After a few crazy weekends we finally had a time this past weekend to spend at home.  We went to a pig roast, caught up on some spring cleaning and spent some time with Brandon’s family.  Now that were back to Monday, I wanted to pop in and share a few things I am loving lately.

Baby Besties – Last weekend we got away to Alexandria to catch up with some of my college friends!  We spent the weekend surrounded by babies. And I must say, weekends with babies look way different than our college days… and nights.

New High Chair – I was able to convince Brandon to make a pit stop at Ikea last weekend on our way home from Alexandria and grabbed a new high chair for AB.  We have a convertible chair that I highly recommend, but wanted something that could grow a bit more with her and would also free up a chair in the kitchen. Plus, this one breaks down for us to travel with.

Spring Weather – I don’t want to jinx it but I think we are headed for more sun than snow in the forecast and I could not be more excited.  It is a graveyard of dead plants and hanging baskets on our porch and I am ready for some nice weather to get the motivation to head outside and spruce it up.  I also can’t wait to add this new furniture to the deck and really enjoy some summer nights with friends out back!

Bathing Suits – Now I wouldn’t say I am loving bathing suit shopping, but I do love when I find a good one I like.  And bathing suit time means it’s getting closer to beach time, so I am loving that! I have scored a few great recent finds!

Starbucks Pink Drink – Apparently I have been under a rock, but I just tried the “Pink Drink” at Starbucks and it is delicious!!  Now the description, a strawberry acai refresher with coconut milk, sounded a bit… revoluting (milk and tea just did not sound good to me) but I am so glad I gave it a chance.  Hoping to hop into a Trader Joes soon to grab some ingrdients and try to make my own at home.

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Happy Monday!

The weekend is never quite long enough! So let’s reminisce on the weekend and pretend it’s not over just yet!

Friday at work was a day I have been looking forward to all year. I put together a summer concert series for the city I work in and this Friday’s band was a definite favorite! The Deloreans are a local 80’s cover band and boy do they put on a phenomenal show! Things went smoothly (despite the 90 + degree weather and lack of breeze) and everyone seemed to have a great time!

Saturday I got to spend the day with my best friend, Holly, and her sweet new baby boy Everett! Holly and her husband recently bought a home in Maryland but this weekend she was back home in Virginia Beach to visit family and I took full advantage for some baby snuggles.


It was a weekend of stormy weather with the best sunsets, and Sunday we spent a lazy day complete with Mexican, margaritas and a red box movie night!

Now we are back and ready for the week ahead!

A great weekend has led to a great week.  I have been dominating the to do lists and not hating it!  But oh if I could go back to the weekend I would in a heart beat…

Saturday we spent the day at home catching up on things around the house and I spent most of the day at the sewing machine work on some fun lift gifts.  That evening we had some friends over to watch the UFC fight.  I always love to have people over and spend a fun night in.

Sunday was my sweet friend Beth’s little girl’s first birthday!  Beth and her husband just moved back to the area from Cincinnati and I could not be happier they are close!  Baby Hazel was an adorable birthday girl and made the greatest mess with her birthday cupcake.

After the party I ran a few errands before heading home and I finally checked out a Whole Foods!  The one in Virginia Beach always seems so packed, so I was happy to run in to one that had just a few Sunday shoppers.  I was pleasantly surprised with some of their prices and products, but still need to head to the regular grocery store for the everyday basics.  But the fresh flowers and candy isle made it so worth it.

Sunday night as we were prepping for the week ahead, my in-laws stopped in to drop off two heaping piles of fresh strawberries.  They had been visiting Brandon’s aunt who had a full garden this year and they knew they would be just what we needed for our morning smoothies (and without having to pick them, I call it a win!).

Now back to dominating this week and crossing all my fingers and toes that the weatherin the forecast blows over!

The rain finally cleared up here (after a week worth of showers) and it started the weekend off right!

The hubs had to work at the fire station this Sunday so we invited the in-laws for dinner to celebrate Mother’s Day on Saturday.  We finally had a proper dinner at the house to break in the new kitchen chairs and I am always excited to play hostess!

 

I got to gift the DIY planter to my mother-in-law and she loved it and I loved the fact the plant didn’t die before we gave it to her!  I gave my mom hers when I made them, I couldn’t be trusted with the lives of 2 plants! ha

Sunday was spent at my parent’s house with my sister and brothers.  It is never a dull moment with all of us together and now my adorable niece gets to enjoy it all too!  (she is so stinkin cute!!!)

 

Hope you had a wonderful weekend, too!  Now back to the regularly scheduled work week….

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Christmas weekend!  A quick little recap here before we start prepping for the New Years festivities!

Brandon and I started a tradition a few years back of getting Christmas Eve pajamas to wear as we celebrate Christmas Eve night at home.  This year I added our monograms to make them a little more special.

Our tree went ornament-less this year due to a light string that didn’t work and a busy holiday season.  There is something about the simplicity that I really loved.

Found this gem of a picture at my parent’s house from the December I was born.  I am pretty sure this needs to be framed and added the Christmas holiday decor next year.

Brandon had to work Christmas day this year.  He left the house bright and early, so after watching my nephews open presents at my sister and brother-in-laws with the family, the boys and I headed over to visit with Uncle Brandon and the other firefighters.  Gabriel, the oldest, had a blast seeing all the trucks and getting a chance to ride inside.  Jack, on the other hand, may be the only 4-year old in history to be entirely unamused with the whole thing.  There is a playground in the park right beside the firehouse and once Jack saw the slides and swings he was dead set on getting a chance to play and wanted nothing to do with the lights and sirens.

So after a quick visit (and a stop at the playground) we headed back to my parent’s house to open presents and have Christmas dinner.

The most popular present under the tree was the pie face game!  A simple concept and a can of whipped cream had everyone laughing so hard!

Dinner had a table full of family and friends and was a great ending to a very merry Christmas!

I hope you and yours had a very merry Christmas too!  Now back to a short week and goal setting for a whole new year to make wonderful!

What was your favorite part of Christmas?  And have you played the pie face game yet?!?

And we are back to Monday!  The weather was unseasonably warm last week, I am talking 80 degrees in November, so I am looking forward to the cooler weather that is coming this week.  Break out the blanket scarfs and boot socks!

But first, a quick look at the past weekend.

Friday I ran into Target and snagged one of the new Sugar Paper Co. for Target planners and I am a little obsessed.  I am very particular about my yearly planner (I could go on and on about planners… total organizer junkie here) and was pleasantly surprised how much I liked the planners this year.  And with a $12.99 price tag, you can’t go wrong.

Friday night we headed with my in-laws to the local Mexican restaurant for nachos and margaritas, yum!

Saturday morning I was excited to have one of my best friends over to visit with her little ones.  Beth and her husband have been living in Ohio the past few years and now they are moving to Richmond and will be so close now.  I am so happy they will finally be close again, and I know they are happy to be close to family!

made this little treat for Beth to have when they move in to their new house in two weeks… coffee is always necessary when unpacking!

Saturday night we headed to Brandon’s Aunt and Uncles for a bon voyage party for his uncle who is headed out on deployment with the Navy.  It was so nice to see them and be able to wish Nate well on his cruise.

Sunday I attended a local work conference at the oceanfront (could be worst places for work meetings) which included a social hour with yummy treats and drinks.  I love the work I get to do and meeting people who work in the same field in a social setting was a great end to the weekend.

We are back to Monday after a great weekend spent with family and an endless feed of friend’s little ones in costume filling up Facebook!  But it’s my BIRTHDAY so that makes Monday a little easier to bear, especially when you get to enjoy your free birthday Starbucks too!

red cups…it’s officially Christmas time

Here’s a peek at what we were up to this holiday weekend (though I use holiday loosely… if you don’t get an extra day off work, does it really count?!)

Thursday I kicked off the weekend helping a co-worker put on a “Yappy Hour” social at the local dog park.  What’s Yappy Hour you ask, oh just adorable dog’s (in costume… because it’s a holiday, right) and booze for the owners!  I was excited for a reason to put on a Halloween costume this year and the scarecrow costume I mentioned last week was perfect!

We had my family over on Sunday for a little dinner for my birthday, so Friday was spent prepping my cleaning game plan and clearing out the DVR with Brandon.  We cleaned out the fridge by drinking the last of the Coney Island Root Beer we had picked up when friends were staying a few weekends back.  We grabbed these when we couldn’t find Not Your Fathers Root Beer at our local grocery store and think they are pretty delicious!

Saturday I was in full cleaning mode and then crashed on the couch at night for a Halloween movie with Brandon.  I also took a cleaning break to dress our dog in his best Halloween costume to send a picture over to my nephews who had sent us theirs.

Mid-yawn but I swear it looks like he is yelling “fire!!!”

And Sunday’s dinner at our house was a perfect way to celebrate the big 2-9.  A big “thank you” to my mom for pre-making the lasagnas… because otherwise it would have been frozen pizzas!  It was so nice having everyone over at our house for a change.

Sunday night I straightened up the house…again, ran the dishwasher, and headed to bed ready to take on a new year!!