deep conversations

Christy and Mom

Night lights on water

Let the concert begin!

Pensive or confused?

More deep conversations

Family time on the balcony for many more years and generations to come!!!

Marry Me Monday: Our Reception

I love this photo. It is timeless.

Our Must Haves for the Reception:

• Family and Friends 
• Delicious hors d'oeuvres and Open Bar (we had wine and beer)
• Dancing 
• The Second Line (that was my must have) 
• The Family Circle (of course done to the classy Friends in Low Places)

Our Could Care Less If We Have:

• Extraordinary/Detailed Decorations (put the money on the food/drink) 
• Wedding Favors (we ended up having them and still have them...any one want a lot of flower seeds?) 
• A Band (we went with the DJ)  
• A Groom's Cake (Ed does not care for cake so we put more money on the bar...priorities!)

If we had to do it all over again, we would do it the same way!  We had so much fun and it was our idea of a perfect evening.  I worried a little too much about all the details of what others would say about all of our decisions which is a typical bride worry.  In the end, I finally made decisions on exactly what we wanted and it turned out perfect!  The reception was a great celebration of love with family and friends. And really, just a fantastic party!

Amazing carrot cake with cream cheese filing and butter creme frosting...I want a piece right now!

Our favors

Inside the circle of family and friends

A family tradition!

The Second Line - The Cajun in me had to have it!

 

The Balconies of My Life: The View From A Balcony in Oxford, MS

A photograph we took on a Sunday morning. I love this photo so much that I have several prints framed.

Even on a regular week day, a celebration is going on in Oxford as people fill the balcony spaces.  They laugh with drinks in their hands.  They hear the busy, happy sounds of The Square.  They talk about great ideas or ideas that just sound great after a few joy making beverages. The balconies are the places that inspire many of our literary talents. The balconies are where the want-to-be writers congregate in hopes of catching a bit of that talent that runs through our town.  A balcony on The Oxford Square is one of my favorite places to be.  A simple joy that makes me remember,  once again, I really am enjoying the sweet life. This joy is one of the many reasons I consider myself one of the fortunate ones to not only live in the South but get to live in Oxford, MS.

In Oxford, balcony time is the ultimate experience in laid back relaxation but it is not relaxation without effort. You see, balcony inhabiting in Oxford is quite the sport. You have to stake out a place and hunt it like a wild animal hunting it's prey.  Except the typical balcony hunting does not involve a wild smelling, fur covered, blood thirsty animal.  No, our version is more like hunting in a cute dress with wedge sandals while being nicely perfumed and only thirsty for that next glass of chardonnay. Yes, hunting in Oxford is much more civil and fashion conscious.

Recently, we went out for a friend's birthday. The birthday dinner was scheduled at a prime time in hopes to get a balcony spot at Boure.  After a detailed strategy session, we agreed we would increase our chances on a Thursday evening immediately following work after the spring semester ended.  We almost made it.  However, we were a party of five and there were only a couple of two seater tables available...such disappointment.  As we walked off the balcony, defeated, we looked back at the lucky ones.  The ones, who on that day, managed to secure a spot. We walked our stylish wedge sandals inside for dinner.

Even though we were not successful for that birthday dinner, strategy does often produce results when executed with dedication and persistence. I have been known to stand outside City Grocery's bar door at 3:45pm on a weekend because they opened at 4:00pm. I knew if we were the first ones in we would get a spot. Don't judge. Others quickly followed and lined up behind me. On such Saturdays of successful balcony hunting, I happily claim a prized spot. And no it wasn't 5 o'clock in Oxford but balcony time is the exception to that rule any day.

Magical memories seem to take place on balconies. One of my favorite times on a balcony is a early spring day when winter has finally let go of Oxford. Another favorite time is  the 3rd of July when The Square opens up for a street dance.  My family never goes to the street dance because we are enjoying the music from the balcony and talking about those great ideas that sound even better with a joy making beverage in hand!

My mom (aka Sassy Susie) enjoying wine on the balcony of City Grocery during a 3rd of July celebration.

Deep conversation with family (my cousin is in background).

Ed checking out the activity below City Grocery.

A cool summer evening. Happiness.

Family time on the City Grocery Balcony.

Family time on the City Grocery Balcony.

Relaxing and enjoying the view. (Ok, really I just did not want to look at the camera while Ed took the picture!)

Great ideas that get even better with one more glass...

There are so many balcony experiences that make up my life. While each balcony is uniquely different, all share the commonality of happy times with friends and family. I recently realized balconies are the places where a lot of my sweet memories are made. My husband pointed out my love for these outside spots when I mentioned writing about the Oxford balconies but continued to talk about all the balconies of my life.  He suggested not just one essay on the Oxford balconies but a series.   So hence the series: The Balconies of My Life.  Hopefully, in the upcoming weeks, my series will inspire you to head out to a balcony with friends, family and of course a glass of vino! 

*This essay is the first in a series of essays.  Next Thursday: The Balcony of Jubilee Landing.