What a week.

Y'all last week was something else. 

Spilling the beans about our little babe was one of the happiest days of my life. Thank you again for all the love and congrats. My cup runneth over. 

For real.

Is it bad to say that I am already exhausted just thinking about the week to come?

After a weekend of pure relaxation, epic movie watching and eating terrible yet amazing food of mainly pure sugar, I am trying really hard to gear up for what promises to be a busy 7 days.

I have exactly two days in the office this week, Monday and Friday, to get through a ton of things and my yearly review. Tuesday through Thursday I am heading up to NYC for a fun lighting inspired trip for work. Insta I am sure will be flowing with my activities, including a tour of one of my most favorite lighting companies and a broadway show.

Then when I return, let the Easter festivities begin.
Last year I went all out with this brunch. But yea, this year, not so much. We are keeping it low key with church and a small get together with close by family. 

Even with all of this fun approaching, let me tell you what I am absolutely dreading.....packing tomorrow night for NYC. I allllllways put off packing, I can't help it. I just hate it so. And this time, I find it even more miserable because nothing fits right. And I don't think any of my clothes that do fit, are cute. My life is rough over here, let me tell ya.

I am pretty sure that if I can make it through Monday, it's going to be smooth sailing for the rest of the week. Mind over matter ladies.
Wish me luck!

xoxo

Bumpdate: 13 weeks along

Thank y'all so much for all the love yesterday.
 Reid and I feel blessed beyond words with all the love and support already surrounding this little bump of ours.

shirt | pants | watch

Oh and what a bump it already is at only 13 weeks... pretty sure none of that is baby, just cheese toast. 

Here's whats been going on since the positive test thing happened on Jan 16th.

How far along: 13 weeks

Size of Baby: depends on the app... either a peach or a hot jalapeno

Gender: Reid swears he saw a penis on the 8 week ultrasound, you know being a banker and all makes him an expert. My gut feeling is that it is also a boy.

Weight gain: 3 big ones

Maternity clothes: ummm is it bad to say that I am already loving maternity pants? Most of my clothes still fit with the assistance of a hair tie. I am defiantly stocking up on tunic tops and flowy shirts...Old Navy is my new bff.

Stretch marks: using Palmers Coco Belly Butter like its my job. 

Sleep: sleeping has gotten so much better. Early early on, I tossed and turned all night long. Lately, it seems like I just cannot get enough sleep. As soon as I walk in the door in the afternoons, I have to give myself a pep talk not to crawl in bed for the night. Still waking up a 1-2 nights a week to go pee from all this water I am drinking. 

Best moment this week: being able to share our news about this bun I got in the oven. Keeping that secret was the hardest thing I have ever done. period. And seeing my favorite personal photog for a quick photo shoot.

Miss anything: a club sandwich. I would kill for a club sandwich right now. Oh and to not have a continuous headache every.single.day. That would be amazing.

Movement: Nada

Belly button in or out: In

Wedding Rings on or off: On

Cravings: I am eating pretty normal these days. During weeks 5-10, I was on a strict diet of water, ginger-ale, cheese toast and saltines. It was pretty fancy...

Anything making you queasy or sick: so basically every thing made me queasy at first. It was like the from the moment I peed on the test, I had morning sickness all day long, every single day. The only thing that seemed to squash it was eating a snack every hour on the dot. Thankfully at week 10 this seemed to ease up...praise Jesus.

Symptoms: the queasiness and nausea has for the most part subsided and thank god. I am still rocking the extreme exhaustedness and headaches. Oh lawd the headaches, they go on all day long. Crazy hormone mood swings and awesome breakouts on my face. And smells, everything smells terrible. Basically for the last 4 weeks I have been either blowing my nose or sneezing non stop...so bad, I now carry a full box of tissues in my purse. This week brought new and exciting symptoms, dizziness and extreme pregnancy brain. I cannot remember anything.
 Yup, only the fun stuff happening over here. 

Looking forward to: Hearing the babe's heartbeat at my 16 week appointment, cleaning out the spare bedroom and dragging Reid to see Insurgant this weekend.

Have a wonderful weekend y'all! 

xoxo

Whoa, Baby!

Reid and I are tickled to finally be able to share our big news with the world.

We're preggers!



I know!
We can hardly believe it ourselves.
 We're over the moon excited to say the least and can't wait to meet our sweet little babe.

Baby D will make his or her grand debut in late September, which means this mama will be a hot mess all summer long. 

Are you ready to follow along on our biggest adventure yet? 

Hope so!

xoxo

a special thanks goes out to my sweet friend and fellow blogger, Stephanie over at Newlyweds:North for her amazing photog skills and ability to make my husband cooperate. All photo creds go to her and a great big thank you for coming to Richmond with baby G to see Aunt C and Uncle R.

love y'all! 

linking up with Annie over at Home of  Malones for Thoughts for Thursdays! 

Spring.

So it's officially spring and Richmond is about to burst with color.

I see little green sprouts of daffodils popping up around very corner.

Trees with little buds just waiting for a couple more days of sun to explode with color.

Kids on our street are out playing ball and riding bikes.

I am getting the itch to clean out every single closet and plant flowers in the back yard.

Longing to wear a dress without tights.

Praying that I can get some color on my face.

And looking forward to sharing some news tomorrow....

What are y'all looking forward to this spring?

xoxo!

weekending

This past weekend we had the loveliest of weekends in Mathews, Va. Go gas up the DeLorean and take a step back in to small home town America, where drug stores have old fashioned soda fountains, libraries have Saturday book swaps, everybody knows everybody and life seems to move at a slower pace. Being only a hour and a half away from Richmond, Mathews is the perfect little getaway. 

 We stayed at the best little bed and breakfast, the Inn at Tabbs Creek.  True and crazy back story here, I had actually stayed at this house as a young child before the new owners Greg and Lori bought the Inn. I have very fond memories of the amazing family that previously owned this amazing spot of land, ones that have been with me since I was in elementary school, ones that will stay with me for a long time. Being back was truly something else. 

But I digress...

Greg, Lori and Dave really know what they are doing. They've created an incredible experience at the Inn at Tabbs Creek. Not only is the location amazing but the house, personal touches, food and company are exquisite. 

Our weekend was jam packed with playing dominos, reading, eating amazing seafood, exploring nearby waters and wineries, wearing leggings every second we could and many laughs with our good friends Anna and Jeremy. 

I am sorry for the lack of quality photos, the ole DSLR got accidentally left at home, I was heart broken to say the least. 

Enjoy a weekend in pictures and I am serious, go check this place out.

The Dog and Oyster Winery

Best outside eating!

Richardson's Cafe

Make sure to stick around this week, I have some pretty fun news to share with y'all!

xoxo!

life lately.

Life has been good.
Pretty darn good and this girl can't complain too much.
We have been one busy little family since I last posted, so let's get you all caught up.

Reid is great.
He is kicking some butt at work and enjoying his crossfit thing. He asks me everyday if I would like to join him, I promptly reply... "Hell no, I am not in to muscles and that working out stuff".
Geesh, when will the man learn?

Sampson is an old man.
We think he is around 15 years old now and practically def and blind. He no longer hears the door bell ring, and refuses to tackle the stairs. Who can blame the old Love? If Reid would carry me up the stairs, I'd let him.
Other than that he is pretty spunky and still loves to play with his toys and bark at the neighbors dog.

We had Christmas.
Having the entire family together was interesting to say the least.
But wonderful.

New Years was awesome.
We spent the night out with great friends at Pomegranate and then headed back to our house for a late night dance party, Cards Against Humanity and Fireball. The camera made an unwanted appearance and then this happened.
Who's jealous of this picture?

Work is hard work but wonderful.
Still a challenge every day but I honestly love it. I went to Dallas for Lighting Market in January which was super fun and exhausting all at the same time. I am off to New York City in a couple weeks and then on to High Point Market in NC.

We had major winter weather in Richmond.
The fact that our little city does not know what to do when there is snow on the ground still baffles me.

Our niece and nephew both had birthdays.
I cannot believe Libbie is already one and Palmer is three.
Where did the time fly off to?

Yup, life is pretty good.
Bring on the warm weather, sun dresses and a tan.
Now, if I could just shake this head cold, I would be one happy camper.

xoxo,

CAD

Not the Perfect Blogger.

If my extended hiatus has taught me anything, it's that I am not the perfect blogger.

And I'm ok with that.  

Being a blogger is really hard stuff and there is no such thing as being perfect at it.
And quite frankly, I sorta suck at it.

There.
I said it.

Trust me, I dream about the days where I am able to stay on track. Stay the course. Be like one of those bloggers who never seems to miss a beat no matter what is going on in their lives. Keep the perfect home and fresh flowers on a clean coffee table. Actually finish one of my 56 drafts and have a few waiting in the wings.

but the reality is.... that is just not me.

In real life I am messy, un-organized, thrive in clutter and love to work right up to a deadline. I don't care if dishes go un-washed for a day or three. My clothes never get put away, they live on the tufted couch at the end of our bed. I can never find anything even though I swear I know exactly where it is. I write birthday cards and forget to mail them all the time.
I am sorta a hot mess.

But life is sorta messy.
And sometimes it takes being able to take a step back to revisit and revise to really accept who you truly are.

 I am a non-domestic, monogrammed obsessed, southern blogger who tries really hard to keep it honest and fun. I will not apologize for not blogging or going on hiatus or for letting life get in the way anymore. My blogging ebbs and flows and sometimes I need to just check out for a few. And please believe me when I say that it is not because I don't want to write and get all of your great feedback, it is because I cherish the time on the couch with my husband and pups. I am clearly one that gets easily side tracked and needs to be pulled back down to reality.

I am cool with being a not so perfect blogger.
In fact, I really like it.
It is so me.

But I am back, for real this time.
Maybe not every single day, but definitely back and ready to fill you in on all the happenings that's been going on since my last pathetic post.

Chat with y'all soon!

xoxo,

CAD