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