We Saw Harry Styles in Nashville!!!

Y,all, we saw Harry Styles in Nashville this week! I bought these tickets last September for this concert and it was great.  

I worked for a few hours Tuesday morning, then picked up the girls after VBS and we headed to Nashville.  We had some time to walk downtown and eat dinner before the show.  

Broadway in Nashville, TN 

This is Blake Shelton's restaurant that opened last week. 

View of Nissan Stadium where the Tennessee Titans play football 

My girls and I 

We ate on the rooftop of Hard Rock Cafe and this was our view. 

This is Bridgestone Arena where Harry Styles performed.  Can you see the massive line of people around the building to your right?  Also, it was full of people in front of the stadium.  So many people! 

We finally made it inside! 

This is Brook with a view from our seats. 

Almost concert time! 

Just a girl seeing her favorite performer at her first concert!  We were all excited. 

At one point during the show, Harry came down the aisle to a smaller stage in the back, so he was so much closer to us then.  Screaming was out of control during this part.  Oh, and when he sang a One Direction song (he use to be part of that band), the crowd lost its mind.  Another favorite part was when he mentioned Memphis BBQ.  

It was so much fun to do this with my girls and see Brook at her first concert.  Isabella was just as excited, even though her first concert was Bruno Mars last fall.

All this and we made it back just a little late for VBS Wednesday morning.  I spent the rest of the day doing little things because it had been 4 months since I had a day off, not including weekends.  

Enjoy your weekend and I'll be back to blogging the last week of June.

How We Plan Our Summer Vacations ~ From a Travel Agent

Today we are talking how we plan our summer vacations.  Most people I know love to travel.  I have loved it since I was a child, especially the planning part.  I remember asking for a map when I was 13 and would often write a travel itinerary for our family vacations when I was a teenager and I still do that today!  

As most of you know, I am a travel agent.  I have always booked corporate travel, but I always enjoy my share of leisure travel.  

My suggestion for travel is to decide 9-12 months in advance where you would like to go for vacation.  Depending on where your destination is, I would recommend booking accommodations at least 6 months in advance, or possibly more.  

For accommodations, there are choices of hotels, Air B-n-B, or even campgrounds!

We often stay in hotels, however, will be staying in our first Air B-n-B this summer.  When our girls were younger, we stayed in campgrounds because we had a travel trailer.  Those were some great memories.  

We often drive when we travel, due to airline tickets x 4 get expensive.  However, it would have to be a days drive ideally!  We have been blessed to travel on some mileage tickets when we travel to further destinations.  When booking air travel, I have looked at other websites for price comparisons, but I always like to purchase directly from the airline website.  I guess that is the travel agent in me that knows it is harder to get customer service or help from the airlines if you book through a 3rd party website. 

For financial planning, we have a budget of  travel expenses and my favorite type of vacation is where you can pay for most of it in advance.  I like to book event tickets in advance. For example, we plan on taking a boat ride and a few other activities on our upcoming trip and I have booked and paid for these online.  Obviously, the best trips to pay for in advance are cruises or a trip to Disney, which are two of my favorite trips!

Above, the girls on their most recent cruise and below is Avery and I at one of our cruise ports.

Disneyworld, Florida  ~ 2015

Disneyland, California ~ 2017

I recommend typing out an itinerary schedule to have with confirmation numbers and also addresses to other places to visit.  This helps travel go smoothly, especially if you are going to a big city.  I have done this for New York City, Los Angeles and for our upcoming trip as well.  Even though I have been to New York City over 20 times, I still will write down addresses of sights/stores I want to visit if I don't know exactly where it is.  I like to visit a new sight every time I go to NYC, so it is helpful to have an address.

Brook's 1st trip to NYC and Isabell'as 2nd trip ~ 2013 

My dad and I in our favorite city

Brook on her 2nd trip to NYC ~ 2016 

You don't want to miss the frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity!  My mom, Brook and I visited here on my last trip to the city. 

I had so much fun planning this trip last fall to Southern California.  Above, is the girls and I at Santa Monica Pier and below is us with the Hollywood sign in the background.  Having local addresses helped so much for driving in Los Angeles!

Even though I like to have a schedule when traveling, because I do believe having a plan is important, I have learned to add flexibility to the schedule.  It is important to allow free time, mornings to sleep in, or whatever your family needs.  There is always something unexpected as well, whether it be a store, attraction or even traffic!

The most important thing is to have fun whether it is a staycation, quick weekend trip, or week long trip!  Take time to get away with your people when you can and enjoy the journey.  But also, find the joy in planing as well.  It is one of my favorite parts :).

Weekend Wrap-Up

It has been a few weeks since I've done a weekend wrap-up.  It was a good, yet simple weekend and here are a few pictures......

We attended a house concert at our friends house to see our friend, Abbye, perform.  It was such a fun night, with great original music and hymn singing too.

Saturday, I worked in the yard some then the girls and I went to Crosstown.  We had lunch with Amy, who we helped to move in a few weeks ago.  

We watched Justify win the Preakness and also captured the Triple Crown! 

We met my parents for dinner then went to see 42nd Street at a local theater.  This was my first play to see on Broadway in New York City when I was 12 years old.  42nd Street is still my favorite play and this production had excellent talent.  They did leave out my favorite song, but it was still a very impressive local production. 

Sunday after church, I went grocery shopping and got gas to get ready for the week.  I took this picture to share with a friend in Bogota to show what life is like in the USA.  You would not see this scene in Bogota.

We gave into the heat and just for the 2nd time, let the dog inside the house for a few hours.  After this, I took Isabella for a pedicure .  I also had time to get in a Hallmark movie, laundry and dinner prep for the week.   

Happy Monday!!

Friday Favorites

I am soo happy to see Friday come!  Time off work is just right around the corner for me:).

Until I take another break from blogging due to vacation, here is an update of some favorites from the week:

Our hydrangeas are blooming!  Now, the hard part is keeping them from wilting in this heat. 

My girls....they came downstairs twinning the other day, certainly not planning on dressing alike! 

Both girls got haircuts this week.  Brook got some color in her hair and it was quite a transition, but still beautiful. 

Treats at work!  One day a week, Chick Fil A is catered and sold at work.  It is going to become my day to buy lunch at work since I don't have time to leave the building. 

This is some dark chocolate brought in from a vendor.  It is made by a candy store in Knoxville

Spending time with the babies is always a favorite!  My sister had them this week,so I met them for dinner after work one night, then we gave them a brief introduction to a sprinkler park.  They loved it!

Stay cool and enjoy the weekend!!

June Questionnaire ~ Summer Lovin'

Happy Monday!  Today I am linking up TBB with monthly questions. 

1. Walk or bike ride?  If it isn't too hot, I would say a bike ride.  Otherwise, a walk please.

2. Favorite picnic food?  Cheese and crackers is the first thing that comes mind, but that would accompanied by fruit and maybe some chicken salad too.

3.  Pool or lake?  Pool!  We have a neighborhood lake where people do swim.  That is just not my thing.  I will get on a boat on a lake, but for swimming, I prefer a pool.

4. Favorite flavor of ice cream?  Sea salt caramel, or something caramel or chocolate is my usual go to flavor.  However, most of the time I would be eating yogurt instead.

5.  Ice cream cone or dish?  A dish, but let's be honest...I prefer my frozen yogurt.

6. Flip flop or slides?  Flip flops are what I would wear outside of the house.  I do have a pair of slides I wear around the house though.

7. Jean shorts or jean capris?  Actually, I will just stick to my every day jeans.  I don't own a pair of jean shorts or capris.  Now that I am working full time, I do wear my jeans a few days during the week.  Thankfully, our dress code is pretty casual.

8. Favorite summer fruit?  Fresh picked strawberries are so good!

9.  Corn on the cob or cut of the cob?  Corn on the cob is a good summertime food and is so easy to prepare.

10.  Favorite summertime song?  Cruisin' by Huey Lewis was the first song that came to mind. Once upon a time I had a summertime playlist, but not sure what happened to it.  It was basically beach music.

11.  Favorite summeritme activity?  Hanging out by sister's pool, which I don't do enough, but it is always fun.  We enjoy eating on our screened in back porch more during the summer and I enjoy seeing the flowers in our yard and others yards as well.

12. Favorite berry?  Again, strawberries.

13. Swimsuit type?  Tankini

14.  Dresser or skirts? Skirts, although I am dress shopping since I have a wedding to attend this summer. 

15. One word to describe summer?  Hot! We live in the South :).

Hello June, but May Miscellaneous

Today, I am catching up on some miscellaneous photos from the month of May since I have been such a slacker on blogging lately!  

Lunch outside at work

I had to take Brook to an appointment one morning, so afterwards, I took the the girls to an early lunch then headed into work for the afternoon.

I painted the girls bathroom.  Above is before and below is after.  

I basically painted over the dingy white with my new favorite paint color, drift of mist.

Another before picture above and after below.

I finally replaced some gold light switches with white plates.

As you most of you know, I am a huge Huey Lewis fan.  Just last month, it was announced he has a hearing disease and has had to cancel all of his future concerts.  #prayforhuey

Last weekend, the girls and I drove to Brandon, MS to visit with my brother and his family.  We had dessert on their back porch.

Back at home, we took some nightly walks to our neighborhood lake.

Last but not least, I had to work Memorial Day.  Traffic was a breeze and there were so few cars in the parking lot.  Oh yeah, because it was a holiday. 

Thank you to the servicemen of our country, past, present and future!

Thanks as always for reading and have a great weekend!