Update on #READSavannah

What an AMAZING experience! First, I had the privilege of attending a meet & greet with Marybeth Whalen and Ariel Lawhon of SheReads, along with Ann Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy. This event took place the day before the Moveable Feast luncheon that was hosted by these lovely ladies.
When I purchased the ticket for this event, I had no idea what to expect. I knew Liane Moriarty of The Husband's Secret, What Alice Forgot, Big Lies Little Lies, and Truly, Madly, Guilty was the keynote speaker, however, I had no idea she would actually wind up sitting at our table! What a joy it was to meet her. She is cute, funny, and very witty. She talked to us about her family and her work. To say that I had my "fangirl" on, goes without say.
So, the luncheon went like this... every 10 minutes the authors would rotate to tables of booksellers and readers. We had the opportunity of having 10 authors sit at our table and discuss their books in the following order:

• Mary Alice Monroe - A Lowcountry Wedding
• David Casarett - Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness
• Sharyn McCrumb - Prayers the Devil Answers
• Tosca Lee - The Progeny
• Janet Nolan - Seven and a Half Tons of Steel
• Liane Moriarty - Truly, Madly, Gladly
• William Ferris - The South in Color: A Visual Journal
• Ben Westhoff - Original Ganstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Easy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West coast Rap
• Kathleen Glasgow - Girl in Pieces
• Robert Olen Butler - Perfume River

At the end of the rounds, there was panel interviews with the authors. I really enjoyed this as well, because it gave us an opportunity to hear from the authors that did not cycle through our table. After each panel interview, we had time to purchase their books and have them personally signed. I had absolutely no shame in my "fan girl" moment by asking to take pictures with each of the authors. 

Can we talk about how well this event was put together?! There was never a lull moment. Everything moved smoothly. There was a great variety of authors present. Ariel, Marybeth, and Ann did a great job of interviewing the authors. E. Shaver Booksaver of Savannah, Georgia did a great job of organizing the sale of the books. Making the sales move quickly, so that we had time to visit with each author, while having our books signed. Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to visit this lovely bookshop, because of our limited time in Savannah. I will, have to make another trip just to visit the actual shop. The food was great, the service and location was perfect. It was great to be surrounded by so many book loving people. I met and sat with the sweet Bethany of Bookreviewmama.

Needless to say, my TBR pile just got larger!

At the end of the day, Marybeth made an announcement that they would be putting on another event next year in New Orleans! Guess where I'll be next year...you betcha...New Orleans!! 

Well, moving on to my next adventure on this journey to 50 will be Orlando for EPCOT's Food & Wine Festival. I hope you will join me by following me either here on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook! :)

Our Trip To Savannah

After all the back and forth about going to Savannah or not, I am so glad we were able to go. What a beautiful city. I love how the live oak trees cover the cobble stone streets and sidewalks. On our way to Savannah, we detoured into Brunswick and found this quaint 50s style burger joint called Hwy55. On our first night had a lovely dinner at The Pink House, a highly recommend spot with great reviews. Although, we weren't crazy about the food, the service and atmosphere made up for it.  We stayed at the Hilton Homewood Suites with a beautiful view of the Savannah River.

The following day Louie spent the day playing golf, while I attended the #READSavannah luncheon. (I will have a separate post about the AMAZING experience I had meeting some of my favorite authors tomorrow.) Before heading to my event, I took a trolly ride through the city and got some sightseeing done. We had dinner at a very unique pizza place called the Mellow Mushroom down the street from my event. The pizza was delicious! As we headed back home on Monday morning, Louie drove me by Juliette Gordon Low's home. She was the founder of the Girl Scouts in 1912. I had always wanted to take my Girl Scout Troop there, but never made it out to Savannah. As part of my journey to fifty, I finally made it!!

READSavannah, Here I come!

Wow! What a rollercoaster ride to get to Savannah. First, we are going, then we aren't, then we are! Tropical Storm Julia almost caused me to miss what I had been looking forward to since May.
My friend had sent me an email about #READSavannah, where Liane Moriarty one of my favorite authors is going to be a keynote speaker at this conference in Savannah, Georgia. After I bought my ticket, I was over the moon excited to find out there would be many more authors at this conference. Needless to say, I was all over it! I pulled together some friends and my sister to join me. Unfortunately, they weren't able to go with me. So, I asked my husband if he would take me. We have never been to Savannah and I thought we could make it a romantic new adventure, which of course goes along with my #forgingfifty and our #LandGbucketlist of visiting new places together. As I mentioned before, we were on, then we were off, now we are on! So, check back or follow me on Instagram at Simplygina2 for our adventure in Savannah and my personal adventure at #READSavannah.

Disney In A Day

A few years back, my mother and stepdad decided to pack and move to Orlando to live their dream of owning an RV and living in the Fort Wilderness Camp Grounds. Well, it didn't quiet turn out that way. They didn't move into Fort Wilderness, but they have spent many weekends there camping in their RV. They did, however, get part time jobs at Walt Disney World. One of the perks of working at this magical place are free entrances for the cast member and a few of their families/friends. On special occasions, they receive extra entrance passes that do not require them to be at the parks with their guest. So, my mom informed my youngest daughter, Leanne, that she had 5 passes that needed to be used before the end of the month. Of course, Leanne immediately jumped on them. She invited a few of her friends on a day trip. While she and her friends enjoyed their time at Epcot and Animal Kingdom, I spent the day with my older daughter, Gianna. We hopped over to the Magic Kingdom, where I met some of her friends...Aladdin and Jasmine.

Any how, I had a lovely day with my daughters and their friends. Both my daughters have made some really good friends. I'm blessed to have the privilege of getting to know them. It's even nicer when they don't mind you hanging out with them. Probably, because I'm there, but not there. I'm not all up in their faces all the time. I try to give them their space. :)

There is something that can be said about spending time with your young adult children...they keep you feeling young! #forging50 #documentingmyjourneyto50

Sleeping Is An Important Part of One's Day!

We took a walk on the Hollywood Beach Boardwalk with Gianna in order to get her out of the house. She had been stuck inside for days, because of the removal of her wisdom teeth. We grabbed some ice cream and then headed home.
After many nights of not sleeping well, we did it! We purchased a Serta, icomfort adjustable king size bed. It will be delivered tomorrow. Some people purchase big items during their midlife crisis. We...purchase a comfortable bed. After all, we do spend a third of our day in bed, don't we? Sleeping is a pretty important part of one's day. I'll keep you posted on how much we love or dislike our new bed.
Come back and visit. I'm headed to Orlando with Leanne and a few of her friends. Looking forward to meeting Aladdin in Agrabar! :)

On My Way To Fifty

So, it's official. I am on my way to my 50th birthday. I couldn't be more excited! 

Last year, Louie semi-retired from the Fire Department. We celebrated with a trip to Las Vegas in October. We used part of his retirement money to do some much needed upgrades to our home. Including the purchase of a pool table that now sits in the middle of my living room. In January, we celebrated Louie's 50th birthday in Las Vegas with his brothers and their significant others. We had a great time. In March, Louie treated my parents to a cruise. My sister and her family joined us. In May, Louie and I took a trip to Biloxi, Mississippi to celebrate our anniversary. It was a nice short getaway. In July, we took a trip to San Antonio and Austin, Texas with Louie's brother and sister in-law. Probably, one of my favorite trips. It was nice to get away and not worry about the girls. Gianna was home in Orlando and Leanne was away at a summer internship. Which brings us to August and my 49th birthday! My sister and her family along with a few of my friends got together for dinner at our favorite hang out place, Chilis. It was a fun evening. With the closing of my 49th, I made a decision to document my journey towards my 50th birthday. So, here we are...

With my 50th comes a lot of changes. For starters, Leanne will be leaving for college, which will make Louie and I empty nesters. Louie will be more then likely officially retired in October of next year. That means, I will have him home more often. I will go from spending almost 8 hours a day alone to sharing my time with someone. Although I'm looking forward to spending more time with him, it will be an adjustment period. As I approach 50, changes are occurring with my body. Some good, some not so good. Because of these changes, I have decided to make every effort to get into shape in order to stay healthy. I have also made a decision to document my journey on this blog, as well as on my social media accounts. I would love it if you came along this journey with me by following this blog and my other accounts. I hope to have links up on my sidebar soon. Please check back soon!