weekend festivities {babies & rock'n'roll}

This past weekend was spectacular.  It was filled with productivity and spontaneity all in one... 

Friday night I finally got to meet sweet baby Rowan... and he did not disappoint.  He is simply precious.  Now... if I can just convince his mama and daddy to not move away to France this year...

On Saturday Lance and I made a last minute decision to head over to Louisville's own music festival, Forecastle... and we were SO glad we did.  So many great bands all in one place.  

We listened to Mona, The Alabama Shakes, Joy Formidable, Matt & Kim, and The Black Keys.  I've always been a fan of Joy Formidable, and the lead singer is perfection.  She's this tiny little thing with an incredible voice... and she smashed her guitar at the end of the concert... which was totally awesome.

Then we headed over to the Red Bull stage for Matt & Kim.  BEST.LIVE.SHOW.EVER.  They were incredibly entertaining.  Lance and I have both been fans of their music for a while now... but after seeing them live, I'm slightly obsessed.  And Kim's the drummer... which makes her a badass in my book.  So, so good.

Forecastle is hosted every year at the Waterfront in Louisville... and Saturday's weather provided the absolute best backdrop ever.  We had a stunning sunset overlooking the Ohio River... gorgeous.

We had a relaxing Sunday morning with fresh eggs and veggies... oh, and some burnt breakfast sausage patties... oops.  Good thing the eggs tasted good:)

Then, probably the highlight of our weekend was adoption paperwork.  For any of you that have been following along in our adoption journey know that I've shed more than a few tears over the amount of adoption paperwork we have.  It's insane.  But we are so, so close.  Yesterday we met with a friend's mom who agreed to notarize all of our documents... and she did... all.bleepin'.ninty-six.of.them.  I kid you not.  That was not an over exaggeration.  We notarized 96 documents yesterday.  But, good news... we are mailing out our dossier this week!!!!

So yes.  All in all I'd say we had an absolutely spectacular weekend.

How about you??

happy weekend.

I finally made it to Houston last night.  Just 3 hours later than I thought I would.  Thanks to a 2 hour airport delay and a 1 hour in-flight delay due to weather (we had to re-route and fly over Dallas).  Yay. Fun times.

But regardless, I am here.

And I am SO, SO, SO looking forward to spending time with my parents and a couple of super fun photo shoots tomorrow.  It will be a quick trip, but wonderful none-the-less.

Happy weekend!

i want to embrace.

I want to embrace the early mornings... because it means I have a new job here.  

I want to embrace our busy calendar... because it means we have upcoming adventures.

I want to embrace my new 30 mile commute... because it means I have some protected quiet time.  

I want to embrace my unfinished to-do list... because it means I was spending time doing instead of planning.

I want to embrace the dirty dishes... because it means we were well fed.

I want to embrace our stack of adoption paperwork... because it means we are that much closer to bringing home our babies.

I want to embrace the unknown... because it means that even though I don't know... He does.

weekend festivities

We had our HOME STUDY on Friday!!!  And it went really well... our social worker told us we were informally approved... the official home study is still dependent on a few last little items.  We still need to get our Georgia criminal background checks completed and Little Cat still needed to be approved by a Veterinarian...

Speaking of which... Little Cat had his first vet appointment since 2008... yes, I know... I'm a terrible cat-mom.  But as you can tell from the photo Little Cat is a little sketched out by the vet office... and can you really blame him?  The last time we went, they took away his manhood.  I would be a little skeptical too.

What better way to celebrate a successful home study, than with a dirty martini?!?  I was able to catch up over dinner with a great friend who is also in the adoption process.  She and her husband are adopting from the Congo and will be bringing their sweet little girl home in just a few more months.

After dinner, I picked up this little guy for a movie date:)  Isaiah's mom had to work late, so me and Isaiah ate popcorn, drank chocolate milk and watched The Lorax.  Super cute movie... we both liked it:)

The weather was AMAZING on Saturday... so we made sure to take advantage of it.  Lance worked on his garden most of the day... and his chicken coops. (Yep, you heard me... chicken coops).

While Lance was working in the yard... I did a little thrifting and found this beauty... for $25.  That's right... twenty.five.flippin.dollars.  So much potential, right? 

Sunday morning I had a quick little photo shoot with this awesome group.  These 3 families are starting a church plant in France this year.  And while the weather was not very cooperative (think 32 degrees... rain, sleet, and snow), my photo subjects were spectacular:)

And this... this is what I did pretty much the rest of the day... it.was.awesome.

And how was your weekend?? 

change of plans {part III} :: my job

 

Over the past couple of months Lance and I have been experiencing some pretty significant changes... First we talked about the house.  Then it was our adoption country.  And now, let's talk about changing jobs.  I'll be honest, I've had a hard time with some of these changes over the last few weeks... and I've pretty much come to realize I'm not a huge fan of change... but you can read more about that here.

Anyhow... back to the job stuff.  About 5 months ago or so, Lance and I made the decision that we were committing to Louisville.  We love this city.  We feel like it is home to us in so many ways.  This is the city we have committed to starting our family in (our adoption and homestudy process)... and therefore, in order to fully be here, I want to work here too.

I have been working for a phenomenal company in Atlanta, GA for the past 5+ years... and for the past 2+ years I have been working from Louisville.  I work from my home office the majority of the time, making monthly trips to Atlanta.  And while this set up was pretty rad (I mean, who doesn't love working in their pajamas?!?), the traveling part was getting a bit old.  Not to mention, that when my company agreed to let me work from Louisville, it was under the impression that eventually we would move back to Georgia.  But yeah... that hasn't happened.  My company and I decided it was time for me to start looking for something a little closer to home.

After a few months of the super fun (insert sarcasm here) job search process, I am happy to report that I have been offered a wonderful position at what sounds to be an amazing company.  And while yes, I'll have to actually put on real clothes and commute to a real office... I have to say, I'm really looking forward to it.  I'm excited for the new.

It's crazy to think this is my last week actually at the Atlanta office.  I'll have a few more weeks to transition and train... but for the most part, this chapter is coming to a close.  And while this next chapter is definitely unknown and new to me... I'm pretty stoked about it.

Stay tuned...

weekends & celebrities

 

Great, great weekend.  Lots of chill time... tons of good food... great, great friends... movies on the couch... a celebrity sighting... and one final trip to the ATL.  All around, no complaints here.

Friday night we did homemade pizzas with some of our favorite friends.  Lance and I don't do homemade pizzas on our own much... but I have to say, we might be changing this.  I mean, not to brag  or anything, but our pizza was delish.

Friday night we also celebrated our dear friends Jesse and Ashley.  Ashley is pregnant with their second little one and they just found out it's a boy!  So, in order to celebrate, our friend Amanda made the most magnificent butter bourbon cake I have ever tasted.  Don't mind that random creepy puppet doll in the background.  Nightmares anyone??

Saturday night was just perfect.  Lance and I stayed in for the evening... he made his incredible homemade macaroni & cheese with chicken... and we sat on the couch... for.a.solid.four.hours.

First we watched Winter's Bone... a pretty serious movie starring Jennifer Lawrence (who I currently have a girl crush on)... it was heavy, but good.  Then we decided to close out the evening with Get Smart... starring Anne Hathaway and Steve Carell.  Super funny... couldn't believe that neither one of us had seen it yet.

Little Cat watched too.   (Sorry... couldn't help it... this picture cracks me up every.single.time.)

Then Sunday I was off to the airport for my final trip to the office (more on that soon).  I was sitting at the gate just minding my own business... when all of a sudden someone sat down a couple of chairs down from me... and all I saw was beard out of my peripheral.

Yep.  A Duck Dynasty beard.  I'll be honest... I sat next to this guy for a full 20 minutes before I realized it was Willie from Duck Dynasty.  I was minding my own business (and People Style Watch) when all of a sudden I realized people were slowing down and taking pictures... then it dawned on me who was actually sitting two seats down from me.  Here's my true confession though... I just watched my first ever Duck Dynasty episode on Friday night (gasp, I know).  But after chatting with this guy for 15 minutes, I'll definitely start watching.  Willie was incredibly friendly and genuine.  He told me that he had flown to Louisville just for the day... he went to meet a sweet 11 year old girl at Kosair Children's Hospital that has been diagnosed with bone cancer.  It was for the Make a Wish Foundation, and this little girl's wish was to meet Willie, so without a second thought, he hopped on a plane to make this young girl's wish come true.  You could tell that the trip had made quite the impression on him.  Very standup guy.

I closed up the weekend in Atlanta with a Chipotle dinner in my hotel room (shocking, I know).  I've been reading The Help, and while I'm quite certain I'm the very last person on earth to finally read this book, it is just as great as everyone said it was.

So.  That was my weekend.  How was yours??

weekend festivities...

This past weekend was the perfect mix of go, go, go and rest, rest, rest.  Although I previously deemed February the month of "no-travel," I broke my own rules for a quick road trip to Nashville, TN.  I headed down Friday night so I could celebrate with my bestie!  It was a fabulous weekend.

I started my weekend a little early with a fun girls' dinner with my friend Kimi.  We went to the new Zoe's Kitchen that recently opened up by us.  I hadn't been to a Zoe's in years and I forgot how delicious everything is.  Yummmm.

My BFF Christi is expecting her first baby this April, and on Saturday several of her Tennessee friends and co-workers hosted a beautiful shower for her.  I was so glad I could make the trip.  Doesn't she look like a little pregnant Barbie?

Christi works for the TN First Lady, Chrissy Haslam, and the shower was hosted by the Governor's wife at her beautiful home.  The shower was lovely, as expected, and complete with yummy breakfast foods and a "make-your-own-mimosa" bar... brilliant, no?  Loved this idea for a brunch shower.

If any of mine and Christi's mutual friends are reading this blog post, then they know exactly how hilarious this gift is:)

I got home from Nashville Saturday evening and spent the majority of the rest of my weekend resting and filling out my adoption self-study form... with a much-needed glass of wine.  I'm on question #43... out of 70... getting there.

I spent Sunday evening working on one of my many "Finish in February" projects.  Progress people... progress.

What about you?  How was your weekend? 

weekend festivities...

Our weekend was fairly low-key... just how I like it.  

...a favorite blue blazer and some new earrings...

...a yummy girl's night dinner... 

 ...a spectacular dance party...

...some of my favorite girls... 

...a productive coffee date with myself... 

 ...some much-needed southern soul food...

We had a few college students in town this past weekend that were visiting to check out The Urban Experience.  We had a great time... but man, we.are.old.  Once the college kids left on Sunday, Lance and I hit up Cracker Barrel, then headed home for a Sunday nap... I'm telling you- it's like we're 80.

Oh yeah... we watched the Super Bowl too... by ourselves.  Super lame, I know... but I confess, I loved every second of it.

What about you?  Awesome weekend plans?

january goal recap...

At the beginning of January, I shared that I would be doing monthly goals this year, instead of my traditional New Year's resolutions.  I'm still pretty smitten with the idea... and I thought it would be helpful to do a brief little recap of how I actually ended up doing on my January goals... for nothing more than some good ol' accountability.  So... here is how January ended up... 

Catching up // on my photo editing.

Not too shabby here.  I finished all of my main photo sessions that I was backed up on... then I also had 2 fairly recent baby sessions, both of which I would love to have edited within the week.  But I'm considering the original portion of this goal accomplished:)

Creating more // time to read.

Yes!  I finished The Lone Wolf by Jodi Picolt mid-January (good read... but not a favorite) and am nearing the end of the final Hunger Games book, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.  Two books in one month??  This is a pretty big deal for me, people.

Cleaning out // my closet.

Done. And done.  I did some major purging here and had a super successful trip selling some items at the consignment store.  It was perfect timing because we were able to use my consignment cash as spending money for our St. Thomas trip.  I'll need to do a full closet post soon... but it's lookin' good!

Caring for // my soul.

I don't know if this goal will ever truly feel "accomplished," as I think caring for one's soul is an on-going process... but I definitely took some important steps in January.  For one, a tropical vacation never hurt anyone... and our trip to St. Thomas this month was just what the doctor ordered.  Secondly, I am really working on saying "no"... and simply learning the importance of protecting my time.  And then lastly, but most important, I am trying to make time to read God's word everyday... I can definitely tell a difference in my day when this happens or doesn't happen.

So, there you have it... my January goals recap.  Stay tuned for February's goals on Friday:)

And PS... the ol' bloggity blog hit 300 followers this week... thanks so much for reading! 

january cards :: a procrastinator's christmas card

January cards.
...aka, we-can't-seem-to-get-our-act-together-in-December-cards.

We love them around here.  We've been sending them out since 2006, I think.  I've always loved holiday greeting cards... both giving and receiving them.  I was one of those bazaar college students that sent out Christmas cards and update letters since I was probably 18... what can I say?  I love a good excuse to put something in the mail.

Our list gets more and more ridiculously out of control every year.  I keep threatening to put a cap on it, but that never happens.  It's a once-a-year mail splurge that I'm totally okay with.

I also have this problem where I want to put a ridiculous amount of stuff on the envelopes... address labels... return address stamps... washi tape... a fun stamp on the back... stickers... you get the idea.  I'm not quite sure what it is that possesses me with a desire to decorate every square inch of an envelope, but I'm working on toning it down.

This year I put sealed all of the envelopes with washi tape, then started stamping the back of the envelopes with a fun little "with love" stamp.  I got about half way through the stack before I realized that I have a serious problem, and decided the washi tape was plenty enough... put.the.stamp.down.

I get really weird about my postage stamps too.  I'm usually one of those obnoxious people at the post office... holding up the line... asking to see all of the new stamp designs... looking for something that might coordinate with this year's January card envelope selection.  Yeah.  That did not happen this year.  Our list was so out of control that I decided it was best to just ask for a roll (or 2) of stamps, rather than a billion little books of stamps.  God bless the USA, right?

It's a big endeavor every year, but one I'm happy to tackle in January... and not December.  And to me, that once-a-year communication with friends and family both near and far is totally worth it.  And of course, I can always count on Little Cat to help out with the envelopes.

You can see 2012's January cards here... and 2011's January cards here.