Family Weekend

The past few days have been so good and full of family. Sometimes it takes a little refresher to remember how lucky you are and boy am I lucky. I'm so blessed with an amazing family, including a Dad that goes above and beyond. He puts up with me which says a lot and does it with a smile. Sigma Kappa had family day this weekend and he came 1500 miles just for 2 hours, to say I'm thankful wouldn't be saying enough. It is always so nice to have him home and so sad to see him go but my heart is currently so full. 

We did a Candlelight during Family Day (probably the biggest one ever). I love this picture, almost looks like the shape of a heart! Guess the Mystic Bond follows us everywhere.

In honor of National Puppy Day (yesterday) I also got in a little loving with my girl this weekend. Mondays wouldn't be so bad if we all had a little snuggle time with Miss A.

I got my first ever pair of Converse this weekend and I am OBSESSED! I'm glad that I finally gave in and got a pair. I had a really hard time deciding on a color but I figured that white would be good for Spring and Summer and they would be easy to bleach.

I find it really challenging not to love these girls! They make the bad days better and the good days great.

Not only is my Dad amazing because he came to Sigma Kappa family day but he went to the J.Crew Clearance Store and Warehouse Sale in Lynchburg...on a Saturday during March Madness. I told you he was awesome. It was actually pretty good and we all came away with a lot of good stuff! Some of us might have gone back on Sunday.

There was a line and I think that my racerback tank sunburn was well worth the prices!

I'll leave you with this gem. Words can't describe.

xo

this&that

Monday always seems to roll around much faster than expected or wanted, this week was no exception. The weather was beautiful but it was a little rough. Long story short they think I was a little dehydrated which led to a fainting episode. Which then allowed me to have a little visit from the paramedics and ride home from the fine men of Longwood Police. Currently feeling much better!

Looking forward to a better Tuesday along with the 79 degree high that is supposedly coming along with it.

Photo Dump:

A look at Seattle from above, it is kind of hard to make out but you can even see the ferris wheel to the left. Pretty cool to see this on our way home.

Gertrude has had a coat since she was a puppy but it still cracks me up. She doesn't have much fur and can't stand being cold, she sports her coat in the rain and snow. Super cute if you ask me.

I think our pups live a pretty lavish lifestyle, spoiled to say the very least. I'm ready for some puppy snuggles soon and for America to come to college!! T-minus 2 weeks.

I found this picture going through some old photo albums last week and it never gets old. I can't ride a bike and ended up going on vacation with a friend in high school and this is how we ended up getting around. We got some strange looks to say the least.

I attended Out of the Darkness walk this weekend to promote suicide prevention. It just happened to be on my Mom's birthday so it was pretty special to me and way a great way to celebrate her. They say that time makes it a little easier but it won't ever be the same and it is so true.

Thankfully I'm blessed with an amazing Little one who makes my bad days good and good days great! Love her to the moon and back.

xo

Nana

It has been a sad couple of days, our world got shaken up a little bit this past Sunday and it has been pretty hard. It had definitely made me thankful to have such a wonderful family and fabulous friends.

Sadly my family lost it's matriarch this week, the glue that held us together. It takes someone special to be a Nana and boy was she special. She was the one that made us laugh, cry, and told us what we needed to hear when we didn't necessarily want to hear it.

I'm blessed to have had the time with her that I did and will forever treasure our memories. She was one special lady, one that will never be forgotten. 

Seattle: Spring Break 2015

They say that all good things have to come to an end, unfortunately this is oh so true! 

Spring Break was fabulous and much needed. It was the perfect mixture of recharging and being on the go. Vacation is always so fun but the travel really does wear you out, I'm so happy to finally be back on my own time zone.

Isabelle and I headed to Seattle the Friday before Spring Break began, getting ready to endure the torture of a flight that is 6+ hours (in a middle seat). Thankfully we had a layover in Houston, a mighty short one actually. I never thought that I would find myself running through an airport... we were those people and the last ones to make it on the plane.

We finally arrived and were welcomed by some gorgeous weather that stuck around the entire week, we saw no rain nor temperatures below 50. It was so nice to get away from the reoccurring snow and ice Richmond has been seeing recently. 

We started our trip with the stereotypical Seattle touristy thing to do, The Space Needle. I've been before but had never been up to the top, definitely a must do on a sunny day!

 The views were gorgeous and gave you a 360 degree view of the city. I was a little hesitant about going up but I'm so glad that I did.

  

Dove Love

We spent a pretty good amount of time at Pike's Place Market. It has always been one of my favorite places to go whenever I'm in Seattle. It has a very unique vibe and is a lot of fun, it also has some pretty great restaurants. We quickly learned that it is a spot that should be saved for the weekday adventures, it is a big weekend tourist spot.

The Gum Wall can also be found at Pike's Place, it is kind of gross if you ask me but it is also something that I find rather intriguing. It is literally just an alley full of gum on the walls, apparently people come from all over to add a piece to the collection. There are literally thousands and thousands of pieces.

Izzy and I on the pig

They throw fish in the market, apparently if you get hit with one it brings you good luck.

They also have tons of vendors that have stands set up that sell beautiful flowers and arrangements. They are all so gorgeous, it is literally flowers for as far as you can see.

 

Pike's Place is also the home to the ORIGINAL Starbucks so of course we had to make a stop. It was actually a little strange, they didn't have any tables or anything to linger around. I guess that since they get so much traffic that they try and get you in and out. I can't say that my latte was any better than the one I get at the Short Pump drive-thru. 

When we first got to Seattle we purchased "City Passes" which gave us access to 6 pretty cool places, one being the aquarium. The aquarium was a place that I had put on my to do/to see list for this trip and it was actually pretty cool.

The jellies were my favorite!

Izzy and I sat in here eating goldfish out of our purses for awhile, definitely mesmerizing. 

The next day we made our way down the waterfront for the next stop on our City Passes, a harbor tour. 

The boat tour was about an hour long and was pretty cool, some of the things that they focused on we had already seen unfortunately and it was also pretty chilly. We had some beautiful views of the city and learned some cool facts that I didn't know before hand. It also gave us a chance to get some good pictures of the city.

One of the highlights of all of my trips to Seattle is always going to the cupcake place, Cupcake Royale. It is my all time favorite. I think I was up to around 15 cupcakes last trip, I cut back a little this time and got as many steps in with my Fit Bit to compensate. They are so good and so fresh, the cake is close to pound cake. I think that they are always a little sad to see me go!

Another City Pass sight was the Experience Music Project (EMP), my Uncle Ben took us and it was actually much better than expected. They had some pretty interesting exhibits while we were there.

Last but definitely not least, Pretty Kitty. He is the sweetest and I'm nothing close to a cat person. He even shared his room with us. He is definitely the prettiest of all the kitties.

A huge thank you to my Aunt Peggy and Uncle Ben, you are both fabulous hosts!! We enjoyed every minute full of good food and lots of laughs! Thank you so much for welcoming us into your home! Love you both!

xo