Harry Potter OBSESSED

I completely admit it - I'm probably the LAST person to jump on the Harry Potter bandwagon. Even though I am obsessed with reading, I have never gotten into the fantasy genre. Finally, after the persuasion of my mom and friends, I gave in to the craze. And I'm SO glad I did!!

I seriously read all 7 of the Harry Potter books in about 6 weeks. I just could not put them down - especially the last 3 or 4 in the series. J.K. Rowling has to have the most amazing imagination in the entire world. How in the world did she come up with all of the characters and scenarios in these books?!

I must admit...one of the saddest parts of the books, for me, was when Dobby died. The little guy was so annoying, but so sweet to Harry! R.I.P. Dobby!
I cannot WAIT for the Deathly Hallows movie to come out in November! If you have been holding out on reading Harry Potter like I was, seriously...give it a chance! You won't regret it!

A Day at the Lake

One of my family's favorite summertime activities is to spend the day on our boat at the lake. Michael, Bailey, and I met my family at the lake on Saturday and we had so much fun!

Isn't Gates the coolest baby you've ever seen?!Michael and Bailey chillin on the boat:
Bailey swam ALL DAY LONG. He was so tired that night:

Gates really wanted to drive the boat!

Beach Trip!

We had the most amazing long weekend in the Seaside, Florida area last weekend. We spent it here....

And here...

I absolutely LOVE the Fort Walton Beach area. The beaches are gorgeous, the little towns are adorable, and there are so many fun restaurants and shops. We went with our good friends Grace and Will for the long weekend. We rented an adorable condo in the Gulf Place village - so cute!

Michael and I in Gulf Place the first night:

Dinner at Goatfeathers the first night:

The boys in our condo the second night:

Dinner at the Smiling Fish Cafe in Gulf Place:

Grace and me:

The whole group the last night at the Naked Grape Wine Station:

We had SO much fun with them. We are definitely making this an annual trip. Lucky for me I'm heading back to Seaside in August for a whole week with my family!

Alison's Wedding Weekend!

One of my very best friends, Alison, finally tied the knot this weekend in Washington, D.C.! Every event was absolutely amazing. All of the events were located close to Dupont Circle. I LOVED the area. The food, the flowers, the details - she didn't miss one thing! Here are a few of the pictures from the weekend:

The bride popping some champagne Thursday evening in her Presidential Suite :)

Alison looking lovely at her bridesmaid's luncheon on Friday at Poste:
Alison and I at the luncheon:
Michael and I at the rehearsal dinner at the Old Tabard Inn(like my crazy hair?!):

Michael and I at the reception at the Meridian House...it was MAGNIFICIENT!

The gorgeous centerpieces on our table at dinner:

The gorgeous bride taking it easy after dinner!

Furman girls with the groom!

I wish I had more pictures to share. I can't wait to see her photographer's pictures! Enjoy your honeymoon in Bermuda, Matt and Alison!

Vote for our Backyard!

Please take a minute and vote for us! Michael heard about a local contest on the radio yesterday to have your backyard completely redone and landscaped. Needless to say, our backyard is a complete disaster! We have done quite a bit of work on the front of our house and the inside, but the backyard has remained untouched...probably because we have NO idea where to start!

You can vote for us by clicking here (you go to the bottom and rate the picture...preferably with 5 stars :)

Here is the picture we uploaded...with Bailey in the picture, of course! Thanks so much!

Updated Exterior House Pictures

We have done quite a bit of work on the exterior of our house. I think it's time I finally share some pictures!

BEFORE: This is the picture of our house from the MLS listing. To be honest, I did not even want to LOOK at this house after I saw this picture. Luckily, Michael convinced me:

AFTER: We painted all of the red a classic grey (I'm much more into neutral colors).We have done quite a bit of landscaping, as well:
We also got a new porch swing!
Some pretty pots of Geraniums for the front steps:
A closer view of the house:

We still need a bit more porch furniture for the right side of the porch, but we are making slow and steady progress. The only thing we aren't quite sure about is the color of the door. Do you think we should paint it an accent color to make it pop? Please tell me what you think!

New York Recap

I was in NYC last weekend for one of my best friend's Bachelorette weekend! Alison is getting married in May and she was one of my bridesmaids. We were roommates in college our freshman year and our senior year, so we have been friends for quite a while now!

Alison, me, and Kaci on our way to a Broadway show:

We saw Promises, Promises, with Kristin Chenowith. It was like Mad Men on Broadway...amazing!
Alison's finance's sister, Allie, myself, and Alison at brunch at Jane in Soho on Saturday:

Dinner at Public in Soho! Yummy dinner and great atmosphere.

It was a great weekend and I think Alison's ready to walk down the aisle in 3 short weeks!