Weekend Snapshots

Happy Tuesday! It was another great weekend around here and with another unforgettable weekend coming up, I wanted to pop in and share a few highlights from the last few days.

The weekend started on a high note when this was waiting on our doorstep on Friday afternoon. I waited a little too long to finally give in and purchase one of these but my goodness, was it worth the wait. It's already been a huge help in me getting comfortable and staying comfortable through the night and I know I'll be extra thankful for it as I continue to get bigger (and more uncomfortable) in the next few weeks. 

I used to enjoy coming home on a Friday and pouring a glass of wine to celebrate the weekend. This was equally as satisfying. 

We had some pretty gorgeous weather all weekend so I put a little more effort into breakfast Saturday and enjoyed it on the back patio before kicking off a day full of chores and errands.

I picked up a pretty new collar for Abby and Target had these adorable slide-on flowers, so naturally, she absolutely needed one. 

I woke up around 8 a.m. Sunday to a strangely quiet house and no husband next to me. These Mother's Day goodies were waiting for me on the kitchen table and I found my sweet man working on stuff in the nursery. He made me a delicious breakfast and I joined him in the nursery to make some progress in there before we both left to spend the day with our mommas. 

Finally! Emma's dresser/changing table is put together and I couldn't be happier. It seemed like this came in a million pieces that had been scattered all over the bedroom floor so I am relieved it's done and we can start getting the room organized as we continue to get everything we need.

I spent the rest of Sunday with my family at my sister's house and Jonathan surprised his mom by taking her horseback riding as a Mother's Day treat. By the time I made it home at 7 (with a very sleepy puppy in tow) we were all ready for an early bedtime. 

I hope your weekend was full of happiness and Mother's Day celebrations. I turn 30 on Thursday (holy cow) and we're headed to Tampa for weekend getaway on Friday. It's safe to say this will be our last little getaway before Emma arrives in July and I'm really looking forward to some quality time away with my man.

Weekend Snapshots

By the time Friday came, I was itching to get the weekend started already. I felt completely exhausted and craving some quality time with my man. I kicked things off with a nap on the hammock during my lunch break because I was absolutely struggling to make it through the workday.

I had no intention of going anywhere that evening, but Jonathan wanted to try a new restaurant up the street so we enjoyed a nice unplanned date night and attempted to watch a movie when we got home. I'm pretty sure we weren't five minutes into the movie when we were both falling asleep so we called it a night and were snoozing by 10:30 PM. No complaints here.

Saturday we had plans to host our friends for dinner so I was up early prepping food and cleaning the house so I wasn't rushing to get everything done later in the day. I had these snickerdoodle blondies in the oven by 7:30 a.m. and proceeded to prep just about everything for dinner, clean the house, give Abby a bath and spend a few hours writing at Starbucks before our friends showed up that evening. I may have overdone it because I was completely exhausted and emotional by the end of the day but we had a great night with friends and I'm so thankful for that.

After such a productive and busy Saturday, my Sunday started pretty slowly. I woke up when Jonathan left for work at 7 long enough to toast a bagel and pack a lunch for him and it was back to bed for me until 9 or so. It felt good to wake up a few times and doze off again just a few minutes later in no rush to get up and do anything in particular. This girl was totally on board with our lazy morning. 

My baby sister got engaged a few weeks ago and wanted to kick off her wedding planning fun by going to a bridal show on Sunday. I am over-the-moon excited for her and obviously said yes when she invited me to join her. We thoroughly enjoyed the cake samples and free goodies and spent the afternoon talking about all things wedding. I just loved spending my whole Sunday with this girl. Isn't she cute?

Speaking of weddings, I get a whole lot of joy out of putting together gift baskets and goodies so naturally, when my sister got engaged I ran out and started gathering a few items for her. I could easily get carried away so I tried to keep it simple with a bottle of champagne, some wedding magazines, jewelry cleaner, thank you cards, nail polish, ring holder and I painted this gold B for her soon-to-be new last name. She's been working on a gallery wall in their house and I thought this would be the perfect addition. Also, this basket is from World Market and I almost wanted to buy one for our house it's so adorable.

I hope your weekend was fantastic! I can't believe it's already May. Holy cow!

Important Lessons from the Weekend

We spent Saturday night in Tampa for a comedy festival featuring Aziz Ansari, Amy Schumer and a handful of other comedians I hadn't really heard of. It was a blast and we were blessed with perfect weather for it, too.

Every now and then, I look back on what was an awesome weekend and the only way to share the highlights is to pass along some important lessons I think are worth passing along. I did this a while ago here and I think it really gave you some fun insight into my weekend, so let's go for it again.

- Don't go to a particular German restaurant in a group of 3 couples and be the only girl who drinks beer in the group. Why, you ask?  Because the boys will inevitably order a boot full of beer which requires 4 people to pass it around the table and drink it until it's empty and you will involuntarily be one of those four people. If this happens once, certainly don't make the mistake of going with the exact same group to the exact same restaurant again. The boot will arrive at the table, everyone will look around the table until you make the connection that yet again, you have to chug beer out of a boot while the entire restaurant sings and cheers you on.

- Sometimes on a Saturday morning, you need to ignore what you were supposed to do (work out) and do what you want to do (browse Target with a pumpkin spice latte in hand).

- Speaking of Starbucks, you should do yourself a favor and try their new toasted graham latte as soon as possible. You can thank me later.



- Don't try to take a photo of Amy Schumer on stage from what seems like a million miles away. Security will be on your case before you even have you camera open meanwhile there's a guy 5 seats away from you who has been smoking pot all night but no one in charge has seemed to notice that or the overwhelming scent in the air.

- If you're ever at the amphitheater in Tampa, don't decide walking to the casino would be easier than trying to get an Uber. It's not easier. It isn't the nice evening walk you had in mind. Instead, it's a walk reminiscent of a Walking Dead episode with mud and dirt roads and you can see the casino in the distance but it's really not as close as it looked when you guys first made this brilliant decision. Luckily, I had great company but still, just don't.

- When you're up $200 at the casino and your husband thinks it's time to call it a night, don't say, "but we just got here! Let's at least keep playing with our winnings." It'll be just three minutes later and you'll be wishing you'd kept your mouth shut and told your husband how smart he is.

- When your husband is doing yard work and calls you outside, be skeptical. One second he is asking you to help move one thing and the next thing you know, you're picking up rocks and carrying tools around. I'm not saying you shouldn't help, but I am saying you should know what you're getting yourself into when you say, "yes honey?" and step outside.

- When in doubt, do stick to your original plans. After we made plans to go to Tampa for the weekend, tons of other things came up that we really didn't want to miss at home. We even considered canceling our Tampa plans since we knew we couldn't do it all if we went away. I know if we had stayed in town, we'd be just as happy with our decision but I'm happy we stuck to our plans and had some fun just the two of us. It doesn't hurt that we have lots of fun plans with family and friends to look forward to the rest of this month!

There you have it. It was quite a weekend for us and with a friend's bachelorette weekend in St. Pete just a few days from now, I'm looking forward to enjoying some downtime at home this week. I hope your weekend was full of some beautiful fall weather and fun!

Life Lately

Well, hello and happy Monday! My goodness. We've been living quite the life lately. The month of May brings what feels like nonstop celebrations and with life just being a little busy in general, I am overwhelmed (in a really good way) with all the fun we've been having. Although, I do have to admit I am really looking forward to spending time in my own kitchen tonight cooking a nice meal. 

Where do I start? Let's see. 

We didn't have anything planned for Cinco de Mayo but made some last minute plans to meet my in-laws for a few drinks and dinner. We kept it simple and I'm pretty sure we were home by 10, but nonetheless, I'm glad we got out and did something fun! 

Last week, Jonathan's younger sister was in town for a few days so after a family dinner at my in-laws on Wednesday night, Jonathan and I met Nicole at Stonewood Grill Thursday night and she treated us to an amaaaazing meal as an early birthday gift for each of us.

I didn't get any pictures that night but I am stealing this photo from Nicole because we had chocolate bread pudding for dessert and it was life changing. 

Friday I met up with my friend (and new mommy!) Lindsay and her adorable baby boy for lunch. It is hot as can be in Orlando already but it was an awesome day to enjoy lunch and girl talk in the sunshine. I obviously soaked in every minute of baby time. Isn't this kid so cute?

Friday night we had big plans to celebrate my brother's 30th birthday. Our family met up at one of my favorite sushi places, Amura in Dr. Phillips and enjoyed a perfect dinner inclusive of a round of saki bombs for the table. Believe it or not, this was my first saki bomb and actually, a few of us hadn't had one before. It was pretty impressive to see that both my parents even joined in.

Props to my sista for getting a halfway decent photo of our group at dinner. This is no easy feat but this picture makes my heart smile big. 

What day am I on? Oh yes. Saturday. 

I made last minute plans to meet my BFF for lunch in Mount Dora on Saturday. After an awesome morning workout, I soaked up every second of the beautiful drive to Mount Dora to meet Taryn at the cutest little cafe. It's not always easy for us to coordinate a meet up when she is in town, but when we are able to, I'm so very glad we did. 

After a quick lunch with Taryn, I rushed back to our side of town to pick up a few picnic essentials before my in-laws picked me up for what ended up being an awesome afternoon. I guess every year the Orlando Philarmonic plays and a band covers songs from a specific group. This year, it was all Eagles songs. The Springs, a development in Longwood, FL hosts the event and you're able to bring your own food/drinks and set up wherever you want for the show. It was seriously an awesome time.

On Sunday, I drove up to spend the day with my momma. I spent weeks brainstorming what to buy her for Mother's Day when I realized we'd both be pretty happy girls to just get to spend the day together. We don't have mother/daughter days nearly as much as we used to and there's no better time than mother's day to do just that! I treated each of us to a deluxe pedicure and we did a little shopping. I can't say enough about how thankful I am to have such a close friendship with my momma. It was an awesome day!

Thankfully, I was able to rearrange my schedule this week and take today and tomorrow off of work. I needed a day to regain control of our home life after such a busy and fun few days and it felt pretty darn good.

I'm turning 29 tomorrow so this week is shaping up to full of celebrations and joy, too! Hope your weekend was a happy one!