Happening Lately.

Happy Friday!
I hope you have ridiculously fun weekend plans in store. That involves partying with the homies and whatnot. We are hoping to wrap up a whole host of house projects (and probably start on a few more, let's be honest :) And we are having friends over to our mess of a new home, but thankfully, they're dear friends, and won't care that we are still living in a construction/moving box zone.

This photo of my sweet Everett just gets me. That boy in that teeny little backpack. This week we FINALLY had a turning point with Everett's little pre-pre-school program. It's been three tough weeks of him wailing every time I drop him off (and me wailing as I leave the building - twice now a few of the teachers have actually walked out with me while I cried. Such a girl) But my boy is such a strong one that he has actually cried continuously and not calmed down. Which has led to multiple meetings and phone calls with his teachers and the administration about the best way to "immerse" him without traumatizing him. He's the only one who has the level of endurance that is actually surprising the school admin team. Waaaaaayyy to go. Now I realize that a lot of people may have opinions about the best way that I *should* be doing this. Some have told me to just "rip off the band aid" and let him cry because he will eventually overcome his frustrations. Some of have told me that he is just way too young and I need to be nurturing/spending all my time with him. No matter which camp you fall in, I completely respect your opinion. I also have had to go with my gut on this one. Which, I'll admit, has been shaky at times. I was so glad to receive a text message from his teacher on Thursday, telling me that he was having a great day, finally, NOT CRYING, and playing outside with the other toddlers! I literally wept (all over again) and praised the Lord for it. Because honestly, I could use a few hours to myself. To like, shower. And unpack. And drink the coffee. And I know that spending time around other kids is so good for him! I'm praying that this turning point sticks.

I bought myself a slew of succulents.

And hung them on my back porch.

And named them Jasmine.

Because what else do you name succulents, really?

Hiiiiiiiii Jasmine. You're pretty.

The past few nights I've been sitting on my back porch after Everett goes to bed, sipping red wine, watching the sun melt into the steamy Georgia sky, and dreaming about what to grow in my yard. Thankfully, the folks who lived here before us took really gorgeous care of the outdoor space, and there is a ton of potential to grow flowers and plants and vegetables. I am so excited to get started on my own green thumb. It's something I've dreamed about with Stevie since before we were married, and now! I am so excited to grow a salad! A SALAD.

I mentioned here before that we were gifted a ton of beautiful old furniture when we moved into our new home. I've taken some time in my garage this week, when Everett is napping or with one of his grandmothers, and I've been sanding, painting and distressing some of the furniture and making it the way I like. It's a ton of sweaty, hard work, but it's also really creative and therapeutic. I used to love refinishing and upcycling furniture, but then I spent years moving around a bunch and getting rid of everything. IKEA became our go-to furniture spot and I didn't keep anything I had spent time upcycling. But now I have a whole house-full of furniture that is just crying out for a little love (and paint!) I am so happy to have the opportunity to create something unique for my own home. I will have a few of the projects up on the blog over the next few weeks, if you're into that kind of thing :)

These flowers are a housewarming gift from my sis-in-law. Aren't they just incredible and fluffy and sweet? I just love hydrangeas? These are amongst the zillions of kinds I want to plant in my back yard. Stevie doesn't want me to get overwhelmed with planting too much, but I am so excited that I could practically float away! Monday is the day, folks. I will be a sweaty, frenzied, soil-fertilizer-seedling mess, but I will be a HAPPY mess. I'm planning to focus on some autumn vegetables and a few big perennial bushes in some places that need a little lift. Any gardening tips for the first-timer? Like, the uber first timer? I don't even own gloves.

Happy weekend to you, friends!

* Everett's backpack is from Pottery Barn and can be found here.

On Transition.

Everett's Babiators, a birthday gift from his buddy Evie.

Oh, this week. It's been a week. Can I go ahead and say TGIF even though it's so early on Friday morning?

These pictures make me laugh, which is what you have to do when you have a long week of moving and unpacking and your baby throwing your dirty laundry around the new house so that when people come over THEY CAN SEE IT. So much awesomeness happening here. So much.

This move has been the most mammoth of them all. I mean, of all the moves I've ever made. And I've moved across this entire country, from Georgia to California (4X!!!), from Atlanta to Boston, From New York back to the Georgia burbs (with a few extra moves in between.) But of all these transitions, this little 20-minute trek from one town to another? It's been epic. Annoyingly so.

Because now we have a baby.

Babies make moving HARD.

He doesn't like moving. My kid. Now I see why people don't move when they have children. It's just easier to stay put. For real.

But we have moved! And although I feel like we will probably continue to move in over the next several weeks, we are actually living in this space, occupying and making messes and unstuffing boxes and making piles that we don't know what to do with. You could call it a disaster zone. You could call it unsafe for children. You could call it a lot of things. I like to call it the stuff I avoid while I wander from room to room, munching on fruit snacks. Or the stuff I call my mom to come over and help me with. Because I am overwhelmed with where to begin. So many rooms! So much STUFF! And seriously guys, I got rid of SO MUCH before we moved. I don't know how, but people just tend to accumulate stuff whilst living. I am one of those! But I am also such a firm believer in tossing things. Just getting rid of crap feels so good! It's worth it.

This is a bit of a ramble because I have nothing to offer you this week except a mushy, soggy, exhausted brain full of Pinterest decor ideas and prayers that my son will survive preschool without terrorizing all the teachers. So far, he has terrorized all the teachers. Another element that is wearing me down, truthfully.

In the mean time, I am actually super excited about the spaces in my home and how things are coming together. We have new floors and a fresh new stairway being installed (we are currently in a bit of a construction zone until that project is completed next week), and I am unpacking and beginning to style the different rooms which is excellent fun. Next week I will start breaking out the chalk paint and going to town on some furniture that I was so generously gifted! It's all happening up in here. Being an adult never felt so, well, adult. It's ironic that I'm finding a lot of this process fun. It's also ironic when I think back to those pre-baby days when Stevie and I would NEVER work on house projects and just go out to dinner on the weekends and play in the city on Saturdays. And like, go to museums. What?! Oh my. How things have changed. Now my Google searches are all lowes.com-related and my Saturdays involve disinfecting something. Can I just say, life is sooooo glamorous. I am living proof. Now excuse me while I go clean my stove and eat a dollop of Nutella. And book a babysitter because clearly, I need to get OUT of this house this weekend.

Happy Friday to you, cuties! XOX.

A Day at the Lake!

We were invited to join some family friends at their lake last weekend, and oh wow, I am so glad we did! I was a little (okay, a lot) nervous about bringing Everett on a boat. And I was extremely nervous about bringing him on a boat with OTHER PEOPLE, because you know, I figured he would scream his head off. I am happy that I was so wrong. He loved the boat! He got this dreamy smile on his face and let the wind whip around his cute blonde mane and his eyes would slowly close, as if he were drinking it all in. Every once in a while he would come to his senses again, widen his eyes and cry a little, but then he would sink back into his dreamy nautical slumber, and oh, it was pretty adorable. That boy. He's stolen my heart BIG TIME. I'm a goner over here.

We swam, tubed, jet skied, ate a ridiculously perfect lunch, boated over to the dock where there is an ice cream stand (and devoured some ice cream sandwiches!), and cruised like only the maritime crowd do. It was wonderful. It was snazzy. Now I'm all, "Let's just return our house and buy a LAKE HOUSE!!!"

He has his own sunglasses, but he still won't leave them on. We're working on it!

My in laws are complete babes.

That baby in that life vest and that man - I AM SO HAPPY. These two are the best thing in my life.

Playing on the water with my bff sis-in-law and my sweetheart niece. Girl time is the best time.

'Merica.

Sweet boy. He is getting so big.

In the midst of moving from our house to our new house very slowly (AKA a little bit everyday, which is turning out to be painful), we really needed to do something fun and outdoorsy. I felt so refreshed (and I'll admit, reeeeeeally sore) after playing on the water all day. While Stevie and I pretended we were kids again, tearing up the water on that jet ski, reminiscing about all the other cool places we've jet skied together (Florida! Nassau! New England!), Everett lounged comfortably in his Mimi's arms, without shrieking, and it just felt SO GOOD. I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to let loose a little bit and just enjoy the water. Thank you, Ron & Carolyn, for the most perfect day on the water!

Happening Lately.

I keep telling myself to breathe.

Create boundaries.

Say no.

Because there is a lot happening in the Hale household these days. And when I say household, I mean it, because we are in the midst of purchasing our first household.

I shared a few weeks ago about how we put an offer in on a short sale house, and we would have to wait quite a while to hear back on it. In the mean time, we decided to keep house hunting. One day we stumbled upon an amazing opportunity - our house. The one we are buying. Today.

Our brother in law knew of someone who wanted to put their house on the market, in the same neighborhood we had been looking to buy. Only this house wasn't a short sale. It wasn't even listed. But we called the owner up, went and looked at the house at 5pm on a Tuesday evening, and put in an offer later that evening.

We squealed a lot.

Then the next morning we got on a plane for NYC.

We've had a few weeks of due diligence, which included inspections and, you know, furniture dreaming. But today at 9am we are closing on our first home purchase and it feels a tiny bit magical. 8 years of marriage, 4 cities of adventure and 1 phenomenal baby later, we are actually committing to this location.

I feel the oncoming swell of moving, renovations, new furniture, new projects, new routines, new everything, and I am a bit overwhelmed. Just a bit. Actually I'm sort of immobilized by the enormity of all of it. I'm nervous about how my kid is going to react. I'm nervous about the idea of putting down roots. If you know me at all, you know I have a bit of a complex about settling down. I love love love adventure, traveling, dreaming about changing the world and the idea of settling down in the suburbs, one where I grew up, it's like, WHOA. What the heck. What. The. Heck.

And yet, I know that this house and this purchase is the right choice for our family. It's time. We have lived small for years, exploring amazing cities and constantly downsizing what we own, constantly being forced to live light. But with a 1-year old in the picture, things have changed. We are spewing with baby gear at any given moment. Need a diaper? I am never more than 6 feet away from a diaper, a pack of wipes, and at least 4 toys that probably need some disinfecting. In other words, having a little more room (and a lot more storage!) just seems to fit our new phase of life. And it's so good! I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm not 23 and goofing off in Boston or New York. I am 27, I am a mom, and I spend the majority of my time in the kitchen. Having a little more space wouldn't hurt. And this house! We love it so much, it's just the kind of place that feels like home. It's green! I'm buying a green house!

I am so excited about having a home. I'm just a bit nervous about the unknown.

Is all of this silly? This is what has been happening lately. Prayers and advice for the moving, reminiscing, slightly frazzled lass would be much appreciated!