Wedding Wednesday: Engagement Pics

I'm back from San Antonio... and while I was hoping for a lot more free time to sleep, sunbathe, blog, run and enjoy some Tracy time... there really wasn't much time for any of the above. Other than my two afternoon naps after very early mornings.  The conference was great though and we enjoyed a TON of authentic mexican food!

Today, I thought it would be fun to jump on the Wedding Wednesday bandwagon and share something fun from our wedding planning - Engagement Pictures!  We are not really the "posted picture" type of couple... I sometimes wish we were, but we just feel silly, which makes for just really hilarious pictures  But, about three months after getting engaged {with Save the Dates already done} we decided one Friday that if we were going to take any,  we needed to do it before we lost our beautiful fall backdrop.

So we looked up photographers in Lex - found 3 and sent them all an email... "Are you free tomorrow to do an engagement session?" We got a reply back from one couple that does photography and lives in the area. They said they could meet us at 10am and it would only be $100. Talk about a STEEL!!  Looking back I am SO happy we did it and it was really fun too. Yes, we had lots of really hilarious and silly ones... but but found a few gem's in the lot as well!

Here are a few of my favorites...

If anyone is looking for a wonderful photographer in the Shenandoah Valley, check out Justo Photography. They were great to work with and made our session really fun.

Happy Wednesday!

xo, trace

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday Folks!

I hope you all had a nice Holiday... we certainly did. It rained most of the morning, but that didn't stop us from making it out to the annual children's bike parade and arts and crafts festival at VMI. It was rainy off an on... but a couple of the gals made the trip out [plus one baby and brave hubs} and I'm so glad we did. The smells, decorations and vendors really put us in the holiday spirit!!

Around 1pm the sky's opened up and we hit the pool for about 5 hours of great fun in the sun!!

We grilled out at some good friends of ours and watched the Lex Fireworks from the front-yard...

It was a very happy 4th...and what made it even better is sleeping in and a day to run errands, get work done and relax before we head out early in the morning to San Antonio!

I didn't want to miss my 5 on Friday, so here it goes....

1. Jack Rogers Georgica Thong Sandals

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These have been on my wish-list for quite some time... and the hubs surprised me today with them! What a very happy girl I am!! 

2. The Peyton Monogrammed Hobo

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LOVE this bag!  One of my AOII sisters was carrying one at convention last week and I stalked her down and found out where she got it... she had a gold monogram on hers, which I loved!

3. Suave Extra Hold Hairspray

This is a steal! It's $3 at any local drug store or Wally... and I'm telling you guys, it works. 

They compare it to Sebastian Professional, and they don't lie! It's worth a try for $3.  

4. White Wine Sangria

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Thanks Miss Dixie for sharing this wonderful, easy recipe. I made a triple-batch for the Celebation on Wednesday and it was a hit. So light and refreshing! 

5. Birthday Cake Oreos

I just couldn't pass these up. I know they have been out for almost a year now, but I just purchased my first pack this week. A-Mazing! How did I ever live without these??  

Happy Friday! See y'all from Texas on Monday.

xo, trace

Happy Celebation of our Nation!

Happy 4th of July!!

Every year Moore Street, aka the bachelor pad in town, hosts the Celebation party. It's always a great time with lots of music, food, costumes, bevs and great memories. This year did not disappoint! We had a wonderful night with great friends and a fabulous start to the long weekend ahead.

Happy Birthday USA!!

Family Beach Time

Our goal this summer was to spend a week at the beach with the family... Just some laid back beach time, no frills, no fuss... Just fun! Well, my vacation days aren't exactly in high supply these days, so the week turned into three days, but it was a really great 3 days!

We had a couple beach days and one long boat day... a shrimp boil and then homemade pizza night. Lots of pool time, summer shandy's and abundant amounts of sun. It looked a lil but like this...

Beach Day 1 - Johnson Beach

Boat Day w/ the rents

The FloraBama Yacht Club via Boat

Beautiful Sunset on our way in!

Sun times on the water!

Last day at the beach! 

St. Simmons in the Summertime

I'm back!! Sorry for my vaca from the blog, I've been a busy lil traveler the past two weeks. I wanted to spend a couple days telling you about our fun!

Two weeks ago we set off on our 9 day road trip for work and a lil fun. Our first stop was St. Simmons Island, Georgia. It was our first time to visit and we can't wait to get back! On our way down the coast we started a lil research about the Georgia coast and picked SSI on a whim. Being a Saturday night in June, rooms were hard to come by... but we lucked out with {what seemed like} the last room on the island at St. Simmons Inn. It was the perfect beach hotel! Good price, great location and free wi-fi and breakfast.

The first night we dropped our bags and found a dive bar called, Brogans. It was packed with college kids and wedding guests from the three weddings on the island that night {amazing what you can find out after calling every hotel on the island}. We enjoyed a couple hours of fantastic people watching before hitting the hay for the night.

Sunday was Father's Day, so we celebrated with sleeping in {which seems to be rare these days} and a stroll though the city park and pier, while we talked to our Dad's and brothers. What a cute waterfront area!

After a long run through the island found a neat BBQ spot called Beachcomer - a dive nestled behind "The Spot" where we picked up ice and snacks for the beach.

We spent the afternoon on the widest part of the island called Coastguard Station beach. It was packed with families and friends... so we joined in the fun in the sun!

Since I needed to be in Jax early on Monday, we had an early dinner at a new spot called The Half Shell. The food was A-Mazing and I loved the bar filled with Oyster Shells. After dinner we enjoyed a late night walk around town. The 300 year old oak trees were just gorgeous and filled with Spanish moss...

It was a nice lil day getaway and I'm so glad we got to experience a new spot {even if it was for a day}. For all you SSI vacationers, kudos on the pick, it's a great getaway!

Next up, family beach time...

Vacation Time

We are heading out for vacation/a lil work week!! I'm so excited to get some down time with the hubs and end our week with the fam... and a baby shower to boot! Lots of pictures and baby shower planning to come... I can't wait. 

Until next week... 

Birthday Cakes

We are celebrating birthday cakes on the blog today. Why, you ask? It's my half Birthday!! 

... and a big one at that. only 6 months left until I turn the big 3-0. What to do with myself... get on the 30 b4 30 list . Yes, maybe I should do that... or maybe think more about "what I want to be when I grow up"... yes, maybe I should do that.. but to be honest, I don't think I'm ever going to really "grow-up." We {as in my husband and my family} are really kids at heart, so I don't really know if growing up will ever really happen - not on the inside at least!  But, I figure why not take every advantage to celebrate something... so half birthdays rack right up there with the first day of summer, international pretzel day and May Day! :)

So back to this birthday thing... One of my favorite things about a birthday is the cake {just like weddings}. So, today we have my six favorite cakes - one for each month until I turn 30! 

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Can you tell I have a thing for bright colors??  I love sprinkles and candies on cakes... they make it so much more fun. Happy June 13th!

xo, trace