Puppy spring break...

It has been a fun spring break here in Alabama, but yesterday morning just took the cake as far as funny moments with Eve Belle during my extra time around the house.

Mr. Jones left for work around 7:30, so I was awake, and managed to get out of bed pretty quickly. At about 7:50, I decided to get my workout done and hop on the treadmill in our office.

This was how I left the little pup....

And I worked out for an hour, did a load of laundry, and came back into our room...

This is what I found...

She was still being lazy and loving it, but her eyes were open slightly and her tongue was hanging out. So I left her, and started getting ready. Everything from the shower to the hair dryer ran, and by the time I was done, not much had changed for her.

She'd even gone back to sleep. She finally drug herself out of bed around 10:30 when I put fresh food down for her. But I just had to giggle at what a lazy dog she is in the morning. She got some extra sleep in yesterday for sure, because after I ran errands and ate lunch (about 6 house out of the house), when I came back home, she was WIRED and ready to play.

It's a dogs life around here this week!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

The best of the holidays...

The past few weeks have been incredible. I am so grateful for the time we get to spend with friends and families during the holidays. I had so many fun things to share, so I thought I'd combine them into a little "best of the holidays" post!

1. Project Angel Tree shopping with friends

Few things are better than finding a way to give back and doing it with friends. We had so much fun shopping for a cute little girl, and finding a way to make her Christmas incredible. This is going to be a new annual tradition, and I'm already looking forward to next year!

2. Starbucks at the holidays
I mean, really. Red cups, and the gift cards even get cuter than normal! Need I say more?

3. Finding the perfect Advent calendar

Yep. I found a Disney Advent calendar on sale at K-Mart of all places this year, and it is going to start to run backwards in a few weeks as we count down the days to Disney, so this sucker gets to do double duty!

4. Ice skating and sliding

Our precious supper club headed down to our outdoor holiday ice rink for some ice skating and sliding, and it was one of the best best days ever. The slide was new this year, and that 20-foot slide was breathtaking!

5. A lazy Christmas afternoon

Christmas was always over by 8 a.m. when we were little, but now presents in the morning are just part of the fun of the day. Curling up with family - and my fabulous and funny husband - by a fire pit for Christmas afternoon of mimosas, wine and reading goes down as one of the great ones in my book.

I love the holidays. Don't you?

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

A little Christmas pup...

I love December. I love holidays. I love decorations. I love Christmas.

But what I love more than just about anything this time of year? Is my little Christmas pup. We got her on Dec. 18 four years ago. We brought her home on our first anniversary on Dec. 20. So while her birthday is in September, I find myself extra grateful for the snuggles, love and fun we have this time of year with our little EB.

I wanted to share some fun little pictures of our puppy love with her new Christmas hedgehog. Seriously. Hedgehogs are her favorite, so when I saw a Christmas one when I was out shopping with my mother-in-law? We couldn't resist.

Eve Belle is kind of hard to resist, isn't she? Merry Christmas and happy holidays! The countdown to Christmas break stands at just four more workdays for me! Hip hip hooray!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

The big 3-0...

Before and after his actual birthday, we got to celebrate Mr. Jones' big milestone: turning 30. It was a lot of fun, and we had a house full of family for the weekend. His parents and brother and sister-in-law all came in town for football and celebrations, and a good time  was had by all…

You know it's a good weekend when it starts out with your sweet mother-in-law and sister-in-law and a morning of girl talk and coffee.

Mr. Jones' mom even made his favorite cake (coconut) and brought it all the way from Georgia. He looks pretty happy with it, doesn't he?

His big birthday present was a new chair for the living room. I'm excited and so is he - Eve Belle too, for sure.

After his birthday weekend, we had another celebration with my family. It was a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner, which is his absolute favorite meal ever. He got a few more presents, and then the birthday extravaganza finally came to a close!

While I'm not sure he's adjusted to being 30, he loved every minute of our celebrations! That's the most important thing, right? Plus, he looked absolutely adorable too. :-)

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

Reunited for a weekend….

A few weekends ago, a dear friend from blog and Twitter land came to Tuscaloosa for her first visit. We had an absolute ball, and had an epic Alabama football weekend together!

It had been such a long time since I got to show off this city I love so much, so Tami was the beneficiary of some seriously over-eager hosts. Oops. She indulged us though, so it was perfect.

I had the tickets all ready!

The food preparation for the weekend…. so fun!

On campus, teaching this precious lady to say "Roll Tide" at all the right times!

We had the best time ever, and I can't wait to do it again. A weekend of giggles, a few signature game day cocktails, and lots of girl talk. It truly doesn't get much better. So grateful for this sweet lady and all the fun times to come….

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

A weekend for the ages...

The beginning of October saw one of the coolest weekends of my entire life. The University of Alabama dedicated a plaza to my beautiful mom, and dozens of friends and family gathered to celebrate the weekend with us.

Mom made us cry with her sweet speech, but more than anything, I was struck by the lasting impact she has had - and that this Champions Plaza will have in the years to come. For the rest of my life, I will be able to walk around a space dedicated to my mom. That's a humbling moment for her - and for our family.

To make that incredible weekend even cooler? My sweet little sister, a champion in her own right, was elected to UA's homecoming court. She was one of the five outstanding women celebrated that weekend as well throughout homecoming pep rallies, parades and the halftime celebration. 

What can I say? My weekend was about the redheads in my family that weekend. I couldn't be prouder of them!

Weekends in the fall here are certainly magical, aren't they?

XOXO - and Roll Tide,

Mrs. Jones

Fall in Tuscaloosa...

There's nothing like fall in Tuscaloosa.

Football season. Friends. Family. Lot's of time on-the-go or playing host to visitors. It's not dull, that's for sure. The fun times running around with family are probably my favorite. You just don't get enough of it it seems like!

But all the time on the go? Totally makes me appreciate a lazy weekend like we just had. I didn't even leave the house once this past weekend. Not even for Starbucks.

With my mama bear...

Enjoying my NINTH football season sitting in the stands with this wonderful man....

I can't believe we have seen that many seasons come and go together! Roll Tide, right?

This town, and its campus are just stunning. Nothing like walking by this on a beautiful weekend.

One day I even got to hang out with Big Al on the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. 

Love this so much.... 

He was hilarious. Something about mascots makes me feel like a little kid still!

And of course, EB has to get in on a little of the fun. Sometimes she survives for 10 minutes while I dress her up in gameday attire for a picture. But she's usually not as happy as this, so you can imagine how that goes!

Here's to a wonderful week!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

Just a little BSB....

Since I've already told you about the best part of the Backstreet Boys concert from two weeks ago, I figured now I'd probably better show you the other parts of fun!

There's nothing like a frozen margarita on a hot summer night. Or taking silly selfies with my husband.

Here are the best shots from my phone of the actual concert. You can't see the band really well, even thought we were on row 20 or so. But the set looks awesome. And it was so much fun to watch.

It is so much fun to do something you've dreamed of since you were young. That's what this night was for me. A chance to dance the night away like I always wanted to when I was a teenager. I'll take it, even 10-15 years later.

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

Glimpses of fall...

It's an insta-post day over here.

I thought I'd show you a few of my glimpses of fall lately. From puppy love to a new tv for football season, it's been a great and busy few weeks!

Puppy love...

Hello there beautiful.... 

Bryant-Denny Stadium.... I'm ready for the first home game!

And last but not least, a little thought for the rest of the day!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

A little sunshine...

Sometimes you just need a little sunshine in your life, right? Well, I got 8 days of that gorgeous sunshine, sand and sea with my sweet family a couple of weeks ago. Talk about the perfect week. We slept in (a little), drank coffee listening to the waves, actually had some really great workouts, and enjoyed our days in the sun (and under the umbrella.)

We've only been home for a little over a week, and I'm already ready to go back. Wouldn't you be with this view though?

What beach trip would be complete without great food? And in Seaside, good food can be found in abundance. We really enjoyed doing takeout from the Shrimp Shack, and a nice family dinner at Bud & Alley's. The wedge salad at Bud & Alley's happened a few more times with takeout as well.... we couldn't get enough of it and the tuna dip!

We even snapped a few family pictures, so I thought I'd share one of me and my sweet husband. It was the perfect week of relaxing and having fun with our family. If only it never had to end!

I'm already counting down to summer vacation next year!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones

A little Vermont beauty...

Since I showed you most of my fun foodie moments from my trip to Vermont, it's time to share a little bit of the beauty I got to see during my conference trip! While it was a lot (LOT) warmer than I expected, and there was an unexpected wave of humidity in the middle of the week, it was truly a beautiful part of the country to see.

The downtown area was beautiful, and it was about 4 blocks from the water, where I got to explore beautiful Lake Champlain! The last night at the conference, all of us took a sunset dinner cruise. Those few hours on the water were just breathtaking!

Needless to say, I had fun. I'm already trying to figure out what Northeast road trip would be fun to plan. Two days in Vermont, some in Boston maybe.... who knows. It'd be years away, but it's so fun to think about. Have you visited this area? Tell me more if you have!

Have a great week everyone!

XOXO,
Mrs. Jones