She's a Better Woman than Me!

I don't think this guest could have shared her post at a better time! I have the utmost respect for our country's military and their families! The sacrifice they make is a substantial one and for what?! My freedom, your freedom, our freedom. What they give up to protect our country is something I'm not sure I would ever have the courage to do and for that I can't thank them enough! They are brave, courageous, and selfless. They give up time with their families. Spouses are left to raise families a lone while they sit and wonder about the safety of their heart and soul! It's enough to bring me to tears just writing about it. While I dry my tears please enjoy Becca and her beautiful family and thank her for the sacrifice she and her hubby make for us! 

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Hi y'all!

My name is Becca. I blog over at Faith Love & Babies, my blog is about being an army wife, a new mama, random tidbits about my life and the things I love. I blog because it's a creative outlet and a definitive way to keep me on the path of becoming better. A better me. A better wife & mother. A better friend. Just an overall better person in general. I love to give advice and share things that I'm passionate about. I'm still fairly new to the blogging world but I absolutely love it and enjoy meeting other bloggers!

I'm 21 and became an army wife when I married my high school sweetheart, KC. We got married in September of 2012 and a few months earlier, we became parents to a precious little boy, named Wyatt. We also have two fur-kids; Cinnamon and Lucy.  

Meet KC, he's a solider in The United States Army, my very own personal mechanic, my best friend and just such a good man. He will make you laugh, I promise you that. He's goofy, quirky and has such a kind heart.

KC & I at our wedding.
Mr. & Mrs. Moss

Meet Wyatt, as of today he's ten months old and he's the happiest baby I've ever met. He's literally always happy, unless he's hungry or fighting sleep, because then he's a bear. Being a mommy is the best gift and the most rewarding thing I've ever experienced. You can see how much he has grown from the first six months he's been here in this post right here

Meet the girls; Cinnamon & Lucy. Back in 2010 KC & I rescued Cinnamon as a puppy, we believe she is a Lab/Beagle Mix. She's got a long body and short little legs. And as for Lucy or as we like to call her, Moose, she was in a litter of puppy's my brother-in-law's dog had, we got her in 2011. Moose is a Bull Mastiff/Boxer Mix. She does not like the snow but she loves to cuddle. 

As for me, I'm a simple girl. I love the color yellow, happiness and anything pumpkin. Colorful paper clips at work, the occasional margarita and of course some football (who-dey!). I have a positive outlook on life, I believe that there is always something to be thankful for, I truly believe that "Faith Conquers Fear", that everything happens for a reason and that all things are possible. 

Come on by Faith Love & Babies and say hi, I'd love to meet y'all!

Want to know some more facts about me? 

You can read a post dedicated entirely to facts & quirks about little ole me right here!

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How adorable is she and her precious family?! I love that we share a great abundance of love for furrbabies, pumpkin anything, and football! Not to mention, colored paperclips kind of rock my world too! Please be sure to head on over to her neck of the woods and say hello!!! She has a lot to say and share!!! 

XOXO, 

Another Photo Dump For Ya!

I know I said What I'm Loving Wednesday would be back this week but in the light of recent events I'm just not super thrilled about much this week! Emotions are at an all time high and I'm honestly speechless with the events happening in our nation and world. The only place I've been able to find comfort or understanding is in the arms of my hubby with Baby Reef in my lap. It's a place I never want to leave.

Since I don't have much to share, for today I'll post photos from our Easter lunch at my mom's house! My mom did a fantastic job as usually with her tablescapes, food, and our annual Easter egg hunt {that I did not take photo's off because I was too busy participating in it}! Enjoy!

The Drink Station! Love a good ole Mason Jar! Country Living! 

Tablescape with Carrot treats! 

My mommy and Cousin Mason have bunny ears! 

This was our first furchild together! His name is O'Neil and he is the size of a baby lion! He now lives at GiGi's (my mom) house where he can roam the woods and fields and hunt like the lion he is! 

My Momma, My Nanna, and Me! 

The hubby playing on Mason's scooter! Never gives up the chance at being a kid! 

Mom and her baby TinkerBelle have the same hair style and coloring! 

My everything!

Baby Sister was able to come after work!!! Can't believe she graduates from high school in 2 months! 

Hope everyone has a splendid day! XoXo,

Weekend Recap!

Helllllooooo my darlings!!! I trust all of you had a splendid weekend?! For those who commented on Friday's post about my dog bite, I promise, promise, promise I will respond soon and I am not ignoring y'all!!! Life is getting busy with the increasing warm temperatures and home improvement tasks and I can honestly say I did not check my e-mail once this weekend! I did instagram per the usual so here's a recap of our weekend through my IG photos!

Friday evening was our typical relaxing evening in! When I got home I headed to the gym to get in a hard workout! I clocked a one mile run on the treadmill, one mile on the elliptical, and three miles on the bike! I then came home and made Poppyseed Chicken {minus the poppyseeds because we were out of them} while the hubs spent the evening doing an online driving improvement course {Can we say too many speeding tickets?!}. After dinner, Baby Reef crashed, the hubby studied and then studied some more, and I got started on painting some wine glasses! It's funny how Friday nights are so different than they were several years ago! I certainly wouldn't trade them now for anything.

Our Friday Night! 

Saturday, the hubby woke up early to cover some more driving improvement lessons. While he studied, I went for a refreshing one mile run. Early afternoon consisted of going to watch the hubby coach a baseball game! Sadly I didn't take any photos! I took Baby Reef and while he was on his best behavior and I was so proud of him for being calm, keeping my full attention on him made it hard to whip out the camera and take photos of the game! 

The hubby and I decided after the game that we would treat ourselves to dinner out which we hadn't done since February {due to lots of family get togethers}. We had a gift card to a somewhat new restaurant in my hometown, Suffolk, named Harper's Table! It was a super cute place and the food was amazing!!! We started with Pork Belly Biscuits and shared a Fuji Apple Salad. For our entrees Todd had the Sea Scallops with roasted cauliflower, thompson raisin puree, pecans and brown butter and I had the Chesapeake Bay Flounder with fennel, new potatoes, peas and a chorizo vinaigrette and we shared a side of hand cut fries & bacon mayonnaise! For dessert we had a homemade donut with a maple glaze and buttermilk ice cream and corn pudding! It sounds like A LOT of food but they are smaller portions which I love {not tapas small but the correct portion small}! This restaurant reminded me of the restaurants we ate at while in Charleston, SC last summer! I loved everything about it and the fact that I felt as though I was on a mini vacation but I was only thirty minutes from my home! After dinner we came home and crashed from a legit food coma! 

Beautiful Morning sky during my Saturday morning run! 

When renovating and creating Harper's Table, they found this original painted ad that was covered up by a border wall! 

Yesterday, we slept in a bit later than I would have liked, however I know I needed the extra sleep! One thing I love about my hubby is that he is a master breakfast chef! He can whip up any breakfast related dish and it's always fantastic! He treated me to fluffy chocolate chip pancakes and bacon! The pancakes were to die for! Seriously, I'm not sure if it's because I haven't had any in some time, but holy moly they were amaze balls!

This is the hubby's plate as I devoured my pancakes before even thinking about snapping a photo! 

After our late breakfast, the hubby headed to take his driver improvement test! This allowed me to start working on things around the house: laundry, dusting, straightening up, creating the grocery list and starting the removal of the wallpaper border in our kitchen! Once the hubby came back home {with a A on his test} he gave our yard some close attention with some good ole dandy yard work!

Starting to remove the '80s wallpaper border!

Later in the evening, I headed to good ole Harris Teeter to do some grocery shopping and was so excited to pick up some pretty tulips to brighten the coffee table as well as some scrumptious fresh fruit! Strawberries and Watermelon scream warm weather and I love that I can add them to my breakfast routine now!

Watermelon, Strawberries, and Tulips! Gloriousness!

After putting the groceries away we decided to head out for a nice evening walk with Baby Reef! We don't walk him often because in the past he would pull and drag me along {even with the gentle leader} but after seeing how well behaved he was Saturday at the ball game we figured maybe he has matured a bit! To our surprise he most definitely has matured! The walk was great {and over a mile long} and I loved being able to do it as a family! Maybe I will be able to take Baby Reef on my runs here sooner than later! 

What did y'all get into this weekend? It was beautiful here in my area and I'm beyond thankful for it! The house is still a work in progress but I feel accomplished on what we did do this weekend! Here's to more fantabulous weekends! Cheers! XoXo!  

A Bit Distraught!

Bare It All Friday is on hold for today as I am suffering some minor emotional issues! Okay so I'm joking, kind of! If you are a Facebook friend of my personal page or you follow me on Instagram, well than you may know why I'm horrifically scared for life now. If you don't follow me on either, allow me to explain.

Please understand that I am a HUGE dog lover! I am not biased towards dogs, except for my own, but seriously, I love ALL dogs! Teacups and Minis to Huge and Heavy! ALLL dogs! I have never had a bad experience with a pooch. I'm not a fan of barkers and yappers buuut I've never encountered an actual mean vicious pup.... until last night!

I decided that I would take a nice run yesterday evening and forgo the gym since the weather was so nice and I knew today would be rainy. I got my gear on, put my head phones in, start my Nike Running app and got to stepping! Mind you I don't run in my neighborhood. Since we live in a townhouse development it takes close to 3 laps to complete a mile. I HATE running past the same things more than once, so I've been running in the neighborhood behind my own. Lots of streets and different directions to go but they all lead back to the same place. Needless to say I've enjoyed running it A LOT!

I have to cross an elementary school football field and some baseball fields on the way to the neighborhood! Tons of kids and parents out playing on the swing sets, basketball court, and even some baseball games going on at the fields. Once I got to the neighborhood I noticed lots of folks doing yard work, loads of children bike riding, folks walking, I even saw another runner! It was a typical suburban neighborhood on a gorgeous Spring evening! Side Note: I love seeing kids out riding bikes and playing considering it seems so many of them are stuck indoors playing video games on their own iPads!

I decided early on I was only going to run one mile for the evening and at my half way point things took a turn for the worst. I was running, minding my own business, jamming out to Matt & Kim when I noticed up a head a young kid on a bike.... being chased and barked at by a small yippy dog! The kid looked a bit scared, threw his baseball cap at the dog and called out to his dad who was walking up ahead of him. The dog ran off into a yard. I ran by during all of this still minding my own business! All of a sudden I see this little black furry thing dart at me from the corner of my eye. I don't balk at dogs and figured with his size he was harmless and if I just kept running he'd leave me be. Oh how I was wrong. I couldn't hear his yapping as I still had my headphones blaring, but I did see him circle me {and almost trip me} and then I felt it, a sting on my ankle. I thought he was jumping on my leg as I ran and scratched me, so I just kept running. Then I felt it again, a longer drawn out sting, and it hit me, THIS DOG JUST BIT ME! I dropped an f-bomb and stopped to look at it. Blood. Really?! This little pipsqueak dog just bit me and drew blood! I looked up to see a grown man standing in the yard looking at me with this dumbest expression I had ever seen. Seriously it was a "duh da duh" face. Not even trying to retrieve the dog, he proceeds to yell at me "Are you Okay?" in the most unsympathetic way. I responded with "I assume so, hope he's up to date on his shots"! His answer "Oh yea, he is" to which I replied "You better be glad I like dogs"! I continued running and about 30 seconds into it, I started to cry! Not from pain but from utter disbelief! I have NEVER been bitten by a dog or felt threatened by one and here this little 10 pound rat just bit me for no good reason! I cried as I ran and then I cried when I hit my mile mark and began my walk back home!

I really had no idea what to do. After posting about it on Facebook and Twitter people were telling me to report it, but I felt it was silly. The dog was tiny and I felt like I was being a baby about the whole incident, but then I kept thinking about that boy on the bike the dog was chasing after. What if he had been walking?! The dog most certainly would have bit him! I headed to my neighbors house to see what she thought. She suggested just going back to the house and asking to review the dog's rabies records! She then proceeded to clean up my wound and her youngest son, who I like to refer to as my boyfriend, bandaged me up with a little bandaid! Best neighbor award goes to them, no doubt!

After getting my neighbor's advice Todd and I went to the house where this dog lives! I kindly but sternly asked to see the dogs rabies information. From there I learned that the man, who I assumed was the owner,  is not the owner! The man and his wife are staying at the home and caring for his wife's parents who are elderly. The dog apparently belongs to his brother in law who was conveniently not there. The wife went inside to ask her elderly mother where the paper work was, but her parents were apparently asleep. She did say several times that she knows the dog is up-to-date on his shots but that she just doesn't know where her mother keeps the paperwork. She then offered to have the information for me sometime today. I reaffirmed that I would be back later today for the information and that I needed to see it for my own well being! I took down their name, address, and phone number to call later today. After I took their information the husband then chimed in that the dog likes to escape from the house and backyard and that this isn't the first incident this week! Yes, the dog has bit other folks this week!! I don't want to be the reason someone has their dog taken away, but jeeze! To know I'm not the only one he has attacked this week and they aren't watching him more carefully, pisses me off!

By the time it was all said and done I felt it was too late to call the police about it, however, if these people can't supply the shot records to me today, I will be filing a report. Thank goodness I know to take photos and such, as I did after it happened and once it was cleaned up! Regardless of the size of the dog I'm still in shock over it! Part of me really thinks I am "over reacting" that it's just a small peasize dog who has Napoleon syndrome  and whose bite marks look and feel like scratches. The other part of me is like "holy crap I just got attacked by a dog! A freaking dog bit me, while I was running". I think because of this incident I am going to be really apprehensive around dogs for some time. Not around Baby Reef of course, but definitely around strange dogs I don't know. And I won't lie, if he comes at me again while I'm running, I may possibly punt him down the street! I love animals and don't condone cruel behavior towards them but mean dogs like that need a lesson and some home training.

I will of course keep you updated on the outcome of this situation. Meanwhile, check out the mark that little punk left!

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend! XoXo!

Baby Reef Had a Photo-shoot!

What I Love Wednesday will be back next week! In the meantime, check out this precious pup child of mine! This little man has my heart! Side Note: Don't judge my photography skills! I've never claimed to be good with a camera though it doesn't help that this guy couldn't be still for longer than 3 seconds!

Baby Reef and I both hope y'all are having a stellar week so far!!! XoXo!

Weekend Recap!

Here we are, staring Monday straight in the face, again! Have you noticed how we all seem to live for the weekends?! Counting down the days starting on Monday, complaining how the week is so long and then moaning and groaning about the weekend flying by?! It's sad that we seem to live our lives for the weekend! Buuut why wouldn't we?! It's two days that we have off to jam in all kinds of "to-dos" "must-dos" and fun stuff! I want to try harder at not wishing my weeks away just to get to my weekend! Wishing it away is wishing time away and quite frankly I would like it to slow down just a bit! It's already the mid to latter part of March! Didn't we just celebrate New Years?! Anywho, enough of the serious philosophical thoughts... what kind of St. Paddy's Day shenanigans did y'all get into this weekend? Me?! Buying Bailey's Irish Cream flavored Irish colored French Macarons were about as crazy as I got for St. Paddy's Day!

Friday evenings for us, are usually relaxing nights in! We eat dinner at home, sip wine {for me} and beer {for the hubs} and chill out from our hectic weeks with the pup in front of the TV! This Friday was no exception, though I did grow a wild hair up my rear and decided it was time to tackle the daunting task of cleaning off our office desk. I kid you not, when I say, that there were bills {that have been paid, just needed to be filed} piled up on the desk since before Christmas! Ugh please don't judge! I've been procrastinating on buying a file cabinet and instead of putting everything in their designated folders, I've been piling it up on the desk! Well, I decided to pull out the folders and file it all away. While doing so, Baby Reef decided it would be a grand idea to nap... right in the middle of all my files. He even was brazen enough to move some folders and papers out of his way so he could make room for his napping spot! Silly Silly boy!

Baby Reef in the midst of all my organizing and filing! 

Saturday we slept in which was glorious since we had a morning rain shower come through and it was incredibly grey out. When we woke up, the sun was trying to peak through and the hubby headed off to baseball practice! Meanwhile I decided to accomplish a few things outside of the house since it was turning into a beautiful day! I packed up the car with stuff that has been taking over our dining room to donate to Goodwill and I grabbed my Tory Burch's and a pair of hard worn heels to take to the cobbler for some sprucing up and repairs. Mind you, I've never been to this cobbler, or any cobbler for that matter, and I wasn't sure if they would be able to fix the heels or my TB's. When I walked in the man at the counter stared at me intently, making me feel really uncomfortable. I explained to him that I had never been to a cobbler before and I wasn't sure if my shoes were fixable. He didn't say anything, just kept staring. At this point, even with how uncomfortable I was feeling, I felt I couldn't just turn around and leave. I pulled the heels out first and he paused and looked at them and said they weren't fixable; fine I'll just buy another pair. I then pulled out my TB's and explained that they were very special to me, and I just really needed them spruced up if that was possible. Meanwhile he is STILL staring and looking at me as if I am ET, himself. He took the shoe and said "I can polish them". At that point I was so eager to get out of there, I said OKAY, gave him needed information, took my ticket and ran! Once I got in the car all I kept thinking was I hope he doesn't hold my shoes hostage or something... I should've never left them with this dude! I mean he was just creepy. Thank goodness Baby Reef was tagging along in the car to help with my anxiety attack I was having! I will give the guy some credit! They did a nice job polishing them and they look very much to being almost brand new!!! I plan on taking them to another cobbler the next time they need some attention as to avoid the creepy guy, though. I'd rather not deal with the unsettling feeling again!

Once I dropped my shoes off, I headed to the grocery store to pick up some bread for the appetizer I was making for my best friend, Tatiana's birthday celebration later that night! Then with the windows down, music up, and a doggy hanging out the window, we headed to Goodwill! We dropped off quite a few things and I was immediately relieved to see it go! It was causing too much clutter in the house and needed to go months ago! I'm still purging and organizing so this will not be the last trip but knowing this batch is gone helps relieve some of the purging stress I have right now!

After dropping off the donations, Baby Reef and I headed into Old Towne Portsmouth to visit a local bakery, Artisans Bakery! I had inquired on their Facebook page last week if they sold French Macarons and they informed me that they would have St. Paddy's Day themed ones this weekend! They then commented to me Friday saying they were available for purchase during the weekend! I'd never been there before so I was really excited! Seriously.... cutest place ever! It's a full service bakery/cafe in a historically built home! Absolutely adorable and I can't wait to go back and grab lunch sometime, coffee, and more macaroons! I bought a dozen of them to take to the birthday party later that night! They were green, orange, and cream colored and Irish Bailey's flavored! Annnd they were tasty to boot!

Bailey's Irish Cream Flavored St. Paddy's Day inspired French Macarons! 

When we left there with the goodies we headed to Starbucks so I could use my gift card towards a Chai Tea Latte {my favorite!}. Once Baby Reef said his hello's to the Drive Thru girls we headed to an older neighborhood in the area to check out homes for sale! I love love love the Old Towne area with it's historic 18th century homes and gorgeous architectural buildings! I would love nothing more than to buy a home {renovated or we renovate ourselves} from the early 1900's! They have such character and charm and contain so much history! It's just difficult to find these houses in safer areas and in good school districts. Nonetheless it was really nice to just cruise with the pup and look at the beautiful homes!

Later, once we were all spiffy and ready to go, the hubby and I headed out to Tat and Kevin's house! Tat decided she wanted to have a "wine/cheese tasting" birthday celebration and she did not disappoint with the spread! Lots and lots of artisan cheeses, salami, nuts, olives, fruit, french breads, and even dark chocolate and of course more than a few of yummy wines for us to try! After all the girls caught up with their girl talk in the kitchen, we joined the the guys for a game of LCR. If you don't know what that is, check this out! I had NEVER heard of it but -oh my lanta- how fun! I'm not much of a gambler so it's not something I think would play ALL the time but it was definitely a good way to add some innocent fun to a party!

The Birthday Girl!

The amazing spread! 

Some of the delicious wine!

Tat and Kevin's sweet puppies Bosley and Kenya! They just so happen to be brothers and are the sweetest little souls! 

LCR

Tat and I have an appreciation for some of the finer things in life and we share an obsession for Louis Vuitton and Christian Louboutins! We also share an unhealthy obsession with Paris too! Neither of us have a pair of Louby's but we often chat about buying our first pair one day! Because we share this love, I haaaaad to buy her this wine bottle holder {this isn't the exact one but very similar}! She loved it and I told her that was the closest I could get to giving her the real deal!! I hope when we both can buy our first pair, it's an experience we can have together! And yes, it is that serious when it comes to Louby's and LV!

I had to but the polka dot gift wrap paper! 

Yesterday we did absolutely nothing! And when I say nothing, I really mean nothing! The weather was grey and damp all day which made if difficult to get motivated! I did manage to watch Why Did I Get Married? and Why Did I Get Married, Too? on TBS! I have to give Tyler Perry credit... he makes some movies that really pull at your heart strings! I haven't seen all of his work, but the ones that I have seen always move me, usually to tears, but they do make me laugh too! I did give myself my weekly manicure as well, but other than that and watching the movies, we literally did nothing!

My manicure - Essie Pink Lemonade 

How was all of your weekends?!?! It felt good to be somewhat productive on Saturday! The winter weather has a way of making me want to stay in bed under the covers so it was great to get out in the warm sunshine and accomplish some things! Hope everyone is having a stellar Monday so far! XoXo!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm currently in the process of brainstorming a new regular post for Wednesdays! As much as I enjoy, "What I'm Loving Wednesday" I want to create something more my own. Something that could possibly turn into a link up and something a bit more substantial. Until I can come up with the perfect theme for my future Wednesdays, here is what I am LOVING this week! What are y'all loving??!

1. I am, hands down, totally in love with this Subaru commercial! If the hubby and I have a little girl when the time comes for us to extend our family, I know he is going to be this kind of daddy! He tries to be so manly and tough now, but throw a little girl in his life and she will have him wrapped around her little finger! This commercial makes me a tad bit eager to see my soul mate as a daddy! This commercial also makes me cry!



2. Last nights season finale episode of White Collar. HOLY CRAP! As always they leave you wanting more and now I have to wait until THE FALL for season 5! Really?!?! 6-7 months?!?! Oh well, looks as though GraceLand may become a great substitute this Summer! White Collar may be over for now, but that's what seasons on DVD are for, right?! And what's not to love about that?!

3. The YAAA! Black Tie Bowling event this past weekend! It was a pure blast!!! I learned that I am a HORRIBLE bowler, old ladies love my hubby, and we seriously have some pretty stellar friends!! The hubby and I can't thank the rest of our team enough for joining us in helping raise awareness for Alzheimer's! How cute were we all?! If you are at all interested in YAAA!, Please visit www.alz.org for more information on how to join and/or start a chapter in your area!

4. That I am reverting back to my twelve year old self and attending a slumber party this Friday night! My girlfriend, Whitney is hosting a little girl night at her home and I am super duper excited! This has been written in my schedule for over a month and I've been counting down the weeks and days! I need some girl time and this will be perfect! 

5. Winning Baby Reef a BarkBox!!! A friend sent me an email notifying me of a give away a blogger was hosting last week! Rebekah received two Bark Boxes {think Birchbox but for a dog} and decided she wanted to give one away! Baby Reef was chosen randomly which made this my first blogging contest win!! The BarkBox arrived yesterday and Baby Reef made out with some fantastic treats and a few new toys! I may just do a post on the whole box next week! 

Hope you all are surviving this week well! Unfortunately, due to uncontrollable circumstances, I'm a bit bogged down at work but the fun of this upcoming weekend is getting me through it! If you could, please say a small prayer for a dear friend and co worker of mine, I would greatly appreciate it! XoXo my Darlings! 

Weekend Recap!

Happy Monday, Darlings! I sincerely hope you all had a wonderful weekend! As I mentioned on Friday here, we didn't have any huge plans which was more than welcoming considering we have some jammed packed weekends coming up! It was nice to sleep in, lay around, and just soak in the laziness for a bit!

Friday evening we attended a beer tasting at Bon Vivant Market, a wine and beer shop, in nearby Smithfield {home of Gwaltney bacon}. Now, this was our first beer tasting and visit to this location. Bon Vivant also has a location in nearby Suffolk, which is closer but they weren't having any activities for the evening! As I had made a priority here, I've really wanted the hubby and I to have more adventurous-outside-of-the-box date nights and stray away from the typical dinner dates we are known to have! I thought the beer tasting would be a great first outside-of-the-box date, especially since the guest speaker was Kevin O'Connor from the local O'Connor Brewing Company, which the hubby's employer distributes and to which I just picked up a six pack of, for the hubby, at the beginning of last week! Coincidence? I think not!

Our beer glasses! 

The hubby was on board for the tasting so I made the final decision to attend. I was home by six {the wine tasting started at seven and the location was thirty minutes away}but of course I had to change clothes, touch up my makeup, and tend to the dog. We left the house at 6:30 and made it to Bon Vivant at 7:10 {ten minutes late} and from there I knew why they said arrive promptly at seven. The parking lot was full and this store looked smaller than my old 700 square foot apartment. We walked in to about 25 people staring at us in a area we could barely squeeze through! We were given our complimentary glasses and a pour and stood cramped and close as we listened to Kevin O'Connor explain his different beers, the types of hops used in each one, and how he immensely enjoys his beer craft. We also learned the story of how IPA got it's name! If you don't know definitely check it out here!! It's very interesting and being that Im not a huge beer drinker, I enjoyed learning something new! After some more tastings and Q&A, we picked out some beers to purchase and headed out! We ate dinner at a Thai/Asian Fusion restaurant close by and continued on home! Once home we headed to bed as the hubby had the sniffles and wasn't feeling well, not to mention he was exhausted from his work week! Waking up at 3 a.m. every morning, working till 1 p.m., and then coaching baseball the rest of the afternoon until 6 p.m. can wear a man out! To say I worry about him getting enough sleep is an understatement!

Saturday we spent much of the day catching up on sleep and relaxation! We woke up/ rolled out bed at... noon... yes, call us pathetic, but it was raining and we didn't have plans! What else was there to really do?! Once we were out of bed, we plopped our tushies down on the couch and recliner for more laziness! I did give myself my weekly manicure and the hubby ended up napping some more! After a few more hours of all that laziness we had to get ready for dinner with his family. The hubby's Uncle and Aunt had some slight renovations done on their home and wanted to show us as well as have the family all together for a nice meal and conversation. His Aunt made chicken curry which was heavenly and apparently his grandmother's recipe, which I am going to need to add to my recipe book and so we can continue to pass it down through the family! The wine was flowing, the conversation going, and the food spectacular! It really was an incredibly fun evening! While enjoying the fire after dinner, I noticed that Pippa, one of the house kitties was enjoying staring into the smoldering fire. I HAD to snap a photo of her just sitting there, so sweet and still, just staring!

Sweet kitty Pippa staring into the fire!  

I felt like taking a selfie! 

Yesterday, we slept in a bit and then enjoyed cinnamon rolls for breakfast. The hubby had baseball practice at noon so after he headed out I decided I would get myself together and venture out on an area rug hunt! I've been looking for an area rug for the office/library since I began redecorating and haven't had much luck! I knew I wanted a lighter colored rug to offset the dark browns of the furniture, the curtains, and the floors but I hadn't been able to find one within my budget or taste. At the recommendation of Todd's Uncle and Aunt at dinner the night before, I decided to check out Ollie's Bargain Outlet, which is on the same spectrum as Big Lots, but BIGGER! I had never been but, after they told me of their massive area rug selection, I decided I didn't have much to lose! I am beyond glad I went, because I found a rug! I actually found five and had to make a decision on just one! The best part?! It was under $100!!! I'm unsure if I am going to keep this one as I think a few of the others that I picked out would look better but regardless I now know where to go when I need an area rug or runner!

Please don't mind the quality of the majority of the photos as some are Iphone photos! And don't mind the mess of this room either! It's still in the works! 

Laying out the new rug! 

View from the front door. 

When I left to head out to Ollie's I noticed the owners of the town home next to us were cleaning it out and had a few pieces of furniture sitting by the side of the road. One piece was a really great looking antique hunter green upholstered chair and the other was a a light mintish green velvet tufted bench! I immediately fell in love with the bench but noticed it was stained in some areas and needed some tlc. So, I did what any blogger would do... I snapped a photo on Instagram and asked my followers if I should snag it up! I had fourteen YES comments and twenty-one "likes" and considering I couldn't get the bench out of my head as I was looking for the rug, I knew I had to have it! I came home praying it would still be there {you'd be surprised at how quickly things go when they are on the side of the road} and when I saw that it was, I quickly scooped it up and carried it into the house! After rolling out the rug and having my neighbor Catherine's opinion, I set the bench up as a coffee table and displayed a few books and other decorative pieces on it! I have to say I love it! I need to work on cleaning the stains but for now it doesn't look terribly bad!

Bench and Chair being trashed! 

Now it has a perfect place in our home!

Close up. 

Details

Top view

So honestly, what do you think of the new additions?! I'm digging the bench 100% but I'm still unsure on the rug. I have 30 days to return it so I may give it a week OR I may even go purchase the other two , bring them home, and see which one looks best! No harm in that right?!

Any of you do any home decorating or serious sleeping this weekend?! Enjoy your Monday! If you stayed up late watching the Oscars like myself, you're probably walking around half awake today!! I've got to give myself a legit bed time!! XoXo!