Hello + A Winner!

Hey, y'all!  Happy Tuesday morning (said sarcastically, as I am not happy to be awake so early today).  I just wanted to drop in and say hi, show you two delightfully adorable pictures and announce a winner from the Firmoo giveaway.

Congratulations, Katie! You've won yourself some new specs of your choice!

Now how about that baby?! Little Wyatt turned 4 months yesterday and I can hardly believe it.  Things are really starting to get exciting with him.  We're settled into a routine, he's consistently sleeping through the night* and  he's cracking us up all the time.  Ever since he's discovered his voice, he won't stop babbling.  I freaking love it.  We have conversations all day, we're always telling jokes and he giggles so hard.  Sometimes it's too much to handle, you know?!

And how 'bout that doggie?! Stevie may not be as spoiled rotten as she once was, however, she's so amazingly gentle and careful around Wyatt.  She is incredibly protective of him and loves to get some baby sniffs in every chance she gets.  I love this picture of her so much because she was going a little nuts over something in the backyard.  Turns out it was a groundhog hopping through the grass, a little leery of the cat I suspect.  Lately we've had all kinds of creatures hanging out in our yard - owls perched on a branch to admire while washing dishes, mama and baby deer grazing every day (the cutest), beautiful, vibrant birds and who knows what else.

We even got to go on a date! We enjoyed tapas, mojitos and sangria for dinner and followed it up by a stroll on the big four bridge downtown.  After our walk, the ice cream truck reigned us in and a perfect summer night was complete.

Hope your weeks are off to a great start!

*Mostly sleeping through the night.  Mostly.

Have a Fantastic Weekend!

{image}

Happy Friday, everyone! I'm so relieved it's here because I could really use some rest and relaxation.  Sadly, I don't think that's on the agenda, but perhaps I could squeeze some in there unexpectedly.  We've made progress on our tile project, all of our tile has come in (including the specialty/decorative pieces) and we've done all the primer jobs we could do.  I expect big progress this weekend. Just don't hold us to it!  I do believe we have a family pool gathering on Sunday afternoon so I'm hoping to get the chance to share Wyatt with everyone and enjoy myself.  What plans do you have this weekend? Please do share!

Happy weekend - enjoy yourselves!

Thursday Loves

{image}

I love everything about this image.  Can we road trip in California, stat?  No? Instead, we'll be road tripping through Indiana next week to visit awesome friends in Chicago (long overdue).  We'll be cruising in a car, not a van, with a baby who probably won't be into it whatsoever.  Wish us luck...

How amazing do these raspberry & lime sangria popsicles look? Yes, please!!

This also makes me want to road trip in California, and camp by the sea.  Such a beautiful, hand-crafted teepee from Orourke Shop.

I love Georgia's new prints in her Etsy shop, The Big Harumph.  We have several throughout the house and this one and this one are hanging in Wyatt's nursery.  Now through the end of the month, receive 20% off your purchase when you become a Facebook fan!

This dining hall evokes a lot of memories of mine, spending weeks in the summer at camp in the mountains.  It will be so exciting to send my boy to a summer camp. This place looks pretty amazing, Great Camp Sagamore via Martha Stewart.

Hope your weeks have been lovely - it's almost Friday! 

Summer Staples

t-shirt // shorts // sandals // nail polish // sunglasses // tote

Friends, are any of you living in anything other than t-shirts, shorts and sandals?  I can't even bring myself to wear a dress. Maybe that's because I know I have to change my shirt frequently due to spit-up and drool stains and maybe it's because this is the most comfortable outfit my weird post-partum body is into.  I don't know, but this summer is all about the casual staples, day in and day out.  What are you living in these days?

Weekend Recap

Good morning!  I thought I'd take the last few minutes of this little guy's nap to write a quick post and say hello.  I hope you all had a lovely weekend.

Ours was a decent weekend, if you count being so tired that you're counting down the minutes until you can sneak in some shut eye as decent.  We had a good time on Friday night venturing out and seeing some bands play and socializing a bit.  Turns out we're not exactly capable of staying out late anymore, even if we do have a babysitter who tells us to do just that.  4 hours of sleep and taking care of a baby don't work together!  So we took Saturday to hit the refresh button, took turns napping and taking care of Wyatt and finally ended the night by watching Despicable Me and going to bed very early.  Sunday brought some friends over and we ended up dressing Wyatt up in his finest hipster attire for a prolonged photo shoot with Raegan.  I can't wait to see how they turn out - needless to say, he sported an American Apparel hoodie for part of the shoot and there were tons of "awwwwwww's" in the room.

I hope all your Monday's are splendid and that Wednesday evening rolls around faster than anticipated!

Thursday Loves

I've been so unbelievably happy ever since I heard the news yesterday.  Buzzfeed rounded up some of the best images and signs from outside the supreme court before and after the decision was made.  I'll admit, it makes me tear up to see all the happiness. Also, Wendy Davis, you're a real badass. Thank you for literally making a stand for women's rights.

This image of a mama and her baby makes me warm and fuzzy.  Wyatt and I have been enjoying each other lots and lots and I've been seizing every opportunity to get tons of snuggles and kisses in.  He's been following a pretty consistent schedule lately and has been doing really good at night.  The night before last, he slept 11 hours straight! I've studied up on some secrets (this blog is amazingly helpful for any of you with young babes) and we've finally established a nice rhythm.  

* original photo source

Hello, flowy-easy-breezy Free People dress.  You are very lovely. I would love to travel on an amazing getaway with you in my suitcase.

{image}

The husband and I have committed to making over our screened-in porch and we're SO EXCITED! We've dropped some serious dough on amazing tile and we can't wait for it to come in so we can get started!  We ordered some terra cotta tile from Lowes and some specialty/decorative tile from a little store in our neighborhood.  Needless to say, it's going to be gorgeous.  

{image}

Recently, I made a delicious cherry cobbler and it felt quintessential summer.  It reminded me of our last-minute camping trip to Michigan two years ago when we thought we were moving to Louisville but fate had a different timeline for us.  That was one fun mini-vacation.  We bought roadside cherries, camped in a beautiful forest, hiked the dunes and canoed.  Cherry cobblers are definitely a labor of love, well, making anything with fresh cherries is a tedious task.  But so very worth it!

Hope you all are having lovely weeks! It's almost Friday!

Snippets

Life has been good lately.  Between the sweetness of summer and the sweetness of this little boy, we've been a happy Badger clan.  Sure, he has exhausted us to our core.  Sure, he gets super fussy in the evenings and we can never manage to eat a warm meal together.  With time, those things will fade away (and new annoyances will surely emerge).  For now, as long as his face continues to light up when one of us enters his line of sight, it's all worth it!

Friday's Fancies + Have an Endearing Weekend!

tee // shorts // studs // sandals

Happy Friday, errbody!  I'm so so so excited that it's the weekend because by the end of today, I'll be reunited with family! It's been so long since I've seen my nieces and nephew, and it's been even longer since I've seen my parents.  They're staying through Tuesday and it's official - we're going to have an awesome time together.  On the agenda? Swimming, a Cincinnati Reds game, board games, ice cream, Olympics and lots of laughs.

This week's Friday's Fancies is basically me to a T.  T-shirts being the theme, it couldn't be more apt for my definitive summer wardrobe.  I've been sporting a lot of solid t-shirts with colored shorts and sandals.  What about you? What has been your summer wardrobe?  

What have you planned this weekend? Something wonderful, I hope!  Here's to lots of love this weekend :)

Weekend Recap

Hello, Monday. I'm not so excited to see you, but I suppose there's nothing that can be done about that. You always come too soon after Friday, Saturday and Sunday treat me so well.  And you take forever to get through.  Ah well.  I think it's safe to say I had a lovely weekend.  Some highlights include ::

• Stevie was so perfect on the road.  She didn't complain at all and cooperated fully at every stop.  Thank goodness.
• After we arrived at the lake house, we were treated to delicious dinner that included shrimp + veggie skewers, played Euchre, drank wine and tolerated some crazy doggies being, well...crazy.
• Saturday was a pretty glorious summer day.  There was a slight chill in the air, Peanut was adorable as ever (and he learned how to say Mo!), the sun was beaming, the water was refreshing and Olympics were watched.  We took the boat out and admired all of the exquisite homes that surround Lake Maxinkuckee.  The water sparkled and the sunset was perfect.  It was the epitome of a glorious summer day.  That is, if you ignore the doggie back in the house who would not stop barking! Or the swollen, painful big toe that my husband suffered through.  
• Wine, euchre, Olympics.  Yes, yes, yes!
• Italian dinner, Olympics, resting up before what will surely be a big week. 

How were your weekends? I'd love to hear!  Are you as pumped about the Olympics as we are?  We watched field hockey and table tennis last night, too.  It's not nearly as fun to watch as swimming, diving and gymnastics but it's so much fun to see so much variety!  

Here's to a great week ahead!

Friday's Fancies + Have a Perfect Summery Weekend!

peaches print // tote // t-shirt // shorts // sandals // sunglasses 

 Happy Friday, friends! I have been looking forward to the weekend since Monday and I'm so glad it's finally here!  I've been busy this week, between covering at work for a vacationer, taking Stevie to a bar (that really happened), buying and painting samples for our stairway (we're thinking gray but we're open to suggestions), exercising and much more.  So naturally, this weekend calls for a lot of r n' r at our friend's lake house.  We'll be heading due north in a few hours, with the pooch in tow (her first vacation!) for some time playing cards, drinking wine, watching doggies play, the Olympics (!) and hang time with little Liam!  I am pretty excited, can you tell?

This week's Friday's Fancies is a take on our favorite summer-time treat.  I wouldn't go so far as to say "peaches and cream" is my favorite but it sure is up there.  It also translates quite nicely into an easy weekend-at-the-lake palette, don't you think?

What are you up to this weekend? Something magical and summery, I hope.  Can you believe it's almost August?!

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

Weekend Recap

Monday, again? Dang it.  Doesn't it always seem like it's Monday??  I'm particularly loathing Monday this week because it means a) I am husbandless for a few days and b) work will be crazow and c) well, c is a given - Monday just plain sucks.  It was a really terrific weekend.  Some highlights include ::

• Hang out / hot tub time / playing doggies / cooler-than-usual evening - the sister-in-law's house is marvelous and the hot tub ain't too shabby either ;)
• Lunch with D's grandma - indulging in Olive Garden is always fun and catching up is pretty great too.
• Schimpff's Confectionary - Poodle Skirts, an Elvis impersonator in front of a hot pink Bel-Air, 50% off soda fountain treats and candy dating back to the beginning of 1900s...pretty dreamy, if you ask me.  It was crowded which tends to shoo us away but we didn't leave without some cream-filled chocolates!
• House & yard work - the act of doing the housework is not so much a highlight (although it somewhat is) but accomplishing everything certainly is.  
• After a crazy busy social week, it was nice to have a quiet night in on the couch.
• Hiking - we hiked the Purple Heart Trail at Jefferson Memorial Forest, just south of Louisville.  I really wanted to spend some time in nature and dip my feet in some lake water.  I got my nature time, certainly, but no lake time.  Whatever, I'll take care of that next week :)
• My Week With Marilyn - I love Michelle Williams and I love Marilyn Monroe so it was a match made in heaven.

How were your weekends? Excellent, I hope.  My fingers are crossed that the week ahead goes by smoothly.  Here's to a great week ahead!

Weekend Recap

Another lovely summer weekend was had and we're back at Monday again.  It was a quiet weekend for us and we used it wisely.  First, a date night.  Second, a house project.  Third, the pool.  Some highlights include ::

• Dinner + Putt Putt - I like to play at least once every summer and since it was such a perfect weather night for it, we took advantage.  We flew through it pretty quick and longed for more novelty on the course.  We also managed a few rounds of skeeball and donated the winnings to an unsuspecting 5-year-old boy.  It was awesome.
• Roof time - have I mentioned how much I love summer? It's so nice to climb out on our roof and listen to all the sounds from a fresh perspective.  Stevie, however, could not handle it.  She was like a mother watching from the other side with visions of her children falling off and going spat.  
• Lots of reading in bed - always pleasant.
• The mister fixed some wires that were not up to code in our master bath, and rerouted them in the meantime.  We bought a new vanity light to finalize that room...turns out it was a much bigger job than originally planned!
• Squeaky clean floors in the whole entire house.  Phew!
• Finger foods + The Shining - pretty great way to spend a lazy Saturday night
• All day pool party - got some good sun, hung out with friends, ate some snacks and drank some PBR's in the shade.  'Twas a good time.
• Breaking Bad!

Weekend Recap

Hello!  We're back from the lake, back to reality and happy to be home.  We had a great time down in Tennessee and look forward to our return.  Some highlights of the weekend include ::

• Hanging out with the mister's grandpa.  We were the only visitors there for 24 hours so we dined and drank beers together and the next morning, David got a lesson in furniture making from the expert himself.
• 7 acres of sunflowers! It felt as if I was stepping foot in Kansas again, but lo and behold, it was Tennessee.  His grandpa planted 7 whole acres, mainly to attract creatures for hunting season (boo), but boy were they beautiful.  Despite the severe drought and severe temperatures, they were thriving.
• An afternoon of boating - it's what we do best down there.  Ride around on the boat, jump in the water, eat snacks, repeat.  
• Grilled veggie kielbasa, macaroni + cheese, potatoes...mmm.
• Hysterical laughter ensued every evening.  A day in the sun can do that to you pretty easy.
• A full day of boating - I couldn't tell if I was standing still or afloat while taking a shower afterward.  I took turns between the sun and the shade, had great conversation with my in-laws and enjoyed doing so little.  
• We had one of the strangest adventures in recent history as we pontooned it across the lake, hopped on an unsafe contraption and went to the weirdest fish fry I've ever been to.  Weirdest/funniest/craziest/scariest/idontknowhowtoexplain kind of night.  Oh. My. God.  Oh. My.  Wow.
• Laughing for hours on end about the above experience - pretty priceless.

We packed up and left Sunday morning, had an easy drive home (while listening to this), reunited with Stevie (!) and chilled out at home.  'Twas a great weekend, my friends.  A great weekend indeed.

How were your weekends? I'd love to hear!  Here's to a great week ahead! 

Friday's Fancies + Have a Stellar Weekend!

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

Happy Friday, friends!  It's been a good week in these parts and I'm excited that it's not coming to an end for 2 more days.  Celebrating the 4th is always so exciting, even if we don't do anything that special.  But I'm always excited to get down to the lake and cruise around the water while watching my FIL sing along to bad songs behind the wheel.  We'll be enjoying just that until Sunday morning when we head back, reunite with Stevie girl and spend the rest of the day recuperating.  

Today's Friday's Fancies is in honor of the holiday and I must admit, I'd never wear this in public.  I can't exactly get on board for wearing something so celebratory, although that could just be the cynic in me.  I'll probably turn into one of those ladies though who go overboard at every occasion and leave their children in disgust and embarrassment.  

Wow.  Sidetracked much?

Even though I can't bring myself to don the stars and stripes so literally, I can see myself sporting that red dress with my pink sandals and brown purse.  

Would you wear this? Or something even more literal, for that matter?  Eh?  

Hope you all have a very lovely weekend!  Enjoy yourself wherever you are. I bid you farewell until Monday....xoxo.

An American Birthday

Hope you're all able to live it up today.  It's only 11 a.m. here and it's already 90 degrees.  Ouch.  

Last night I took Stevie out and realized our neighborhood had erupted (we may or may not have been having a Snoop Dogg dance party inside...).  Fireworks everywhere!  She wasn't quite sure what to think, so she stayed close to our side as we watched a free show from 2 houses down.  They must have spent over $1,000 on all the big ones.  We climbed up on the roof after awhile and caught the end, enjoying a magical summer night.

I can only hope for something similar tonight.

Happy 4th, everybody! Be safe and have tons of fun!


flag, pie, pie book, lifeguards

Weekend Recap

Hello, everyone.  Back at Monday, we are.  I can't complain too much, though.  The weekend didn't feel as though it flew by quite as fast as normal.  How that happened, I don't know!  Some highlights of the weekend include ::

• Friday night was strange but ended well - early to bed after a late dinner and good-hearted TV watching
• Saturday morning brought on raspberry dutch babies (above). They were heavenly, to say the least. We ate these, fought off an impending stomach ache and even managed to hand-wash our truck in the 100 degree heat (what were we thinking?)
• We're slowly working on a living room revamp - we've saved up for grown-up furniture and hope to buy some soon.  Meanwhile we've been making small changes to help us get there.  One of those small changes was hanging a mirror above our fireplace.  The other not-so-small change was buying a rug at 75% off!  That's right.  75%!
• Stevie finally finished obedience school! She passed with flying colors and I do believe we'll start to utilize our weekends for summer trips now that it's over and done with. Hoorah!
• Saturday night was spent hanging out with friends and heading to Zazoo's for our favorite bass player's new band's first show.  That's a mouthful.
• Sunday errands = tons of two buck Chuck and our Trader Joe's staples.  
• We were feeling in the organized kind of mood so we went through our old files and important things - of which I laughed, cried and questioned my priorities once upon a time :)
• Blueberry muffins, fresh-from-the-garden vegetables for dinner and...wait for it....wait for it.........a storm!  We haven't had rain in awhile, plus our yard dirt needed the rain SO bad in order to "settle".  Ahh...sweet relief.

As you can see, we have picked a lot of vegetables and fruit from the garden and it seems to be treating us well.  I'm looking forward to this week actually, 2 days to go and I'm celebrating the 4th and headed to Kentucky Lake!  Woo!  Hope you have great plans ahead for the holiday week/weekend and that the work week flies right on by! 

Friday's Fancies + Have a Cool Weekend!

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7

Hooray for weekends! But boo hiss for the triple digit weather so many of us are stuck in.  If this weekend could be anything like the one I would be experiencing if Friday's Fancies were real, the weather would be upper 80s and sunny and we would be back at the beach.  Instead, I'm sure we'll be staying indoors all weekend and only going outside to take the doggie out.  What are you doing this weekend? Staying cool, I hope!

This week's Friday's Fancies is centered around beachy chic.  Oh how I love beachy chic.  There's something about always finding such perfect essentials for summertime events, isn't there?  Whether your plans involve the beach (lucky you), a pool or the great indoors, I hope you have a fun, safe and well-hydrated weekend!

Thursday Loves

Today I am loving this Inessa dress from Garnet Hill.  Although I'm pretty sure that it only looks good on people of this model's stature.  I would look frumpy, yes, but it still doesn't stop me from liking it!

This whole package just leaves me delighted.  Excellent branding, I say.  And what guy wouldn't look dapper while sporting this tie?  Well done, Stalward.  Too bad it's sold out.

Everything in this image leaves me feeling so relaxed.  The bench is gorgeous, the basket is adorable, surely that rug peeping out is amazing, the towels are so perfectly folded and such a crisp white and the pottery in the window is perfect.  Via

This Star-Spangled Shortcake from Martha Stewart looks scrumdiddlyumptious.  So fresh and surely amazing with every single bite.

Artwork from Slovakia which pays tribute to all the wild women / men inside us.  I simply can't get enough.  Be sure to check out EmeraldSnow on Etsy for more awesomeness.

Friday's Fancies + Have a Sweet Weekend!

white tank // blue shorts // brown sandals // black sandals // leather bracelet // llama necklace // coral shorts // striped tee

Happy Friday, everyone!  TGIF, as they say...because it's been a long week in my opinion.  Some crazy things have been happening around our neck of the woods.  Our septic system is completely replaced but our yard is no longer a yard but rather a dirt field.  Goodbye, grass.  I'll miss you dearly.  And since we have to wait for it to settle, which means there needs to be at least 4 or 5 good rains, we probably won't be seeing our yard as a yard for a long time.  But hey, no more gross standing water, yay!

We don't really have much planned for the weekend, other than the usual - obedience school, probably a trip to Lowes or Home Depot and hanging out.  We might catch a movie, spend time on the porch and hopefully spend quality time with friends! What do you have planned?

This week's Friday's Fancies is about color blocking.  I love this trend and find that you can make it work with just about anything.  Lately I've been preferring colored shorts and basic tees.  Honestly, the two ensembles above pretty much reflect my declared summer wardrobe of 2012.  It's simple, easy to accessorize and is super comfortable.  A match made in heaven if you ask me.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! xoxo.

Summer, Summer, Summer Time

berry cups // watermelon pops // caprese bites // popsicles

Today makes it official - summer is here and there's nothing we can do about it!  Sure, it may be miserably hot out there but there are so many reasons to be in love with summer.  So many!

Our garden is in full bloom right now, which means that fresh food is at our ready throughout the week.    Some things still have a bit to go, like our blackberries, tomatoes and peppers.  But we're thoroughly enjoying cucumbers, radishes, lettuce and basil.  Plus the green beans are pretty much ready to go!  Success!

What are your favorite things about summer?  I for one can't get over the fresh fruits and vegetables and the amount of light in the sky at 9:45 p.m. (living on the edge of a time zone is the best).  

Happy summer to you!