Glass Blowing at Hot Glass Alley

I had back to back adventures this week, since they were postponed from our crazy weather earlier this year! I had done this at Dollywood, but it wasn’t very hands on, so I wanted a more involved experience.

Hot Glass Alley was definitely what I needed! I chose fire colors to go with my word of the year: Phoenix​

The pics loaded out of order 🤣 I got to blow through the tube while Paige kept an eye on my ornament.

Here is where I put my ornament when it was first forming. After I rolled the hot glass in the color crystals, Paige helped me put the ornament in the fire (maybe not the right word) to heat it up so it would melt together. 

Then we brought it back to the table to form it some more and then roll it in the color crystals some more. They are basically little bits of colored glass.

We decided on a swirly pattern, so Paige made sure to twist it in the fire to get the desired effect. Once the ornament was perfect, Paige brought it over to this table, to literally knock it off of the pipe. She did the hard part with the tools, I got to knock the pipe to make the ornament pop off. A little stressful, but I was in good hands!

Look at those swirls! It is ready for the hook! I can’t remember this nice guy’s name, I’m so sorry HGA Dude! He put the “hook” on so it can hang from my tree, or possibly from a display stand. I haven’t decided yet. She said the colors will brighten as it cools.

 Now that it’s all done, it’s put into a kind of kiln. She totally told me what it was called, and I immediately forgot. Menopause brain is real, y’all. It will slowly cool in there over a period of 7-10 days and then they will ship it to me. 

I cannot wait to see the final product! 

Have you ever tried glass blowing?

House of Purge

This week​‘s first adventure was the House of Purge. This was rescheduled from one of the snowy weekends that shut down charlotte earlier this month. It could not come at a better time. Your girl truly needed to break some stuff.  

It was a rainy day and this really broke up the gloom. Their sign is epic, and the counter art really got me in the mood.

First I got to pick my bat. I picked one that looked the least beat up. Some of them have been through some serious stuff. Then I was given a tub full of mugs, glasses, and bottles to whack with the bat, plus a whole printer. I wasn’t thinking much of it, I was honestly more excited about the smashing. Little did I know that the printer would be my favorite part!

Yes, that’s a huge chunk of an organ back there, or maybe a piano? Every time something hit it, it made the best noises. Very satisfying. 

First I smashed the dishes. It was lots of fun and it was satisfying, but that printer…. Damn. That was epic.

I did take some whacks at the car, mostly the front of it,  but it wasn’t as much fun as the printer. It was pretty much destroyed already!

The printer though. Let’s talk about that. After I smashed the dishes, I went for the printer. Plastic. Glass. Electronics. It had them all. I kept flipping it to get at different parts of it. I took a break to go at the car, but then I went back to the printer. It was absolutely the best part. Who knew?

Safety equipment! I was given rubber gloves to wear under the work gloves, plus the face shield. I was also offered a cape, to protect my shirt, but I opted out. 

Have you ever been to a rage room?

Wordless Wednesday

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Fiction Friday

​whoa, I haven’t done one of these in weeks! Buckle up, here we go! 

Shirley was excruciating. Characters were brought up randomly and never seen again, moments were stretched out way longer than they needed to be, and then she wrapped everything up in one super quick chapter. I was not a fan 🤣

I love these books! The series is really long, and has multiple authors. Each book more or less stands alone, but every once in awhile, they criss cross or continue in the next book. If you like steamy books with curvy witches and hot monsters, this series is for you! 

I was a beta reader for his book. It hit a  little too close to home in some respects, but I could not put it down. It most definitely was not a love story, although maybe you could consider it being a story about loving yourself enough to walk away.

I kept hearing that I had to try John Marrs. I finally borrowed this one from the library, and I’m glad I did. It was super involved, very twisty turny, and the ending was insane. I cannot wait to try another one! 

Ohhhh I’m going to have a hangover from this one! Kenzie is just the sweetest girl, and she definitely does not deserve the heartache that this book starts off with. Enter her roommate Trevor, the cinnamon roll catcher, who just wants her to be happy. So many almost moments, a nice slow burn, before we finally get to see them connect. Throw in a couple of cats, a spoiled pig, and just the right amount of drama, and you’ve got the perfect baseball romance! I could not put this down tonight, I just had to finish it! ⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️

This Nancy Drew was pretty good. The mystery was really interesting, lots of history in there, a little bit Indiana Jones, and nothing too far fetched. 

I’m obsessed with the Shop Around the Corner and You’ve Got Mail, so this one was so much fun to read! A little touch of enemies to friends to lovers, lots of swimming content, plus the mention of the Olympics while the Winter Olympics is on was a lot of fun.  I love the crossover with the previous book in the series, but if you haven’t read it, you won’t miss anything. I loved Talon and Livvi together and watching them grow as people. The other characters provided comic relief and they were all so well done. I could not put this down!

I’ve had this one for awhile and I finally brought it out! A fun opposites attract story. I wasn’t sure I would like the FMC at first, she was a bit of a spoiled little princess (literally) but she definitely grew on me. It was a lot of fun, had some great tropes in it, and the HEA was very sweet!

What did you read this week?

Dambo’s Trolls

I’m not gonna lie, this is mostly a photo dump. I’ve wanted to see Dambo’s Trolls for months now, ever since my daughter saw some in New Jersey! There are a bunch of them in Asheville, which is a 2 hour drive from me. Weather has kept me away for a month now, and today was finally going to be the day! 

I had a hard time falling asleep last night. This has happened a lot over the last 8 months. The house is so quiet, especially since my son moved out. I’ve never in my life lived totally alone, so it’s been a huge adjustment. Sometimes I just can’t turn off my brain, and since I’ve lived alone, it’s been even harder! 

Add to that, my little dog Nugget has Cushings, and she’s starting to exhibit more symptoms. One of which is excessive thirst. At 4 a.m. Luckily for me, she woke up at 5:46 this morning, but after falling asleep late, I knew there was no way I was driving 4 hours round trip when I was already tired.

As much as it pained me, I settled for the one Troll in Charlotte. His name is Big Pete and he was very hard to find! He lives on the edge of a brand new development, and not all of the roads appear on gps. I persisted, though, and I found him!

Now I want to see more! The ones in Asheville are coming down this week, so I will have to do some research and see where else they are! 

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Have you seen any of Dambo’s Trolls?

Galentine’s Day Axe Throwing

​This was my first Valentine’s Day alone in over 35 years and I knew I would need my girls to get through it! They did not let me down! I thought axe throwing would be cathartic, so we booked a couple lanes at Craft Axe Throwing to start the night off. 

My friend Christi painted this bottle of Prosecco for me. She’s so talented!

Everyone wore flannel, how cute is this?! It was so soft and comfy as well. 

Of course we had to get a group shot! 

What’s a friendly competition without prizes? I found this cute ornament to act as the trophy for the highest score.

And I put together goodie bags for everyone else. 

Then it was off to Firebirds for dinner and drinks.

This chocolate martini was divine. 

So blessed to have these ladies in my life! 

Have you ever gone axe throwing? Did you celebrate Galentine’s Day this year?