Easter Day

What a wonderful Weekend!! Kevin and I are snuggling in for the night to watch a movie so I'm keeping this short but I wanted to at least post these adorable pictures from Easter Day.!

My cute brownie bunnies Kev and I decorated :) along with a delicious spinach salad and appetizer platter..

A good lookin' group- wouldn't you say?!

Weekend Browsing

Happy Friday!!

I thought it would be fun to start a weekly 'Friday Weekend Browsing' post. Some places I've been over the week or like to browse during the weekend. You may find them enjoyable as well!

I am beyond excited with the news of a baby!! Kevin and I have plans of getting some work-out in, organizing the garage and kitchen painting this weekend. It's funny how instantly our priorities have change since finding our about our little sprout. Paul and Shellea bought us our first baby books- everything we need to know along with our first every baby clothes and a moose shaped bib!! so darling.

Happy Easter To Everyone! Thank you for the outpouring of excitement for Kevin and I. I can not Thank the Lord enough for such an awesome awesome blessing.

Happy Weekend Browsing!

I am thoroughly obsessed with dinnerware so when I saw these I nearly screamed with excitement. (I'll be purchasing them in red and yellow!)

Check out myskiprohusband to read a darling post from a dear friend on how she is finding out the gender of her soon to be baby-post titled "Baby Sex Cake"!! I know, you have to check it out now! Check out the baby tickers to see all my wonderful friends who are having babies this year too!

Easter Sunday this weekend-cannot wait for a delicious meal with our dear friends here. I'll be bringing spinach salad and appetizers, I'm also contemplating making a delicious treat and breakfast for Me and Kevin. Find a yummy Easter Day recipe here.

Decorating Ideas from HGTV- now i'm inspired to do some more decorating this weekend. Love the table on pg 12!

Spring is here, Summer's around the corner. Time to start decluttering and get an Organized Home.
I'm absolutely Loving J-crew's Spring Collection.

How darling are these hair pins!! I think they are a must have:)

You might get a clue from the dinnerware that I am IN LOVE with Love bird decor. They are the cutest thing to me. I found Love Bird Nursery Decor at esty and fell in love with it all!! If I have a little girl she will have tons of Love Bird Decor!! And how darling are these owl book ends. OH my gosh. So cute right?!

Ok, I can't leave out the possibility of a baby boy scenario and since our baby will be born in the dead of winter... in Alaska- it's only appropriate to buy this maroon and gold outerwear. Don't you think?

XOXO

Two Lines = Positive

We're having a baby!!!!

Oh what a darling day this has been!!! I woke up at 4 am with my hubby who left for Anchorage to take his State Teaching Exam. While fixing breakfast alone I casually thought "huh, maybe I'll just go ahead and take a pregnancy test" So I did. It came out positive. I took another look and thought surely I had done something wrong, so I took a second test- It too came back positive. I still was in disbelief, so I took out a THIRD test (different brand than the first two) and that ALSO came back positive!!!

I left the above picture in an enveloped marked- 'Kevin, I love you!' Knowing he'd be home around lunch while I was still at work.

As expected, he called at 12:30 in just as much excitement as I was in! Before announcing to friends and family, we wanted to be sure- so I bailed out of work early, met with the doctor and took a FOURTH test.

It came back Positive!!

So I can now say, we are POSITIVE we are Expecting :)

We are both so thrilled and excited. I really can't describe in words how I'm feeling- peace, love, joy, excitement. Everything wonderful.

What perfect timing. Thank you Lord for this blessing.

XOXO

Tea time.

Growing up it was pretty standard to enjoy dinner as a family and an hour later indulge in a bowl of ice cream. So it's no surprise that now, at the age of 26 I struggle each night with what yummy but healthy treat I'm going to have. In an effort to curb my sweet tooth I decided to start a nightly ritual with my hubby.

It starts like this.





About an hour after dinner, I fill my darling red tea kettle (Thanks Mom!) with filtered water place it on the stove and wait to hear it whistle. Once it sings, I pour the blistering hot water into our tea cups brewed with Sleepytime tea.

It ends like this.

Kevin and I snuggle in together, sipping our delicious tea and drifting off to sleep.

Last night instead of our usual Sleepytime tea we enjoyed Cinnamon Apple Spice-"This lively blend is dominated by an aromatic burst of sweet and spicy Vietnamese cinnamon and bushels of juicy, all-American apples. There's a toasty chocolate note and a hint of creamy butterscotch in the finish that complements the lasting taste of apples and cinnamon-making this teat comforting and invigorating all at once!" The box describes Cinnamon Apple Spice like that. And you know what-they nailed it!! It is amazing!

I know this little 'ritual' doesn't sound like much, but it has turned into one of the best parts of my day.

You may not enjoy 'tea time' as much as my hubby and I do but you should at least buy Cinnamon Apple Spice and give it a go- once. You will not regret the after dinner treat and your taste buds will likely be thanking you.

Cheers to you.. and Sweet Dreaming

XOXO

Who I Am

When the popular days of Myspace dwindled down and I found myself without a community spot to share my life- I create this blog. It began with photos. Little to no commentary. Posts only a few times a month, usually when a Holiday came and passed, Kevin and I took a trip or had friends visit. A quick snapshot of our life as Mr. and Mrs. A timeline for friends and family to peek in on.

As much as I enjoy posting photos of the 'big' events in my life, I find myself constantly thinking of all the dozens of posts I want to be sharing that happen day to day. The days I get a bad cup of coffee which spirals into an entire dialogue in my mind about just that, coffee or the days I read about someones struggles and overcomings and think maybe someone will find inspiration in mine or the days I want to recommend a tasty meal or open my heart and share what God has been showing me OR the days I do, simply want to only post a photo-without words. These are the days I think, "this is who I am".

I am crazy in love with my husband. I am overly sarcastic. I do not like feet. I am strong- inside and out. My walk with the Lord is the most important part of me. I am extremely forgiving- maybe to a fault. I make mistakes. I am a dreamer and a realist. I overcome. I love escaping to various blogs and finding creative inspiration from all over. Whether it be how to create a cozy living room, plan a party, an article about fitness or writings from a dear friend that makes my heart miss them so much I could cry. I love it all.

All part of why I am excited to re-vamp this blog into more than just a snapshot. More than just a timeline.

When you stop by again you may find posts you adore, some that you skip over and photos that make you smile. But no matter what, you will always find a piece of me here. A piece of who I am.

So if you want to drift away from your day to day activities and get lost in mine, find inspiration, or simply want to browse the photos, I hope you will always stop by, leave comments and maybe, just maybe have a little piece of me with you each and every day.

XOXO

Mr. and Mrs. Smith!

Yay! Here are a few photos from the weekend fun in Homer, AK. It was a beautiful wedding with beautiful Friends and family.

Wedding Day.

To Happily Ever After..

Sierra Desert Sand

Sierra Desert Sand: I am so happy YOU stood out amongst the crowd of paint swatches. I am SO glad we choose you for our background and SO pleased with how you turned out.

Sierra Desert Sand- Thank you.

Before:

After:

Before: After:

Movie Review

Looking for a good weekend movie to watch?

I recommend:

The Lincoln Lawyer is my next movie must see. *waiting patiently for it to arrive on the peninsula*

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I will be busy painting :)

XOXO

Home Sweet Home.

This is the darling home I've been daydreaming about for weeks... we got our keys on Friday!

Friday afternoon we grabbed our dogs, tv and air mattress picked up a veggie pizza, bottle of wine, 24 and spent our first night snuggled in to our new house.

Saturday we unloaded our belongings, had friends over for lunch (and thanks to Shorts for helping clean/move!), met a nice neighbor named Jack and had permi-smiles on our faces the entire time.

Much to Kevin's surprise Sunday afternoon he came home to multi colored strips on our walls. I might have gotten a few to many paint samples from home depot and might have tested them out on the walls without his full knowledge.. but what can I say, neutral paint colors are hard to pick out! I did however pick one. A simple light shade of tan- it's called Sierra Desert Sand. It's light and fresh. Spurred on by the dislike of multi color walls Kevin told me we'd paint on Saturday (might have been my plan with paint testing all along) ;)

We both decided we'd want a deep rich color in the dining room/kitchen but after also testing two shades of red- both were a disaster. I'm still on the hunt for the right shade or perhaps we'll go with a totally different color.

I don't have a good picture but the garage is extended on the right side- you can just about fit two cars, one in front of the other on the right side. The 'extended' area is our 'man cave' space where a couch and dart board already reside. Soon to be living there: a tv, mini fridge and ping pong table.

On the back wall of the garage there is also a doggy door that leads straight into a large covered dog kennel. Paisley LOVES it. There is a large shed in the back corner of the yard- empty at the moment.

I did not put up the maroon curtains on the sliding door- those came with the house.. along with several other items, of which I would actually like to thank the sellers for: two large ladders, two outside trash cans (no trash service in ak), kitchen trash can, tons of cleaning supplies and dog toys.

I am continually thanking the Lord for giving Kevin and I such a perfect house. We had our first home cooked meal last night- Kevin made chicken Marsala-a recipe that he has NEVER even mentioned he knew how to cook in the three years that we've been married and one that he will in fact be making again!! It was delicious.

So we cheers'd our mugs of wine, wine glasses still being packed away, enjoyed our dinner and drifted off to sleep both incredibly happy that we are home.

An Oversight.

I know you will all be as disappointed reading this post as I am to post it.. but with all the excitement of last week-shopping in Anchorage, picking my parents up from the airport (yay!), wedding/birthday dinners, rehearsal dinners and of course.. the Smith wedding, I neglected to charge my camera battery-ending up with a dead camera half way through the festivities. AGH!
In an effort to capture the moments regardless of my oversight I quickly grabbed Paul's camera and continued on. Understandably he took the camera on the honeymoon.

The bottom line is: I do not have any pictures to share for another week. Double AGH!

The newlyweds get back from the Bahamas the middle of next week. I figure I can't hijack their camera the second they step of the plane so it will most likely be next Saturday before I can post any pics from the Wedding.

Trust me. I share in your disappointment.

However. I will say-The wedding was beautiful. The bride was glowing and my brother..well he was la la land. (I mean that in a good way) Cutest thing ever. So relaxed. so blissfully happy. 10 minutes before we all headed to the room, my brother looked at me and said "I think I'm going to get down there and start crying. I am so happy"

I can not wait to share the pictures with you.

XOXO

LBD vs New

The Smith Wedding is rapidly approaching and I am in the 'which dress to wear' dilemma. Originally I figured I'd wear my litte black dress. It makes me feel sexy, hugs my curves, is extremely comfortable and would only cost the price of new shoes. AND let's be honest no one will be looking at ME anyways. So it seemed the LBD would be the most logical dress.

(sorry for the bad picture with brigh flash)

THEN I remembered, as sister of the groom I will most definitely be in all the family photos. Do I really want to just wear a simple black dress?

On a whim I checked the local yellow pages and found: Violetta's Wedding Dresses. I called and booked an appointment. By the sounds of my call it felt like I may be walking into a rather shady situation. Her 'boutique' is in her back yard, she mentioned they were in the middle of construction so she would be watching for me and she ended the conversation by adding I should bring a girlfriend to take pictures for me... The possibilities of what a good 'front' this wedding dress shop was just escalated in my mind. Naturally I drug Kevin along... only to find a sweet little Russian woman standing with a smile as we pulled in the driveway. Ah-Violetta. She had a darling little outbuilding in her backyard with dozens of beautiful dresses. She was a doll and I felt bad inside for even thinking she would be anything but.

I walked away with this darling goldish/silver dress.

Unfortunately there was no time for alterations SO my idea was to simply pick up a ribbon or classy belt to bring in the waist (I did try on a ribbon type belt at Violettas and it looked very cute, so I knew that would be a good option). My idea was black.

Black belt. Black heels. Just to be on the safe side I enlisted the opinion of a darling friend. She recommended I consider a tan/neutral color shoe. I've been desperately searching for a tan color shoe and each day I secretly pray a pair will jump out and say "perfect!"




Last night I made the mistake of trying on my LBD again.. only to discover I might have been right with my first dress thoughts all along.

I mentioned my dilemma to Kevin who simply replied "either way you'll look great but you absolutely cannot buy a third dress" A thought that had seriously crossed my mind.

I'm on the hunt for a pair of heels this weekend, except now, I have absolutely no idea what I'm looking for. If I decide on the goldish/silver dress what color shoe??!!



OR If I go with the Little Black Dress perhaps a more fun shoe?

OH the Dilemma!