Kissing Summer Goodbye.

There is something so kind about summer. It feels like the season where anything goes, where you can be a bit messy and it won't judge you for it. You can mix up your calendar dates, spill a popsicle, forget to pack sunscreen, and Summer just smiles big and tells you to put your feet up. Summer is that friend that spontaneously invites you over to the pool, makes you a cocktail without asking, shares a beach hat and bug spray so you can stay outside longer and have a few more laughs. Summer is that good old friend, the one you don't have to explain your life to, the one who just gets you. The one who says, "Come as you are and stay longer than you planned."

It's hard saying goodbye to summer. But that's the thing that makes summer so deliciously sticky-sweet - we say goodbye so we can always have it to look forward to. Labor Day has come and gone, and even though the warmth will linger here in the south, summer will be kissing us goodbye very soon.

I guess it's time to start making that Fall bucket list, friends. After I have perhaps one more watermelon mint lemonade ;)

Planting geraniums.

We scouted them out a month ago. When Daddy was out of town for days and days and I was about to lose my mind a little bit. I loaded up my little men in the car, along with our giant stroller that could double as a minivan on three wheels, and we went to the happiest place I could think of - Pike's Nursery. Everett is truly my son when it comes to plants and greenery and florals and whatnot. He and I are usually the only people at Pike's under the age of 60 but we lovvvve it. (Daxton has not quite caught on to the family adoration for this place, that child better learrrrrrn). We do this frequently, we walk all the aisles and sniff only the beautiful things and discuss landscape color schemes and Everett puts his hands in all the water fountains and I have to keep him from knocking over the $800 stone statues of frogs and it just makes me feel so close to him because it's like, he gets me.

Like, yesterday, he looked at me and said, "Mom, I love those hydrangeas you picked out." What a freaking blessing this blessed little angel from Heaven is. Also, he says hydrangeas like, "high-dangerous" which I love so much so I don't think I will ever correct him.

Anyway, the purpose of our little field trip last month was to scout out the wonders of my favorite deer resistant, all-summer-long-blooming flower - geraniums. We decided that we liked all the colors instead of just picking one type and that we would come back after the 15th of April, when the chance of frost in our area was finally minimal.

We had a good bit of landscaping done this past month - some diseased trees needed to be removed from our property so we decided to get them taken down and add some new flowers, shrubs and trees to freshen the place up. What a difference it has made! With the newborn situation (AKA the not sleeping situation), we opted to have someone help us out with all the work this time around, which I thought would be hard since I love doing all the planting myself but - who am I kidding - it was extremely wonderful to have someone else do it. But me and Everett decided we wanted to plant the geraniums ourselves, because it's kind of become our thing, so we did our thing. Everett used his new gardening gear, courtesy of the Easter Bunny.

I am not winning at life right now. I am not super mom or super wife or super friend or super rested, but I am winning in love, my friends. These little boys fill me with so much joy and I am the luckiest to call them my own. My little Everett has been so good the past few months. adjusting beautifully to having a new baby bro around. He is definitely aware of the attention being shifted from him to Daxton, so Stevie and I are doing our best to be intentional with both of them with our energy and time. It's so good for his heart and mine, finding these little pockets of time where we can do "our things" together and keep our laughter and love at the center of everything.

Things have changed. It's a brand new season. Which calls for new flowers pots. I fear its just a matter of time before I start collecting lawn gnomes, friends.

10 (Inexpensive!) Spring Break Staycation Ideas.

It's time for Spring Break! If you don't have any plans that are beckoning you to the beach (although I'm sure we all wish we had those plans...), I've compiled a list of fun, inexpensive things to do for a staycation. Next week is Everett's preschool spring break, and I was getting a little worried that I would feel kind of trapped at home for a week with nothing to do and nowhere to go. Truth be told, we love to travel, and most of the time I would have planned a trip for the week. However, I think it's really important to be able to make fun at home and explore what's right around at home. I think it teaches kids to be creative with what they're given instead of always needing a new toy or exotic trip to create excitement for them. And let's be honest, I should be flexing my mom magic to make everyday things a little bit more magical :)

Amicalola Falls State Park, in all it's glory.

1. Explore State and/or National Parks.
This is the perfect time of year to visit a state park in Georgia because it's not too hot yet! Come June, you practically need an IV drip to stay hydrated while you hike around, but in April? The weather is perfect (other than the pollen, but hey, you can't win em all). While admission to the park might cost a few bucks, this is a great way to get outdoors with your family and hike, fly a kite and enjoy a packed lunch. A few of my favorites in this area are Sweetwater Creek State Park (we went glamping here once :), Cloudland Canyon State Park, and Amicalola State Park (we hiked this last summer and it was sooo hard!) Also, I like to follow @exploregeorgia on instagram to get inspired about new places to visit in our great state ;)

2. Take advantage of the Local Library.
This might sound a little lame, but have you been to your local library lately? It's worth exploring, especially if you have little kids. Every library is stocked with resources and classes - I had no idea that our local chapter offered so many art & music classes, story time, language lessons and technology-based learning games. Of course, Everett always makes a beeline straight for the giant stuffed animals and then the kid computer (he likes the headphones), but usually I can pry him away to read a few books and try some other activities.

3. Try Geocaching.
Want to go on a treasure hunt? Did you know there are treasures hidden all around you, called "caches", and they are meant to be found? It's a really fun concept! Download the app and go on a "treasure adventure" with the whole family (it's like the first generation of Pokemon Go). If you want to know more about this little activity, you can watch this 75-second video. It helped me realize this is kind of cool and not at all weird :)

Everett learning to throw a frisbee last summer. He makes me laugh so much.

4. Play Sports.
This is not rocket science. Get outside and play! We love to go over to our local frisbee golf course on random week nights, because Stevie is a hippie in his heart and he's teaching Everett how to throw. Play a game that the whole family can enjoy, like wiffle ball (or baseball for those of you with big kids) in the back yard, basketball in the cul-de-sac, or soccer at the park. Sometimes the simple stuff can be really wondrous fun.

5. Back Yard Camping.
Camping with little children can be intimidating, but pitching a tent in the back yard is the perfect solution. You can still use the restroom in the house and cook up a big breakfast in the morning! This is actually a great way to "trial run" a camping experience with your kiddos if you've never taken them before, and it gives you the opportunity to pull out all your camping gear and explain it to them.

6. Explore museums.
Most museums have "free days" during certain times of the month - a list can be found here. I personally love going to the High Museum here in Atlanta, but there are tons of others that are worth checking out, like the Coca Cola Museum (a classic), the MLK Museum, Fernbank Museum and of course, the Children's Museum. Ha, just bring hand sanitizer.

7. Host a Family Film Festival.
It's time for blankets, pillows and popcorn! Vote on 2 movies and make it a double feature with pizza in the living room :) It's not like it's all that different than a Saturday night after the kids go to bed (true story, if you're over here in our shoes), but it's a really fun way to cozy up with the whole family together and watch something fun. We recently watched Finding Dory and Everett keeps asking to watch it again and again.

8. Check out local markets/fairs/festivals.
Our local farmer's market is really fun - there is usually live music and locally-made treats (hi, King of Pops!) to be enjoyed. But each community around the Atlanta area also has a slew of characteristic festivals in their area - check out a comprehensive list of Atlanta-area festivals here. So much fun to be had in the springtime here in Georgia!

9. Go fishing & canoeing.
If you live near a body of water, take advantage of it! Post a quick Facebook message and see if one of your friends has some gear you can borrow. Then trek out to the back yard and dig up some worms for bait (if you have little boys, they will love this). Again, ages of your kiddos matter - I won't be taking a newborn on a canoe anytime soon - but as long as everyone has a life vest, this would totally be an adventure.

10. Go biking and have a picnic.
This one sounds so simple, but it's so much fun. We loved when Everett got old enough to ride on the back of Stevie's bike (this bike carrier and this helmet), and he was totally mesmerized by the experience! Since the weather has started to warm up, they've been back on the bike again lately. We have amazing trails throughout our entire city that we can ride on (one of the reasons why we love living here), but there are also some great biking parks to check out, including Callaway Gardens (where I biked and was so sick last year - that's how I knew I was pregnant!), the Chattahoochee River Trail and the Silver Comet Trail. Pack a delicious lunch and bike until hungry. Make sure to pack lots of water and sunscreen, too.

There you have it! 10 ideas to get your juices flowing, outside of the normal activities like going to the zoo or getting ice cream.

Many thanks to my sister-in-law Lauren, who helped me brainstorm these ideas (so that we don't go out of our mind next week!) Any other ideas you have? Please share in the comments - I'd love to hear from you!

Happy Spring Break, everyone! xox

High Tea at the St. Regis Atlanta!

A goooood cup of tea and a few precious souls to giggle with.

That's all a girl really wants, right?

Well, that's all THIS girl wants. I love tea time so so SO much, and my mom was the sweetest and decided to treat me and my sister to a fancy afternoon out. She said it was our Valentine treat (3 weeks later, ha), but really I think she just wanted to play with us. We needed to have a little girl time together. AND -  she gave us these amazing essential oil diffusing bracelets! We are pretty oil-heavy in this family (I recently jumped on the Doterra train and I am just reeeeeal happy about it). I love all of this gal's jewelry - I am usually wearing either one of her necklaces or bracelets everyday!

It's been a busy season for everyone in my family. Over the past few months, my parents completely downsized from their large family home into a quaint 500-squarefoot apartment. They were ready to enact Marie Kondo in their own lives, and I am super glad they did, even though it was hard letting go of my family home. We spent a lot of time moving them out of their large space, helping them decide what to keep and what to pitch, and then the day I went into labor with Daxton they closed on their house. Needless to say, Christmas was 10 days later and then I was in was newbornland and my Dad has been swamped at work (not to mention Stevie, too) and oh, by the way, my sister and her husband are looking to move out of state and if one more major life change happens this year I might come unhinged. Deep breath.

So my mom decided it was high time for tea. Time for high tea, actually. (see what I did there??)

This place is just so gorgeous. Even the bathrooms were immaculate - literally everything was marble. MARBLE you guys.

Obligatory bathroom selfie. Because - all that marble! (Also, my mom is all ,"WHY do millennials take so many selfies??")

The Astor Court at the St. Regis has been rumored to have one of the best high tea services in Atlanta. After enjoying our time here I am completely hooked. This is the perfect way to spend a lovely afternoon - we sipped champagne and told stories. We got a lesson in tea from our waiter and picked our favorites (my sister and I chose the Mad Hatter tea, my mom chose the Jasmine). And one of my favorite things about the tea situation were the itty bitty fanciful sandwiches. Most places only serve 3ish sandwiches as part of tea service. Not the St. Regis! We had a good 7 types of tea sandwiches, and I just really appreciate a hearty balance to all the tart/scone/muffin/cookies that are always served with tea. Sometimes a girl just wants a savory bite. Every other bite :)

I just loveeeeed this experience with the women in my family. We were pretending like my older sister Kara was also with us (she lives in Florida), and we toasted in honor of my thoughtful mom.

I'm not going to lie. Sometimes I think about the fact that I have two boys, and no one to really enjoy high tea with once I get old and decrepit (just kidding, I plan to be awesome when I get old). It sounds silly, but every so often I have a feeling of sadness that I can't do tea parties or shopping dates with a daughter. If I only end up with sons (which I am totally wonderful with because who am I kidding, my boys are absolutely amazing and I am like the luckiest person in the world to get to raise them).. but if I never have a little girl, then I am going to have to cozy up to my daughters-in-law to get them to play with me. Is it weird that I think about this kind of thing? Like, I have a newborn. I should not be thinking about how he's going to get married and leave me one day.

But here I am, thinking about it.

So I'm going to live up my sister/mama time because I am so unbelievably blessed to call these beautiful women my kin. Holding them close and teasing and laughing and perhaps snorting because we laughed so hard in the fancy tea room at the Astor Court. These people, these are my people. I don't need to worry about what the future holds for my future tea companions quite yet :)

P.S. - I'm wearing this dress from Target and my sis is wearing an extraordinary one-of-a-kind dress that she bought for her wedding (though she ended up wearing something else), but here is something kinda sorta similar.

Happy Friday, friends! What are you up to this weekend? We are heading into Atlanta to have brunch + outdoor time with friends! Happy weekending to you! xox

Beltline Brunch & Play.

I admit, I've done a poor job getting into Atlanta and exploring. Since I've grown up here, I just don't make time to keep exploring. Stevie and I do such a great job exploring other cities, because it's an adventure! But when we are home, I tend to hibernate a bit more and just enjoy my immediate surroundings. Like my backyard and the golf cart paths :)  But every time I go into the city I am reminded how close it is and how we should just do it more. Because the food is better, you guys. It just is.

I've been feeling a little insulated at home. A little baby-fried. I love being home with my kiddos but we are so in it right now, up to our neck in bottles and swaddles and no sleep and OUR MEAL TRAIN ENDED. So basically there hasn't been anything to look forward to (have I mentioned how much I loved my meal train? I can't even talk about it anymore. Because I get too sad that it's over.) But all that being said, we were due to have some good old fashioned FUN. So last weekend we trekked into the city and met our friends the Hunts for brunch in Inman Park, right along the Beltline. Everything at Parish was soooo good (hence the "food is better in the city" comment) - if you go, get the Croque monsieur, the cranberry french toast and the corned beef hash. It was SO GOOD.

Like seriously, I need more.

Then we walked the Beltline, found a playground and a water fountain (two musts when you're a parent with wiggly little people) and chowed down on King of Pops popsicles. I'll admit, the weather was still slightly chilly for popsicles, but we are beckoning spring onward, so it felt like our duty to have King of Pops. :)

I can't believe how BIG Everett has gotten. I remember holding him just like I'm holding Daxton these days, a little baby in my arms. I remember trekking into the city with him, along with my monster stroller and basically everything we own, just for a few hour stint in the city. I can't believe that time is over. I can't believe I am doing this again. I can't believe I made another baby and he's here and he's so big and beautiful. It's true when they say it - everything with kids goes by SO FAST. It feels so challenging when you're in the thick of it, but then you blink twice and maybe move once or twice and suddenly your baby is a toddler and you have another baby in your arms and its like - what happened? Are we really a family of four?! Wasn't I like, just living in NYC and going on auditions and doing whatever I wanted with my time? Oh the wonderful selfish years.

Those are gone.

But! That's why we trek into the city and play, because even though all my years going forward will be consumed with meeting everyone else's needs and making sure they're happy and healthy - this mama wanted a day in the city, and that's what she got :)

It was just a really, really good day.

P.S. - Recommendations for other family-friend restaurants and activities in the city are so welcome! I want to do more Atlanta things as the weather warms up - any suggestions?

P.P.S. - I'm running a giveaway for another few days over on my Instagram, gifting one special mama with some must-have postpartum products from Earth Mama Angel Baby - don't miss it!

P.P.P.S. - I'll be helping host an event at the Peachtree City Banana Republic this Thursday evening, 2/23 from 5:30-8pm and I would love it if you came out! There will be bites and drinks and pants (the promoted item of the evening :) I'll havemore details for you on my Instagram tomorrow :)