.Love Note.

I love you. I love your eyes. I love your smell. I love your hair. I love your laugh. I love your skin. I love everything inside you. And I'll try to make all the parts that I find, happy.  Because you make me happy. So much.

. I Wrote This For You.

seen on My Teacups in Peony via 

Perhaps weddings + missing G this weekend + pregnancy hormones have just made me sappy at the moment.  Make fun, it's okay.  Either way I'm going to let the present feelings simmer during my trip back until I'm reunited with him.  Besides, an absurdly sweet sentiment never hurt anyone once in awhile; it's sort of the whole point.

.Off I Go.

as seen on Plush Palate

Well another weekend is arriving and that means another departure.  Sad to say I'll be making this one without my favorite traveling companion for a wedding, but I'm delighted to reconvene with my college bests.  I haven't seen them since our girl's trip last July and I'm afraid the weather is going to be much different than our last reunion.  Of course, that only matters as I'm packing my wardrobe for the celebrations because we could all be put in a dinky cave and still manage to enjoy each others' company.

To a wonderful weekend for us all...

.Baby Shower.

Although a hectic weekend, while in town for the festivities my dad and his wife were kind enough to throw G and I a baby shower as well.  We were so grateful as we have been quite the procrastinators when it comes to baby Tyler and it served as a check with reality that her arrival truly isn't too far away.  Our elegant and charming cake came from Sweet Ladies Bakery and I highly recommend it for anyone in the surrounding Virginia area.  The afternoon was spent in stiches as we played a common baby shower game that was taken to a whole new level of intensity due to my hilarious family; even my grandmother tried to get sneaky for the win!  DG isn't even here yet and she's already surrounded by so much adoration and affection.

I couldn't be more grateful for mi familia and it was quite the thought to consider that the next time I see most of them, I'll be a mommy. 

.50 Years.

This weekend G and I flew to DC to celebrate my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary.  Count those years because that's nothing short of a feat these days!  It was a large family affair with all the grandchildren acting as the bridal party which was a blast because it had been several years since we were all reunited.  My grandmother looked beautiful, my grandfather was adorable... and there was enough smooching going on between the two of them all night to more than show all of us that 50 years doesn't necessarily mean losing the passion.  G served as photographer for the day and was also able to document that just because we grow older doesn't mean we always have to grow up.

*

*23 1/2 weeks baby love

.7 Year Valentine.

Well, this was our 8th Valentine's together to be exact but today is our SEVEN YEAR anniversary (yes, since we started dating because I think that's still a milestone that should be recognized).  Our Monday evening was low-key but nothing short of flawless.  G surprised me with flowers when I awoke even though I specifically stated it was unnecessary this year due to saving money for other upcoming events (of course I still loved it).  After a long day of work G started a delectible fish course for us as I prepared our activity for the night. 

Although I'm not an artist, I do enjoy creating art in various ways, so I thought it'd be nice for us to make a little eye candy for our baby girl's room.  We want to create a vintage-inspired, world traveler feeling in her room so I thought, what better than to paint some of our favorite cities as a Valentine's Day gift for her?  G was sweet as could be and tried his hardest at his first painting ever, and New York City doesn't look half bad!  London was a little more challenging than I anticipated, but now she will always have a little something that her parents made; just two crazy kids in love sharing some of their past favorite adventures with her.  (Special thanks goes to our friend Emily for loaning us her supplies!)

The perfect ending to the evening?  Romantic musical stylings as we enjoyed our own fruit and chocolate fondue dessert.

We'll be celebrating our anniversary today traveling on another adventure, but our Valentine occassion was definitely one for the books.

.Girl's Day.

After a frantic week, a girl's day was beyond necessary.  Ashley, Lori, and I spent our sunny Saturday afternoon in Atlanta shopping at Scott's Antique Market and Atlantic Station.  Browsing for hours through vintage items gave me plenty of inspiration for housing decor and people-watching was just as engrossing.  Poor Ashley had to put up with the two pregos who had to eat+use the restroom every hour on the hour, so a late lunch at Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro was a relaxing and tasty reprieve. 

Of course, I wasn't complaining too much about my swollen feet when I got to bring my treasures home to revel in my day's successes.

* 22 1/2 week bump

.Have You Heard?

Have you heard about Matchbook Magazine? 

If you haven't, you should get to know this new online publication quickly.  I myself discovered it from one of the daily blogs I read {which one exactly escapes me at the moment} and it was a wonderful morning spent sipping coffee and devouring each page.  It's tagline is "a field guide to a charmed life."  Who doesn't want to escape and be charmed every once in awhile?

.Valentine.

as seen on the lovely  Haleigh's inspiration gallery

Happy Valentine's Day!

Although many argue that Valentine's is a Hallmark day (and I don't necessarily disagree), I appreciate that there's one day that holds everyone accountable for thinking of someone besides themselves and making grand gestures of love.  We could all use a few more sprinkles of love in our lives, romantic or not.  G has already started the day positively as I awoke to a surprise and now look forward even more to our fanciful evening planned.  Last Valentine's G helped me mark something off my bucket list, so I have high hopes for our night full of creating.

.Dominations Du Jour.

Life gets us down sometimes.  Alot of the times.  In order to combat that negativity, I decided to start focusing more on what I dominate than what dominates me.  Some will be recurring, some will be once and forgotten.  Regardless, I find it gives me a greater sense of control and perspective on my daily battles.

Lately I've (or to be fair on some, we've) dominated:

1. Auburn parking (although you easily raise my blood pressure each week)

2. Treatment planning for all my clients

3. Registering for baby

4. Five months of pregnancy

5. Valentine's Day plans

6. Preparing for the two weddings I'm going to be a part of this month

7. Staying up-to-date on my thank you cards

8. Getting my incorrect final grade from last semester corrected and my GPA adjusted back to its proper place

9. Correcting my school bill to reflect its deserved amount (Auburn consistently tests me)

10. Setting dates for all upcoming baby festivities and classes

11. My Stats II quiz (with this subject, completion is domination enough for me regardless of grade obtained)

Update: 12. As of today, booking our maternity and newborn photo sessions!  This is a big one that took a lot of research time and is one of the most exciting.



Whew. Here's to another week of empowering dominations.

.Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder.

Lovely little blog, how I've missed you this week! 

School + real life had to consume my waking hours but I'm back in action and have a splendid weekend to look forward to.  While I spent an inordinate amount of time daily dominating, the memory of our equally productive but much more fun weekend stayed on my mind.

Two days full of donut dates, market shopping and watching adorable elderly couples that still hold hands, registering for near-future necessities, poker nights, lunching with the in-laws, and rummaging through G's old baby clothes that I totally intend to put DG in.  All that quality time spent was more than worth all the bitterness of the week.  Not to mention... the sun finally came out.

.Rain.

Taking a quick break from life's responsibilities to check in.  Alas, I'll have zero time the next few days to reflect on the gratifying weekend I had without facing some negative consequences.  Mix that with the miserable weather we've been having and I'm currently a grumpy soul.  Luckily I have a little reminder who gives me hourly kicks as if to yell, "Stay calm and relaxed... it's going to be just fine."  This little girl might just teach me to cope with my catastrophizing ways.

Until my pace slows down, here's what I wish I could be doing in this weather.  Which is saying alot because people who know me know that I tend to melt in the rain.  However, Haleigh of Making Magique just makes it look so pleasant and necessary.  Having a glamorous afternoon on a dreary day just may need to be added to my list.

Unnamed from Bardot Blue on Vimeo.

.Especially Special.

We celebrated one of my best friends Ashley's 25th birthday on Sunday.  Her birthday is especially important because it was the day G and I officially met and the rest is history.  We've been friends since we were 15 (or 14?) so this would be like the 10th (I'm really bad at math+remembering exact details) birthday I've spent with her and growing up as an Army brat, it's appreciated to have history with friends.

I think she's one of the most excited that we're having a girl, although she was not at all surprised.  She used the real Chinese calendar to predict the gender while my silly amateur one from The Bump turned out to be totally off.  G still hasn't recuperated from the shock, but he'll have to switch gears soon as we're registering this weekend in preparation for our first shower.

I love the weekends.

.It's A Girl.

via

Stockholm Street Style as seen on A Cup of Jo

via Making Magique

G is in panic mode because he's been so convinced this entire pregnancy that we were having a boy, that he has no earthly idea what to do with a girl.  By bedtime he was having anxiety of tea parties and future weddings.  I'll give him some time to acquaint himself with the idea of a little girl having him wrapped around her finger.  While I was equally surprised today... I'm happily concocting future plans for my little pretty in pink.