Better Together

Our Home- Before

2012-02-01T12:20:00.022-05:00

I'm getting ready to begin posting pictures of our new home. We've been here a year this month and it's about time I did some sharing :). Unfortunately, I lost all the before pictures (not sure how), so these are the listing photos.

OUR HOME- BEFORE

Random

2012-01-24T10:36:00.012-05:00

I haven't had much to blog about, just little randomness.

- We booked a trip to Disney World for Olivia's first birthday this September. We are both so excited to take her. I know she's young, but Tom and I love Disney World and we haven't been since our honeymoon almost 6 years ago. When we sat down to talk about vacations this year, we kept coming back to Disney World. After talking to a few friends who have been with one year olds, we decided to do it.

- Since booking our trip, I've been obsessed with looking for outfits for Liv to wear on our trip. So far, my favorites are this one, this one, and this one.

- While I was looking on etsy, I found this cute St. Patrick's Day shirt I'm thinking of getting Liv. And maybe this Spring one too.

- Since Olivia likes her Owl so much, we picked up some other Lamaze animals for her. We got Jacques the Peacock and Mortimor the Moose. Owl is still her favorite, but she definitely likes the other two. We are definitely a fan of the Lamaze toys.

- I think Liv is ready to sleep unswaddled. She can get her arms out and is starting to fight being put in the swaddlers to begin with. I think I am going to give it a shot tonight and see how it goes.

- I'm obsessed with baby gap for Liv. This girl is always looking so stylish and I'm just in my jeans and sweatshirts. I need to start putting myself together a little more.

- Next month, Liv will be taking her first plane ride. We are going to California to visit my family. Olivia gets to meet my three sisters and brothers who haven't met her yet. She gets to meet my Dad and Stepmom, her great grandparents, and her cousin, Maddison. I am so excited. I'm a little nervous about the plane ride though. If you have any tips about flying with an almost 5 month old, I would love to hear them.

I think that's it for today. I plan on starting to blog about our home since we've been here for a year and I still haven't shared pictures. I am definitely working on it.

Olivia- 4 Months

2012-01-23T09:04:00.005-05:00

Dear Liv,

The fact that you are now four months old is truly mind boggling. How can you be four months old? Where did my little baby go? Everyone says it goes by so fast, but you don't really understand how fast until you have your own baby.

I love spending my days with you. Sure, some days I can't wait for Daddy to get home so I can have a moment to breath, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. This time with you is so special and I'm so honored that I get to watch you grow every day. You truly make my heart happy. You are the sweetest little girl, so chill and laid back for the most part. You've made a new best friend in Bailey. You are always looking for Bailey and talking to Bailey. I love it and he does too. Sadie is still a little afraid of you, which makes you unsure about Sadie. We are working on it and Sadie is starting to get to be much more comfortable around you.

Liv, you are 14 lbs 2oz (66%) and 25" long (81%)! Where did that tiny girl go? You are getting so big. You are still sleeping through the night. I keep hearing about that 4 Month Wakeful period though so we will see. We celebrated your first Christmas and we can't wait to do it again. Hopefully this time you'll be a little more awake :).

Things you are doing at 4 months:

You are OBSESSED with your hands. They are always in your mouth. You are getting pretty good and bringing things to your mouth too. I'm pretty sure you're the only baby in the world that does NOT have a thing for Sophie the Giraffe. She's the one toy you are just not interested in.

You are sleeping in your crib for most of the night. You go to bed between 8:30 and 9:30 and sleep in your crib until 4-5AM before you come into our room.

You are doing amazing at tummy time and you are still rolling from tummy to back like a pro!

You like to "scoot". You use your legs to push yourself around and love that you are making yourself move.

You love to be sitting and standing all the time. You love the bumbo seat and if you are on some one's lap, that person better help you stand because you'll shriek until they do.

You are quite the chatterbox. You talk to me and Daddy, but nearly as much as you talk to your owl or Bailey. There are times if I wonder if you and Owl are fighting by the way you yell at it. With Bailey though, it's always sweet. If you could have Bailey by your side 24 hours a day, I think you would be in heaven.

You are such an amazing joy, Olivia. I've never been so happy and I love being your Mom.

Love,

Mama

my life planner

2012-01-16T08:11:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Megan over at Girl Meets Life, I have an amazing new planner from Erin Condren. I had seen her post about this life planner and was intrigued. When Tom gave me some fun money as part of my Christmas present, I immediately thought of this planner. It took a little push and a heads up about a sale from Megan, but I finally ordered it and I'm in love. This is seriously the best planner I have ever used and I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to Erin Condren products now.

Thanks Megan for the push, I'm loving my new planner!

5 Highlights of 2011

2011-12-29T09:18:00.000-05:00

We had an amazing year. God has blessed us in so many ways. As I'm getting older, I seem to be forgetting what happened in each year. Sure, I remember them, but not the year they took place. So I decided to share my favorite moments from this past year. I want to remember the good and the bad, the things that defined our year.

1. Finding out I was pregnant! {February 1st}

Tom and I waited a long time to get pregnant, we wanted him to be finished with law school. We were married 4.5 years when it finally happened. Tom knew before I even tested, I was a little less sure. When I came out and showed Tom, he wasn't surprised, but honestly I was shocked.

2. My Baby Shower {May 2011}

Obviously it was Dr. Suess themed. :) I had an early shower when I was only 20 weeks along because all of my family are in California. This was the only time I would be able to get out there. Because of some blood pressure issues, I wasn't cleared to fly after this trip. I also got to announce the sex of our baby at the shower, inside was pink cake!

3. Moving into our new house in a new state {February 2011}

In January, we bought a new house in Virginia. It's only 45 minutes away from where we were living in Maryland, but we were so excited to make the move to VA. The day after we moved in is when my morning sickness started and the house sat the way it was until I was 20 weeks pregnant. We've done so much since them and I plan on sharing it all in the new year.

4. The birth of our daughter, Olivia Autumn {September 22, 2011}

Needless to say, this is our top highlight of the year. We are so in love with this little girl and are enjoying watching her change and grow. God has truly blessed us with her and we are so thankful for her. She also happens to be the prettiest baby I know. :) And while this was the happiest day of my life, it was also one of the saddest. My grandmother passed away the same day.

5. Olivia's First Christmas {December 2011}

She's only 3 months old, but we loved sharing Christmas with Olivia. It was fun to watch her eyes light up and the sight of Christmas trees and dance around while singing Christmas songs. It was an amazing day and season for all of us and we can't wait until next year.

Olivia's First Christmas

2011-12-28T08:32:00.000-05:00

We had such a great time celebrating Olivia's FIRST Christmas. It was a low key day, just the way I like it. Because Tom has so few days off of work, we haven't travelled to visit family the past few years. I am homesick for a California Christmas, hopefully soon. My father-in- law came from Georgia to join us and I think it was a nice time for all. I took about 400 pictures and just have a few to share with you guys.

Merry Christmas...

2011-12-25T14:26:00.001-05:00

....from our family to yours!

Olivia/Olivia

2011-12-23T08:04:00.001-05:00

We gave Olivia one of her Christmas presents early. She hadn't shown an interest in the toys we have, so we ordered this one from amazon. It's called Olivia the Owl and our Olivia loves it. If you have little ones, we are big fans of the Lamaze brand. They have so many great toys.

Olivia- 3 months

2011-12-22T08:32:00.005-05:00

Dear Livvy,

How have you been here for 3 months now? I think I'll say it every month, but I just can't believe it. These past three months have been some of the best of mine and Daddy's lives. We can't remember life without you. You are becoming such a big girl, it's crazy! I was just asking Daddy the other day, what happened to the little baby we brought home from the hospital?

According to our scale, you weigh 13lbs, 6 ounces. You are such a happy baby. You are always content, it takes a lot to get you upset. Daddy and I know that something must really be wrong if you cry. You are definitely a mellow girl. You've become quite the smiley baby as well. My favorites are your morning smiles. The smile I get when I pick you up out of the bassinet makes my heart so happy. I love it.

I love staying at home with you. We are so blessed by that. We do so many things together. We dance and sing (you especially love Christmas music), we read books, play peek a boo, blow raspberries, and of course tummy time. We had such a break through with tummy time. Just one day out of the blue, you liked it. You held you head up and lifted your chest off the ground. You have even started rolling from tummy to back! It's crazy how fast you are growing.

Things You Are Doing At 3 Months:

Rolling from tummy to back! So proud of you!

You are smiling at us all the time, and not just because it's a random smile. You are deliberately smiling at us and we love it.

You now expect raspberries at every diaper change. If you keeps you from getting upset when I have to change your diaper, I 'm more than happy to oblige.

You have started sleeping through the night. You go down at 10:30-11 and sleep until 7-7:30. It's amazing. Knock on wood! I hope it continues.

You've started sucking and chewing on your hands. You've also decided you like Mama and Daddy's hands too. You prefer hands over your pacifier now.

You've started to chat a little more. I say chat, but it's actually random little screams and it's adorable. You are just too cute!

It's been another amazing month Livvy! We can't wait to celebrate your first Christmas in a few days. You have been spoiled my sweet girl. Daddy and I are so blessed to have you. We love you more than anything, our little girl.

Love,

Mama

Olivia- 0 Months

Olivia- 1 Month

Olivia- 2 Months

Olivia- 3 Months

{ I tried to get her to smile while I was taking her picture. She would smile and as soon as I lifted up the camera, she would stop. This is as close as I got :)}

Christmas DIY

2011-12-21T09:56:00.004-05:00

Surprisingly, I found time to do a few DIY things for the holidays. I love to be crafty, especially at Christmas time. Thanks to etsy and pinterest, I now have a source for endless inspiration.

First, I made cookies for Tom's office. I love to bake. Tom is not a sweets person. This is a problem for me. Christmas gives me the perfect time to bake and Tom can take the sweets to his office. This year, I made sugar cookies, molasses cookies with vanilla glaze, soft gingerbread cookies with white chocolate (the recipe came from Miss Leah), and vanilla glazed apple cookies. And surprisingly, Tom loved the apple cookies.

Next I made this ornaments, I explained how I made them in my Christmas Decor post. My mom and I saw them on etsy and knew we could make something similar. I love how they came out and they look great on our tree. We made about 12 of them and it was the perfect amount.

Source: timmonsfamilylemonade.blogspot.com via Kari on Pinterest

And finally, I made a wreath for our front door. I forgot to share this in my post on our Christmas decor. I kept seeing versions of these wreaths at different stores. I knew that I could get the same look for a lot cheaper.What I did was buy a wreath form from Michael's and hot glued red and silver ornaments and curly q's that I got at JoAnn's. This year, instead of using a metal wreath hanger, I took inspiration from this on pinterest and used a ribbon. I love the look. Total cost: $8, gotta love that!

Did you DIY anything for Christmas this year? I would love to see!

Christmas at the O'Connells 2011

2011-12-20T08:29:00.013-05:00

This is our first Christmas in our new house and it was also the first year we decorated the outside of our house. I think Tom did a great job. :) I love this time of year and I love our new neighborhood. We have a lot of decorated houses to enjoy right outside our windows.

Another exciting thing about our new house is we have 2 Christmas trees, one in the dining room and one in the living room. We are planning on a third next year in out basement that will be Olivia's tree. Our two current trees are themed and very "grown-up". The basement tree will have colored lights and kid ornaments. I'm so excited even though that is a year away, haha.

This is our buffet in the dining room. I usually have more to the little village, but some was misplaced during our move and I haven't taken the time to locate them.

Yes, you see that right. We moved our thermostat, patched the wall, but we haven't painted it yet.

Our basement has a fireplace, but we haven't done anything to it since we moved in in February. Its a finished basement, but it's empty at the moment. Next years the stockings will be down there, but for this year, they are hung on a wall in the family room.

Our dining room tree is a red and silver tree that we've had for a few years. It's a little more "formal" than our family tree. Basically, it's just for show.

And this is our family tree. It's got more of a rustic Christmas theme with brown, gold, and red ornaments. I love this tree and I love every single ornament on it. Since it would be insane to show you every ornament, I picked three of my favorites.

This gold sparkly one catches the lights so perfectly in the dark and it makes me smile.

These are my DIY ornaments. I made about 12 of them when my mom and stepdad visited in October to meet Olivia. We got red and white striped fabric and tea stained it. I got whiffle balls from the dollar store and some jute twine. Then we ripped the fabric into strips and wrapped them and hit glued them to the balls. We used to the jute to hang them. I love the way it turned out.

This is our family ornament this year that I got from etsy. It's my absolute favorite. The seller did a wonderful job on it. I know I will cherish it for years to come.

And here are my two loves enjoying the Christmas tree. Olivia loves the lights. She's on,y going to be 3 months, but I'm already enjoying the season more because of her. I know each year will become even more fun than the last. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Olivia's 2nd Month In Pictures

2011-12-19T08:09:00.001-05:00

Olivia- 2 Months

2011-11-30T09:41:00.018-05:00

*I'm a week late, but with Thanksgiving I just got too busy.

Dear Livvy,

Wow! Two months already! It's crazy, but I can't remember life without you. We had your two month appointment and you have grown so much! You weigh 11 lbs, 10 oz. (86% for your age) and you are 23.25 inches (74% for your age). We are loving all your baby rolls and we just can't get enough of you. You fit perfectly in 0-3 month size and we probably don't have much longer until you are in 3-6 month size. You are almost too long for your bassinet and I think in a few weeks we'll be transitioning you to your crib! You have been doing great sleeping at night. The past few nights you've slept from 11pm-5am, woke up to eat, and then went back down until 7:30am. It's been amazing. Everyone is definitely feeling refreshed around here.

We took you to see Santa on your 2 month birthday to beat the crowds. You were so funny and cracking everyone up. You were sleepy, which was fine. We put you in Santa's arms and you closed your eyes. Santa said he could put his finger up to his month to make the shushing motion since he was holding a "sleeping" baby. Well you had other plans. Anytime Santa started to shush, your eyes popped open. When Santa would bring his finger down to take a regular picture, you would close your eyes. Santa and the elves thought you were a silly girl.

Things you are doing at 2 months:

You are smiling up a storm and becoming quite the little flirt. You bat your long lashes and melt even the puppies hearts. No one can resist it.

You love to touch Sadie and Bailey's fur. You've definitely come around to them in the last month. You even smile when you see them.

You still hate tummy tome, but you are getting quite good at it. More out of frustration than anything though.

You LOVE your bumbo seat. I think you like feeling independent. You sit there whipping your head back and forth trying to take everything in. I love watching you be so curious.

You love to "stand". In fact, when we do it, we end up doing it for at least an hour or you become upset. You are growing so fast.

You love your pacifier. When we give it you, you snatch it away like we were purposely keeping it from you. It cracks Dad and I up.

You love when we blow raspberries on your tummy. You attempt to laugh (not quite there yet) and move your whole body in excitement. In fact, you've started to enjoy having your diaper changed as long as we throw some raspberries in there.

We love you Liv and we can't wait for this next month. It's crazy how fast you're growing, but Dad and I are enjoying the ride.

Olivia- 0 months

Olivia- 1 month

Olivia- 2 months

Random

2011-11-17T11:07:00.009-05:00

- Olivia is 8 weeks old today. This just blows my mind. These past 8 weeks have flown by, but also been slow at the same time if that makes sense. I can't imagine life without her.

- We've finally been getting some sleep around here. Liv has been sleeping 5 hour stretches and only wakes up once to eat. It had made a world of difference for me. I'm not as high strung or stressed like the first month (sorry Tom!).We are starting to settle into a nice routine and everyone is happier because of it.

- I put up my Christmas decor last week. I know it's early, but when Liv and I were at Target she was completely entranced with the Christmas trees. She has a thing for lights. So who was I to deny her the joy of being able to stare at her own Christmas trees? This year we have enough room for two trees and she loves to just stare at them. I love it.

- After tons of research and trying on baby carriers, I've finally ordered one. We went with the Britax Baby Carrier. Its supposed to get here tomorrow and I can't wait to use it this weekend.

-I'm so excited for Black Friday this year. I definitely need some new clothes. I'm back down to my pre-pregnancy weight, but none of my clothes fit right anymore. I definitely plan to hit up some of the sales.

- These isn't too much going around here. Just hanging out with the baby. I wish I had more to blog about, but I'm sure that everyone isn't as interested in Liv's daily movements and interactions like I am. ;)

things i've learned- baby gear

2011-11-09T13:38:00.010-05:00

We are almost 7 weeks into parenthood and I've learned a lot about baby gear. I always loved these posts before Olivia and thought I would weigh in as well. Of course this is just my experience and Olivia's preferences.

1. Olivia hates, HATES the moby wrap. I thought she just had to get used to it, but she just flat out hates it. I'm looking into other carriers. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them.

2. Olivia loves her bouncer. Like most new moms, the bouncer is the only way I get a shower while Tom is at work. If she's at all fussy, the bouncer is the answer. She immediately stops fussing and becomes so content. She also has a swing but hates it. She gets so upset if we put her in it.

3. I'm in love with Babylegs. If we are hanging out at home, Olivia is usually in Babylegs. It makes diaper changes quick and painless. Olivia also overheats easily so pulling off the Babylegs are a quick way to cool her off.

4. The rocker is a life saver. Since Olivia sleeps in our room, we moved the rocker from the nursery to the nook in our room. I love feeding and rocking my baby in it.

5. My iPhone keeps me sane during late night feedings. I especially love the pinterest app. I also use my phone to keep track of Olivia's feedngs, diaper changes, and naps.

6. The boppy is also a must have for us. We use it for feeding and to prop Olivia up. She loves to be propped up to look at the world around her.

It's not a long list, but luckily for us Olivia is such a content baby. I'm sure as time goes on, the list will get longer. We are enjoying our sweet girl so much.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T17:08:00.003-04:00

Happy Halloween! I usually like to share my Halloween decor way earlier than this, but with a newborn, I'm barely squeezing this in before the end of Halloween. I love, LOVE Halloween. This year though I'm lucky I was able to put anything up at all.

I had grand plans for these spider webs. Part of that was to actually finish putting them up and to add some scary spiders. These two bushes were as far as I got. Maybe next year?

My Mom made me this sign. In fact, she made a lot of my Fall/Halloween decor.

She made me the Frankenstein and the stacked pumpkin.

She made me a cute Mummy family (there are two more on the other side).

She also made me this cute countdown sign. We saw it on pinterest and gave it a go. Sorry, I don't have the link. I emailed it to my mom and forgot to pin it.

Another thing I did last minute was carve our pumpkin. As you can see, Olivia was more fascinated by the chandelier than with the whole pumpkin carving business.

And here's the best shot I got of my little pumpkin with our pumpkin. I usually like to carve something scary, but since it was Olivia's "first" carving experience, we went with a cute bat kitty.

Happy Halloween from Olivia the Pumpkin! We hope you all enjoy, stay warm, and stay safe!

blog your heart {a challenge}

2011-10-26T09:50:00.009-04:00

I saw this on one of my favorite blogs by Stephanie Howell. I love how honest Stephanie is and she is such an inspiration to me. She's a military wife, a mama to four beautiful girls, an awesome scrapbooker, and an all around beautiful person.

The idea behind blog your heart is simple. You blog your heart. The only "rule" is to be authentic. Such a simple idea, but I love it.

1. I love being a Mom, but it's honestly not what I thought it would be. I spent so much time researching and deciding all the things I was going to do as a mom. We are a month in and you know what? I don't think a single thing has worked out the way I had planned or thought it would. It's been really hard for me to surrender that control.

2. My parents came to visit and meet Olivia last week. It was so great having them here. I loved being around them and seeing them with Olivia. When they left, I cried off and on that weekend. I'm sure it was partly hormones, but it hurt my heart to see them go. It's so hard living away from family. Especially when there is a huge milestone in your life like having a baby.

3. I'm happy with how my body has bounced back from pregnancy and the c-section. I'm about 10 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight, which is good. The thing is is I wasn't happy with my pre-pregnancy weight. I have my 6 week appointment next week and I can't wait to get the all clear to exercise (and take a long, hot bath).

4. Tom is such an awesome Dad. He's so much more confident in the parent role than I am. I'm constantly worried I'm going to mess it up BAD! I'm working on that though.

5. I've become addicted to Cherry Coke Zero to help me last through the day. Such a horrible habit, but I need the caffeine to stay awake. I'm thinking of picking up a coffee machine to switch over to a coffee addiction instead of a coke addiction.

I feel like a lot of times blogging, you only want to put out the parts that look good. This actually made my heart feel good.

Check out Stephanie's blog your heart post here.

Photo Card

2011-10-25T12:13:00.002-04:00

I ordered Olivia's birth announcements from Shutterfly. Right now if you create a project with shutterfly and blog about it, you can get $10 off your next order. I have a bazillion empty frames around my house and can't wait to start filling them up.

Memento Monogram Pink Baby Announcements

Shutterfly has cute birth announcements and cards for Easter.

View the entire collection of cards.

Olivia's First Month in Pictures

2011-10-25T07:07:00.000-04:00

Olivia- 1 Month

2011-10-24T12:58:00.000-04:00

Dear Livvy,

How can you be a month old already? It seems like just yesterday we brought you home from the hospital. I can't even imagine that you were in my belly. It's crazy!

We had some rough spots those first few days at home, but the more I'm getting to know you, the more I'm falling in love with you. I love how when you hear my voice you look for me, even if I'm across the room. It melts my heart. You are the sweetest little girl and such a good baby. You are perfectly content the majority of the time. I'm really starting to get the hang of things and I'm starting to enjoy the little moments with you. I have to admit though, I can still get uptight when it comes to things having to do with you. I just want everything perfect for you. I'm learning that I'm doing my best and that's all that matters. It's so cliche, but I never thought I could love someone as much as I love you Livvy.

Things you are doing at 1 month:

You love seeing the world around you. You hate tummy time, but when you are up on our shoulder you love lifting your head and looking around. In fact, since you've been born you have been awesome at holding your head up. It won't be long until you can do it all the time.

I love watching you sleep. You look so peaceful and I feel like all is right in our little world.

You hate having your diaper changed. It's one of the only things that makes you cry.

You have definitely found your lungs in the last week. You used to just fuss quietly, but you found your voice and you use it. Luckily for us, very few things upset you.

After a few baths that caused you to cry, you are really starting to enjoy bath time. The only time you cried with your last bath is when we took you out!

You are on the verge of outgrowing your newborn clothes. That makes me so sad! I can't believe you are on your way to 0-3 months full time!

You HATE being burped. Absolutely hate it.

Your puppy dogs are so in love with you, especially Bailey. Bailey is so protective of you. He growled at your Oma and Papa if they were walking anywhere that you were. You on the other hand, are a little unsure about those puppies. You hate their cold noses and kisses, but they love giving them to you.

You love sticking your hands in your mouth. It's just your thing.

It's so amazing to watch you grow and learn my sweet girl.

Olivia- 0 Months

Olivia- 1 Month

Love,

Mama

Suggestions?

2011-10-11T17:20:00.001-04:00

Cloth Diaper Mamas-

Olivia appears to be allergic to her Bumgenius diapers. Anywhere they touch her she turns bright red and gets little bumps. I've tried stripping them to make sure it's not the detergent (Rockin' Green). I'm guessing it's a reaction to the micro suede.

Right now, I have her in disposables. Does anyone have suggestions for cloth diapers that do not have micro suede?

Olivia- 0 Months

2011-10-05T14:11:00.000-04:00

Livvy,

It's hard to believe we've been home from the hospital now for a little over a week. It's been scary and amazing at the same time. You have brought us so much joy and it feels like you have always been here. You are the most precious baby girl and I can't stop kissing you. We love you more and more every day. We can't wait to watch you learn and grow. The difference from the hospital to now is already astounding. We love you so much Livvy.

Love,

Mama

Olivia Autumn

2011-09-28T15:49:00.012-04:00

For those of you who aren't Facebook friends, Olivia Autumn made her way into the world on September 22nd by emergency c-section at 37 weeks, 6 days. As the days go by I find myself forgetting the little details so I'm mostly sharing Olivia's birth story so I have it written down and preserved. It didn't go as I had wanted it, but I have a beautiful, healthy daughter and at the end of the day that's the only thing that matters. By the way, this has been slowly coming together since we've come home from the hospital.

{my beautiful baby girl}

On Wednesday, September 21st, I had my normal weekly appointment. My Doctor was on vacation that week and I was seen by another doctor in the practice. Just like the week before, I had made no progress. Olivia's head was low, but that was it. I'll admit I was a little disappointed because I was tired of being pregnant. I definitely did not want her to make her entrance before she was ready, but I also wanted to know that my body was getting ready and that we were nearing the end.

That night I was having more trouble falling asleep than normal. I was just feeling restless. After tossing and turning and watching really bad TV, I finally fell asleep at about 1:00 AM. At 2:00 AM I woke up to a small gush and was pretty upset. I thought that I had reached a point in pregnancy where I could no longer control my bladder. I got myself up and cleaned everything up, put on a pad and tried to go back to sleep. I could still feel a little leaking here and there, but it didn't even occur to me that my water may have broken. I started to feel some contractions, but they were 35-40 minutes apart and lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes. From everyone I talked to and everything I read, this made me believe that my body was finally "practicing" since I hardly had any Braxton Hicks. Finally it was morning and when I sat up in bed, I felt another small gush. This time, I investigated it a little closer and realized it wasn't urine and that I was possibly leaking fluid. I told Tom what was going on and got on the phone with the my doctor's office. I was told to come in right away and to bring my hospital bag just in case. SCARY! And to be honest, my bag wasn't fully packed. Since there had been no progress the last 2 weeks, I assumed I was going to go late like many first time moms.

Tom and I ran around, getting dressed, trying to finish packing, and get the dogs in their kennels. I was still convinced that we would be coming home after we saw the doctor. When we got to the office, they brought us in right away to see one of the practices' doctors. When the doctor came in he asked me if today was the day. I laughed and said that I didn't know if it was. He responded that it couldn't be the day because I was too happy and comfortable. As soon as I put my legs up in the stirrups, I had the big gush of water that you see in the movies right on the doctor! I was so embarrassed and felt horrible. The doctor laughed and said they were going to swab just in case, but I was going to be heading to the hospital that morning. After a positive swab, the nurse called the hospital and let them know we were on our way. This is when I started to get a little panicky. I wasn't ready. I had been telling myself I had a few more weeks and here we were, about 2 weeks early and my water had broken. Tom was amazing with getting my head in the game and telling me that it was all going to be alright. I really don't know what I would have done without him being the calm influence I definitely needed that day.

We got to the hospital and the doctor I had seen the day before was the on call doctor. That was another relief because even though we had just met the day before, we got along great. My contractions were still 40 minutes apart and we got hooked up to the monitor to keep a better eye on them. After about 6 hours, my contractions were 30 minutes apart, all back labor and painful, and I was still one centimeter dilated. At this point, it had been 12 hours since my first small gush of fluid, which was what they used as the official time of my water breaking. Because there had been no progress, we decided to go ahead and start pitocin and start an epidural. I had wanted to go natural for the birth, but I had heard so many stories about labor on pitocin and because the contractions I had been having were all in my back, I decided that an epidural was the way to go.The epidural was definitely the way to go for me and I'm happy with my decision.

{Me, before the epidural}

After a few hours, I went from 1 centimeter to the full ten. I was surprised at how quick it happened. I pushed for two hours before things starting going downhill. I developed a fever of 102. I had the shakes, was lethargic, and starting to fall asleep between contractions. The doctors started to worry about infection and we tried pushing a little bit longer until Olivia started showing signs of distress. At this point, I didn't care how Olivia got here, she just needed to get here safely and it wasn't going to happen naturally. It wasn't worth the risk to her and it had become a risk to me as well. Because of this, we went ahead with the emergency c-section.

The c-section went surprisingly smooth. I had built it up in my head to be this big, bad scary thing and while it was still scary, I had complete trust in my doctor. Olivia Autumn made her entrance on September 22, 2011 at 10:45 PM weighing 7lbs, 9oz. Luckily, she was just fine after the c-section and my fever went down shortly after. She is just amazing. I don't think there is any other word to describe her. I look at her and just feel amazement. I also have to say that Tom was amazing through everything. I don't think that I could have had a better partner. He was my calming and reassuring force through the entire thing. I really am just so thankful for him.

{Olivia, making her way into the world}

{Our first family picture}

{Olivia and Dad}

{Me, holding Olivia for the first time after the c-section}

If you made it through that, I'm shocked! Lots more pictures to come soon!

Hawaiian Crockpot Chicken

2011-09-13T08:02:00.000-04:00

To go along with my lack of nesting, I've also haven't been cooking much. I'm been looking around on pinterest to find some recipes that could inspire me. Meredith pinned this recipe for Hawaiian Crockpot Chicken and I decided to give it a shot.

Source: sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com via Meredith on Pinterest

The verdict? It was actually pretty good though it did have some unexpected spice to it. Definitely something that I'll make again. With a baby and Fall coming, I'm all about the crockpot recipes.

ORB Flower Urn

2011-09-12T11:36:00.001-04:00

When we moved into our new home in February, there was an ugly urn next to the front door. I really hated that urn and vowed that as soon as the weather turned warm, I would do something about it. Next thing I knew, I had made the couch my new bed and spent 16 weeks with morning sickness. Once I was over morning sickness, there was a whole house to repaint and decorate and the ugly urn continued to sit by the door.

A few weeks ago I got the urge to do something about it. I went to Home Depot, picked out some spray paint, and brought the urn to the backyard for it's makeover.

Yup, at some point this pot had been repaired and started growing moss? It was in major need of an update.

I donned my protective gear, got to keep this baby safe!

You don't take random belly pictures when you are about to spray paint? No? Just me, then? I don't know that it is being pregnant, but if I have a camera in my hand I automatically take a belly picture. Don't mind my dirty mirror, this is the basement bathroom and this is literally the third time I've been in it since we've moved in. Don't mind the silly dog in the background either. That's my Bailey Boy and anywhere I go, he goes.

This is the spray paint I picked up at my local Home Depot. I was going for oil rubbed bronze and decided to try this metallic finish. I like things that sparkle. By the way, have you seen the Target commercial where the cute teacher says the kids will need lots and lots of glitter? I love that commercial. If you haven't, here it is. She makes me want to go back to school.

And here is my finished metallic-y ORB flower urn. I'm really digging it. It's definitely better than the terracotta moss thing I had going on earlier. And I know it may be early, but I already picked up some mums for my pot. Mums are one of my favorite parts of Fall and I justified it by writing this post. I couldn't blog about it if I didn't have flowers, could I? ;)

Olivia's Room- Reveal

2011-09-08T17:27:00.005-04:00

I figured since the first room that I worked on in our new home was Olivia's room, it should be the first room that I reveal. Plus we are just a few weeks away from her arrival (!!). The room isn't 100% completed (there are nothing in the frames), but I haven't found exactly what I wanted and I refuse to settle. Besides that, everything else was exactly how I wanted it (Thanks Tom!).

Alright, I think this is my most picture heavy post ever, so let's get going.

Here we are standing in the doorway with the flash. This is probably the truest representation of the color, Pale Daffodil from Behr.

{rug from ikea}

And here it is without the flash. Forgive the poor lighting, it's been raining non-stop this entire week.

{Graco Charleston Crib}

As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to go with gray and yellow regardless of gender. I would use blue/teal or pink as an accent color once we found out what we were having. Obviously, we went with pink. :)

{wall flowers from target}

One of my favorite parts of the room are these wall flowers. I love how they turned out.

{bedding from TipToe Studio}

I couldn't find a yellow and gray bedding set that I liked so I searched on etsy (I love etsy) and found TipToe Studio. She created exactly what I wanted and I couldn't be happier. (And because I know someone of you might be concerned, the bumper is for looks only. She won't be sleeping in there for a while).

{chair and ottoman from target/amazon}

This is seriously the most comfortable chair I have ever owned. I've been using it as a reading chair since we got it a few months ago. I just love it. The pillow matches the bedding, also from TipToe Studio. The little toy bin is from Homegoods.

{table from ikea}

You can see my boppy in this picture. I love the print, it's just so happy and girly. The lamp is from Homegoods.

{night light from ikea, same except ours is white}

And this adorable nightlight is from ikea. I should have taken a close up picture of it.

{print from vol.25}

Vol.25 is one of my favorite shops on etsy. In fact, the very first etsy purchase I ever made was from her shop. I just love her art prints. This one in particular seemed appropriate for Olivia's nursery.

{knob from anthropologie}

{shelves from ikea}

I picked up this picture frame from target and then hot glued various pink buttons to it. I think it came out cute.

My Mom made this frame for Olivia.

I also made this yarn wreath for her shelf. And of course she had to have the famous Sophie the Giraffe.

These are some books from our childhood and Olivia's Dad needed to make sure she had at least one golf book in there.

This bear plays Olivia's heartbeat. We got it at an elective ultrasound I had with my family when I went to visit them in California. I love it, I could listen to it over and over again.

My Mom also made these name blocks for Olivia. I think they turned out so cute!

Diaper pail! I can't wait to put the cute fluffy cloth diapers on her.

{changing table from amazon}

I know a lot of people opt for a dresser instead of a changing table, but the changing table made the most sense for the shape and size of the room.

{knobs from anthropologie}

These knobs from anthropologie are one of my favorite things in the entire room. They are just gorgeous knobs.

{frames from ikea}

I have NO IDEA what to put in these frames. At first I had scrapbook paper, but I wasn't really feeling it. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Her cloth diapers are prepped and ready to go in white baskets we picked up from ikea, not on their site. How cute are those diapers though? We went with the bumgenius newborn.

Pajamas, socks, babylegs, slippers, and onesies... all ready for our little girl.

The bottom drawer holds her cloth diapers (bumgenius 4.0) for when she's a little older.

Her closet is pretty full. We are so blessed and have clothes from newborn all way until she's a year old.

And one last look at the completed room. I'm so happy with how it came out and I can't wait to bring Olivia home to it!

Olivia's Room- Sneak Peek

2011-09-08T17:00:00.002-04:00

Crafting

2011-09-08T09:26:00.003-04:00

I don't seem to have been hit by the nesting bug, but instead the crafting bug. My house can be a totally disaster and I just want to sit at my craft desk and make something. I guess crafting is a form of nesting, but I really should be getting things ready for Olivia (officially 1 month until her due date!).

I complained on Facebook the other day that since we moved into a house that's twice the size of our last house, it seemed like I did not have any Fall decorations. I was convinced for a good 15 minutes that we must have lost some in the move. But the truth is, more space means my decorations did not go as far. So I headed down to the basement to my crafting nook and dug through my supplies and remembered something I saw on pinterest, yarn candy corns. I'm not a fan of candy corn, but these were just too cute.

Source: pattyschaffer.typepad.com via Kari on Pinterest

Here is my version. I went with colors that were a little more muted than the inspiration, but I'm loving them. They look perfect on our buffet.

What about you? Have Pinterest given your any inspiration lately?

Waiting for Fall...

2011-08-12T14:36:00.000-04:00

This summer has been brutal. We've experienced record temps and I have just been completely uncomfortable. I'm so ready for Fall. I need the crisp air, the beautiful leaves, mums, pumpkins, cozy sweaters and most important of all, my little girl. Since Olivia is due October 8th, I've been stalking pinterest for Fall/Halloween decor ideas I can work on before she gets here.

Source: sunsurfer.tumblr.com via Kari on Pinterest

Source: 5orangepotatoes.com via Kari on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Kari on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Kari on Pinterest

Source: skiptomylou.org via Kari on Pinterest

I'm so addicted to pinterest lately. You can check out my boards here.

lots of home stuff...

2011-08-10T13:55:00.002-04:00

I know that I haven't been posting and I have a good reason. My house has looked like this:

After almost SIX months in our new house, we have been painting like crazy! I have lots of pictures to show you and I'm so excited. PLUS the nursery is almost finished! I can't believe Olivia will be here in just TWO months! SO CRAZY! This pregnancy has flown by. I remember when I had morning sickness and I thought it would never end and now we are in the home stretch!

July Goals

2011-07-01T09:02:00.000-04:00

Back to the monthly goals! :)

1. Paint, paint, paint! We need to paint the main living area and it's big.

2. Finish the frame wall in the guest bedroom.

3. Find some art/ knick knacks for the nursery.

4. See the last Harry Potter movie.

5. Celebrate our 5th (!!) Anniversary.

25 Weeks

2011-06-27T15:02:00.004-04:00

First off, sorry for the mirror. Wow, I need to clean that! I can't believe that we are 25 weeks in! The first trimester really dragged on, but now we are flying. Overall, I've been feeling pretty good. My feet have been swelling, but mostly because of all the humidity. I've been drinking ice water like it's going out of style and anything Mexican. I can't get enough of Mexican food. Tom has definitely had to develop a taste got it. Now on to Olivia...

From My Weekly Email: " Your baby's body parts are continuing to become more proportional to each other. Baby fat is also continuing to fill in your baby's wrinkled skin for a smoothernlook and more hair is growing, developing texture and color."

How far along?: 25w 3d
Weight gain?: 15 pounds
Stretch marks?: Only on my boobs :(
Maternity clothes?: Bottoms- YES! I can still get away with some of my longer tops.
Sleep?: Sleep is pretty good. I get up at least twice a night to use the bathroom, but I easily fall back to sleep.
Food Cravings?: Ice water and Mexican! YUM!
Gender: A little girl, Olivia Autumn!
Movement?: Pretty consistent and I'm loving it!
What are you looking forward to this week?: Getting some things done around the house and a relaxing weekend.

Notables: Tom is heading down to Georgia this weekend for his Dad's 60th Birthday. I wasn't given permission to travel so I'm going to be home with the pups this weekend. I'm trying to figure out what I want to do. Right now I'm thinking working on the front and backyards. I've only done the bare minimum this year- mowing, pulling weeds. I think I'll take the time to add some curb appeal.

Happy Birthday Maddison!

2011-06-18T11:42:00.002-04:00

Happy 1st Birthday to my beautiful niece, Maddison. We wish we could be there with you. We love you so much pretty girl!

Random

2011-06-16T20:42:00.001-04:00

-This is how my house has looked since we moved in, bright yellow walls and random paint samples everywhere. Tom has been working a lot and I was sick ALL THE TIME. I really want the house to feel like our own by the time Olivia is here, so we have started the painting process. So far we have the kitchen nook, guest room, and nursery painted. This weekend we are painting the master bedroom. And do you want to know a secret? The most decorated room is the nursery.

-Tom got me an iPad for my birthday and I'm obsessed with it.

-This is my favorite kind of mail to get right now. Totally makes me smile.

- How can these guys be 3 and 4 years old already? What happened to my little puppies?

- My favorite thing right now? Feeling my baby girl move.

Where have I been?

2011-06-13T18:44:00.003-04:00

Where have I been? After promising to blog more this year, I promptly dropped off the radar screen. Life has been hectic, changing, and going at a lightning pace. On February 1st, I found out this:

Can I just tell you that I had the worst morning sickness? From 6 weeks until 20 weeks I was just out of it. I barely left my couch or bed and was sick more than I have ever been in my life. Luckily, that seems to have passed now, thank goodness! The last 3 weeks have been 100% better than where I was. Here I am at 23 (!!) weeks!

I can't believe that we are 23 weeks along with our LITTLE GIRL, Olivia Autumn! We are beyond excited and can't wait for her to make her appearance in October.

There is much I want to blog about. We moved from Maryland to Virgina (only 45 minutes away) in February. We haven't done much with our new place since moving because of all the morning sickness, but now I'm on a mission to have our home painted and decorated before Olivia gets here. Expect lots of posts soon!

January Goals

2011-01-06T15:10:00.000-05:00

I'm a little late to posting my January Goals, but better late then not at all! I'm starting out simple this month to ease back into it.

January Goals

1. Work on Project 365. Basically take a picture every day this month.

2. Organize my pictures within my iPhoto.

3. Get rid of things that we haven't used in 6 months. Hopefully this will help lighten the packing when we finally move.

4. Clean and organize my craft room.

5. Try a new recipe.

2011 resolutions

2011-01-06T08:44:00.000-05:00

Besides the typical eat better, exercise more, be more organized resolutions (which are also on my list by the way), I wanted to put some more thought into my other resolutions. After choosing my word, {fearless}, I knew that I really needed to sit down and think about what I wanted to accomplish this year.

1. Make a monthly goals list and post it here on the blog. I used to do this over a year ago and kind of decided to give it up for a while. I realized that I accomplished so much more during the month when I put my goals down on paper. I'm definitely going to enjoy this one.

2. Project 365. I started this last year, but unfortunately only made it half way through before life got in the way. I'm definitely renewing my commitment this year. I loved looking back at the photos even though I only made it through June. Our lives have already changed so much and I love the reminder of things we wanted to capture those days. This year I'm using Project 365: Turquoise Edition.

3. Introduce myself of all of our new neighbors. Hopefully (fingers crossed) we'll find our next home soon. We've been looking and have put in a few unsuccessful offers. After we move in, I plan on introducing myself to our neighbors and good to know some people in our new neighborhood.

4. Find and join a book club. I love, love, love to read. It's so relaxing to me. I would love to find a book club to join and have some fellow books loves to talk with about the newest books. By the way, I just finally joined the Harry Potter band wagon and I LOVED them. Such amazing books.

5. Take more pictures of us. This was always part of my resolutions last year, but it was a big fail. I started out okay and then it kind of just filtered off. Hopefully this year I'll be a better about it.

I think that's going to do it for me this year. Not too many, but maybe I'll be more successful this time around. Did you make any resolutions this year?

my word: { f e a r l e s s}

2011-01-05T16:14:00.002-05:00

Last year, I started choosing a word that I want to use to impact my life for the year. (Read about it here) Last year, I chose relax. I didn't do as well as I hoped with it unfortunately. I still like the idea though and so I'm going to continue it this year with a new word.

This year, I'm choosing FEARLESS.

The reason why I chose this word might seem a little odd. It comes straight for the Taylor Swift song "Fearless".

I love this song, it perfectly describes how I feel about Tom. While that' s amazing, I need to feel fearless on my own as well. Tom makes me braver than I have ever been. I'm a worrier, I'm cautious and sometimes I just need to throw things to the wind and know that God will take care of me. I will end up exactly where I'm meant to end up. This year, I'm going to try to give up a little control and be a little fearless with my life. What's the worst that could happen?

Back in 2011

2011-01-01T16:07:00.002-05:00

After being away for the majority of 2010, I'm feeling the call to blog again. I'm not sure if I even have any readers left, but here I am. I just need an outlet. 2010 was an eventful year for us. Tom graduated law school and started his new job as an associate at a local law firm. We went on our second cruise of the year. Our very first niece, Maddison, was born.

We had so many good things happen in 2010, but there were also some bad. The worst being that I was diagnosed with mild depression. Probably part of the reason I lost interest in blogging to begin with. Nothing happened to make me "depressed", it's just one of those things that can happen. My doctor was amazing and now I'm feeling like myself. I can't even tell you how amazing that is. I think I may have let it go on a little too long thinking I was just in a funk.

Lately, everything was been good. We are house hunting in Virginia, yay! We live close to the Virginia border and Tom's office is in Virginia so it's a smart move. We've bid on two short sale homes that we liked, but unfortunately they weren't meant to be. We are still searching in our ideal neighborhood and thinking of putting in an offer on a place that we like. We are waiting to see if any more homes come on the market now that the holidays are over.

Today, the very first day of 2011, we are in a good place. We are excited for our future, excited for a move, and for the things we hope to accomplish this year. If you are still reading this blog, I'm so glad to have you with me again. And if no one is reading, that's okay too. I think it will be a great place to just put my thoughts.

Happy New Year to you all!

road trip

2010-06-04T12:34:00.000-04:00

Tom graduated on a Sunday and on Monday we were on our way to Georgia for a road trip. It's been a while since we've gone to visit Tom's family so we decided to take the few days after graduation and before Bar studying to make a visit. Atlanta is one of my favorite cities and I love when we have a chance to pay it a visit.

Tom wasn't exactly thrilled with me taking his picture.

After 9 hours in the car, we crossed the Georgia state line, WOO HOO!

We hit up all my favorite places in Atlanta, like The Varsity. Honestly, not the best food, but I can't pass up a visit to this Atlanta institution.

After lunch, we hit up The World of Coca-Cola. We hadn't been since they opened this new one 3 years ago so it was definitely a must on the list. Tom was acting as my own personal paparazzi, following me and taking all the pictures he could get.

I'm a huge Coca-Cola fan though right now I'm limiting myself to the occasional Coke Zero. I also am a huge fan of the Coca-Cola Santa. I loved all these pictures of Santa through the years.

We also made sure to sample different sodas from around the world. Some were really good and others... not so much. We still had a blast though.

Next up? The Georgia Aquarium. I can honestly say that every time I visit Atlanta, I visit the aquarium. I just love to see those whale sharks.

We saw sea turtles...

and otters....

and watched the whale shark feeding...

and we saw some beautiful jelly fish.

The next day, Tom and his Dad went shopping and I spent the day with Janet, my FIL's girlfriend. We visited some antebellum homes in her town of Newnan. We had lunch at the cutest tea house which is rub by an adorable, elderly British woman. We went and saw Sex and the City 2, which we both thought was just okay. The first movie was definitely better and then we did a little shopping.

I have really been into Vera Bradley lately and when Tom's cousin showed me her bag in this "Make Me Blush" fabric, I was smitten (thanks Kimmy!). I asked Janet to take me somewhere to pick up my own bag. I ended up getting the bag, matching wallet, and make up bag. I'm just in love with this fabric. I had such a great day with Janet and I hope we are able to do it again.

I forgot to mention that on the way down to Georgia we stopped to do some shopping at the Prime Outlets in Gaffney, South Carolina. All the stores were having great sales and I picked up some really cute things (like the outfit above) from the J. Crew outlet. Thanks Tom for all the new clothes that I probably did not need! :)

Sadly, we only spent a few days down in Georgia. We had to get back home so that Tom could start Bar Prep. We decided to make a stop at Bojangles somewhere in South Carolina. On the way down to GA, we kept seeing Bojangles signs and decided to give it a try on the way home. The biscuits were awesome, the chicken... okay. I'm glad we stopped and tried it out though.

Later that night we made it home. We were both exhausted and slept in the next day. We picked up our puppies from the doggy hotel and they were just as exhausted! They seriously slept for the majority of 3 days after we got home. I guess they had a great mini-vacation too! :)

this make me happy...

2010-06-03T16:36:00.002-04:00

Tom has graduated law school! I'm so proud of him, my heart is literally bursting. Tom's Dad, his girlfriend Janet, and his grandfather and his wife Fran all came in for the big day. The night before we had a celebration dinner at Ruth's Chris.

{from l to r: me, Tom, Fran, Grandpa, Janet, and FIL, Tom Sr.}

It was a dreary, rainy day. The graduation was moved inside, so only FIL and I got to go inside and watch the main part of the graduation while the rest of the family watched on TVs in the tent behind us (in the picture below). Luckily, the actual handing out of the diplomas was broken into smaller groups and everyone was able to see that.

Tom, I'm so proud of you. You have done an amazing job the last three years and I know there are only good things ahead for you! I love you.

an update on life

2010-05-06T15:48:00.002-04:00

It's been over a month since my last post. I've been really bad at blogging this year. What is so odd is that I really do enjoy it. It just seems to fall at the bottom of my list. When I do sit down to write a post, I have been feeling uninspired. I feel like I have nothing to say. As this last semester of law school winds down, they're just hasn't been a lot to blog about.

When we moved here almost 3 years ago, it seems like this day would never come. I could literally not even imagine it happening and yet here we are. In 3 weeks, Tom graduates from law school. Ten years of higher education finally complete with a bachelor's, a master's, and a JD. It's almost like I don't know what to do without Tom going to school, ha ha! All the things that we have been talking about over the years, it's finally time to sit down and discuss them seriously. It just blows my mind that we are finally at that point.

I'm so ready for things to change, but at the same time, I hate change. I'm ready to move, but everyone once in a while I panic about leaving our cozy townhouse. I want to have a baby, but I have the constant worry of not being ready. I'm a worrier by nature. I can't help but worry. It drives Tom crazy. I have gotten better about it, but it still creeps up every once in a while. I know what I have to do, I just need to do it.

We have so many things to look forward to this summer. Our little niece, Maddison, should be here next month. Tom's Graduation. Road trip to Atlanta to visit Tom's family after graduation. Our cruise in August. It's going to be a great summer and hopefully I'm be blogging a bit more. Thanks for listening to me ramble on guys. It feels good to just put my random thoughts out there. And because I hate writing posts without pictures, here is my beautiful sister and one of her maternity shots.

{photography by allison hays}

project 365

2010-03-29T10:20:00.000-04:00

I've been doing well on Project 365, surprising since I've been without a camera most of the year. There have definitely been a lot of iPhone pictures. I thought I'd share a few of my favorites from February and March.

{2/10} First trip out of the house after 2 consecutive blizzards. I hate grocery shopping, but Whole Foods has never looked so good.

{2/13} I decided to use my "cheat" day from the Eat-Clean diet for an early Valentine's Dinner with my hubby. We shared this amazing Mountain High Mud Pie from Red Robin. Yummy!

{2/1} I picked up these comfy slippers from Target and they are awesome. I love the faux fur lining and the cardi-gray material, just to cute.

{3/8} Some new scrap supplies that I picked up. I love the colors and can't wait to give them a try.

{3/5} We picked up a new tug of war toy to keep the puppies busy while we worked on Spring Cleaning. They loved it!

easter cards

2010-03-26T10:17:00.000-04:00

I've always loved scrapbooking, but in the last year I've really gotten into card making. I just find it so relaxing. If I'm feeling stressed or overwhelmed, I head on up to my scrapbook room and just create something. I don't know how to describe it other than it's a complete release from whatever is bothering me. That's when I know I choose the right hobby for me. I'm slowly getting into sewing and I think I'll find it relaxing when I actually get the hang of it. Right now, I find it frustrating :).

I wanted to make some Easter themed cards before I left for California so that I could mail them out when I got home. It was a great excuse from packing and laundry to get away for a little bit.

Now I have some Easter cards ready to send out to friends and family and I'm feeling more relaxed to boot!

What do you do when you are stressing out?

crate and barrel

2010-03-24T10:14:00.000-04:00

I have been in love with Crate and Barrel for years, but C&B made me love them even more when I found these vases. Besides the awesome colors, they were only $30 for the pair! A total steal in my opinion. The green vase is staying in the dining room and the yellow vase will make it's way to the bathroom after I give it a paint job. I'm slowly bringing in new colors to the house and I love it!

p.s. Happy Birthday to ME! I'm 26 today! I can hardly believe it!

birthday gift

2010-03-22T09:44:00.000-04:00

My awesome FIL got me an awesome point and shoot for my birthday. While on our cruise, I realized how badly we needed a new point and shoot. We've had the same one since Tom bought it in 2001. That's before I even graduated high school. Crazy! It was an Olympus and because it's still in perfect working order, just not as high quality as we see now, we decided to stick with Olympus.

{amazon}

This is the Olympus Stylus Tough and I love it. It's shock-proof, weather-proof, and water-proof up to 10 feet. It's going to be perfect for our next cruise in August and I couldn't be more grateful to my FIL. He is one good guy. He made sure I had it before I left for California because I'm still without my dSLR. I'm truly grateful that I have an awesome FIL.

liberty of london

2010-03-19T09:08:00.000-04:00

Have you all been to Target lately? I'm obsessed with their Liberty of London collection. I am definitely loving their bold floral prints. I went to Target on Sunday, the debut of the collection and my Target was almost totally cleaned out. It was crazy. I picked up this top to wear to my sister's baby shower this weekend. Totally cute, fun and perfect for the 80 degree weather here.

Since most of the Liberty of London items were sold out at my Target, I checked the collection out online and loved what I saw. I even made a wish list for some things I want if I can ever find them in stores.

I love this top, it's so Spring-y and fresh. I love the pattern, love the ruffles, and love the color.

I also have a thing for their storage bins. I've been in an organizing mood and these cute storage bins make me want to organize even more.

Ugh, these plates. I love these plates. I've been on the lookout for some fun, every day plates and these just might be it. I don't know how Tom will feel about the floral pattern though, ;).

I am also loving these glasses. I've been wanting to start collecting various glasses to form an eclectic collection instead of the boring plain glass ones I have now. I know that seems silly, but I'm definitely on the search for more pattern in my life.

What about you guys? Have you seen any Liberty of London items that are a must have?

in love with j.crew....

2010-03-17T09:52:00.000-04:00

....but not with their prices. I'm totally in love with the embellished cardigan look and I've been obsessed with finding knock-offs recently, which a new thing for me. In regards to clothes, I usually shop where I can afford, which is usually Gap, and pick out what I like from there. This is the first time I've tried recreating a look I've seen somewhere else.

{j.crew}

I found these embellished cardigans at Old Navy and though they don't match the one from J.Crew, they still have the feel that I was going for. And for only $26.50 each compared to $98 for the J.Crew cardigan, I think it was a pretty good compromise.

{old navy origami}

{old navy rosette}

california...

2010-03-15T08:58:00.003-04:00

I'm heading to California tomorrow to spend two weeks with my family, my best friends, celebrate my 26th (!!) birthday, and my sister's baby shower. I'm not looking forward to the flight, but can't wait to see my sisters, my baby brother, and especially Jessica's baby belly. I'm so excited for her. Jess and I both live out of state so the shower was planned on when we could get everyone together. And can I just say that my sister is the cutest pregnant girl I've ever seen?! This picture is from a month or so ago and I can't wait to see what her belly looks like now.
I'm going to be setting up somethings to post. I'm totally trying to get back into the habit of blogging, but I'm just going to let it come naturally. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen and I'm okay with that. Have a great few weeks everyone!

i know, i know

2010-03-10T15:05:00.002-05:00

I know I said that this year that I was going to be better at blogging and I really haven't been. The reason I haven't been in the blogging mood is mostly to do with my camera. I blogged here that my beloved Canon Rebel XSi has constantly been giving me an Error 99, the apparent "catch-all" error for Canon. We tried all the internet solutions and called Canon, who pretty much said the same thing as the internet. We removed everything from the camera, the battery, lens, and memory card and let it sit for 24 hours. After the 24 hours is up, you one by one put in the accessories and see which component could possible be causing the error. Unfortunately, everything was fine. The battery was good, the memory card was good, the lens was good. It was completely the camera body.

Luckily for us, we had purchased a warranty through a third party (the Canon warranty had expired) and we sent it in. They said it was the shutter unit and replaced it and sent it back to us. I was thrilled that it seemed to be a problem that was a quick fix and the camera should be as good as new according to the warranty company. We get the camera back and within 2 pictures, we were getting Error 99 again! Frustrating to say the least. We were asked to send the camera back in, they had it for a few weeks, sent it back and said nothing was wrong. I took the camera out of the box, first picture- Error 99. Needless to say I was pretty livid. Do not send the camera back saying nothing is wrong for it to INSTANTLY have a problem.

Our warranty company has a policy that if they can't fix it in 5 days they will reimburse you the original amount you paid. I thought since I has sent in twice and had basically been without my camera for 2 months that I should qualify to send the camera in and receive the check in return. I know it's their job to basically try all ways to not have to pay the money, but I really did not expect a huge fight from them. I mean I had done everything I was required to do, now it was their turn to hold up their end of the agreement. Unfortunately, we spent most of the day going back and forth. They wanted us to send the camera BACK in for service. It was not going to happen. Luckily, my amazing husband came to my rescue and was able to talk some sense into them. I'm waiting for the box to ship my camera to them and by next week, I'll have my money credited to my Paypal account.

Needless to say, blog posts without pictures can be kind of boring and so I wasn't blogging. Hopefully that's going to be changing soon. After getting everything figured out, we started doing some research on what kind of camera we should get to replace my Canon. We were considering Nikons very seriously for a while because my Canon had just left a bad taste in my mouth. After taking to my Dad, who is a devoted Nikon user, we decided we didn't want to lose money by selling the extra Canon lens we do have (17-85mm) and that what we were looking for, the Canon was just as well rated as the Nikon. We've decided to go with the Canon T2i which is going to be released at the end of the month. We have a little time before we will be with camera, but I think it's exactly what we are looking for.

{canon t2i}

I'm also going to pick up the 50mm f/1.8 II lens to add to my stock lens and the 17-85mm. I've heard so many awesome things about this lens and I can't wait to try out. The price is fantastic too!

{canon 50mm f/1.8}

Sorry for loading all of that on you guys, I just needed a place to vent about the fall of my camera. Totally bummed out, but so excited for the new camera. I definitely am going to make more of an effort to keep the blog going now that I'm in a better place with having a camera.

snowed in

2010-02-10T10:18:00.003-05:00

I'm starting to go a little stir-crazy. We haven't left the house since Thursday and it's really starting to wear on me. I've never seen a blizzard until this winter and we are currently in our third one since December, second since this weekend. These are the days that I get homesick the most and really, really miss California. We don't even own a snow shovel! This is our third winter on the East Coast and we've never had a need for a snow shovel. Luckily, the neighbor kids are digging out cars for a small amount and I have 2 shovels on order from Amazon. I'm definitely am feeling a little bit of the winter blues, but at the same time, the snow is so beautiful. I really wish I had my Canon back from the shop to take some great pics. Here are some pictures after our first blizzard this weekend.

Ugh, this post seems likes such a downer. That totally goes against what I've been trying to do lately. I found this quote and I find it so motivating. I was going through a serious rut and honestly, this quote pulled me out of it. It was like my "a-ha!" moment. I just totally got why I was feeling so unhappy, it was me. I wasn't giving all that I could. It's only been a few weeks, but since that day, I've had an amazing day almost every day since (except when cabin fever is present:). I'm not sure of the source, I found it on twitter.

our cruise

2010-01-31T13:32:00.003-05:00

Our cruise was the most relaxing week I've had in a long time. I can't even begin to tell you guys how much we enjoyed it. I didn't think that we were "cruise people", but the amount of relaxation that comes with a cruise definitely makes us cruise people. The food was amazing. We ate with the most awesome couple and I'm so glad we were able to meet them. We're now facebook friends, ha ha. The entertainment was what we expected, entertaining, but nothing special. The atmosphere was exactly what we needed in terms of R&R. We also did some gambling. Believe it or not, I'm almost 26 years old and have not gambled before this cruise. Considering how many times I've been to Vegas since I've turned 21, it's definitely a weird little fact.

One of the most awesome parts of the cruise was the spa. Those of you who know me know that outside of the occasional pedicure and manicure, I don't do much on the spa/salon front. I decided to try a few things while I was there and they were definitely worth it. The first full day of our cruise and our first 'At Sea' day, I had a manicure and a pedicure and my first ever massage. Tom and I had long decided to have a couples massage on our cruise and it was heavenly. The next day, I had a facial. I don't think I've ever felt my face so smooth. Definitely a great experience.

I was glad that we didn't have the Canon with us, because we had a lot of rain and sand. At the same time, I realized how desperately we need a new point and shoot. Ours is Tom's from before we even met! It's definitely not the quality I am used to now, but we caught the memories we wanted to catch.

p.s. the little subtitles are mostly for my benefit down the road :)

{sunrise over atlantic ocean- jan. 11 2010}

{every night a cute little towel animal was left for us by our room steward}

{tom and i- cocoa beach, florida - jan 13, 2010}

{cocoa beach, florida- jan. 13, 2010}

{our cruise ship- nassau, bahamas - jan. 14, 2010}

{nassau, bahamas- jan. 14, 2010}

{atlantis resort- nassau, bahamas - jan. 14, 2010}

{tom and i on one of our excursions- nassau, bahamas- jan. 14, 2010}

{tom and i at the atlantis resort - nassau, bahamas - jan. 14, 2010}

{nassau, bahamas- jan. 14, 2010}

{nassau, bahamas - jan. 14, 2010}

{nassau, bahamas- jan. 14, 2010}

{ all the rain we had in freeport, bahamas- jan. 15, 2010}

{lucaya beach - freeport, bahamas- jan. 15, 2010}

{lucaya beach - freeport, bahamas - jan. 15, 2010}

{our only beach day and it only stopped raining for 20 minutes!}

{lucaya beach - freeport, bahamas - jan. 15, 2010}

{ i love this one of tom. lucaya beach - freeport, bahamas - jan. 15, 2010}

{lucaya beach - freeport, bahamas - jan. 15, 2010}

today's the day!

2010-01-10T09:34:00.004-05:00

We leave today for our cruise to the Bahamas. Unfortunately, our Canon won't be making the trip. After countless hours on the phone with Canon and going into various camera repair shops, we have to send it into the big guys at Canon. We were continuously getting an 'Error 99', which according to Cannon is a "catch-all" error. It could mean anything. After trying all the usual fixes, we have to come to terms with sending it in and not having it on our cruise. Obviously, we have a point and shoot. I'm just bummed.

Okay, now that I've put my sadness over the camera out there, it's time to get excited. I hope you all have a great week and I'll 'see' you when I get back! :)

random thoughts

2010-01-08T09:43:00.002-05:00

1. I've been sick with a horrible cold since I woke up on Sunday. It first started with my sister when we went home to California. I actually feel really bad because Tom had it first and I told him that it was all in his head. Yeah, I feel horrible for saying that now. As of right now, it seems that I'm almost over it. Here's hoping!

This is what my desk area has looked like. After a few days of laying in bed, I couldn't stand it anymore and I went to my desk. Tons of tissues, a frosty for my sore throat, random legal pads with random thoughts, and a awesome (now Tom's) computer. I no longer have a laptop, so this was my saving grace. There was only so many hours I could sleep and only some much TV/movies I could watch.

2. About a week ago, I headed to Target and got an awesome deal. I've been toying with the idea of changing our Christmas tree scheme, but wasn't sure I wanted to invest in it. I went browsing through the left over Christmas stuff and scored all of this for $13! I was so stinkin' excited. And now since we'll be house-hunting, maybe I'll have room for 2 trees and keep my other decor. :)

3. We leave for our cruise to the Bahamas THIS SUNDAY! I'm so excited, but not feeling ready for it. Hopefully, I'm 100% by Sunday. Being sick this week really cut into a lot of the things I wanted to get down around the house before we leave. I had a pretty productive day today, but now my head is back to pounding and my nose is acting like a faucet. I hate being sick.

look at this...

2010-01-07T16:30:00.004-05:00

A year and a half after my macbook died, I'm finally the proud owner of a new iMac! I can't even tell you guys how excited I am. Can I just tell you how it good it feels to be using a Mac again? I'm in heaven. Thanks to my hubby who spoils me way too much sometimes!

new year's resolutions

2010-01-01T09:56:00.001-05:00

Each year when New Year's rolls around, I make the same resolutions. I want to eat better, I want to be more organized, etc. And while those are still on my list this year, I wanted to put more thought into my resolutions for this year. After choosing my word {relax} for 2010, I knew that I needed to really sit down and think about the things that I want to accomplish this year.

1. Begin and keep up with the Eat-Clean Diet. I heard of this program on a message board that I frequent. All the girls were raving about it. After looking into it, I realized that this was exactly what I was looking for. It's so much more than a "diet", it's a lifestyle change. I cleared out all the food in our house before going to California for Christmas, so we are starting with a clean slate.

2. Continue going to the gym at least 3 days a week. Right up until Christmas I was going to the gym 5 days a week. I didn't want to make such a demanding commitment. I'm not sure I can keep up 5 days a week, so I settled on 3. The gym has been going so well, it's the kind of release I need when I'm feel stressed.

3. Blog MORE! This year, I really dropped the ball on blogging. It felt like I had a massive writer's block the whole year. It was really disappointing because I love blogging. I love connecting with all of you. This year, I'm blogging more.

4. Take more pictures of us. If you were to look at our pictures from the time Tom and I have been together, you would notice one thing. We are hardly in any of the pictures. There are pictures of the place we are at, maybe a few pictures with just one of us, and hardly any of the two of us together. This year, I resolve to change that. I want to be able to show our kids one day of the places we been, the things we've seen, with us IN the pictures.

5. Take more trips. Because Tom has been in law school the past 3 years, we haven't had the means to take many trips. With Tom graduating in the spring, we are both so ready to change that. First, we have our cruise leaving January 10th and then we are planning to go to Chicago and Rehobeth Beach this summer. So excited!

6. Project 365. I am an avid scrapbooker and I've seen this on some of the message boards I go to. The concept is to take a picture a day for 365 days. I've ordered this kit, because as a scrapper, I need it pretty :). I think this will be such an awesome thing to look back on in 5, 10, even 20 years.

7. Learn to sew. My awesome Mom got me a sewing machine for Christmas and I couldn't be more excited. I have a million project ideas running through my head, I just have to learn how to use it first.

8. Be a great Aunt. My sister Jessica and her husband Matt are expecting their first baby on July 4th and I'm going to be a first time Aunt! I'm so excited. A lot of my sewing ideas are for my new little niece or nephew.

9. Find a single family home with an awesome backyard. We've decided that we are going to keep our townhouse as an investment property and move into Virginia to be closer to Tom's office. Currently, he would have 1.5 commute. It's also time that Sadie and Bailey have their own backyard, those puppies deserve it. Come Spring, we'll be house hunting!

So what about you? Do you make New Year's resolutions? Have you already figured them out?

my word: { r e l a x }

2009-12-31T20:14:00.000-05:00

I got this idea from a crafting blog that I love. Ali started the idea in 2007 to focus on a single word through out the year. The idea is to choose a word that can really impact your life over the next year. My word for 2010 is RELAX. I am a worrier by nature. I worry about everything, including things I cannot change. I feel that this impacts me negatively. I spend who knows how many hours worrying about things that I CANNOT change. I really need to grasp this concept. I cannot change it and if I cannot change it, why waste my time? I think this is Tom's biggest pet peeve about me.

This year, I want to relax. I want to enjoy my life more. I want to stop looking back at my life and feel like I wasted time. I know that this can't and won't change overnight and there are still some things worth worrying about that I can't change. The problem that I have is I really do sweat the small things. This year, I'm going to make a conscience effort to just relax. In fact, I'm on a hunt through etsy looking for some sort of bracelet or necklace that I can look down out and remind myself that it's okay to just relax. I know this is going to be a huge change for me, but I really believe that it's one I NEED to make.

2009 in Review

2009-12-31T14:30:00.000-05:00

January- We celebrated my sister's elopement and did a ton of shopping with our Christmas gift cards.

February- Had an awesome Valentine's Day with Tom and found Hello, Cupcake! The cupcake obsession continues.

March- We celebrated my 25th birthday by finding out I needed surgery for a thankfully noncancerous lump. I started running. Painted my scrapbook room. Got the most awesome camera ever.

April- We celebrated Tom's 27th Birthday and took our annual trip to the Cherry Blossom Festival.

May- I spent a few weeks in California visiting my family, including this handsome brother of mine. I also had my surgery, my Mom came to visit us for the first time since we moved to DC, and it was Sadie's 2nd birthday.

June- I helped my sister, Jessica, move to her very temporary home in Virginia while her husband was in training at a nearby base. Tom also began his internship that led to his job offer!

July- Tom and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary, it was Bailey's 1st Birthday and I learned to make crab.

August- We bought our new Prius. I took a quick trip to California for my sister's bridal shower. Tom's cousins from Georgia made a quick trip to see us.

September- We flew back to the West Coast for my little sister's wedding. Jessica and Matt visited us over Labor Day weekend. We had our first professional pics since our wedding taken.

October- Danielle made her first trip to DC since we moved here. We took our annual trip to Homestead Farm for some caramel apples and pumpkins. I finally learned how to make awesome lasagna like my mom.

November- We had my FIL and his girlfriend visit us from Georgia over the Thanksgiving break. Tom took me on a date to see New Moon (love that Tom!). On the same day, Tom received his offer to work at the law firm he interned with over the summer. We also booked our cruise for January!

December- Tom and I spent Christmas in California with my family. AFTER it took us 24 hours to get there because we experienced our first blizzard. We had a great time celebrating, visiting with my family and celebrating my Grandma's 80th birthday. Happy Birthday Grandma!

good weekend

2009-12-14T11:04:00.004-05:00

In between all of the craziness of Tom's finals, we were able to do a few fun things this weekend. It was so relaxing to just hang out and do some Christmas-y things together.

We went and saw the Winter Lights display at our local state park. We took a drive through 3.5 miles of awesome light displays.

We spent lots of time playing with these crazy dogs. You like how I got them to enjoy the Christmas sweaters? ;)

On Sunday, it was raining like crazy. We sat around the Christmas tree and watched some movies.

And then we baked some sugar cookies.

All in all, it was the best kind of weekend.

Christmas Decor 09

2009-12-09T15:13:00.003-05:00

Our Christmas decor in pictures :)

the girl effect

2009-12-03T12:47:00.003-05:00

I saw this on Oprah and it really spoke to my heart. I'm off to find out how I can help.

The Girl Effect, n. The powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate in their society.

December Goals

2009-12-01T19:02:00.004-05:00

Can it really be December already? Wow! It seems like I just wrote down my November goals yesterday. Let's see how I did.

November Goals

1. ~~Keep going to the gym.~~ Done! I'm actually surprised at how well I've been keeping this up. I have gone 5 days a week consistently until Thanksgiving.

2. ~~Clear out all the leaves from the backyard.~~ DONE!

3. Research composting. FAIL! And I can't even tell you why I never got around to it. That's sad.

4. ~~Get the house ready for Thanksgiving guests.~~ DONE!

5. ~~Cook a great Thanksgiving meal.~~ I'm going to go with DONE! I think I did a pretty good job.

6. ~~BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING!~~ DONE and a big success! :)

7. ~~Put up the Christmas decor while drinking hot chocolate and watching a Christmas movie.~~ DONE! Pictures coming soon!

December Goals

1. Finish Christmas shopping for Tom. He's the only one left on my list.

2. Visit the National Botanical Garden. They have a great holiday display and even though we've been here for a few years now, I'm just now hearing about it.

3. See the lights at a local state park. Every year since we've been here we've been saying we'll go and for one reason or another, we haven't . This year, I'm making the time to go.

4. Go home to California and have an awesome Christmas. So excited for this one!

thanksgiving wrap up

2009-11-30T18:40:00.004-05:00

I hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving. Ours was very low key, I didn't even break out the camera. My FIL and his girlfriend came up from Georgia and it was just the four of us. We watched the Macy's Parade, Angels and Demons, and Four Christmases. It was a great day.

I've had a lot to be thankful for this year and I wanted to share that here with you all. This year has been tough and rewarding, frustrating and full of happiness. I still can't believe that this year has gone by so fast.

1. My hubby. I'm so thankful for Tom. He puts up with my general insanity, my absurd amount of worrying, and my crazy silly ways. I am so blessed to have a husband that completely accepts me and loves me for who I am. He loves me when I'm unlovable and is my biggest support and cheerleader. He thinks that I can do anything and everything and has given me a confidence I've never known. God was certainly watching out for me when he sent me Tom.

2. TOM'S NEW JOB! This is the good news that I referenced in my last post. I think that most of you know that Tom is a law student at Georgetown (I had to throw that in because I'm super proud of him!) and will be graduating in May. Tom received an offer from the law firm that he interned at this summer. In this economy, this is definitely a great blessing to have a job already lined up. He starts next August or September depending on when he can take the Bar.

3. My family. My mom and my sisters are my best friends and I don't know where I would be without them. I know that they always have my back and they are a soft place to land anytime I need it. I am so proud of all my baby sisters and brag about them every chance I get. And my Mom is my biggest inspiration, I want to be just like her. I don't know where we would all be without her. I also have the best little brother in the whole world. He can make me smile like no one else can. I'm also truly blessed to have a step father who loves me like I was his own. Do you see what I'm talking about? I have so much to be thankful for! :)

4. Sadie and Bailey. I'm sure everyone says this, but I have the best puppies in the world. These guys know how to brighten my day and I look forward to their happy faces each morning. I can't even begin to tell you guys how much I love these 2 babies.

5. Being ahead of the game. I'm a procrastinator, but I've been trying to change that. So far, I've done really well. These are this year's Christmas cards. They have been sitting on my desk, ready to go, since the last week of October. I have almost all my Christmas shopping done and I've pledged to really enjoy this Holiday season instead of being caught up in the stress of it all. In fact, I'm keeping a December Daily journal (love any excuse to scrapbook!) to document all of my favorite things about December and Christmas.

{cards from photoaffections.com}

If you made it this far, you guys are awesome. I'm so thankful for each and everyone of you. I've formed relationships with some of you and I cherish them more than you could ever know. I live such a blessed life and I really need to recognize that a bit more than I do. Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone!

random

2009-11-22T09:47:00.005-05:00

Tomorrow, the in-laws arrive and I'm already feeling the stress. The one thing I'm really looking forward to? Black Friday. I love Black Friday, but until then, here are some random things I've picked up the last few weeks.

1. This beautiful scarf from Gap. I picked it up during a Friends & Family sale and I just love it. It's awesome.

2. This candle from YC. Normally I got for a traditional Christmas scent, but this year, this one just said "buy me".

3. This beautiful necklace, I love this necklace. It is a gift from Tom because of some good news we recently received. It's currently on it's way to my house. Check out Candy's etsy store, it's one of my faves.

new moon

2009-11-20T09:46:00.003-05:00

I'm so excited for tonight.

I need to finish reading the last few chapters of this for the 5th time.

Then watch this again for the 100th time.

To be ready for this tonight. Can't wait.

Cruise!

2009-11-16T08:59:00.004-05:00

Tom and I took the leap and booked our first cruise. From January 10-17th, we will be on our first real vacation since our honeymoon 3.5 years ago! To say we are excited is an understatement. I've never thought of us as cruise people, but the opportunity to get away for a while was too much to resist.

Have any of you been on a cruise before? Any tips? What did you do on the ship during the day?

{fall}

2009-11-10T14:48:00.004-05:00

love

2009-11-04T17:11:00.004-05:00

I'm in love with this sweater. If only I had an extra $128 laying around...

pumpkin carving

2009-11-02T17:00:00.003-05:00

So, we didn't get to have our pumpkin carving contest. Tom had a major paper due today and he was a bit busy all last week. We usually do "elaborate" pumpkins, but this year I kept it simple. I just sketched out "Happy Halloween" on some paper and went to it.

I hope you all had a very Happy Halloween! We spent the night at home passing out candy and watching Ghost Hunters, such a perfect evening for us!

November Goals

2009-11-02T09:10:00.005-05:00

It's time to check in with my October Goals and see how I did. Can you guys believe it's November? I sure as heck can't! For some reason, I still feel like we should still be in the summer months. This year has gone so fast! Though, I do love November and December.

OCTOBER GOALS

1. ~~Get back into a good running routine.~~

DONE! I even got a gym membership because I didn't want to run in the cold. I'm a baby like that ;).

2. ~~Head to Homestead Farm with Tom for some apple and pumpkin picking.~~

DONE, I blogged about it here. We had a great time, one of my favorite Fall things to do.

3. ~~Use my awesome camera and get some great Fall shots.~~

DONE! I'll hopefully be sharing those this week if I can get my butt in gear!

4. Have a pumpkin carving contest with Tom.

Sadly, this was a fail. Tom has a major paper due today and wasn't able to battle it out with me. I did manage to carve a quick pumpkin for us and I'll share that later today.

All in all, not too bad. Now, what about November?

NOVEMBER GOALS

1. Keep going to the gym. I'm on a roll with 5 days a week for the past 4 weeks. I want to keep that up.

2. Clear out all the leaves from our backyard.

3. Research composting. Our county is giving out free compost bins and I need to read about it and maybe give it a shot.

4. Get the house ready for our Thanksgiving guests.

5. Cook a great Thanksgiving meal, this is my third year and I'm fairly certain I'm getting better. I'm definitely not my mom, but I'm getting there.

6. BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING! One of my favorite traditions since I was little and I love going out every year. It really kicks off the Christmas season for me.

7. Put up and Christmas tree and decor while drinking hot chocolate and watching a Christmas movie.

What about guys? What are you goals?

Happy Halloween From Bailey!

2009-10-31T12:39:00.002-04:00

Proof that I torture my puppy by making him dress up for Halloween! ;)

homestead farm

2009-10-26T20:21:00.004-04:00

I love crossing things off my goal list. It make me feel accomplished and since this month is all fun goals, it's been so easy. Last weekend we headed to Homestead Farm in 40 degree, rainy weather. Unfortunately, it's been raining A LOT here, so it was really the only opportunity we had at somewhat decent weather.

We've been going to Homestead Farm ever since we moved here, and I have to say, it's only of my favorite things about our area. It's hard to imagine that this beautiful farm is just 20 minutes outside of DC.

Do you see what I mean? How can this exist so close to the hustle and bustle of DC? It's so relaxing and peaceful out here. It instantly causes you to slow down and really look at what's around you.

One of our favorite things every year is the caramel apples. They are seriously the most awesome caramel apples we have ever had. I might say the scenery brings me back year after year, but the truth is that it's these babies. ;)

This goat was awesome. He had this ramp that led him to another part of the farm. It was so cool to watch him to back and forth above everyone.

Here is Tom with our pumpkins. I told you it was cold, do you see everyone bundled up in the background? We got two big pumpkins for our pumpkin carving contest and then we always get two small pumpkins to carve for the puppies. We usually carve their initials.

Another of my favorite things is the farm store. they have so many apples, different mixes for baking, jams, butters, and just about every comfort food you can imagine. I was could this year and only picked up some cinnamon sticks, love those.

All in all, it was another great Fall day and I was glad that we are carrying on this little tradition of ours.

pictures

2009-10-18T17:09:00.006-04:00

A few weeks ago while we were in Nevada for my sister's wedding, we had our pictures taken. Allie (that's my sister and her hubby on the front page of her site) is a family friend who was going to be shooting my sister's wedding and graciously took our pictures as well. We haven't had pictures taken since our wedding and I was so excited to finally get some new pictures of the two of us. There are about a billion pictures here, but this is just a small sample of how awesome Allie is at what she does.

In the Inland Empire? Check out Photography by Allison Hays!

Bailey Loves His Shirt...

2009-10-16T03:56:00.000-04:00

Sadie? Not so much.

Occasionally, I buy things like Halloween costumes (look for Bailey's, coming soon! ;) and shirts for my dogs to wear. It's not because I want to torture then (honestly, I don't!), I just like to dress my babies up now and then. It seriously helps with my baby fever, ha ha! I haven't bought shirts in a really long time because I know Sadie doesn't really tolerate them too long, but I've never tried one with Bailey. The result? Bailey loves wearing his shirt and Sadie still won't tolerate it, ha ha! This was the best picture I could get of her, she was having none of it!

And here is my smart girl starting to take it off herself since we weren't going fast enough for her.

Not only does she not tolerate it on herself, but not on her brother either. She did not want him to be wearing that shirt. He was just laying here, minding his own business when she came over and decided it was time for him to take it off!

And here's the Bailey Boy in his cute Halloween shirt. I was seriously impressed. I thought he would be more like Sadie and I was just going to put it on, get my picture and call it a day. He surprised all of us by not wanting us to take it off. He pranced around for hours in his shirt. He must have loved all the attention because he was not happy when we finally took it off for bedtime. Don't worry Bailey, you can bet that you'll have a shirt for every holiday from now on!

What about you guys? Am I the only crazy one that dresses up their dogs?

Lasagna

2009-10-14T15:41:00.003-04:00

I did it, I made lasagna. That might seem like no big deal to some of you guys, but I've always been terrified to even attempt it. My mom makes awesome lasagna and I didn't want to disappoint myself by not meeting that standard or even ruining lasagna forever. After a few weeks of really, really craving it. I caved. It's going to be a few months until I see my mom and I couldn't wait that long. And you know what guys? It turned out really good. I had freaked myself out over nothing. Sure, it's a little burnt around the edges, but there is always time to perfect it. The point is, I tried it and it worked. I tend to keep it safe when it comes to cooking, but this left me feeling like I can bridge out and I can't wait!

Danielle

2009-10-05T09:50:00.001-04:00

Last week, I was so excited to have my sister Danielle come to visit me. Danielle and I are a year and a half apart and we've always been close. All through out growing up, we shared a room and would spend hours talking in bed until we fell asleep.

For 4 years, Danielle was in Germany while he husband was stationed there in the Air Force. I think during those 4 years, we saw each other maybe 3-4 times. I was lucky enough to visit her there once and it was so exciting to experience Europe with my best friend. Right when Danielle and her husband were moving back home to California, Tom and I were getting ready to move to the East Coast. I have to say that it was difficult going from spending every night together to hardly seeing one another.

It was definitely a special trip. We didn't do much sight seeing, we just hung out, along with Jessica, my sister who's husband is stationed in Virginia. I've mentioned it a few times, but I don't think I can tell you guys enough how much I love being around my sisters. We did make into DC for a few hours, here are some pictures of me and Dan.

Thank you so much for coming to visit me Dan, I know you are a busy girl, but I loved spending time with you. Can't wait for Christmas!

October Goals

2009-10-01T08:34:00.004-04:00

It's time for another round of monthly goals. I can't believe that it's October. This last month just flew by. Let's see how I did for September:

1. ~~Give the house a good fall cleaning~~ Done! At the beginning of the month, I gave the house a deep cleaning and every week since. We've had so many guests this month!

2. ~~Get to my sister's wedding and NOT forget anything. It's kind of important. ;)~~ I'm happy to say I did not forget anything. I was a little nervous because I forget to pack things all the time and having to fly to CA, I was positive I would forget something.

3. Keep running 5 days a week, I've been doing great at this most of the summer. This is a FAIL, with so many guests and my sister's wedding, it just didn't happen.

OCTOBER GOALS

1. Get back into a good running routine.

2. Head to the Homestead Farms with Tom for some apple and pumpkin picking

3. Use my awesome camera and catch some great Fall shots

4. Have a pumpkin carving contest with Tom

Mostly fun goals this month, but that's exactly what I need.

What about you? What are your goals?

Charity's Wedding

2009-09-22T15:27:00.006-04:00

Saturday was my sister Charity's wedding. We had a great time and the wedding turned out beautiful. Can I just tell you guys that I cried at least 5 times between Friday and Saturday? I just couldn't believe that my baby sister was getting married. I actually was doing pretty good during the wedding until Charity started crying, I couldn't help but cry too. I'm so happy for her and my new brother, Rick. He's a good guy and I know they'll be very happy together. I don't have very many pictures because I'm a dork and forgot to bring my camera, but as soon as she gets some of her proofs, I'll have to show you guys. The photographer is a family friend and got some pretty good "sister" shots.

{ some of the bridesmaids, from left to right }

Kathryn, Jeanine, Cynthia (our youngest sister) and me

{ my sister Danielle walking down }

This beautiful girl will be visiting me for a week starting Saturday. So excited for her to get here!

{first kiss as the new Mr. and Mrs.}

She always said she would get married in Laughlin along the Colorado River, our family vacationed there every summer growing up and she did. She always said she would wear a Princess dress and she did :).

{Me and my new brother and baby sister}

{Tom and I}

Tom flew out Friday morning and we left EARLY, EARLY Sunday morning. He knew how important it was to my sister that he was there and I'm so glad we were able to make it work around his crazy schedule.

How was your weekend?

loving this {mj medley}

2009-09-21T09:01:00.001-04:00

it's fall....

2009-09-18T09:28:00.002-04:00

At least, on the inside of our house. If I'm being honest, I've actually had our Fall decor up since the last weekend in August. I just couldn't wait this year, I don't know what it is, but I am just craving Fall.

I picked up this Harvest Bouquet from Whole Foods, love it. It's so gorgeous.

I love this pine cone garland. I got it at Target on clearance the first year we moved into this house. It's one of my favorite things to bring out each year.

Same thing with these place mats. I love them, they are just gorgeous.

Tom was playing PS3 while I was taking pictures. This is the first time he's turned it on since May, so I figured I wouldn't ask him to turn it off "real quick" while I take pictures. :)

My mom made this cute little set of pumpkins for me last year and I love that votive holder.

I picked up this new scent from Yankee Candle, Macintosh Spice. It's so delicious. I love that smell.

I have a bunch of these cute little pumpkins randomly placed around the house.

It's still way too early, but I normally fill this bowl with little pumpkins and gourds.

My mom also made this cute little scarecrow. I love having things from home.

This is what I got when I first attempted to take a picture of the scarecrow. Bailey can't stand it when you aren't paying attention to him, ha ha!

This Fall wreath is 5 years old, but I still love it as much as I did the day I saw it at Target.

I love my little garden flags. I love decorating for the season/holidays. Only a few more weeks until I can put up my Halloween decor! :)

So what about you? Have you already decorated? And if not, when do you plan on decorating?

new things

2009-09-16T09:13:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, I headed out to do some window shopping at Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn and ended up with some awesome finds.

I picked up two of these white pillows from Crate and Barrel for $5 a piece. I hadn't even thought about replacing my old throw pillows, but once I saw these I knew I had to snatch them up.

Miss Sadie had to sneak into the picture to say "hi" to everyone. :)

I also picked up this bluish-gray one for the love seat for only $4. SCORE!

I knew that I wanted to re-accessorize our entertainment center bookshelves. I haven't touched them since we got the thing two years ago. I threw up some books and frames and called it a day. Then I saw these frames at Pottery Barn. I had been drooling over them all summer, but at $40 a pop, it wasn't going to happen. So I go in there, do my usual wander around the store and find these babies in the clearance section for $10 a piece! I ended up getting 4 of them for the original price of one! I was stoked. I came home and took everything off the shelves and now I'm slowly redecorating and then taking everything off and starting over again. It'll get there one day, but I love these frames.

You can see the linen texture of the mat in this one. I need to get some pictures for them too!

Have you guys gotten any awesome deals lately?

love this...

2009-09-15T10:07:00.002-04:00

I just picked this up last week at Godiva and I'm addicted. It's caramel apple bark. I need to get some more.

looking forward to...

2009-09-14T09:41:00.002-04:00

I am so excited for Fall I can hardly even stand it. There are just so many things that I love when it comes to Fall. I saw Kaylene do this the other day, so I thought I would too. Here are the things I'm looking forward to the most.

1. The Fall Foliage. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love Fall on the East Coast. Where I grew up in California there is no Fall. The first Fall we spent here, I was in complete amazement. It is just absolutely beautiful you guys! I don't think I will ever get enough of it. I've already been scoping out places to bring my camera to get some great Fall shots.

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2. Sweaters. I picked up so many cute sweaters last week at the Gap and I cannot wait to wear them. Have you guys seen their boyfriend sweater? Too comfy for words! I had to have it.

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3. Starbucks Hot Chocolate. I don't know what Starbucks does to me in the Fall, but I could sit there all day in their comfy oversized chairs with a Venti Hot Chocolate. I love, love, love Starbucks Hot Chocolate and when Fall starts getting a little chilly, that's the first place I head.

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4. Caramel Apples. Homestead Farm is our local apple orchard and pumpkin patch. They have the most amazing caramel apples. Seriously, they are so addicting. Can't wait until we head there this year, maybe I'll have two ;).

4. Pumpkins. Funnily enough, I hate pumpkin pie and anything pumpkin flavored (blasphemy, I know!), but I love the smell of pumpkins and I love to carve pumpkins. I can't wait to break out my Spiced Pumpkin candle from Yankee.

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5. Trick or Treaters. I can't wait to open my door to a bunch of cute Little trick or treaters like these guys. We were not at all prepared for all of them last year, we are in such a small neighborhood and were surprised by the number of kids. This year I'm going to be prepared, they are going to think of us as the "good" house, ha ha!

6. Thanksgiving. I can't wait for all the yummy food. This will be my 3rd year cooking and I think I'm getting better and better. Another favorite part of Thanksgiving? All the Black Friday ads! I love going shopping on Black Friday. Tom and I love looking through the ads to see if there are any good deals. I don't think we've ever bought something advertised, we usually hit up the mall or the outlets, but it's something we love to do together.

What about you guys? What are you looking forward to?

Charity's Wedding

2009-09-13T13:53:00.002-04:00

I'm off to California/Nevada for the week. My baby sister is getting married this Saturday. I can't believe it. I'm not bringing my big camera, too much going on to worry about it. But I will be bringing our normal digital camera and try to take some good pictures for you guys. She's getting married right along the Colorado River in Nevada, it's her favorite place in the world.

I've schedule some posts for this week. I've been such a slacker this summer that I didn't want to do that to you guys, if I still have readers that is! Ha ha! Have a great week ladies!

{Charity and I when she came to DC to visit me November 2007}

where were you?

2009-09-11T13:23:00.004-04:00

It's hard to believe that it's been 8 years since that day. I remember where I was when I heard, I remember watching the towers fall on the TV, I remember almost every thought I had that day. Last year, I posted the lyrics to this song and I had to post them again. May we never forget...

Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)
Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day
Out in the yard with your wife and children
Working on some stage in LA
Did you stand there in shock at the site of
That black smoke rising against the blue sky
Did you shout out in anger
In fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry?
Did you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know
Did you rejoice for the who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below
Did you burst out in pride
For the red white and blue
The heros who died just doing what they do
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look to yourself for what really matters
Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day
Teaching a class full of innocent children
Driving down some cold interstate
Did you feel guilty 'cause you're a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her
Did you dust off that Bible at home
Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep
Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages
Speak with some stranger on the street
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow
Go out and buy you a gun
Did you turn off the violent old movie you're watching
And turn on "I Love Lucy" reruns
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some strangers
Stand in line and give your own blood
Did you just stay home and cling to your family
Thank God you had somebody to love
I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love.
Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)
Alan Jackson

labor day with jess and matt

2009-09-09T17:10:00.004-04:00

I hope everyone had an awesome holiday weekend. We had a great time. We got to spend it with my sister Jessica and her husband Matt. It's been awesome having Jessica around, but this is the first time that Matt was allowed off the base (he's in training for the Army). We couldn't wait to show them around DC, Jessica had been waiting to go with Matt so they could experience it for the first time together.

We spent 2 days being tourists and showing them all of our favorite spots. I think they had a great time and really enjoyed visiting all the awesome DC monuments. I'll spare you from all the pictures (you guys have seen a million of my DC pictures), and just share some of my favorites.

First up, we headed to Arlington National Cemetery. Being that my BIL is in the Army, it was really something that he wanted to see. We hadn't been in a while and I forgot how beautiful it really is.

We were able to visit Ted Kennedy's grave. It was nice to pay tribute to someone who gave so much of themselves to public service. I didn't always agree with his politics, but I definitely appreciate his years of service.

The Tomb of The Unknowns is one of my favorite things to visit when we are in DC. We were lucky enough to see the changing of the guards. It's just awesome to watch these soldiers perform their duties.

As we were walking around, Tom and I decided to take advantage of having Jess and Matt there and get some pictures taken. We hardly have any of the two of us actually in pictures, just all the places we've visited. Do you guys have that too? I need to get better at asking strangers to take our pictures. I get nervous because I mostly bring the big camera out now and just don't feel comfortable asking people I don't know to take pictures with it. I have this crazy little fantasy that I'll ask and the person will take the camera and run!

Here are Jessica and Matt in front of the Washington Monument. Matt was definitely more into the history than Jess was, but I still think she had a good time :).

Me and just one of my baby sisters in front of the Washington Monument. I don't think I can even describe to you guys how much I love my sisters, they are my best friends. We may still fight like we are little girls more than we should, but I always have a blast when I am with them. My sister Charity is getting married on the 19th and Jess and I are flying out this Sunday. I can't wait until we are all together again!

One last one of Jess and Matt on their last day in DC. Thank you guys for such an awesome weekend, can't wait until we do it again!

Besides Arlington, Matt's other request was to see the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum. I think all boys loved dinosaurs at some point so I took some pictures to show my little brother, Joseph. He's 11 and I thought he would just get a kick out of them.

Hi Joey! I miss you! I also put in a picture of a woolly mammoth for you!

september goals

2009-09-01T14:05:00.002-04:00

Well... I have been a slacker all summer. I haven't posted monthly goals since APRIL! That's horrible, you guys! So it's time to jump back on this wagon and get some things accomplished.

september goals

1. Give the house a good Fall Cleaning.

2. Get to my sister's wedding and NOT forget anything. It's kind of important. ;)

3. Keep running 5 days a week, I've been doing great at this most of the summer.

And that's it for this month. I'm working myself back in slowly!

What are your goals this month?

something new...

2009-08-30T18:00:00.003-04:00

Look at what we bought last week....

We've been going back and forth about getting a new car for awhile, we just couldn't decide. We really like not having a car payment. At this point, we only need one car since Tom takes the metro every day. We finally decided to take the plunge for one very important reason. We were able to sell our old car and then pay for the rest out of savings, which means we still have no car payment, you got to love that. It's a little different going from an SUV to the Prius (affectionately called Priya, after a girl I knew in high school), but I'm really loving it. And I definitely love that it's a Hybrid, we've been trying to be green for a while now and this was the obvious next step.

charity's shower

2009-08-28T09:40:00.001-04:00

Some more catching up...

The beginning of August, Jessica (my sister who is temporarily living here) and I hopped on a plane to California for a quick weekend trip for our younger sister's bridal shower. My baby sister is growing up. ::sniff, sniff::

We had a great time hanging out with friends and family and having a day just for Charity. I can't believe she's old enough to be married. I feel like I'm a million years old. My sisters and I have always been close and we are all so excited for her.

Charity and bridesmaid Kathryn

Mom and Charity

We played some fun, corny games like using toilet paper to create a wedding dress. I think this game has been played at every bridal shower anyone in our family has ever had. See my sister Danielle in the black dress? That girl is ALWAYS in heels, I don't know how she does it. It's all she wears.

This is Candy, a dear family friend who was 8.5 months pregnant with her second baby here. She is currently in labor (for over 24 hours already), praying for you sweetie!

Look at Candy working her toilet paper dress, out of the 3 girls that were dressed up, Candy was the only one that wasn't embarrassed to pose for the camera.

My sister Danielle always buys us (her sisters) a million pieces of lingerie for our shower gifts. This is just one of the few pieces she got for Charity and boy, was she embarrassed!

My baby sister all grown up and with her cute ribbon and bow bouquet.

Charity and Matron of Honor, Jessica. I love my sisters.

My mom and me. I was so happy to spend some time with my Mom.

Sorry for the arm in the way, but a picture of the bride and all her bridesmaids. From left to right:

Kathryn, my sister Danielle, Me, my sister Jessica, my sister and the bride Charity, Jeanine, and my youngest sister Cynthia. I can't believe that she's going to be 16 next year!

Jessica and I had a great time, and it was worth all the trouble of getting back home (after a canceled flight, rude airline workers, flying all through the night, and losing a few things along the way). We would do it again in a heartbeat. Only 3 more weeks until the wedding!

Bailey's Birthday

2009-08-27T10:09:00.001-04:00

In July, we celebrated Bailey's 1st birthday. I don't think I've ever told you guys, but Bailey is my baby. Don't get me wrong, I love both of my dogs to an insanely equal degree, but Bailey and I just click. Sadie and Tom click, it's just the way it is, it doesn't make it us love the other any less. I was a little sad to see my baby boy turn into a big one year old dog. It makes me sad when either of my dogs get a little older, but like we do with Sadie, we had a Bailey day.

We took Bailey and Sadie to Petsmart to pick out some "bad" treats (they normally eat natural treats from our local holistic store) and some new toys. Bailey likes to have some sort of stuffed animal, his baby, like I call it. He carries his baby every where, upstairs, downstairs, to his bed, to his kennel, his baby has to go. They don't normally last too long because his big sister Sadie has a desire to destroy anything that can be destroyed, that's the Lab in her.

We found this cute little alligator at Petsmart and it had a "tougher" fabric to we decided to give it a shot for Mr. Bailey. Here he is trying to get it away from Tom. Out of all things we got for him, this was the only thing he played with the entire day.

Within minutes, Sadie was there. We thought that she would destroy it, but was actually very gentle (for her) with it. Sometimes, she really does love that Bailey Boy.

I love when they play together, they do about 80% of the day, but I just love watching them. It really validates our decision to adopt Bailey. We thought Sadie would have some trouble with it, but she loves that dog. It was one of the best decisions that we made FOR Sadie.

Happy Birthday Bailey Boy, we all love you so much!

UPDATE: I'm sad to say that just after I finished writing this (and not paying attention to the dogs as close as I should have been) Mr. Alligator has met his demise, but not by Sadie suprisingly, but by Mr. Bailey. I'm guessing he's over having a baby or he's starting to take after his sister. RIP Alligator.

catching up...

2009-08-25T13:47:00.006-04:00

Summer is slowly coming to an end and my desire to blog is also returning. Thanks for letting me take some time off to enjoy the summer. I got quite a few emails from some of you checking up on me, it was very sweet. Tom has been off the last 2 weeks, he starts his third and FINAL (finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel!!) year of law school this next Monday!

A few weeks ago, Tom's cousin, Josh from Georgia brought his family up for a quick visit. Josh had some meetings for work, so we spent the day with the girls, Kim (Josh's wife), Gentry and Jolie (their daughters). We love spending any time that we can with them. When we were living in California, they were also living there and we got used to seeing them quite a bit, but now we have each moved on and hardly see one another. Tom is especially close to Gentry and Jolie and it's awesome to see them together. We took the girls to see some awesome DC sights and we all had the best time.

I love the clouds behind the Washington Monument, they were just beautiful that day.

Here's the Washington Monument from the Jefferson Memorial.

Here is Kim, Gentry, and Jolie looking for names at the Vietnam Memorial.

I love this picture, it's the Washington Monument and the Vietnam Memorial. As you can probably tell, I have a thing for the Washington Monument. I don't know what it is, but every time we are in DC, I took a bazillion pictures of it. I just love it.

I plan on catching everyone up on some other things going on in our lives and hopefully I haven't lost too many readers, thanks for sticking with me guys!

{july 22, 2006}

2009-07-22T14:34:00.000-04:00

Happy 3rd Anniversary to my hubby. I love you more every day.

{ Fall 2008, DC}

{Fall 2007}

{Summer 2008, getting to our first home after a long drive from California}

{Summer 2007, First Anniversary}

{Summer 2006, honeymoon}

{july 22, 2006}

our weekend

2009-07-13T12:29:00.005-04:00

Tom and I have been planning to head to the zoo for a long time now, but for some reason or another it just never worked out. We finally made time this weekend and headed to the National Zoo. I love the zoo, I love going to see all the animals. The only slightly disappointing this is that the National Zoo does not have giraffes, which are my favorite. I love giraffes. ::sigh:: Anyways...

It was a pretty humid day and we were worried that all of the animals would be hiding to escape the heat, but to our surprise, most of them were out and about. Here are just a few pictures of my favorite animals we visited. We watched the elephants try to cool off:

We visited a hippo. I was reading the little information plaque, these things are scary. I never want to get caught in the water with a hippo.

This gorilla was getting is daily pilates in. We watched him for about 10 minutes just doing various stretching exercises. It was quite comical.

Here's a close up of the exercising gorilla.
We caught up with the tiger right before lunch and boy was he hungry! In between waiting for his lunch and eating, we watched the tiger play with his ball and rehydrate himself.
I love watching Panda bears eat. This guy had just celebrated his 4th birthday a few days before and they celebrated with a huge cake. The picture in the newspaper was adorable.
We also had the chance to check out some of the beautiful landscaping. The flowers were gorgeous.

Sunday of course came way too soon. I decided to make a really nice dinner for Tom, they have trial this week and he'll be putting in lots of long hours. I recently got a new steamer from Bed, Bath & Beyond and I love it. I got some crab legs and had a little steaming party! I love that it has three tiers. I can steam an entire meal, it's super convenient.

This was my second time steaming crab, we usually leave seafood for restaurants, but it is surprisingly very good. I was really pleased with myself, ha ha! I hope you all had a great weekend as well!

a fallen hero

2009-07-08T21:59:00.004-04:00

I know it's been a while since I posted, we've just been enjoying our summer, but I had to share this with you guys. I saw this on one of my favorite blogs and it brought me to tears. Read her original post here. The video is long, about 10 minutes or so, but to think of all the people who turned out to honor this fallen soldier. It was especially touching to Tom and I because the soldier is from Tom's hometown in Georgia. If you have a few minutes, please take a look.

A Hero's Salute: Staff Sgt. John Beale