some family time in ATL!

welp i just got back from my little getaway to visit the fam in atlanta. when i say just, i mean like an hour ago. i had such a good time with my parents, my sister, and her kiddos that i just couldn't help immediately browsing my pictures as soon as i got in. there was just enough relaxation time, mixed in with fun activity time, to leave me feeling refreshed and ready to catch up on all the work i'm now behind on. totally worth it!

here's a bit of what this little road trip looked like according to my iphone...

it was almost a full week of delicious eats, quality kid time, lots of poolside lounging, and we even squeezed in dinner with some friends that live there. overall a successful break in my book! ohhh and exciting news... as you can see in one of the pics, the little bean is starting to make his/her presence known. i now have a little bump that doesn't go away, woohoo! today i'm officially 13 weeks so i'll be back with a bean update later on.

hope everyone had just as great a week. i'm happy to be back in our little home with my snuggly puppers. i missed those doggy faces!

barkley's 2nd birthday!

as mentioned a few days ago, wednesday was barkley's birthday! we had a lovely little party for him here and i think he rather enjoyed being king for the day. here are a few moments captured from the day...

doggy party hats!

mirabelle got her big brother a present!

a cake just for the pups!

party time!

the man of honor himself!

we also took the pups to the doggie park for a bit of running around, sniffing butts, and getting muddy. it was mirabelle's first time to a dog park and she was a bit nervous. you can see for yourself...

have a great weekend friends. i'm off to visit my fam in atlanta for a few days. i'll try and check in while i'm there, but we'll see how that goes :)

weekly bean update

and according to The Bump this week...

so not much change as far as the belly is concerned. it's starting to feel a little harder these days, and my jeans are feeling a bit snugger, but definitely not looking preggo just yet. after weeks of nausea my appetite has come back... with a vengeance! breakfast and dinner don't really thrill me at all, but lunch, now that's where i really hit my stride!

favorite things this week...

grapefruit

my new body pillow

blueberry bagels

my beband (for the days of serious bloat!)

franks hot sauce

not favorite things this week...

becoming suddenly clumsier then i usually am (and i'm never one for gracefulness)

lower back pain

being turned off by broccoli (this actually started as soon as i became pregnant, bummer!)

i can't believe i'm already 3 months in! 1/3 of the way there... ahhhh! i'm juggling 5 different pregnancy books and reading a ton of blogs and so far the best advice i've gotten is from a friend of ours. she's the momma of a lovely little lady and she said "it's much less about learning, and much more about listening to your gut!" i've always been a good gut listener so i'm feeling pretty good about that advice!

full of love!

thank you so very much for all the love and sweet comments yesterday. evan & i are super stoked about these new roles we're about to take on. it feels so good to finally be able to talk about it here now. i've had this huge secret for about 2 months and it was so hard to not say anything, so i found myself just holding back on everything. no fun at all!

in other exciting news, today's barkley's birthday! my little boy is now 2 years old. check out his first appearance on the ol' blog. this weekend we spoiled him rotten as an early birthday present. he did some hiking, some new dog sniffing, some swimming, and even had his very first boat ride. barkley is the first dog i've ever had, so naturally his birthday is a big deal!

tonight we're having a little doggie birthday party complete with party hats, presents, puppy pizzas and even a birthday cake.

happy birthday barkley. we love you tons!!!

guess what, guess what, guess what...

WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!

a little baby bean of our very own!

due to enter our lives jan 5th 2012... and we can't wait!

friendship bracelets like it's 1989!

a few weeks ago steph brought me back a friendship bracelet from her trip to mexico and since then i've wanted to make a bazillion of them! so when i saw this tutorial HERE it sealed my fate. back in my elementary school days my friends and i used to spend all summer making these. we'd wear them until they got gross & dirty, then they would fall off and we'd start again. i already know how to make your basic friendship bracelet designs, but some of these look intense and i'm ready for that challenge. bring it on!

happy weekend friends!

best buds on ruffled!

if you hop on over to ruffled blog today, you'll see our friends adam & steph gracing the front page! i can't say enough fabulous things about their wedding, and just how honored evan and i were to be a part of it every step of the way.

a glimpse at the adorable couple!

i made this little goodie for them as an engagement present and if fit in perfectly at their wedding!

there were quite a few late craft nights stitching up these for the big day :)

this is my favorite picture of the two of them just as they became mr. and mrs!

we love you guys tons!

good eats!

i gotta say, i'm kinda proud of myself these days. i've been cooking! now, to be clear i love cooking and i do it all the time, but lately i'm actually planning meals out. which never happens! evan and i usually stumble into the kitchen around 8pm to see what we can create out of what's in our cabinets, and while it's always delicious, it's rarely creative. for the past week though i've been prepping in advance and making actual dinners... kudos to me!

you already saw last weeks stuffed pepper night...

then there was zucchini boats and israeli couscous. these rocked my face off!

i even did dessert. warm brownies with cherry ice cream!

and tonights meal... a 10lb lasagna!

this beast is cooking as we speak!

it feels really good to switch things up a bit and add some delicious new vegan goodies to our routine. let's just hope this trend continues, cause it's making my belly happy!

happy friday friends...

here's a few of my favorite pics from the week...

i want to live in this maxi dress all summer!

mirabelle had her first trip to the vet for her rabies shot. oh that face!

so delicious coconut fudge bars are going to be a staple in our home for awhile!

yup, she's one vicious pitbull!

i finally got a frame for my favorite print from This Paper Ship!

barkley is easily the most handsome boy in the puppy world!

tempeh stuffed pepper night at the Pierce's. these were stinking delicious!

oh and ps... our best buds wedding, that evan and i were in a few weeks ago, now has some amazing pics posted on the ever amazing matt miller's website. i've been drooling over them for a few days now. that day was such an incredible one filled with best friends, laughs, lots of crying, dancing, and tons and tons of love! matt's been a friend of ours for awhile (he did our wedding photos too!), so he knew just how to capture ever moment perfectly! hop on over and check out steph & adam on their big day...

other things i've loved this week around this here interweb...

the little birdie is getting so big!

kaylah's craft room cleanup makes me want to get down and dirty in my own!

elsie & jeremy's wedding video is too sweet for words!

somehow i only just discovered this blog the other day, but it's one of my top faves already! she's so stinking adorable and would you ever be able to tell here that she's preggo? so tiny!

a couple weeks ago maru turned 3! here's to another year maru!

i love that this artist took a $39 rocking moose from ikea and turned it into a custom work of art!

i think i know what my dad's getting for fathers day! thankfully he doesn't read this so i can spill secrets all i want :)

this little lady is just too awesome for words!

in honor of les paul, today google is doing something super fun on their home page. go play!

hope everyone has a wonderfully fantastic weekend. i've got a bunch of work to catch up on, and evan is finishing up our new fence that he started last weekend, so it's looking like we'll be pretty domestic around here. just fine by me!