What's Up Wednesday

 I'm joining Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer for their What's Up Wednesday link-up!

1. What we're eating this week...
We are semi settled into our new house, but only have a grill and paper plates until the moving truck gets here! So.. the options are minimal around here. 
Saturday night: Amanda and I baked pizza for the boys
Sunday night: Mom, Chip, AJ & I used his new grill for the first time and had burgers and corn (on our card table and folding chairs, ha!)

Monday night: Alix brought over steak, potatoes, and asparagus to grill
Tuesday night: We tried one of the (many!!) super cute downtown Woodstock restaurants, Freight Kitchen - cheers to our first dinner as a family in Woodstock! 

Then the rest of the week I will be throwing together whatever I can for me and Maddie.. most likely some frozen chicken nuggets and ham sandwiches around here! Come back home soon Daddy!!


2. What I'm reminiscing about...
Our last day in California! Jenny and I both cried on Maddie's last day of daycare. This lady was such a special part of our lives and we will be forever thankful for the love she gave our girl.

AJ hit the road as soon as the moving truck finished packing our things and we stayed at a hotel before our flight Friday morning. My bestest California friend Kelsey came over for one last goodbye. This girl. I can't even talk about how much I'm going to miss her. So incredibly thankful to have found a forever friend on the west coast.

 3. What I'm loving... 

Our new house!! Man oh man it is so nice to have so much space!! Maddie and Molly are both loving being outside all.the.time. Living in California for four years really made me thankful for the little things.. Forever grateful for what that time in our lives taught me. 

4. What we've been up to...

Unpacking, buying, and welcoming Daddy home! AJ spent 4 days driving across the country with our car and Molly. We were so excited when he got home Sunday afternoon!! 

5. What I'm dreading... 

Unpacking all our things!! So our bed was delivered Saturday.. couch comes today.. washer/dryer comes next Saturday. But we really have no clue when all our stuff from California will be here. It could come any time in the next week! I am so anxious to get it, but dreading it all at the same time! 

6. What I'm working on...
Trying my best to keep this girl on schedule and feeling comfortable in a new environment. She is so go with the flow, that it hasn't been hard at all! She had the BEST first day of school and adapted to her new environment of eating family style and sleeping on a cot just fine! I am so proud of her! And she is making sure her babies are comfortable too! Look at this little Mama tucking Chloe in night night into the kitchen mat! haha

7. What I'm excited about...
Decorating!! All of our old bedroom stuff is going in the guest bedroom, so I really got to start from scratch with our room. The rest of our house is going to be farmhouse chic, so I was excited to make the master more spa/modern. (Totally making up these descriptions.. just go with it, ha!) This is the only place in the house that is even remotely close to being done and I am LOVING it!! 

8. What I'm watching/reading...
I don't really have time to watch or read anything these days.. Just unpacking/cleaning/decorating like crazy. My DVR is getting backed up with the Bachelorette, Southern Charm, and Teen Mom. What a mix! 

9. What I'm listening to...
The birds chirping and the rain falling! I know I'm a broken record over here, but y'all.. it is so good to be back in the South.

10. What I'm wearing...
Whatever I can find! I packed several suitcases full of stuff, but my iron is in a box on the truck!! So I am just trying to throw together whatever outfits I can for work..

11. What I'm doing this weekend...
AJ had to go back to Cali today for a week of teaching a class. So it's just me and this girl holding down the fort. Fingers crossed our stuff gets here so I can start unpacking! 

12. What I'm looking forward to next month... 
Enjoying our new house and yard!! Getting settled in.. Honey is coming to visit.. then it's Father's Day weekend (first time hosting people in our new house!!).. then we end the month with a Jones' family lake trip! IT IS SO GOOD TO BE HOME.

XOXO,

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Restoring Grace

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Life lately.. Mother's Day Weekend

Last Friday night we did our weekly tradition of eating at Pitfire Pizza. They know our names, our order, they bring Molly water and Maddie play dough. We are going to miss that place, the people, and the REALLY good pizza so much!! 

(Also, her BIG cheesy grin. I die.)

I got home and found my Mother's Day gift to myself had come in the mail! Baublebar at Target is soooo good, and sooo cheap. I got all this really good quality jewelry for only $30! 

After a fun evening, I found Maddie passed out in her bed with her HUGE bear! She is so good about sleep and I am so thankful. Most nights she will just say "night night" and run to her room.

Saturday morning we hit up Chick Fil A for breakfast and bought just a few groceries to get us by until we move. Trying to be creative with our meals and clear everything out of the pantry and freezer.

AJ took Maddie to the park while Molly and I went on a hike with Kelsey! 

We did a hike up in the Palisades called Temescal Gateway Park.

Gorgeous cacti were everywhere! 

And that view from the top! This picture doesn't do it justice, AT ALL. You could see beaches for miles.

We grabbed some food and drinks afterwards and Molly was (thankfully) so tired! 

I headed home for a shower and a LOT of snuggles with my girl to end a pretty great Saturday.

Sunday morning AJ made me breakfast and kept the mimosas coming.

And Maddie was enjoying the whole Mother's Day deal as well, ha! 

Flowers and wine for Mother's Day :) 

And AJ and Maddie got me this gorgeous Kendra Scott necklace! 

When AJ asked me what I wanted to do that day, I said look at house stuff and have a nice lunch. So we window shopped and had lunch at Nordstrom.

And then.. Maddie threw up in Pier 1. She had a 101 fever, so we promptly got her home for a bath and early jammies. It wouldn't be a proper Mother's Day without a little vomit, right??? 

Monday morning she was back to her normal, sassy self. No clue what that sickness was all about, but thankful it didn't stick around long..

Lastly.. this picture is from last night. WHO IS THIS BIG KID!? She loves to color so much and looks so stinkin grown up doing so. Slow down kiddo! Mama can't take it.

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Friday Favorites

Holy cow I have not done a Friday Favorites in MONTHS. Life is a whirlwind when you are traveling like crazy, planning a 2000 mile move across the country, changing jobs and you know all the other every day things of being a wife and mom. So anywho.. I am linking up with Andrea, Erika and Narci and sharing some of my favorite things from the week.

First up and my absolute FAVORITE is that we have a house!! It is so so soooo nice to finally have that done and to be able to start figuring out how to fill it up. It's quite the feat to go from 900 sq feet to 2200 sq ft, but I will get it done slowly but surely. We are just renting for a year before buying, so not really worried about getting it perfect.

Next up is my FAVORITE afternoon activity.. podcasts. My commute most days is over an hour, so I pass the time by listening to podcasts. This week I have been listening to S Town and it is... interesting. 

Soaking up our last few weeks in California has been my FAVORITE. Last Sunday morning we headed down to the beach to walk around and play at the playground. 

This tiny girl will forever and always be my FAVORITE.

Stripes are my FAVORITE thing to wear and consequently I put Maddie in them pretty frequently too. Love, love, love twinning with my girl! And I sure hopes she always looks at me like that. Make my heart melt girlfriend!! 

Side note, because I have to leave the house at 6:30 every morning, I have been trying to not shower in the mornings as often. In this picture, my hair is totally dirty saved the grace of dry shampoo. I got THIS dry shampoo in a birch box and it is my FAVORITE. But man oh man it hurts my wallet...

So Kelsey suggested I try THIS one. I don't love it as much, but for a fourth of the cost.. I'll take it. And bonus.. it smells so good!!

Getting out of my mom uniform last week and hanging out with my girlfriends was my FAVORITE. Obsessed with this cute little outfit.. you can find the links below..

TOP | JEANS | SHOES

Speaking of girls' nights. My nightly ritual after Maddie goes to bed is a glass of red wine, a piece of dark chocolate, and a face mask. I have tried several, and these are my FAVORITE. And conveniently the cheapest ones I have tried too! You can buy them HERE.

I was so reluctant to give up SnapChat for Insta Stories, but it's my FAVORITE. Big life changes over here, ha!! I mean just looook how cute. 

Another phone feature that's my FAVORITE.. the portrait feature on the iPhone 7. My sweet Molly Polly doesn't get enough love on the blog these days. But look at the pup model!! 

Bla as you can see it's "May Grey" over here in Cali, so I am trying my best to have some color. My FAVORITE new product I've been using are these tans towels. They tan really evenly (if you haven't had too many glasses of wine, oops) and give a really natural look (read: NOT orange). You can buy them HERE.

That's all for today! I hope you guys have a wonderful Mother's Day Weekend. Bummed to not be with my mom for the third year in a row, but SO looking forward to some sweet time with the girl that made me Mama. And not to mention, AJ does Mother's Day SO WELL. So dang lucky to be doing this parenting thing with him!!

xoxo, 

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Impromptu Georgia Trip

So about a week and a half into my new job, my boss asked if I would come to Atlanta the next week while our UK headquarters team was there. It was super last minute, but we both agreed it would be great exposure and no clue when they would be back. So on Thursday I went to book my flight for Saturday and realized I had a buddy companion ticket, so I decided to bring Maddie with me! 

Amanda picked us up from the airport super late Saturday night and Sunday morning we had a yummy continental breakfast and headed out furniture shopping. Mom met up with us for lunch and more shopping and this girl was OUT! 

We had put in an application on a house the previous Wednesday, so we got to take a look at it! Totally wasn't expecting to see a house before we actually moved in! We found a couch and some great decorative things and Amanda headed back home with all my loot to store in her attic until we move! 

Mom, Maddie and I grabbed dinner at the Taco Mac by our hotel and they stayed with me Sunday night. Early the next morning Mom took Maddie back to Sandersville to spend a couple days with my grandparents. 

Maddie Jane got in a couple Dairy Lane trips with Beck Beck! 

And some fun times with Sweet Aunt Linda!

And her favorite HOT DOGS.

A little Mexican with Uncle Andy and Tyler.. 

Snuggles with Gigi..

And tons of playing in Grandma Audrey's cabinets! 

My great uncle passed away, so Mom and Grandma had the funeral to attend. Fortunately Anna Kat and Sarah (the girls I babysat in high school!!) were available to keep Maddie Jane.

 Love that full circle moment and can't think of better people to keep my girl for the afternoon!! Thank you Kat and Lou! Love you so dang much.

Meanwhile back in Atlanta I was getting some girl time in and got a TON unexpectedly marked off my to do list. I had dinner with Jess and Henry one night! 

And this is a gross picture of me but whatev. I had an amazing dinner with Bev at Cooks and Soldiers. 

Followed by more much needed girl time and Jeni's. I can NOT believe I get this time with my girlfriends whenever I want in like two weeks!!!!

And then I had dinner with Kelley and can't believe I didn't take a stinkin picture. We had sushi at the cutest little spot in Marietta. 

And thennnn the next night I went washer/dryer shopping, and bed and mattress shopping. This trip was so incredibly well timed and I am so thankful to have so much stuff being delivered on the day we move in.

 Friday morning I checked out some daycares and confirmed where Maddie will be going once we move! And then I finally got to see my girl again! Mom, Maddie and I grabbed some lunch before we headed off to the airport. 

Thank goodness Mom got a pass to walk to the gate with us. Travelling with Maddie is getting harder and harder and I was so appreciative of the help. (Too bad she screamed bloody murder for several hours on the flight ahhh!) THANK THE LORD we only have to make this flight ONE MORE TIME!

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Restoring Grace

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