The Belle and The Beau

When we decided to have Aidan baptized I quickly came to the realization that it was a little silly to put him in the typical all white that is customary for most baptisms considering he is almost 4.  I spent a few weeks putting together an outfit that I thought would look so cute on him for his big day.  I decided that he would probably look absolutely adorable in a bow tie. I searched the typical bow tie spots...Vineyard Vines, JCrew, our local department stores but I just wasn't finding anything I was in love with.  So I did what I should have just done in the first place and jumped on Etsy.  I scrolled through a few pages until I found The Belle and The Beau. 

Instant LOVE.  There is no going back.

via

I quickly emailed the amazingly talented Amy and asked her if she thought she could get me the bow tie in a week's time and some quick questions about sizing.  She responded immediately and was so helpful.  Her stuff is so unique. I decided to be matchy matchy and ordered Adam a coordinating neck tie.   Her customer service was exceptional.  The whole process was flawless. I really cannot say enough good things about her and her shop.  I will definitely be ordering from her in the future! We got so many compliments on Aidan's bow tie.  The priest even commented on the boys coordinating ties. 

Look at how amazing these ties are?  I can only imagine how cute Aidan would look in one of these!  There is nothing else like these out there!

The Beau Neckties for boys of all ages

The Beau Gingham Collection for Boys

The Beau Double Stacked Bowties

She even has father/son sets for a set price.

I like to think we inspired the gingham set she now has on her site.  Haha.

The Beau Gingham Collection Father/Son Matching Set

Amy doesn't just do ties, she also makes the most darling hair clips and head bands for women and girls!

These colors are great for all seasons!

Silk Poppy Blooms

If I had a little girl, I would be all over this!

Pop Garden Rose Bloom Headband

And just when you thought it couldn't get any better...she sells ties for your DOG!

Dapper Dog Necktie

 This is just a sampling of all the great stuff Amy has to offer so head over there and check her out! I promise you, you will be so pleased that you did!

Amy, Thank You so much! We love your stuff!  We look forward to purchasing from you in the future!

The Harvey's



Fear

Fear seems to be a re occurring theme in the blog world today. I am have been thinking so much about it lately.  Mostly about my fear of something happening to my husband and son.   A little bit about what I can do to get through the fear and just live. 

Other wives and moms may understand, but I cannot even explain the feeling I get thinking about anything ever happening to my boys.  Especially Aidan.  I fear for his innocence.  The ability people have over him to take advantage. He is so little and relies so much on Adam and I.  It breaks my heart to think about him being scared or hurt or sad.  The overwhelming love I {we} have for this child is sometimes, well, debilitating.

Since being back at work, I leave every day before Aidan gets up.  And every morning I sneak in to his room and kiss him because I literally fear that something will happen to me or him during the day and I won't have gotten the chance to get that last kiss in. 

I guess I feel like when I had him in front of me everyday, I could protect him.  It's been really hard to let go and not be in fear that someone else isn't taking as good care of him as I would myself.  It creates these knots in my stomach thinking about what he is doing all day.  Praying God is keeping him safe until I can get home and get another kiss in.

Weekend Recap

We had a really laid back weekend.  Adam ended up doing some work out of town this weekend so it was just me and Aidan.  Before Adam headed out of town, our friends the Valencia's treated us to dinner and we made tentative plans to join them for a long weekend in FL soon.  I am already really excited about it!

I would be lying if I said I wasn't bummed when I found out that Adam was going to be gone all weekend, but I perked right back up {sort of} when my BFF Candace called me to hang out Saturday.  We took our boys for a walk in her neighborhood and looked at some potential new homes for us.  We are probably going to move in the next year so we have started researching areas we would like to live in ahead of time.  Another post for another time.

Saturday night we stayed with my parents and my dad made us the best breakfast Sunday. Sunday afternoon Candace and I decided we would make a trip to the Pottery Barn Outlet and I have some great finds to show you this week. We are in the middle of a big living room overhaul and I can't wait to show it off to you all. 

Aidan wanted Mexican for dinner so we shared an order of fajitas and some cheese dip and waited for Adam to get home.  I wish I had my camera handy when his car dropped him off.  Aidan was in tears he was so excited and booked it down the driveway for a huge hug.  I  know it made Adam feel so good he was missed.  Even if he was only gone for the night.  He's super loved around here.

I am headed back in to the office for the week and a little bummed.  The weekend seemed exceptionally short for some reason.   There were of course no shortage of hugs and kisses from the little man because I was the only one around to receive them.  Love him!   Hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well! More interesting posts ahead!  xoxo

On Your Heart-It's a Friday Thing

I am linking up with Casey over at The Wiegand's because 1. I love her and her blog. 2. I want to support her and her blog and 3. Turns out I think this will actually be a great way to put out there what is on my heart this week and if I can remember to keep this up, every week!

There is a totally random thing that has been getting to me the past few days. 

My dad has a saying {and he repeats it to Adam all of the time} "Men are not all bad".  

True:  There are husbands out there that cheat.  

False: Every one's husband is going to cheat. 

 I don't know if I think their opinion bothers me or if I have an honest sadness in my heart for women that have become conditioned to think this way.

Recently I find that when I praise my husband to other women I often get responses like "he won't always be that great" or "I'm sure he's messed up before".   TIME OUT.  Yes, YES,  he could always be THAT GREAT.  And I trust him.  I believe in our marriage and I know no one is perfect {and forever is a long, long time} but why not give him the benefit of the doubt.   There is a strong possibility he is always JUST going to be an amazing husband and father.  END. OF. STORY.  I owe it to my hubby to jump to his defense about this stuff.  Men are not all bad.  

I can't recall ever being in fear that Adam was ever going to cheat.  Am I too naive to realize it's a possibility? No way.  Do I choose to try to be the wife he's always wanted?  Yes.  Do I screw it up?  Oh my goodness, all the time.   Do I think it's going to drive him to someone else?  Not ever.  What I know is that when I am with him, the world spins around me and I don't even notice. I love him with every fiber in my body.  I have been given this incredible gift of marriage and I cannot waste my time plaguing our marriage with thoughts of infidelity.   And I would hope, more women could open their eyes and realize that  Men are not all bad.



Blue Cheese Chicken

We have been keeping up with our Wednesday night "dinner club" with our friend Julie and we were looking for a new recipe this week to try out.  When it comes to recipes around here, two things are important, there has to be few ingredients and there has to be lots of flavor. Especially when it comes to chicken. 

My girlfriend Candace had mentioned a chicken recipe she and her husband make relatively often so I asked her what it entailed and when I realized how seriously easy it was, I ran to the store to get the ingredients and have now added it to our favorites list. 

It almost sounds too easy but it just is! Here is the recipe for you all. I am a big fan of the Perdue perfect portions chicken breasts but any skinless, boneless breast would work.  Same with the blue cheese dressing. Marie's is our choice but any chunky blue cheese would be fine.  I served it with Rice Pilaf on the side and marinated some cucumbers as well. Everyone was pleasantly surprised at how full of flavor the chicken was.

Bath Time

I had to follow up yesterdays mushy post with something cute.  Aidan is obsessed lately with his hair when he gets out of the bath.  He immediately wants to wrap his towel around his waist just like his Daddy and then he walks right in to the hall to check himself out in the mirror and mess with his hair.

Letters To Aidan

Aidan,

My heart is always so full of love for you but there are days {lots of them} where we just have the perfect day and I can't imagine loving anything or anyone more than you. 

Mommy and Daddy are so crazy about you, that if people could see in to our little house they might think we were a little goofy. Sometimes we fight over who is going to sneak in to your bed while you sleep just to smell you and kiss your cheeks while your just dreaming away.  

You have the sweetest soul and the biggest heart. Last night you and I were goofing off and you hit me in the nose.  It hurt so bad, I cried. You felt so bad, you cried.  I was trying to act tough so you wouldn't get upset and you walked right up to me, placed my face in yours hand and said "Mommy, I'm sorry. Can you be happy now."   I was sure my nose was broken but you made my whole body smile. 

One of my favorite parts of the whole day is when I hear the pitter patter of your little feet coming down the hall and around to Daddy's side of the bed.  You crawl up, lay between us and we all go back to sleep and snuggle for an hour or two before it's time to wake up and start our day. 

Lately you are very interested in babies.  I think it comes from several friends of ours having babies recently and some of the kids in your class have siblings.  You ask my questions like how to hold a baby, what do we do when they cry, if we get a baby can it sleep in your room and you would be a nice boy and share your toys with a baby.   We're working on it Bud, we are.

In the meantime, let's just celebrate all the fun we're having as our family of three.  And Thanks for not only the perfect days, but every day.  You've brought incredible happiness in to this house.  We love you.

Mommy