Friday Favorites: Anniversary Edition

Happy Friday Loves!

Um, can someone please fill me in on where June went?! This summer is flying by and I kind of wish it would last forever. 

I'm linking up with Amanda to share our anniversary gifts. I hesitate to tell people one of my love languages is gifts. I'm afraid it sounds too materialistic and greedy, but actually it's not about money at all. What's important is the thought behind the gift or the words written in the note. Gifts make me feel thought of and special.

Be forewarned, this whole post is pretty sappy and corny.

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One of our favorite things to do as a couple is to go on adventures. Small day trips or week long vacation doesn't matter; we love to travel. For our anniversary we took a weekend trip to Nashville. I had never been there before, but it's one of James' favorite cities so he had fun showing me all around. It was so much fun and I can't wait to share the details about our trip with y'all next week!

{T W O}

We didn't discuss it, but we each ending up sticking with the "paper" theme. I gave him a Datevitation coupon book. Seriously, if y'all haven't checked this website out do so now! It's too easy and fun to put together your own custom coupon book.
Along with the sweetest card the husband gave me a gift certificate to a spa. That boy knows the way to my heart! And of course we celebrated with some pink champagne. 

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One of James favorite hymns is "Come Thou Fount." It was also one of the songs we had sung at our wedding so it has extra special meaning to us. My gift to James was this beautiful print I found on Etsy here. I had it framed and now it has a special place on our mantle. 

{F O U R}

Let's be honest though. James blew my gift out of the water. I was super impressed that he knew anniversaries even had themes. I was even more impressed that he made me a gift. I know a lot of things about my husband, but what I didn't know is that he's a closet crafter :) The words inside the tree are the lyrics of our first dance song "Sea Breeze." So sweet! Love that man.

{F I VE}

Best gift of all?

Getting to spend everyday with this guy. 

Okay, I gave you fair warning that it would be sappy!  

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Five on Friday; Vol. 22

Hi Friends! Hope you had a great week. This has been a long week and I'm very happy to see Friday. I'm very much looking forward to this relaxing, nothing planned, projecting starting weekend. 

So far, summer (yes, it not technically summer but whatever) and I have been getting along wonderfully. I don't know if it was moving, allergies, or crazy GA weather, but Spring and I didn't mesh well. I didn't want to do anything and nothing sounded good food-wise. #definitelynotpregnant 

So, in honor of feeling like myself again I'm linking up with Darci, April, Christina, and Natasha to share my summer loves. 

 

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The one thing I knew I would miss when moved was the great trail we had within walking distance of the apartment. I was very happy to discover we have a great park right down the street from us with a walking trail. I can even walk to the park if I'm feeling really adventurous. On Saturday in the summer it has Farmer's Market! Nothing beats Saturday morning Farmer's Market trips!

{T W O}

Speaking of the Farmer's Market, we picked up some tomatoes last Saturday. Y'all, they are glorious! So red and so yummy! I am seriously loving some veggies right now. I'm loving that I'm enjoying being in the kitchen again and I'm obsessed with fresh Farmer's Market foods. 

{T H R E E}

What would a summer post be without a beach picture? Beach sunsets really are the best sunsets. We've already been to the beach a few times and I'm so looking forward to spending some more weekends there. Also, looking forward to a week at the beach in July with the husband's family. Beaches are great for the soul!

{F O U R}

Fresh herbs! Sis made us an herb garden for our housewarming gift. Having fresh basil, chives, peppermint, and rosemary is one of my favorite things ever. Is it weird that I search for recipes that use these fresh herbs? Who cares what the main ingredients are as long as the herbs can be used :) Now, let's see if I can keep them alive. 

{F I V E}

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but if it includes lavender you better believe I'm gonna try it and love it. Drinking this outside after a day laying by the pool sounds like the perfect summer night to me!

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend!

Five on Friday, Vol. 21 and Some Favorites

Happy Friday!!

First things first, congratulations to Christina and April on the arrival of both of your daughters!! They are both so precious and almost make me want to think about having one of my own. 

Breath James... I'm kidding :)

I hope you've all had a wonderful week. It's been a crazy awesome week moving in and getting everything situated. Super excited to share a few of my favorites from this past week!

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As of last Friday we're officially all moved in! I thought I would be so thankful to be out of the apartment, but truth be told part of me is a little sad. It was our first place together and we made lots of memories there. I'll miss the apartment for a little bit, but I can't wait to make new memories in our new home!

{T W O} 

Sis made this wreath for our grandma for Mother's Day. I'm trying to convince her that I need one too. I've never been much of a wreath fan, but it's burlap and turquoise. Doesn't get much better than that. 

{T H R E E}

For Christmas James gave me the beautiful Southern Wedding print. It's been safely stored away until we moved into the house. Now that we're here the print has found a home above the mantel. I'm seriously considering painting this frame or the two next to it... gold maybe?. Thoughts?

{ F O U R}

The therapist side of me is coming out: I've been a huge fan of Brene Brown since graduate school. Her stuff is legit and this TED talk of hers is probably my favorite. If you have some time today watch it! It's good stuff!

{ F I V E}

Ever since the weather started getting warmer I've been on a serious veggie kick. Steaming and roasting are pretty much the extent of my vegetable cooking abilities. I picked this book up to help expand my cooking repertoire. So far I love it! I made an avocado salad for lunch yesterday that was incredible. I'm looking forward to lots of new veggie recipes this summer.

 I'll be back next week sharing a tour of our home! In the meantime, I hope you have a great weekend!!

Today I'm linking up with Amanda and the 5 on Friday Girls (Darci, April, Christina, Natasha)

Five on Friday, Vol. 20: House Edition

Three posts in one week? Stop the madness! 

One of the things I've missed most over the past month of non-blogging is linking up with Darci, April, Christina, and Natasha on Fridays. 

 

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First off, thanks everyone for your sweet words about our exciting news! This whole house hunting journey has truly been a lesson in patience and trusting in God and His timing. For us, the whole process was relatively easy, but I wouldn't exactly call it fun. The fun part for me starts now. I can't wait to decorate and renovate our new home!

{T W O}

Picking colors has been one things I've really been looking forward to. I started looking at colors long before we actually had a house, and pretty much had my heart set on a particular color pallet. Our new walls will be painted in blues and warm greys!

Anyone surprised to see blue in the mix? Ya, I didn't think so :)

{T H R E E}

We closed on Monday, got the keys on Tuesday, and renovation started Wednesday! We aren't wasting any time! Phase I of renovations include: new floors, ceilings, and paint. James and I haven't been able to be at the house since demo started, but we're getting daily updates from our awesome superintendent.

Later parquet floors!

Goodbye popcorn ceilings!

{F O U R}

Other than changing the floors we aren't touching the kitchen this go-round. Sis sent me a picture of my dream kitchen, so thankfully I have a while to convince the husband that this is exactly what he wants.... wish me luck.

{F I V E}

We're spending a weekend at the beach watching the Heritage Golf Tournament. Unfortunately, the weather isn't going to cooperate with some beach time, but we're enjoying a vacation either way.

Happy Easter y'all! Hope you have a great weekend!!

Five on Friday, Vol. 19

Happy Friday All!
There is something pretty great about waking up knowing it's Friday. It's even better when you don't have to work on Friday! Linking up with Darci, Natasha,Christina, and April to share a few great things from this past week. 

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Thank you for all your sweet words about our exciting news! Y'all are the best!

Today is inspection day! In fact, there is a very good chance we are at the inspection as you read this. Hopefully everything looks good and we get to continue on this journey of becoming home owners!  

{T W O}

In other exciting news, I'm a puppy aunt! 

If you follow along on Instagram you already know this, but I'm a proud aunt so I just had to share again. Sis and the BIL brought this sweet 4-year old poodle home this week, and I can't wait to meet her. Her name is Felicity and I already love her!

In case you were curious, I'm a puppy aunt, but James is a puppy brother. It totally makes sense because I just wanna say puppy brother everyday.

  Video Source

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The house may not be ours yet, but I'm already in decorating mode. I've mentioned before that my mom is an interior designers and we'll definitely be enlisting her help. I want to be design educated, so I'm trying to learn as much as possible. Plus, James and I are excited to tackle some DIY projects. These two books are perfect for both of these things! Great DIY design tips and ideas.
Young House Love: follow they're blog if you don't already do so. They're the jam!
The Perfectly Imperfect Home

{F O U R}

If we're making fish for dinner chances are it's gonna be salmon. If we're making salmon chances are it's made in this sauce.
Side note: buy salmon from Costco, you'll thank me later.
This sriracha sauce and lime salmon from Gwyneth Paltrow's book is perfect. Not too spicy, a little tangy, and great flavor. Try it, you'll thank me for that too.

Source

Ingredients:

Juice & Zest of 1/2 a lime

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 1/2 teaspoons sriracha sauce 

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1 1/4 pounds salmon fillet (skin removed)

2 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional)

I don't do cilantro, so that gets left off. If I was a good wife I would put some on the side for the husband, but I don't do cilantro... at all.

{F I V E}

Have y'all tried these yet?!?
I love my Crock-Pot. I hate cleaning my Crock-Pot. I've been looking for these for a while with no luck. This past week I finally found them. Game. Changing. I'll cook in my Crock-Pot every night if clean up is just remove the liner and wipe down. Life officially changed.

Hope you all have a safe and happy weekend!

Five on Friday; Vol. 18

Happy Friday!

I haven't joined in for Five on Friday in a few weeks, so I'm super excited to be back linking up with Darci, Natasha, Christina, and April. Between house hunting (nothing to update), work, and being over winter there hasn't been much to report

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Sis' Etsy shop, Anchor of Hope Designs, was featured on a blog this week! Head over to Hey Kelsea Rae to read all about her shop and enter the Giveaway!

{T W O}

Have y'all tried this yet!? Ben & Jerry's is genius! I'm eating Salted Caramel right now... so good! I can't wait to try "Hazed & Confused" and "Peanut Butter Fudge." I'll admit I make not needed trips to Publix on a daily basis to see if they have new flavors in. When it comes to ice cream, I have no shame.

{T H R E E}

I got my "Cara Box" this week. Due to some weather delays, it came a little late, but my partner did a great job. It was the perfect box for me! If you've never heard of the Cara Box exchange head over the Kaitlyn's blog Wifessionals to learn all about it. My first experience was great and I can't wait to do it again soon! 

{F O U R}

So, this week I learned my MacBook is "ancient." I was pretty sad to learn my computer was no longer compatible with PicMonkey. If any of y'all know of another site to edit photos and add text please let me know! The husband will greatly appreciate it. I don't think he's interested in upgrading my computer just yet :)

{F I V E}

I did a post earlier this week about the beach, and ever since then I'm itching to get there. I'm ready for sun, sand, and ocean water. Here's to hoping for warm weather soon!

Hope you all have a great and hopefully warm weekend!

Five on Friday, Vol. 17: Snowed In

Happy Valentine's Day!
I thought about making a Valentine themed post, but I've never been big on decorating for this holiday. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those people who hate Valentine's Day. In fact, my parents always made sure to make this holiday special regardless of whether or not I was dating someone. The trust is, James and I haven't left the apartment for the past 3 days, so we didn't get to prepare fun details for Valentine's Day this year.
For those of you who don't know the South got hit hard with snow and ice this past week.

So, instead of sharing fun heart shaped goodies, I'm linking up today with Darci, April, Christina, and Natasha to share how we survived being confined to our apartment for 3 straight days.

 

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 If it's gonna snow, you've got to embrace it. During work breaks, James and I took some time to venture outside. I haven't pulled my camera out in quite some time, so it felt good to capture everything. That white stuff may cause chaos, but it sure is pretty.

{T W O}

Hot coffee and tea are essential for surviving cold. It wasn't quite as good as the Starbucks barista makes, but thankfully the Verismo gets very close!  Extra warm points for drinking out of a cute mug.

{T H R E E}

Let's be honest, the best part of a snow day is cuddling up on the couch under layers of blankets. When I saw this quote on Tuesday it made me smile. If it's gonna snow we might as well enjoy it :)

I don't know about y'all, but my toes are first to get cold. Cute fun socks are necessary. Even better when Christmas socks get to be reused as snow day socks!

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{F O U R}

Good TV shows are key. What else are snow days for? The Olympics were my first choice, but when boring sports were on Criminal Minds was my go to. Love. That. Show.

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Want to know how to make snow days even better? Get Valentine's flowers delivered. My parents annual flower delivery just happened to arrive a day early (major props to the flower shop for delivering flowers in spite of the crazy weather) and they were a welcomed surprise. After 3 days of only seeing white the pretty colors added some excitement. 

I hope you all had a good week and have a great day with your loved ones! James and I are off to celebrate our first married Valentine's Day!