Good Thursday evening!
I have so much on the blog today.
My sister, Bev, and I went on our first ever Sister Trip last week to Waco, Texas. Many, many pics below.
I came home Saturday night, and on Sunday everyone got together for a beautiful Fall day to celebrate Melia's birthday.
I found a new blog I want to share with you...
AND I have two new-to-me recipes, but the blog is so long, I'm just going to hold off on those until next time.
Let's get started!
Quotable Quotes - "You become more like Jesus when you spend time with him." Rick Warren
Blog Linkage - I follow this Chick on Instagram and her pics are so beautiful, I wanted to check out her blog, too.
It did NOT disappoint. Go to www.ellaclaire.com and be prepared to say, "Ahhhhh."
Nana B Stuff
Hippity Hop Balls
As I mentioned above, Sunday we celebrated Melia's 28th birthday.
It was a little bit more than just the celebration, if I am completely honest.
Four months ago, I decided I wanted to get the kids Hippity Hop Balls. I like getting them "old-timey" toys.
You know...
The simple things!
I ordered a princess ball for Judith, a Cars ball for RT and a giant purple ball for me.
My ball and Judith's ball came in the mail right away, but RT's ball took forever. I wasn't really worried about it because I had no desire to bounce outside on the big rubber balls until after the hot weather left Alabama. However, when the end of September came and went without RT's ball, I cancelled the old order and put in a new one.
The ball arrived a few days later.
However, the cooler weather did not.
Fast forward to this past Sunday.
Do you remember what a glorious day it was? Autumnal, but not hot.
Sun shining, but the back of my neck was not dripping with sweat.
Crunchy leaves everywhere, but it did not look messy.
Yeah. It was a good day!
Mikie blew the balls up for me, and I told Austin and Josh to call me when they turned onto our street. The plan was for me to be sitting in the front yard atop my ball when the kids drove up to the house.
Rhett was the first to arrive, and you can see what happened when Judith drove up a few minutes later.
NOTE FROM ENCHANTING BELINDA - I actually did bounce on the Hippity Hop Ball.
I bounced A LOT!
However, I didn't bounce AROUND the yard. Turns out I was quite content bouncing in place.
RANDOMNESS #1 - A Little Fall, Y'all - I will take the majority of my Christmas Card pics at our Thanksgiving at Palisades in a few days, but I have a few to choose from in this batch, too, I think.
This brought back a bunch of memories.
I can't remember how many sticks Austin and Josh "parked" right outside the front door when they were growing up.
If you were to drive by in the next few days or so, I imagine it will still be out there!
RANDOMNESS #2 - The First Annual Sister Trip - First, I would like to start with a little history.
Bev and I started discussing having a Sister Trip almost a year ago. After throwing a few ideas back and forth, we landed on Waco, Texas...
Home of Magnolia AND Chip and Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper fame.
A little time passed, and one day while talking to our cousin, Amy, she told us she, Aunt Connie and some of Aunt Connie's friends were planning a trip to Waco, Texas.
I mean, what are the odds?
No dates had been decided by me and Bev, and we laughingly talked about, "What if they plan their trip to Waco the same week we plan our trip?"
This quickly turned into, "Why don't we see when they are going, and SURPRISE them?"
Again, we need to look at the "odds" thing.
The odds of me and Bev planning on going on our trip anywhere NEAR THE SAME TIME Amy and Aunt Connie were planning their trip.
The odds everyone involved in the two trips would follow through with plans made almost a year prior.
The odds every single detail would fall into the exact perfect place to make this surprise work.
And the biggest ODD of all...
Would I, or would I not, blurt out at some point in time we were going to Waco, Texas to SURPRISE THEM?
Well, guess what?
I didn't talk to Amy except through text the three weeks leading up to the trip because I am incapable of blurting with text (but very capable when it comes to the spoken word), and Bev and I made it to Waco without Amy or Aunt Connie being any the wiser.
Bev and I left Monday on a two-day drive to Waco, Texas with plans to arrive late Tuesday afternoon. Some things happened that hindered our departure time by a bit, but we stayed the night in Monroe, Louisiana and finished the majority of the driving on Tuesday.
Amy, Aunt Connie and her friend, Gay, flew into Dallas and then Waco on Wednesday afternoon and drove straight to their rental house.
Bev and I had spent Wednesday eating at Magnolia Tables, visiting the Silos and Magnolia Market and a few other places Joanna and others had highly recommended.
We then spent a little time in the town outside of Waco we had rented our home-away-from-home for the week, Valley Mills, Texas.
Beverly made the all-important, nonchalant phone call to Amy Wednesday afternoon to see how the traveling was going, and if they knew what their plans were going to be the next day.
"I don't know. We're just going to get up and see what we want to do."
That's when Bev and I started to get a little nervous.
Those were very NON-specific plans, and Waco was a good bit larger than we had first thought. We needed a little more info in the Itinerary Department, and it didn't look like we were going to get any help from the "surprisees."
We talked back and forth and decided anyone and everyone who comes to Waco comes for one reason, and one reason only...
To eat at Magnolia Tables AND visit Magnolia Market and the Silos.
Bright and early Thursday morning, Bev and I headed to Magnolia Tables thinking if we missed seeing them there, we would scoot over to Magnolia Market when it opened at 9:00 and catch them at that location.
It was the best we could do.
We walked into the very large restaurant (several different rooms/sections), and I started scanning one part of the building while Bev put our name on the list for a table.
And then I spotted Amy. She was seated with her side facing us. Aunt Connie and her friend were across from her, and they were in the middle of eating breakfast.
Beverly and I made our way to their table and at this point, Amy's back was to us and we were facing Aunt Connie. Bev pulled the empty chair beside Amy out from under the table and was going to just plop down, but Amy thought someone was trying to steal her purse which was in the chair. She was busy pulling the chair back towards her, and she didn't really look up, but Aunt Connie did. She was staring at Bev and said, "Oh, my goodness!"
A few seconds later she looked at me, "What???"
We told them about the surprise, the waitress came to take us to our table and we told them we would be back in a bit to talk some more.
This is the picture of the three cousins Amy took a few seconds later when she figured out what was going on and came to find us for details.
It was very surreal and fun and pleasant.
We spent the morning with them, had lunch and went to the Texas Rangers Museum before we split up to head back to our farmhouse in Valley Mills and let them get on with their day...
But not before we planned on having lunch again with them on Friday before we started the long drive back to Alabama.
I don't think I'll ever plan another surprise, because I cannot imagine it would be any better than the Waco Surprise...
And I want to go out with that surprise on top!
Okay. Now for the trip details!
I'm going to break it down into some very specific "sections."
Bev and I shared at least one life moment in each of the four towns listed below...
Whether it was a dining experience, a mural experience (I love lookin' at murals), a destination experience, etc.
On our way to Waco, we stayed in Monroe, Louisiana the first night and visited Duck Commander the next morning before hitting the road.
NOTE FROM ENCHANTING BELINDA - I loved Duck Commander. It was a beautiful store. I would have been happy to take the tour, but time was of the essence.
Shreveport, Louisiana was our destination of choice for lunch on that second day, and we ate at The Blind Tiger Restaurant which was EXCELLENT. (I'm going to share the story of how the restaurant got it's name with you in the next post. It is definitely worth reading, I think.)
1. Shreveport, Louisiana
The Murals...
The Food...
Bev ate a sandwich here and I had the Pecan Crusted Catfish with Dirty Rice. It was SO good!
2. Waco, Texas
The Murals...
You can find t-shirts with the picture of this mural on the front at a store called The Findery. Cute shirt and great shop.
The Food...
We had some terrific meals in Waco, but my favorite restaurant was Magnolia Tables. The Lemon Lavender Doughnut Holes were wonderful.
MAGNOLIA EVERYTHING, BABY!
Magnolia Tables is about seven or eight minutes away from Magnolia Market and the Silos.
Do you see the pouches on the wall?
Do you?
Those are cell phone holders so you can sit and talk and make eye contact with the people you are dining with instead of checking your phone. Very freeing.
Everything about Magnolia is designed for you to enjoy not only your experience, but the people around you. These bean bag chairs were set up with more available if it got crowded.
Since it was kind of a rainy morning, we didn't use these, but you get the idea.
Sit a spell and relax!
Magnolia Markets was set up for Christmas. Music, merchandise...
Everything Christmas.
It was festive.
3. Valley Mills, Texas
Our Home Away from Home...
Bev found this rental in nearby Valley Mills, Texas. It was WAY out in the country and we were surrounded by cattle farms, dirt roads and everything you think about when the word "Texas" pops into your head.
Great place to stay!
This farmhouse was totally renovated over the past three years, and it was comfortable and pretty and well-insulated and a perfect combination of old and modern. We would stay there again and again and again.
New flooring throughout and a pristine copper sink.
The cold front we have experienced in Alabama this week came through Texas the end of last week.
The cute wood-burning stove really worked, so we were able to have a nice fire.
There were three beds in the loft, as well as a large television, games and these two recliners.
It was just the right place for a Sister Trip.
4. Clifton, Texas
We decided to explore some of the smaller towns surrounding Waco while in the area. Small towns seem to pop up about every 30 to 45 minutes while driving. Clifton was 45 minutes from Waco, but only 20 minutes away from Valley Mills.
We noticed the two or three small towns we drove through had a few things in common...
Located on or near the railroad tracks.
At least one or two good places to eat.
At least one or two antique/thrift stores.
Pretty churches.
At least one or two lovely stores/boutiques.
A nice, big school.
Clifton had the added bonus of having the Cliftex. It was a very old, restored movie theater in the middle of the town. It was only opened Thursday through Sunday...
And the day we were visiting was Wednesday.
Oh, well. We have another good reason to visit the Waco area again in the future.
The Murals...
Oh, yeah.
And maybe, just maybe, the town had a really good mural!
5. Vicksburg, Mississippi
The Murals...
Bev and I think this was actually an original mural over 100 years old.
What it lacked in vibrant color and definition it made up for in character.
The Food...
You may think this looks like JUST pretzels and honey mustard dip at 10 South...
But you would be mistaken.
We don't know what exactly was on the pretzels, but they were addictive...
And free!
You may also think this looks like caramelized bananas sitting on top of a homemade vanilla wafer and lovely, thick, equally homemade banana pudding...
And you would be SO right.
Plus, we had a beautiful view overlooking Yazoo River and all of Vicksburg while we ate.
JUST TEXAS...
The Animals...
This is what I would call a "Texas Parking Lot Bird." They were everywhere.
And they were much, much larger and louder than Alabama Parking Lot Birds.
This guy lived across the street from our farmhouse with two other larger dogs.
He enjoyed carrying a big rock in his mouth like a squeeze toy.
And Bev and I enjoyed watching him and his friends from a distance.
I told Bev we weren't leaving Texas unless I saw a longhorn cow close up...
And as we were leaving the farmhouse for the last time, she spotted this guy behind some bushes.
We stopped, and I got out of the car and talked to him/her until he/she was curious enough to come check us out.
As soon as I took 43 pictures of him/her just staring at me, we were ready to hit the road and head home.
Our journey was complete!
The Little Oddities...
Probably every place you visit has a little something you might describe as unique...
Or quirky...
Or one-of-a-kind.
Bev and I thought it was very picturesque when we spied a rusty old truck parked in a field beside a beautiful yellow-green Texas tree.
Then we started noticing old rusty trucks..
Old rusty parts of trucks...
And other various and sundry items parked in the middle of fields with or without a beautiful yellow-green Texas tree beside them.
It was kinda like flower arranging. There are people who are naturally good at creating an eye-pleasing bouquet...
And there are people who are not.
NOTE FROM ENCHANTING BELINDA - I, unfortunately, fall into the "are not" category in the Flower Arranging Department...
AND the Rusty Truck in the Field Department!
Bev and I noticed this guy living across the street from our farmhouse.
All we know for certain...
1. He was over 6 feet tall.
2. He was a carnivore.
3. He was obsessed with the cow pasture next door to his house. He never looked away.
I hope you have a very good upcoming weekend. I will be back before you know it with the last of the Fall Stuff!
Take care.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
"Only a woman who delivered a baby without an epidural can understand the suffering of a guy with a cold."
"Behind every holiday photo shoot is a mom threatening to cancel all joy and happiness until the end of time if everyone doesn't sit down and smile for 2 seconds."
