Monday Manic Round Up * What's Crazy, Expensive and Keeps You Awake Until 2:30a?

Is it really Monday already?  It can't be.  There's no way the weekend is already over.  I'm not buying it.  I need a weekend from my weekend.

The Acorn Inn B&B in Farber, VA

Quick recap: Got to central Virginia Friday afternoon and checked in to The Acorn Inn.  We love it there.  Long before it was a B&B, the homestead and peach orchards belonged to my great aunt.  I can remember going there as a little girl for meals that would knock your socks off!  Hard as a try, I still can't make lima beans the way Aunt Mamie did.  Nor grow tomatoes that taste as good as hers.  The Hubbs and I stayed in the cottage, which was really a small house originally built for Mamie's husband's aunt back in the day, when she came to live with them.  Nowadays, I associate the place with Martin and Kathy (the owners for the last 26 years) and their yummy homemade breads and breakfasts and awesome hospitality more so than my Aunt.  But I have old and new memories there that keep me coming back.   And if any of you are skiers, this is a GREAT place to stay when you go ski Wintergreen Mountain.  Just sayin'.  

My mom and dad cutting their cake with a little help from my niece, Cora.

Look at that cake!  It tasted even better than it looked, which is hard to believe.  Aunt Linda always makes the most amazing cakes!  And the plate on the right got signed by everyone so my parents will have a keepsake of that night.

Cousins of all ages getting reacquainted and having blast with each other, while Tony is in the background making yummy pizzas for us (even me, since they have GF options).

Friday night was also the 50th wedding anniversary celebration for my parents, which went off without a hitch.  Thanks to Giuseppe's in Nellysford, VA and Ashely Pannell, their manager, for making it possible (along with help from my Aunt Linda).  We had 40 people come celebrate with Mom and Dad and it was a great night!

The Cottage at The Acorn Inn.  See how cute it is! 

Until The Hubbs and I got back in the truck to leave, that is.  That's when we found that The Red Dog had somehow  opened up his incision (the doublewide cone was still on, so we have no idea what he did).  After emailing with Dr. Alley at Shiloh Animal Hospital (I can't tell you often enough how much we love this vet clinic and these people!), we determined we needed to take him to the emergency vet to get it restitched.  Forty minutes away.  At 10:45p.  Why this dog can't seem to injure himself during normal business hours is beyond me.  Several hundred dollars, seven new stitches and almost four hours later, we were back at the cottage (to help you with your math, we got back at 2:30a) and heading to bed.  

The second gorgeous cake my aunt made to celebrate my parent's anniversary.

Needless to say, that made for a late start to the day Saturday and a very late arrival at the Purvis Family Reunion that afternoon.  We missed the second gorgeous cake my Aunt Linda made (you can find her FB page here and order cakes from her if you're in Central VA) to celebrate Mom and Dad. We did get to see pictures (one of which is immediately above and a pic of the first cake is towards the top of this post), but we did get to see several family members.  It's always great to catch up with everyone and reconnect, since so many of us are scattered all over the country these days.  None of the famous family members were there (Jimmy Fortune of the Statler Brothers, Erik Estrada by marriage, etc) but most of the infamous ones were (you know who you are).  ;0)
So, moving on to things I learned last week that I thought you'd like:

These are a cute follow up to the post I wrote about making button jewelry.  I love them.  I now must go buy thumbtacks.  Watch out friends and family - everyone is getting some for Christmas this year.  

And these. . . . well, let's just say I'm trying to figure out how to make these fit my dietary restrictions.  Plus, I love the name of her blog: Greens and Chocolate, Where healthy cooking meets sinful indulgence. These must lean towards the sinful side.   

And today's featured product (as I type this, I'm wearing the three quarter sleeved tshirt with the, "Relationships are hard.  Pizza is awesome." quote on it), is this cute makeup case.  Everyone needs a little zen when putting on their makeup, I say.  Plus today there is 15% off my entire store if you enter ZFALLSPECIAL as the promo code when you check out. Yes, even 15% off the pizza shirt (quickly becoming a cult favorite).  
Oh, and The Hubbs wants me to remind everyone that the KC Royals made it into the playoffs and the KC Chiefs play tonight.  <eye roll>  You're welcome.