this weekend

As someone who usually finds herself spending nearly every weekend charming a basket of laundry and chasing away a never ending amount of dog hair, it was refreshing to have a couple of days filled with getting together with some of my friends. The only downside is that it made me greet Monday sooner than I thought.

Starting on Saturday morning, I got to venture out with a visiting Amelia and watched her photograph one of her family sessions. Let me tell you, these three were such troopers for her since the temps decided to dip from a crisp 67 to a chilly 47 degrees within the matter of minutes. The weather has been abnormally unkind lately, and I think I'm with the majority when I say I'm ready to complain about summer now. 

After her session, we ventured over to Anthropologie where they were having a pop-up farmers market event. (With enough excitement that I forgot to take a photo..) There we picked up some of my favorite cupcakes, munched on macaroons, and found some fresh flowers to brighten up my house. Cory and I then ended the night with a last minute dinner reservation with some dear friends, Erica and David, at Local Midtown. It had been quite an embarrassing amount of time since I've last seen the girl, but luckily our friendship is one that we can easily pick up where we left off.

And lastly, I had finally decided on some of my favorite wedding day shots to mat and frame and was eagerly waiting on Shutterfly to deliver the goods. The white wash wooden frames I found for a steal at Home Goods for $9 a pop. Now to just hang the dang things...

How was your weekend? 

this weekend: Autumn turns FOUR

This past Sunday my youngest niece, Autumn, turned four years old. It's hard to believe that the tiny bundle my sister brought home has now become this little lady who loves to play dress up and dances around with anything resembling a tutu. 
And in these four years something crazy happened. With each passing day, she looked more and more like..well..me. Now this may not sound like something off the wall and crazy, but you have to realize my sister and I don't look alike. She has black/brown hair, brown eyes, and an olive complexion. She favors my mom. I, on the other hand, favor my freckled, fair faced, blue eyed dad.  
Michelle, who is ten years older, says she is reminded daily of what it was like growing up with me, looks and personality wise, while with Autumn. Lets just say Autumn and I have a way with convincing others that our way is the best way...and we don't like taking no for an answer. My poor, poor sis. ;) 

I don't think I will ever have a child of my own that looks and acts like me more than Autumn, but in a way, I'm ok with that. I think two of us in one family is quite enough! I love you, little bean. You and your sister make my world go round. 

sweet & simple saturday

print found via Pinterest

This week had been an especially difficult one. Sinus headaches, humidity overload, and there seems to never be enough coffee to get me out of bed in the mornings. In short, I was off my groove. Not to mention, while I was away in Alabama, Aspen decided to go on a little roaming adventure in my mother-in-law's neighborhood, and was missing for about an hour on Thursday night. I could barely contain myself in my hotel until she was home, and Lord knows Cory and I would have gone completely nuts if she had not been found. 

Thankfully, as I write this, I'm snuggling next to my sweet girl as well as Sidney (my MIL's Australian Shepherd), and I couldn't think of anywhere else I rather be. As an added bonus, I've not only had Friday night dinner with Cory, but ALSO all day today to gallivant around Memphis together. It's truly the little things when you rarely get to see your husband on the weekends (he's been swamped at work fixing planes for hours on end). Ladies, give an extra hug to your loved ones during the week, if only for my sake! :)

Oh Lord, thank you for blessing me with such a loving husband. The days away just affirm how much I love this man more than ever. 

And just because I thought it would be funny to have a record of this: I was leaning over to Cory while still eating dinner to tell him how much I adore him, and he lovingly replies, "You have something in your teeth, babe." Oh, wedded bliss... ;) 

Happy Saturday, friends. 

this weekend: allyse gets married

This weekend I was able to see two dear friends of mine get hitched, and I couldn't have been more happy to attend. I first met Allyse years ago when we worked together in retail, and I instantly fell in love with her kind spirit, thoughtfulness, and all around awesome attitude. I knew if I was working with Allyse that day, it was going to be a good day. And when one day she began telling me she was falling in love with this sweetheart dude named Zach, I knew that he was the one for her. I can't think of two people that belong together more.
Allyse and Zach, or rather Mr. and Mrs. Holcomb, I want to wish you many, many years together (too many to count) chock full of happiness, fond memories, adventures, and one day some little strawberry-blonde babies of your own. I love y'all dearly, and I'm so lucky to call you my friends.
The wedding was a complete old fashioned wonderland, too beautiful for my crummy iPhone camera to accurately document. As a complete side note, knowing that they were going to get married in Mississippi, in June, and have the reception completely outside..I'm sure it could pose a little worrying for the bride (trust me, my wedding day it rained!). But thankfully, the day could not have been more lovely, and shockingly, the temperature was perfect. Sure it was the summer in the south, but if you were born and raised here, it didn't faze us in the slightest. 

so, so clever...an outside living room to write well wishes for the mr. and mrs.

 and what's an outside living room without a fireplace? 

 dinner and dancing 

my absolute favorite..the homemade photo booth with it's own hashtag #zallysegetsmarried

and us with the beautiful bride!

beaches, bays, & babies (well, my nieces will always be my babies)

This weekend my mom, sister, brother-in-law, and two nieces came down to visit Cory and me on the coast. Gosh, after a whirlwind week of work, it was perfect timing for some sunshine and pure, uninterrupted veggin'.  

Surprisingly the crowds for Memorial Day were not as bad as I imagined they would be, and we spent the whole three days swimming and building sand castles without a care in the world. (And maybe an outlet store shopping trip thrown in there too for good measure..)

And y'all, I might have had a little freak out over my nieces. THEY ARE GETTING TOO BIG. I mean, geez, I totally now understand what my Gran meant when she said she wished she could "just stick a brick on your head to keep you from growing." How do y'all moms handle it?!? Thankfully when I mentioned this little tidbit of info to Ava, she told me "Whit, I'll always be your baby. Forever! Or at least for 54,170 days." Cue the happy tears. :) 

How was y'all's Memorial Day weekend? 

xoxo,

This Weekend

I enjoyed a cup of coffee in my new owl mug.

I had a good hair day with no one to see and nothing to do. Isn't that the pits?

I babysat the nieces while my sister and BIL are out of town.
Our activities included: dressing up as princesses, various target runs, and a ton of arts and crafts. 

And painted my nails with OPI's I Have a Herring Problem. 
I'm diggin' its little flecks of gold without it screaming "I HAVE GLITTERRRR ON MY FINGERS."

Now I'm headed home to go see that handsome husband of mine. 

xoxo,

This Weekend

I went to go measure different areas of the Woodruff-Fontaine House for our wedding decor.

and maybe practiced walking down the aisle a few times... ;)

On Saturday, I went with one of my bridesmaids, Kristen, to go antiquing and came across these two lovely little silhouettes. I'm picturing a big cluster of old frames holding an array of different items for a wall design once Cory and I find a home. These two are just the beginning!

And lastly, I carved up a delicious watermelon. 

Perfect snack for the current temps, no?

xoxo,

This Weekend

 My two nieces, Ava G. and Autumn Marie, came into town.

I love hanging out with these goofy girls.

 On Saturday, we romped around the zoo,

 and thankfully, they have tons of water fountains to play in since the temps here are in the 90's.

My best friend, Jenna, got her Masters Degree from the University of Memphis.

I congratulated her by gifting the first Hunger Games book...now that she has her life back. :)

And Sunday, Cory and I went to the last day of Beale Street Music Fest. 

Usually I call this time of year Memphis in Mud (instead of Memphis in May) due to all the rain.

Surprisingly this weekend it did not rain a drop...but we were sweaty messes instead.

xoxo,
 

Easter OOTD & Two Tone Nails

Hey everyone! 

Let me tell you, I've enjoyed all of your Easter recaps...good food, cute outfits, and praising some Jesus!

Love :)

My Easter plans, unfortunately, didn't quite go as planned.

You see, my youngest niece, Autumn Marie, woke up with a wicked fever, and taking one for the team, I stayed at home and nursed that little one back to health while my sister, BIL, and Ava Grace ventured out for Easter festivities. I can't lie, having a two-year-old who just wants to cuddle all day didn't ruin my plans at all. Not to mention, we stayed in our pajamas, gorged on Easter candy, and I went without a stitch of makeup the entire day. That's what I would call a silver lining.

And since I didn't wear my Easter best, I'll just save it to wear sometime this week.

 

Easter Outfit: Anthropologie dress, Alex and Ani bangles, 

and Essie's Turquoise & Caicos & School of Hard Rocks

During little one's nap, I went ahead and did my nails.

Sweet and simple.
I'd like to think of it as "color blocking" for your nails. :)

xoxo, Whit