This may have been the best weekend of all time. 
So much family time, so many good meals, great friends, lots to celebrate and one of the best festivals in Greenville made for a jam packed, but amazingly fun, weekend. 
The remnants of Hurricane Matthew changed up a few things and my Mom was able to come to Greenville on Wednesday evening for a very long weekend stay. My Dad flew in on Friday morning to meet her here and we all spent the weekend basking in Grandparent glory.
I hit the office on Thursday so Gray got to have one on one time with his Mamie. On Thursday night, my mom sent Justin and I out for a date and it was perfection. Greenville weather is Heavenly this time of year and Downtown is the place to be. We started the night with drinks upstairs at Nose Dive, moved to apps outside at Nose Dive and then managed to sneak into Trattoria Giorgio for the first time (we’ve wanted in for years!). Justin had the insanely delicious Bolognase and I actually had the filet special (it’s no secret that I don’t love pasta). I basically sopped everything I could find in Italian Olive Oil and followed that up with my favorite red from the Barbera region. 
As soon as my Dad arrived on Friday, we made a bee line for the airplane park

and then home to show off our newest obsession (a Melissa and Doug clock, courtesy of his other amazing grandparents) and for a little applause while being pushed around the yard. 
I can’t stop laughing at that picture! She’s literally clapping for Gray as my dad pushes him around the yard! That has got to be the most grandparent thing ever.
Nap time claimed both the toddler and the weary traveler so Mom and I took advantage of the opportunity to squeeze in mani/pedis and a little wine time. 
 
I really, really wanted to take Gray out to a farm outside of town to pick out pumpkins, but by the time Justin got home and we all loaded into the car, I realized that the pumpkin farm closed at 6 on Friday – and we were pushing 5:30. I decided that I was the only who even cared about going to a farm for pumpkins and that Gray would be just as happy in the church parking lot patch down the road from our house. I’m so glad I let that all that craziness go because he had a blast sitting on, pushing, rolling and trying to pick up every singly pumpkin in that lot. 

 
My parents got to be with him while he ran amok and I managed to score a really great family photo. Basically, all of my mom fall dreams came true and we didn’t have to hustle out to TR to make it happen.
After pumpkins, we rewarded ourselves with Pizza (Sidewall, of course) and called it an early night in prep for the Clemson game the next morning.
On Saturday, Justin and I hit the road for Clemson at 8am and spent the morning tailgating with friends and their families from out of town (who are like family to us as well). I actually didn’t lug my camera to the game, so no pics (I’m sure you’re relieved, this is a pic heavy post!). Because it was a noon game, we made it home in time to hang out with my parents and watch the night games before passing out embarrassingly early.
On Sunday we had to say goodbye to my parents – which we hate to do. To ease the pain, we immediately walked to coffee and then had naps. Naps are the cure for all. 
Thankfully, the weather was beautiful so as soon as the baby was up, we made our way downtown for our favorite festival of the year, Fall For Greenville. And let’s be clear, it’s our favorite because we eat our way through it. Local restaurants serve their best dishes in small bites and most whip up a new, signature dish for Fall For Greenville. 

 I love discovering new to me restaurants or, even better, to be reminded of places we should go more! We made sure to grab the award winning pulled pork and pimento cheese biscuit from Tupelo Honey and a S’mores ice cream sandwich from Sidewall but without a doubt, this year’s personal favorite was CityRange Steakhouse Grill. Their Tuna Wontons were so good that we circled back and got another round.
 We pulled over next to their tent to eat and let the baby rest in the shade and happened to meet the owner of CityRange who is just the kindest man. He took a break from manning the grill to whip up a tiny serving of ice cream for Gray and let me try their desert special – vanilla ice cream mixed with blood orange olive oil and chocolate balsamic vinegar. When you mix it together, it tastes like a Creamsicle/the most amazing thing on Earth. 


We will be heading to CityRange this week, just to have more of those Tuna Wontons, I can promise you that! 
We ended the weekend laying in our bed, snuggling, playing puzzles and watching Dabo’s latest press conference. I can’t sum it up any better than to say it was one for the books.