18th's a Charm:)

It may have taken 18 tries, but UK beat USC this weekend...and much to my husband's liking, we were there!! {in lower seats with backs...much to my likey!}

We had a fun-packed Saturday. It started out with Georgetown College Homecoming. Neither of us had been back in a while, and we'd never been there together. My friend Amanda Scheller was coming in with her new little one so we decided to go to see her and my friend Jen who was in from SC.

Both the Sigma Kappa and the Kappa Alpha houses looked sooo different since we were there; but definitely in a good way! It was fun to see my group of girls and sad to remember how easy college life was...oh the days! :)
Here are a few snap shots from the morning:
{a few Sigma girls}
{a few cute KA's~B, Adam, Tripp, and future KA, Braeden (2 of these boys were smart enough to marry Sigma's...let's hope the 3rd one is too, haha!)}
{me, baby Trenton, and baby-daddy David}
Unfortunately me and B didn't get a photo at GC ~ I've not been on my game with the camera lately! {I'll tell you the story of the first time me and B met at GC sometime soon ~ it's hilarious to see how that story ended with us getting married in the future!}
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Now, on to the main event! We tailgated at Jordan and Nick's and once again my Dad scored us great seats! I'm telling you, he literally made Brian's day (or week!).
{tailgating with Jordan and Alison}


{so when this happened...}

{...this happened!}




Next, the boys decided to have a celebratory dance party during the post-game tailgate. I wish I had this stuff on video, pictures do not do these moves justice!




Hope you had a good weekend, too!

*I love that I've been finding out so many fun friends are reading my blog! I'd love it if you'd click on the 'follow' button to the right (if you haven't already) just so I know who I'm sharing our life with! :)

Asheville Get-Away

Southern Living Magazine stated Asheville, N.C. one of the top 10 places to visit. After we decided Chicago wasn't going to work out on the weekend we had planned, we decided to travel only 4 1/2 hours away here. It was fantastic! We could not have planned for better weather!

We left around noon on Friday and were able to get to Asheville in plenty of time to walk around Downtown. Our awesome hotel, Crown Plaza, {thanks to Priceline} even offered $5 round trip shuttles to Downtown anytime between 8am-11pm. Yes, Please! We lived for that shuttle!

{...it's so hard to take pictures when you are on your own! disregard all the self-timer photos!}

Their Downtown is so much fun. Little shops everywhere, fun places to eat, open-air bars, and they even had a local drums concert going on!
We took in the sights and ate and drank the local food, wine, and beer.
Here are a few pics from Friday night:
{Patio at Mayfel's ~ SUCH yummy food! We ordered an extra plate of sweet potato fries here b/c they were so good!}
{local drummers and dancers right in our view from the patio}
{local beers from The Thirsty Monk ~ so fun!}
{Senior Photo shoot b/c no one here ever asked us for our i.d.'s :(}

{re-enacting some awkward moments that happened to us that night!}

On Saturday we woke up with no plans ahead! That feels so good, doesn't it? Although we got a little late start to the day {we are so not 21 anymore ~ ha!} we decided to drive out to the Biltmore Estates to see what that was all about. UM, excuse me, who knew it was sooo expensive?! Well, we did not. After some contemplation, we decided to go ahead and visit. It was actually more fun than I had anticipated! We walked through the gardens, around the estate, and then headed to their Winery for wine tasting. That was fun ~ neither of us had ever done that before!

{The Biltmore Estates}
{on one of the patios of the Biltmore}
{The Biltmore}
{tasting Biltmore Wine}
{Outside Antler Hill Winery, gotta love self-timers!}
{The Garden's at Biltmore}






Next we headed to our hotel to grab the shuttle and went back downtown to Oktoberfest. It was super crazy. People were everywhere dressed as Germans with live German music! We only hung around there for a bit, and decided to walk around to Park Place and Battery Park where some local arts fairs were going on. We also hit up some major people watching. Asheville is like nothing I've ever seen. Here in Lexington, you pretty much see the same type of people everywhere. In Asheville; you can't turn around without seeing someone 'unique'. I mean, these locals were OOC! Hippie capital of the world!
{Oktoberfest}
{I don't know the story behind this, but both nights downtown this funny looking nun would ride around on this large bike and everyone would yell and wave! It was hilarious!}
Then came the best part of the night...in true Burton fashion...we decided to hit up all the local bars and restaurants we'd read about and get an appetizer and drink from each of them! HA! Here are a few we hit up that night:
{The Southern}
{L.A.B. brewery}
{TallGary's where the people were, um, interesting!}
{This place was called the Bier Garden. It was the only bar downtown with TV's! We caught part of the sorry UK game.}

We decided to not be as fun as we were on Friday night since Saturday we had done a LOT of walking, and ended the night after our bellies were full! Loved calling the shuttle to come pick us up!

On Sunday we decided to hike at the NC Arboretum through the Blue Ridge Parkway. The scene was so pretty! My dinky camera did not even grasp how fun and pretty the trail looked ~ but here's a try:







Next we drove around to 3 different places hoping to eat lunch. The first one wasn't open on Sundays, the second one {with the great view} was too long of a wait, so we found a fun little Tavern that ended up having TV's everywhere and ALL the NFL games on. So B was in heaven watching the Packers game! {too bad every team we root for lost this weekend!}

All in all we loved Asheville. It was super different than we had expected, but in a fun and crazy way. You know what else was fun? Going on a vacay where we really didn't have anything planned, we just went and found things to do. I really liked it that way. Hopefully we can continue this non-planned fun for a while!

I'm so glad my hubby and I make time to get away and celebrate the 'little' things in life! Although, six months being married is the biggest anniversary we have to date!

Amazing Product

I've been searching for this product for a few weeks after I saw 1 {yes, I've only seen it once} commercial for it. Considering my husband does not like to use sponges more than once {and refuses to wipe his hands on a dishtowel} I knew I had to get this.

It's a reusable sponge from 3M Scotch Brand that is made from recycleble products. After you use it, you can stick it in the dishwasher to disinfect! It's amazing!! Maybe you can do that to other sponges, but I've never heard of it. I LOVE this product. I clean a bathroom and then stick it in the dishwasher knowing I don't have to touch all that mess again the next time I use the sponge AND it saves money for us to not have to buy a new sponge everytime one is used!

I found this at Kroger - I'd been looking at Wal-Mart and hadn't found it, but maybe they have it now!

Have a great weekend! We're off to Asheville!

Colby Date

I remember a few years ago I felt like I couldn't turn around without seeing another person state they were engaged! {Facebook} NOW, everyone I know has moved on to saying they're expecting! While I am SO happy for all the mommas-to-be out there that I know, I can't help but feel this left behind feeling sometimes. Now, how stupid is that? I mean, yes, I just got married and I'm loving it, and no, I don't think we are ready for that next step just yet, I just hate feeling like I'm going to be the last one to hit that mark, too! HAHA, I know, I'm crazy! But I might as well get over that feeling ~ I guess it's kind of like that "keeping up with the Jones'" thing, and we all know that gets you nowhere! So I'll enjoy my freedom and my nephews for now!
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Anyways on to my fabulous day!
Colby and I had a Date today. Do you know how cool this is? I've NEVER taken him anywhere by myself. Two summers ago I babysat him a few times on my own, but not much. This past summer I was so busy with other things that I don't even think I got more than an hour or two on my own with him. Usually when I see him it's either on Sunday's at Mom and Dad's or at Kelli's house. So to get him all by myself was exciting and nerve racking!

I obviously over-thought it way too much since the night before I was having nightmares about him screaming in the pottery place!

However, I'm happy to report it was such a fun day! Colby and I went to The Mad Potter to make his mommy something for Christmas with his hand prints. Too bad I can't show you the end result just yet, but it was so fun! Colby is literally an amazing baby {is he technically a kid now??}. I talked through what we were going to do, and he listened. He helped put the paint away, and he even patiently waited for me to finish up the present!


Next, we danced away in the car to Chik-Fil-A. Seriously, he's hilarious! I wish I had his dance moves on video. After I started mocking him and dancing too he just about choked on himself laughing so hard! At Chik-Fil-A we tried to eat lunch, but he was too excited to "play"! We had a great time in the play area {despite these snooty Moms who were trying to tell me weird things!}.


Next we came to my house to play a little before taking him to his GiGi's house. He was in love with my Craft Room playing with all the ribbons, markers, etc.

We had such a fun time! I'm just wondering...how in the world do I get my future kid to be that happy and understanding? Hmmm... :) Guess we'll see one day if I can!

What you should make for dinner tonight:

This Open-Faced BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich!


This is so easy and it was a fun and yummy twist to the regular.
It all started because I had some thin-sliced bread that I knew I wouldn't use up before it got old, and I don't really like eating a lot of bread, so I created this! I started pulling more things from the refrigerator and pantry to add for taste!

Here's how to fix it:
1. Warm your pulled pork on the stove. Add a couple of teaspoons of Frank's Red Hot Sauce and a bunch of BBQ sauce. Also had a little bit of pepper.
2. Put a semi-thick layer of spicy honey dijon on the bottom of your bread slice.
3. Next layer on a thick coating of the pulled pork. Drip some more Hot Sauce on top.
4. Crumble some Lay's Tangy Carolina Barbecue Chips on top.
5. Add Banana Peppers on top.
Total Time: 15 minutes. Perfect for fixing after a long Moanday (as B likes to call it!)

It was SO good! Definitely on the rotation, ha! I added some home-grown green beans from my dad's farm my mom had canned.

Let me know if you make this!

The Weekend {in lists}

{first} Thanks for all the sweet FB comments and messages about the post below. I just needed to get it off my chest, and well frankly I feel better about it now. :)

{second} I've decided that in my next life (career-wise) I want it to still be with kids, but all I really want to do is help show them how special, amazing, and unique each one of them is. I would like to teach, but I would like to teach not centered around a major assessment. Will you pray for an answer for me?

{third} My Backpack Buddy started today (Sunday). I am sooooooo excited about it! It's just up my alley, especially if you read #2. I write to a kid at a school in a surrounding county who receives extra food over the weekend from my church. In the letters I am to write about why he's so special to God, and begin to build a relationship with this child without ever meeting him. Did I already tell you how excited I am about this?! You only have to write once a month, but as a teacher, I know how much kids crave consistency, so I'm making it a goal to write him weekly.

{fourth} FALL BREAK is just around the corner! I get 3 days off school AND my hubby and I are taking a trip for our 6 month anniversary. YAY!

{fifth} This weekend we finally tried out the Spotlight Lexington stuff downtown. It was actually really fun! We hung out with my friends Allison and Whitney. Whitney is becoming an Aussie in about 3 weeks, so I was happy I got to spend time with her before she leaves. Because Allison works with DeRae Catering, we got tons of perks! (thanks, girl!) Yummy drinks and fun times in the extended cab golf cart ~ or KY Limo we were calling it! ha! We rode around all the parts of the Spotlight in comfort! Here are a few pics from the night:
{me and hubby}
{Me, Allison, Whitney in Centre Point}
{Me, Whit, B in the Golf Cart}

{sixth} Usually, our night would end there...especially on a Friday night. However, the husband got a wild hair and REALLY wanted to see this bluegrass band play. Of course it wasn't the 3 free concerts that were going on, ha! So we made our way to Cosmic Charlie's to watch Trampled by Turtles. They were actually really good and it was fun. Allison and Whitney even made it with us! We were definitely seen as 'old' in there, but it was fun. (I will admit, I was happy when it was finally time for me to go home and go to bed. Whatever happened to "fun Megan"? Oh well...)

{seventh} I tried to plan a belated Housewarming Party on Saturday to watch the UK game. Too bad that was a bust. I was pretty disappointed, but it just seems like everyone is really busy these days. So we ended up cancelling and going up to our neighborhood bar to watch the game. I bet if we had our party we would have won. HAHA!

{eighth} Saturday night we had intentions to make it back downtown, but after a long night before, and a long afternoon watching the game (and eating non-stop buffet through the game) somebody got a little tired. I'll give you a hint, it wasn't me! :) So we ended up at one of our favorite pizza places in our neighborhood. OHH the conversations we always end up having at Puccinni's. Nothing I'm ready to tell just yet, but that place just gets us sometimes and we end up in these deep convo's! But my belly was full afterwards so it was all good!

{ninth} Our 6 MONTH Anniversary was on Monday. B tried to surprise me at school with flowers but we were out on release day and I forgot to tell him {whoops!}. However, I still received a beautiful bouquet and a very sweet card, and B received Cookie-Brownies and a card as well! We'll be celebrating this coming weekend with our trip that I mentioned in #4. Can you tell I'm excited?! My sweet little Momma saved a layer of our wedding cake and had it for us today after Sunday Lunch. I was pumped considering I never got to even taste it on our Wedding Day! It was actually very tasty, so I have high hopes about the cake topper in March!

{tenth} I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, too! :)