Thoughts for Thursday:

I am taking a vacation day tomorrow, so I decided to blog today so that I can relax tomorrow without (too much) of a to-do list.

Here are my thoughts for the day:

{ONE} Bella is having her First Birthday Pawty this Saturday and she turns one this Sunday, June 29th! Among other things, I ordered a cake for her first Birthday from Yappy Hour Bakery in Huntersville, NC (located in Birkdale Village).
More to come on her birthday festivities next week.

{TWO}I found this letter at Home South, and thought it was a great additional to the front door for summer. I added a lace burlap bow and voila!

  

{THREE}  Not Just Coffee

 

For those that work in Uptown Charlotte, specifically, near the 7th Street Market, you should check this place out. They are a little pricey (around $4.95 for a latte); however  they are worth it. My favorite is the Vanilla Sugar Latte.

 

 

{FOUR} This cutie. He will hate that I am posting a picture of him on my blog, but I can't help it. I am loving his new bow tie Wednesday traditions. This is the bow tie from our wedding.

 

 I am linking up with Home of the Malones and East Coast Chic today!

 

 

 

 

  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

 

Weekend Recap: Parks, Friends, and Home Projects

Being the first weekend that Evan and I have been home in about a month; we did a little bit of everything: took Bella to a doggy park near us in Cornelius, North Carolina, had dinner at a close friends' house, and even managed to paint/spruce up our master bathroom.

 

Thursday Night: Ramsey Creek K-9 Park :

Bella enjoyed her new frisbie from "Auntie Ruth," as we refer to her; in actually "Auntie Ruth" is Bella's trainer and dog sitter. We took Bella to the K-9 Park located in Ramsey Creek Park and Bella loved it! There were probably 20 or so dogs there around 6:30 pm on the Thursday night we were there.

 

This Chuck-It Frisbee Frisbee is really easy to throw and obviously Bella is a fan.

Bella all tired after playing at the park.

 

Saturday Night: Dinner with Friends:

As always, Brooke and Michael whipped up a great meal: Turkey burgers with bacon, cheddar cheese, avocado, grilled aspargus, and corn on the cob.

 

 

 

Auntie Brooke as always spoiled the pups with treats from Canine Cafe. Bella had not had a cannolis before; of course she was a fan.

 

 

 

 

 As always, Bella and Piper (1 day apart in age) played the entire time.

 

 

Apparently we had a little too much fun...

More to come on our master bathroom updates/painting!! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Five on Friday

{ONE}  Bella's "Graduation"

Bella "graduated" from from her six week training course with Ruth Wenzel of A Dog's Best Friend Training last Thursday. We have had the best experience working with Ruth; however, since she offers boarding and pet sitting services, Bella will continue to have many more play dates with Ruth and her doggies!

Sorry for the red eye in this picture; for some reason I could not get the red eye reducer to work!

{TWO} Our new Nikon D3100 14.2 MP Digital SLR Camera

I have been wanting an SLR camera for ages and we finally pulled the trigger this past Wednesday. I have read tons of reviews and weighed getting a newer model of this camera (which obviously would be more expensive) versus this slightly older model and I couldn't justify getting a newer model based on everything I read. Plus, I have several friends that have this camera model and love it; so we figured we can't go wrong with this one!  I am so excited for it to get here, so that I can begin taking lots of pictures!!

{THREE} Moon and Lola 'Chelsea' Small Monogrammed Stud Earrings

I love these earrings and have wanted them for quite some time! They come in many different colors, but my favorite is the Tigers Eye/Gold color, that looks like Tortoise shell to me. These will likely be on my birthday wish list (too bad my birthday isn't until the end of September).

{FOUR} Our trip to my Father-In-Law's this weekend in Greenville, South Carolina.

I am sad to say that since little Bella has been in the picture, we haven't made it down to his house much. I am looking forward to doing some hiking, eating some good food, and relaxing (something I never do at home because I  can always find something that needs to be done around the house)! This is a picture of one of the waterfalls in Caesar Head State Park, where we plan on hiking this Saturday.

{FIVE} This Quote

Most importantly  on my five this week, is this quote I found on Pinterest and I thought it was worth mentioning (for my sake).  I need to plaster this quote to my fridge and every other place I can think of! I am very aware that I continually struggle with this one as I am a planner and I always want to think about the next big thing I have to look forward to.  My goal is to try very hard to live in the present and focus less on the past and future.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

 

Spring Family Photos

I was so excited to get our pictures back from our photo session with Leslie Keener of Elizabeth Scott Photography that we took back in April!!  Despite the torrential downpours prior to our shoot (I was freaking out a bit) and my somewhat frizzy hair due to all of the rain, all in all, I thought our pictures turned out great!  Thank you so much, Leslie, for all of your hard work! Also, thank you to Lindsey Regan Thorne who did my hair and makeup! Here are some of my favorites from the shoot: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am excited to frame some of these and find places for them in our home!

 

Memorial Day Weekend Recap

I know, I am OVER  a week late, but I have just not had the time nor the inclination to blog in the past week! So sorry!  I figured better late than never though; so here is a mini recap of our 2014 Memorial Day weekend:

 

 The best part of the party was definitely the food. My Father-in-law, Paul, smoked a pig at his house near Greenville, SC and then brought it to our house for the barbeque....it was DELICIOUS...some of the best I have had! Other sides for the party included: baked beans, coleslaw, macoroni and cheese, mini iceburg lettuce wedges with blue cheese and bacon, apple pie....I am probably forgetting some things... but you get the idea.

 

I did not go crazy this time with decor or presentation; given that we had just gotten back from our Kansas City trip. Some of my very simple and easy decor for this small get-together included: a navy blue polka dot overlay, some patriotic plates and napkins, and red,white and blue painted mason jars with twine.  I also bought small American flags at Michael's and painted several large mason jars with stars and stripes and  filled the mason jars with pinto beans. In addition to all the beer and wine we had on hand, we also had margaritas made from William Sonoma Margarita mix; it is delicious!

 

Bella and her best friend, Piper, enjoyed themselves just like everybody else.  I am mad at myself for not taking a picture of Piper and Bella together; I guess I was too busy enjoying the festivities! Bella and Piper both had matching red collars and patriotic flowers for Memorial Day. Here are a couple shots of Bella Memorial Day Weekend.

 

 

 

Lots of toasts were had by all. All in all, it was a very relaxing and successful Memorial Day Weekend!