{Friday Link Ups} Staycations + Disney Cruises

Happy Friday, yall! Let me begin by saying I was blown away by all of your sweet words concerning our patio makeover reveal that I shared on the blog Wednesday. You ladies sure do know how to make a girl's day! If you missed that reveal, you can see it here. You can also read about our Father's Day weekend; as well as catch up on 20 random facts that you may not have known about me that I shared yesterday. But back to today's post. As per the usual, I've got five little things from this week....
{1} Our Little Writer One of Harper's favorite things to do each day is to write everyone's name. I spend an hour each day sitting at her little table in the playroom, writing everyone's name as she calls them out to me. Each day we have to write Nana, Dada, Mama, Hutson, Rimy, etc in a variety of different colors. But hands down, her favorite name to write is Papa. So on Sunday, as we were sitting in church, it came as no surprise when Harper spotted a tithing envelope and pencil that she wanted me to use to write Papa's name. Not wanting to waste a tithing envelope, I grabbed the Sunday bulletin and flipped to the inside to write Papa's name as Harper requested. Satisfied, Harper took the pencil and paper and wandered about her little way on the back pew. And then a few minutes later, she came over to me with that same bulletin. With a big smile on her face, she pointed to some scribble scrabble at the bottom of the bulletin and said "Papa". And then I had to do a double take because in her own little way, I could totally point out her p and a at the end of the drawing! Guess all of that writing, she's finally picking up on it herself! 

{2} My Nephew, the Driver On Monday, after taking Harper to daycare, I headed to my sister's house to accompany my nephew to get his driver's license. Needless to say he passed. My sister told me to update her when he finished and so I sent her the following picture, accompanied with the text, "He passed. Apparently, they'll give anyone a license these days." But seriously, his driving skills surprised me. We'll see how long the ten and two lasts now that he won't have an adult in the car (; 

{3} Some Food for Thought

I came across this quote this week while scrolling through facebook. A lady from church had shared it among other things but for some reason, I kept being drawn back to this quote over and over. Throughout my week, this quote has popped back into my mind numerous times and each time one thought comes to mind. If our mind was completely consumed with Jesus, what could our lives be like? 

{4} A Much-Needed Staycation

The hubs has been off this week and will be off for part of next week. Having him home has been absolutely wonderful. When Kevin decided to take a vacation this week, we had discussed going away for a few days but after talking it over, we decided since we're never hardly home as a family, a vacation could wait and we'd enjoy a staycation instead. And enjoy a staycation we have! Since Harper is still in daycare, Kevin and I have spent our days together as just a couple and it has felt so good to have some time with just him. We've spent our days grabbing breakfast and lunch, hanging out on the couch, and lounging at the pool. In the evenings, we've enjoyed our time as a family of three and Harper couldn't be more excited about having Daddy at home!

{5} Disney Cruises

Last weekend, I started discussing taking a Disney cruise vacation with my friend Stacey over at Loving Life and Learning Lots. Stacey is married to Kevin's best friend and together they have two sons, Elijah who turns 5 next week and Griffin who is 2. Since the kids are still a tad bit too young for Disney World, we talked a while back about taking them on a Disney cruise so that they could still experience the characters and environment whilst not having to measure them on every ride! haha We've been looking at our calendars and discussing dates but nothing has been set in stone yet. Since Stacey and I are both teachers, we know we'll have to go during a week when we already have a few days off. Which means currently we're looking into November and January. That being said, the only cruises available are those to the Bahamas. Have any of you ladies traveled to the Bahamas with Disney? My sister and her family has and she gave great reviews but I'd love to hear others input. If you haven't gone to the Bahamas with Disney, have you gone any where else? How was your experience? Any must haves and must do's?

Join in on the fun!

20 Things You Might Not Know

While reading Jessica's post over at The Newly awhile back, I realized it's been a little while since I've shared some random facts about myself. Since I've gained a few new readers since the last time I've done this, I thought it would be nice to get reacquainted. So without further ado, here's 20 random facts you may not know about me from just reading my weekly blog posts. 

1. First and foremost in my life, I'm a Christian and love God with my whole heart. I'm by no means perfect. Every day, I say things I shouldn't say, do things I shouldn't do, and/or act in ways that I'm ashamed to admit. But that's the great thing about Jesus. He shows me grace with each passing day and each day I strive harder to be more like Him.
2. I'm one of those girls who fell in love with her best guy friend. Thankfully it didn't end in disaster and we've been married for four years now.
3. Speaking of which, Kevin and I were talking marriage long before we ever made our relationship facebook official (; Yes, we were practically engaged before we ever started dating. But as my Dad always said, "When you meet the right one, you just know."
4. I'm a homebody. As much as the thought of traveling abroad and seeing new places excites me, the thought of leaving home for an extended period of time makes me anxious and slightly nauseous. 
5. Now that I'm older, I'd rather hang with my family than my friends any day. But there is that slight exception for those friends who have became like family. 
6. I'm a planner. I have to always have a plan be it for a grocery run or a vacation itinerary. Despite that I'm OCD about plans, I'm okay if they change as long as I at least initially had a plan in place. 
7. I get so excited about Christmas now that I have a child that here it is June and I've already purchased most of my child's Christmas presents... on deep discounts of course (: Just one of the perks to early shopping!
8. I was a church secretary for almost seven years. 
9. I've taught third grade for four years now and I absolutely love it.
10. If I ever left teaching, it would be to design and decorate homes. I'm just a bit obsessed with both. 
11. When I was in high school, I co-piloted Cessna airplanes at Smith-Reynolds Airport. 
12. I'm related to the Wright Brothers, which is where my constant urge to fly planes comes from. It's all in the family, ya know!
13. I can never go anywhere without my cell phone. It's safe to say I have an addiction to it. It's probably the one thing that drives my husband the most nuts. 
14. I don't drink alcohol. Like ever. I've seen how it's destroyed people's lives on both sides of my own family so it's something I choose not to participate in. Just in case. But don't worry, I don't judge people who do. 
15. I don't drink coffee either. I don't know how you people drink that stuff. 
16. I'm not much of a sweets eater. I prefer french fries and mozzarella sticks over ice cream and cake any day. But I'll make an exception for a Krispy Kreme doughnut.  
17. I'm not one to jump on board with new trends. Hence why I'm always a year behind on the fashion bandwagon. But I prefer to spend my money on the things that are going to stay around. I guess that makes me sort of... classic.
18. You'll never catch me without earrings. Without them I feel naked. 
19. I love heels but always settle on flats. For one, in heels, I'm as tall as my husband. Secondly, have you ever seen a mama chasing a toddler in heels? I can tell you who wins that one...
20. I prefer to read over watching television & nine out of ten times, I'll be reading a romance novel.
So what can you tell me about yourself? Anything I should know!

{Porch Makeover} The Reveal

Happy Wednesday, girls! Today I want to share our patio reveal with you ladies. If you didn't catch the before pictures and the plans for this space, you can view them both here. Decorating this space has been a dream. It's a project I've been wanting to accomplish since moving into our home nearly five years ago. But as with most dreams, needs tend to overshadow wants and it was a project placed on the back burner until now. But it makes me appreciate this little space that much more. So without further ado, here's our new and improved outdoor oasis.

And just because it's even prettier at night...

There are still a few loose ends we have to tie up in this space. The fire table we picked out to go in front of our couch is still out of stock. If it isn't restocked by fall, we've chosen another option from Lowes that we'll purchase. We're going to change out that little brass lantern with a larger lantern from Lowes. I'm just waiting on my electrician (my brother) to find a free moment to make the swap. And I'm still searching for a few throw blankets for that bottom shelf of our accent table that we can keep outdoors throughout the year for those chilly nights. Like all projects, it's a work in progress but I'm loving the result so far!
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Porch Source List Couch, Club Chairs, Accent Table: Target (found here, here, and here) Pillows: Target (found here, here, and here) Rug: Target (found here) String Lights: Target (found here; green string sold out) Tiki Torches: Lowes (similar here) Galvanized Metal Clock: Target (found here) Metal H: Hobby Lobby (found here) Metal & Rope Lantern: At Home Store (similar here) Glass & Rope Lantern: Christmas Tree Shop (similar here) Mercury H candle holder: At Home Store (similar here) Patio table, chairs, umbrella: Walmart (similar here) Milk jug: Recycled from my parents' house years ago Plants: Lowes

{Weekend Recap} Father's Day Weekend

Happy Tuesday, ladies! This weekend flew by but so do most weekends when you're having fun! 
Friday Kevin had to work so after taking Harper to daycare, I ventured back to Greensboro to do a little shopping by myself. I left with the intention of picking up things for a Father's Day cookout but somewhere along the thirty minute drive, I decided I'd spend the afternoon shopping for other things as well. While out and about, I swung by a few home stores in search of the final items I needed for our patio makeover. Lucky for me, I was able to wrap up all the final items I needed thanks to a visit to the Home Store, Pier One, Target, and Hobby Lobby. With the exception of our fire table, the patio is complete. I'll have a full reveal later this week (: If you didn't catch the sneak peek on my instagram account, here you go.

Saturday morning all of the members here in the Holt household slept in and it was glorious! After whipping up some bacon, eggs, and toast, we headed to the pool where we spent most of the morning. 

Around 1, we called it a day and headed back to the house for a quick lunch and naps. Usually when Harper naps, Kevin and I take the opportunity to use that time to accomplish things around the house but not this day. I'm not sure if it was the sun or the water, but we were both drained and so as soon as Harper took a nap, so did we! Might I add, we didn't get up until about four hours later... 
Our Saturday evening was spent celebrating our niece's fifth birthday. Kevin's cousin (who his parents practically raised, hence how it's our niece) and his wife hosted Samantha's party at their home. Of course, like most little girls parties these days, it was Frozen themed! 

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the birthday girl so I tossed in a photo of Harper and Samantha from a few weekends ago (; 

Saturday night after everyone was in bed, I stayed up wrapping Father's Day presents. I was so excited about this year's presents that I felt like a kid at Christmas waiting for morning to arrive. 

Needless to say, when the alarm went off, I was rushing Kevin downstairs so Harper could give him his present. This year I purchased Kevin a few new workout clothes (which he discovered a few weeks ago hiding in the back of my car) and a new fitbit so he could compete with the rest of our friends and family. Thankfully, he loved his gift. Now as to what to get him for his upcoming birthday. Any ideas ladies?

After opening gifts, we got ready and headed to church. It was the first time in forever we've attended church as a family and it felt wonderful to have Kevin by my side. Following church, we grabbed lunch at a local Mexican restaurant with my sister and her family. Typically we do lunch at the parents' but due to some Father's Day festivities going on, my mom didn't have time to cook.  After lunch, Kevin and Harper headed to the pool while I cleaned up the house in preparation for a Father's Day cookout. Around 6:30, our parents, siblings, and Kevin's grandparents joined us for a barbecue dinner honoring four of the greatest men I've ever known. 

When dinner was over, the guys opened up their Father's Day presents. Harper gave my dad and Kevin's dad, this book which happens to be on super sale right now. It's super cute and if you haven't read it, you need to. They make it for both grandpas and grandmas. It was the perfect gift for those dads who have everything (;

Hope your weekends were just as exciting!

{Friday Link Ups} A Taste of Summer

Happy Friday, ladies!  This week was my first week of summer vacation and it has been AMAZING! I've found myself in a new little routine this week and I am loving it. Each morning I get up early, take Harper to daycare (yes, she'll still be attending since I have to pay to hold her spot), head to the gym, grab breakfast with a friend, then head to the pool! Does a day get any better than that? I think not my friends, I think not. 
Our Monday Nights I've never been a huge fan of Mondays up until five weeks ago. Now I count down the days to Monday thanks to the Bachelorette. As has been our new Monday night tradition, several of my girlfriends come over for dinner every Monday and then we plop down on the couch and soak up all the drama the Bachelorette brings. We're team Ben H. all the way. Whose your favorites? This Monday, while watching the show, the guys snuck out and brought us girls back some McFlurries from McDonalds. How sweet was that?!

Mistresses Speaking of television shows, the season premier of Mistresses aired last night. It's my summer guilty pleasure. My friend Brittni and I watch it religiously and thanks to talking about it non-stop, I'm pretty sure we'll be having some other girlfriends join in on the fun. So maybe we'll turn Thursdays into a dinner and show night too. We'll see!
Lisa Leonard Designs + Ring Stacking I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I ordered this stacking ring from Lisa Leonard Designs. It came in the mail this week in the cutest little packaging ever. I was so anxious to try it on and when I did, I thought I might cry. Since Harper was born, I wanted to add a new band to my wedding set to represent her. I wanted a ring that I could give to her when she got older and this one serves that purpose. How perfect is it?!

Girl's Day  Lucky for me, my best friends happen to have this summer off as well! So yesterday we took full advantage and enjoyed another girl's day. We started off the morning with a workout at the gym, then headed to Greensboro to do a little shopping. After picking up Kevin's Father's Day present (which I'm totally stoked about), we headed to my favorite burger joint to grab some burgers and milkshakes. Then we finished off the afternoon with an afternoon by the pool! 

Porch Makeover Update Our porch makeover is in full swing! On Tuesday we had a new french door installed that leads out to the patio. We also had some vinyl trim added to the space. On Wednesday the lights arrived for the porch and I got those added to the porch at 9pm! No time is too late when you have a project on the brain :P Now I'm just waiting for our pillows to arrive, our fire table to be restocked, and I'm still on the hunt for a few items to style our accent table. Fingers crossed we can wrap this project up in the next week or so!

Hope you ladies have a fabulous weekend! See you on Monday!
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