The last five days have been super busy, fun, and full of family and friends!

We went down to Nashville last week to do some work on our new house and make it all ready for our move in three weeks (!!!). My parents and brother met us there from South Carolina, and my sister came with us from New York so we had lots of hands for painting and cleaning. And lots of hands for holding baby Ayla too, of course. She was a nice distraction for all of us, hehe! We got all of the main areas painted that we wanted to get done before moving, bathrooms cleaned, kitchen cabinets scrubbed, and floors swept and mopped. The carpets need some serious love yet, but we’ll get a steam-clean service to take care of that in the next few weeks and hopefully it will all feel super fresh when we walk through the doors to make it our new home. It’s hard to believe how fast the move is coming up!

The major highlight of our trip was a real, live date night that Ben and I went on Thursday night…the first one without the baby since she’s been born. My parents kept her for the evening, and she did so well for them! We hit up a majorly delicious Indian restaurant for dinner and then spent the rest of the evening at the Outcry tour concert right in downtown Nashville. The concert was so good, and an evening spent with great music, fellow believers, and worshipping together was just what my soul needed. We hadn’t been to a concert together since a Hillsong Live one that we went to when we were dating about three years ago, and it was just a great evening together. We love our baby girl to pieces, but there really is nothing like having a great time out on the town together alone.

We finished up our painting and work on Friday afternoon, and then headed down to my hometown in South Carolina for the rest of the weekend. It was a full couple of days with seeing all kinds of friends and family, and it was so much fun to introduce Ayla to all the ones we love from home. All the cousins and aunties wanted turns with her and she was such a trooper with all the newness and activity over the last five days.

I had a bunch of friends over to my parent’s house for breakfast on Monday morning and it was honestly one of the most inspiring, fun couple of hours that I’ve had all year. There is just nothing like connecting with old friends that you grew up with and spending time together talking about raising babies and growing spiritually and learning to love those around us. We got to hold each other’s babies and pray for the one that’s coming at any time (my best friend is about to have her first!) and it was just a spark of life for my soul. We left for New York at noon on Monday, and had a mostly uneventful trip home…minus a MAJOR HUGE EPIC diaper blow out in the carseat when we were only two hours down road. We spent twenty minutes at a station taking the car seat apart and changing Ayla and trying not to get poo-poo all over us and the car. It was one of those laugh-or-cry kind of moments and we mostly just had to laugh. And now we’re veteran blow-out-in-the-car parents! Woot.

Have a superb week, dears!

Here are five things I love:

– this pretty rug
– this recipe
– this perfect shift dress
– this challenging word
– this song

What about you: what was the most exciting thing about your weekend?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

The weekend seemed to fly right by and before I knew it, it was over with!

Ben was on a guys camping trip from Thursday to Saturday, so Friday night my sister and I had supper on the deck and watched a girly movie to pass the night away. This was her last weekend with us, and it’s so super sad to see her go. I’ve loved having her here for the past month or so! There’s nothing quite like having a sister around to bring out your silly side and laugh at your stupid jokes and quote movies together.

I met a friend for breakfast in town on Saturday morning, which was so refreshing and inspiring. I always walk away from girlfriend dates wishing I would do them more, but it seems like it’s so easy to just let time and life and responsibilities keep it from happening. Ben was home from his trip by noon, so we caught up on our last few days over lunch. He had a great time with the guys and it’s so good to see him go do something he enjoys for himself. He doesn’t do that nearly enough! I spent most of the rest of the day in the kitchen making a huge stack of tortillas, hamburger buns, nut and seed bars, and a zucchini cake. We grilled burgers for supper and sat on the deck with my sister for an hour or so. Like I said, we are soaking up the gorgeous New York summertime while we can! Sitting outside in the evening in the south at this time of year isn’t nearly as pleasant, unless you like a hundred percent humidity and sweat dripping off your nose. I love you New York summertime!!!

Sunday was a morning at home and then lunch at some good friends of ours that we haven’t seen in months! It was so good to sit on their porch and catch up and enjoy a delicious meal with them. I think it’s definitely starting to hit both of us about how sad it is to be leaving New York and all of the friends, family, and community that we love and appreciate so much. We’ve only got a few weeks left here before the move and it feels like we just want to spend time with everyone! It’s a bittersweet time for sure…excitement for what’s ahead but sadness over what we will leave when we go.

Here are five things I love:

– these grilling ideas
– this GORGEOUS suit
– this quote
– this recipe
– this pretty outfit

Have an amazing week!

What about you: what’s your favorite thing to do on the weekends?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!