Easter 2014 Recap

Happy Monday! As mentioned on Friday, Evan, Bella and I ventured up to the NNK  for the weekend. Here is a recap of our 2014 Easter Weekend:

 

Bella went to the groomers this past Friday and unfortunately she had to be clipped a good bit more than normal due to some minor matting of her hair. Evan and I have promised to be better about brushing her daily so that we can keep her hair longer!

 Bella had the best time out of any of us: she had three other dog friends to play with all weekend, was retriever of footballs, baseballs, softballs, and had free reign over all of Sharps, VA.  Because Sharps is so rural we can allow the dogs to just roam outside with little worry of them being hit by cars or getting into too much trouble.

 

Okay, maybe a little ridiculous, but you have to remember I don't have a little girl yet (one can hope), so for now Bella has to deal with the bows and frills. Thankfully, she does not seem to mind too much!

Bella in her little bunny ears on Easter morning.

 

Bella's Easter basket.

 

The "loot" in Bella's Easter basket. She is a bit spoiled!

 

 

A few shots prior to the family reuniuon on Saturday.

Saturday morning consisted in some minor landscaping before the family reunion. Go-carts are helpful in moving mulch apparently.

 

Evan and his nephew, Hudson. He is adorable!!

 

 

Easter Sunday after church in front on Walther and Martha's house. There were a ton of people, but these are shots of our immediate family.

 Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!!

Five on Friday:

{ONE} Bourbon and Bowties

I have known about these lovely bangles for quite some time, but have been lazy about actually making it to one of the boutiques in Charlotte that carries them or trying to find them online. I finally searched today and was excited to find a store that carried them online and quickly ordered one. Unfortunately a lot of the more neutral ones I was looking for are currently sold out, but I am going to keep checking back. So excited! You can purchase them online here.

{TWO} Kayce Hughes Jordan Dress

I am thinking about possibly wearing this dress for professional pictures that Evan, Bella and I are finally getting in several weeks. Thoughts!? You can find it here.



{THREE}  Bow Tie Thursdays

Evan has decided (randomly) to dub Thursdays "Bow Tie Thursdays." Did I mention I love this look on Evan and I wish that he would wear bow ties more often (hint hint)!? This beauty is from Brooke and Michael's wedding last spring (purchased from High Cotton).  You can also find Brooke's Blog here.  

{FOUR} Our first game in the new Knight's Stadium  

We had a blast and can't wait to go again! 

 

{FIVE} Fidler Family Reunion

I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone on Evan's side of the family for an Easter weekend

get-together with lots of food, beer, and corn hole!  Also, as silly as this may sound, I am excited to have an event for Bella to wear her Easter "outfit," even if it will only be for twenty minutes or so (depending on how long she will let me keep it on her). Bella loves going up to Virginia because she gets to play with several other doggy friends of hers (namely a Red Bone Coon Hound named Bessie and a Black Lab named Sui (pronounced Soo-ee)!

Happy Easter Weekend!  



 

Easter Bird's Nests

 

This weekend, we are heading up to Virginia for a Family Reunion on Evan's side of the family. With it being Easter, I thought I would whip up something cute for the kiddos (and adults).  I found these on Pinterest (courtesy of With a Grateful Prayer and Thankful Heart Blog) and I had to share my variation on these. I used pretzel sticks instead of chow mein noodles, but either could be used.  I also added more marshmallows and butter than the original recipe called for as I like them extra marshmallowy (I don't think that is a word)!  They are super easy and took less than 1.5 hours to make from start to finish! 

 

These were made with pretzel sticks (the one's I made).

These were made with chow mein noodles and picture is courtesy of With a Greatful Prayer and Thankful Heart Blog.

 

Ingredients:

3 cups Mini Marshmallows

1/2 cup Butter
4 cups of Pretzel Sticks (snapped in three pieces or so)
Jelly Beans, M&M's or Robin's Eggs to fill Nests (I used Cadbury Mini Eggs)

 

 

 

 

Directions:

Spray muffin pan with PAM (for Baking ideally).

In a large, microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Add marshmallows, stir and microwave 45 seconds on full power. Stir; microwave an additional 45 seconds. Stir; add pretzel sticks. Stir until coated with marshmallow/butter mixture.

Spray a little PAM on your hands. Spoon the coated pretzel sticks in each cup, then use your hands to form it into little nests.

Put the pan in freezer for an hour or so.

Pop each nest out using a fork.

Place on a lightly buttered serving plate or a plate lined with parchment paper or wax paper so nests won't stick.
Fill with candy and enjoy!

 

Weekend Recap: Atlanta

We spent the weekend in Atlanta primarily for the Braves game Saturday night. The game itself was great, but before....have you ever had one of those days that regardless of how organized and how hard you try, you just continually run in to bad luck at every turn?

Yeah... we had one of those days...we spent two to three hours driving around Atlanta/Buckhead trying to find various  unique stores that I was excited to check out...nothing! Ugh!  We could not seem to find anything anywhere; it was like all the stores were hidden. Evan and I were both very frustrated! We went to Lenox Mall and even there...traffic and the parking was crazy! Apparently valet parking at Lenox Mall is the way to go, duly noted for future! We just couldn't catch a break! The chaos in Atlanta made me so thankful that we live in Charlotte...I mean jeez!!  Thankfully on Sunday we were able to make up for the lack of shopping on Saturday by hitting up the Outlet Shoppes At Atlanta! They have a C Wonder Outlet and I got some great deals on jewelry!

All in all, we had a great time.



Mary Mac's Tea Room for lunch for some no frills Southern cooking.

 

Sampling the beer selection at Gordon Biersch Brewery.  I enjoyed them as they were all pilsners and pale ales.



Us at the game.

View from our great seats.



Randomly, on our way back to our hotel, we ran into the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile!  We could not pass up the opportunity to snap a picture!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Five On Friday: All Things Bella

Happy Friday! It wasn't planned, but it appears for the most part, that this week's five is focused primarily on our dog, Bella.

{ONE} Bella's Easter "Outfit" from Old Navy
 

It was only $5 and it has the cutest little bunny tail and ears! It is on clearance and only in the stores.

 

They also had this pink and white striped polo as well (also on clearance). I couldn't resist buying it.

 

 

 

{TWO} Girl's Best Friend Tee by Lauren James 

 

 I absolutely had to have this t-shirt when I saw it! You can find the T Shirt here.  Lauren James has a whole assortment of adorable T Shirts (plus: they all have pockets).

 

  

{Three} Bella's New Dog Trainer  

Although Bella generally is a dog owner's dream (even at 9 months), she has a couple problem areas that we would like to work on, namely: not pulling while walking on the leash and staying by my side when she is not allowed to play with other dogs (all problems while she is on the leash oddly enough).  We are very much looking forward to working with Bella's new trainer, Ruth Wenzel, who lives in Huntersville and is an ABC Certified trainer!  We chose to do six one hour private sessions and Ruth will come to our house (or another location since most of Bella's issues pertain to being in very public places).  We start in two weeks...can't wait!  You can find her website here.

 

 

{Four} Bella's New Dog Bed

 I got this one from Joss and Main and I am very pleased with it.  It goes very well with our family room decor and most importantly, it's machine washable! Although this particular dog bed is not currently available, they routinely have a pet "event" where you can find similar pet beds.

 

  

 

 

  

 

{Five} Our Trip to Atlanta This Weekend

 Somewhat last minute, but Evan got great tickets to a Brave's game (11 rows back from home plate)  this Saturday and so I quickly booked a hotel room in Buckhead for the night. I have a surprise for Evan (potentially a wardrobe item) that I ordered this week for the game! I am looking forward to some good meals and quality time with the hubby!

 

  

 

 

 

HAPPY WEEKEND TO ALL!! 

Five on Friday

So thankful it's Friday (although I wish I felt better)! Guess I have to take the good with the bad (warm weather (love) =awful allergies for me (hate))!  Without further ado, here are my five things for the week:

{One}  Old Navy Women's Suspended-Neck Jersey Dresses

I just love these dresses from Old Navy. They are so comfortable and stylish! They are on sale now for $15.00! They even have petite sizes (which I have to get...I am only 5'3''). Additionally, all of Old Navy's dresses are currently on sale! 

   

Here is the sailboat print dress. I wear an XS petite in almost all of their dresses (just to give you an idea of sizing). 

{Two} Crafty Beer Guys Beer and Wine Shop

 

Located in Huntersville, North Carolina, this is one of our favorite places to go in the evenings and on the weekend. Crafty Beer Guys is a craft beer and wine shop that also serves beer and wine on their premises. The bartenders are extremely knowledgeable and can always recommend the best wine/beer for your tastes. Additionally, they offer beer tastings every Tuesday and wine tastings every Wednesday. And to make it even better, they are dog friendly. They will even bring a water dish to you for your dog. We have LOVED having CBG down the street from us this past year...it is unlike any other beer and wine shop or bar! You can find their website here. 

{Three} Bella climbing up our attic ladder

As promised earlier this week, here is the video taken in Bella climbing our attic ladder in an attempt to get to her Daddy. Pretty hilarious!!

{Four} Harrison Blackford Art

A co-worker of mine mentioned using this artist to have a piece painted for her and I looked her up.  She lives in Greenville, South Carolina. You can find her website here. You can choose what you would like to have painted (either use a personal picture or a picture found somewhere) and she will paint it using your picture!  I love her use of colors and brush strokes. Evan and I definitely want to do this in the next several years.

{Five} Weekend Gardening and Mulching

It is time for the annual planting of our flowers and refreshing our mulch....ugh!  I dread the actual planting of flowers in our front and back yard; it is hard work!  Don't get me wrong, I love picking out the flowers and I love the end  result; I am just not a fan of the actual planting!  Thankfully, this year Evan and I took a vacation day this Wednesday to get a head start on the planting.  Thus, we have already completed the flowers in the front yard and now just need to complete the back yard this weekend.  Hopefully it won't take us too long to complete the back yard this weekend...fingers crossed!

 

Have a great weekend!!