Fourth of July

We had a wonderful Fourth of July and I hope you did as well! This year things looked a little different since we couldn't head out to the beach or on the boat because of it being just too hot for Anna Claire. We ended up having family over to our house to grill burgers and go swimming. It worked out perfect because we were able to keep Anna Claire inside most of the time while everyone  else was in and out. We spent the whole day enjoying each others company, swimming, grilling burgers and hot dogs and eating a million chocolate covered strawberries. We let Anna Claire get in the pool for the first time and she absolutely loved it! I thought she would probably scream but since the water was so warm I think it felt like bath water to her. She was so adorable!! Of course I took a million pictures to document it. By late afternoon over half of our crew spread out around the house for a little cat nap then rallied to go watch the fireworks that night. I was super nervous taking Anna Claire to the fireworks because I didn't know if it would be too loud for her but she did great! I muffled her ears with my hands to give myself a little more peace of mind. She actually seemed to watch them for a while and then fell asleep. It was a wonderful day! 

I made this Flag Cake via Paula Deen reciepe 

After a long day I look terrible but I love seeing how AC was so into the fireworks on her first Fourth of July! 

Weekending- Fathers Day

A day late but that's okay! I can't miss recapping our first Fathers day weekend as a family of 3! We had the best weekend split between guys time for Justin and girls time for me and family time the rest  of the weekend. On Thursday one of my life long best friends and her mom (my "second" mom) came to town for a girls weekend. We took it easy on Thursday and spent Friday walking, catching up, grabbing some seafood and attending happy hour. They got lots of baby cuddles which is everybodies favorite these days. On Saturday mom offered to watch Anna Claire so I could lay out on the beach for two hours which was so nice! We have these girls weekends occasionally and they are always so good for the soul. Justin was busy that whole time working, grilling out with his friends and golfing which worked out perfectly. 

On Saturday night I said my goodbyes and headed home to start Fathers Day celebrations. We went to dinner with Justin's parents at a new restaurant called Oyster Rock. On Sunday I made Justin breakfast and Anna Claire and Henson gave him his first Fathers Day gift. It has always been a special holiday but it is just that much more special (and fun) now that Justin is a daddy! We went to church for the first time since Anna Claire was born. She was an angel and slept the entire service. We stopped by a new brewery on our way home to play some Uno and have a drink then headed home to watch golf the rest of the day. We ended the weekend with a walk around the neighborhood and an early bedtime. It was perfect! 

Happy Fathers Day Justin! We love you! 

Christmas 2014

This year I was able to spend Christmas Eve in our new house with Justin's family and then wake up and travel home Christmas morning to spend Christmas with my family. I was worried how I would balance Christmas with two families in the mix but it worked out just perfect. Christmas Eve we had all of Justin's family over to our house for dinner, drinks and gifts. I was thrilled to get to spend part of Christmas with them for the first time ever. To keep things simple but also delicious everyone brought their own steak and potato and we had salad, rolls, tons of appetizers and butter finger pie. 

Christmas morning I woke up bright and early to head to my parents house. Justin couldn't join this year because of his work schedule. Fingers crossed that he can next year! Even though we could not be together I was so happy to be home with my family. There is just something peaceful about being "home" with your family. My mom made a big lunch, a yummy limoncello drink and we exchanged our gifts to each other. The past few years it has become a tradition to get together with our best girl friends Christmas night for a cocktail. This may have been my favorite year yet... so much fun with these girls!! We could talk for days on end and never run out of things to say. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking. I'm so thankful for such wonderful family and friends who made Christmas 2014 one to remember! 

Christmas House Tour

Merry Christmas friends!! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas celebrating with family and friends! This year I have been so blessed as I was able to spend Christmas with not only my family but Justin's as well, and with close friends. I have been a little absent from the blog enjoying every minute of the Christmas season but I am back and can't wait to share about my holiday! Those that have been reading know that Justin and I bought a house back in August; read here. This was our first Christmas together in our house and definitely one to remember. We had so much fun filling the house with Christmas decorations and starting traditions. I snapped some pictures partly to show off the Christmas decor and partly to show off how the living room and dining room are coming along! I hope you love it as much as we do!! 

So with this picture you can see our new Everett foyer table under the TV and our new chair. Next on the wish list is the matching couch, a side table and wall art. We're getting there.. one piece at a time. (: 

You can read about our hunt for a chair here. This is the Bennington chair from Rooms to go.. I LOVE how it turned out!! It is SO comfy and the perfect size to cuddle up in. 

Everett foyer table..this is probably my favorite piece of furniture in the house. I love love love it! It fits perfectly under our TV.  

 Do you see our NEW farm table in the dining room?! My future father in law built that for us for Christmas. Full post to come.. he did an awesome job! 

Fourth of July

Fourth of July this year was so very special to me because of our engagement just the night before. When I woke up I was immediately surrounded by family which is possibly the best feeling ever! My mom and sister were still in town from the engagement party as well as many of J's family.  His dad made us pancakes and bacon and we spent the first part of the morning just hanging out and eating. It was the perfect way to start the holiday! 

My mom and sister had to hit the road after breakfast because my sister needed to get home and pack for her trip to Taiwan the very next day! We said our goodbyes and got ready to spend the rest of the day on the beach. After the hurricane weather the day before it was so nice to see sunny blue skies for the 4th! 

 bocce ball fun