life lately: summer edition
The blog is back from summer hiatus! Here’s a snapshot of our summer – from NYC to LA to everything in between. ❤
N Y C
[spontaneous meet-up in my favorite city]
[I flew in from phoenix, he flew in from bentonville + after lots of delays and a comedy of errors, we finally found each other at la guardia at 1am]
[found the cutest lunch spot with lobster rolls + aperol spritz]
[the best live DJ ride with robin + DJ john michael
350 rides for me + 400 rides for husband!!]
[mind seriously BLOWN by Dan White, the Magician – highly recommend]
[explored williamsburg: smorgasburg (a foodie’s dream come true), brooklyn brewery + the william vale rooftop]
[sunset sails are my absolutely favorite]
[greenwich village: dinner at palma + snuck in to smalls jazz club]
L A
[labor day weekend]
[soaking up the sun in manhattan beach]
[exploring santa barbara + contemplating how to retire here]
[the national at the greek theatre – 9.2.19]
[room views + hotel pools]
[ended the trip at my favorite places with my favorite people]
E V E R Y T H I N G. I N. B E T W E E N.
[LE event of the SUMMER – Stephen and Jaimie get MARRIED!!!]
[celebrated my favorite guy’s birthday with concert, cake + daquiris]
[celebrated Becky’s 30th on the lake #thirtyAF]
[hosted family + showed them some of our fave spots around town]
[attended my very first national sales meeting with this awesome crew in phoenix]
[dinner + a show with the fam]
[it’s a hard knock life/summer without this squad]
[sunset sails, whether on the hudson river or beaver lake, never disappoint]
Summer was delightful, but now on to my favorite season of all – F A L L !
xo xo
life lately
[enjoying this || a perfect summer evening with tap dance, tacos + beer]
[celebrating this || our 8th anniversary with a special drink + handwritten letters]
[soaking in this || the start of summer fridays]
[loving on this || blushing bride-to-be]
[eating this || so much food at bite x2]
[dancing to this || girls night out to see our favorite 90s cover band]
[relaxing like this || the most chill 4th of july weekend with my favorite people]
Alright friends, I’m signing off for the summer!
Enjoy the longer days, the extra time with family + friends and take some time just for YOU (preferably with rosé).
I’ll be back in September with life lately summer edition, alllll the book reviews + more travel adventures! ❤
xo xo
Book Reviews: Summer ’19 Edition
I’m so happy with how much I’ve been able to read this summer – 10 books in 2 months. Check out my reviews below and let me know what you’re favorite book has been this summer!
No Exit – Taylor Adams: This was a perfect vacation read – quick and suspenseful with twists and turns until the very end. The premise is ridiculously creepy. A girl gets stuck in a snowstorm and has to wait it out at a remote highway rest stop. She makes a horrifying discovery – in the back of the van parked next to her car is a little girl locked in an animal crate. With no cell service and no exit, she has to unmask and unwit the captor inside.
Grade: A-
Why We Sleep, Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams – Matthew Walker: I’m already fascinated by sleep and dreams, and this book gave me everything I wanted and more. If you’re not already as interested as me, it might feel a little repetitive, but the author says in the beginning to jump around, read the chapters that interest you, and even (you guessed it) fall asleep reading! Ha. Read this book and you will never think about sleep the same way again … and you’ll become a sleep nazi to everyone around you!
Grade: A
Summer of ’69 – Elin Hilderbrand: I’ve only started reading Hilderbrand’s novels in the last year, and I’m ready to go to the library and check them all out for my summer reading list. Her latest follows her typical formula, and draws you in to the stories of every member in the family – their secrets, their love interests and their personal struggles while also intertwining the national climate (Vietnam War, Woodstock, Apollo 11) during the summer of ’69.
Grade: A
Lock Every Door – Riley Sager: I devoured this book in 2 days. Set in a mysterious, famous residence in the Upper West Side of NYC, I was immediately drawn in. Sager’s writing is efficient yet captivating, and has the right amount of twists and turns to haunt you throughout. Want a quick beach read that will keep you guessing? This is it.
Grade: A
Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens: This was the first audio book I’ve ever listened to as an adult (Mom and I used to listen to them all the time growing up – picked them up at Cracker Barrel on road trips, ha!). I felt like I was late to the party on this Reese Witherspoon pick, but I’m so glad I joined. This book has the most fascinating main character and an intriguing plot. While there’s an underlying mystery, I found myself not as concerned with solving that and more interested in life in the marsh. A very unique book that I think will soon become a high school reading list staple.
Grade: A+
The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living – Meik Wiking: Hygge n.(pronounced HOOH-GA) – a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture).
I am currently all in on living my best hygge life. This book is part self-help, part Danish culture and part happiness psychology. Not only did I learn a lot, but it provoked a lot of introspective thinking. This is a perfect little gift for someone, and a perfect side table book to pick up when you’re feeling down and want to learn how to be happier.
Grade: A+
The Golden Hour – Beatriz Williams: My least favorite book of the summer – it starts out a little slow, but picks up as the character’s stories across countries and decades start to weave together. I was hoping for another Along the Infinite Sea (one of my favorite books of 2016), and though it felt similar in ways, this didn’t have the same intrigue and sparkle. Historical fiction set in WWII era-Nassau, it follows a love story, the glamorous Duke and Duchess of Windsor and a mysterious crime.
Grade: B-
When Life Gives You Lululemons – Lauren Weisberger: The quote-unquote sequel to The Devil Wears Prada, this is a quintessential summer pick. Though I never read the former, I obviously know and love the movie. In the book, you’re immediately entertained by Emily’s new job post-Miranda Priestly, and you quickly get swept away in the drama of the housewives of Greenwich, CT with their neighborhood gossip and never-ending happy hours, all while wearing lululemon.
Grade: A
Final Girls – Riley Sager: I’m now officially a Riley Sager fangirl and have read all of his books (yes it’s a him, under a pseudonym), this one being his first. Three girls are part of three separate unthinkable tragedies and are the only ones left behind. This thriller is about how they cope separately, until another tragedy hits close to home. It’s full of so many twists, is seriously creepy and a terrific debut.
Grade: A
My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress – Rachel Deloache Williams: I can’t say this book was written well, or didn’t get a little lengthy about mid-way through, but I can say the story is FASCINATING and I can’t wait for HBO show (it’s already in the works.) The true story of a Russian girl who conned New York City’s wealthy, you’ll be questioning how she did it the entire way through.
Grade: A-
xo xo
You can read all my book reviews here.
Vacation Picturebook: Reno + Las Vegas
R E N O 
We had the best start to our vacation visiting Kyle’s grandparents in Reno! They took us to Virginia City (old western town), we explored downtown Reno, and we had lots of late night wine in grandma’s gorgeous garden.
Then we took an amazing day trip to Lake Tahoe – one of my favorite places of ever!
L A S V E G A S
Night 1: We love the Cosmopolitan + Absinthe!! If you haven’t seen the show, we highly recommend, but warning it is VERY raunchy.
Pool days are the best days!
Night 2: We still love the Cosmopolitan and didn’t leave – found amazing live music + food at Rose. Rabbit.Lie, the coolest speakeasy behind a barbershop + late night milk bar cake (and secret pizza, obviously).
Another pool day and the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had in my life … also won $$ on my first ever sports bet. Yay Toronto!
Aaand then it was time for brother-sister Leo tattoos!
Fun last night at Container Park + Fremont Street
We had the best vacation spending time with family, and can’t wait to go back! ❤
xo xo
life lately
[drinking this || all the beer at our favorite event, fayetteville foamfest]
[loving this || the best monday night with literally everyone at the killers!]
[enjoying this || a quick trip to LA for work, eating at my favorite restaurant, spending time with one of my favorite people + running into DIANE KEATON!!]
[throwing this || game of thrones finale watch party, complete with themed food + drink and trivia with prizes]
[cheers-ing to this || an amazing long weekend]
xo xo
so long, sweet summer.
Oh sweet labor day,
your weekend signals the close of summer and the nudge to pack away the white pants.
But, for many, myself included, you also cue the thrill of something new. The best season of all is peeking around the corner (if we’re lucky). True, I’ve already planned my 3rd Annual Fall Party and I’m currently burning a pumpkin spice candle as I write this, BUT I’m actually trying to hold on to the sunshine just a little bit longer this year.
It’s been an extraordinary summer. Did we go on any huge trips? No. Did we have any life-altering events happen? Not really. But sometimes isn’t that the best summer of all? Little bits of joy coupled together to create a beautiful summer of memories.
S U M M E R O F 2 0 1 8
[in photographs]
And yet,
“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”
xo xo
life lately
[volunteering for this || great day at habitat for humanity – hard work in this heat!]
[celebrating this || rosé in the usa aka 4th of july]
[mourning over this || the closing of our FAVORITE restaurant in NWA + eating a final meal]
[loving this || concert season at the AMP!
kesha + macklemore
30 seconds to mars]
[walking to this || neighborhood progressive dinner! the most fun ever!]
[enjoying this || my gorgeous hibiscus blooms]
xo xo
Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer
Lately, I’ve been learning how to be content. Content with stillness. Content with a slower pace. Content with the season of life I’m in.
I made a radical change a few months ago. Sometimes job changes may not seem radical or may not be radical at times, but my entire way of life changed with this one. My days are now more consistent, my nights and weekends are more about me, and everything just feels different.
At first, I might have missed it. I might have missed the crazy, rollercoaster days and weeks I was so accustomed to. But then, I got off the rollercoaster and realized life was so much more than the thrilling, yet unpredictable highs and lows.
Contentment is hard though, isn’t it? Don’t we always seem to want something else, think the grass is always greener? Enjoying where you are and not pining for the next season of life is very hard. I’m not saying I have the secret to success, but it’s something God has been teaching me the last few months.
And I love it. I love the stillness. I love the laziness of just being home with husband, cooking meals together, arguing over why the washer isn’t working, contemplating why one plant isn’t growing, doing life together. ((Have we officially become a boring, old, married couple?!))
Yet, just the other day I asked husband if I was squandering away my summer Fridays by doing nothing. Doing nothing for me being, laying by the pool reading 100 pages at a time, then going inside to cool down and watch an episode or two of my current binge. Should I be using my time off wisely? Getting things done? Crossing things off my to-do list?
No. Just be. Enjoy the time. Enjoy those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.
I’m thankful for this season of life we’re currently in. I know it won’t last, but hope to enjoy it while we can, and then learn to love the next season – whatever may come.
“Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.”
– Henry David Thoreau
xo xo
Aldermans Go Global: Italy, Part 2 (Cinque Terre + Venice)
C I N Q U E T E R R E
[First night on the water – delicious dinner of fresh pasta with prawns + refreshing wine]
[Two amazing, relaxing days on the beach – exactly what we needed at this point in the trip!]
[Monterosso – adorable winding streets with beautiful street art]
[The pictures that follow are from our favorite night of the trip, on Angelo’s Sunset Boat Tour. Boat + guide Sammy pictured above. Seriously, if you are ever here, this is absolutely worth every penny!]
[Boat views of the towns = all the praise hands] 
[Stopped for tapas in Vernazza – these mussels + anchovies were TDF … and I don’t eat mussels or anchovies!]
[And this is right before we saw the dolphins and I cried. But for real, this night was so surreal and felt like a dream.]
[Final night in Cinque Terre – Vernazza Wine Experience with sweeping views that I failed to capture, except for the views of the wine + food]
CINQUE TERRE: We love love loved these adorable coastal towns. This was a very close second behind Siena for our favorite place. We actually stayed in a little town called Levanto (not one of the main touristy towns) and it was wonderful. Less touristy, yet still beachy and charming. We also had some super fun, not pictured, patio nights with Limoncello, Despacito + strange Asian men.
V E N I C E 
[Our cute Hotel Flora that took us forever to find, until we finally found it hidden on one of the streets behind Burberry, Ferragamo, Gucci …. ]
[Piazza at night + another delicious dinner – look at those shrimp!!]
[Peggy Guggenheim Museum was phenomenal. We were so excited to see some Modern art at this point after all the Renaissance art. Love this picture of Husband taking a picture of the water with a Jackson Pollock right behind him!]
[SO much fun on our Venetian Pub Tour – we drank so much wine, went to hole-in-the-wall pubs and learned a lot (that we didn’t totally agree with) from our tour guide]
[Day trip to the islands of Burano and Murano were totally worth it. Look how beautiful these colored buildings are! I took the second for my Mom – because I know if she were there, she’d totally be taking an art class like this!]
[Accidentally found this amazing, highly-rated B&B in Murano. My swordfish + tiramisu coffee ice cream were outstanding. I would totally come back and stay here!]
[Perfect final night in Venice with these beautiful people, and very fitting my last meal would be with more TRUFFLE!]
[We loved the bar across from our hotel! We made it a habit to end there every night. They played American Pop hits and served the “best” pina coladas + the best prosecco.]
VENICE: I had a love/hate relationship with Venice. I’m so glad we went, because it is so unique and incredible that there are no cars and the only transportation is by water taxi. (We even got to the airport by water taxi – how cool is that!) However, I’m not sure I’d go back – it was expensive, pigeons were everywhere, and I got eaten alive by mosquitos.
Hope you enjoyed re-living our trip through photos! I certainly did! Now, who’s ready to go back!?
Alderman’s Go Global: Italy, Part 1 (Rome + Tuscany)
xo xo
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
Sunday nights.
As of late, I have been loving Sunday nights.
They’ve been following the same pattern for a few months, and the type A in me loves it.
Sunday nights mean comfort, and warmth, and family, and communication.
I love Fridays and Saturdays and the memories they bring – fun and friends and busy and irregular. But Sunday evenings are something special.
As we prepare for the week ahead, we clean and meal plan and grocery shop. (Not exactly my favorite things.)
But at 5pm, the cork comes out and the music comes on. We put a new record on the player, pour some wine and start cooking dinner together. Husband grilling steaks. Me prepping veggies and salad. Puppy moving from one of us to the other, dying to be in the middle of all the action. We talk about the week behind and the week ahead and the things we’re looking forward to.
After dinner, we catch up on our shared TV shows or watch an 80s movie from our list, then turn in early to read and rest up for the week.
Even as we’ve been traveling a lot lately, we’ve been home by midday Sunday and able to keep our cherished tradition. Or as I’ve been returning from work trips, Husband has meal-prepped ahead of time with wine ready so we can just enjoy each other after time apart.
It’s perfectly boring, perfectly an old married couple evening, and I’m perfectly content with it.
xo xo
Weekend Picturebook: Denver
[first stop – husband’s favorite brewery!]
[great tour + great beer – blood orange IPA]
[did some shopping on Pearl Street in Boulder]
[perfect date night at Larimer Square – it was so picturesque and adorable!]
[dinner on the patio at Osteria Marco]
[after-dinner champagne flights at Corridor 44 champagne bar]
[sunday morning brunch at Curtis Club – yes we will have all the champagne, please]
[coffee + exploring at Union Station]
[the most amazing tacos + churros I’ve ever had at Pinche Taqueria – we went here 3 years ago and had to fit it in again. it will always be a go-to every time we’re in Denver!]
[and finally, the main event – The National at Red Rocks!]
[such an amazing show in the most amazing venue – check out the Denver city lights in the background. these pictures don’t do it justice, but you must put Red Rocks on your bucket list!]
We had such an incredible time in one of our favorite cities to celebrate Husband’s 29th birthday. Unfortunately didn’t get a photo with our generous hosts – cousin Ellen and husband Lanny, but so wonderful spending time with family! ❤
xo xo
You might also enjoy: Picturebook: California Dreaming’, Aldermans Go Global: St. Lucia
life lately
{loving this || early morning porch time}
{celebrating this || becky’s birthday at theo’s}
{enjoying this || afternoon playing ball in the backyard}
{savoring this || a morning with mom at the farmer’s market}
{eating this || fresh farmer’s market peaches and ice cream. hellooo summer}
{obsessing over this || adorable juliet!}
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
Discover Arkansas: Stand Up Paddle Boarding
Ever since I heard about stand up paddle boarding a few years ago, it’s been on my bucket list. I have never been into water sports, but I love being in or near the water. I’ve tried surfing several times (fun fact: I went to surf camp in Santa Barbara for a week when I was in middle school) and enjoy it, but it’s still pretty hard. I thought this would be the perfect solution to be on the water, but not too strenuous.
When SUP first became popular it was only on the coast or in bigger cities. I knew it would take a while to come to NWA. I thought I would get an opportunity to try it before it did, but unfortunately did not. Today, husband and I tried it for the first time, and we are HOOKED. It was exactly like I imagined. I felt so at peace on the water, and just fell in love. Don’t get me wrong – it was hard at first. I was so unsure of myself and my “sea-legs” standing up on the board for the first time, but once you get it, you get it, and it’s like you’re walking on water.
We got up early (6am on a Sunday!) and drove about an hour to a section of Beaver Lake near Eureka Springs. We rented the boards through SUP Outfitters. It was the perfect time to be on the lake – there were no boats out yet, it was about 80 degrees and the water was so calm. It was absolutely beautiful. We had so much fun together exploring the lake. There was only one problem … it was too short! We went for an hour and time seemed to run out just as we were getting the hang of it. Next time, we’re planning to go for 2-3 hours and take a little cooler out with us. Who’s ready?!
After our morning on the lake, we headed to Eureka Springs for brunch at Local Flavor Cafe.
[the best appetizer: baked brie + blood orange mimosas]
[huevos rancheros – mine and husband’s favorite]
[cheers to all of our sides of the best cheese grits]
[love these beautiful ladies and all of the adventures we get to go on together! and love that we all wore the same hat!]
xo xo
Read all my Discover Arkansas posts here.
Blackberries for Days [Photos + Recipes]
[my bounty]
[skinny blackberry margaritas via – TIP: more tequila needed]
[blackberry & raspberry oatmeal crumble bars via]
[pioneer woman’s blackberry cobbler via]
[M’s blackberry cabernet sorbet via]
[E’s blackberry mojitos via]Discover Arkansas: Whitaker Point/Hawksbill Crag
“Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
– Psalm 8
See all my Discover Arkansas posts here.
My Arkansas Bucket List
A few things you should know about me before starting this post: 1. I’ve lived in Arkansas almost my entire life. 2. I can’t sit still.
Now that that’s out of the way, here’s the thing. We’re planning this super awesome trip to Europe in the fall – one that I will certainly be posting about incessantly pre- and post- trip. However, since we have limited money and limited vacation time, that means the summer is wide open. But who can live through a summer without doing anything fun?! Certainly not me. See point 2 above.
So, I’ve decided this will be the Arkansas Summer. I will go and see and do all the wonderful things my home state has to offer – some of which I’ve done before (but it’s been a while) or some of which I have yet to do, but always wanted to. For those of you who live here you know how beautiful and underrated this state is. For those of you who don’t live here, you would be shocked to see all it has to offer, and hopefully I can share a glimpse into its beauty with you.
1. Float the Buffalo River
2. Eat a famous hubcap burger at Cotham’s [Scott/LR]
3. See the new Crystal Bridges exhibit, Van Gogh to Rothko [Bentonville]
4. Dig for diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park [Murfreesboro]
5. Climb Pinnacle Mountain [Little Rock]
6. Go to the drive-thru wilderness safari [Gentry]
7. Climb to Hawksbill Craig and take a cliche picture
8. Enjoy an evening at the drive-in movies [Fayetteville]
9. Tour the Ozarks through railway [Springdale to Winslow or Van Buren]
Other must-dos for Arkansans, but that I’ve done regularly so not on my list: Horse races at Oaklawn [Hot Springs], Weekend in Eureka Springs, NWA breweries [read my post about that here], Concert at the AMP [Rogers], Saturday morning Farmers Market [Little Rock/Fayetteville/Bentonville], Tailgate and go to a Razorback Football Game [Fayetteville]
POST UPDATE: Check out my updated bucket list thanks to your recommendations and my new series Discover Arkansas!
Have a recommendation of something to add? See something you want to do with me? Let me know! xo xo
End of Summer To-Do List
The end of summer is near. Or at least it feels like it now school is back in session and everyone is talking about football, PSL and new boots. But it really doesn’t feel like it at all. It’s the average August in Arkansas, aka 100 degrees by 10am.
If you ask, I’ll tell you I’m so ready for fall and everything that comes with it. However, with the month or so left of hot weather, I’m holding on to the last few bits of summer to round out my summer to-do list.
I typically make a summer bucket list every year. I posted this one last year: Summer-ish Things and this one in 2010: Endless Summer. There are a lot of similarities – always canoeing/floating (which happened this year for the first time in years!) and always going to the drive-in (which never seems to happen). But this year we will try again!
Accomplished:
1. Road trip + the BEACH
2. Floating
3. Host a party
4. Brewery hopping
5. Outdoor concert
6. Hang by the pool, good book and drink in hand
7. Consistent games of catch with puppy after work
8. Start running
9. Perfect a summer recipe
10. Stay up super late pretending like we have nothing better to do the next day than sleep in, a la high school and college summers
Still on the list:
1. Stand up paddle boarding
2. Drive-in movie
3. Water park
4. Floating (again!)
5. Do something ridiculously spontaneous
6. Lake time
Who wants to cross any of these off with me??
xo xo
Summer Nights + Why You Don’t Need Cable
When we moved into our new home we decided to give up cable. Really the only time we watched it anyway was in the mornings watching The Today Show (which I do miss) and randomly at nights when we didn’t have a specific show to watch. The majority of time though we were watching Hulu Plus, Netflix or Amazon Instant Video.
If you haven’t made the switch to no cable yet, let me fill you in on a secret – It’s totally worth it.
There will definitely be some growing pains. Like I said, I can’t turn on the news in the morning and listen to the top stories and hear the weather for the week. If there’s a show I really want to watch live I have to find somewhere to watch it (like PLL last week at my Mom’s house … #dontjudgeme.) I sometimes miss shows I wouldn’t stream like Wheel of Fortune, Duck Dynasty or House Hunters.
But let me tell you the biggest benefit of it all (besides saving money) – it will seem like you have so much more free time. Maybe you’re not like us, but before we gave up cable, this would be our routine: come home, turn on the tv, start making dinner, watch tv during dinner, watch tv after dinner. But since we don’t have that option anymore, we’re way more selective about what we watch. We don’t just turn on the tv to turn it on for noise. If we turn it on it’s to watch a show we really want to watch.
Now, let me remind you, we’re tv watchers – we have so many shows we keep up with during the season it’s a little insane. Then in the Summer usually we pick a few shows we want to start watching or catch up on that we don’t have time to watch during the year. Summer 2014 was Orange Is The New Black, but we finished that a few weeks ago and haven’t started anything else. Even though I get an itch every now and then to start a new show so we have something to watch, I’m trying to hold back. It’s like an addiction. We don’t need something to watch every night. We have plenty of other things to fill our time. Instead we’ve been …
playing ball with Olli in the backyard,
reading together on the couch or going to bed early to lay in bed and read,
sitting on the porch really talking about our days,
cooking dinner together,
cleaning up dinner together,
hanging out with friends,
going on walks
It’s really felt like Summer – long nights with seemingly unending sunlight. So I implore you, even if you decide to keep cable, maybe turn it off just for the Summer. (How many good tv shows are on right now anyway?) Or maybe just have specific no tv nights during the week.
I hope you will find it as refreshing as we have.
xo xo
Vacation Picturebook: Aldermans in Alabama
{first stop – after 12 hours of driving, who doesn’t want a cold beer and HUGE nachos at a bar with the coolest name ever}
{before there was the beach, there was the pool … well, in this case there was, and it was just so peaceful}
{after-dinner bushwackers at LuLu’s – Jimmy Buffett’s sister’s restaurant}
{the best breakfast everrrr – bananas in pajamas + mimosa flight}
{day at the beach with these cuties – isn’t he going to make the best dad??}
{view from our balcony and view of our beach towels}
{LOVED this restaurant in Orange Beach; also LOVED meeting up with some beautiful girls I haven’t seen in 3 years!}
{final meal – shrimp and grits perfectly peppery shrimp and amazingly cheesy grits}
{let the wedding festivities begin!}
{stunning wedding, venue and bride – what more do you need?}
{yep, we did the sprinklr down the aisle}
{love this lady so much and was so excited to be part of this special day – can’t wait to visit them in Austin!}
{what an amazing week with delicious food, quality time with husband, beautiful beaches and … }
{… the perfect car ride home with this guy. yep, we stole him from his mother}
xo xo
My Month in Instagram {August}
Happy September! As I drink my first PSL of the season (it’s BACK!) I’m taking a look back on August through the lense of my Instagram photos.
I posted 39 (!!) Instagram photos in August. I won’t share them all – but you can see them here – so I’ll just share my top 10 photos of the month.
As you look through them, I encourage you to listen to my song of August. Do you ever wish you could force someone to listen to a certain song while they’re looking at something – like back in the day on MySpace? Anyway, if you’re interested, click play on the YouTube video below and listen as you peruse.
xo
{August 3 – First Stop on the NWA Brewery Tour}
{August 5 – I’d take this as my workspace any day. #peaceful#naturallight #comfychairs #dallas}
{August 7 – let’s brighten this rainy day #sotd #shoes #metallic}
{August 15 – Oh my gosh, I have a new favorite food truck on the square. #streettacos #urbanbbq #foodtruck}
{August 18 – BEAUTIFUL day for some coffee + crepes}
{August 21 – 7 years ago today I posted this photo from our first day of senior year. #2006 #bhs #senioryear #timehop#throwback}
{August 23 – The weekend starts now.}
{August 24 – HAPPY BIRTHDAY, K! Love you and miss you. xo xo ❤}
{August 25 – Cuddle buddies}
{August 28 – LOVE this quote. #instaquote #leadership #inspiration}
“May your weekend be full of adventure and cheer; May the start of next week be a long way from here.”
After the craziness of last weekend at Essence Fest, this weekend I’m ready for a whole lot of doing nothing. Weekend plans include: Friday night movie with friends, sleep in, time by the pool, read, finish Greek, make this for dinner, make homemade ice cream, relax with husband and pup.
Enjoy your weekend, and take some time to relax. xo
No rest for the weary.
I’ve completely failed at blogging lately. Life has gotten in the way, but I’d say that’s a good thing.
I’m jetting off tomorrow for New Orleans for the holiday weekend. Unfortunately, sans husband. I’m headed to Essence Festival as our social media correspondent, so follow @Walmart on Twitter for fun updates and pics! (shameless plug) I’ll be busy, busy, busy at the event, mostly plotting the best way to get behind the scenes and meet Queen Bey. She shops at Walmart, right? She’ll definitely want to talk to me…
Not only am I leaving husband behind, but also my parents who came in town for the week. Talk about timing. Luckily, I’ve gotten some wonderful time with them for a few days, as well as with our family friends from West Memphis.
Before I head off to pack and listen to 90s Pop Pandora, I’ll leave you with a few other life lately updates.
{enjoying // a beautiful day for some professional women’s golf}
{doing // summer-ish things, like a rooftop party for Team Break the Cycle}
{eating // the best crepes this side of the tracks}
{celebrating // two amazing people getting married}
Happy 4th of July weekend to you and yours! xo xo
P.S. I’m extra excited to share my next set of book reviews for Reconstructing Amelia and Don’t Worry, It Gets Worse. Stay tuned!
m.davis xoxo 