Family – Page 8

New Years 2015

January 8, 2015

Leggings: Gap (sold out) similar here // Top: Lou and Grey (sold out)

New Years Eve was spent with family, warm fires and heated game of Cranium. We were able to spend time with some of Ryan’s family that we do not get to see very often, which was a huge blessing. We got Hampton to bed and were very tempted to go to sleep as well, but we did actually stay up to watch the ball drop in New York and again in Mobile.

New Years Day was spent mostly outside, because even with colds, just try to get these two to stay inside. It’s impossible. Hampton would live outside if I let him. They drove their Gator all around my grandparents house out in the country, and we enjoyed some delicious traditional NY day food!

How did you spend your New Years Day?

Check here to see if you won my Betty Crocker Giveaway!

2014 Reflections

January 1, 2015

Some of my favorite moments were celebrating many of Hampton’s first. His first New Year, his first snow (in Alabama), his first hike, picnics, swimming, our trip to the beach, his first birthday party, and then his second Halloween, the day we found out we were expecting a little girl and his second Christmas.

I loved our Chicago and Orlando trips as well. We have had a year full of blessings, a little heartache, and a lot of love. I am so excited for the new year to begin and to welcome our baby girl into our lives and begin celebrating all of her firsts. It is going to be an incredible year.

Here are my top 5 posts of 2014:

Guest Post: Leslyn’s Creamy Garlic Pasta

Facts of Life After Baby

How To Double Your Pageviews in 2 Months

The Only Picture I Regretted Taking

Mezzetta Holiday Recipes

I hope you have a Happy New Year! See you in 2015!

What was your top blog post this year? Leave me a link in the comments!

Christmas Parties

December 23, 2014

We have attended 2 Christmas parties so far this week with a few more coming up! With both of our families living so close to us, there is always something fun going on. The holidays are very busy, but we love seeing everyone and spending time with loved ones that we don’t see as often as we’d like to.

Seeing all of my cousins this past weekend was awesome. I love getting together with them. Our theme this year was “favorite Christmas character,” So Ryan and I went as candy canes (real original, I know) and Hamp was a little Olaf. The cutest Olaf I’ve ever seen. We played games and ate yummy treats (including my Christmas cookies).

My brother definitely won best costume this year dressing up as cousin Eddie. He doesn’t hold back, and I love it! My sister won best hair by far, because look at it! It’s amazing.

Other than our other Christmas party stops, we are planning to relax as much as possible and watch as many Christmas movies as we can over the next couple of days.

How are you spending Christmas week? Have you attended any Christmas parties?

Labor Day 2014

September 5, 2014

Hello! Did you know today is “Be Late For Something Day?” Finally a holiday I can get into! haha I am rarely on time for anything these days which is funny because being late used to be a huge pet peeve of mine. It’s funny how having a baby changes things.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend! Our Labor Day Weekend was filled with food and family. We traveled to Jacksonville, Florida where my grandparents live and we stayed for almost a week. We enjoyed the beach a couple of days, caught a few of the labor day sales and ate tons of food. I seriously feel like I’ve gained 10 pounds. Not really, but we ate a lot.

No pants and flip flops – a true beach bum! 😉

We watched lots of football and I am excited to say that I am winning my fantasy league after the first week. And no, Ryan did not help me at all. I just have a gut feeling about these things. Or I choose based on team colors…either way. 😉

In front of Me Me’s famous pink doors!

I loved taking Hampton to the beach one last time this year. He loves the sand and he is warming up to the waves. It had so much fun and was in the best little mood. It made for a really great week.

What did you do over the holiday weekend?

Date Night With Chili’s® At Home

August 20, 2014

Big thanks to Chili’s® at Home for sponsoring this post and providing the entrees to be sampled.

As a new mom, my time is extremely limited. I’m working, cleaning, organizing, managing everyone’s schedules, and the list goes on and on… Needless to say, I don’t always have time to cook dinner let alone go on a date. We try to budget and eat most of our meals at home because it is healthier and saves us so much money every month. For my birthday last week, we went to Chilis to celebrate. I remember thinking, I wish I could make delicious food like this at home. Well, thanks to Chilis® at Home frozen foods I can! These are some of the best frozen food meals I have ever had. They are so delicious and I have fallen in love with the convenience and big, bold tasty flavors of Chilis at Home. They make my life so much easier.

The Chilis® frozen foods are inspired by the restaurant’s most popular entrees. They are sold at all of the major retailers such as Walmart, Kroger, Food Lion and many more. There are so many options available including Bacon Mac & Cheese, Island Chicken and Rice, Cajun-style Chicken Alfredo and many more. They are offered in single-serve entrees as well as multi-serve meals which are perfect for parties and football games!

Ryan and I picked our frozen meals up at Walmart. We enoyed the Bacon Mac and Cheese and the Cajun-style Chicken Alfredo. They were both delicious. The Cajun-style dish was a delivered a spicy taste that wasn’t too overpowering and the bacon mac and cheese is perfect if your in the mood for some comfort food.

We enjoyed a nice relaxing night at home with great food and best of all – convenience.

Be sure to check out Chili’s® at Home frozen foods and grab your free coupon today!

Have you tried Chilis at home meals? Do you eat at Chilis?

Pink Blazer

August 6, 2014

blazer: c/o oasap here

shorts: Levis c/o thred UP

sandals: target

I saw this adorable pink blazer and had to have it. The ruffle was the final detail that sold me on it. I also love the lace on the cuffs. It is a perfect blazer that can be worn in the summer or fall. I love versatile pieces.

My sister came to stay with me and Hampton over the weekend while Ryan was out of town on a business trip. We watched movies, ate ice cream and stayed up late talking. I’ve missed her so much since she moved to college. She is only 45 minutes away, but I went from seeing her almost every day to about once or twice a month. It’s been so weird not having her around as much. I definitely enjoyed my time with her and Hampton didn’t hate it either. He loves his Mac Mac!

Saturday, we went to my brother’s house for a cookout. I love getting Hampton and Gage (my nephew) together. They are so much fun. They are starting to play together a little more and it is so funny watching Gage try to figure Hampton out. We had a great time and I can’t wait to do it again, soon.

What did you do over the weekend?

Linking up here: Monday Mingle YOLO Mondays Monday Bloom Style Sessions Trend Spin Fashion The Pleated Poppy What I Wore Wednesdays Random Wednesday Look what I got! Vodka Infused Lemonade I Feel Pretty Be.You.Ti.Ful Casual Friday Fashion Friday Favorite Fashion Friday Friday’s Fab Favorites Fashion Friday Glitterati Gala

Summer Travels: Destin, Florida

July 22, 2014

Destin is my favorite beach to visit. No offense to Gulf Shores, but Destin’s waters are so clear (most of the time). I am really funny about getting out in the ocean. I’m not trying to get eaten by a shark. No thanks. This trip, I actually felt comfortable being out there. I could see the bottom of the ocean at shoulder length deep water, so I felt okay about it…until the one day when the life guards ran frantically down the beach blowing their whistles and yelling to get out of the water. It turned out to just be a school of fish. haha It was still exciting, though.

This was Hampton’s first time to see the ocean. He loved the sand (and may have eaten some), but he wasn’t a huge fan of the waves. He definitely prefers the pool, but he will get used to it and learn to love it if he is anything like his parents.

We enjoyed a lot of sun, and food, but my favorite part of the trip was walking on the beach with Ryan and Hampton our last evening there. The sunset was beautiful. I hope to go back to Destin before the summer ends, but I don’t know if it will happen. We will see!

Where have you traveled this summer? Do you have any other trips planned?

To see more photos, follow me on Instagram!

My First Spa Experience

July 3, 2014

Last Saturday, my awesome MIL took me and my sisters-in-law to a spa in downtown Montgomery. It was my first time ever in a spa. I stated a few days ago that I needed to get back to a simpler life and this is exactly what I had in mind. It was so nice to get away for a few hours and relax and be pampered. I also got to spend time with actual grown-ups which is always nice!

When we first arrived, I got a pedicure and then a manicure while my sister-in-law was getting a massage. I’ve never had a massage and neither had she. She loved it which makes me want to go back to get one very soon. My mani/pedi felt amazing. She even did a “Pinterest” design because I told her I was a blogger and she said “oh girl! I have to make you Pinterest.” haha. She was a really sweet girl and I even made a business connection with her so that’s always neat!

After we finished our appointments, we met in the “quiet room” to eat lunch. We headed out to the back porch and I ate the best cobb salad I have ever had. It was amazing. We then headed into the sauna for all of 2 seconds. It was a bit too hot and steamy for us, which I guess is the point, but wow. We ended our day laying by the pool where we met my MIL and other sister-in-law. We talked and relaxed and it was so nice. I will definitely be going back and hopefully sooner rather than later.

It made me realize how important it is to step away and relax. It’s okay to pamper yourself a little. As a mom, it is important to take care of yourself so that you can take care of everyone else. It’s okay to ask for help when you’re feeling overwhelmed. I’m so thankful for the time I got to spend with Ryan’s family. It was a true blessing and perfect timing.

Linking up with Katie!

Have you been to a spa? What do you do to take care of yourself?

Living a Simple Life

June 24, 2014

Lately we have been going non-stop – graduations, birthday parties, weddings, holidays, baby showers, and the list goes on and on… Ryan and I both come from large families and with both families living in the area, there is always something going on. I am a pretty simple person. It doesn’t take a lot to please me. I am laid back for the most part and Ryan is extremely laid back. We enjoy peaceful weekends more than busy ones. We function better if we are able to spend quality time with one another rather than going constantly. When we are busiest is when I start to notice a change in our relationship. Not a bad change necessarily, but a change. We lose sight of our relationship and spending quality time with our son because we are so worried about everything we have to do that day – packing Hampton’s things, figuring out what to wear, what to do with our dog while we are away. We get so caught up in the hustle and bustle that we forget to take care of us and it can start to show.

We have busy weekends over the next couple of weeks. I am starting to feel like we are never going to have time to just stop and relax. It is tough. I don’t mind being busy and, in fact, I usually prefer it, but when your weekends have been full for the last 2 months straight with no end in sight, it begins to wear on you a bit. Honestly, we are just going to have to start saying no to things and that will have to be okay. I have a hard time saying no because a lot of the time, I would be saying no to something that I really want to do. Plus, sometimes our families aren’t crazy about us not being able to go to something, but it will just have to be okay from now on. I’m learning more and more that you can’t please everyone and the more you try, the more miserable you’re going to be.

There is nothing wrong with living a slower, simpler life. There is nothing wrong with spending a quiet weekend at home and turning down your family for a pool day or ball game or whatever may be going on so that you can spend time with your husband and children. There is nothing wrong with saying no when you are feeling overwhelmed or have other plans. If others aren’t okay with that, that is something they will have to deal with. I know that I don’t get my feelings hurt when someone tells me no. I don’t understand why some people do. I guess I’m just not wired that way. The fact is though, most people don’t do well with hearing the word no.

Bottom line, after God, your husband and children come first. Everyone else comes after that. That’s the way God designed it. We are going to get back to a simple life after these next couple of weeks roll by. I am really excited for the one on one time I will get to spend with my family.

Do you have a problem saying no? Do you ever feel overwhelmed with life’s obligations?

photo credit: Marcio Cabral de Moura via photopin cc