I'm Not The Only One...

That loves the new sofa...

The Cutest

One of my favorite parts of the day is when I get to Candace's to pick up Aidan. He's always so excited to see me and always has something new to show me from school.  He was so proud of this crown!!!

Scout's Life

Scout has settled in to a pretty nice life around here.  He's still not allowed on the furniture but I bought him a bed that we drag around the house for him to sleep on.  At least it started out as just a bed...

Polka Dot dog bed.  Apparently it's too big for him because he has grown and look how tiny he looks on it!

 Someone (I'm not naming names...COUGH Adam) gave him a pillow and a throw off the sofa.

 He loves it. I'm glad he's cozy. I'm not glad my husband gave him my favorite chenille throw and that now I freeze while watching TV.

We bought him two really nice plush, squeaky dog toys.  One is a chipmunk that we now call "Chippy". Scout lives and dies for Chippy.

 Last week Scout made the grave mistake of chewing up not one, but three of Aidan's toy horses (Aidan wasn't happy) and well let's just say R.I.P. Chippy.  Or one of his legs anyways.  This is Scout after Chippy was returned missing an extremity.  He's so upset. Aidan said "that will teach him!"

A quick pic of the boys around here.  Aidan insisted on having those Christmas tree boxers from JCrew kids. They are like 5 sizes to big but he sags wears them to bed. 

So anyways, I think Scout is mostly happy here. With the exception of "the Chippy incident".  Thankfully he has a squirrel all in one piece that he new tosses in the air and catches.  

Does everyone say "my dog is just so smart?" Because I don't want to be that Mom.

Shopping Buddy

Poor Aidan I drag him everywhere with me.  God knows I love to shop and that little man has done his fair share of it with me.  We were in Marshall's recently and I mentioned to him that I was looking for a tote bag to put in the car to carry the iPad in etc.  He was trying to move the process along by helping me find something. 

 

"Mommy. What about this one? It's our favorite color purple."

 "And look on the back it even has your name!" 

He is hilarious!

The Newest Love of My Life

My very best friend Candace,  her husband Clay and their son Cole, welcomed a new member to their family!  Meet Mason Luke!!!  I am so in love! I like to visit the hospital when everyone else has gone home so I can have them all to myself! Ha!

I took a few shots of Mason...

I mean isn't he the cutest EVER?

I loved every second I got to spend with him tonight.

I got to change his first dirty diaper and even that was exciting!

I just love him so much! He's perfect!

Welcome to the world Mason Luke! I love you!!!

Rainy Days

It's been raining a lot around here lately! I don't really mind because I get to spend my time cuddled up with Aidan on the sofa watching daytime TV movies.

One day last week he had a bad case of cabin fever so I dressed him in his rain gear and sent him out in the rain!  I think he thought I was loosing my mind letting him get wet AND dirty.  I of course stayed inside in took pictures through our glass door.  He had a great time!

Adam was thrilled when he got home that he had jumped in the puddle in our bark mulch until it was all over the side walk.  Ha!

 That tiki torch and I had a long talk about photo bombing later that afternoon.

Monster Truck Rally

Since Adam is working so much, Aidan and I are pretty much on our own these days.  I have been trying to fill our time together with fun stuff to do.  This weekend last minute I decided we would go to the Monster Truck Rally that was in town at the Arena.

I purchased some inexpensive seats in the upper level (that ended up being front row and PERFECT), a couple pairs of ear plugs upon recommendation of everyone I spoke to and we were set! We definitely stuck out like sore thumbs. Aidan in his button down and sweater and I with my trouser jeans and Louis Vuitton bag. Somewhere in the fine print we missed the "wear camo anything" bit. We tried to blend a little better by purchasing all the Grave Digger paraphernalia we could get our hands on during intermission.

It was definitely an experience. One that was on my list of things I never wanted to do should do once. Aidan and I were both a little out of our element at first but they started speaking our language via four wheel racing and there was no turning back. We may have even cheered Grave Digger on until our throats hurt.

 Ready for Date Night!

 

A little dark.

 This was the "Cool Bus".

 Ready to race!

 

I thought Aidan was going to witness his first death when this happened but apparently rolling over in your monster truck "ain't no thing". 

 Maybe I should have tucked his collar in??

A Hole

I just tried to walk in the door from work but I was stopped by our contractor and this massive hole!

They were about to replace the tile in our "foyer" and the wood underneath was totally rotted!

I can only make out the word "dinero" when they speak to me about it.

Just when we thought this would be an easy project!

Quiet Weekends

My favorite weekends of all are the ones where we have nothing planned and we can just do whatever we want.  They are so few and far between that I get seriously excited when I know there is one coming up.  Friends of ours invited us up to their house near Asheville for the weekend and we jumped at the chance to go and enjoy some of that mountain air.  Their home is beautiful and they are wonderful hosts so we love visiting.

Saturday morning the four of us (we even brought Scout)  hopped in the car and headed up there for the night.  We had a great dinner downtown and walked around and grabbed some ice cream.  Sunday we laid around before getting motivated to do some shopping in the afternoon.  It was just what we needed.


I brought my camera but I didn't remove it from the bag.  The only snapshots I  have are a few of Aidan chasing Scout around and this one of my hubby. I love the sunlight. And his squinty eyes.

Adam is starting a new job today and it looks like our free time together is going to be few and far between.  Looking forward to more weekends together doing nothing.

Happy Tuesday!

Golden Globes Red Carpet

I always DVR the Red Carpet footage of awards shows because I love the dresses! 

April's Worst Dressed:



It's the sleeves. And the hair which has nothing to do with the dress but it kills it. 

Creepy.

This kind of reminds me of a jelly fish.

Zooey is my girl crush and this was so disappointing for me.  

I had to do this.

Needs to step it up if she thinks she's marrying JT.

I want to love it but I can't.

Keith Urban never looks happy. It might be the dress.

I honestly usually really like what she wears.


Best Dressed. So Much More FUN!

This dress is perfect.

I really loved the navy.

I knew this was Chanel the second I saw it.  Gorgeous.

This picture doesn't do this dress justice. When she was presenting I was dying over it.

This is probably my FAVORITE look of the night.  Reese is glowing!

Needs to work on her red carpet smile but the dress is AMAZE BALLS.

I typically don't think I would like this but tonight it worked for me.  It may or may not have to do with her acceptance speech.

She is so gorgeous I almost can't stand her.

Next Up the SAG Awards, then the Grammy's and then the 84th Annual ACADEMY AWARDS!!!!

All photos courtesy of fashionology.com

 



We Got a New Sofa...Finally

We've been debating for months about which sofa we were going to go with. I wanted something that looked semi traditional and all Adam cared about was "could he nap on it comfortably". We decided on the Pottery Barn Slipcovered Comfort Roll Grand Sofa in the Light Camel Washed Linen fabric.  That's a mouthful huh? On Monday morning it was delivered while I was at work and I couldn't wait to see it! I love it.  It's exactly what I was looking for. The color is perfect.  All three of us fit on it. The seat is deep and it's nice to have a sofa with an arm after having an armless sectional for so long!

This is our third sofa since moving in here 6 years ago...

I added new drapes and that furry rug came from Ikea. I wanted to add some texture to the room and keep our toes warm during the winter months.  The bouquet on the coffee table I threw together with a piece of pottery from TJ Maxx and $30 worth of Hobby Lobby florals. 

I'm loving it!

Top Posts of 2011

I'm not doing New Years resolutions this year. I end up forgetting them, then remembering them and then I'm disappointed I didn't keep them. So that's that. I did make a promise to myself I would slow down and spend more time doing what Aidan wants to do and making time for our friends. I spent a lot of time blogging last year about being really busy and now I'm going to take that time and put it into my relationships. If my friends haven't forgotten me!

That is what leads me to writing my favorite posts of 2011 two weeks in to the New Year instead of doing it before like usual. I've been enjoying the Kid and something just told me you were not sitting around waiting on this post! :)


My Favorite Posts of 2011...


January- Celebrating five years with Adam. We just hit the 6 year mark and it's only getting better!
5 Years Together


February- Our dear friends the Chanthaboury's found out they were pregnant! Since then baby Avery has made her way in to the world and is as cute as can be!
Christin is Pregnant!!!


March- We finally had Aidan baptized! It was long overdue!
Aidan's Baptizm


April- Scenes from a Romantic getaway. Adam and I took a trip to Asheville and toured the Biltmore. It was perfect.
My Honey took me to Asheville


May- Scarlett Houston made her debut! I was thrilled for Natalie on the birth of her baby girl. Nothing is more exciting than watching your girlfriends experience the gift that is motherhood.
Scarlett is HERE!


June- Aidan turned 4! Part 1&2. I never take a year with him for granted. This year I refuse to work on his birthday. There was also the balloon release we did for Cohen Marshall. Such a sweet memorable thing for our family.
Aidan Bday Part 1
Aidan Bday Part 2
Cohen Balloon Release

July- We spent a week in Emerald Isle with my family minus Jordan. It was our first trip together in a couple of years and we really enjoyed ourselves!! I really can't get enough of my family they are the greatest!
Decot Family Beach Trip

August- I turned 28! And my family spoiled me!
28!!!
28 and Spoiled

September- We camped. AND I made it out alive. I think I might have accidentally even liked it.
Camping Trip


October- I successfully pulled off a SURPRISE party for my hubby AND a week later we celebrated 4 years of marriage. October was really good to me.
Adam's 30th
4 Year Wedding Anni

November- My trip to Boston to see my girlfriend Mare and wedding dress shop!
Mariann is getting MARRIED!


December- We produced our best Christmas card to date (that's an opinion not a fact). I decided Scout gets to stay!
Christmas Card 2011
Scout's Here to Stay

That was fun! 2011 wasn't too shabby! I know 2012 is going to be even better!!!  Happy New Year!!!

Harvey's Do Disney 2012

I am so excited to finally have finished our Disney video.  It was my first time ever using iMovie on our iPad and I love it but holy smokes was this thing a labor of love. For about 8 minutes of Disney pics and video clips.  The music that is with it was not the music I selected but it literally took about two hours to upload to YouTube so it's staying the way it is! 

We had such a wonderful trip. We left Charlotte when I got out of work on Friday and Adam was sweet enough to drive the entire way! We got to our resort around 12:30 and were up the next morning at 6:30 to eat breakfast and head to the Magic Kingdom! There were rumors that the park had been reaching capacity with all the holiday traffic and we didn't want to miss the New Year's fireworks so we were in the park by 8:30 and they closed the gates at 10 when they reached capacity.  It was a long first day but Aidan was such a trooper and it flew by.  We stayed in the park until 2:30a.m.!!! 

Our second day looked very similar.  We slept in a little bit longer and hit the Animal Kingdom first thing.  We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe (the food was seriously some of the worst I've ever had, but it was so cool on the inside!)

We spent the early evening back in the Magic Kingdom and then headed to the Contemporary Hotel for a character dinner. Aidan has not stopped talking about meeting Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck. Aidan had napped in our stroller for a bit prior to dinner so we took advantage of the park being open until 3am for resort guests. It was like having the park to ourselves.
Monday, we decided we would spend the day at Epcot. Well so did the rest of the world. The lines to eat were out of control. There is really very few rides in Epcot but we managed to get on the Norweigen boat ride with little wait time. We walked the whole loop and checked out all the countries. Then we headed back to where else? The Magic Kingdom. We had dinner at the restaurant modeled after the Italian one in Lady and The Tramp, watched the nightly fireworks and rode our favorite rides a few more times before calling it a night!
Our trip had come to an end! Aidan threw up the entire 9 hour ride home. Adam and I were feeling guilty that it was probably from exhaustion but he took it like a champ and slept most of the time. The second we pulled in to town he wanted to see his Grandparents to tell them all about his trip. I think it was to show off his new pirate hat, two pirate guns, pirate sword, two set of pirate hand cuffs, three Mickey tshirts, Mickey Snuggie, stuffed Donald Duck, special edition knit Mickey Mouse, autograph book, matching Disney Pen, monogrammed Mickey ears and the 25 photos he begged me to take of he and Minnie. Adam never made it to Disney as a kid so he was making up for it by buying Aidan everything he touched. You only live once right?

A few things I learned for next time (if we get that brave again):
Bring your own stroller. Yes, the convenience of renting one is nice and we did the first day but they are the most uncomfortable things for your child! We brought our Bob Jogger and it was perfect.
Pack snacks. I just wasn't in the mood to deal with it this time but you are allowed to bring your own food/drink in. We brought water bottles but that was it. It still saved us a ton of money!
Always pack for warm and cold weather. The first two days it was almost 80 and the last day it was barely 55! Luckily we brought coats but people were freezing. They still got in the pool though!

We had so much fun! I couldn't imagine taking Aidan any younger than he is. He just wouldn't have understood the whole Disney experience. He probably won't remember this trip in ten years but taking him any earlier I think would have been to appease us. I think it's too much for little, little kids. Anyways, I hope you love the video and if anyone has great Disney tips send them my way for the future! Xo

Twinsies

Although Aidan looks mostly like my side of the family...he has a lot of Adams mannerisms. I often catch him doing things exactly as Adam does them. It's a crazy thing creating another human being and seeing yourself in them!

I am Obsessed!

I've been meaning to do a list of just a few products I'm in love with these days! I get so excited when people find good stuff and let me know about it so I figured I would let you all in on my secrets. Most of them you probably know about but just in case...

 The Aussome Volume Shampoo/Conditioner by Aussie

 Let me just tell you about this shampoo...I haven't ever been excited about a drug store shampoo in MY LIFE. For those of you that know me IRL...know that I have the THICKEST hair on the planet and it has previously had the tendency to look like straw! This is the best shampoo I have ever put on my head! I broke up with my Moroccon Oil for this stuff.  Today alone I have had three compliments on how great my hair looks and my husband even mentioned yesterday how much he loves our shampoo these days. If a man says something, you know it's good.  My hair is so soft and shiny!!! We buy the big bottle with the pump attached at Tarjay. 

Next up are two cleaning products...I know you have all heard of the Method line and most of you probably use it.  If not...run, don't walk to (again) Tarjay and buy the 

Method: All Purpose Cleaner. Scent: Pink Grapefruit. I haven't met a scent of theirs I didn't LOVE but pink grapefruit is something special!

And as if finding one cleaning product that I love from this company wasn't enough...I also love their Wood For Good Surface Cleaner.

The scent is Almond.   How could you go wrong? It's my fav because it doesn't leave that waxy residue on my furniture like Pledge does. There is a strong possibility that the Almond makes me hungry but I'm not quitting this stuff anytime soon!

On to some little "clothing" items.  It's the little things right?

Have you checked out the Gilligan & OMalley line at Target for Women?  Well recently, I was in need of some new undies. This happens to you too, right? I was in Target and I saw these were 5 for $20.  I bought 5 pair and have loved them! They come in boy shorts, bikinis, thongs and whatever else is left after that.  And in about 20 colors! Super comfy.  I think the lace and ruffle trim on them makes them cute.  Once I knew I was in love, I went home cleaned out all my old VS underwear and bought a ton of these in all shapes and colors.

While we are on the subject of Gilligan and OMalley...these nighties they carry are so comfortable and affordable!  I get so hot at night and these are perfect for solving that problem! When Aidan is running around, I throw on a pair of PJ pants under them.

I have a small addiction to hand soap.  I wash my hands a lot so I always like something that smells good but isn't over powering.  When I was at Bath & Body Works getting stocking stuffer's this year, I was literally in line, remembered I was out of hand soap in our  bathroom so I grabbed this bottle because...are you ready for it...it was red and it was Christmas time.  I didn't read the bottle, I just picked it up. Best accident EVER. The Black Current Vanilla is UH. MAZING. The whole aromatherapy thing has something to do with being "Sensual". I have to say I haven't really noticed a difference anywhere  but in the scent I carry with me on my hands. It does say on the bottom to breath in deeply when washing your hands and you know I do that. Can you see me?

 That's it. 6 quick items. All totally affordable. All but 1 you can get at your local Target.  No one asked me to write about these things, I just did it because I have been so happy with them and thought you could be too!
All images were taken from the website I linked back to.

Happy Monday!