Is it fall yet?

No, it’s not fall yet, but I'm sure ready for its' arrival. What is it that I'm ready for exactly? Where do I event begin...the smell of pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin bread in the oven and something delicious on the grill at the tailgate, the excitement for the beginning of football season and the sound of thousands and thousands of fans screaming “Hook ‘em Horns” at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, the beauty of some of the leaves changing to orange and falling from the trees, the feel of the brisk breeze that picks up once the sun goes down and the drooling over the cute fall clothing. However, I can’t get too excited for the clothing because I'll still be in maternity clothes for a little while longer. One of those little things you don't learn until you get pregnant...after having your baby, you don't leave the hospital your pre-pregnancy size...boooo! We have a little while to wait for the arrival of fall and cooler weather here in Texas, but I’m more ready for it than ever before.

Maybe it's the beginning of football season that gets me excited....

 

 

Maybe it’s the Pottery Barn magazines and emails that get me excited. I mean…look at all of this cute fall décor!

 

 

 

Will I ever be this put together? ha...probably not. A girl can dream, right? 

Our baby is due any day now, so maybe it's me "nesting" and trying to get everything decorated before she arrives. I have already told my family that they cannot make fun of me when they come into my house this weekend and my fall wreath is up, pumpkins are on display and fall leaves are hanging from the mantle. I realize I’m jumping the gun, but there is no way I’m going to miss out on fall decorating! I’ll just get to enjoy it for a month longer :).

I fell in love with white pumpkins last year and I look forward to using them again! I will be browsing magazines as I wait for this baby and get some fun, new ideas for fall. I know, I know…I live in Texas, where fall barely exists, but I’m still excited about it! I think I will go out on a limb and say I’m even ready for a flame in the fireplace. Ha…that will be a LONG while!

Anyone else have a craving for fall?

Mommy fears & nursery reveal

My Granny Mabel with my mom and her 2 brothers

MOMMY FEARS:

So, here I am…2 weeks away from my due date and I’m not going to lie…I’m freaking out a little bit about becoming a mom. I sit around daydreaming and thinking to myself how incredible it is that my body knows how to keep my little girl safe for 9 months (really 10 months). She is incredibly protected in there and I have been fortunate to not have to worry about her too much. Then my thoughts move forward in time and I think about leaving the hospital with just B, our new daughter and myself and I get really nervous. After birth, is there just a sudden flow of “mom knowledge" that will magically enter my brain? I’m not sure, but I do know that when we leave the hospital, I will sit in the backseat with her on the way home and make sure B drives no faster than 5 miles per hour all the way home. I just know I’m going to look at her sweet face and remember that I’m responsible for everything about this little girl. EVERYTHING. Is that scary to anyone else?

 

I’m sure there are many new moms out there who know this feeling. I’ve spoken to my mom, friends that are new mothers and everyone says, “it’s normal.” Even if it is "normal" it's a wave of emotions and it’s amazing how something can be so exciting, yet so terrifying at the same time. 

I already think and worry about...what schools will she attend? What activities will she be involved in? What college will be best for her? How can I make sure she understands kindness, thoughtfulness, compassion, the importance of giving back to our community and others? You know…all of life’s big questions. However, I know once she arrives, at least for the first few months, my questions will be more along the lines of...When is the last time I showered? What day is it? Our life will be focused on raising this child the best we know how and I know it will be fun, exciting, exhausting, challenging and most of all rewarding. Thankfully, B and I have had great role models that we have learned a lot from and that have helped mold us into the kind of parents we inspire to be for our sweet girl. 

Thank you to all the wonderful “mommy bloggers” out there. Your advice is heard and taken to heart…believe me! There are so many wildly different opinions out there on absolutely everything and it’s a joy to see how each person...mom, dad or guardian...listens to the advice, changes it or molds it into something unique that works best for his or her family. There are so many opinions, must-do's, how-to's and never-do's out there, but so far in this journey, the best advice I have been given is everyone is different and do what is best for you and your family.

NURSERY REVEAL:

Once my slight fear subsides, I get excited again and just sit in her nursery and look forward to the day we finally get to bring her home and read her the many fun and beautiful children's books sitting on her shelves. Decorating her nursery was a little difficult for me because my favorite colors are blues and greens...which you find mostly in the boy section.

We decided on the wall color first and picked a very light blue that we loved. Then, I decided to use blue, green and coral. I thought coral would feminize the space. It took a good while to find fabric that we liked, but once we did, we had bedding made and began shopping for simple accessories. I’m very happy with the room! It’s sweet, but not overly girly, which is what I was worried about in the beginning. Not too much pink! Haha

I got many of the accessories at Target. In fact I found these cute utensil buckets I loved and use them as toy holders on her shelves. 

 

We received this beautiful, monogrammed quilt from B's Godmother. I know we will be snuggling with this a lot. Thank you Alison!!

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!

Advice from Penny Lane...

Sometimes dogs know best. They know how to make the best out of the area that surrounds them. If you are looking for some fun on this end-of-summer weekend. Take some advice from Penny Lane...our sweet golden retriever. She knows how to enjoy life and cool off in this heat!

Find a trail nearby and take a hike! It's shady and usually it leads to a body of water. That's my favorite part :). 

There is not much better than cooling off in a lake or river. Trust me...it's the perfect way to spend one of the last weekends of this summer!

If you have access to a boat...take advantage of it while you still can! Get out on the water and enjoy the cool breeze in your hair.

Grab a lawn chair and just chill out. You don't even need a book...take a nap...enjoy the scenery..just rest. How often do we get to do this?

Finally, head to a pool! Swimming in a pool is one of my most favorite things to do in the summer. There are usually kids that love throwing me the ball and every time I jump in, I feel so refreshed!

Oh, and see that hammock in the background? Feel free to take a nap there when you get tired:).

ENJOY one of the last weekends this summer! It will still be hot here in Texas for a while, so we'll be enjoying the lake and the pool with Penny Lane for a few more weekends. Happy Weekend!!

Dream come true...

Have you heard where the 2013 HGTV Dream Home is located? Well, I’m sure excited about it because it’s in Kiawah!! You bet I’ll be registering on-line EVERYDAY to win this house:). If one of you happen to win it, please pick a date to invite me to come visit. Hahaha

My family and I are already planning a trip back to Kiawah next summer. We missed it too much this summer. I only hope our little one will love it as much as we do! Check out the house for yourself! You can see pictures of the plan, check out the construction so far or watch a video on Kiawah! 

Winning this house would be a dream come true! I can’t wait to take a peek at it next summer. Until then, Kiawah…until then…

Jetsettin' to swanky Miami for Vacation Friday!

I receive Jetsetter emails often and sometimes I open them just to see what amazing places they are showcasing at the time. I must say, I can’t open every single one because I would experience travel envy too often. I’m way too tempted by sales…especially travel sales :).

The Jetsetter email I opened the other day mentioned the beachfront Soho Beach House Hotel in Miami, FL. I can’t say that Miami is on the top of my list for vacations, but this place definitely caught my eye! The hotel is located on the historic site of the Sovereign Hotel, has its own private sand beach and beautiful areas to sit back and enjoy the view. 

Not only can you stay at this hotel, but you can become a member of the private club as well. There are 50 rooms and no two rooms are the same. Each one is decorated in a unique and beautiful way. The hotel offers 3 restaurants and 2 coffee shops. The Italian restaurant, Cecconi’s, looks amazing at night with all the lights. Just sparkling! 

This fancy-schmancy hotel also has an incredible Cowshed Spa. There are 2 areas…Cowshed Active and Cowshed Relax.  I’m thinking Cowshed Relax is where I would head. How would you like to get a pedicure here? Sign me up, please!

To top off the amazing spa, breathtaking views, delicious restaurants and incredible rooms…there is a screening room with comfy chairs and sofas. The hotel offers small bites and cocktails to enjoy during films. You can even rent this space out for private events. 

No, Miami is not on the top of my list for vacations, but if I could stay at the Soho Beach House Hotel, I might just change my mind:). So, let's kick up our feet up, sit back, get a cocktail in hand (soda + crystal light raspberry lemonade + a lime for me...my pregnancy drink of choice!) and enjoy the view from the Soho Beach House Miami!

 Happy weekend!!

New blog to follow and a lovely farmhouse

First of all, I must introduce you to a new blog that I love. Okay, there is only one post so far, but I can already tell…it’s going to be GREAT! I might be biased since it’s my husband’s, but you must check it out for yourself. As you already know, B loves fishing and he has talked about sharing his love of fishing with others in a number of ways. One of those is through a blog. Without further adieu, I would like to introduce An Austin Angler’s Journal. ENJOY! B, I’m so proud of you and I’m a proud follower of An Austin Angler’s Journal. You have so many stories to tell, so much fishing/angling knowledge to share and so many places to go and I can’t wait to read about all of your adventures! Love you!

Now, what about the Southern Living idea farmhouse? LOVE IT! Did you see the interview with Zac Brown and pictures of him in the Southern Living farmhouse? I really enjoyed this article. If you haven’t listened to Uncaged, you should. It has some great tracks. I just love the variety that Zac Brown Band offers.

Now, about the farmhouse. In my opinion, the best part about this house is it gives me inspiration for renovation. I love to see old turn into something new and unique. I would love to buy a home that needs a lot of TLC and turn it into my dream house. Again..one day, one day…

Here are some things I love about this farmhouse:

The open and inviting front porch and entryway. I picture myself sitting on the front porch, in a rocking chair with a cup of coffee each morning.

The spacious and clean kitchen with bar stools making room for the whole family.

The beautiful, bright and welcoming sitting areas throughout the house. There is so much natural light and the house looks comfy, cozy & livable, which I love. I hate going into houses where I feel like I can’t relax or sit on anything because it’s too beautiful or I think I might break it. 

My favorite part of the farmhouse is the back porch with the woven chairs, turquoise cushions and table with the turquoise cross legs. I’m truly in love with that table. 

I can see B, me, our little girl and Penny Lane taking some good naps on those chairs and enjoying a good cocktail! If you didn’t know this already…Penny Lane loves her chair naps :). 

One other thing I must mention about this farmhouse are the light fixtures…inside and out! All beautiful and perfect for the setting! 

Great job Southern Living! I wish I was sitting on the back porch of this house right now enjoying a delicious Georgia Sweet Tea!

Vacation Friday-Trout & Wine

It’s been a while since I’ve done vacation Friday and I have definitely missed it, so let’s get to it! B and I are always on the search for a perfect vacation for us. Let me define “perfect.”

Temperature: Highs in the upper 70’s or low 80’s and lows in the 60’s (B might say highs in the 80’s and lows in the 70’s)

Setting: Somewhere on the coast that offers world class fishing, surfing, wineries, a quaint town with fun restaurants bars and shops, and nice locals. Some mountains with great hiking trails in the background wouldn’t hurt. 

As you can imagine, finding a place with all the above is not easy. We have been many places that come very close, but we are still on the search for what we would call the perfect vacation spot. We have talked a little about how much fun it would be to go somewhere where we can fly fish and experience great wine all in one trip. The more I research, the more I find incredible trips in South America! B has been fly fishing in Patagonia and absolutely loved it. South America is somewhere I want to go and I found this website called Trout & Wine Tours. Perfect…right? A little bit of fly fishing and a little bit of wine. Yes, we are missing out on surfing, but 2 out of 3…that’s not shabby!

Also, Fly Fishing Patagonia has amazing fishing trips and wine tours as well. You can customize your wine tour and have the opportunity to dine with winery owners. Check out the Tres VallesLodge. It’s in the province of Chubut, Patagonia Argentina and it overlooks the Andes Mountains and beautiful water. You can fly fish right outside your door or take an excursion and you are only 15 miles from Chile, which, in my opinion, has some of the best red wine. Also, come to find out, there is surfing in Chile as well! Check it out http://traveltips.usatoday.com/surfing-chile-18186.html. B’s fishing trip was booked through Fly Fishing Patagonia and he could not have said more kind things about the people and families they met. They took B and his brother in as if they were family and had many good times and laughs over delicious dinners and amazing Argentinean wine. 

So maybe South America is the perfect vacation for us! Or, maybe, there is no such thing as the perfect vacation. Maybe the whole point of traveling is to find new adventures and to allow ourselves to be surprised by the unexpected beauty of places and immerse ourselves in cultures that were unknown to us before so we can learn and grow from the people we meet and the sites we see on trips. 

I have no idea when I will get to South America, but it’s an amazing place that I look forward to visiting in the future!

Happy Friday and GO TEAM USA! I hope everyone enjoys the Opening Ceremonies tonight!