Sometimes people see formal dining rooms as wasted space. But not me. I love a specific place to gather the people I love around the table. Friends and family, old and new, there's few things that bring me as much joy than putting together some plates of yummy food and sitting down together to share a meal.
Read moreThe New House Baby Gate
So, Brighten is 17 months old. How did this happen you ask? I assure you that I have no idea. But here we are with a super active toddler! When we moved back in November, I knew we'd need to be really strategic with where Brighten is allowed to roam free. The best (maybe the only good) thing about moving with a 14 month old is that we were able to arrange our new house in a way that gave Brighten plenty of space but sectioned off areas where we don't want her roaming free.
Read moreChange of Address
Y'all - we moved! This post is definitely delayed because we closed on the new house on November 9th, but when you move two weeks before Thanksgiving with a 14 month old, a blog post in February about the move is what happens!
Read moreHow I Stopped Dieting & Started Losing Weight
Last month in my post for Birmingham Moms Blog, I declared to the world that I was breaking up with dieting and starting a new relationship with becoming strong. It's been one month since I started going to Steel Strength Training (SST) three times per week. SST is strictly strength training - it's not boot camp or CrossFit (these things aren't bad or anything, but they're just not for me). It's only been a month, but I am absolutely loving it. Nate (the owner and head trainer) is super encouraging, super realistic, and super knowledgable. I've been going three mornings a week (his recommended number of days to train), and I'm already seeing results. It's pretty amazing.
Read moreH O P E
Happy New Year! I love even-numbered years. Except for the fact that I wasn't born on one, most of the wonderful things in my life have happened on even-numbered years (met Jason in 2010, married in 2012, Swanson in 2014, Brighten born in 2016, etc.).
Read moreLife Lately :: The Most Busy-iest Time of the Year
Well, my last post was way too long ago. So long good intentions. Since the last time I posted anything on the blog, we have begun a new adoption process, bought a new house, moved, begun renting out our old house, celebrated Thanksgiving in Florida, vacationed in New York City, and now we are counting down the days until Christmas! It's been a lot. Throw our feisty 15 month old in the mix and it's been downright chaos. But now I've got a few minutes to actually sit down and collect a few thoughts, so here it goes...
Read moreBrighten's First Bee-Day
It's still hard for me to believe that Brighten is O-N-E! On the day of her birthday we spent the day as a family at the McWane Science Center in the Itty Bitty Magic City. She ate birthday cake at Olexa's as we enjoyed anniversary cake and took a great nap in the afternoon :)
Read moreA California Company You'll Love
Guess what?! Guest post!! Get excited because today you'll be hearing from my cousin-in-law (Jason's cousin), Audra. Audra and I have only met once in person when we were in California earlier this year, but I feel like we've been friends for years. Her daughter and Brighten are close in age, and it's been so wonderful to have someone with a little girl just a few months ahead of us. Since most of our friendship has developed over email and Facebook Messenger, we laughed a lot at each other's accents when we finally got to meet this year! Audra grew up in New England, and I grew up in Northwest Florida. It was a good time and Jason and I look forward to visiting Audra and her sweet family in Massachusetts sometime soon!
Read morePottery By Michelle
Harry's for Her
One of the podcasts that I listen to every week has been sponsored by Harry's for years and years. I've loved the idea of supporting a business like Harry's that appreciates good quality in life's mundane tasks, like shaving. But Harry's has always been marketed toward men. So, I've gifted their products to my dad, my father-in-law, and of course Jason has a Harry's razor. But for some reason I'd never thought to try Harry's for myself until I realized that I actually shave much more often than Jason does, but my razor was not nearly as nice as his.
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