Front porch sittin'

Happy Friday ya'll. It could not have come fast enough either!:) Thought I would share our porch today!!


One of my favorite parts of our home is the front porch! Does sitting on the front porch sipping sweet tea (or now wine) not put you in a nostalgic mood? It seriously transports me to the days of my childhood and all the summers sitting on our front porch steps. Growing up in a small town the happening place was always the front porch! It's where you could watch all the older kids cruise town, chat with your neighbors , or the people out taking a evening walk. I miss those days something firerce and it is something that you don't get living in the "city". But now with kids of my own I love watching my kids play and ride their bikes from my porch sitting in my grandmother Darnell's outdoor furniture that was handed down to me . Here is a sneak peak of the front porch ! Nick has done an amazing job out front!!

Next up is our poor little patio! I have been planning away with ideas to make it a place to hang out as well!! That is my goal for end of summer !

Also if you haven't checked out Monday and Wednesday's posts you can do so here:

Monday's post

Wednesday's post

Mother/Daughter Day in Charleston

Ya'll one of the things Mere and I were looking forward to on vacation was our Girl's day . We did this a couple years ago while in Charleston and it really was the best day. It is the perfect place for a day of fun!!!

Our hotel was in Mt. Pleasant and to save Nick a trip across the bridge into Charleston we used Uber. We had them drop us off on King Street since we would be spending the majority of the time here. The first stop was per Mere's request... the cupcake store. Cupcake Down South  is our favorite. Get the Key lime Pie cupcake. You won't be disappointed. Promise! We then just shopped our way through King Street. They have the best boutiques and your typical shops (Gap, Lilly Pulitzer, Forever 21, Victoria's Secret, and so much more).

Mere got to pick any where she wanted for lunch. Guess where she picked? Chipotle!! Haha. It's what she wanted to why not lol. After lunch we window shopped some more and walked through the Charleston City Market. I love checking out all the sweetgrass baskets, ornaments, art, and food. If you go here you must get a pimento cheese biscuit from Callie's Biscuit. OMG amazing! Especially if you are like me and love pimento cheese!

We then met Nick and Max (they had a boy's day at the Aquarium. If you are visiting Charleston with little ones and have a rainy day or just need something to do. Go. The South Carolina Aquarium literally blows all other aquariums out of the water. It is so much fun. Also, they have a sea turtle hospital that is so cool! They have rescued these sea turtles, rehabilitate, and then set free ) and the Pineapple Fountain.

Mere and I both agreed this was one of our favorite days on vacation. I could spend allll day long on King Street. We didn't have enough time or money haha!!

Shopping at Skinny Dip Charleston

Loved these bags at Skinny Dip....but way too expensive

how cute is this wall of Rainbow Row

Oh and they have frozen Rose'

lunch time at Chipotle

I love, love Moon and Lola. They have the cutest personalized items. Even better it is all available on line! I bought this necklace last year with birthday/Christmas money.

cutest little charm bar

This antique store reminds me of my dad!

Sweetgrass Baskets. I get one each time we go to Charleston.

Charleston was showing off her beautiful window boxes!

Best Day Ever!

A little blog hiatus + post vacay wrapup

Ya'll may or may not have (who knows who really reads here lol. might just be me haha) I took a small hiatus from the blog. This last few months I have been feeling burnt out on life and stressed to the max. I love have the blog has an outlet to let it all out and share things that I love but it was started to be just another stress. I compare myself too much to others (it really drives Nick insane) and it has been killing the joy in my life. I have so many ideas on blog posts and I am ready to get back in the swing of posting!! Vacation could not have come at a better time. I now feel refreshed and ready to take on the summer, enjoy the kids, let the stress go, let the idea of being perfect go , and oh yea continue my carb cycle. I am down 13 lbs. since April 1st! My goal is to lose 13-18 more by end of July. I know I can do it with this program. Today I am right back in the saddle. I let myself enjoy all the food and sweets while in Charleston. I was worried that when I stepped on the scale when we got home that I would have gained. But I am happy to report that I stayed the same. I did fit in 4 days of workouts! Plus lots of walking. Low carb for the next 2 days!

I am always so sad when vacation ends and it is back to real life. Sad to the point that the night before I am almost in tears. Yes it is whiney and babyish of me, I can't help it. Adulting is exhausting. lol. But I had a few more days off before returning to work with the kids and I wanted to make it a point to enjoy it to the fullest. One of those stresses lately for me is being a working mom. I feel like I miss out on so much, that I am letting the kids down by not being home, that I am letting Mere down by not being able to devote 100% on homework, studying, etc , and my moods are horrendous. I have a type A personality and want to be perfect at it ALL. But it is impossible. I know this, but it doesn't stop me from feeling like I am letting them down. Oh and the constant comparison to those stay at home moms and there "perfect" lives and kids. So back to my point before I got sidetracked....soaking up the last bit of fun with kids. I think we did a good job with just a few typical meltdowns in between! That's a win in my book!

On Friday I woke up at 6:30 and did our grocery shopping since we were out of everything. I wanted to get it done before Nick left for his mowing jobs and while kids were still asleep. I was able to get the groceries, get home, and put it all away before they even woke up! We had a few errands to run before I took them to Smale Park in Cincinnati. I love taking them there. We park in Covington and walk across the bridge (bonus points for a little workout). Mere wanted Subway so we picked that up before hand and found a spot in the shade for a little picnic. They then changed into their swimsuits (they need a bigger restroom or changing area for kids. There was so many mommas wanting to change their kiddos and hardly any room). It was the perfect day to splash around in the water and play on the playground. We spent a couple hours there before we left. We came home and fixed dinner before deciding we needed ice cream to make the day complete!

Saturday we were up bright and early to go to Augusta. My momma dog sat Sophie for us. The kids missed the animals something fierce while we were gone and could not wait to see their Sophie girl. We also attended Brady, Will, and Nick's graduation party that evening. We took a walk by the river and went swimming first though. The kids love the pool. It brings back sooo many memories for me watching them play and swim there. I spent every summer as a child swimming and then as a teenager /college student lifeguarding. Best carefree days of my life right there. We had some great times working there right Leann, Amy, Susan, Kristi, and Renee?! Oh the stories we could all sit around and tell. Two aunts that live out of town came home for the triplet's party. It was so good to see them. The kids were excited to see their cousin Peyton and are counting down until we are in North Carolina visiting them next week!!

Sunday I knew we needed to find our way back to church. I woke up nice an early to get a workout in and some things knocked off my to do list. We decided to get a pool from the dollar store after church. It was a hot one. But it ended up being a nice, relaxing day before the start of the work week. The kids wanted ice cream after dinner. Hey, it's summer, so why not. They burn so much energy playing outside all day that a little ice cream won't hurt lol.

Gonna pray work is a good day as I ease myself back into the routine of being a working momma!!