life lately
{watching this || Star Wars in IMAX 3D}
{doing this || a lot of post-Christmas shopping
PS – Boots from Walmart.com for $32!}
{feeling this}
{reading (and sobbing over) this || more to come in my next set of book reviews}
{drinking this || Onyx coffee in our new french press}
Dolce Far Niente
Sometimes, you just need to decompress. Breathe. Relax. Let the busyness fade away. And not feel guilty about it.
Husband was away on business (VEGAS for CES, ha!) for 4 nights. 3 of those 4 nights I did absolutely nothing.
I came home from work and put on my sweats. I leisurely made myself dinner, blaring obnoxious pop hits Husband wouldn’t have liked. I watched several episodes of my latest binge Parenthood, again which Husband wouldn’t have liked. Then I crawled in bed, cuddling with the pup and read until I fell asleep.
Sounds great, right? And it was. It was so great. Usually I would get bored of doing that after 1 night, but I think after the busyness of the holidays this was exactly what I needed. Of course in the back of my mind I kept thinking – There’s so much I should be doing. There’s so many people I could be catching up with. Why am I wasting my time doing nothing?
But then I thought, I don’t think it is a waste. Your body and mind have to relax, sometimes longer than 1 day. Doing Whole30 is all about listening to your body’s needs, and mine was telling me I deserved time to do nothing.
I also reminded myself I have a very busy month coming up – 3 baby showers, 2 birthday celebrations, a weekend in Vegas and a week in NYC for work. So I have plenty of time to be busy, see people, do things and long for time at home like I had this week.
So for now, I will enjoy “Dolce Far Niente” – the sweetness of doing nothing.
xo xo
2015: my year in pictures
{January: celebrated my GOLDEN birthday with a #26shadesofgold blowout}
{February: Vegas with my new sisters + celebrated Mom’s marriage}
{March: chopped my hair + traveled to Pinterest and YouTube HQ}
{April: went to our first crawfish boil + hosted our first dinner party}
{May: worked (and played) at Bentonville Film Festival, drank lots of beer at Fayetteville Foam Fest + had a wonderful weekend in Little Rock with friends}
{June: enjoyed time with an old friend in town, hiked Hawksbill Crag + ate our weight in food at the NWA Food Festival}
{July: tried for the first time – aerial yoga, lip syncing + paddle boarding}
{August: celebrated this 80’s born gal + hosted the FIL}
{September: #AldermansGoGlobal – London, Paris}
{October: Munich/Oktoberfest + Halloweening}
{November: cabin weekend with these favorite people}
{December: a lot of Star Wars, a lot of amazing family time + the best NYE a girl could ask for with my two loves}
xo xo
[a catalog – my year in pictures] 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010
life lately
{obsessing over this || adorable baby E – in our matching sweats!}
{feeling thankful for this || wonderful families to celebrate Thanksgiving with}
{eating this || my first hanukkah dinner, complete with potato latkes, matzah ball soup, challah, lamb and rugelach}
{loving this || amazing guy – my holiday party partner-in-crime}
{learning this || how to play poker … remind me to tell you about that time I kept going all in (just so I could go home and go to bed) and kept winning … :))
{oohing over this || beautiful sunset, 60 degree december weather and my favorite puppy}
xo xo
Weekend Picturebook: 3rd Annual Cabin Getaway
I cannot believe it’s been three years now that we started one of my favorite traditions. The weekend before Thanksgiving our community group rents a cabin and has a relaxing kid-free/puppy-free weekend doing whatever we please – eating (abundantly), napping (occasionally), laughing (constantly) – and just enjoying each other.
This year we had two new couples join us, and had so much fun and made so many memories we will never forget. (Well, thanks to my blog, that is. :))
[Started the weekend off right with Lagavulin and hanging by the fire]
[and a surprise baby shower for Garrett + Rachel with these ADORABLE cookies]
[Each couple was responsible for a meal. We had breakfast and did a bagel bar, complete with schmear, lox, prosciutto, cheese, fruit, pb, nutella, etc. etc., and mimosas, of course.]
[There was time for crafting … ]
[time for napping …]
[and time for exploring.]
[Saturday night, we watched the Razorback game, made s’mores at halftime,
[then mended our broken hearts with some telephone pictionary, where we all ended up crying from laughing so hard.]
[Our favorite part of the weekend was all of the hilarious lake signs hanging around the cabin, and working them into conversation all weekend, including this one, which was our favorite – The trout, the trout, and nothing but the trout, so help me cod.]
[I seriously don’t know what I would do without these people in my life. I am so thankful for their friendship and such an incredible weekend.]
xo xo
You might also enjoy: Cabin Getaway 2013, Cabin Getaway 2014
life lately
{staging this || our Harry Potter and the Golden Snitch Halloween photo}
{visiting this || a Frank Lloyd Wright house uprooted from NJ and brought to Crystal Bridges}
{cheering on this || high school football with mom}
{drinking this || cider tastings at Black Apple Crossing with husband}
{obsessing over this || macarons + cappuccino from the newly opened Onyx in downtown Bentonville}
xo xo
Oh, Baby
Let’s go ahead and get this out there – I’m not pregnant. But that’s exactly what this post is about.
Here are the facts: I’m 26, Husband is 28. We’ve been married for 4 1/2 years. We always had a 5 year plan – Go on a big, two-week European vacation (done), then start trying to have kids.
If you had asked me two months ago if that was still the case, I would have said yes. I had baby fever like you wouldn’t believe. One of our dear friends had her adorable baby boy several months ago, and of course that made my fever skyrocket. Everyone around me was getting pregnant, and I thought I was so ready. There was just one little problem, Husband was not ready. (That might be a problem, right?)
I fought it. I knew I was right, that we were ready, there was no time like the present, we weren’t getting younger, etc. etc. I was devastated that I so desperately wanted a baby at this moment and Husband wasn’t quite there yet.
Then I got some wise words of advice – Pray for God to align your hearts.
So I did. And you know how they say, “Be careful what you wish for”?
A month ago, we went on a trip of a lifetime. We enjoyed every minute of the trip and every minute with each other. Then we came home and I realized something, I wasn’t ready to have a baby. I was enjoying this precious time with Husband so much, and there were still so many adventures for us to go on.
God sure did align our hearts, but He aligned mine to Husband’s, instead of the other way around which I was POSITIVE would be the case. God’s pretty funny, yeah? I know this was His plan all along.
It’s easy to get frustrated when people around you want you to have a baby, and talk about it or ask about it a lot. But then I realized something, we are SO lucky to have those people in our lives because they love us and are just excited for us. We are SO lucky to have two incredible families within 20 miles of us who will be there for us every step of the way once we do get pregnant and do have a baby.
So no, we will not be having a baby soon, but you can keep asking. Because I will not get frustrated, but instead, with a genuine smile will say, “Not right now. I’m enjoying time with my Husband.”
xo xo
Life Starts All Over Again When it Gets Crisp in the Fall
Fall feels like change.
Fall 2014: My mom tells me she’s getting re-married.
Fall 2013: I spend some wonderful last weekends with my dad (Halloween, Thanksgiving). Unbeknownst to me the change that is to happen soon.
Fall 2012: I get a new job, and a change in my career I will forever be grateful for.
And this fall, I came back from a wonderful vacation with more change at work than I could have ever imagined. It was all good news for me, but still a lot of change.
I’ve written before about the only constant in life being change, focusing specifically on my Fall 2014 change. But for some reason I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.
As much as I love fall, it also makes me melancholy and nostalgic, probably due to Fall 2013 change. And also because fall brings in the season of holidays, a wonderful time of year, but also a time of year where we really miss the ones who are no longer with us.
I miss my dad. I really, really miss him. I really missed him this weekend when husband and I ate at Waffle House and I remembered the first time I ever ate at a WH was in high school because my dad was appalled I’d never been and insisted we go. I really missed him when we got back from vacation and I couldn’t tell him all about Oktoberfest. I really miss him every.single.time I see a Jeep Grand Waggoner “Woody” because he thought his was so cool and I thought it was so embarrassing.
Change is hard. But the thing is, you can’t stop it from happening and you just have to deal with it. You are where you are for a reason. Whether it’s opening up to a new family, dealing with grief or learning a new job, you have to accept the change and be determined to make the best of the situation you’re in.
Or you can just follow my new life mantra –
That works pretty well too.
Either way, YOU determine how you feel and YOU determine how change will affect you. No one else can do that. So I say, embrace whatever change fall has brought you.
Or, just drink a lot of wine.
xo xo
life lately
{celebrating this || an 80’s themed birthday for this beautiful lady #madeinthe80s}
{enjoying this || gorgeous weather + an art installation on my sunday afternoon walk}
{eyeing this || cute husband during happy hour}
{obsessed with this || perfect FNL mug, made even more perfect while watching little league practice from my porch}
{savoring this || wonderful girl time + delicious wine}
xo xo
life lately
{loving this || wonderful friend time at sassafrass}
{starting this || read about my first week here}
{changing this || my hair color, and LOVING it}
{listening to this || on a beautiful saturday morning}
{celebrating this || these cute siblings’ birthdays}
{watching this || day date with the sistahs to see magic mike xxl}
xo xo
this is real [saturday]
an unvarnished look at my lazy saturday
[no judgment please – you know you have these days too]
8:30am
rolled out of bed, learned how to make aeropress coffee + spent an hour and a half leisurely talking to an old friend about life
10:30am
ZUMBA [the one non-lazy thing I’ve done today]
12pm
showered [only because I was soaked in sweat from zumba], didn’t put makeup on + and put my PJs back on
12:30pm
watched 3 episodes of friday night lights [bawled my eyes out at one episode, The Son], ate some ice cream to console myself
3pm
tried to take a nap, didn’t work out, so turned FNL back on
4pm
decided to get some sunshine, sat on the front porch + read 2 magazines
5:30pm
turned on FNL again for a final episode of the day + some blogging [okay, this might have turned into 2 more episodes]
next up: cooking dinner with the husband, backyard fetch with the pup + ending the lazy, hazy summer day with a movie and wine
xo xo
life lately
{loving this || a wonderful weekend spending time with an old friend}
{drinking this || a sidecar after running 3 miles in a beer run}
{team building like this || from top to bottom: modern mission laser tag with digital media team; aerial yoga with regine’s rangers; lip sync battle at marketing summer outing}
{snuggling with this || adorable six-week old baby everett} 
{celebrating this || 4th of july with my love and family}
xo xo
M. Davis Diary Entry [June 20, 2015]
Sometimes your heart knows something before your head does.
It tugs and pleads and tries to give you all these clues that something is going on up in that head of yours, but you just don’t realize it yet. You think your heart is crazy and your emotions are going wild for no reason at all. There is no logical reason you should be crying this much at the Gilmore Girls finale you’ve seen 10 times before.
Tomorrow is Father’s Day. And as much as I want to think it isn’t affecting me, it is.
This will be the second Father’s Day since my dad passed away. And this one seems harder than the first. Is that weird?
It’s just a made-up day. WHO CARES. Why would I feel any differently on this day than any other day?
Let me tell you when I hate social media – on Father’s Day. It is SO hard seeing everyone post pictures of their dads – throwbacks from when they were little, pics with dad at brunch, pics wishing dad a Happy Father’s Day from afar. It’s just hard to see. And I don’t blame you for posting it. I would be doing the same thing.
This week has been rough. Not for any particular reason, so I thought. I haven’t been sleeping well at night. I’ve been extra tearful. I’ve felt empty and moody and blah. My heart was trying to tell me something that my head hadn’t caught onto yet. I needed to face this. Think about it. WRITE about it, as is my catharsis. I want you guys to know it’s still hard. I want those of you who are also going through this to know I can empathize with you. I really can. It sucks. It really sucks.
Life is just hard. And I know everyone has told us this our whole lives, but there are moments when you really understand that. When something big is going on inside me, I get easily overwhelmed by the little things. Ask husband. I went on a tearful rant today about how it is just too hard to eat healthy, and to stay on an exercise routine, and to save money, and to not be greedy, and to pray more, and to keep the house clean, and to drink less, and to love more. [seriously, it was just like that.] I can’t do it all. And it all seems insurmountable in times like these.
Tomorrow, husband and I are going hiking around the Buffalo River. I’m not going to look at Facebook or Instagram and feel sorry for myself that I don’t have a picture to post. I’m going to focus on the natural beauty that surrounds us. I’m going to pray and reconnect my soul with what it needs. I’m going to soak up the sun, take time to notice the flowers and just breathe.
xo xo
life lately
{drinking this || so much iced coffee}
{dressing up for this || a kentucky derby party}
{eating this || trickdilly tacos}
{enjoying this || my beautiful farmers market flowers}
{celebrating this || our 4th anniversary!}
{working this || a busy week with these wonderful walmart mom bloggers!}
[1 Year Later] What I’ve Learned From Being a Homeowner
[first snow in our home]
I cannot believe it’s been ONE YEAR since we bought our first home – wow! It seems like just yesterday we were giddy beyond belief signing the closing papers, and headed home for our first meal (pizza + wine/beer) sitting on the floor. We walked the house dreaming of the knowns and unknowns to come, excited for it all, and mostly excited to be doing it together! What a monumental step to own your first home with your significant other. We’re putting down roots, planning for a family and a beautiful life together.
I wrote a blog post last May – What I’ve Learned From Being a Homeowner in the First 7 Days. Well, it’s been a year now, and I’ve learned a whoooole lot more.
1. Housewarming parties are always a good idea. I’ll always cherish some of the first memories in our home with our best friends and family. There are still blue feathers to be found.
2. Unless you’re very wealthy, it takes time to decorate a house, and you have to be okay with that.
3. A yard is HARD WORK. Why didn’t anyone tell me about the dandelions, the moles, the stubborn weeds and the cost of a lawn mower?!
4. Speaking of hard work, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and pay someone to help you. Because we do enough hard work on our own.
5. There should be a “things-you-need-for-your-home-but-you-haven’t-thought-of” kit, including things such as a ladder, water hose, edger, gardening gloves, level, hand vac, etc. etc.
6. Get involved in the neighborhood. Even if it’s just through the Facebook page. You want to know when the neighborhood garage sale is and when there’s been a rash of patio furniture thefts.
7. Even in a new, dream home, there will always be things you wish you could change. Resist the urge to covet. Be content with what you have, because it is such a blessing.
Finally, there’s no place like home.
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
wednesday, my inspiration.
The most vibrant sound in the room is one that can either soothe or distress.
The wick is almost at its end, but fights for dear life, throwing its light from side to side and forcing itself to be heard and not forgotten.
At times it competes with the screaming thunder, but its benefit is its consistency –
laying a raspy baseline throughout the room.
The puppy is confused. He looks up from his sleepy state on the newly carpeted floor, searching for the source of the hissing and buzzing.
The thunder stops and the rain begins; the wick seems to play in harmony with the pitter patter. Occasionally birds add a verse, bringing the illumination of spring.
The girl sits on the couch drinking it all in.
She sits in her cushy sweats wine in hand, after removing her corporate attire. She sits with fragrant food in the crockpot, waiting for husband to arrive home. She sits on her immaculate couch, admiring her new rug. She sits oblivious of how thankful she should be of nearly everything around her.
She sits in silence.
She allows herself the peace and rest and lack of distractions that are so hard to come by. She doesn’t feel the need to turn on the radio, or the tv, or grab her magazines.
She sits in silence.
And then the hail begins.
life lately
{enjoying this || warm days + new books}
{surprised by this || snow days + mesmerized looks}
{cutting this || six inches! short hair, don’t care}
{singing this || happy birthday to FIL at his surprise 50th + marcus on his golden birthday!}
{celebrating this || a night out with co-workers to squander our bonuses away}
xo xo
Short hair, don’t care
Raise your hand if you’ve ever chopped off your hair.
Raise your hand if you were as nervous and stressed out as I was.
Y’all, I was a mess. Why is that? Why was I so wrapped up in myself about my HAIR?? I loved my long hair, and I felt like it was my identity. For the longest time I couldn’t even imagine cutting my hair. It took me so long to get it as long as it was and I felt so beautiful with long hair. I often thought if anyone really wanted to punish me they should cut my hair in my sleep and I would be devastated. I recognize how narcissistic this sounds, and that’s one of the reasons I went through with it.
My worth is not in my hair. It’s not in my clothes. It’s not in the car I drive or the house I live in or the trips I take. Praise the Lord for that, seriously.
When I finally cut it, everyone kept asking, “What does your husband think?” Of course he loved it, but when I told him that, he said, “Why does that matter? If you’re happy, I’m happy.” Awww.
But he’s right. I should be confident in myself and my choices. It doesn’t matter what other people think. I know that’s easier said than done, but I really do think self-confidence is radiant. You can tell when someone loves their body no matter what their size and it’s just so beautiful.
I’ve only had my short hair for two days, but I have been LOVING it. It’s so fresh and easy. I feel more trendy and modern. And I’m so ready for spring. It’s given me the push I needed to transform myself into a healthier version of me – working out, toning my body and loving me for me.
“A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life.” – Coco Chanel
xo xo
life lately
Outside of my #26shadesofgold birthday party and the wedding festivities, here are a few more photos from my life lately.
{celebrating this || southern food + southern art}
{enjoying this || our first snow day}
{dying over this || puppy cuteness}
{excited about this || bentonville film festival coming in may}
{loving this || our valentine’s day celebration with a couples massage}
xo xo
Lazy, Hazy Weekend
Sometimes all you need is a guilt-free, lazy, hazy weekend.
And that’s exactly what I’ve had.
After the craziness of the last month, husband and I were excited to have a weekend with very minimal plans. (I can’t have no plans, because then that would just stress me out.)
Friday night we went out with friends for dinner and drinks and had so much fun. We talked craft beer + $100 whiskey, laughed about shark bites/tacos and dreamed about a trip to Thailand.
Then it was glorious, wide-open Saturday. Some days I say I want to stay in bed all day, but then I really don’t. I get anxious and think about all I need to do or feel guilty for being such a bum. But that was not the case next weekend. I had no problem at all laying in bed all day (I’m talking literally since wake-up to 4pm) catching up on my current TV shows, watching Gilmore Girls, reading all my magazines and blogging. It was fabulous. We then got a call asking if we wanted to go to dinner and a movie. Since we had literally no food in the house and felt like maybe we should be social, we got out of our pajamas for none other than pizza.
[I call this my, just-rolled-out-of-bed-but-only-for-pizza look]
We decided to continue our laziness, and after dinner didn’t go to the movie, but went home to watch our own movie on the couch (back in our joggers). We finally saw The Theory of Everything and LOVED it.
Sunday has been almost as amazingly lazy as Saturday, but unfortunately I did have to venture out in the cold to go to Walmart.
[I call this my, college-student look – UA baseball cap, fayettechill sweatshirt, uggs]
Don’t you just love these kind of weekends? I certainly love my busy, fun weekends with husband and friends, but I also adore these where you can really experience some relaxation and peace. It was exactly what I needed this weekend. And to top it off, we’ll enjoy a cozy night in with champagne and The Oscars.
xo xo
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
Resolutions. [10 days later]
Turn off the TV by 9pm. Get in bed and read.
Cook more with my husband.
Step away from my phone when around other people.
Blog more. Blog about what matters to me, not for others.
Embrace who I am. Don’t force things I’m not, like spontaneity.
Read the Word of God every day, even just for 5 minutes.
Go outside. Enjoy our backyard. Enjoy our energetic puppy.
Be engaged. In world events, in relationships, in work, in play.
Do small, unexpected things for people I care about.
Make our house a home.
Be more conscious about the food that goes in my body.
Love my body.
Take each day as it comes. Do not worry about tomorrow.
Travel somewhere new. In my hometown, in my state, in my country, in my beautiful God-given world.
B E H A P P Y.
xo xo
m.davis xoxo 
