Friday started off like this:

Then it was off to the CLT airport to meet up with my mom to jet it to Nashville:

We arrived in Nashville to a limo waiting to sweep us away to our hotel, the Gaylord Opryland:

We were pleasantly surprised at the grandeur of the hotel, it was one of the coolest places I have ever stayed. Definitely not your standard hotel:

(J.Crew Cardi, Seven Jeans, GAP Sandals, F21 Necklace, and GAP Tank)

After checking in, we made our way through the beautiful flora and fauna to our hotel room:

There were even several waterfalls throughout the hotel, it was just gorgeous:

Our room was so nice and I loved the balcony overlooking all the waterfalls and pathways through the hotel:

After scoping out our room and dropping our bags off, we headed out in search of the nearby mall, Opryland Mills for some food and shopping. After a bit of a walk to the mall, I was greeted by this yummy little cupcake kiosk, and I promptly obliged to purchasing a peanut butter cupcake:

After eating at the Rainforest Cafe and doing some shopping, we were pretty tired and decided to head back to the room to relax. We were greeted by a yummy bottle of bubbly courtesy of Clorox when we got back, which I promptly popped open:

Who can resist enjoying some bubbly with my newly acquired cupcake (which was outstanding, fyi):

We relaxed for a bit, then showered and hit up the Cocktail/Hors D’eourve party for all the folks who won the trip, there were ten winners in all plus ten guests. I went for a comfy, casual look:

(Anthropologie Top, Seven Jeans, Naughty Monkey Shoes, Lou-Lou, and some newly acquired earrings from my mom)

We met some of the other winners (some of whom were QUITE interesting, to say the least) and ate a few hors d’eourves, then decided we were hungry and sleepy and went up to the room to order room service. We needed our beauty sleep to meet Keith the next day, after all!

UP NEXT: Urban Planner meets Urban Singer

Whilst trying to pack for my trip last night I realized that I have WAY too many clothes that I just don’t wear. Why, you ask? For the same reason most of us don’t wear the spare clothes in our closet, either they just don’t fit anymore (and I have been holding on, hoping they would) or they just don’t make me feel my best. Most of these are the items I go to when I am having a ‘down day’ or just don’t feel like putting much thought into what I wear. What a horrible concept, I feel down about myself, so I relegate myself to wearing the ‘ugly’ ill-fitting clothes and shoes in my closet?! After much thought and deliberation, here is the pile that I purged from my beloved new closet:

Some items will be heading to the Goodwill, but the ones that are gently (or NEVER) worn are making a trip to Plato’s Closet. Maybe they will make someone else feel great about themselves, and I can find some new, thrifted duds that make me feel fabulous!

This fall, embellished and patterned tights are all the rage. Not only were models sporting them all over the fall runways, but this funky fall trend was also featured in numerous August fashion issues. I can already envision a ton of DIY’s for this trend all over the fashion blogging scene. I am all about a little sparkle and embellishment, but I personally wouldn’t want my legwear weighing as much as I do! I am also curious as to how well these tights will hold up, seems like the embellishment would just rip and snag the fabric, right? For me, the verdict is still out on this Fall trend…how about you?

Tillman, our 25 lb. kitty, is jealous of Cooper and wanted to make his debut appearance on the blog. So here he is with some of his crazy antics. He has taken quite a liking to our new garden tub:

Mom, I am ready for my bath now:

One evening I decided that I was ready for lobster dinner, bib and all:

He actually did this to himself with no help from his mommy and daddy by running THROUGH a plastic grocery bag.

Christmas sure was better before Cooper came along and I got all the goodies:

I really like toys, too bad Cooper takes them all away and hides them from me:

“I’m not fat, just big boned!”

Maxin’ and relaxin’ and chillin’ all cool:

Hide and Seek:

Bye everyone!

When:

Wednesday, August 26th

Where:

Work, then play. Dinner out with the hubby and running errands, including finally getting a flat screen tv for our  bedroom! Things are starting to come together quite nicely. I promise some pics as soon as we get unpacked. Tomorrow is my Friday, yahoo!

What:

Jacket – Tulle

Tank – Express

White Pants – The Limited

Jeans – 7 for All Mankind (which I finally got hemmed so they don’t puddle around my ankles). If you live in the Queen City, Victor’s Alterations in S. Charlotte is fabulous.

Shoes – Nine West

Necklace – F21