4th of July Vacation: Birmingham

Hello friends!

After spending a few days in Birmingham with family for the holiday weekend, we are settling back into our daily routines and I wanted to take a moment to share a few photos of our time with you.

For the past 12+ years my family and I have visited my Aunt, Uncle and cousins in Birmingham, AL.They have a lovely home with a large pool and the most relaxing sun porch made for reading and naps, of course!
Adam and I decided to go up a couple of days early to have some alone time in addition to exploring the city and suburbs of Birmingham. I took some time prior to arriving to research a few places to visit and was lucky enough to do it all. On Wednesday we had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen followed by shopping at The Summit (Madewell, C. Wonder, Sur La Table). I purchased a couple of turkish towels at sur la table for our future home and am so I'm excited to be able to use them.

Thursday we ventured to a small but very affluent town, Mountain Brook. Driving through the tree lined winding roads you were met with beautiful custom homes on both sides. I apologize for the photos being slightly grain-y but we were going about 45 mph so this is as good as I could get. I must say, the Colonial home was my favorite.

We drove into one of the villages they have in Mountain Brook, specifically English Village to have brunch at Chez LuLu. Having arrived a little before they opened, we meandered about the shops and grabbed a couple of treats and an iced latte at The Continental Bakery.

The thumbprint cookie with raspberry jam and the the french love cookie, respectively.

After walking about the village we sat down at the tables outside of Chez LuLu (adjacent to the Continental Bakery) for lunch and were able to eat with my cousin, Tessa.

First they greeted us with a bread basket and dipping oil, so naturally we felt like we made the right choice.

I ordered the soup and salad sampler with my choice of any soups or salads offered. I chose two salads, the roasted walnut, goat cheese and pear salad with a champagne vinaigrette; the beet and avocado salad; a warm carrot soup (this was absolutely amazing!) and a cup of the gazpacho whose descriptors have left me. It was yummy, that's all I can recall.

 

Adam had the Goat Cheese, Pesto and Tomato Sandwich along with a cup of the gazpacho as well. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon in and out of the local boutiques and later saw a movie with the family!

On the 4th we all slept in and enjoyed a pancake breakfast thanks to my Aunt Beth. It was red white and blue themed, of course. We had our bathing suits on, magazines out and sunscreen applied by mid morning. It was so relaxing!

After swimming and hanging out for quite a while we hopped over to Steel City Pops for an afternoon treat. They make  gourmet popsicle's  and let me tell you, they do it well. Hello, Coffee Pop!

By the end of the day I looked like one hot lobster. I don't tan, I mainly burn, so I am still reeling from the effects of the sun. Regardless of my candy cane lookin' legs, we had a wonderful time. I realized after uploading all of the photos that it was mainly of the fun food we ate and none of us or our family! 

If ever you find yourself in Birmingham or in the very least passing through, I suggest you take a few minutes to explore this fun city.

I hope your holiday weekend was enjoyable! We'll talk soon, I promise.

xoxo  bd

Life Lately

As I mentioned in my previous post, life lately has been busy and constantly changing. We made the decision about 6 weeks ago to move in with my in-laws for a few months to prioritize a few things such as saving up to purchase a home, a new couch, bed, washer/dryer, etc.  They were gracious enough to invite us in to stay for however long we would like. They live on a beautiful piece of property with a large porch and lush green grass. There are even a couple of too-darn-cute kitties by the names of Dot and Lillie that prance around quite a bit as well.  

The transition thus far has been nice and it is a happy and quiet place to come home to after a long work day. We are so grateful for their generosity.

But let’s be honest, I’m a girl on a mission to save up as much money as possible so that we can start a new chapter in our lives.  There are hopes and prayers for babies and a place to call our own.  With that said, below is our life lately:

Most photos above are from my updates on Instagram- follow along if you like!

Instagram.com/LovelyBDavis

We have already arrived at another weekend. I hope yours is filled with lots of sun and summer experiences.

I'll talk to you soon... xoxo bd

November

We have now entered into November, one of my favorite months of the year. I truly come alive during crisp, cold weather. This fall has been so beautiful in Middle Tennessee. The past couple of years have been drab and the trees don't really make much of a statement but this year they are breath taking.

I assume its due to the "mild" summer with plenty of rain. Does that make a difference in the changing of the leaves? I'm not sure...I'm not a scientist, totally just guessing here.

I hope you had a lovely weekend, I sure did :) 

The Mr. and I spent lots of much needed time with our families and celebrated the first weekend in November with a cozy breakfast at The Country Boy in Liepers Fork. If you ever pop in, you must try the Backwoods Benedict. It's officially Monday and it's  back to the bump and grind- 

I'll talk to you soon...

xoxo bd

Original photo taken by Anastasiya Belik

Lovely Saturday

 

I am currently in the living room of my grandparents home visiting while my grandfather recovers from a major surgery and UT v GA game is on. Its quite apparent that this living room audience is captivated. I've never been much for watching sports but Adam loves it and frankly, I enjoy watching his reactions to the plays.

On Thursday evening we made a last minute decision to make the drive down to Mobile, Al, where I am originally from, to help my grandfather and my grandmother out.

The beauty of being down here meant that this morning we woke up to the sun rising over the Mobile Bay and later took a walk down the beach.

It has been a really nice time and my grandfather is recovering really well. Yay!

I hope that this October weekend has treated you well and I will follow up with you shortly.

Talk to you soon...

Xoxo bd

Let's Go Predators!

{Please excuse the less than stellar quality of these photos, they were all taken with my phone}

This past Tuesday night we were given the opportunity, through Adam's job, to use some VIP tickets for the Predators game. 

Do you see the very tippity top row up there? Yeah, that's where we normally sit. Granted, there's not really a bad seat in the house but with these tickets we had access to a lower level, full bar and buffet. 

We felt like fancy pants. Like big kids, you know?

We were given 4 tickets and thought it would be a great idea to take Josh and Amber for a double date. Neither of them had been to a hockey game before so we knew it would be a fun experience. We screamed, shouted, danced and laughed a lot. 

...and for your viewing pleasure, we made some funny faces. 

....and then we had to get serious because hockey games are intense....

Adam tends to yell things like "Ah man!" and  "c'mon!!" and "oooooh!" and you know, all of those serious hockey reactions that hockey lovers yell. 

By the end of the night we could barely talk for all of the screaming we did but it was worth it because the Preds won 3-1! I can't wait to go back for another game!

I hope you are having a bright and shinyThursday, it has not stopped raining here. boo.

Talk to you soon... xoxo bd

Easter 2013 & Charlotte's First Easter

A few days before Easter I received an email from my Mom asking for help in decorating the table for our big lunch. I must first brag on my Mamma as with any get together, be it a big holiday or a small Sunday brunch, she always has a spread of fresh fruits, different cheeses, chips, hummus, crackers, wine, beer- I mean this woman knows how to throw a party. She is always making sure everyone has a little something to nibble on and a comfy place to sit. There she is below, looking gorgeous as always:

This year she said she wanted to go all out with our table and make this a very special occasion as it was Charlotte's first Easter. 

{If by chance you didn't know, Charlotte is my niece and the first grandchild for my side of the family.}

We came up with a color palette and my mom had a beautiful silver candelabra from Gramma, her Mom, that she wanted as the center piece. With that in mind, we began styling it up.

I had so much fun gathering fabric and ribbon, placing the real silver about the table and arranging fresh flowers from my mom's garden.  Why not make an effort to enjoy time with your family? 

*I think it helps that we all get along really well.*

Please note Charlotte's place setting, she had her very own baby sized silver ware and plate. 

Fresh tulips from the garden cut the night before and opening up beautifully!

I'm pretty sure this is my favorite picture of her the whole day...

In the bottom right photo I just picture C saying, "Uh, Mamma, this is my photo shoot, back it up!"

You may notice that we didn't get one single picture of our family. I read another bloggers post where she stated,

  "I should have titled this, "Easter: Grandparents' Edition" because every single photo includes their beloved grandson (and, really, has very little to do with Easter)." 

  I must agree, maybe next year?

I sure hope you don't mind the photo dump. This one is for the scrapbook :)

Talk to you soon! xoxo bd

Happy April

Happy April! I can't believe it, this year is really flying by. Next thing you know we will be celebrating 4th of July. I wish I had some clever joke or prank to pull but I lost all of my ideas when I was 10. Today at work we even talked about pulling an office prank for April Fools- we laughed and then walked away from each other.

Yeah, that was it. End of April Fools story. Moving on!

We had a wonderful Easter yesterday with family and I will share some of the photos tomorrow.  Be forewarned we went a bit overboard on taking photos of the little one in the bunch. Truthfully, we spent 95% of our time focused on our little niece, Charlotte. I can't imagine the love I will have for our own child as I am head over heels for that little lady.

I hope you enjoy your Monday evening, I will now head up to our bedroom for a rinse off and The Following. I may even paint my nails, we'll see how crazy this night gets. 

I'll talk to you soon... xoxo bd

Delighfully Unexpected Brunch

When it comes to impromptu entertaining my initial reaction is 'Come on over!' but then I tend to work myself into a frenzy over cleaning the house and making sure there is good food around.This makes me believe I'm not a 'fly by the seat of my pants' kind of girl. Whatevs... I'm sure this is a typical reaction for most so I won't give myself too hard a time.

Thursday afternoon I got a call from my Mom that my Uncle and Cousin would be in town for the weekend and I jumped at the chance to host my cousin Tessa. {My uncle was staying with my parents but of course he would have been and is more than welcome to stay as well!} I went home after work and got busy cleaning the guest room, washing the sheets and prepping our home. Don't you just love when your space is fresh? I feel I sleep better when things are picked up and wiped off.

Friday I left work early to hang out with my family and later on that night we all gathered for dinner and watched paranormal shows. {Little known fact about the Harvill's, we Tivo every ghost show imaginable. Literally, 85% that air on tv get recorded.} That night we talked about plans for Saturday and what to do for breakfast. At some point I volunteered our home to host all 9.5 of us. Hasty much, Betsy? Girl you've got like one tiny couch and a little space on the floor to sit.  How's that gonna work out for ya?

Once in bed that night I went a little nuts on Pinterest to figure out what to fix. From Stratta's and casserole's to muffins and granola, I think I overwhelmed myself a bit. After a searching storm I thought back to a blogger whose work I consistently drool over. Jenny Steffens Hobick over at 'Everyday Occasions' always shares simple and easy ways to have a get together. I thought to myself, WWJD (What would Jenny Do) and I realized she would keep it simple. She would use what she already had readily available in her pantry.With that in mind I made a mental note of the few things I needed to do and decided I was no longer going to flip out.

At 10:15 Saturday morning everyone arrived and the coffee cups began to fill up. It was easy to put together and only took about 30 minutes of prep time. Our house still smells of bacon...it's glorious. I snapped a few photos to remember and thought it might be fun to share with you. 

I hope this week finds you well! Being that our county is on Spring Break,  traffic was hardly an issue on my way to work this morning - fist pump! Yayy!

I'll talk to you soon....xoxo bd

Labor Day 2012

It’s back to the work week after a much needed long weekend. I was one of the lucky people to be given Monday off and I took full advantage of sleeping in…every day! Saturday evening we went to my parent’s house to watch the big LSU game and Sunday evening we spent with Adam’s parents for dinner and watched The Help. I love, love, love that book and movie!

I hope you enjoyed your holiday and wanted to share some photos of our Labor Day cook out with family and friends.

Can you see Amber? Or as Papa calls her, Old One and a half, she is due in 3 weeks! We are all so excited!

Happy Birthday to Papa, he celebrated a very young 86th birthday. 

You might be curious as to what they are carrying through the living room. An organ of course!

Mr. Shaw (one of yesterday's guest) has an amp company and recently refurbished an organ for my dad's studio. 

I'm beginning to think everyone's dad doesn't have a studio or friends who bring them organs. Just thinking....

So that's it. There were a few snippets of our Labor Day gathering yesterday afternoon.

Again, I hope that you enjoyed your long weekend. 

I'll talk to you soon! 

xoxo bd

Sunday Funday

It has become quite the tradition that every Sunday we go over to my parents house for lunch. When I was little, while we lived in south Alabama, we would go to my grandparent's home and do the exact same thing. Relax, eat, hang out, take naps, catch up from the past week and have a great time. When we were little I know it was a respite for my parents to have the kids run around with a little extra help. Now we are older and are pretty good at taking care of ourselves, but the time are still as sweet. 

Daddy made sure the grill was fired up and hot for the burgers which were perfect for the beautiful late summer day. We sipped on wine, watched some fun shows and stayed until 5 o'clock. I love this time in my life where I get to spend time with my family on a regular basis. 

Thank you to my parents for always providing a comfortable place to land at the end of a busy week! 

I hope you all had a great weekend as well! 

I'll talk to you soon!

xoxo bd