Fall Changes Everything

A couple of weeks ago Craig and I visited the Jackson County Fair. Craig loves going to the fair for one reason and one reason alone. Gumbo. Many local churches set up in the serving areas and compete for the most visitors. Craig's favorite gumbo is of course his own church's, Caswell Springs Methodist. I enjoy going to new church booths every year and trying other dishes. It is a great atmosphere, and the people are so friendly. Plus, it is for a good cause. As for me, I go to the fair to pet the animals. I mean, technically, you aren't supposed to, but I seem to break the rules every year. I just can't help myself. Especially with the moo cows. I friggin LOVE cows. I don't know what it is. Big wet nose? Sweet brown eyes? The uncontrollable urge to squeeze on anything with fur and four legs? I just don't know. There were other animals and of course I enjoy those as well, but I just can't get enough of cows. They had punk rocker chickens, butt ugly turkeys, fluffy rabbits, and loud goats just to name a few. I enjoyed other fair foods while there like fried Oreos, cotton candy, and a turkey leg. Craig is kind of a fuddy duddy when it comes to fair rides so we didn't partake in those this year, but we are going to Orlando in January, so I will get to ride all sorts of rides then.

Last weekend was of course my favorite festival of all time. The Peter Anderson festival is an arts and craft festival that showcases artist and craftsmen from near and far. It brings thousands of people to Ocean Springs, and it is a great opportunity to meet up with friends and family. There are tons of pottery stands, and as an avid collector of unique pieces, I quickly spent all of the money I had. I wasn't all selfish and ended up buying my mother's Christmas gift too. My favorite part of the weekend, however, was hanging out with friends. I got to hang out with several people I don't get to see often. A group of my close high school friends all got together and brought their families. Most of them have small children, a couple of which I got to meet for the first time (Brents and Meryl). I love seeing these great people. We got to eat brunch together at Bayview Gourmet. I also got to see my pal, Kati and hung out with her in her shop, Abode. If you haven't been there yet, go check it out. It's her one year anniversary at the store, so Congratulations Kati! Saturday night I also got to hang out with a couple of girls, Betsy and Karen, that are a freaking blast. We hung out at a bonfire, talked about the good ole days, and swigged down some moonshine. Good times!

This past weekend my sister and brother-in-law flew in from Indy. It was a short trip, but we had fun. Most of the weekend was spent just hanging out with the family. Saturday night, we all went out on quite the adventure. Kati, Allison and Tiffany all met up with me too. I love that they came over to hang out, and it made for an extremely interesting night. The original plan was to bar hop in downtown OS, but we ended up planted at Mosaics and were smoking hookah. Every time I smoke hookah at Mosaics, the night ends up like a night out in Vegas. Like, when you wake up, you're like WTH?!? I won't be going into details, but let's just say we had a pretty good time.

So, the Smith family has some really big news. Like, HUGE news. Everything is changing, and quickly. Would you care to guess? I will be posting details soon so stay tuned!