sisters

Saturday was such a treat. I got to have a fun day with BOTH of my sisters. Ty and my niece Alexis were there as well, of course. Alexis and Hannah have been crazy about one another ever since they were flower girls together in my wedding, so we wanted to arrange a play date before Dixie, Alexis, and Olivia moved to Maryland.

Both Hannah and Alexis love Ty. Actually pretty much all kids love Ty. He was a good sport and hung out in the back seat with the girls.

We went for frozen yogurt, and then we went ice skating!

We started out optimistic with Alexis, but then this happened:

Hannah, on the other hand, had the time of her life. She wants us to take her ice skating every week and win an ice skating trophy. (That's what she told me)

After we said goodbye to Alexis and Dixie, Hannah came home with us for a "sleepover". She asked if she could have 1 million sleeps, but this time she just had one.

She helped Ty water the garden, and then Ty helped her paint a picture of Edie :)

I could be bias, but I think that is pretty awesome for a 7 year old!

I need to say one more thing. I am sooo thankful for my sisters. I never thought I would have any because I got them so late in life. Hannah was born when I was 16, and Dixie's dad married my mom when I was a senior in high school.

I guess what I am trying to say is, for someone who never grew up with sisters, I feel so blessed to have them both. My relationship to each is very different, but I wouldn't trade either of them for the world.

Dixie, Alexis, and Olivia are moving back to Maryland. They leave today. I am so sad about that, but I am also so grateful they chose to spend the last year here with us so I could get to know my beautiful nieces. Miss you already.

friends.

The past couple of evenings have been spent catching up with some wonderful friends. Monday I caught up with Sarah and Rachel for some good old-fashioned girl talk. Then, last night I got to spend some time with one of my oldest friends, Kathryn. The thing I like about Kathryn is that you never know what you will end up doing when you hang out with her. I could tell you countless stories from our adolescence to prove this point, but... I better not ;) Anyway,  last night=operation 5 minute masterpiece.

Also, in case anyone was wondering.... our garden has its first tomato! We are pretty proud.

**phtots courtesy of Kathryn Biondo**

Happy Wednesday. (only 2 more days until the weekend-- THANK GOODNESS!)

happy father's day

I hope everyone had a wonderful father's day. I thought I would share a couple of my favorite pictures of me and my dad. 

Dad, this has been a really big year for us (with the wedding and everything.) I just want you to know that I love you very much, and even though I'm all grown up now, you are still my daddy <3

Here are just a few pictures I snapped on my phone yesterday of sweet Olivia modeling items from the new From Stella With Love baby line. What do you guys think? They will be up on the etsy site very soon, so I will keep you posted!

I am going to miss these sweet girls so much when they move next week :(

Hello, all. 

Please check out my guest blog post at my wonderful friend Tanja's blog.

Also, you should all totally follow her blog because she is amazingly talented, and well... just amazing. 

Hope you are all having a good weekend!

I have been sewing and glueing and getting lots of new stuff ready to go up in the etsy shop.

Think babies. Also, think 4th of July. 

Of course, I hit a little snag when my camera batteries died, so I assure you there will be loads of new goodies just as soon as I can make it to the store to get new ones.  

Lots of Thoughts.

How is everyone enjoying this wonderful weather?? I am loving it personally. I love rain, but enough was enough. This post is probably going to be a little bit all over the place. Bare with me.


1) Today I wanted to give you guys a few interior pics of the new house. It's nothing fancy, and at this point everything is a work in progress... but you get the idea.

This is our bed, obviously. I am on the prowl for a headboard.

(Quilt: UrbanOutfitters, Pillows: Target)

These pictures are of one of my favorite walls in our house.

Yep, Jennifer... still no lampshade. And now, no lightbulb. This is what I meant when I said "work in progress."

This wall is also one of my favorites. I'm in love with this map. Ty gave it to me for our first Christmas together. I also love our Ikea shelves. I have always wanted a house with built in shelves, but for now, this is the next best thing.

2) I love my nieces. I really wish they didn't have to move. I mean have you ever seen anything so cute? Or as Alexis would say, "that's so tute!"

3) The best part of my work day is when my husband brings me lunch. He does it almost every day, and I think it is just about the sweetest.
4) I loved planning our wedding, don't get me wrong... but I am loving the newlywed stage so much more. So much more.  Not that our wedding wasn't absolutely wonderful, but it's like they say: "It's just a day." A special day, but not as monumentally significant when you look back on it as the life together that follows.
5) The best part about a three day weekend is the short work week that follows.

Sorry for the random post... I had too much coffee this morning.