Wedding Weekend Recap

Whew- what a fun weekend we had celebrating my big brother and his new bride, Lynsey. Bobby and I are two years apart and we have always had that close brother/sister relationship...complete from best friends at a young age, to the other end of the spectrum through high school and circling back around to a great friendship and bond we have now! Seeing him happily married is certainly very special and we are so happy for them! Here's a few snapshots of the wedding weekend.

With my sweet Mom and sister, catching up on Thursday night...

The adorable welcome boxes...

My Mom did a fabulous job putting together the rehearsal dinner at the Evergreen Music Room at the Holly Inn...

Loved the boxwood wreaths to welcome us in..

My Dad and I before the rehearsal...

The Grooms cake was absolutely adorable with an emblem of their beloved black lab!

My little sister did the place cards after taking lessons in calligraphy. I'm making her start her own business, she is a natural!

At the Rehearsal Dinner with my love!

This is my look if you are interested...of course the dress is now on major sale with limited sizing- but I am seriously in love with it!

dress / shoes / earrings {similar}

Wedding hair and pre-wedding outfits

The bride and their sweet lab, Lou- looking spiffy in his bow tie!

The wedding day is where my pictures slow down- you know the drill, you are so busy all day long and then taking photos with the photographer {thank goodness for professionals!} I can't wait to see them come back, but all I have until then is iphone photos :)

Weeks had just as much fun as we did in the photobooth. He seriously loves sunglasses!

Now onto another week! 

Weekend Selfies

Don't laugh- we rarely take selfies. In fact, I hardly have any photos of "us" these days. But my iphone camera decided to stop working in the way you generally hold it. It occasionally works in the reverse mode, the selfie cam. I just haven't had time to go by to get my phone fixed with the big move. Anyhow, I am now happy to have a few recent photos. 

{On our way to a 30th birthday party!}

{Beach Music Festival with the fam} 

{Sunday night snuggles...Weeks cracks me up!}

find my sunglasses here / love them! 

Tastes of Spring

This weekend we got our official first taste of Spring, and it was glorious. No freezing cold wind blowing us from the car to the door of the house {scrambling with a diaper bag and baby} Gosh that is nice! It feels like it has been forever. Although not as bad as most people, we have had such a cold and wet winter and we are more than happy to bid it farewell. Our weekend was off to an iffy start- we were supposed to go to Raleigh for Stephen's brother's engagement party but we ended up cancelling because our little man was sick all week. No specific thing, just a virus with a nasty temperature at night and major fussiness. Even though he was on the up and up on Friday, we didn't want to chance it. Even when he is sick he will squeeze out a smile for me. Love him! 

Friday night, Stephen's parents watched Weeks for us so we could escape for a dinner out after being cooped up all week with a sick little one. So nice for a break! I just got my hair highlighted last week by my long time favorite stylist in Raleigh and I couldn't be happier. She is the best. It's been almost a year {one YEAR! that is rather ridiculous!} since I have been happy about my hair - post preggo problems...don't even get me started! After extensive amounts spent on shampoo and conditioner, I feel like I am getting somewhere. And, highlights are a girls best friend.

Easy going Saturday night with a new favorite candle burning...

Saturday and Sunday we both did a ton of work outside- moving plants, planting a few new ones, cleaning up the porch, cleaning outdoor furniture cushions...the kind of work that feels good because you know you will enjoy it when you are done. Just one step in prepping for Spring, but we are happy with all we accomplished this weekend. How cute are these chalkboard signs for plants?

Please laugh with me for a second at how hilarious Tucker is in these pictures. I could come up with so many captions for the thoughts running through his head, watching Stephen chop hot-off-the-grill barbecue.

Last but not least, this sweet little guy enjoyed his first bowl of ice cream Sunday night. Why have we not given it to him before? I don't know. He would like to know as well because he loved it! 

Hope your weekend had a peak of Spring too! 

Fair Fun

We navigated our way through the crowds for the first time with a stroller and babe in tow- success! it just me or do people just walk way too slow at the Fair? #petpeeve. We took a little breather in a familiar spot where we used to visit Stephen's Grandma when she volunteered so Weeks could eat. It was so nice to get out of the crowds. It was pretty sunny so he got to wear his shades and he seriously loved them, if you can't tell! 

Our best family photo. Weeks couldn't take his eyes off of the fried food stand next to us! 

Extremely good ham biscuit. Worth every calorie.

On our way home on Sunday afternoon....

 I keep catching him sticking his lower lip out when he's napping. 

Pretty much the cutest thing ever.

When we got home I took Weeks outside on a blanket. He loved looking up at the sky and all around, it was so adorable! 

Hope you had a great weekend!

Tailgate Menu Number Three + Weekend

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Our football game last week fell on Thursday night- which means dinner tailgate!

I made probably the biggest hit I have ever made for the tailgate and it was by far the most simple thing- ever! 

Enter Crescent Sausage Bites!

I ended up dividing these up and saving a handful to keep at home. All of the bites at the tailgate were eaten, and we heated them up for breakfast the next morning. I think they were even better the second day! I am not a big sausage person, but these are simply amazing with the cream cheese. And what's better than crescent rolls?!

CRESCENT SAUSAGE BITES

1 lb. hot sausage (pork or turkey)

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese

2 packages crescent rolls

Dash salt & ground black pepper

Directions:

-Brown sausage; drain. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Blend in cream cheese until the cream cheese is melted.

-Unroll one package of crescent rolls and place on a baking sheet- {I covered mine with foil to make it easy to wrap up later}. Press the seams together to seal them. Spread the sausage mixture evenly over the crescent roll dough, and leave about a 1/2-inch border along each edge.

-Unroll the second package of crescent rolls and place on top of the sausage mixture. Press seams together again and the edges together to seal. 

-Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until crescent roll dough is golden brown.

-Use a pizza cutter to slice into small squares.

Other things we had at our tailgate-

-Buffalo Chicken Wings

-Freshly popped popcorn in personal bags {found at Hobby Lobby}

-Veggies

We were so excited that Weeks got to meet Mr. Wolf! He was so cute looking at him. To be honest, I think he was a little scared! Please check out his football Babylegs socks- they got a lot of attention. So cute.

Since a weeknight game left us with the whole rest of the weekend, we were able to attend a wedding at home. Nothing beats this view!

This poor guy had his 6 month checkup last week and was left with a high fever from his shots. He has always done fine so I'm thinking it was the flu shot this time. It was pitiful and I was terrified. He's always such a trooper, even when he doesn't feel well. 

Sunday morning breakfast at home...

And our little guy was feeling much better and let us know splashing around in his bath tub!

Hope your week is off to a great start ;)

Dining in the City

Great titles like Redbook magazine cheap.

As a lot of you know, we reside on the coast. Living at the beach has it's definite ups, including fresh local seafood year round. {Think pan seared... not fried, we don't do that too often!} However, I am from Raleigh originally and boy do I sure miss the wide variety of cuisines the city has to offer, ranging from really awesome takeout, to dining in for the ultimate experience! Stephen and I had a date night at my new favorite Raleigh spot last weekend, Cow Fish, The Sushi Burger Bar. Hold your tongue- it's freakin' incredible! Cow Fish blends sushi and the burger variety into one amazing experience.

There was much debate on exactly how early we had to arrive in order to eat at a decent hour. Apparently, the whole city of Raleigh is up in arms over it and the wait can be upwards of an hour and a half. We were advised to get there at 5:30. Hello, early bird happy hour!

So we arrived shortly after 5:30, and were told 30 minutes to an hour wait. Not too shabby, we could handle that.

We quickly found a spare spot to stand at the bar next to the enormous fish tank, and the people next to us finished up and we were able to take a seat immediately. Not too bad! 

 

A few minutes after we arrived, Stephen showed me the link the restaurant just texted him to find out our approximate wait time. Your text link shows a special fish that corresponds to a fish swimming on the tv screen on the restaurant wall. When the fish gets closer to the front of the screen, you are closer to getting your seat. Is that not crazy?! We didn't pay much attention to it because we were practically face planting in our crab rangoon dip, but that is besides the point.

We ordered drinks and the said crab rangoon dip to make ourselves comfortable as we prepared to wait for a little while. Y'all...the crab rangoon dip may or may not be a good idea. It's one of those appetizers you want to eat the whole thing, and then not have any room for dinner. 

We were shocked that after only about 25 minutes our buzzer went off and our seats were available! It was too funny because we dreaded all day waiting an hour and a half to eat this amazing food, and there we were promptly seated!

Stephen ordered the Doug's Filet Roll which is crab, cream cheese and avocado topped with thin slices of seared filet mignon. It was quite incredible. One of the best things I think I've ever devoured.

I ordered the Spicy Crunchy Roll, which is shrimp tempura and crab. Since living on the coast, I have gotten so spoiled and I rarely will ever touch seafood unless it is freshly caught at a local restaurant. This was so good though!! Stephen and I also always order a roll each and then share. It's the best way to enjoy sushi!

This was the perfect spot to try something really fresh and new, and fun at the same time. I cannot wait to go back again!

find my top here

If you have been to either location in Raleigh or Charlotte, please tell me your favorites!