life lately
[enjoying this || awesome team building at Bolt escape room]
[eating this || taco soup at the first sign of fall]
[packing (and wearing) this || for my amazing NYC trip]
[cherishing this || quality time with the father in law]
[obsessing over this || delicious cappucino + avocado toast at Onyx]
[hosting this || a happy hour birthday celebration for a dear friend]
[celebrating this || bailey’s wedding + #travkeg2k16]
xo xo
Weekend Picturebook: New York, New York
New York City – the city that never sleeps, and is perfect for work AND play.
W E D N E S D A Y
[Highly recommend the Circle Line Harbor Lights Cruise. You get to see so much of the city, and it was amazing. Thanks, Sister E for the recommendation!]
T H U R S D A Y
[Great day full of meetings, then an adventure out with the team in East Village!]
[Awesome restaurant Gnocco – I tried about 5 pizzas that night and mine was the best: prosciutto, arugula + parmesan. The salads were also delicious.]
[After dinner we walked “right around the corner” to the famous Odd Fellows Ice Cream. I had banana pudding ice cream with salted caramel sauce – yummmmm! photo from oddfellowsnyc.com]
[Later that night Mom arrived – yay!]
F R I D A Y
[Morning of meetings, then took the afternoon off to start our girls weekend!]
[We felt so fancy staying in the gorgeous St. Regis on 5th Avenue]
[Afternoon at the MoMa (Modern Museum of Art) browsing Van Gogh, Rothko, Matisse, Warhol and so much more. Ended with a rosé + the best onion dip ever in the statue garden]
[Dinner at Don Antonio’s in Hells Kitchen – more salad and pizza, that was just as amazing as the night before … maybe even a little better. Thanks for the recommendation Erin!]
[Tonight’s show: The Humans – 2016 Tony Award Winner for Best Play. Enjoyable, but not my favorite]
[My favorite part of staying at St. Regis – after coming back from a long day of walking, there would be slippers at the ready, water on the bedside table + classical music playing in the room. Can this be real life??]
S A T U R D A Y
[What a wake-up call – french-press coffee + NY Times hand-delivered. Okay maybe this was the best part!]
[Breakfast and goodies at Chelsea Market]
[Quick stroll on the High Line (which was incredible) before …]
Greenwich Village Food and Culture Walking Tour!
A 3-hour tour where we learned about the history, culture and architecture of the area and ate so.much.good.food. Seriously, this was amazing, and I can’t wait to do another one next time I’m in the city! The following photos are from the tour:
[First Stop: Joe’s Pizza aka the perfect, quintessential NYC pizza]
[Our favorite spot, that was so adorable – Palma. Will definitely come back here.]
[The Cornelia Street Cafe – where SJP and Matthew Broderick had their first date, where Eric Clapton randomly shows up the play the piano, and where you might run in to Taylor Swift because … ]
[she lives right next door!!! I almost died and went to heaven. This is her $40k/month rental while her home in Tribeca is being remodeled, in case you were wondering.]
[Rafele’s Ristorante with amazing eggplant + ricotta!]
[Where they filmed the opening of Friends!!]
Seriously, if you’re going to NYC you have to do one of these Food Walking Tours!!
[Drinks before dinner and a show at The Roof, Viceroy Hotel – how about those views of Central Park?!]
[Yay Matilda! Loved this movie growing up and the show was so so cute!]
S U N D A Y
[Officially obsessed with Levain, and will always make a stop here before heading home.]
[Brunch at Central Park Boathouse – this mac and cheese was everything.]
[Such an amazing trip with Mom I will never forget!]
xo xo
You might also enjoy photos from my last mother-daughter trip to NYC here.
Fayetteville Ale Trail
3 years ago, almost to the day, we did our very first ale trail with one of our favorite couples. This was way before the ale trail was even a thing.
I called it NWA Brew Hop, and wrote a blog post about it. (Of course.) What followed was our “Summer of Saddlebock”, and a growing love of local craft beer.
Since then, Fayetteville started the official Fayetteville Ale Trail complete with a passport to get stamped at each brewery.
Yesterday a group of us attempted the Ale Trail again. While we didn’t make it to all of the breweries (not sure we ever will), we sure did have a lot of fun and sure did drink a lot of beer.
1ST STOP : S A D D L E B O C K
2ND STOP : C O R E
3RD STOP : B L A C K A P P L E C R O S S I N G
4TH STOP : F O S S I L C O V E
FINAL STOP : A P P L E B L O S S O M
[Sadly, we didn’t get any pictures here. Probably because we were so dang hungry! And the food was delicious.]
B U S S E L F I E S
[Thanks, Abby for bringing the selfie stick! It was totally clutch.]
[Final selfie with the entire bus!]
Thanks to Pinnacle Limo for the ride – $30/person for 4 hours. And shoutout to our awesome driver, Don!
Who’s ready to do the North Route next weekend??
xo xo
Picturebook: Weir Wedding
B R I D A L S H O W E R
B A C H E L O R E T T E P A R T Y
{amazing cookies from sweet little sugar}
{burlesque chair dancing}
R E H E A R S A L D I N N E R
W E D D I N G D A Y !
{mimosas + hairdos at luxe beauty fayetteville}
{seriously obsessed with my hair! hairdresser called it “Vera Wang in the woods” – LOVE}
{the guys getting ready aka drinking beer}
{love these two!}
{hilarious photo of the bride calming her pre-wedding nerves. also shoutout to marcus for an amazing snapchat filter!}
{how gorgeous is this picture?! photographer: megan hampel}
{and we’re pretty cute too}
{my handsome date and brother of the bride}
{and this is practically the only picture I have from the after-party – on the fayetteville square at 3am. we’ll just leave it at that}
xo xo
I Went to Trader Joe’s For The First Time With a Fanatic, and Now I’m a Fanatic Too
You saw the title of this blog, and you’re thinking one of two things right now –
Person 1: OMG I love TJs too! It’s amazing!!
Person 2: I really don’t understand the hype. It’s a GROCERY STORE.
Well, this is the story of how I turned from person 2 to person 1 within hours, thanks to my dear friend Samantha. (And yes, I now lovingly call it TJs, like all the cool people.)
How this trip came to be: Samantha is obsessed with TJs and was telling me how one was opening in Tulsa and how excited she was. I’d never been, and her birthday was coming up, so I decided my birthday present to her would be to take her on a road trip to Tulsa for the day so we could go. Some people thought this was weird to drive 2 hours solely for a grocery store, but it’s me and Samantha – the same people who took a day off of work solely to have a Stars Hollow Staycation aka Gilmore Girls marathon.
The week before our trip, Samantha sent me a text with her TJs list. My jaw literally fell to the floor. It had 49 things listed. Not just things she’d purchased before, but also things from TJ “best-of” lists. I responded with my list:
This was one thing I did know about Trader Joe’s – Two-Buck Chuck ($2 wine!). I couldn’t wait to buy a case for only $24 purely to keep my wine rack full. Come to find out, due to some crazy Oklahoma laws, they don’t even sell it in this store. Needless to say, I was devastated. However, we continued on and made the journey to Tulsa.
You guys. This store is a GOLD MINE. There are so many unique finds here and for so cheap!! Case in point, Samantha had read about pickle flavored popcorn. Sounds weird/most likely disgusting, right? Well, we get in the store and it’s proudly displayed on an endcap for only $1.99. One dollar, and ninety-nine cents. So obviously, I had to try it, right?! Let me tell you – if you like pickles, and you like popcorn, you will love this stuff!!
{Yes, we took a selfie with the popcorn}
Other items purchased include: Scandinavian Swimmers, Frozen Macarons, Pear Champagne Dressing, Brownie Bites with Sea Salt, Porcini Mushroom Pasta, Dried Mango, Fancy Almonds, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Burrata and Prosciutto Pizza …. the list goes on.
We spent an hour and a half in the store, spent way more money than both of us were anticipating, and filled my Mini Cooper to the brim (including two coolers in my trunk).
And we had so much fun! Seriously. I was pretty much a convert when I stepped in the door, but it certainly didn’t hurt to have a fanatical friend show me all the exciting finds and to peruse the store with in search of new finds.
{before and after}
Happy GOLDEN birthday, Samantha! I hope our trip to TJs makes the list of memorable birthday adventures.
And to anyone else who has a birthday coming up and going to TJs is your birthday wish, call me.
You Are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine
My dear friend Erica Keller passed away this morning.
And it’s hard. It’s so hard. Death will always be hard.
But I am rejoicing and celebrating in the life she had because it was truly incredible. Erica was dealt a difficult hand early on, diagnosed with cancer at 14 months. Her parents were told she probably wouldn’t make it to age 2. Today, she passed away at 34 years old.
[Me + E at the Memphis Zoo]
She lived 30+ years longer than the doctors thought possible. But here’s the thing, she didn’t just live. She LIVED. Whether you knew her for a minute, a day or a year – she could put a smile on your face, and she had the most infectious laugh. I’m seriously laughing now just thinking about it, and about how many times we got into giggle fits because of it.
[Me + E during one of her annual summer visits]
She taught everyone around her not to take life for granted and to live life to its fullest. What’s there to be sad about? What’s there to complain about? To her, there wasn’t anything. She was a beaming ray of sunshine on even the cloudiest of days.
I’ve always known E was a special person, but looking back on it now, I truly think she was an angel on earth. Every single person who knew her is better because of it, and they would tell you that. She taught me so much and brought so much joy to my life throughout the years – with our summer sleepovers, endless dance parties and days wasted at Locomotion with Pops.
[Me, E + Husband during an annual summer visit]
We will all miss her so very much, and it still doesn’t make this easy, but it is so amazing to know she is in a better place. She has no more pain. She’s laughing. She’s running. She’s talking my dad’s ear off.
She’s our angel, looking down on us all.
xo xo
12 Days of Christmas [Picturebook]
[Husband’s company Christmas party at Barn at the Springs]
[First of several holiday movies watched – Love Actually]
[Team Christmas party, with our very own Snapchat filter!]
[Night on the Fayetteville square + dinner at Tiny Tim’s]
[Friend Christmas party with photobooth fun + telephone pictionary]
[Christmas Eve with the in-laws]
[Early Christmas morning || Very full hearts, indeed]
[Christmas Brunch at Mom’s || Have yourself a merry little cocktail]
[Christmas evening at the Aggus’]
[Sadly, our final Christmas shindig got cancelled thanks to rain/flooding/tornados the day after Christmas. Instead of a Family Christmas Cocktail Party of 20, Husband and I ate the prepared food, drank the purchased booze and had a perfect little party for ourselves.]
Other wonderful Christmas celebrations not pictured:
Annual Community Group favorite things party at Fred’s Hickory Inn
Weekend in Little Rock visiting two amazing families
xo xo
How to Throw a Star Wars Watch Party, By a Non-Star Wars Fan
Until last night, I had never seen a Star Wars movie. (Well, supposedly I saw one in the theater with Husband, but all I could tell you about it was that Natalie Portman was in it. And I didn’t know until last night that she isn’t Princess Leia…)
Well, now I’ve seen three. But it took about 6 months to convince me to watch them.
Here’s the secret – turn something into a themed party, and I’ll watch anything. I was inspired by this Buzzfeed list – 17 Foods Guaranteed to Excite Any “Star Wars” Fan – so I gathered the troops for a watch party. Star Wars themed attire encouraged. Star Wars themed food required.
Guess what, it was a success! Themed food and drinks are always so much more fun, as you’ll see below. The movies, well … I can’t say I’m a big fan, but I will absolutely be re-wearing my Star Wars shirt to the premiere. (And maybe sneak in some themed food …)
[We made it through 2 movies – Episode IV and Episode V]
[Just a few of my pun-y names, that I thought were hilarious.
Not pictured: Boba Fett-uccine and (my personal favorite) 5 Leia Dip]
[This drink was EVERYTHING. I still don’t know who Qui-Gon Gin is, but the drink sure is delicious and looked so awesome.]
May the Force be with you.
xo xo
10 Favorite College Memories
For some reason I’ve been reminiscing about college lately. Maybe it’s because school is starting soon, or because I’ve now been out of college for 4 years now and it seems like it was so long ago.
A couple years ago I wrote about my 10 Favorite High School Memories after attending my sister-in-law’s high school graduation. It was fun to go back and look at the pictures and pull it together, so I decided to do the same for college. As they say, it was truly one of the best times in my life and I’ll never forget the all the wonderful people I met and the relationships I made.
1. My first pep rally and Razorback game as a student. Go Hogs!
2. My first camping trip in probably 10 years and the boys tricked us into an unexpected river crossing to get to our campsite. Thank goodness for those headlamps.
3. Standing outside in the freezing cold all night for Foo Fighters tickets. (Okay, I didn’t stay ALL night, but some other kind people did for me.) And of course, Dave Grohl was AWESOME.
4. Living life with this amazing group of girls in our community group for 3 years.
5. The Ice Storm of 2009. All I’ll say is, 10 people stayed in our little apartment for 1 week. There was a lot of Super Mario and a lot of cabin fever.
6. Studying abroad was one of the best college decisions I ever made for so many reasons. My only regret is that I only did it once in my 4 years.
7. These people. My time writing for the UA newspaper, The Traveler, was so much more than a job. We were a family and had so much fun together in the newsroom and out.
8. My 21st birthday – so much snow, so much dancing, so much drama, so much of a typical 21st birthday party. Thank you to my amazing bestie and roommate Kira for doing it all!!
9. Traveling to NOLA (for the first time) for the Sugar Bowl with these two. I’ll never forget husband’s late night binge on beignets after we lost the game.
10. And of course, the dearest memory of all, was the night we got engaged in Gulley Park. ❤
xo xo
Photobook: NWA Food Festival
I’ve talked before about how excited I am about all the amazing things that are starting to come to my little hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas – a world-class museum, breweries, stylish new restaurants, a FILM FESTIVAL. Seriously, we’re growing up fast and I love it. We were actually just named one of the newest hipster towns across the US – hilarious, and awesome.
We’ve hosted the LPGA tournament for several years now, but for the first time ever this year we added a food festival at the Walmart AMP. Thursday night was Taste of NWA, showcasing 35 local restaurants featuring the best in southern comfort food. Friday night was a beer and burger fest that we did not attend – mostly because we didn’t have tickets, secondarily I don’t think I could have eaten that much two nights in a row.
We went Thursday night with some friends and had no clue what to expect since it was the first year. We left shocked at how much food and drink we consumed for such an affordable ticket price, and we had so much fun! It was hot. Boy, was it hot, but with a cold drink in one hand and a new food to taste in the other, we could get past the heat.
[one of our first stops – pedal pops. they loved us so much they took a pic and put us on their facebook page and we loved them so much we came back for seconds at the end of the night…]
[scattered throughout the food tents were breweries, wine tastings, bacardi and coke, and whiskey tastings (and some amazing iced coffee from kennedy’s that we really needed by the end)]
[love doing these fun things with husband!]
[and here you go, a picture of [almost] everything I ate. #dontjudgeme by the end we were all so full, but couldn’t stop because we wanted to try everything (which we couldn’t and didn’t). I was definitely in a food coma that night and into the next day, but it was so worth it.]
[end of the night pedal pops again + more beer – things started getting weird]
[wait, this was really the end of the night – the boys doing whiskey shots]
[had such a fun night with these wonderful friends!]
xo xo
Discover Arkansas: Little Rock, Part 1
I’ve officially started on my Discover Arkansas Bucket List. We spent a wonderful Memorial Day weekend in LR with some close friends, and got to visit some family who were gracious enough to let us stay in their home. Though we didn’t get to do everything on our list, we did ate a LOT. [Spoilers: the following photos may put you in a food coma like they did us]
Note: This is part 1. We have plans to go back in July and will absolutely cross the following off the LR Bucket List: Hike Pinnacle Mountain, Eat at Cotham’s + The Faded Rose.
F R I D A Y N I G H T
ZaZa’s Pizza – The Heights
[We were fortunate enough to be staying with my aunt and uncle who live in The Heights, so a walk to ZaZa’s is always a must on my list]
[The wait for our pizza was 40 minutes, so of course I decided I needed dessert first – Dulce De Leche Gelato]
[The taps were mixed up, so Natalie kept getting the wrong beer … which in turn meant free beer … which I wouldn’t say was a bad thing]
[Finally our pizza arrived, and it was SO worth the wait. First time trying the ZaZa’s Italian and it was delicious]
S A T U R D A Y
[Not Pictured: Josh driving to North Little Rock to get us Mark’s Donuts for breakfast – amazing]
[Spent the morning at the Clinton Presidential Center – where we learned about a lot about Clinton and a little about dinosaurs]
[Next stop: The Flying Saucer because after all that walking around the RiverMarket, we needed none other than carbs + beer]
[said carbs – pretzels, brats + IPA mac and cheese]
[and said beer]
[Not Pictured: Nap time back at the house, followed by a walk around The Heights oohing and aahing over all the beautiful houses]
[Dinner at another one of my LR faves – Local Lime. Six different kinds of salsa, followed by tacos + frozen margs. Not to mention our amazing waiter Kye who sang us show tunes with his BEAUTIFUL voice]
S U N D A Y
Brunch: Loca Luna
[mimosas + breakfast pizza, which we continued to eat on the way home]
[we had a wonderful weekend with these friends we love so dearly!]
until our next adventure! xo xo
Photobook: Bentonville FILM Fest + Fayetteville FOAM Fest
B E N T O N V I L L E F I L M F E S T
What: An inaugural film festival celebrating women and diversity, co-founded by Geena Davis
When: May 5-9
Where: Venues all around NWA
[opening ceremonies at crystal bridges. first photo via bentonville film festival]
[the only movie I got to see during the festival, but it was incredible!]
[movie showing + panel with robert de niro!]
[thursday night baseball game + showing of a league of their own]
[hosts of the baseball game – geena davis + rosie o’donnel. photo via chris davidson]
[volunteering at crystal bridges and got to see some awesome panels]
[closing ceremonies with the husband]
[loved spending time on the blue carpet with kaity + had some awesome celeb sightings! from top: courtney cox, khandi alexander (aka mama pope!), melissa joan hart, soledad o’brien + nick cannon, bruce dern]
F A Y E T T E V I L L E F O A M F E S T
What: A craft beer sampling festival, showcasing 300+ beers
When: May 9
Where: Walton Arts Center parking lot, Dickson Street
xo xo
What I Learned From Hosting My First Dinner Party
It’s hard.
Parties are already hard enough, but add in the dinner part and it’s even harder. I’m not a cook, and never should have attempted to be one. Cooking for two is enough of a chore most nights, so cooking for eight is rough. How do people know when they should start everything so it all comes out at the same time? How do you finish cooking while greeting everyone as they arrive?
I’m the kind of person who wants everything completely done by the time the first person steps in the door, and that is not going to happen with a dinner party.
[Note: I am being a little overly dramatic – everything turned out wonderfully, with no mishaps to speak of. I was more stressed out on the inside, than I was on the outside, which is always a good skill to have.]
Before I share some photos of the evening, let me back up a bit – while in Vegas with the sistahs, we decided to do a family supper club. Each of the four couples hosts once a year, youngest to oldest. We started the tradition and will pass it to Sister E for summer.
When it finally comes back around to us next year, I have it all figured out – not only will we have a porch party again, this time it will be a pizza porch party. One of our favorite foods, and so easy. I can spend more time on the decor, drinks and dessert, which I love, and less on the rest of the menu.
The Location:
Front porch – with folding tables, butcher paper tablecloths + rented chairs
[Without a formal dining room table, or seating for 8, you have to get creative!]
The Menu:
Baked Parmesan Pork Chops
Green + White Asparagus
Crockpot Potatoes
Baby Wedge Salads
Sister Schubert’s Rolls
[Not Pictured: Appetizer – Baked Brie with apples, summer sausage + vintage cheddar cheese]
The Drink:
Sunset Sangria
15 oz. Blanco Tequila
1 bottle of Pinot Grigio
25 oz. Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice
25 oz. Club Soda
1 cup Lime Juice
Mix together. Add ice and large fruit garnishes. Enjoy!
[Tip: Ask every couple to bring a bottle of wine. You supply a signature drink!]
The Dessert:
Pioneer Woman’s Lemon Lime Pound Cake – YUM.
So fresh, moist and very spring-y tasting. Also, goes perfectly with coffee the next morning.
The Guests:
The best part of any event!
The Morning After:
Coffee (and leftover cake) on the front porch, thankful for a wonderful family + the ability to get to host an event with abundant food and drink
Happy Sunday!
xo xo
life lately
{enjoying this || an evening on the Pedaler’s Pub patio listening to The Show Ponies}
{oohing and aahing over this || a beautiful remembrance of spring at our family house in Magnolia, AR}
{drinking this || moscow mules with family}
{eating this || (most of it anyway) at Crystal Bridges Wednesday Over Water event}
{celebrating this || a beautiful baby momma-to-be + a dear friend’s birthday}
xo xo
A Valentine Wedding
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
– 1 Corinthians 13:13
Four years ago, my mom was engrossed in my wedding – where should we have the rehearsal dinner? what’s my something blue? how can we get taylor swift to come sing at the wedding?
And four years later, it’s the exact opposite. What an amazing feeling to get to watch a parent get married. I could literally feel the presence of God in the sanctuary and feel the joy radiating from my mom, excited for a new life ahead of her – falling upward.
I’ve shared in a blog previously my path to getting here [the only constant is change]. It hasn’t been easy, and honestly, it’s still not close to being complete. I’m still struggling. I’ve had a roller coaster of emotions the past few weeks you could hardly imagine, with sleepless nights and tearful days.
But let me tell you, He blesses the faithful. He may take away, but He also certainly gives, and what He has given me has been so valuable already – an amazing, loving, beautiful bonus family of sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews and more.
I will never forget my dad and the love he and my mom shared, but I also will not let myself grieve instead of opening up to love. “But the greatest of these is love.”
Enjoy some pictures below from our Valentine Wedding weekend.
S A T U R D A Y N I G H T
“Rehearsal” Dinner
Hosts: Spencer + Kristin, Bret + Erika
[beautiful mama]
[from ohio and okc – what great friends to make the trip!]
[two of the wonderful hosts: kristin + spence]
[surprise acapella group serenaded us all – they were amazing!]
[meanwhile, husband and I are in the pantry pouring whiskey shots for a surprise toast]
S U N D A Y
Wedding: United Lutheran Church, Bella Vista
Post-Wedding Brunch: Alderman Home
Hosts: Kyle + Mille
[congrats to the beautiful bride + groom, mr. and mrs. nelson]
[didn’t get any pictures of the actual wedding, but here is mom + fred giving valentine’s candy to the kids after their song “joy, joy, joy”]
[the boys (my new nephews) – bruce, nelson, henry + jack]
[fred ❤ robin]
[champagne bar was a huge success]
[head over heels for macaroons + the newlyweds]
[my beautiful servers! they were amazing helping prep for the brunch]
[sister, sister!]
[my wedding gift: “a new road together” via etsy]
[love my mother and so overjoyed to be part of this special day!]
And now the newlyweds are off on their honeymoon, two weeks in Hawaii by way of San Francisco – oh how jealous I am as we are having our first snow of the year!
xo xo
Weekend Picturebook: Sistahs in Vegas
F R I D A Y
{ready for Vegas!}
{view from our room}
S A T U R D A Y
{adorable mom drinking coffee getting ready for the day}
{mid-day shopping break – margaritas, chips + guac, El Segundo}
{beautiful sisters ready for an evening out!}
{one of the best dinners (and most expensive) I’ve ever had, Nobu}
S U N D A Y
{shopping + lunch at The Venetian}
{pancetta + goat cheese pizza, Mario Batali’s Otto}
{the best show ever – Michael Jackson ONE!!!}
{drinks after the show at Mix, Mandalay Bay – incredible view!}
M O N D A Y
{Eiffel Tower selfie}
{amazing brunch at Mon Ami Gabi – cheers to a terrific weekend!}
xo xo
[Other Vegas weekend picturebooks: January 2013, Vegas Throwback 2010-2012]
The only constant is change.
My mom is getting re-married in February.
The end of January into February will be a rush – from a golden birthday bash, into a weekend in Vegas with my new sistahs (we’ll get into that), straight into the wedding weekend full of everything wedding, including a big brunch at my house on the wedding day.
But I’m stopping to breathe, think and write about it – my catharsis.
I found out a few months ago, so I’ve had some time to really process. I’ve processed day and night, in tears and in smiles, with friends and in solace.
Y’all know I don’t sugarcoat these things. I haven’t sugarcoated my year and the difficulties I’ve gone through while losing my dad. So I’m not going to sugarcoat this. It took me a while to understand. It took some words of wisdom from wise people, some prayer and a lot of love.
A few thoughts from the small-minded, selfish head of mine:
Why so soon? What’s the rush? What does this mean for me? Who are these new people who will be my family? How am I expected to interact with them? How long will it take until everything feels comfortable and normal? Will it ever feel comfortable and normal? Am I disrespecting my dad? How can I move on? How am I the only one who seems to still be grieving? Why can’t I move on?
But, here are a few things I’ve learned over the last few months (again, thanks to wise people, prayer and a lot of love):
Life is short. We’re meant to love. We’re not just meant to love only once in our life, but potentially more. We just have to open ourselves up to it. Why would I ever stop love and happiness in the life of one of the people I care about the most?
God knows what he’s doing. He purposefully puts people in our lives for very specific reasons. God cares for my mother and know what she needs at this time. Who am I to say that God’s timing is incorrect?
Everyone grieves differently. This one has been such a hard lesson for me to learn. If I’m still crying and upset, I don’t understand why you’re not. If I don’t see or hear you talk about it, I think you don’t care abut it. Not everyone shares their feelings publicly like I do, so I can’t then assume they don’t have feelings.
But, here’s the best news of all – my mom’s fiance and his family are the best possible people I could ever ask for to become family. Seriously. I’m not exaggerating. If I didn’t believe that, I just wouldn’t say anything about them at all. I consider myself beyond lucky – I now have 4 incredible families I get to call mine: the wonderful Appletons, who I spent the majority of my holidays with growing up and will always love dearly; the beautiful McLaughlin/Woodwards, who I’m enjoying getting to know more and more in my adult years; the fabulous Aldermans, who have openly embraced me into their family; and now the Nelsons …
Not only do I now have another great male figure in my life, who is an amazing man of God and gives terrific advice and sermons, I now have sisters – as an only child, something I only DREAMED about when I was young, but knew it could never possibly happen. I’m reminded of the Bible story of Sarah giving birth to Isaac at age 90 – when she heard this was to happen in a year, she laughed because she thought it was impossible, but the Lord said, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
So here we are, almost a month from the wedding. Our families have integrated seamlessly. We’ve had Thanksgiving together and Christmas together. We’ve gone pole dancing together and had incessant group texts together… AND we’re going to Vegas together the weekend before the wedding to celebrate (“the sistahs” – me, mom and the two sisters E + K).
As husband said as we left Christmas dinner, “If you were going to add to your family, these would be the people.”
Thank you, Lord, for providing love and happiness for my mom. Thank you for providing sisters (and their amazing families) who are thrilled to be part of mine and husband’s new life stages (babies… soon! disclaimer: not currently pregnant) to share their advice, hand-me-downs and endless love.
But most importantly, thank you, Lord, for helping me through this constantly changing thing called life.
xo xo
life lately.
{laughing at this || a mother’s birthday celebration never to be forgotten}
{enjoying this || a wonderful christmas party with some of my favorite people + nerf guns}
{obsessing over this || #teamadnan}
{loving this || the best christmas present – one of my dad’s old scarves with my initials monogrammed on it}
{celebrating this || 2015 with my two baes}
{doing this || anything I can to stay warm during #polarvortex}
xo xo
2014: my year in pictures
{January: celebrating my 25th birthday with dear friends}
{February: Trips to Tulsa to see Aziz Ansari + San Francisco for work}
{March: an unforgettable weekend getaway in Hot Springs}
{April: Derby Party at Crystal Bridges}
{May: bought our first house!!!}
{June: vacationed in Gulf Shores + celebrated this beautiful couple’s marriage! #aldermansinalabama}
{July: took advantage of summer + floated the river}
{August: celebrated our new house by throwing the best housewarming party ever}
{September: ran our first 5k together}
{October: Halloween-ed it up as Lego sailor then Tom Cruise}
{November: second annual weekend getaway with our community group}
{December: celebrated birthdays + holidays with my favorite people}
xo xo
Weekend Picturebook: Cabin Getaway
It’s amazing what one weekend away (even less than an hour from your home) can do for your soul. This was one of the most relaxing weekends I’ve ever had, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
This weekend a year ago we had our first cabin getaway with our community group and had so much fun. You can see last year’s blog post with photos here. We decided to make it an annual tradition and fortunately followed through with our plans a year later.
There were significant differences this year versus last year.
Last year: It was freezing outside – snowing and icing on our drive in.
This year: It was 60 degrees and raining the WHOLE time.Last year: Despite the cold, we got out and explored, hiked, caved.
This year: We literally didn’t get out of our pajamas all day. Literally.Last year: We played Scrabble and watched Gremlins.
This year: We did a puzzle and watched Catch Me If You Can AND Top Gun AND Caught on Camera AND the Razorbacks. (We were stuck inside all day, remember?!)Last year: We were positive there was a ghost in the cabin.
This year: We were positive someone was pranking us hiding boxers in the cabin.Last year: We spent an evening desperately praying for our Campbells that they would get pregnant as they so wished.
This year: We spent a weekend joyously discussing baby plans, celebrating their pregnancy!
That’s what makes an annual get together so fun – it changes every year (we deeply missed our Hotarys who couldn’t make it this year!), but no matter what, when you’re with the right people it’s always a time to remember.
I pray we will continue this annual tradition for so many years to come. Until then, I’ll enjoy the memories we’ve made thus far!
{sugar ridge resort outside of eureka springs – we loved our cabin!}
{rain, rain don’t go away || what a perfect cabin relaxation day}
{extreme puzzling, for like, 5 hours}
{grilled cheese bar for lunch – oh my GOSH delicious}
{husband in his element}
{saturday night photo shoot followed by cards against humanity and telephone pictionary}
{the rain finally cleared for early morning eagle watching}
{what a great weekend!}
xo xo
life lately
{eating this // food truck tacos}
{partying like this // as Tom Cruise a la Risky Business + Top Gun}
{walking in this // Sunday afternoon corn maze and pumpkin patch}
{loving this // time with both of our grandmothers}
{feeling like this // battling sickness}
xo xo
my three-day weekend in pictures
Saturday (and Sunday morning):
Celebrating John’s 29th Birthday all day … Pizza + Beer, Arcadia Retrograde, Party Time
Sunday:
Sleeping in + Lake Day
Monday:
Husband’s first 5k (in the rain), Brunch, Nap + Everything we procrastinated doing all weekend
How was your three-day weekend?
xo xo
10 Signs of a Successful Housewarming Party
1. There are blue feathers literally everywhere. You find some 2 days later in the front bushes.
2. Someone loses their wallet.
3. You’re literally the last pizza delivery order of the night at 1am.
4. You develop a name on the spot for the punch everyone is gushing over. (SDP aka Sam’s Delicious Punch)
5. You spend way too long trying to perfect the jumping picture.
6. You also spend way too long trying to perfect the Moscow Mule.
7. You end up with more alcohol than you started with.
8. All your food gets eaten. Even your leftovers in the refrigerator.
9. There’s a (fake) sword fight on the front lawn.
10. You take a 4-hour nap the next day.
I’d say our house is officially warmed.
xo xo
An Open Letter to my Husband on our 3rd Anniversary
Dear Husband,
I love you. Do you know how much I love you, day in and day out?
On our last anniversary, we spent an evening at dinner discussing what the next year would hold for us. It was such an exciting, joyous thing to dream about the future.
Well, the future came, and it wasn’t quite what we expected, in good ways and in bad. We bought a house. We lost a parent. We got promotions. We dealt with an illness of a close friend.
We couldn’t anticipate what the next year held, but I could anticipate one thing. There’s no one else I would rather go through any of it with than you.
That’s what makes a marriage. Not just enjoying the good times, loving each other and laughing with each other. But holding each other in the hurt and pain. Reassuring each other. Listening to each other. Praying for each other. Not necessarily understanding each other, but being there no matter what.
I watch our wedding video below, for surely the thousandth time, and I can remember our day so well. What I remember most is not how perfect the day was, but how excited I was to bind myself to you for life. To start our life together.
Well, we’re three years in, love, and I think we’re doing just fine.
Always and forever,
M
m.davis xoxo 
