mid-week weekend recap

We had the perfect weekend. The weather was perfect and both Eric & I were off of work all weekend. (it is a rare occurrence for him to have a Saturday off) Truth be told, I probably enjoyed him being off more than he did. He likes his mid-week Wednesday off, it is his 'chill' time. We got to spend some time outside and both Eva and Emma enjoyed being outside and playing. Eric cleaned up this old car for Eva and we all had a turn at pushing her around in it. She loved it! Eric was even a champ and got the chainsaw out and took care of two small trees for me. One was blown over in a recent hurricane and the other was obstructing our view at the end of the driveway. best. husband.ever.

oh my goodness, that hand on the wheel!! 

Emma is such a sweet older cousin

Sadly, our weekend ended with a stomach virus. It hit the whole house-starting late Sunday (after we went to bed). Emma even ended up with it and spread it around her house. yikes! It was a rough couple of days but now our house is feeling better and I'm already counting down to this weekend.

xo-M

"Family is not an important thing, it's everything."- Michael J. Fox 

October.

October.

pumpkins. 

cider. 

crisp air.

mums.

haunted houses.

leaves. 

hoodies.

forget pumpkin spice, give me salted caramel mocha. 

Living in the south, the window for a true feeling of fall is limited. Early in the morning or late at night feels like fall while the rest of the day tends to get pretty warm. October did start off on a good note-the air felt AMAZING this morning when I opened the front door. For now I have the front door open and am loving being able to do so. On days like today I dream of having a large front porch with a rocking chair to sip my coffee while I watch Eva play in the yard. It is one of the goals that I hope to bring to fruition.  

last fall in Savannah. 27 weeks pregnant. 

I have high hopes for the fall- it is the first one with a daughter and I plan on making it magical. 

xo-M

"life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall"- F. Scott Fitzgerald

2.5 years later

The last time I sat down and wrote a blog post (aside from last week) was 2 1/2 years ago. wowzah! So many things have happened in those 2.5 years. We breezed through our first & second year of marriage, my best friend moved away (and got married), Eric & I moved back to Salem. 

& then the biggest and the best thing happened...

  meet miss Eva Alexandria.

we HAD to try her Halloween costume early. she is so.stinkin.cute.

The love and fulfillment that Eva brings to our life cannot be put into words. She just turned 8 months old. 8 MONTHS. How did that happen? She is the best thing we ever did.

I'm still finding the balance of baby + pre-baby lifestyle but more on that later.

xo-M

"though she be but little, she is fierce"- Shakespeare

The return.

Hello blog world, it is me. (again). I am going to attempt to blog again. It feels therapeutic and I feel like it is the right time in my life to give it a go again.

One of the reasons that I want to blog is because I always feel guarded about things that I share on Facebook. Like everyone else, my personal Facebook is filled with extended family, co-workers, and various acquaintances. (and of course my close friends). In a perfect world, I would just take the advice to delete people that I don't want 'to be friends with' and feel free to post whatever I want. But life is complicated and it isn't that easy...so I remain guarded.

 Blogging is an avenue for me to be able to fully and truly express myself. I control who I share this blog with. Yes, I know that this is the internet and anyone could find this if they looked hard enough- but what are the odds that an old co-worker that I haven't seen in two years or that distant cousin in Washington stumbling across my corner of the internet? (and if they do, kudos to you! and welcome to my blog!)

so here is to the adventures, the ups, the downs, and everything inbetween.

xo-Melly

"Be who you were created to be and you will set the world on fire." -St.Catherine of Siena

Bucket List

After we got married, Eric & I started a bucket list. We have a notebook that we write things in that we want to do and it is our dream to work on our bucket-list over the course of our marriage. We will be adding to the list as time goes by and crossing out what we have accomplished. 

As an adult you begin to realize that a new day is not promised to you and that in any given moment it can be taken away. Life is too precious and too short to not enjoy it. Our list contains dreams both big and small. Each year our goal is to cross off at least one thing on the list. As of right now, we are set up to cross off two things this year. The first will be going to see Ed Sheeran in concert this fall. The second is still a work in progress and I promise to share more on that later.

xo-M

"A successful life is one that is that is lived through understanding and pursuing one's own path, not chasing after the dreams of others."

-Chin-Ning Chu

Sunday Sounds.

Mary Jane's Last Dance- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Tom Petty makes my soul happy. This one makes it in my top 5 Tom Petty songs.I remember the days when I was young and naive-only thinking this was a sort of love song to a girl named Mary Jane. 

Wish You Were Here- Incubus

I went through a brief,obsessive phase with Incubus as a teenager. Brandon Boyd still gives me the feels. 

xo-M

"Music is the strongest form of  magic."

-Marilyn Manson 

Sam the Grad.

Happy graduation day Sam! 

Eric & I are happy to share the excitement of seeing you graduate and we are proud of you. You are talented, smart, and have a beautiful soul. We love you and know that you are going to rock at whatever you decide to do in the future. Always believe in yourself and know that you can do anything that you want to.

xo-E&M

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose."

-Dr.Seuss

Photo adventure

Earlier this week we drove out to the rail-yard (is that what it is called?) for a photo adventure. The setting itself was pretty magical but I wasn't really feeling it that day. I took a few pics but wasn't in the full mood for a photo adventure. I think the combination of feeling exhausted and the humid, summer heat that Georgia has to offer got the best of me. We also ventured out a tad too early and I was wearing blue jeans and got really hot and never was able to cool off. mood killer. I did enjoy walking around and taking in the scenery.

 [Eric is my favorite person to photograph]

 [my new favorite pic of E]

[Rosa rockin' the cutest little ponytail there ever was]

xo-M

"The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things."

-Henry Ward Beecher

TBT

This Thursday, I am throwing back to bangs & short black hair. I miss you bangs-maybe we will meet again one day.

xo-M

"Take care of all of your memories. For you cannot relive them."

-Bob Dylan 

life via S5 snapshots

xo-M

"Forever is composed of nows"

-Emily Dickinson