2017 // Recap

2017. A year filled with love, loss, and lots of great memories. I traveled to many new places, tried many new restaurants, and took on lots of new adventures. I joined a new church. My sweet Pappaw and my high school sweetheart gained a heavenly home and became my guardian angels. I have had the opportunity to take on a new grade level, and I have loved every minute of teaching 6th grade. I began a new job teaching a kids yoga class at Greener Grass Yoga. I have dabbled in photography, the usual shirt designing, and many other things. This year has been busy, busy, busy, but oh so fun.

Brought in 2017 with my BFF

January 1, 2017 // Nashville, TN 

Tennessee Aquarium

January 21, 2017 // Chattanooga, TN

Travel Jars

March 11, 2017 // Hartselle, AL

First Train Ride

March 21, 2017 // Birmingham, AL 

March 23, 2017 // New Orleans, LA 

March 25, 2017 // Monte Sano State Park, Huntsville, AL 

March 26, 2017 // Decatur, AL 

First 5K

April 1, 2017 // Decatur, AL 

Tattoo #2

April 4, 2017 // Huntsville, AL 

April 14, 2017 // Gulf Shores, AL 

Amish Country

April 29, 2017 // Lawrenceburg, TN 

Kentucky Derby Party 

May 6, 2017 // Nashville, TN 

May 27, 2017 // Arrington, TN 

Rock the South

June 2, 2017 // Cullman, AL 

June 9, 2017 // Charleston, SC

Atlantis Paradise Island

June 12, 2017 // Nassau, Bahamas

June 13, 2017 // Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

Lewis Smith Lake

June 17, 2017 // Double Springs, AL

July 4, 2017 // Bear Creek, AL

July 5, 2017 // Speake, AL 

July 7, 2017 // Elkmont, AL 

Six Flags Over Georgia

August 5, 2017 // Austell, GA

Solar Eclipse

August 21, 2017 // Moulton, AL

Universal Studios & Haunted Horror Nights

October 13, 2017 // Orlando, FL

Walt Disney World

October 16, 2017 // Orlando, FL

4D Pumpkin Patch 

October 22, 2017 // Hanceville, AL

Christmas Village

November 2, 2017 // Birmingham, AL 

Riley Green & Bama vs LSU 

November 4, 2017 // Tuscaloosa, AL

December 3, 2017 // Nashville, TN

December 22, 2017 // Florence, AL 

December 24, 2017 // Speake, AL 

December 30, 2017 // Beech Mountain, NC

Bring on 2018 and all of its new adventures! 

23 thoughts at 23

I have had such an awesome birthday with all of my people. I was sang 'Happy Birthday' to a total of 16 times and had 3 whole cakes. It was great! I am so blessed with the best family, friends, students, and co-workers. Here are 23 thoughts at 23...

1. Who let me adult?! I mean really. I feel like I blinked and all of a sudden I have to do all of these adult-y things.

2. Coffee really is a necessity.

3. Bubble baths are a way to regain sanity.

4. Four quarters truly are better than one hundred pennies. You know...like friends? I have three of the best friends and they are such a blessing to me.

5. You will only find true contentment in Christ.

6. Nathan and Haley are couple goals. I know they are fictional characters but they are perfection.

7. This world is too big for you to stay in one place. Save money. See the world. Travel is the best thing you can buy.

8. Way too much of my hard earned money is spent on food and I really need to learn how to cook.

9. Whoever discovered dry shampoo deserves a special place in heaven.

10. This life can be tough but no matter how tough things get, looking for the good and staying positive always makes it better.

11. "It's okay to be a glowstick. Sometimes we have to break before we shine."

12. Letting go of the negative and toxic people in your life is hard but it's for the best.

13. One Tree Hill is the best show to ever be created. I can't believe I am just now watching it. But I'm hooked. And way too emotionally attached to the characters.

14. It is better to try than to look back later in life and ask, "What if?!"

15. Piercings and tattoos really are addicting.

16. Farm life is the best life. It makes it really easy to enjoy the little things. The cotton blooming. The smell of fresh cut hay. The setting sun over the trees. Lightening bugs at night.

17. Being spontaneous is the best kind of adventure. Pack your bag, load up with your best friends and just drive.

18. God has a perfect plan and it will be revealed to you in His perfect timing. Keep your eyes on Him.

19. Riding around with the windows down and the music blaring doubles as therapy.

20. Every year you should mark at least one thing off of your bucket list. (Mine this year is skydiving!)

21. Yoga is so awesome. I was going about four times a week to classes and felt SO GOOD! I stopped going over the summer and I cannot wait to start back!

22. Actions definitely speak louder than words.

23. Regardless of anyone else's image of you, God see's you as worthy.

Thank you all for the best birthday! Here's to another great year!

Cruising Carnival Ecstasy // Adventures with MEH

Ya'll... I have said it once and I will say it again. Cruising is THE LIFE! I love travelling and vacations but I think cruising is definitely the best way to just get away and actually relax. You know, when you get home from some vacations, you feel like you need another vacation just to recoop...well that is so not the case on cruises. We were seriously treated like princesses on this cruise. The staff on Ecstasy was SO nice and friendly. They made us feel just like we were at home.

Last year, we cruised on Carnival Triumph. We had several things we didn't like about that particular ship and wanted to try a different one this year. Ecstasy was still a smaller ship compared to some of the other ships owned by Carnival, but it was definitely way better than Triumph. The pools on this ship were pretty large and they had a huge kiddie area with lots of water slides. (Yes, we played on the water slides just like we were kids. ;)) This ship was definitely more kid friendly compared to Triumph. 

This ship had a serenity deck, which was where we spent most of our time. On the serenity deck, its  21 and over, there are cushioned chairs, and big umbrellas. There are also two hot tubs on the serenity deck, but it was too hot to get in a hot tub. The serenity deck was located on the back of the ship so it was a perfect view. And it was way less crowded than any other area on the ship. It was SO peaceful!

This year, we had 'your time' dining, so we could go to dinner at anytime we wanted. We requested the same waiter every night because he was just awesome. Of course, we got to pick from a huge menu every single night and we could eat as much as we wanted. One night, our waiters literally brought us every single dessert they were serving that night. And we ate every bit of it. 

Our waiter and all of the hostesses were wonderful. They were so friendly and would sit around and talk to us every night. 

I love getting dressed up for dinner every night. We had a very specific strategy on getting ready. Three girls getting ready in one tiny bathroom is definitely a struggle. Oh and on top of that there was only one available outlet. But we managed and actually got ready in a very timely manner every night.

We could not get a decent picture before dinner to save our life. It was so windy on the deck and not good lighting inside...so here is what we ended up with. :)

And if you know Emily, she is obsessed with globes and there was this...

This cruise definitely did not disappoint. I had the best travel companions. We all enjoy naps pretty equally, so no one complains about napping real quick before dinner :) It was such a relaxing and much needed getaway.

We will be planning another cruise for the next year, so what is your favorite cruise line? Where is your favorite place to go? When is your favorite time to cruise?

Charleston, South Carolina // Adventures with MEH

Emily, Heather, and I chose to cruise out of Charleston so that we could go a few days early and explore the beautiful city. We had about a total of 48 hours to adventure, which was not enough time to do everything on our list, but it was long enough to see a lot of great things.

On the first night in Charleston, we arrived at our first hotel and it was gross. The room smelled like smoke, the sheets looked nasty, and we checked out just about as quick as we checked in. Thankfully we got a full refund. So we did what we should have done in the first place and checked into the Hilton Garden Inn Charleston / Mt. Pleasant. Since we had already had a rough day, the concierge gave us a pretty great discount. I don't know why we didn't just book a Hilton hotel in the first place? (You can never go wrong with Hilton!)  

That night, we went to eat at Marina Variety Store and Restaurant. It was a cute little restaurant by the marina and it even over looked the water and the boats. The food was great and the prices were decent. 

After dinner we drove around for awhile before making our way back to the hotel. We absolutely loved the Charleston bridge. It is so pretty and I love the way it is all lit up at night.

The next day, we ate breakfast at Callie's Hot Little Biscuit. Ya'll...it was so good. Callie's is a little hole in the wall restaurant on King Street. After breakfast, we stopped across the road for donuts at Glazed. YUM!! They were heavenly.

After breakfast, we made our way to Rainbow Row. This was the cutest little strip of real estate I have ever seen. It would be perfect to live on the end and have a house overlooking the park and the ocean.

After Rainbow Row, we had to have a picture by the beautiful and historic Pineapple fountain. We took a break there for awhile and put our feet in the water and watched all the little kids swimming around.

Next on our agenda was to see the Angel Oak Tree. This tree was so cool! We stopped for lunch at the Angel Oak Restaurant just a few minutes away. The food was pretty good, but I really loved the atmosphere of the restaurant. It had a very unique southern charm to it.

Folly Island was next to see the light house and chill on the beach for a little while. It was so cute! If you know me, you know that I love graffiti and wall murals and all the things like that. Well on the walk to the light house, there was different things spray painted along the road and I just loved it. It made my heart smile.

We had dinner in Sullivan's Island at Mex1. OMG YA'LL...this was the best Mexican food I think I have ever had. We all need to gather together and open one of these in Alabama. Preferably in Moulton so I don't have to drive too far to get there. ;) But seriously, if you are ever in Charleston, you HAVE to go to Mex1. It was delicious!

Before we got on the ship, we ate a quick breakfast at Sunrise Bistro Xpress. This was another little hole in the wall restaurant. It had a total of about 4 tables inside the restaurant and about 5 more outside between the buildings. I think this restaurant mainly does take out orders, but the food was great and the service was really good.

We stopped by Starbucks real quick before calling our Uber and hopping on the ship. Stay tuned for more post about the cruise and the islands! :)

Two days was definitely not enough time to do everything we wanted to do. We mainly did the typical touristy things and made a list of things we wanted to do next time. But Charleston is definitely a great place for a girls weekend getaway!

If you have ever been to Charleston, what did you enjoy most?

Happy 4th of July! // 2017

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

This 4th of July weekend has been the best one yet. We started off the weekend at the lake. We rode the tube, jumped off rocks, and dodged the rain all day long. We loaded up and went to eat dinner at Lakeshore, or what is now Gold Diggers. The food was great...the service was not. But sucky service couldn't ruin our day. We ended the night at a friends house watching the Hollis fireworks show, which in my personal opinion was way better than any 4th of July show I have ever seen at Point Mallard. Ya'll...I don't know why but I LOVE fireworks. They are so pretty.

On the actual 4th, we decided to load up and go kayaking/canoeing at Bear Creek. I think there was a total of 13 of us that went and we had a blast. (Well...some of us did!) 

We found this huge waterfall and stopped for lunch. It was so nice and relaxing. And let me tell you, there was lots of rocks to climb over to get actually under the waterfall. I made it over the rocks...coming back down was another story though. It was quite hilarious. 

Also, would ya'll just look at my papa's face? Doesn't he look so happy? He LOVES canoeing!! Are you catching my sarcasm? I think he would have actually rather have stayed home and hand cut every single blade of grass with some scissors...but he goes along with just about whatever his grands want. :)

Now ya'll...I have chickens. They are my chickens, but my daddy typically takes care of them for me because he put his guineas in the chicken coop and I am TERRIFIED of those loud, ugly birds. (If you don't know what a guinea is, google it! You'll understand why I am so scared.) But today, I was going to get the eggs and feed my chickens when I got home. Well thank the good Lord that I looked in the chicken house before I went in because there was a HUGE snake curled up in the corner of the nesting box. I don't think I have ever screamed so loud for my daddy.

Check out this guy. He was about 5 feet long and had swallowed three of our golf balls. And my dad...being the man that he is...walked into the chicken house, fed, watered, gathered all the eggs, then grabbed this snake with his bare hands and had to pry him out from between the nesting boxes. Then he proceeded to chase me and Hannah with the very much alive snake he had in his hands. Isn't he sweet?! (and maybe a little crazy.)

We finished off the night with some delicious supper and I watched all the neighbors shoot their fireworks.

How did you celebrate the 4th??

Teaching // Year 1

I can't believe my first year as a teacher is over! I have been blessed to get to know 36 of the most precious 4 year olds ever. I completed my internship at Mt. Hope in a PreK classroom as the auxillary teacher. These babies absolutely stole my heart. They never failed to make me laugh every single day with the funny things they said and did.

After Christmas and graduation, I moved to East Lawrence to a different PreK classroom. I'm not going to lie, it broke my heart to leave my Mt. Hope babies. Luckily my good friend Rachel took over that class so I still got to see pictures. But I had 18 new, smiling faces that welcomed me with tight, loving hugs. I was told every day, "Thank you Ms. Mallory for wearing that beautiful dress.", and don't you know that made my day. These babies were so sweet and loving. They always fought over who was going to hold my hand or sit by me at lunch or hold my lunch box walking down the hallway.

Our end of the year program was SO CUTE! All of these babies dressed up and were Hollywood Stars. They sang, they danced, and they received their awards. It was such a bittersweet day. They did so good and made me so proud!

Each and every one of these sweet kiddos will forever hold a special place in my heart. I am so thankful that I was blessed with the opportunity to be their teacher and to see them grow over the time that I spent with them.