Relaxed

Vacation is over.  :(

Patrick and I went to Orange Beach for a week and today is my first day back at work.  I love going on vacation, but I hate coming home.  I could seriously stay at the beach, permanently.  I am so jealous of people who get to live on the beach ... I am sure I've probably glamorized it a little, but I think it would be pretty freaking fabulous.   

We had such a wonderful and a great anniversary.  We didn't do too much ... Laid out, swam, went to the outlets, ate yummy food!  

For our anniversary, Patrick grilled out on the beach ... We had grouper, lobster tail and smores!  It was such a wonderful way to celebrate our anniversary and I am so thankful for my romantic husband!

Back to real life!  Hope you enjoyed your week!

One Year!

I can't believe that Patrick and I have almost been married for one year ... We are just shy of our first anniversary, by five days.  Patrick asked me how I felt about having this milestone under our belt, the other day, I replied, "We made it!"

I heard so many challenges that people experience during their first year and fortunately, we have had a pretty easy go, so far.  Patrick's job has definitely been the most challenging thing we've experienced this year, but as I am writing, it seems like we've finally settled into some security. 

I wanted to do something special for Patrick ... This anniversary the gift is "paper".  We both have personalize stationary, so that was out.  The thing I kept thinking about was having our wedding album made.  I talked with our wedding photographer and her books while very beautiful are also, very expensive.  So, I decided to make a Blurb book ... Worst case, I hate it and we order the album.  Best case, we love it and just saved a lot of money! 

I haven't gotten the book, yet, but you can view it ... HERE!

Swimwear

Patrick and I are going on vacation at the end of this week ... I am so excited to get away and so excited to go to the beach!  

I, like most women, hate swimwear.  I hate shopping for it.  I hate the way I look in it.  Just all around, I hate the swimsuit experience. 

I feel like this:

Don't get me wrong ... I have some really cute swimsuits, I just don't like the way my body looks in them.  Last week, I ordered a SPANX swimsuit. 

It came in the mail on Thursday, by then I was feeling really guilty about spending $200.00 on a swimsuit.  I mean, I should be shot, right?  So, I just starred at the box.  On Saturday, I opened the packaging, but had decided that I had to return the suit.  Patrick would never spend that much money and it wasn't fair of me to spend that much money.  

But, first I wanted to try it on ... Surely, there is no swimsuit that is worth $200.00 and I was willing to prove it to myself. 

I tried it.  It feel well.  I love the color.  Then I looked in the mirror and this is what I saw:

I am not even lying ... I look like a freaking swimsuit model! 

Needless to say, I am keeping the suit!  I may even wear it everyday!

Favorites

This week has flown by ... Don't get me wrong, it's nice, but I can't believe tomorrow is Friday.  

Patrick's been home this week and getting adjusted to his new facility in Donelson!  I haven't written much about Patrick's job, other than he has been traveling weekly, since January.  We were told that there wasn't a place for him in Nashville and that we needed to be prepared to move ... Patrick is now licensed in both Tennessee and Kentucky.  

In February we thought we would be moving to Georgetown, Kentucky ... A small town north of Lexington.  In March, we had a few leads ... Lexington was the best case scenario and worst case was a small {6000 person} Kentucky town.  In April, we just knew it would be Louisville ... We were most excited about this possibility.  Then several weeks ago we got news that we would be able to stay in Nashville ... I think that we were both holding our breath, until we felt pretty certain that this was the case. 

Things are starting to follow into place!  Thank goodness ... It's been a stressful few months, but it is nice knowing that we don't have to worry about moving, at this point.  

I found this image last week and I keep coming back to it ... I love everything about it! 

Recipe

For Mother's Day, Patrick and I invited our moms over for brunch on Sunday.  It was really nice to celebrate both of our mothers.  

I had planned to dine outside, but it was a little rainy, so everyone just ate in our living room.  We had mimosas, quiche, potato casserole ... All of the food was so good.  

But, my favorite was the lemon monkey bread, I made ... Every bite was incredible.  

I can not urge you to run to get the ingredients and make this recipe, immediately.  Oh my word.  There are no words. I found the recipe on Pinterest, which fortunately linked me to BakerLady's blog ...

Lemon Monkey Bread
(from Creations by Kara)

12 Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed but still cold
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions: 

1. Cut rolls in half and place in a greased 9×13″ pan {I used a Bundt pan, which changed the directions a little} 
2. Drizzle with the melted butter {I melted my butter in a bowl and just rolled the rolls in the wet mixture}
3. Mix lemon zest and sugar together in a small bowl. Sprinkle HALF of the lemon sugar mixture over the rolls. Cover and let raise till doubled. {Then I mixed these ingredients together and rolled the rolls in the dry mixture}
4. Sprinkle remaining sugar mixture on top. {I skipped this step} Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from pan.
5. 5. Combine glaze ingredients. Drizzle over rolls while still warm.

Fun Fabric

This post isn't so much about fabric, it's more a want for me and it just happens to include a textile.  Multipurpose! 

I have really debated a lot about a coffee table for our living room and I can't find anything that I would be happy with that's under $500.00.  There are a lot of really great options, but they are out of my price range.  

So, I've decided that I want two ottomans to use as a coffee table {and it will also serve a purpose when we have guests, as additional seating}.

These foot stools from IKEA will be perfect ... And best of all, they are CHEAP!  $99.00.  I want two.  

Enter these slipcovers {my FUN FABRIC} ... Have you heard of Bemz?  They make covers for your IKEA furniture ... What a gold mine!

Happy weekend and Happy Mother's Day!  I hope your weekend is beautiful! 

Favorites

I've had a busy few weeks ... So, I apologize for my absence.  

My family had a surprise party for my mom last weekend ... We had such a good time and although I don't think she was all that surprised, the decorations were pretty and the food was good.  Patrick is out of town this week and our grass is almost waist high.  Tonight I have a date with my lawn mower.  While I don't really love cutting the grass, I love the way it looks.  I also have a lot of plants to get in the ground ... I tend to think that gardening is very therapeutic.

On to my favorites Pinterest finds for the week: 

I know that these botanical have been around forever, but I love the prints.  I love the white.  The lamp.  Basically, everything.  I don't have a space for prints like this, but aren't they stunning?

I am really obsessed with green and flowers right now!  I found this on Pinterest and while I love window boxes, I really loved some of the combination of shade plants.  I know I can plant impatiens, but it was nice to see a few other shade loving varieties.  

Complete change of pace, but I am loving this kitchen.  The island color and the lighting.  Isn't it so fun? 

I am off to day dream about my favorites and try to figure out how to cut stripes in my grass ... Don't you love the way that looks.  

Happy hump day!