Our Anniversary! Part One.

Friday, September 30, 2011 was our fifth wedding anniversary! We got up early, took a giant (120 person) tram lift called Ober Gatlinburg up the side of a mountain, stopped at the little "theme" park, then took a tiny chair lift all the way to the top of the mountain for the most beautiful view God could have surprised us with.

Check out the facial expression in the second photo. I couldn't NOT share that sexy with you. And yes, I kind of tried to climb the falling rock beside our cabin. Not the best plan, if you were wondering.

t-shirt & sweatshirt: Old Navy

jeans: Charlotte Russe

tank: Target

shoes: New Balance

watch: some little Gatlinburg leather store

Ober Gatlinburg!

2.1 miles up the mountain! By the way, I'm terrified of heights. Husband took a photo of me faking a smile, big time (third down). I tried really hard to enjoy it, but I was absolutely white with fear that one of those cables would break! The system cost the city over 5 million dollars and like sky trams are revered as the safest and most preferred form of travel in many European mountain regions. Still... There's something about 120 people (or 20,000 pounds) that just doesn't make me feel super safe on a metal cable, thousands of feet in the air.

Happy to be off the big tram and on a little chair lift up the second part of the mountain (I know... you'd think this would scare me even more).

So, the first thing I saw when we arrived at the top of the mountain was THIS poster:

Ahem, perfection, right? But in all reality, it was Heaven. I cannot possibly show you every.single.photo we took from the view point, but you can only imagine how gorgeous everything all around us looked with these snippets. Blue skies, green trees, low clouds... Insane.

We headed back down the chair lift and played a round of mini-golf mid-mountain. Husband beat me with a vengeance. I'm happy to say I only lost by ONE the night before, but this particular game, I was down by five. Oopsie. After our mountain excursion, we headed back to the cabin to nap and get ready for our anniversary dinner at The Melting Pot. Neither of us had ever been to one, so we were really excited. Even more exciting? Our night out was courtesy of my sweet, sweet little brother. I'll show you those photos next time, along with the bear encounter!

Don't forget to start working on your project for next week's Old to New in October!

Project Self: Anniversary Trip Day 2

Yep, I'm still flooding you with photos from our anniversary trip! So for those of you keeping up with Project Self, I weighed in two weeks ago and I try my hardest to do the same EVERY Friday morning! I really want to get this trip recapped, though, so I'm not fully dedicating today's post to a Project Self topic other than the weigh-in and wanting to praise the great outdoors! We walked and walked (and walked and walked) on our trip! And now that the weather (in most places) is getting bearable outside, it's a perfect time to really embrace walking, jogging, hiking, or just running around outside with your kid(s). We had an awesome time enjoying the outdoors, which isn't something we generally do. Husband and I do.not.like the heat. Thankfully, the plunging temperatures are inviting us back outside to be more active!

last time I weighed: 179.8

current weight: 180.6

up: 0.8

lbs. to go: 60.6

Oops. So, I ate a ton on vacation and haven't gotten back in my groove at.all. this week. You'll have to excuse my health hiatus while I jerk my chain back into shape over this coming weekend. I hope you all are doing well and didn't decide that the bandwagon was a good place to fall off of this week!

And... onto the picture party!

And, oh, the tennis shoes.

t-shirt: Old Navy

tank: Target

I may or may not have (definitely) worn this tank yesterday...

jeans: Old Navy

bag: Old Navy

shoes: New Balance

All of these outfit photos were taken on the driveway/rocks right outside the front of our cabin. See that long road down there behind me? Bears walk right down the middle of that sucker just like they're cars. Not lying. I have proof. 

Obligatory Hard Rock emblem photo.

Cool fact: Hard Rock, Gatlinburg is the only Hard Rock, EVER, where you can get married! They even have on-call officiants!

Thursday, September 29 was, perhaps, our most "touristy" day. Hard Rock? Come on. But seriously, no one has hamburgers like them! I had the Red, Black, and Bleu, which was blackened with Cajun seasoning, smothered with hot sauce, and topped off with bleu cheese crumbles. Drooooooool.

After lunch, we decided to walk off the beef and hit the ginormous Ripley's Aquarium! Thank goodness it's so big. At least we got to walk for two hours straight after ingesting the biggest burgers of all time. I'm also a HUGE fan of water and water creatures, so whenever we're somewhere that boasts a fancy aquarium, it's on my to-visit list. When we went to Gatlinburg 6 years ago, we visited this same aquarium. In fact, the river bend right behind it is where I fractured my ankle! Husband and I had a great time going on our own, taking our time, reading about the animals, and really enjoying the feeding shows and all of the displays.

Baby Stingrays:

Jellies

Flounder (can you see him?)

Nurse Sharks!

Enourmous Jelly

Husband and I in front of the enormous jellies!

Nautilus (cousin of octopus and squid)

After the aquarium, we headed to a little walking mall to see what it had in store. On our way back outside, I saw THIS beautiful thing. The Aqua Massage! First, I thought, "What a crock. This is such an easy way for people to pull in tourists and grab a few bucks." Then I thought, "Well, my back really does hurt..." Husband told me to go for it, so I just got 7 minutes in a machine that looks like a cross between a personal car wash and a headless tanning bed. You can learn more about this little slice of Heaven here.

Funnel cake for him, mini golf for both, and we called it a night!

Hope you're enjoying our trip! Only two more days to go! 

LINK UP with your Project Self this week! (Go 'head! Just fill out the little form below!)

I'd love to hear what you're doing for yourself and how you're progressing!

Anniversary Trip: Day 1

Oh, hey! I haven't posted in forever! Well, it feels like that, but I did post a Trendy Tots Tuesday yesterday. And I have to give you a fair warning: The next week or so of posts are going to be chock full of photos from our trip to Gatlingburg, Tennessee. Husband and I went to celebrate our five year wedding anniversary. We stayed in a gorgeous log cabin (this one, to be exact) that was hidden away from the chaos of the little tourist town. As secluded and gorgeous (and super romantic) as it was, the windy, up and down, crazy cliff-hanger roads it took to get there had me nauseated and holding on to the car (like that would save me) for dear life EACH time we drove to town or back. Terrifying, I tell you.

So, day by day, I'll share some of the millions of photos we took. By the end of the trip recap, you'll probably want to throw up if you see one more river or mountain (or me in tennis shoes- ugh), but you should pretend you love mountains and rivers... because if you're awesome, I might just show you the BEARS we saw right in our cabin driveway!

On Wednesday, September 28, we hopped in the car to drive across the state of North Carolina and just a teeny bit over the border of Tennessee. It was about a seven and a half hour drive, but we took our time and ate yummy food on the way. Just as we crossed the state border, I had to use the facilities and all we could see on the GPS for miles were trees and water. So, I decided to rough it and use the great outdoors. Kinda glad I was brave because when we pulled off the road, we found this little gem of a spot. I have no idea what river it is or where in Tennessee we were, but it was a perfect introduction to the gorgeous weather and beautiful outdoor scenery that was in store for us.

It was pretty chilly, but I took off my sweatshirt in case I fell in. I don't have a very good track record with river rocks and trips to Gatlinburg. ie: The only other time I've been was with Husband, who was Boyfriend at the time, and his mom and brother. On the FIRST day of our trip, I slid on a river rock, ended up in the hospital, and was on crutches for the rest of the time. What this has to do with taking my sweatshirt off for water safety, I'll never know. See in the second picture how terrified I am to climb back up the big rock? I was afraid of repeat offending...

Husband got to rent a Camaro for our trip. Basically, neither of our cars are in good enough shape to make an 850 mile round trip (or climb mountains, for that matter). He decided this was the best way to go and instead of trying to argue, I just went with it. American muscle sure can wind and climb! I was pleasantly surprised. If only it wasn't a brand new car... New car smell makes me sick to my stomach.

Know what else makes me sick to my stomach? Riding on insane roads. So, on the side of a mountain, Husband pulled over and let me drive. I was much less adventurous around the twists and turns and he got to take a bunch of pictures. Much better equation. 

We got to the cabin and got settled, washed up, got dressed, and headed out for an evening on the town! I was so excited, but while going through my suitcase, I realized Husband made me only pack three pairs of shoes. Ugly flip-flops, tennis shoes, and my black heels for our anniversary dinner only. Tennis shoes are ugly and touristy. Well... that's a lie. I love my tennis shoes, but only for working out. NOT with jeans. I felt very fashion-challenged with my predicament, so decided to keep the whole look extra casual with a short-sleeved hoodie layered over a floral tank.

hoodie: Old Navy

tank: Target

jeans: Old Navy

shoes: New Balance

I hope you'll stick around to see the rest of our trip! I wish I could promise more glamour and less tennis shoes, but that would just be empty... 

Don't forget to stop by TOMORROW for the very first Old to New in October! Hopefully you've been working on your project and are ready to link up with Natasha and I!

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Traveling

When you're up against a 5 hour car trip with a toddler and two dogs, you must be many things. A few of the most important things to be are:
- Comfortable
- In washable clothing
- Prepared with snacks
- Wearing shoes that are easy to put on and take off
- Warm (because husband will blast you to Alaska with the AC)
- Able to reach your child from your seat

In all honesty, the only ones I thought of were comfortable and prepared with snacks. I froze my butt off, wasn't able to reach Little S. very well, and my shoes were easy to take on and off, but I lost them under the baggage or seat somewhere along the ride, so stopping for a pee break was a pain.

This was what I wore on our trip to northern Virginia to stay at my parents' on Thursday night, drop the kiddo and dogs off, and head to my best friend's wedding weekend. I was well-equipped with carbohydrate packed snacks and ill-equipped with blankets, pillows, and warmer sweatshirt attire.

tank: WalMart

leggings: New York & Company

sweatshirt thing: Old Navy

flats: Target (little girl section)

bag: Coach, gifted from my sweet little bother

Next time I travel, I'm so wearing mascara and brushing my hair.

Pffft. Who am I kidding? That's a BOLD FACED LIE.

What do you wear while traveling? And how do you stay equipped to keep kiddos happy?

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