Mid Week Randoms

Thought I would post some cute pictures of Chloe from the past few days......

She loved swinging at the park this past weekend. She is finally big enough to fit, although she still looks so small.

I love how they both have the same expressions on their face here!

Some others from this past weekend. I got that stroller on clearance with an additional 20% off Sunday. I got such a good deal on it, made me happy. 

And one last picture from good ole Costco. Hope everyone has a great 4th of July tomorrow!! 

5 for Friday

Today I am linking up over at The Good Life and with Joy for 5 things on Friday. Here we go:

1. I am loving that we have a pool to go to this summer. Its great even if we only go for 45 minutes. It doesn't hurt that Chloe looks so adorable in her swim suite! I still can't over that it's a little big on her. Who knew I would have such a small baby?

2. Today we close on our house in Richmond. While I am so grateful we sold it, and to be done with paperwork and all those annoying things that go into selling a house I can't help but be a little sad. This was such a great home for us.

3. I am recently obsessed with these Chobani greek yogurt flips. Key lime is my favorite, but they are all good. 

4. The other day at the grocery store I put Chloe in the shopping cart for the first time. That carseat is just too heavy now. She did really well and she loved being able to see everything better.

5. Since Chloe is really loving her solid food I decided to buy some at the store. I had been giving her just avocados or bananas or oatmeal. She loves this baby food, sometimes she gets angry when it's all gone!

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a great weekend!! 

Life Here

Here is a random post about life here in Winston-Salem, a brain dump if you will.

I really really really love Harris Teeter. Clarke keeps laughing at me when I talk about how great it is because, I know, it's just a grocery store. But they seriously have all my favorite foods in one place! In Richmond I would have to go to 2 or 3 different stores to find my favorite tea, hummus, Kashi bars and  yogurt. But Harris Teeter has them all, and more. The best part is it's not too expensive like a lot of nicer grocery stores in Richmond. 

I love that Clarke gets off work an hour earlier than he used to. We've been able to go do stuff when he gets home from work which is so nice. We love the greenways here, which are basically trails. My favorite so far is Muddy Creek Greenway. Something about the views reminds me of Harrisonburg, it's so relaxing. I can't wait to go run here.

Speaking of running, yesterday I signed up for a half marathon training program here! I was searching online for running stores and races here and found Fleet Feet. It's a local running store (like Road Runners for all my Richmond running friends) and they have so many different training programs. From a beginner 5k program to marathon training. I asked them about the program and it seems very similar to the marathon training program I did in Richmond back in 2011 and absolutely loved. I figured I don't have any excuses since Clarke already said he would watch Chloe Saturday mornings for me to train. Originally I had planned on doing the half training team in Richmond with my favorite running buddy (Hi Emily!) and since we learned we would be moving I didn't know if I would still be able to do it. I knew I couldn't train on my own after my brief hiatus from running during pregnancy and commuting to Richmond to train every Saturday just seems like too much. But, the best part of it all: I'm still going to run The Richmond Half Marathon on November 16th!! I couldn't believe this training team was for my hometown! I love that I'm so familiar with the course already! 

Here is a picture of our fireplace. I'll post more house pics soon (for you Rachel!)  It's my favorite part about our new home. I've always wanted a fireplace, not to actually use, although that will be nice in the fall, but just to decorate! I love walking in and seeing this focal point. I would love to buy a nice big mirror to put over it but I'm waiting until we actually buy a house. We signed a 6 month lease here so since we won't be here too long I'm hesitant to make a purchase not knowing if I can reuse it in the next place. 

I am loving the radio station K Love. It's a contemporary Christian station that I've heard great things about. I always wondered when people moved to Richmond why they would complain about not getting K Love there, now I get it. 

Chloe has her own bathroom in this new place! First I will say I am having so much fun finding towels and things for it. (I figure I can take everything with us to the next house, especially since having 2 full baths is a deal breaker for us now).  I love that we can just leave all her toys out too. She loves bath time now, she has come a long way from those first few months of hating it. 

I started using our cloth diapers again. I just had to stop when we started selling our house. I had no way of knowing when someone was coming to see the house, and couldn't have the diapers out drying. Then with moving it was just too much. But now that life has settled back down I am glad to be using them again. I really love how much money they save and they really are cute.

In an effort to be honest I must say not everything is roses and sunshine. While I do think I will enjoy living here it still doesn't feel like home, I know that just takes time. I still don't know many people and that's hard. We tried a new church Sunday morning that we both really liked, but it was so different walking into church and not having tons of people to talk to and catch up with. I keep getting emails from my old mom group and I long for that community here. 

And to end on a happy note, here is Chloe wearing her first t-shirt!! I remember when my friend (Hi Emily Lang!) brought this to me in the hospital after I had her, it looked so big. I can't believe it fits her now! Oh, and to go off on another tangent this girl has been sleeping so much better! I am starting to wonder if it was something about our old house, a noise or where the vent was, that was keeping her from sleeping so well. She still wakes up but hasn't nursed at night in over a week! This is a  HUGE milestone for us!! I am finally hopeful that she will sleep though the night sooner than later.

The Last Saturday

 Depending when our little girl decides to make her grand entrance, this might be the last Saturday me and the hubs spend just the two of us for awhile. We decided to head down to Carytown, a cute little street that has local shops and restaurants near the city, and do some shopping and have lunch. 

He had been wanting to try this Mexican restaurant, Don't Look Back for awhile so we got lunch there. As a suggestion from a friend we got the nachos and they were really good! 

I also found a Christmas dress for our baby girl. I had been looking for awhile and was so excited when I found it at one of my favorite shops. 

All I need now is a cute little bow to go with it!!

I'm glad we got one more day together, but now I feel even more ready for her to come! We said it's crazy to think that by this time next week we will be parents. So crazy, but wonderful. 

27 Weeks

How Far Along: 27 Weeks!

Size of Baby: Baby is the size of a rutabaga. She weighs about 2 lbs. 

Weight Gain: I've gained 10 lbs. 

Maternity Clothes: Cotton Dresses are still my favorite thing! I am ready for cooler weather to pair them with some leggings and Uggs. Also so I can wear cardigans over maternity tanks and my dresses. 

Gender: So excited it's a girl. I was talking to a friend at church who has a 7 month old baby girl and she was saying she picks her outfit around which bow she wants her to wear. Can't wait!

Movement: Def. feeling more movement and it's more intense. Clarke is feeling her move more too. 

Sleep: Sleep is getting harder. Using my body pillow has helped though. 

Symptoms: This week my back has started to hurt. It's normal because I am carrying more weight in the front but it's no fun. 

Food Cravings: Mexican food! And of course ice cream still. 

What I Miss: It's back to running. Especially after reading this post on one of my favorite blogs. 

What I’m Looking Forward To: Finishing the nursery! We are close, just a few more things to make for on the wall and the crib. 

Best Moment This Week: Shopping with Clarke yesterday for things for our baby. We got her crib mattress and the cutest little dress on clearance at Gymboree. 

I must say, this is the first picture I've looked at of myself pregnant and thought "oh my gosh, I look huge!" I know I am suppose to, it's good she is growing, but yeah I am getting big. 

Fun Nursery Find

I must say I am really excited about my most recent nursery items purchased! I have been looking for new hardware for the dresser and nightstand ever since we found out we were having a girl. I just love all the pretty crystal hardware that is out there, and think it would be perfect for a little girl's room. The only problem is it's super expensive. I absolutely love this clear crystal handle at Anthropologie. But at $12 a pop times 11 (what I need for all the drawers on the dresser and nightstand) that would be $132 plus tax. And I would still need 3 knobs for the cabinet part of the furniture pieces. (I feel like that doesn't make sense, but the nightstand basically has a cabinet part on the bottom with a drawer on top, and the dresser has a little cabinet part too.) So I digress, but basically I have been looking for a month only to find cute expensive options.

Well today I was at Hobby Lobby (where I could easily spend so much money, but I was good and practiced self control!) and found more cute crystal hardware. I didn't even know they sold hardware but I somehow stumbled upon it. The prices were cheaper than I had seen elsewhere but not by that much. Basically the same crystal handle I mentioned above was $2 cheaper. They also had the exact same clear crystal flower knob found at Layla Grayce for $4 less. Then I saw all the hardware was 50% off!!! I was so excited. I got 3 of those cute flower knobs for $10.50 vs. paying $33 plus shipping, saving about $25! (not sure how much shipping would be) I also got the crystal handles at $5 each vs. $12 each. Saving over $77. So for a total I saved over $100! :)

So yes, I just wrote a whole blog post about hardware. But it's the little things like this that make me happy! Haha! But in all honesty I am loving decorating this nursery. I've always wanted to decorate a nursery and it really is as fun as I thought it would be.

Up next: painting the nursery pink finally!

Cute Baby Finds

The only draw back to having a little girl is there are way too many cute things out there for her! I couldn't resist posting some adorable things I want to buy for her!

I love these cute little boots on Etsy. Perfect since she will be here for the fall!!

And these little shoes are adorable too!!

I love this JMU bib!!

I love all the ruffles too! This onesie is a favorite.

I also love this one too. I could be here all night posting cute things, but I'll stop so I can make dinner. But I must say I can't wait to dress this little girl!

Myrtle Beach

I got back from the beach early this afternoon. It was a great week spending time with family soaking in the sun.

   

They had the cutest beach houses there. Reminded me of Charleston, and I loved all the palm trees.

We were so lucky our house had a pool. I spent lots of time here!

Here I am 20 weeks, 3 days at the beach. You can really see my baby bump now!

I didn't take that many pictures, but we also saw fireworks one night and went shopping (as I mentioned earlier). I wanna take a picture of the closet in the nursery, all the cute pink hangers with some cute little dresses. My aunt and cousins bought our baby cute clothes since they can't come to my baby shower this fall.

It was great catching up with family I hadn't seen in awhile, and of course the beach is always great!!

It's A.............

I had my 20 week doctor's appointment this morning. I am soooo happy to say the doctor said everything looks great and the baby is healthy! They took so many pictures and measurements of the baby, then they finally told us.........

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!

We are so excited!!! I went shopping a little bit today and got some cute little girl stuff, it's so great knowing now! We had lunch with our parents at Brio to tell them the wonderful news, it was great.

It's been such a perfect day, sharing the news with family and friends. And now I can finally start planning the nursery!!! (We are going to paint it pink!!!)

We both feel so blessed to be this little girl's parents. Can't wait to meet her in November!

a few of baby's firsts

This past weekend we went up to Baltimore to visit my dad and see an Oriole's game. I made Clarke take a picture of me because I said it was baby's first game. I am sure this baby will be an Oriole's fan because we'll bring him or her to a bunch of games!

I mentioned in my last post about going shopping with my mom on mother's day. We looked at all this cute baby stuff and kept seeing the same toy everywhere. Sophie the Giraffe, seems to be a very popular baby toy, so finally at the third store where we saw it my mom bought it for the baby. So here is baby white's first toy ever!

Then yesterday I saw it here, on this blog post about what's in your diaper bag. Seriously, she is everywhere and I think it's so funny!

Can't wait for many more of baby's firsts!

Ikea!

Yesterday me and hubby made a trip to one of my favorite stores: IKEA! I love Ikea, and having one just a little over an hour away is so nice. I wanted to get the same curtains that we currently have in the master bedroom.

I know they look like plain white curtains, but the fabric actually has some texture to it. I forgot to measure the windows before we left so I'll have to make a trip to Target to get the curtains rods.

I also got these vases to sit on our bookcase. I have been looking for some but could only find super expensive ones at Crate and Barrel, so I was happy to find them!

And that was about the only really exciting thing I did this weekend (except play Wii Just Dance 2 with some girlfriends, which made me want a Wii of my own, it was soooo much fun!)

Miscellany Monday

Happy Monday and New Year!!

 Running into 2011....

It is less than 3 months till the 10k! Over winter break I have been quite the slacker, only running about once a week. But I had a great run on Saturday when the weather was nice and it felt great. Right now I can run about 2.5 miles, which is good for me. When I started running I could barely run a mile! So here's to the other 3.7 miles to go!

 Dancing the Night Away....

I had a great time celebrating the new year. A group of us went to Stuzzi's, a fairly new Italian restaurant, for dinner. As always, it was really good.

After enjoying some cheese, pasta and wine we headed to The National, it used to be a theatre, but now bands play there. They had a 90s dance party, so we rung in the new year enjoying some favorites from high school and middle school.

 Smiling Faces....

While I definitely enjoyed my winter break I have missed my students so much! I am really lucky that I enjoy my job, and enjoy the people I work with, especially my kids. I just can't wait to see their smiling faces tomorrow. (I am writing this post Sunday night.)

 Because I Haven't in Awhile....

Here is a picture of Betty:

Just thought I would throw that in there!

New Edition....

For my birthday I received a gift card to Target from some friends. I had been wanting a console table for the living room, so when I saw it was on sale I couldn't resist!

I love the way it looks. I still need to get candles to put on the candle holders, maybe play around with the accessories some more. I didn't put the bottom shelf on because I want to put two storage cubes/ottomans underneath to pull out for extra seating, like they did here.

Hope everyone had a great new year's! That's it for this Miscellany Monday post!

Christmas Love

Things I am currently loving about Christmas.......

This house on the Tacky Light Tour which is in our neighborhood. I just love coming home and driving by it.

Setting up the Christmas houses with my mom. A tradition that started when I was younger and still look forward to every year.

Christmas Cookies!! The PTA at the school where I work brought in cookies for everyone to take home. There were six tables in the library filled with cookies.

Christmas decorations! I got this garland and wreath last year on my birthday (the day after Christmas) at Pottery Barn, and couldn't wait to use them.

While I'm on the topic of things I am loving I must share......

Richmond is geting a Hobby Lobby!!!! I have heard amazing things about this store from you fellow bloggers, and can't wait to go when it opens!! It is actually kinda funny because the local scrapbooking store just went out of business, and although I got a bunch of stuff for cheap, it makes me sad. I have been shopping there since I started scrapbooking almost ten years ago. So I guess this is one of those times when God brings something to an end, but starts something new. Anyways, I'm very excited about the new store.

There it is, Christmas and Crafty love.

The Holidays are Here!

This past weekend was filled with many fun holiday events...

Friday night we went to the James Center Grand Illumination. It's a big deal here in Richmond.

Us with the reindeer. They are everywhere and so pretty.

Afterwards the young adults group at our church had our Christmas party. We hosted it at our house.

Me, Clarke and his sister Melanie at the party.

I spent the whole day Saturday at the Bizarre Bazaar with my mom. Vendors come all the way from Texas to New York, and people come from all over the state for it. Everyone says there is no comparison to the Bizarre Bazaar, and it's true. That's why it has become a tradition for us. We make a day of it, this year it took us 7 hours to go through the whole place.

Sunday morning I woke up to some snow!

I know it's not that much, but it was still exciting.

After church (I taught my first Sunday school class today!) some friends and I headed over to the Bethlehem Walk. It's a reenactment of the birth of Jesus. They did such a great job of telling the story, and really bringing it to life.

Clarke was really excited about the camel.

After this weekend, it really feels like the holidays are here!

Pumpkin Cookies plus New Friends

This past weekend I went to the outlets with the teacher I work with everyday. It was so fun to hang out outside of the classroom and get to know her better. I can also say I have offically started my Christmas shopping.

Sunday after church I made the most delicious pumpkin cookies for our neighborhood cookout.

I was so glad everyone enjoyed them! Here is the recipe: Pumpkin Cookies.

I also have to say that it's a small world. At the cookout I realized that one of my sorority sisters from college lives a couple houses down from me! It was also great to meet the rest of our neighbors that we haven't had the chance to meet yet.

So that was my weekend, filled with pumpkin cookies and new friends!

Roanoke 2010

About two weeks ago me, Clarke, and my sister in law went to Roanoke. We go every year around the end of August. It's become sort of a tradition. 

The first night we were there we got room service. We had these yummy drinks called "the Roanoke punch" and cheesecake.

We always go to Mill Mountain Zoo,

and see the Roanoke Star.

We eat dinner at K and W cafeteria. My sister in law loves this place and the food is pretty good. Plus it's so cheap!

This year we decided to go to The Natural Bridge on the last day of our trip. I hadn't been since I was little. It was much bigger and more beautiful than I had remembered.

We also went into the caverns. It was really neat.

We ended the trip with a stop by the J.Crew factory store in Lynchburg on the way home. As always we enjoyed this trip.