A Day Of Bliss

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of working with an amazing talented photographer Geniann Elliott. I heard of her through several Facebook Friends so I went to her page and looked at her work. I was blown away. Her photographs are simply breath taking and each one tells a story in that very moment. I scheduled our appointment with her and could hardly wait although it was a month or so away.. It seemed like time dragged forever before the day finally came we could get our pictures taken.

I am a huge worrier so I was praying the whole time please don't let anyone get sick, or get any marks that will be in the pictures and thankfully besides Gabriel's shocker of a haircut none of that happened. We met up with Geniann in my hometown for our photos. We had discussed where we wanted them taken and I was a bit skeptical because our town has really taken a rough turn the past decade or so...BUT I love trying new things and I could not wait to see what she had in store. I was not let down either.

Gabriel was being a toddler of course and did everything in his power to not look at the camera OR smile. Gracie on the other hand LOVES to get her pictures taken so I felt totally confident with her. Our session was wonderful. Geniann was so easy going and fun to work with, and although that was my first time meeting her I felt I had known her forever. 

A week or so went by after our session and she sent me some of our pictures...I was in TOTAL SHOCK. I mean not trying to brag but wow...she had really captured my family and all of our personalities perfectly. Here are a few of my favorites.

I am seriously so happy with our photos! If you are in the Raleigh NC area please find Geniann Elliott Photography to do your photos! You will not be disappointed!! Also, even if you are not in the area like her page on Facebook and look at her marvelous work!

Mary & Mak Style

I am going to share a few photos from our recent family portraits we had made and tell you all about this amazing boutique we have here in good ole N.C, MARY & MAK. I have the pleasure of knowing Leslie and Teresa (the owners of the business) and let me tell you they are simply wonderful. The millions of times I have been in their shop one of them has always been there and helped me with my every need.

Not in North Carolina? No worries...They have a website where you can order from and guess what? 48 states have FREE shipping! How many businesses do you know where you can order from and get free shipping? Not very many I have found from previous experience.

MARY & MAK offers preppy, colorful, trendy clothing, gifts and accessories. It is a family operated and owned Boutique. I have SEVERAL pieces from this shop and most recently bought some shorts and new necklace which I will share on a later post...For now I wanna share my dress that I am absolutely in LOVE with.

If you are like me, it is hard to find clothes, especially dresses, that are flattering for your figure. MARY & MAK clothing ALWAYS fits me good and makes me feel so good about myself, their pieces are so unique as well which is something I love.

MARY & MAK was so kind and wanted to share a discount code with my wonderful readers so hop on over to their site and order you some goodies!!

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This code will save you 10% at checkout :-)

Happy Mother's Day to YOU!

Going to my Dad's

I have been SOO looking forward to going to my Dad's....ever since we planned it a couple months ago, and of course once we got there the trip flew by like I knew it would but it was so amazing to see the family.

Here is me and Rick...could you tell how excited we were??

The Outer Banks is now only about a two and a half hour drive for us so not to bad. We made good time and chatted plenty along the way.

My babies were so happy to see a change of scenery.

When we got there Friday evening we went straight to one of our favorite mexican restaurants and met up with my cousin and his girlfriend for supper. It was SO yummy. My cousins girlfriend Nikki, even made me this amazing five layer monogrammed chocolate cake. :-)

It was made with Fudge and tons of chocolate...not good for my diet BUT I made sure to run an extra two miles when I came home. 

Saturday morning we got up and ate then we headed to some surf shops, after that we met up with my dad and stepmom and they took us shopping for mine and Gracie's birthday. Gracie ended up getting this high heeled shoes and also some craft goodies while I got two strapless bras and a dress. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Then we went out to eat that night where my sister works (Applebee's) and then went bowling after. SUCH. A. FUN. WEEKEND.

Honestly...I so slacked getting pictures. I was just trying to soak up the time with my dad, stepmom, brother, sister, cousin, and Nikki that I totally didn't grab my phone or camera much...which I totally regret now, but even so we had a wonderful time and I really enjoyed our visit.

On the way out Sunday we were all feeling kinda sad...I have felt that same bummed feeling most my life whenever I left my Dad's after a visit but while I was looking onto the side of the road I saw an alligator....just chilling. So I told Rick to pull over so I could show the kids.

There are TONS of alligators in this swamp near the sound but the first time I had actually saw any in person. It was a neat experience and it took our minds off leaving for a bit.

We are already planning on trying to go back again within the next couple months and I will FOR SURE take better pictures next time. :-)

Here is one I sorta got of us 3 on the beach...yeah...as you can tell Gabriel wasn't having it, and Gracie is just cheesing away.

She's a Natural!

Today Gracie starts her first baseball practice! She was supposed to start Monday but they cancelled practice because of the weather. We are beyond excited and already see how much of a natural she is.

We all went to the park after her birthday party and practiced with her on throwing, catching, and hitting the ball. She did AMAZING! The weather is still a bit chilly and I do not want little man getting sick so my mom will be watching him while we head off to practice tonight.

Here are a few pictures we took while at the park last weekend. Wish Gracie luck tonight!

A Day to Remember....

Today was a super fun day. We went to The Factory in Wake Forest where we will be having Gracie's 5th Birthday and got her invites. While we were there I visited a few of my favorite shops. Lily Mae's and Clay Fusion to name a couple. We had an absolute blast. I have been wanting to go to Clay Fusions for a while now but hadn't made the time or thought it would be pretty pricy BUT I am here to tell you, the prices are amazing!!! We painted a plate and put the kiddos handprints on it and totally enjoyed the laid back and relaxing atmosphere. It was so neat how you basically do everything to your own piece, and I LOVE that. Of course someone is there when you need help or have a question but no one hovers you and you just paint with your kids and make a piece of treasure that you will cherish forever.

Here is ours....We go back and pick it up in two weeks, after it has been in the kiln and fired. I can NOT wait to see the final product.

Also, I am sure you notice how Gabriel's name is a little messed up, but no worries after it is fired only one of those will show, the rest I had used as a guide.

We also took the kids to get some yummy Ice Cream next door. Gracie of course LOVED that and chose a pink sugar to go around her cone. Gabriel did not care what color it was as long as he was eating it.

I have not had a day this fun in a LONG time. I feel like we actually got things accomplished and spent family time together doing things that will be remembered forever. It's the little things right?

You know how I always tell you all how Rick never smiles? Well today he wanted to show you how happy he was so he did the best smile he could.

Hot right? He wasn't being serious but I love this pic. It shows his true, crazy personality and every single time I look it I laugh. Sums up our fun day!

And of course here's me...Had to add a selfie right?

See my sleepy man in the back.....melts a mama's heart....


How was your Saturday?

Christmas Unwrapped Event

Wednesday Night my family joined Joni and her family (minus Jason) to attend their church Christmas festival. I must say this was the largest Church event I have ever been too. There was SO much to do! We didn't fit in even half of the activities but we had fun and enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. Joni and I hardly ever get together even though we are literally only thirty minutes apart but this week I had the opportunity to hang out with her twice!! YAY! Quality BFF time is always good for the soul.

Gracie had SO much fun! There were games, food, and tons of amazing stops for kids to enjoy themselves. I commented multiple times on how amazingly decorated the church was. It was simply beautiful. I suck at remembering to take pictures but luckily Joni brought her camera so we were able to get several photos to look back on and enjoy. 

It is so important to teach my children about the true meaning of Christmas so I was super happy we were able to attend this with Joni because Gracie learned a lot and had a blast while doing it. The kids were off the wall but we didn't expect anything less because they were so excited to be together. Here are some of the pics from that night. I am already looking forward to going back next year...Gabriel will be older and be able to participate more, although I am sure he didn't mind being carried around all night....

Head over to Six Cherries On Top  to see more photos from our Fun Night! :-) 

Cooking with Mommy

The other night me and Gracie decided to make Oreo Balls. I have seen them ALL over Pinterest and honestly I knew it was a done deal when I saw them and I had to make them. Although this is a super easy snack to make it is a very messy task let me tell ya... The only ingredients you need are 1 package of Oreos, One 8 oz. tub of soft cream cheese, and Semi Sweet Hershey's Chocolate chips.

The first thing we did was crush up our Oreos in a ziploc bag. We had SO much fun doing this. You crush them until they are the consistency of dirt. After you do that you put the Oreos in a bowl and mix in the Cream Cheese with your hands....this is the start of the messiness.

But hey?! That's the fun in cooking and making memories right? After we mixed up the Oreos and Cream cheese good, we put our Hershey's chips in a bowl and melted them in the microwave. The next step was to dip our balls of oreos and cream cheese into the melted chocolate and place them in the fridge to sit over night and harden. 

Of course before we did that we had to have some fun and eat some yummy melted chocolate!

Isn't it funny how different my kids are!? Gracie is HIGH on chocolate and Gabriel is thinking....why in the world did I eat that...

The next morning our Oreo Balls were not beautiful BUT they were made with love and we had a blast!! Also they were SOOOOO good. I do know that next time we make some of these tasty treats I will let the balls sit in the fridge and harden some on their own before I dip them in chocolate, I think this will help with the 5 hour clean up afterwards :-)

Today is the last day to enter the Ink & Astor Giveaway! Go HERE if you haven't entered yet! :-)

Our Afternoon Outside :-)

My little Pumpkin was sick all Thursday night and Friday and finally begin to feel better Saturday evening, so we decided to go outside and play together, we found out Gracie -LOVES-  the outdoors and to play soccer! LOL. We may have a little athlete on our hands :-) She also enjoyed riding her little car and dancing on it to her tunes, which by the way is currently "Beautiful Girl", quite fitting huh? :-) Here are some pics I took with my phone, they are adorable :-)