Five on Friday-Cold Edition!

It's that time again. I'm linking up for Five on Friday.

One. Henson gets a little spotlight today because he is the cutest thing ever. I'm allowed to say that! I don't normally buy Henson soft toys because he goes through them so quickly. I'm talking 30 minutes and there is stuffing all over the floor. He has lots of bones, balls and chew toys just not the soft ones but those happen to be his favorite. I randomly decided to buy him this little stuffed duck last week. Not only has he not torn it to shreds he has been toting it around EVERYWHERE he goes. He sleeps with it, plays with it and just carries it around with him. It is adorable. I love that little furry boy!! 

Two. I don't know what has been going on with my cooking this week but it has been on point. I tried several new recipes: Honey Dijon chicken breast, citrus smoked pork chops, southern style black eyed peas and collard greens. What?? I love cooking but don't normally cook like that. I may just have to start though because everything turned out SO good. I blame it on the cold weather making me want all the comfort food! All of the recipes came out of my new cookbook South Your Mouth. She has a ton of recipes on her website for free if your in the mood for some true southern cooking! 

Three. There is snow all over NC!!! ..but not here. We live at the coast on the border of NC and SC which is right about where the winter mix line ended. We did however get enough  freezing rain to cause a two hour delay at school. I'll take it! The two extra hours this morning gave me enough time to sleep in a little bit, cook breakfast and pack lunch for Justin and myself, wash a load of clothes and type up a blog post. I can only imagine what all I could accomplish with two more hours in a day! Side note- while I was typing up this post I was listening to the Happy Hour with Jamey Iivey podcast which I have really been enjoying. I'd love to find some new podcast though.. if you have a favorite send it my way!! 

Four. Let's talk shopping deals for a minute. I've always tended to pay a little more for shoes and jeans. I like good quality for the two... I want my shoes to be comfortable and look good. Same with jeans, I have just always preferred the fit of designer jeans. Well anyway, last weekend I decided I just "had to have" a new pair of black jeans and a pair of black booties. I wanted to go with my favorite tried and true Paige denim brand and a pair of booties from Nordstrom that were not be any means cheap. I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much for the two items this time though. Maybe because I knew in my head it was a slight impulse decision. I decided to try my luck at the Tanger Outlets and was blown away when I found a perfect pair of black jeans (that fit PERFECT... and I'm super picky) at Banana Republic outlet for only $40! I also found an adorable pair of black booties at the Nine West outlet for only $30. I walked out with both items without breaking the bank. Oh happy day! 


Five. I'm not normally this excited about football but oh my word the Panthers have been doing SO GOOD! This Sunday we will find out if they make it to the Super Bowl or not. To make it better the game falls on my brother in laws birthday so I will get to watch with the whole family together celebrating. Fingers crossed for a win! Go Cats! 

Wedding Reception: part 1

I'm here today with part one of our wedding reception recap! Every time I type up a wedding  recap post it makes me smile ear to ear to look back on this day! These pictures are priceless to me.  Our wedding reception was in two words: sweet and fun. I truly believe we had one of the most enjoyable (aka, not boring in the least) receptions I've ever been to. I know I'm biased but I'm allowed to think that! (; Seriously though, it was a time to celebrate with our nearest and dearest and that is exactly what we did! 

The reception was held at St Thomas Preservation Hall where the ceremony was also held. Their staff flipped the room after the ceremony during our cocktail hour. We entered the room with an upbeat "sports theme" type announcement which really set the tone in a positive way for the night. We went straight into our first dance and father daughter, mother son dances. Our first dance was to Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran. Justin sang to me the whole time we were dancing and the bridesmaid and groomsmen started singing along too which made it so special! After the dances were over it was time for dinner which was seriously AMAZING. If you are in need of a caterer in the Wilmington area I highly recommend Middle of the Island catering! Some of my favorites on the menu included: marinated chicken, honey baked ham, strawberry spinach salad, squash casserole and collard greens. All of our guest raved about the food as well as Justin and I so I would call that a win! 

After dinner we started the dancing and some other things our DJ had in mind. When I say we danced, I mean it. We danced/our guest danced a lot, like a wholeeee lot. It was absolutely perfect and exactly what we had hoped for! I don't think the dance floor was ever empty. Our DJ had us play the bride/ groom question game. I've seen it several times before so maybe you have too.. I won't take the time to explain. It was fun though! I'm going t let the pictures do the rest of the talking. I'll be back next time with part two to include the cake cutting and more!

Fun fact: Jessica, one of my bridesmaid's caught the bouquet and Daniel which was her boyfriend caught the garter. A few weeks ago they got engaged! Just 4 months after our wedding! I'd say the bouquet/garter toss tradition rang true for them!! 

If you missed the prior post you check them out here:

getting ready

rehearsal dinner

 bridesmaid brunch

ceremony

Living Room updates

Justin and I moved into our house almost a year and a half ago. Since then we have worked on decorating and filling it a little bit at a time. It is crazy to think just how far we have come in such a short amount of time! Our house is no where near finished as far as decorating. There really isn't one room I would say is "finished". That's part of the fun though.. always adding and changing to finally see it start to come together! Today I am going to show you our living room which like I said is not finished but has come a long way. It's definitely not "pinterest perfect" but I like to be able to look back and see how things have changed! You can see our living room a year ago here. 

Since I last posted a picture of our living room we added two mirrors and four prints to the wall. This was such a large wall space and I was at a loss on how to fill it! I think I like how it turned out though!

Two of my favorite accessories in this room. My mom found that blue and white lamp for us that I LOVE and Justin gifted me the Labrador pillow for Christmas which makes my heart smile every time I read it. 

This rug is also new. Believe it or not Justin picked it out ALL by himself. Love! Next up on the list is a new couch. So there you have it friends.. our living room! Where lots of blogging, Netflix and Bachelor watching occurs. Speaking of.. whose watching tonight?! I can't wait!