I Scream.....You Scream.....

We made our very own Green and Blue Cookie dough ice cream!!!!!

It was REALLY easy, and VERY good!!!!!!!!!!!

Vanilla Ice Cream w/Cookie Dough Bites

Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker (bowls already frozen)

2 cups heavy cream, chilled

1 cup whole milk (I used skim because that is what I had)

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

we used an ENTIRE box of cookie dough bites

Place ingredients in a mixing bowl and combine until well blended. Pour into freezer bowl, turn on machine and let it mix until mixture thickens (20-25 min) Add the cookie dough bites when there is 5 min remaining

Freeze for 2 hours......ENJOY!!!!!

We borrowed my mom's ice cream maker as well, so that they could both make their own. I let them measure and do it all themselves (Kacey is BIG into watching the cooking show so she didn't want to measure the sugar....and it turned out VERY sweet!)

Collin REALLY loved it!!!

They watched it thicken the ENTIRE 25 min that it was turning! ha! I did add food coloring to it to make it a little more interesting for them to watch!

It was a great summer treat, and we will DEF be doing it again! (as soon as we finish these two huge tubs!)

xoxo

Summer Lovin

We are loving every single min of this summer!

We have been on more family "adventures" than ever before, and I absolutely love it!

Our father's day plans of kayaking were postponed due to the stomach flu, until this past weekend. WE HAD A BLAST!!!!!!!!!!

It was a great workout, we got to see lots of beautiful fish below, had snacks out on the ocean, took breaks on the beach to play in the sand, and just enjoyed each other's company!

I am DEF in the market to buy a set of kayaks! I can see us going out every couple of weekends on them and just making great memories!

Chad LOVED his father's day celebration!

Collin was BEYOND excited that we got his two favorite colors, green and orange!

The boys boat! (st. pete bridge in the background!)

Kacey LOVED it! She is a total water girl!

I don't think I have ever had an arm workout like this!

Hope you all are enjoying the beautiful summer weather!!!!

xoxo

My Little Cowboy

I have a little cowboy on my hands!

Actually, I have a little skateboarding, beach loving, soccer playing boy that LOVES his cowboy boots!!

He is 3 1/2 and I get to spend EVERY day with him!

He picks out his clothes (even on this photo shoot I let him go to town w his outfit).

He would rather play sports than play with any toy at all!

He LOVES the movie Toy Story (1, 2 and 3)

His FAVORITE colors are Green and Orange

He is VERY fast and could outrun anyone on his soccer team

He would rather just hang out alone than play with someone that isn't nice to him

He claims that he is going to marry his sister and move into the house across the street from us so that we don't miss him too much.

He is super excited about starting preschool next year for two half days....but he keeps asking me if I am going to miss him too much while he is there

He learned how to swim on his own at the age of 2 and is a total fish

He is a VERY good temper and just goes with the flow

When the music comes on...he generally drops to the ground to break dance

He is not a very big eater........but will destroy our whole family when it comes to eating popcorn!

He has all of my husband's best qualities

He wears his cowboy boots at least once a day! (even on the hottest day in Florida!)

He is the happiest little guy I know, and I couldn't be more proud of him!

and

THIS LITTLE GUY KNOWS HOW TO ROCK THE CAMERA!!!!!


Maria with Snidershots said that he posed himself like this! ha!



I seriously wish that I could pull off a picture like this!




Those bright blue eyes and bleach blond hair are VERY hard to say no to!


This picture just makes me smile! Maria always captures moments that really allow me to go right back and FEEL the happiness!

These pictures will ALWAYS be looked at with the best of memories of the coolest 3 1/2 year old I know!

xoxo

My next home

I am NOT done decorating ANY room in my home.

I DO know what I want to do...I just need to actually DO it!

But after staying indoors for a week without the energy to get off the couch from "the worst flu ever!", I have looked at every decorating magazine that I own about 3 times each!

It has made me realize that I REALLY wish that I had a built in bench like this.

I even wished that we had one like this when I was a kid! I always thought it would be so fun to have the option of eating breakfast while laying down! (fully aware how crazy this sounds!)

Maybe in our next home we will have this space!

xoxo

Summer Sale!!!!

I have a love/dislike relationship with Jcrew! I either LOVE everything in there.....or I walk out feeling depressed that nothing looked right!

Well, recently I have been in LOVE!

I do believe they have the SOFTEST cotton t-shirts and the best chino shorts!

Their summer sale is ON! (an extra 30% off Summer styles...code is at jcrew.com)

These items have made their way into my shopping cart!!!! (probably just depressed that I have had the flu for almost a week and have been stuck in the house....on the couch....watching kids movies)

.

LOVE THIS! Fully aware that I wear ENTIRELY too much white, but I just love it!

This shirt is great! Silk, Summery, and ruffles.....sounds perfect to me!

I have these shorts in about every color they come in!

ENJOY!!!!

xoxo

Happy Father's Day

For the past week the kids and I have had a serious stomach flu that has caught us all off guard!

We had SOOO many plans for fathers day that we had hoped to work on all last week!
Our father's day was going to be filled with all of Chad's favorite foods.....kayaking in the Bay......picnic on the beach, and homemade ice cream!

Instead, we are all sitting on the couch and the BEST dad in the world is taking care of us....and has been all week!

THAT is a GREAT dad!!!!!

He loves us, supports us, takes care of us, loves spending time at home with us, looks forward to reading the kids books every night, allows me to go to town when it comes to decorating, believes in whatever we are dong, and he makes us all feel so safe and loved!

Today he is showing us what a great father/husband he is by playing Dr........and NEXT weekend we will enjoy all of his favorite things!

My Dream House

I always rip out pages that I LOVE in every design magazine, book, or catalog! There are sooo many styles and items that I truly love, but that don't really reflect what I want in my home! This has confused me for a while now.......but I think I might FINALLY have gotten a collection of pictures that I can FEEL having in my home!

I am on track, I just think that these pictures will help me put some finishing touches on the work that we have already started! (this will make my husband VERY happy!)

I love the feel of this room! Not too WHITE that it is scary to come and sit in (for guests....I am aware of how easy it is to bleach white slipcovers...but I think it scares others). The green curtains are a shade or two bright for what I am looking for, and I actually want them more of a blue, but this picture gives me the FEEL that I have been going for!

This kitchen is just dreamy! I LOVE the counters!!!!!!! We purchased a new home with wood cabinets, and I want SO BADLY to paint them white! And now that I look at this picture, remove my granite counters and go with these EXACT ones as well (oh, and put up shelves instead of so many cabinets)!!!!

This is what I am going for with our guest bedroom/Sa-Sea Boutique office! I just love how fresh and crisp it feels! I think that it is a great place for our guests to spend their time while visiting.
(LOVE THIS PICTURE, BUT DOES IT ANNOY ANYONE ELSE THAT THE SEAHORSE PILLOW IS UPSIDE DOWN?)

I have a farm table for our dining room! We eat basically every meal at it, and I love it!!!!!!!!!!! I am about to paint the legs white (they are currently red) and have already painted all of the chairs. This picture just looks so crisp....without looking like I would be nervous to let the kids eat at it!

I have been searching for ideas for our bedroom and I couldn't commit to any of them! This picture is JUST how I want our room! Absolutely beautiful!!!!! I am hoping to start our fabric headboard sometime within the next few weeks!

I LOVE this bathroom! Those tiles in the shower and on the floors are BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!! I would definitely wake up early to get ready each morning in this bathroom....and would take my time! I went out of my comfort zone and painted our master bathroom a chocolate brown a few years ago. I like the color, like how it looks with our white frames, BUT it just isn't me! At all!

I have had a vision of what I wanted for years....................it just took a little time for me to really settle into my vision.

xoxo

Sneak Peek

This weekend we had our pictures taken by my dear friend, Maria, with Snidershots!

She has such an amazing talent and always manages to make me melt at the sight of each shot!

Here is a little sneak peek at the AMAZING work she did!

I LOVE this picture of my babies! They really aren't babies anymore, but in my heart they will ALWAYS be little! They get along SOOO well, which only makes my life that much easier!

I can't even get over my little Collin! He LOVES his cowboy boots, and that's what he wanted to wear for the pictures! He is probably the sweetest little guy that I have EVER met, and I just can't get enough of him! (or his boots)

I have NO idea when my little girl grew into such a big-little girl! She is soooo sweet, and has a heart of gold! I wish I could slow her down a bit and just keep her right at this stage!

This picture just makes me smile!

My little family!!!

I can't even get over my kids in the picture! They are too much! And I think Collin wanted to wear the cowboy boots JUST so that he could stand like this! ha!

This is my FAVE! Everyone made fish faces, and Collin went for the Blow fish! Too cute!!!!!

Sometimes I wish I could just have Maria follow the kids around on a daily basis just to capture every moment of their lives!

These are just a few "tease" pictures that she sent me, I can't even imagine how hard it is going to be once I see ALLLLLL of the pictures she took!

I NEED MORE WALL SPACE!!!!!

xoxo

Smile

I found a super cute etsy shop, Studio Mela and it made me smile!

SOOOO true!!!!!

I can't stand it when people say "you are so lucky" about something.

Usually you get out of something exactly what you put into it!

Today I might actually have dinner ready BEFORE Chad comes home from work, that would DEF be unexpected!

Just love this!!!!!

No sense crying over spilt milk! I LOVE my life and where I am at in it RIGHT now!

Check out her shop!

xoxo

SATC2

I went to see Sex and The City 2 on the night that it came out with some great gal pals.....and I really liked it! I didn't go into it with any expectations, and I had a great time drinking cosmos and enjoying a girl's night out!





I thought a good part of the fashion was just WAY too crazy for anyone to even attempt off the set of the movie, but the shoes were AMAZING! (not to mention Carrie's ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL APARTMENT!!!!!)





Out of the entire movie this was, by FAR, my favorite outfit, and the shoes..........I LOVE! (even though I would probably rock them with a pair of jeans and a plain shirt!)



I have to say that I showed up to the Movies as another showing was letting out.......and I did feel a little bit like I was walking up to the prom! A prom that involved mainly women in their 20s-40s trying VERY hard to take their outfit to the next level!

It was pretty funny!!!!! I am all for dressing and feeling great about yourself, but some of these girls went WAY overboard for a movie! :)

xoxo

For The Birds

We recently came home from vacation and found a bird's nest on our back porch!

I wanted to move it away before she laid her eggs, but they kids were VERY excited about it so we decided to observe it!

As of now there are 3 little eggs in there! The mama bird stands guard for the most part, but the nest is located right by our sliding glass door, so she quickly flies off to the edge of the fence whenever we go out or let the dog out!

I am a bit nervous about what she will do once the eggs hatch! But for now, we are enjoying it!

On our list of things to do this summer, the kids decided that they wanted to paint bird houses for the new birds. Doubt they will ever get used, but they sure did turn out cute and they had fun painting them!

It was SOOO hot outside while they painted!!!!

With all of the excitement, I also am adding back some bird cases to My Shop

enjoy!

xoxo

Summer Projects

We sat around this weekend and made a list of things we wanted to do this summer! The whole family! It was so much fun, until I realized that we had better get started on all of these projects, activities, trips, and meals!

One of my top priorities is to get alllll of the many pictures that I have in frames and on the walls!
I have wanted to hang them up the stairs for years, and just haven't committed to it (I am sensing a serious commitment issue with decorating here!). We have stairs leading up to our guest room/Sa-Sea Boutique office and the kid's playroom! I envision having all of the fun family pictures from our extended family leading up to the space!

This picture from Tori And Dean's old house is exactly what I want!

This project is starting today!!!!!


xoxo