3 day weekends = the best

Nothing beats the feeling of not having to set your alarm on Sunday night! Having today off was so great, especially because it was so beautiful here today.  D.J. and I were busy (as always) this weekend.  Friday night we decided to be lazy, we stayed at home and watched Fast and Furious 6.  Not gonna lie, it was kind of wierd watching a movie with Paul Walker knowing he isn't here with us today.  It was a good movie though.  Saturday I had to work for a little bit and then went to a bridal shower! I was in charge of making the ribbon bouquet.  It turned out better than I expected.  Tip: I used a smaller paper plate and it was a lot easier.  Even though there wasn't as much space, I figured out ways to make all the ribbons fit! I also learned that if you are the bride and you break a ribbon when opening a present, it means a baby is in the near future!? Anyone else hear of that superstition??

Me and Allena, the bride-to-be!

Bridesmaids!

Saturday night we took the little cousins Extreme Bowling! It was so entertaining watching them try and throw the ball down the lane! Little kids are seriously the best! D.J. was wearing his Indians hat and they all wanted to take a picture with the hat on :) Hopefully (as long as everything goes as planned) Liam and I will be able to take some trips down to see D.J. play this year in Carolina! Sorry about the quality of the pictures, the lighting in the bowling alley was hard to work with!

Sunday we headed up to Williamsburg for my surprise birthday present! I had a gut feeling we were going wine tasting, but didn't know for sure until we were turning into the Williamsburg Winery! It was exactly what I wanted to do for my birthday! I had been wanting to go wine tasting with D.J. for a while now, so this was an extra-special trip! I was so preoccupied with the beauty of the winery, I forgot to take any pictures.  But for those of you reading that are not from this area, here is a picture from their website! Not only did we drink great wine, we also learned a lot about the wine making process too!


Today I just took it easy.  Went to Target, watched some Criminal Minds and went on a nice run outside.  Since it was so nice out, we decided to take Stryker up to the school by our house to play catch and get his energy out!

Happy Monday Y'all!

5 on Friday!

Today I am linking up for the first time with Christina at Carolina Charm for 5 on Friday!

one.  planners.

 Erin Condren Planners are the best planners out there.  At first, they may take a little time getting used to the vertical format of the day-to-day planning, but once you get used to it, they rock! I personally love the fact that they are well bound.  The pages never fall out of the spiral (on my old planners that used to happen all the time!) For the second year in a row, this was the most anticipated Christmas present when we were opening presents. Everyone loves a little something monogrammed too!

two.  ribbon hair bands and sweaty bands.

For the past few months now, I have been rocking this "broken" hairband according to my husband.  So for Christmas he went out and bought me a whole set of new hairbands that were not broken.  When I told him that they were supposed to be like that, he was a little embarrassed! So for my birthday, he made it up by going out and getting me a whole set of the "broken" ones and on top of that, he added two new Sweaty Bands for my workout class that starts next month! These headbands are seriously the best out there ladies.  If you don't own one, go buy one now! (Nordstroms has a bunch!)

three. castudio glasses.

Since discovering A. Dodsons, I have been eying these glasses! I love the idea of starting to collect them from all the places we go together as a married couple! So to start it off, I grabbed Virginia last time I was in there! (ok i can't lie- i also grabbed a Christmas one that is already up in storage for 1/2 price!)

four. birthdays.
24 years young this week! Being able to celebrate my birthday with friends and family was perfect. I am so lucky to have so many people that love me!

five. three day weekends.

Nothing beats a 3 day weekend! Sunday the hubby has planned a surprise birthday celebration somewhere in Williamsburg! Will be sure to let you know what we end up doing!

And there it is, my first 5 on Friday!

#tbt Bridesmaids Luncheon

I couldn't imagine a better way to kick off the wedding weekend than with all of my favorite people.  While the boys played golf, we at yummy food, had lots of laughs, and of coourse some delicious bubbly!

It all was made possible by the lovely host, Heather and Caroline at their new home in Virginia Beach.  All the bridesmaids besides Hannah were able to make it and I decided this was the perfect time to give them their gifts (personalized tervis' and a necklace to wear for the wedding).  D.J.'s family came down Thursday night so they would be able to make it to everything wedding related!

My new sisters and my first baby niece! 

The little girls were excited because their gifts were the same as the big girls!

We had yummy breakfast foods and just spent the morning catching up with everyone and playing with all the little kids! Of course we took lots of photos, but here are some of my favorites!

Bridal party minus Hannah!

Most precious little cousins a girl could ask for

Mama of the bride 

One of many like this!

Nana and Gloria, her best friend since giving birth to my dad!

Check back next #tbt for the Getting Ready pictures!

Home Improvement Week 2: American Flag Glass Art

For Christmas, I got this beautiful piece of artwork from Sandfiddler.  We saw it when we went there for breakfast one day and I mentioned how much I loved it to D.J.  Later that day, he went back and found out it had been sold a while back, but the person that bought it never picked it up! The owner ended up selling it to D.J. for $50! 

We all know how much I love anything American themed so I was so surprised when I saw it by the Christmas tree in the morning! In an old window frame, pieces of glass was put together to create an American Flag.

Now the hard part--deciding where to put it.

 Ideally, I would have loved if light could be shining through the back, but we don't have windows the same size as the frame it is in so that idea was out. Our living room walls were pretty much taken.  Looking in the kitchen, I decided we needed to put it in there.  

So over the weekend, Dad came over to help D.J. find the studs and put it up.  The first way we had it up looked messy.  The chain that was attached to hold it up looked cheap.  So we took of the chain, moved the eylets in and hung it back up to see how it looked.

Perfect. Job completed! Now all I need to do is find something to go on the sides to make it look finished!

View of the kitchen standing by the stove

You can see where the eyelets used to be and how we ended up hanging it up!

 

View of the kitchen standing close to the dining room!

Check back next week to see what we have in store for our next Home Improvement Blog!

Weekend Wrap Up

Ah.. Bachelor Monday night! Lets get real. This house isn't watching The Bachelor.  Currently, the Duke UVA game is on TV and the Bachelor is recording.  I like watching it recorded anyways so I can fast forward through the commercials.  

This weekend went by super fast! They all do, but this one was extra fast.  Friday was pretty low key.  D.J.'s parents came in town around 9 p.m. so we watched some tv and played Scattergories while we waited for them.  Since we are still putting together the guest room, D.J. and I slept on the twin size bed we have in the 3rd room and gave our bed to his parents. 

Saturday morning we slept in got up when Stryker was hungry which was right on schedule with our weekday 7:30 a.m. wake up call.  D.J. had a basketball game at 10 so we went to watch that! He has only coached one other game and they lost but Saturday was their first win! The final score was 27-21! Such a nail biter! After the game we went down to Ghent so I could check out the Christmas sale going on at A. Dodsons! I got a few Christmas items that are already packed up in the attic for next year.  I couldn't resist this spoon holder though.  I have needed one and nothing is better than one that says this...

We came home for a little bit then we headed to the mall to see Lone Survivor.  Words cannot describe the way I felt leaving the movie.  I have been meaning to read the book, but the movie was phenomenal.  I have always had such respect for the men and women in the services (Navy especially), but this movie really depicts what they do on a day-to-day basis to protect our freedom.  If you do anything this weekend, spend the $12 (or $7.50 for matinee) to go see the movie.  You will not regret it.  

Nothing can top a night quite like Chicks Oyster Bar can.  Especially when you get the Marina.  I don't think I have ever ate anything that looked so delicious.  Crab legs, shrimp, clams, and oysters!

After dinner we came home and finished watching all the great football games this weekend!

Sunday was pretty busy! The in-laws got on the road after we had breakfast at Sandfiddler and D.J. and I needed to run some errands.  First off, we took down all the Christmas decorations outside, which was so sad! Then we ran to Target to get a gift for a Bridal shower next weekend.  I ended up leaving with the present along with a bunch of other Christmas sale items and dollar section Valentines Day pick ups! Then we looked for lamps at TJ MAXX and I ended up leaving with a yoga mat, 2 candles, and no lamps. Typical. 

After our shopping, we went over to my parents for a little bit, came home and did a workout in the garage, and then we jazzed up our kitchen! Details to come in the Home Improvement post on Wednesday! 

To leave you on this Monday night, say a little prayer for all those who are home and abroad that our protecting our freedom each and every day.  What better way to say this in a picture than Mermaids, American Flag, and the Navy.  Many reasons why I love living in Hampton Roads.

Have a happy Monday night blogging world :)

#tbt: The Bridal Shower

Another #tbt today from the days before I was a blogger! After the bachelorette party (which you can read more about here) we decided to have the bridal shower the same weekend.  I had a lot of out of town friends come down for the weekend and I wanted to make sure they could all be there for both events. 

Beth and Danielle Campion were so sweet to host the most beautiful shower. The theme of the shower was Monograms and Margaritas! We drank yummy margaritas and monograms were all over the place!  It was so nice to come back from such a fun weekend and be showered with such great gifts!

Some of the best gifts were this monogrammed acrylic tray that I use every day.  It sits next to my bed and I use it as a jewelry collection and a place to put my rings when I am in the shower!

Another great gift was our pop up cooler.  Whenever I took it to events our had it out in the backyard, everyone was asking where we got it from.  

I was so honored to have so many great friends and family there for the celebration! To top of the shower, some cake from Sugarplum Bakery was a hit!!

Check back next week for details on the Bridesmaids Luncheon!

All my beautiful bridesmaids!

Home Improvement Week 1: Gallery Wall

Since we moved into our house it has always been my hope to make some type of gallery wall in the living room.  The room is set up perfectly for what I have pictured in my head.  The TV is over the fireplace, and the couch is against the wall that I wanted to make a gallery wall! So for the wedding, we got some frames from Crate and Barrel (found here, here, and here) and I had a few other frames I knew would look good in the design.  So here is what I had.

I am a very symmetrical person and wanted my design to be the same way. My brother-in-law James is super talented at making these and has an eye for what looks right. I was stuck on making everything even and aligned.  So I called him, he helped me move some frames around wha-la! We had something to work with now.  

You can kind of tell from this picture, but the above the couch that you see is where this is going to go.  Since our house is older, we have been hesitant to nail into the walls.  We weren't sure how well the nails would hold up in the plaster walls.  Let me tell you- it was a pain to get the nails in the wall, but once they were in, it was hollow.  I decided to use some nails and some picture hangers for the heavier frames.  

So in typical fashion, I started to try and hang up the pictures all by myself. Lets just say this is how far I got....

Then, I decided it would be easier if I moved the couch....

Then, conveniently, it was time for me to go get a massage and facial.  When I came home, this is what I found...

My husband is a boss and I love it! Now all we have to do is put pictures in them, but you all get the point for now!

Home Improvement Week One is in the books ladies and gents! Can't wait to see what week 2 has in store for me!