May 2025 Recap

May was a BUSY month. Not only was it our 2 year wedding anniversary, we also had a graduation to attend for Keith’s son from Texas A&M, and then we took a little side trip to New Orleans to celebrate us.

Plus we did some yard work, I had a Girls Night In (with the cutest glasses) and a Memorial Day pool day. Buckle up- May was crazy (in good ways and bad ways)

Wedding Anniversary:

May 6 was our 2 year wedding anniversary and yes, he still gets me flowers!

The blessed graduation from Texas A&M

I’m a second wife. My husband was married before me and had a child. And while there is a lot I could say or write about this, I’m trying to take the high road ( even though the majority of the people who are even remotely connected in this whole situation truly treat me like a second wife (re: crap). NOT my husband, just others.

So this graduation was supposed to take place in Fall 2024, but due to a long drawn out story that may or may not be true ( hey, when you ask straightforward questions and never get straight answers- you gotta wonder!) the graduation took place in May 2025. I’ll admit, I was bummed (not about the graduation- because 6.5 years in college is a bit much- unless you are going for extra degrees like a Master’s or doctorate), but because I had loosely planned a trip to Key West for our 2 year anniversary (gotta admit that Key West really cast a spell on me when we were down there for our honeymoon back in 2023).

But the graduation was in May and after all the hub-bub to get this kid (no, ADULT) graduated, my hubby was going to be there come hell or high water.

So we set out on a Thursday and I don’t know about you, but if you have never driven from MS to College Station, TX before- you are not missing out. It was just hours and hours of driving and traffic and not a trip I am willingly taking again. Unless I am being compensated with a week to Key West. Just sayin’

I’ll spare you the boring details and the lunch with the entire “family” before the graduation to say that the winery we ate at didn’t even have a good Moscato and the whole farm to table meal wasn’t worth a crap. But hey- you only celebrate a graduation once, right?

2.5 hours of graduation for all the engineering students and thank God I brought a book on my phone because there were tons of graduates and I was only there to see one.

The upside of the trip was that I enjoyed our hotel (Embassy Suites by Hilton College Station) and I ADORED my first trip to Drybar!

I had never been to a Drybar because we don’t have one near me. But every time I visited NYC for BookExpo, I always wanted to go; but could never get an appointment. So when I realized that there was a Drybar in this town and I could easily Uber there, I booked it. And my stylist understood the assignment. She understood that I wanted to look my best, that this event was essentially all day and that being a second wife had it’s own set of issues.

She gave me VOLUME. My hair felt and looked great allllllllll day! And night.

So the graduation came and went. And yes, he’s still looking for a job in the field he went to school for so fingers crossed he finds a job in the field soon.

The New Orleans trip:

Again, I had wanted to go to Key West. And then I considered Las Vegas since we were near a major airport. But a couple offers from Hilton, getting to use some Hilton points and knowing I could eat beignets… well that sealed New Orleans. First, I LOVE The Roosevelt Hotel. It’s not far from many thing I want to do and I love the vibe there. And now, after having a massage there, I can accurately say that any time I am in New Orleans, I am going to need a massage.

We left Texas on Sunday and started driving to New Orleans. No real plans for Sunday in NOLA, except to look around and eat some good food and maybe go to the casino ( I also love a casino) On the way to New Orleans, we did make a stop at Buc-ees (cleanest bathrooms!) and then we kept on the road.

After a day of driving, my legs were itching for a good walk. So after checking in to the hotel, the bellman getting our stuff up to the room, and then chatting with the hotel staff where they mentioned The Rosevelt Hotel had the best beignets in New Orleans (more on that later!), we set out to stretch our legs and grab a bite to eat and then play a little at the casino.

The next day (Monday) I was up bright and early for a massage. Rhonda gave a great one and I enjoyed every minute of it and was totally relaxed. After relaxing a bit in the relaxation room, I went back to our hotel room to get Keith. We had lunch at Shake Shack then went to split some beignets at Cafe Du Monde as well as stop at my fave stores (Aunt Sally’s Pralines and Fleurty Girl (where I got this cute tee!)

We got back to the hotel and I took an Uber to Drybar (yes, my 2nd Drybar trip in a matter of days!) and loved it even more. Ya’ll, if there was a Drybar near me, I would totally join their subscription program because I LOVE IT THAT MUCH!

After the trip back to the hotel and my hair looking all Drybar-licious, Keith and I headed out to eat. And then I was itching to lose some more money in a casino, then back to the hotel where I had some chocolate milk from Texas in a wine glass and some chocolates they left for me when they did nightly turn down service. And filmed this reel!

On Tuesday, the day we left, we ate breakfast at our hotel and Keith had an actual breakfast (some type of omelette ) while I had the beignets the staff recommended.

Ya’ll. YA’LL. I thought I knew good beignets. I have happily walked myself over to Cafe Du Monde every trip to New Orleans for beignets and ya’ll have just let me. But THESE. OMG. SOOOOOO GOOD. Light and fluffy and with chocolate sauce (which I deemed not needed as the beignets were basically perfection.

Then I took a quick trip to The Garden District Book Shop while hubby finished packing. I purchased Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry and a Carley Fortune book that caught my eye. Then as I was leaving, I realized I was at the corner of Washington and Prytania street, but I didn’t have my The House on Prytania Street book with me (drats!)

Then we headed home because like all good things, vacations have to come to an end. However, I am wanting to go back as soon as possible because a girl can never truly have enough beignets.

Girls Night In

Because sometimes I am crazy and like to have a full calendar, I had already planned a Girls Night In night for the Friday of the week I returned.

Ya’ll, I got the cutest glasses at Buc-ee’s and they make me laugh like crazy every time I use them. Which one do you think I tend to use the most?

One of the ladies from church came over. We discussed second wife status (we both second wives), small town politics and our love of DiamondArt. I went and got a Chick Fil A tray earlier because I don’t cook. It was a fun night.

Getting the yard in order

For the past year, I have been asking Keith to me a flower bed. Finally this year, I put my foot down and said “this is the year. And you can wait till it’s 110 degrees outside or do it now. I don’t care, but I am having a flower bed this year.”

So we spent a Saturday and Sunday doing this project and I think it turned out really great!

The monthly facial + bookmail

Ya’ll I have always tried to take good care of my skin (except for my brief time with tanning beds- no judging!) and even though I do adore time in the pool, I have always tried to keep up good skin habits.

In the last several months, though, I have taken the care of my skin to an extra level with my monthly facials.

I love them. I love how relaxed I feel and how my skin glows. Even better was when I came home to this GREAT bookmail!

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Flowers in memory of Keith’s mom

Many of you know that I work at a church. I work at the church we both attend and Keith’s mom used to attend the same church before her passing away in 2021. Because Keith loved his mother so and because this woman was a good woman who raised Keith to be a good man- I like to make sure we have flowers in memory of her for her birthday.

Memorial Day fun: