The Nursery Chronicles...The Inspiration

Ahhh...the real fun begins. We’re currently in the process of designing our nursery—obviously a big undertaking for such a small little wee one who will soon occupy the space {March is just around the corner after all}. Contrary to some, I am looking for a calming, relaxing atmosphere for Miss Caroline…no bright colors, no baby-ish themes, only simple and serene for our little peanut. So, I wanted to post some of my favorite nursery looks to show you a little more about how we’re “envisioning” the perfect baby room.

love the mostly white space with hints of pastel colors

 timeless and classic

such a calm and gorgeous space

 adorable chair with feminine accents all around

 my favorite inspiration picture

Progress has been made, as we checked off one huge component from our to-do list last week…we ordered Caroline’s nursery furniture and bedding! I had been anxiously awaiting Restoration Hardware Baby and Child’s Friends and Family Sale and when I got the email saying it was coming, Jeff knew it was time to hand over the money so I could get down to business! I'm not going to lie, it was a bit difficult for me to order furniture I’ve not seen in person, though I did order wood swatches beforehand to get an idea of the coloring—here is an inspiration board I created with some of the items we've purchased so far, which will hopefully help us through the rest of our shopping adventures and what we hope the nursery to look like once it's all finished:

Caroline's furniture is the Emelia Collection from RH Baby and Child in French Grey
and the bedding is the Europen Flax Stripe Colection in Petal

I really wanted furniture that she could grow with, as the crib converts into an adorable toddler bed, and the dresser is a piece we will mopst certainly keep forever…elegant, simple lines with classic details—swoon! More shopping to be done in the near future, including ordering art for the walls, window treatments, new lighting, as well as an upholstered glider. And of course, painting the nursery--doubtful that this will remain a "neutral" colored space, for my husband was fully aware once they confirmed girl it was going to be endless amounts of blush and bashful in our future. Cannot wait to see the progress of what promises to be my favorite new room in the house and I promise to update as we go! ;)

A Love Affair with White

now that the word is out about all things pinterest, it is easy to get sucked into the searches for anything and everything...from fashion to recipes to party printables to home decor and design, you'll be addicted soon if you haven't hopped on the bandwagon quite yet.

sometimes i can't help myself but go ahead and "bookmark" some of my favorite home and room ideas for our next house...in particular, i have a fascination with all things white. friends know this, but my family has an obsession with white cars--my parents have 3 white cars and both jeff and i drive white cars--weird, i know.

ok, back to the subject at hand...one day, i can only hope we're able to build our dream home...a traditional southern colonial-type, something right out of southern living, ahhh, one can dream, no? here are some of my favorites:

that front porch has morning coffee time written all over it

we'll take that perfect pool for playtime and relaxation, too!

 not to mention the endless natural light for this house

loving the contrast of the dark wood floors and all that gorgeous white detail

does this room not scream happy home??

this one comes in a close second

i would have plenty of dinner parties in this fabulous dining room

and this kitchen...hello entertaining!

i don't think we would ever get up, nor would our guests  leave
if we had bedrooms like this

and for master bath time...an old-fashioned tub is a must!

now check out this adorable space for a small office nook

now we certainly can't forget the kiddies

nor the best laundry room i've ever seen

enough swooning for the day for this girl...that's the dream home in a nutshell! obviously i need to get back to work if we're ever going to get there ;)

Wedding Wednesday...Calm and Collected

Choo Choo!! Our train is heading towards the end of our wedding planning excursion/tour and yesterday finally set some items in stone. We met with Mary Alice {overall wedding guru planner extraordinaire} and Laurie {our reception planner} to finalize everything for our wedding reception.Poor Jeff was a little intimidated as well sat in a circle with our itineraries in hand going over each and every little detail and he just smiled and said "I don't have anything to worry about--you've got this all under control!". Yes, that man knows me all too well ;)

So now I can breathe a HUGE sigh of relief as everyone is in the know of my "vision" and exactly just where and when certain reception aspects are to "go down". Check that one big ticket item off my list and I think my crazy bride can now be packed away never to return again.

Afterwards, Mom and I headed to J Alexander's for a relaxing dinner and to talk "game plan" for this weekend and all of our DIY and craft time. We loaded up anything and everything wedding-related and packed Mom's car up so we'd have everything at her house ready to go.

Here's the finalized list of action items to complete ASAP:

• Work on table seating assignments, place cards, and escort card holder for rehearsal...which will be similar to some of these ideas:


• Print pictures to have in frames at wedding reception
• Finish purchasing and stuffing all items for out-of-town bags! See some of these which I used for my inspiration:



• Get rehearsal dinner dress and a few honeymoon dresses altered
• Get our marriage license next week!
• Finish ceremony programs and direction cards
• Final meeting with our pastor next week!
• Order bridal portrait canvas and frame for display at the reception
• Start packing for the honeymoon, which seems to be endless--ugh oh ;)

I can't believe we're almost there! I am calm, collected, and ready to marry my prince charming and start our happily ever after...we've got so many exciting things already to come in the next few months. We're ready to enjoy this time together and I know we're happy to finally start making traditions of our own...eeek this lady is grinning from ear to ear...Happy Hump Day!

Spring Flings and Easter Things

I had a few of my blogging friends email me asking for suggestions on what to cook for Easter and how to host a fun get-together for friends/family after church activities...with Easter Sunday just a week and a half away, here are some of my favorite ideas I've found {and yes, included links to the actual site for easy tutorials, too!}

Easter Brunch Invitations

Spring Patterns Egg Hunt Invite via Tinyprints

Elegant Eggs Invite via Invitation Consultants

Easter Party Design and Inspiration

Spring Table via Hostess with the Mostess

Grass and Egg Table Decor via Better Homes and Gardens

Chic Modern White on White Design via HWTM

Easter Egg Table Design via Southern Living

Easter Brunch/Lunch/Dinner Recipes

Jalapeno Popper Dip via Our Best Bites

Cranberry Feta Pinwheels via Recipe Girl

Strawberry Spinach Salad via Our Best Bites

Maple Glazed Ham via Mels Kitchen Cafe

Potato and Onion Gration via Williams-Sonoma

Bacon Balsamic Deviled Eggs via Recipe Girl

Stuffed Bleu Cheese Potatoes via Our Best Bites

  Gruyere Popovers via Williams-Sonoma

Butterscotch Birds' Nests via Gimme Some Oven

Unbelievable Carrot Cake via Mels Kitchen Cafe

 Easter Cut-Out Sugar Cookies via Williams-Sonoma

 Carolina Peach Sangria via Recipe Girl

What are some of your favorite Easter dishes? Do you and your friends and/or family go out to brunch/lunch after church or do you gather at someone's house for a big celebratory feast? Hope these ideas help you enjoy this blessed holiday celebrating our Lord ;)

A Lovely Mess

This weekend was just that...a lovely mess. No complaints from this girl, as I tackled each and every thing I needed to knock out and still managed to have some fun with friends, too!

Recap time:
Friday night, Jeff and I decided to forego the grocery store to get dressed up for dinner, just the two of us. After going through dozens of restaurants and trying to figure out our "food mood", we ended up right down the street at Stoney River Steakhouse. And I absolutely took advantage of our little date night as the chance to indulge in some surf n' turf--yes, by now you must be aware this girl loves to eat ;)
Afterwards, we headed home to rent a movie--I would like to tell you how wonderful The Tourist was, however, this lady fell asleep once my head hit the pillow on the couch.
Saturday, I hit the gym, ran wedding/party errands, then met the Grunkes for lunch and people watching at Jackson's, and then ended up changing our evening plans in exchange to hang out/grill with the Grunkes yet again...so fun and yet still a relaxing evening.
Sunday, it was all about church, working on more invites, buying picture frames so we can start on our gallery wall, taking an afternoon run for some "me time", and then cooking dinner for a patio rendezvous...grilled swordfish in lemon butter dill sauce, rice, and salad! Jeff's getting pretty impressive on the grill these days.

Gallery Inspiration--LOVE!

So there you have it--nothing spectacular off-the-wall by any means, but a weekend we desperately needing with all our upcoming travel activities...not that I am complaining--hehe ;)
Cheers to a happy week friends!!

The Talk About Nothing

Here's one of my favorite movie quotes of ALL time..."The odd thing about this form of communication is that you're more likely to talk about nothing than something,but i just wanted to say that all of these nothings have meant more to me than so many somethings" -You've Got Mail

This is what I relate blogging to. Each day, I can ramble and blabber on about a multitude of "nothings" yet that is what means a lot--the little things, the daily tasks, what you're thinking about at a certain moment...thanks for giving me an outlet to air whatever I've got going on. So, on to a bunch of other little somethings:

1. I painted my nails yesterday the perfect shade of springtime color--Elephantastic Pink via OPI--hello pop of pink!

2. My first bridal shower is 4 days away and seriously I must be grinning from ear to ear because I am that excited! Friends and family are coming into town and I can't wait to be surrounded with some very special people...definitely feeling very blessed

3. Tonight we are taking clients out to dinner at a local greek restaurant...I've never been a big fan of olives or hummus and have yet to eat meditteranean-style, so I'm anxious to see how this turns out

4. I gave in and watched Dancing with the Stars last night and was shockingly surprised--these people have rhythm and I think it's going to be a fun season. Ralph {AKA the Karate Kid} was so cute on the dance floor, Kirstie Alley shook what her mama gave her and looked good doing it--yay footwork!, and Kendra, oh Kendra...I love her, but please learn some new moves other than the booty shake...I want you to do well!! 

5. For those of you who watch Bethenny Ever After, please tell me you were rolling on the floor laughing when they went to Nurse Gina's church?? I was horrified for them--they were snatching that baby from them and doing all these crazy song and dance numbers...I would've freaked out, too!

6. My Jeffrey comes home today...he was in Knoxville for work and it's so weird when he's not at home--I just don't feel the same so yay for my honey coming back!

7. I had a few of you ask me to post my recipes from what I cooked on Sunday...but sadly, it's the store bought stuff for the most part--the Buitoni tortellini with prosciutto and cheese tossed in a bit of basil pesto, olive oil and montreal seasoning steak baked in the oven, a ready made salad, and my semi-homemade sweet potato casserole seen here--hope I didn't disappoint you too much!

8. I wanted to play along with Taylor at The Undomestic Momma today for her Top 2--My Favorite Dream Rooms...that's an easy one for me as these are bookmarked for the dream house we'll hopefully get to build one day ;)

I want this tub more than you can imagine...this says RELAXATION in every sense of the word to me and I would soak here for hours if I had a master bathroom like this--so calming, so serene...ahhhhhh

And for as much as I love to cook and entertain, I love everything about this dining room...simple and chic and loads of white cabinetry to store china and serving pieces and heirlooms from our families...I could eat in here everynight and never get tired of that amazing chandelier!