Two More Days!

In just two days I'll be on the beach with all my girls celebrating my Bachelorette party and Dot's bday in ORC. I feel like it's been forever since I've taken a girls trip so I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Now, all I have to do is go through my laundry list of things to do before I leave....these are all a priority!

To Do List:

Work another 2 days - ugh

CHECK

Get my nails done

CHECK

Pack - not there yet

Attend May's Cocktail Club at my girl LB's casa - SO EXCITED!

CHECK - it's tomorrow night!

Spend as much time with my Bayley

DOUBLE CHECK

Is it Friday morning yet?!

Weekend Recap...

This weekend was full of 3 amazing things....Fun, Fashion and Food! After a long week of rain RBD and I were ready to get out of the house and enjoy some festive events laid out for the weekend. On Friday night, our club had it's annual deck opening party to kick off the summer. We got to enjoy an outdoor spread of cocktails, good friends and a live band!

Live music from Another Level

Then I got to help my dear friend KKW shoot her first clothing line collection at her in-laws house by the river. It was an honor to help her because she has worked so hard on making this collection a reality - and she did!!

What a great girls day!

 The girls modeling the Erin Dress
(Disigns by Kara Kihm)

Last night RBD prepared a fabulous BBQ dinner. We also got to use our new everyday dishes that we've been getting from our registry - oh and my Lilly tray which I LOVE!

Job well done on the grub RBD!

YUM

Nesting...

This past month I've been talking to RBD that I'm ready to get a house. I don't know if it's because I've moved around so much that I'm ready to settle down or if I'm just simply HAPPY here. There's something about making a house a home that makes this feeling of nesting come up. 

Right now, we have way to much going on to get a house but it's always fun to look through my favorite home magizines to get inspiration!

Beach Reads...

I love the summer for many reasons but what I enjoy the most is just relaxing in the warm sunshine engrossed in a good book! I smile just thinking about it. I've been going online to find a good beach read for this summer and here is what I've found....

 Summer in the South by Cathy Holton - available May 24th.
Grab this one for Memorial Day weekend and when you fall in love with Holton make sure you read Beach Trip, one of my favorite books of summer of 2009.

 

 Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews - available June 7th.
The queen of southern chic lit, her books always put a smile on my face.

 

If You Were Here by Jen Lancaster - available May 3rd. 

What's on your summer reading list?

Pizza Night

I'm always on the lookout for a great new pizza restaurant, it's our Friday night dinner staple. So, I was so excited to hear about SuperStar Pizza. It's a Take-N-Bake pizza restaurant that hand makes all the sauces and dough from scratch. Each Pizza Pie is made to order and comes with simple 12min baking instructions and a special cooking sheet for the oven. RBD and I absolutely love this place and it even makes the idea of pizza somewhat gilt free - since everything is freshly made!

Is it Friday yet?!

The Perfect Cup Of (iced) Joe....

This weekend my mom and I picked out a coffee maker for the house - I know, after 9 months of being here you would think I had one! Well, I'm so happy I finally got one since I've been living off Starbucks these past few months and trying to save money at the same time. My mission these past few days was to find out how to make the perfect cup of Iced Coffee (the way Starbucks makes it) and....I DID IT!

I bought two of the recommended brands that they (as in Starbucks) told me to get

Kenya and Pike Blend

I tried Kenya Monday - It was ok but had a sweeter taste to it....

Today I tried Pike Blend and....IT'S THE WINNER!!!

Now, don't get me wrong, I will still be a weekend traveler to Starbucks but for the time being I'm saving $10 a week / $50 a month!

Neon, Neon...

Neon is absolutely huge this season. These bold colors are found everywhere from nail polish to silk dresses.

 

 So tell me, do you love it or are you having horrible 80's flashbacks?

A Night Of Art...

Last night, RBD's company hosted a private viewing of the Picasso exhibit at the VMFA. I was excited to have the opportunity to see it (since the last viewing is this weekend) but what I really enjoyed was the actual museum venue!

Anyway, the night couldn't have been better - we were surrounded by good friends, good food and art.

Bart and RBD ready to start the tour after a few cocktails....

Heading down to the exhibit

Taking a stroll around the grounds at the VMFA

The landscaping and waterfall stairs were my favorite

The view for the top of the stairs at sunset

Thank you HW for hosting this event and giving me the opportunity to see the VMFA for the first time

Showered With Love...

This past weekend my family and friends hosted a lovely shower for me in CT. It was such a fun day hanging out with my closest friends and celebrating RBD and I getting married. We also shared the exciting news that my older sister HLT is preggers!!!!

 Our family has a lot to celebrate this year and we couldn't be happier.

ALY and HLT (Sisters)

GS, JP, ALY, KIKI and SG

Oh how they know me so well!!!

The girls basking in the sun!

A Moment...

I've been bad this week on keeping up with my blog but my roller coaster of a life got in the way - sorry!

Life definitely gave us lemons this week but we're all getting by one day at a time. If I could take anything out of this week, it would be that both RBD and I have the most amazing family and friends - thank you!

So with all this being said, today is my new beginning. I'm going to love life, become a better person then I am today and embrace all things negative and turn it into something positive. My mato everyday....



Foxfields

This past weekend RBD and I went to Charlottesville, VA to attend Foxfield Races. We had so much fun last year that we had to go back again this year...Plus we get to see our dear friends from C'ville!

MG, ALY, KRC

Goose and his lovely wife Mary

The Richmond crew - LB, CW and ALY

RBD and ALY enjoying the race track view

LB and ALY feeding the horse

LB and ALY - Working on our tans!