Back to the Grind

Today is my first day back to work after a wonderful 12 weeks with my precious girl. It's also baby girl's first day {of many to come} with her Nanny. I know she is going to be in wonderful hands and is so close I can drop in at any time - but I'm going to miss her so much. I'm praying for a busy day, so the time flies by until I get to drop in to feed her at lunch and then pick her up at 5 p.m. 

Jesse and I are both very excited about her Nanny and we know she is going to learn wonderful life skills that will stay with her forever.  It may not be GranDe, but I think she's the next best thing. 

via Etsy.

HappY FridaY!

Happy Friday friends. Just wanted to share a few things that we have enjoyed this week. 

{one}

First, Miss Annalee and I have been enjoying quite a few books this week. She loves when I read to her and laughs the whole time. It's so cute. This is one of our favorites from my bestie, Ale!

via Amazon - $9.97

{two}

Second, we did some baking this week. I made my own oat flour for the first time and made this delicious banana bread. A nice "healthy" treat for mornings and dessert.

Recipe via Yammies

{three} 

Does anyone else read theSkimm? It's a fun quick take on today's news.

Daily Skimm

{four}

It's almost football season. Which means, adorable kids clothes. 

A few of my favorites.

Gingham Jon Jon - $38.99

Quatrefoil Bubble - $38.99

via Smocked Auctions 

{five} 

Looking for a fun beach read? 

Dorothea Benton Frank has a couple fun new books out, including this gem, All the Single Ladies.

 via Amazon - $15.14

Hope everyone has a fabulous Friday! 

I am off to enjoy my last day of maternity leave with this cutie pie. 

Christening Invitations

In just over a month, our sweet girl will be baptized into the Catholic Church, just like her daddy and I were when we were babies. We will have a Saturday christening and a lunch at Mulberry Hill following the ceremony, so I wanted to have a special invitation to send to our family members and close friends who will be celebrating the day with us. I also love any excuse for pretty paper! 

I know it's fall, but I just love the look of fresh flowers and a cross. It's bright and happy and a symbol of so much love ahead. I narrowed it down to four of my favorites, all from Etsy.

via Happy Days Creation | $8.50 digital

via Card Mint | $15.00 digital

via Kate Chambers Designs | Printed - $53.00 for 30

via BSNPartyArt | $11.36 digital

I'm looking forward to sharing this special day with all our family and friends {especially her godparents we have chosen} ....and holding some pretty paper in my hand that commemorates the day. What's your favorite?

New Car and Weekending

We had a wonderful weekend here in VA - complete with car shopping and a new ride! After lots of online research we decided that Carmax would be the way to go for us. After calling around to the four Virginia locations, we found our car and made the hour trip north to check it out. They were so nice, helpful and not pushy at all. I appreciated that so much! Here is a sneak peak at our new ride...

Ford Explorer

But first on friday, we a weight check-up for little bit - and she passed with flying colors - 11lbs, 7ozs and 24 inches long. Grow baby, grow!

We spent the late afternoon at Afton Mountain Vineyards and Star Hill Brewery with the Hollomon's. Our vineyard time was short-lived {who closes at 6 on Friday?}, so we headed to Star Hill and enjoyed a few cold brews, while the girls had dinner.

We spent the evening with M&M and enjoyed a beautiful long family walk in Crozet on Saturday morning before heading back to Lex. Saturday evening the fun continued and we met our fellow baby fam's at DBB for more brews and enjoyed a casual evening out at Salerno's.

Sunday we spent a lot of time just playing with our little miss...

...and enjoying a cocktail on the porch.

The Real Mojito

We also had a yummy Sunday Supper that I wanted to share.

Peppercorn Pork Tenderloin | Grilled Squash | Ranch Roasted Potatoes

Now, I'm soaking up my last week of maternity leave. Tear. How did it fly by so quickly?

So, on tap this week.

1. Get Annalee ready for nanny-care. Shop, pack bags, test out the Pack-n-play, etc.

2. Get baby book up to date.

3. Family Pics.

4. Dive into my closet to see what fits for work clothes!

... and most important. Soak up lots of time with my little girl.

Have a great week friends!

Friday Fun | Cars, Cookies and Wine

We are off to Charlottesville for the day to do a little car shopping, enjoy wis country, and play with the Hollomon's this evening. So excited for a fun summertime outing with our little fam!

I whipped up a batch of these last night to take with us.

via Ambitious Kitchen.

Anyone who knows the Hollomon's knows you will always be welcome with a sweet treat in hand. ;)

We are always looking to try a new vineyard, so I'm not sure where we will find ourselves today. But if you're a newbie to Virginia Vineyards, this "Must Visit List" is a good place to start.

King Family is one of our favorites!

...and last but not least, we are car shopping today. We have our eye on one of these pretty guys.

2015 Ford Explorer Limited

Cheers to a great weekend!

Annalee Estelle | Birth Announcement

Today I wanted to share our beautiful birth announcements from September FARM. We wanted to do something fun and sweet, and I thought this layout was the perfect mix. Karli was amazing to work with and her turnaround was so quick! 

Pictures by A Rooster's Song.

Design by September FARM.

Printing by Zazzle.

We love you baby girl and are so happy to introduce you to all our family and friends! 

"The best times are found when family and friends gather round" 

- unknown

Getting Ready for Nanny Care

A happy hello from Miss Annalee on this rainy Monday!

We start nanny care in less than 2 weeks {tear - I know}, which means it's time to stock up on a few new items for Miss Annalee! I am not looking forward to heading back to the grind, but we have found a wonderful lady to keep Miss Annalee and I feel good knowing that she will be in good hands. I did however, just start thinking about everything I need to be able to send her off for a day - more diapers, bottles {and milk}, wipes, clothes, toys, the list goes on... so today I wanted to share a few items that are going to make the transition a little easier. 

Tote

My favorite kids tote comes from Baggu. My good friend Sydo uses it for her diaper bag and day care bag and she loves it. It's a year and a half in and holding up great! So, I ordered Miss Annalee the Duck Bag in Poppy, and am going to add a white monogram. I also love the sailor stripe that Sydo has for Collin. 

$26 at Baggu

Labeling

I ordered Miss Annalee some Inchbug labels for her bottles. I've given them for gifts a couple times and everyone says they hold up great.

$12.95 for a set of 4

The Lollipop Label Shop also carries cute labels for snacks, toys, sippy cups, etc.

StickEmUpLabels has a great selection of labels for kids too. I love these custom book labels. 

Feeding

The most important thing - MILK! So we have to keep it chilled in the Medela Cooler Bag. 

$22.99 at Target

I also ordered an extra set of Dr. Brown's feeding bottles for our nanny to have. The Dr. Brown's seem to work best for Miss Annalee - she can't suck them down as quick and they don't give her any bubbles. A win-win for me!

$12.38 at Amazon

Baby Gear

Since we will be taking Annalee to our nanny's house, we will need to provide a pack 'n play for her to nap. We love the Graco Pack 'n Playard in Pasadena. It's a great playard for the right price!

$59.99 at Target

Two weeks to go. What else have you found helpful for your Nanny to have handy? Please do share!

5 Years | Bling Bling

5 years ago today ... I said YES to this handsome fella!

Circa 2010. Camp Hanover. Where we met in 2007.

Celebratory dinner at Bookbinders in Richmond, Va.

Our welcome home crew at Moore Street {please note the decor in 2010}.

Ring Pop cupcakes at work the next day, Thanks Hopper!

Thank you for a wonderful 5 years Jesse! Looking forward to many, many more. I love you!