It was another great weekend spent with the people I love most! I hope yours was just as great.

Saturday:: We spent the morning at home…having breakfast, playing with Ayla, and then spent some time talking with Ben’s mom on Skype. She lives in Thailand so we don’t see her often, and it was so cute to watch Ayla looking at her and even give her a few smiles during the conversation. Ben did some work outside for a few hours, and I was inside doing house work and laundry. A few guys were getting together at Ben’s brother’s house to play Spikeball in the afternoon, so we went over so he could join in the games. It’s such a fun game to watch and even though it looks pretty easy, I think it’s probably harder than it looks. We were there for about an hour before dashing off to our next weekend plans…the Gaylord Opryland Hotel! Ben came home from his conference last weekend and said he made plans for a night away this weekend, and booked us into the Opryland! It was such a fun surprise. We wanted to watch the Clemson football game, so we checked in as early as we could at three o’clock and settled in our hotel room for the afternoon. The Opryland is as beautiful and ornate as I’ve always heard it to be, and definitely worth a visit if you are ever in Nashville. We went out into town for dinner at Avo, and then came back and walked around the different atriums at the hotel before calling it a night.

Sunday:: Ayla let us sleep in until about seven o’clock, and after morning snuggles, we got dressed and packed up to head out for breakfast. We thought about eating at the hotel, but the one restaurant open for breakfast was pretty pricey and we decided we’d rather get out and explore a different spot while we were in the city anyway. Barista Parlor is a really popular spot, and it definitely did not disappoint! We drank tasty pour-over coffees and split a Five Daughters Bakery donut (amazing, btw) and enjoyed a delicious breakfast of a brioche egg sandwich and spiced apple oatmeal with streusel topping. We spent the rest of the day at home, taking Ayla out for a walk, working on our monthly budget, and relishing the cozy fall day. We went to church in the afternoon, back home for soup and toast, and a quiet Sunday evening for reading and relaxing. Such a perfect way to start a new week.

Here are five things I love:
– tempted to do this
– this clever cleaning tip
– this tart recipe
– this sermon (seriously so good!!!)
– this pretty blog

Have a great week, dears!

If you would ask me to describe my idea of a perfect weekend, it would be basically this:: drink good coffee, eat good food, explore the city, some downtime for reading/movie/cooking shows/napping, and being with people I love.

THAT WAS THIS WEEKEND.

Friday:: My mom and sister came up to spend the weekend with me and Ayla while Ben was away at a work conference, and it felt like I was on vacation in my own home. So fun! We decided to take a big day out on Friday for restaurant-ing and shopping…breakfast at Fido, shopping, lunch at Avo, and coffee at Crema. We hit up a baby consignment shop in Brentwood and I walked out with a stack of clothes for Ayla for great prices…I can’t seem to keep her in clothes right now! Also, funny thing:: my sister was pretty skeptical about the vegan lunch at Avo but decided to be a sport about it and since she “wasn’t very hungry,” it would be a good time to go for lunch on Friday. She cleaned up her plate of raw pizza and salad, and sheepishly admitted she wouldn’t mind if we came back again sometime. Win, hehe. Our food was seriously delicious, and we topped off our meal with a raw pumpkin pie dessert that I wish I could somehow figure out how to replicate. I’m not a vegan, but I sure do like to eat like one sometimes, ha!

Saturday:: Ayla and I both had a rough night on Friday night, and it seemed that when she was sleeping, I wasn’t, and then when I finally got to sleep, she woke up. I can’t complain (although let’s be honest…i kinda wanted to) because she normally does well at night…but I think that four-month sleep regression thing just hit her a little later than four-months. But we made it through, and Saturday was a beautiful fall day with rain showers all throughout the day. We went out to the Nashville Farmer’s Market around ten and walked around for an hour or so, buying up veggies and sampling food from vendors and getting lost in a little international food store that I was so excited to find. We had lunch out at another great spot and headed back home for naps. We did a simple supper of white chicken chili and french baguette that evening, and my sister in law and her kids came to eat with us since her husband was away at the same conference Ben was attending.

Sunday:: My mom and sister kept Ayla for me in the morning while I took myself out for breakfast…aren’t they the best!?! I had coffee and sweet polenta porridge from Steadfast Coffee, and sat there for two glorious hours blogging, reading, and eavesdropping on the conversations around me. It was really fun to get out like that again, but in so many ways, it just felt strange. Like, I used to do this all the time??? I can barely remember what that was like to just take a morning or afternoon for coffee shop-ing, and you know…I don’t need to remember. I would never wish away the life of my baby girl for all the freedom to go and do and sit and sip and explore on my own again. I’m a mama now, and while it was a fun treat to get out for a few hours, I could hardly wait to get back home to my sweetie girl again! My mom and sister left for home around noon and the rest of Sunday was the quietest, coziest day at home with Ayla.

It was a great girl’s weekend full of all the best things, but we are also super ready for that handsome man of ours to get back home!

Five things I love::
– this is almost unbelievable
– this blog on trusting in enough
– I don’t love this, but it was a breathtakingly reminder of what fellow believers face in the Middle East
– this too-cute-for-words Instagram account
– this song is darling darling darling

Have a great week, dears!