A Tennessee Easter.

For the Easter Holiday, we traveled to Tennessee to see my family and celebrate Easter there!

The weather on the drive down was wonderful- sunglasses all the way!  Isabella was a good girl- no cries and she rode like a trooper.

We had a really quick weekend down, but it was a lot of fun.  My grandmother was able to visit with Isabella two different times (these are so important and precious to me, especially as I grow older).  We ate WAY too much good food that is bad for you- i.e. sweet tea, Pal's, La Carreta, etc etc....soooo good, but SOOOOO bad for you! :)

I had a few photo sessions while I was in town- it was great to see some girls I hadn't seen since high school! :) 

We took some Easter/Family pictures- great props to my mom!  She was an awesome photographer, and my Aunt Ruth was great at entertaining Isabella during the pictures!  What a family, team effort. :)

Be Blessed.

Complete Laundry Room!!!

finished laundry area

So, like I said before, I have been slightly absent as we are working hard on finishing the basement (it is almost there!) and the garden, so there isn't a lot of time to blog just yet, and what I have worked on, is a work in progress, so there will be a bunch of posts coming soon I promise!

Here is the first complete section where you can see what we have been doing!  It is the laundry!

We decided white cabinets were the way to go in a laundry area, so here they are!  We painted the room and finished running the flooring into the laundry.  This turned out AWESOME if I do say so myself!  My husband did an awesome job laying the flooring- I couldn't be happier!

Check back later for a post about the flooring and how it looks throughout the room.

a laundry complete with a freezer!

We also decided to extend the laundry a bit, so that we could maximize storage space.

Fortunately for us, the dimensions worked out perfectly and we have room to spare!  We could have hung another set of cabinets, but instead decided to leave it open, in case we purchased a larger freezer than our current one (pictured here) we would still have plenty of room!

I have room to store my ironing board and spread it out at the same time- sweet ironing bliss!!!

The only thing left to hang is the doors, which we will do once we are almost finished with the entire room (less of a mess).

Check back later and I will add some pictures of the doors and the whole room to this post so you can see what it looks like full scale!  :)

Be Blessed.

30 Things to do before I turn 30, pt. 2

So, as I explained before, I want to make my 30th year the best so far.  I decided to do 30 things I have always wanted to do during this year.  You already read part 1 HERE, and now I feel as if I have found 5 more fun/interest/new things to do. 

Here goes #s 6-10!
This portion of the list is going to include things to "see" before I am 30.  :)

6.  Falling Water
Frank Lloyd Wright is amazing.  That is all there is to it.  This house is supposed to be beyond gorgeous and I have seen several of his designs on our various vacations and I have always wanted to travel to Falling Water and this year is their 75th anniversary, so they have a little extra going on in celebration, so YAY!  This house is located about 90 minutes from Pittsburg (near Mill Run and Ohiopyle)...it would be a great little weekend getaway.

7.  Flight 93 Memorial
Matt and I traveled to Somerset to see the make-shift memorial they erected back when we first moved to PA (2007), but they have broke ground on the permanent, super important memorial to honor those who died. I would like to go see the progress and just sit in awe.  This place is breathtaking.  All of the signs, handmade, personally important to so many people- these things really take my breath away.  I remember the last time we sat there, on a makeshift bench for the better part of an hour, just sitting, taking it all in.

8.  Ride a Train
Okay, so I know this is sorta vague, but I want to ride again, I should say.  I love trains, I always have.  They are a great mode of transportation that is underused, and an icon of eras gone by.  Matt will be traveling to Florida via a train (rock on!  I am jealous that I don't get to go!) here in a week or so, and I have really been jonesin' about this since we first discussed riding together.  I am totally up for suggestions about where we should ride!  :)

9. The Cape
Enough said.  This is my second home.  I'm convinced.  No commercialization of this little piece of beach Heaven on Earth.  Even for a couple days.  I must sink my toes into the white sandy beaches, stand free with my arms wide- face to the sun-at Highland Lighthouse cliffs, paddle boat up the inlet, rock in an old rocking chair at our favorite family's inn, and introduce my daughter to the peace and stillness that still exists on Earth.  God is good and this is my solace.  I would like to go whale and dolphin watching- rumor has it that whale and dolphin watching on the Cape is 2nd to none.  I might even let my husband talk me into looking for a pirate's treasure. ;)

10. Go Camping
We love doing these fun outdoorsy things, but this is one that we haven't been able to put together yet.  I of course think an RV is the way to go, but of course Matt wants to go true to nature.  Perhaps I will let Isabella have the final say.  Or maybe, Nana will have the final say, if she will come along!

Okay, so these 5 are related to travel...I am working on the other 5 (can't kayak yet, the river is too high and cold) I have been eating new things, but haven't reached my limit of 30 new things yet! We are most certainly growing that garden- good lord.  It is going to be upwards of an acre.  Go big or go home, right?  Running is a work in progress- check back with me on that one. ;)  And last, but CERTAINLY not least, being thankful- I am working on this every day.  Sometimes I am successful, sometimes I am not.  It is a work in progress.

Be Blessed everyone.

Mixed Emotions...

So I had a sad moment in Target the other day and I figured I would share it with you.

I was browsing around at all of the super cutie, patutie dress outfits for little girls, and as I looked around I realized that I was in the toddler section (12 mo +) and that there wasn't a need to buy any of the infant pieces any more since the highest they go is 9 months.  :(  *tear* 

Our little girl is growing so fast- it makes me sad that it is flying by, but so blessed to be a part of this incredible, little journey called the "life of Isabella" and be able to impress upon her how important each moment in life is.

I am so thankful to have a healthy baby girl that has grown into a vocal little 10 month old tot.  I am also very thankful for my husband that comforts me when I notice how fast she is growing and how blessed we are, thus, just needing one of "those moments" with him. :)

Here is a little shot of Isabella at 10 months. :) 

Double Princess Wave!  :)  <3 her.

Be Blessed.