Trip recap and room reveal!

Well, we made it to Texas and back.  Baby girl and I headed out in the wee hours of the morning last Monday.  She wasn't feeling so hot, so I drove the first stretch.  We made a brief stop in Meridian, Mississippi for a potty break and beverages, and then continued on to Monroe, Louisiana where we stopped for lunch at Chick-fil-A.  Baby girl then took the wheel and we headed to Tyler, Texas, our last stop for gas before heading on to Waco.   We made it in exactly 12 hours, and beat dad to the hotel by 5 minutes (he flew to Austin and had a few stops to make along the way...a girl has to have a TV!)

All in all the drive was pretty uneventful.  Baby girl stayed at the hotel with us Monday night, and bright and early Tuesday morning we started moving her things in.  The car was packed (despite the fact that she had left a lot of things behind prior to coming home for the summer).  At one point we questioned if it would all fit, but after a bit of rearranging...all was good and we could still see out most of the windows!

Of course it was HOT and HUMID!!  We have been so spoiled with rain and cooler temps here in Georgia this summer.  She was loving the sunshine and warmth however (better you than me kiddo).

The duplex she shares with three of her sorority sisters is adorable.  The girls really outdid themselves in the decor department.  Of course their dads were questioning why "art, curtains, rugs, and such were needed"...they are supposed to be in college after all!!!

Okay, enough said...here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure.

The girls stole found an old door last year on the side of an old building and refinished it, then turned it into a coffee table.

Here you can see the original doorknob and keyhole.

One of the girls made this HUGE chalkboard for their kitchen.  It is probably about 4X6 feet.

A sign made with an old pallet and painted for above their kitchen table.

Z Gallerie curtains they chose for their living area.  They have solid aqua ones in the kitchen as well.

One of her roommates made this cute scrabble wall art with their names.  It hangs on the wall going up their staircase.

Baby girl's gallery wall.  She put it all together and made most of the artwork.

This is a 16x20 print she made that is framed and hangs on the side wall by her bed.

We found this subway art at HomeGoods for a steal!

This is her TV/Desk area in her room.

Her dresser and cart from ikea.  She loves being able to move the cart to where she needs it.

This lamp was another HomeGoods find.

Another canvas she painted for her room.

Monogrammed canvases she painted for each of them.  They hang in their upstairs hallway.

As I mentioned in a previous post...she made good use of my craft room this summer!!!  I kinda miss walking by it with all the paint, canvases and brushes everywhere.  However, I think she has inspired me to get back to crafting!! LOL

The only difficult part of the trip was the fact that just before we left, both baby girl and I were put on gluten free diets by our doctors.  Turns out she has delayed allergies to wheat among other things (egg whites, honey, certain spices, etc) and I had been having stomach issues (mostly due to the fact that my stomach doesn't produce enough acid to break food down properly).  We managed.  We went shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joes back home and packed a box for her to take.  And, then once there we hit up the gluten free section at her local grocery store.  I am happy to report...she is not going to starve.  The girls made a "family meal" last  night...steak fajitas with peppers/onions served with rice and corn tortillas!!  Not the college food I remember.

 Hubby and I enjoyed a few days in Austin, and made a side trip to the San Marcos outlet mall (it is HUGE) where I scored a really cute pair of Tory sandals and Fredricksburg.  Hubby enjoyed walking through the Naval museum, and I enjoyed all the quaint shops along Main Street.

We returned home Saturday, but didn't stay home long.  We headed out to our local high school to watch the football team play an ESPN game.  Our oldest and her boyfriend joined us around half time.  Unfortunately, our team lost big time!!!

It has been awfully quiet since then.  We are slowly but surely getting back into our empty nest routines.  Poor Kylee misses baby girl.  She keeps looking out the window for her!

 Hope all are doing well!  Especially all my empty nest buddies who have just recently sent their kiddos back to college.