5 on Friday: Snow Day Edition

Excited for this Friday link-up with Carolina Charm and the lovely ladies! Virginia has been hit with a ton of snow in the past two weeks.  Last week we had an early release on Tuesday and off Wednesday and Thursday (after having MLK day on Monday!).  This week we had an early release on Tuesday and off Wednesday, Thursday, AND Friday! I don't think we have ever had this many days off of when I attended Norfolk Collegiate or during my 4 years at JMU.

Since we have been snowed in, here are my top 5 things about a snow day!

1. Hanging out with the hubby. Usually D.J. has work in the off season but since all this snow, he was off on Wednesday and Thursday.  Seeing him play with Stryker in the snow has been awesome.  He loves throwing snowballs in the air for Stryker to catch.  Its pretty adorable if you ask me! 
   
2. Stryker has loved the snow! The first time, we could not keep him inside! This time the snow was so thick he couldn't figure out where the sidewalk ends and the road starts! 
   
3. Cleaning the house.  We decided to use the time cooped up in the house doing a little cleaning.  We dusted and vacuumed and about 10 minutes later there was more hair on the floor :).  Gotta love living with a dog!
4.  Fire.  I love making fires, especially when its super cold outside.
   
5. The amount of snow we got was crazy! I don't remember the last time we got 10 inches of snow in Norfolk.  It wasn't the snowman building snow though.  Even though the snow is starting to be plowed, it is still so pretty!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Ok- enough of the cold, I am ready for the summer and sand!

 Happy Friday link-up everyone!

#TBT Wedding Ceremony

It has officially been 4 months since D.J. and I got married! Crazy how fast time has passed! This week I wanted to take you back to our ceremony where we officially became Mr. and Mrs.

Since D.J. is not Catholic, we decided not to do a traditional Catholic Mass.  I felt that on such a day when you ask everyone to join together as two people become one, it was sort of an oxymoron to have a Mass where only certain people can participate in the actual Mass part.

The moments leading up to walking down the aisle were so exciting! I was seriously jumping up and down ready to be married to my best friend.  Honestly, everything was a blur when we started walking down the aisle. I was so excited that it was actually happening, I sort of forgot to live in the moment and look at D.J!

Nothing better than having the little kids steal the show! 

Probably one of the most memorable moments at our wedding was when I asked our priest "do we get to kiss or something?" First let me preface by saying that this is our first time getting married... OBVIOUSLY! During our rehearsal we did not go over when we would actually kiss.  So it was the end of the service and we still had not kissed! We were walking to the front of the alter and I leaned over to the priest and asked him. He started laughing and repeated it to the entire church.  Total blonde moment I guess! At least it was something funny and we will always be able to laugh about it now!

Next week- Bridal Party Pictures! Thanks for stopping by! 

Home Improvement Week 4: Burlap Wreath [part 2]

Oh lord- time to hunker down today! We had some major snow hit us over the past 12 hours! As in, 10 inches a lot of snow.  We have been outplaying all morning with Stryker and shoveling the snow out of the driveway. So guess what that means?! I actually had time to finish the wreath! If you are trying to make one of these, I would recommend buying extra burlap.  You can always use it someplace else around your house if you have leftovers.  Last week I bought all the supplies, but I ran out of burlap so here is the finished product.

The coloring in the picture is a little off...the B is red and navy!

 

Since I got the hang of weaving the burlap in and out of the green loops, I redid the whole thing.  I ended up using 6 rolls of burlap total. I finished it off by hot gluing the last piece to the beginning knot I tied. Here is a look at what the wreath looked like before I added the B to it.  I love the way it looks plain too.

I was not 100% sure how to attach the "B" to the wreath and considered not even putting it on.  I ended up just hot gluing a string to the back of the B and tied ti around the burlap. This way, we can change it out as new seasons come. Painting the B Cleveland Indians colors was the extra added touch that makes the wreath perfect! 

If you have any questions or need more details, leave me a comment!

Baseball Wife Life

Over the weekend lots of our friends started to make their way down to Florida or out to Arizona for Spring Training. I want to take a few minutes to let you into a life some of you may find far too familiar and some of you may know nothing about.  

 

| milb baseball life |

First off, the life of a minor league baseball player is nothing too fabulous.  Yes, some may have received hefty signing bonuses, but not everyone is that fortunate.  Some players that are drafted just get a plane ticket out to the facility to show their talents at a chance to make their dreams come true.  Most of the minor league baseball players are living off their signing bonuses because their salaries throughout the season are so low.  An average minor league baseball player makes anywhere from $850/month- $1,500 a month.  So for that reason alone, we decided that I will be staying in Norfolk full time.  We have known this for a while, but with the season approaching, it is actually starting to becoming a reality.  

Photo credit to Lianna Holub Photography

Another aspect that makes the baseball wife life so dynamic is all the teams.  The MLB draft is different than any other sport. 5.6% of high school baseball players continue on to the collegiate level.  2.3% of college baseball players get drafted by a team in the MLB draft.  So, if you are lucky enough to be in that small percentage of highschool or college baseball players that get drafted, you still have to prove you are major league worthy.  Only 7% of players drafted after the 21st round have had a shot in the Majors.  Here is a breakdown of all the different levels in Minor Leauge Baseball.

 

Majors

AAA

AA

A Advance

A

Short Season

Rookie Ball

So you can see why it is hard to actually settle down in one place.  You could start on A Advance and move up to AA during a season, or back down the next week.  The goal for any minor league player is to always move up and not back down.  The lifestyle is pretty rough if you plan to have a job and be wherever your hubby is.  For example, if I was to try and go wherever D.J. is, I would not be able to get a "career" job because of the potential (and hope) that he will move up sometime that season. I am so thankful that my friends and family understand the decision of us living half the year apart.  It really allows D.J. the full potential to reach his childhood dream while I keep on keepin' on back in Norfolk! [Sidenote- this will be our first season as a married couple, so I will keep you updated on how I feel about being apart when the season gets going.]

  Keep in mind that this is only one way of going through the season.  We have dear friends that are lucky enough to go wherever their man is.  They have found jobs that keep them busy, but allow them to still be at the games and enjoy living together with their husbands.  Hopefully, D.J. will be on a team that is close enough for me to make weekend trips and see lots of games.  I will report back in late March-early April on where D.J. will be playing to start the season! 

Photo credit to Lianna Holub Photography

The day-to-day life of a minor league baseball player is hard.  Over the months of April to September, the boys have 11 days off.  Every other day, they have games.  Half of that time, they are on the road.  Sometimes they have to hop on the bus after a game and drive 8 hours through the night to be in the next city by morning to play again.  My hats go off to those guys.  They are sleeping in hotel beds every other night, napping on the floor of the bus, and eating peanut butter and jelly for lunch before the game.  This is another reason why for us, it would be worthless for me to travel with D.J. If we are going to be apart from each other, at least with me in Norfolk I am able to make a living and am surrounded by family that keeps me occupied. 

All in all, the life is not a glorious as it may seem.   I hope that I enlightened you into our lives a little and I hope to share more about the minor league baseball life with you all as we continue on our crazy fastball of a life!  For all of those baseball wives/fiances/girlfriends- stay positive as we begin to put another off season in the books.  We are all just hoping that one day, we get the call we have all been dreaming of.  I am so lucky to be the woman that stands by his side as he goes through all these baseball milestones.  It is nothing less than a roller coaster ride, and I would choose to sit in the front row every single time.

Please leave a comment about your experiences or what you would like to know more about! I would love to share!

5 on Friday!

This week I am loving...

one. Le Pliage Longchamps. 

Purple longchamps to be exact.  Now, I don't mean to sound like a purse snob, but this seriously is the only brand of purses I have bought since I was 15 years old.  I have the same style in about 7 different colors and one bigger bag in black.  Overall, they do well in rain, are very durable, and are so classic looking.  They never go out of style.  Only complaint I have is the corners sometimes get holes in them. Maybe that's because I wear mine out too far before I get a new one!  I have been rocking this purse for the last year now and it has held up great!  I prefer the medium size with the long handles, but they have tons of different styles that you can find here. 

two. workout gear.

Last week one of my 5 was hairbands and sweaty bands here.  Guess I am on a workout kick. The only sports bras I own are from Target.  I love the C9 by Champion Seamless Racer Back.  I have the same bra in about 10 different colors.  I love the way it supports as well as the fun bright colors. 

This workout shirt is my new jam.  Even though it's super cold still, I am excited to wear it when it gets warmer! I also got it for a steal! Only $10!!

three. the blacklist. 

Any other bloggers reading this love The Blacklist?! I have been obsessed when it first aired in the fall.  Something about Megan Boone and James Spader really keeps me coming back for more.  Not to mention, she is stunning!

four. starbucks. 

I know I am late to the party here, but I just officially signed up for Starbucks.  I have a card and everything! I even have 2 stars!! Skinny peppermint mocha is my current fav. 

five. snow days.
This week we had 2 (1/2) snow days.  Thanks to the 2 hour delay this morning, I am able to write this blog post! So here's to snow days!

 

 Thanks for always hosting a great link-up!

#tbt: Getting Ready

Today's Wedding recap is all our getting ready photos.  D and I decided from the day we got engaged that we wanted the first time we saw each other to be when I was walking down the aisle on our big day!  Our photographer, Charlie Gunter, really was exceptional.  He captured ever little detail I was hoping he would as well as many more.  On site hair and make up was so much better than going into the salon. We were able to watch Gameday for the Dawgs, eat some healthy breakfast, and be comfortable! Take a look at some of the pictures of us getting ready.

No wedding day is ever complete without a monogrammed glass for mimosas! Hand painted by the one and only, Kendall Richards! 

Syd and Sam were troopers.  Up extra early to be pampered at 6 years old.  Rough life!!

Nothing better than a fresh pallet of Naked 2.

Candid photos are the best photos.

Monogrammed frocket shirts hand made by none other than Kendall Richards.  I could not have been more blessed to have Kendall in my life, especially as my big sister.  Not only would the wedding have been a hot mess of my DIY creations, but my life would be so different! Love ya biggie!

Having my godfather and family come down from Canada for our wedding was so thankful.  This picture is just pure love and I couldn't imagine our wedding without all our cousins involved!!

Unfortunately, we didn't get pictures of the boys getting ready since our day just seemed to fly by.  I was so happy with the pictures that Charlie got and can't wait to show you all next week more from our wedding day and the Ceremony pictures!

Brides Hair: Kori Wilson

Bridesmaids Hair: Bridesmade by Kim Wadsworth

Make up: Rachel Somplasky

Home Improvement Week 3: Burlap Wreath [part 1]

Since cleaning up all the Christmas decorations, I have felt our house seemed pretty bare.  We had a beautiful wreath for Christmas and I needed to either make or get another one that I could use all year long.  Deciding on the burlap wreath was a no-brainer.  I knew I wanted that look but I had no clue how to make it.  After asking around and watching this video, I figured out a way I could make it work!

step one. get the materials

18'' green metal frame from Michales

I first bought 2 roles of 10' burlap, but I ended up needing to go buy 3 more! 

"B" wood letter to put on the frame when its finished

step two. tie a knot

First thing you need to do is tie a knot in the burlap to the green frame.  Some people suggest painting the green frame so you don't see it when you are finished. I decided not to paint mine since I figured no one will be close enough to tell!

step three. weave the burlap

Weaving the burlap through can be done different ways. I wanted mine to look like the picture below.  To achieve this look, I had to feed the burlap through the 3 rings about 5 times on each of the green ring sections of the wreath. 

 

step four. keep going

Once you get the hang of it, you ave to just keep going steady! So far, this is what I have! Currently our weather here is a little rough and I cannot make it out to get the rest of the burlap!! Look out for part 2 of the Burlap Wreath Tutorial next week!!

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!