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Things are looking different on this site, and that’s because I finally made the plunge from Blogger to WordPress! It’s been haunting me for months now, and it just seemed entirely way too intimidating, time-consuming, and complicated to attempt…but last week I finally buckled down and pulled up trusty Google.com a million times to figure it out. Woot! I have now have my own self-hosted URL and a new design, although I’m still tweaking things here and there and trying to fix links, etc. I hope you enjoy the new look and site!

We spent Friday night at home, grilling pizzas for dinner and watching Shark Tank after the little miss went to sleep. We’ve literally almost watched all of the available free episodes and I’m not sure if that’s an embarrassment or an accomplishment. We like Shark Tank because it feels like you’re actually doing something somewhat constructive in the time spent watching and learning some helpful business knowledge while also being pretty entertained. Sometimes we sit around and try to think of something to invent but so far we haven’t hit on any good ideas, hehe.

Ben went out to breakfast with a friend on Saturday morning, and then we had the rest of the day to do yard work, clean the house, weed the flower beds (i’ve literally been procrastinating on this for the entire summer), and Ben did a super clean on the car. We went out to the lake with some friends that evening for a picnic and it was an absolutely perfect summer night. The guys were doing some sail boarding while us mamas sat on the shore with our babies and it was one of those nights that made you decide you want summertime to last all year long!

We had Sunday morning at home, although no sleeping in for this mama. I couldn’t go back to sleep after feeding Ayla at five thirty, and finally decided to get up and make a batch of cinnamon rolls for breakfast instead of laying in bed just getting frustrated. Cinnamon rolls > sleep, right? Ayla woke up just as we were sitting down to eat, but just sat in her swing by the table looking and smiling at us. She’s just a sweetie, you guys! We ran up to Rochester mid-morning to drop off a vehicle at the airport and grabbed some lunch at The Village Bakery, which is always a favorite. My sister came with us and it was a fun little family outing. We had church in the evening, and I got in the first half of it before the little miss had another one of her famous Sunday evening meltdowns. So we rocked and cried, and sat in the sunshine and cried, and walked around outside and cried…poor little thing was so super tired but just couldn’t convince herself to fall asleep. She did get there eventually once we got home, bless her heart.

It was a great weekend and we were soaking up the quality time together before Ben leaves for a work conference this week. My sister is staying with us this summer and I’m pretty glad to have her around while he’s away especially! I’m a scaredy cat when it comes to staying by myself, hehe.

Here are five things I love:

– these tips for grilled pizzas
– these simple ice pops
– these gorgeous knife blocks
– these table linen DIYs
– this fun song

Have a great week, dears!

What about you: what was the best part of your weekend?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Woot! Another holiday weekend!

Clearly my enthusiasm for weekends in general isn’t hidden (if this didn’t cost so much, i would buy it and wear it every day), but a holiday weekend…those are the best of the best. It seems like the last few weekends have just been spot on, and this one was no different. Another breakfast date, time at home, burgers and movie night, cozy mornings with my sweetie girl, evening with friends, and gorgeous summer days.

Ben had off on Friday, and we decided to go into town in the morning for both a breakfast date and to pick up a bouncy exerciser for Ayla at a consignment shop. Thankfully the little miss slept through this date outing! Her morning naps are always the best ones, and so maybe it’s morning dates for us from here on out, ha. We had breakfast at one of our favorite local spots, and then did a stop at the consignment shop plus the grocery store. We were home by noon, and then Ben ended up going and helping at the peach stand since they were pretty busy. We grilled burgers for dinner that evening and watched a movie with my sister to finish out the night.

Some friends hosted a big low country boil dinner on Saturday night and it was the perfect way to celebrate the 4th! The dinner was originally set up outside in the orchard, but just after we got there, a major rainstorm started looming and they decided to move everything into an old barn on their property. I waited a little too long to decide to start heading for cover because just as I started walking to the barn, it started raining. Ayla was in the stroller and I was trying to both hurry and keep her from bouncing all over the place, and eventually once it starting DUMPING on us about halfway to shelter, I gave up on trying to keep her from bouncing and just ran all across the bumps and dips and rocks! Poor little thing looked a little confused and startled once we finally made it into the barn, but she was fine. The dinner was delicious and it was super fun to hang out for the evening with friends. There were yard games set up for afterwards, and the evening was perfect for spending outdoors.

Ayla woke up early on Sunday morning, but I didn’t even mind since it was the first night she made it all the way through without waking to nurse! It’s amazing what nine straights hours of sleep feels like after waking up several times a night for the past two months, haha. We had breakfast and went for a walk down to the lake in the morning…it was a gorgeous morning and perfect for walking. We had peanut noodles for lunch and spent the rest of the day napping, reading out on the deck, and then church in the evening. A lovely Sunday indeed.

Here are five things I love:

– this article
– this dessert
– this song
– this cutie little dress
– this is true

Have a truly amazing week, dears!

What about you: what did you do to celebrate July 4th? What was the highlight of your holiday weekend?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!