St Louis

This past weekend the Mr. and I traveled to St. Louis for a little vacation to round up 2012.  My husband surprised me with tickets to the musical Wicked for my Christmas gift, and he thought why not see it in a city we have never been to! 

I love the way my man thinks.

Justin and I really enjoy mini vacations and visiting new places.  When it comes to trips, whether small or large, sometimes we can be a little impulsive.  It's something I love about us.  

Wicked, and St. Louis, did not disappoint.  Justin and I had never seen Wicked, nor vacationed to St. Louis before, so this was an exciting trip.  If you are unfamiliar with Wicked, it is the untold story of the witches of Oz.  It was incredible, hilarious and unexpected.  We were not aware going into the show that Wicked was so funny, and the singing was flawless.  

As for St. Louis, I'm totally in love.  We stayed in our first Bed & Breakfast and was within walking distance to the theater and Grand Center.  Our first night there, we got dolled up, I put on my gold sparkly polka dot tights and heels, grabbed my husband's arm and walked to a nice restaurant across from the theater all while it was snowing.  

For a moment, it felt like I was in a movie.

Tennessee Life

Last week I took a little road trip with my dad to Knoxville and Tellico Plains, TN where his family members are from and currently live.  I haven't been to visit in two years, and I was really missing them and Tennessee.  

My husband and I are city people.  We like to live in an area where there is a lot to do and places to go, but when I am in Tennessee, it's a much much more simple way of life that I really appreciate.  When we drive around Tellico Plains, I see the start of the Smokey Mountains, signs for the Cherokee National Forest and the Cherohala Skyway, a national scenic byway that starts in Tellico Plains and winds through the mountain and into North Carolina. When visiting family, it's a lot of sitting around talking, listening to stories and playing in the front yard.  We eat tons of banana pudding (and just a lot of food in general) and always take a drive through the center of town to see what has and hasn't changed since the last visit.  

When I am in Tennessee I feel a little bit of a disconnect with the life I live in northeast Ohio. I do not have internet. The roads are only two lanes, some of which do not even have lines on them.  You can look to your left and see cows, then look to your right and see chickens roaming the front yard of a house.  High heels and fashionable clothing are not needed. Vegetarian meals do not exist and you will probably encounter some crazy insect, animal or reptile while visiting the area.  

This past visit, I accidentally stepped on a fire ant mound that I didn't even know was there until I felt stings on my foot and saw that fire ants had taken over my shoe.  We also saw a large snapping turtle walking through the garden and some type of bee-ish insect buzzing around the flowers in the back yard.  I'm still wondering what that could have been...

Although it took me a few days to recover from my vacation and traveling, I am now home, cuddling my pups and hubs, continuing to celebrate my birth week with friends and playing with some new fabrics.  It's back to work and a weekly routine for me.

Saying Bye

My typical "work" clothes and husband in his work clothes.  The pups always look like that ;)

I am now officially on vacation! 

Today I started my week vacation with a drive from northeast Ohio to my hometown in southwest Ohio.  Tomorrow I hop in the car with my dad for a little father-daughter road trip to Tennessee and I am so excited to spend some quality time with family.

I love getting out of town and going on little trips with family and friends, but when the pups and the husband aren't able to come too, I have a really really hard time saying bye to them.  Today I took my good ole time packing my bags and preparing to leave.  The pups saw my suitcase and bounced around the apartment so excited because they thought they were going for a ride with me.  It just about broke my heart and I had to fight tears knowing I was letting them down...and leaving them alone for a few days.  Luckily, my husband will be working in Dayton on Monday and Tuesday and will be here to meet me when I return from Tennessee.  I hope I am attacked with hugs and kisses when we are reunited!  Until then, I am going to enjoy the vacation with my dad and take advantage of phone technology and face time my family before we end our days.

2 years ago today

Sid's first mohawk.

The highway was cleared off and open late morning the next day.

This Christmas vacation was one of my most memorable trips with Mr. Sharkey.  We were so excited to be taking a mini vacation together at this time of year, and never thought we would run into the situation that we did.  Above is a memo we typed into his phone so we would always remember that night.  When I look back, I feel so thankful.  Because really, it could have been horrible...

Prior to the vacation, Justin's company switched over to BlackBerry phones, and he received his a few days before we left for our trip.  We checked the weather in Ohio and in North Carolina, and saw clear skies.  This taught me a very valuable lesson... Always check the weather for every state in between where you are and your destination.

We packed our bags in my little Scion XB {also known as Sid} and headed down to North Carolina.  I remember getting half way through West Virginia and the weather drastically changing.  By the time we got to Virginia, we were driving in over 8 inches of snow and it was still coming down really heavy.  Justin was driving and I remember my heart racing in the front seat of my car as I just sat there terrified and praying that we would make it to an exit safely.  All around us we saw wrecked cars and people stranded in a snow bank in their cars.  We saw there was an exit coming up, so we stopped and got Justin's new smart phone out to check the weather, call home and find the number for the little motel on the top of the hill.  -Thank. God. for the Smart Phone. -  We called the motel and told them we were on our way, but with them being on the top of a hill, I was worried if we could make it or not.  We shifted our luggage and Justin made me sit in the very back on the car for added weight and we floored it up the hill to the hotel!

When we walked into the lobby, my heart was saddened for all the people wanting a room.  Right as I walked in, the woman said "I'm sorry we do not have any more rooms.  Our last room is reserved for a woman and her husband that are on their way up right now"  I said That's me!!! and my anxiety quickly melted away.

We were safe.

That night and next morning we kept checking the weather and found out shortly after we got off the highway there was a semi that lost control and was blocking the highway, and they actually wound up shutting down the highway in both directions until the next morning.  I have never had to be stranded overnight in a blizzard, but I wonder how those people did it.  How they were stuck in their cars with nowhere to go and not much to keep them warm.

People could say we were "Lucky" but I don't think it was luck that got us to North Carolina safely.  It wasn't luck that Justin got his new phone right before his vacation time started, and that we reached that exit at that exact timing, and reserved the very last room in the only motel on that exit, right before they shut down the highway.  We had someone watching over us...

Stranded cars the next day.

After all of that, we made it to North Carolina! 
And btw, there wasn't any snow in N.C.!

I finally got to spend time with Aubrey :)

Memorable?!  You could say that! Probably the most memorable vacation yet with the Mr.


Christmas Countdown: 7 days

Weekend Recap - Chicago and Renegade Craft Fair

My weekend in Chicago was a lot of fun and I have spent most of the day trying to physically recover from the trip.  We walked a ton, slept a little and shopped til we dropped. {literally}  We had a day and a half to site see, shop and visit family and we definitely squeezed it all in.

Our main purpose for the trip was to have some fun in the city and attend the Renegade Craft Fair.  I must say, I went to Renegade with the idea of talking to artists and taking a lot of photos for the blog, but I left with very few snap shots and a handful of business cards.  There are so many booths and artists that I have thought about all day that left a lasting impression.  However, I didn't feel as prepared as a shopper and a blogger.  These are some things I would do differently next year:

• save a lot more money before the trip
• shop the renegade on Saturday and get an idea of the items, booths and artists
• make a list of all the places I liked and where they were located
• return on Sunday to purchase, take pictures, and talk to artists 

With 300 booths, a large crowd and the mid day heat it was a little hard to fucus.  There are definitely some things I saw that are going on my Christmas list and I will be checking back with their online stores and making purchases a little at a time!  The biggest thing I would like to do differently next year...apply to have my own booth :)

perfect for college students and their dorm/walk to school.

If we had children, I would have purchase the raccoon, fox and lion prints!  The fox print I am still thinking about purchasing for my workspace...

I liked their stationary display.

Miley and Stanlee's Weekend Recovery

Whenever we travel somewhere for the weekend, the dogs spend Monday and sometimes Tuesday recovering from the excitement.  This past weekend, we traveled to Dayton for a retirement party for someone at husband's work and we were able to visit a little with family, which also includes another boston terrier and a boxer.  I am not sure what happens in the backyard with the other dogs, but I am always amazed at how stinky, dirty and exhausted the pups are when we come home.  I guess that's just a sign of a great weekend for them!

On Monday, I gave both of the dogs baths, I brushed their teeth, cleaned their ears and filed some of their chipped nails.  They have been snoozing ever since...