Five on Friday!

Happy Friday friends! I hope everyone has had a wonderful week and gearing up for an awesome weekend. I'm hitting you with the fast five for Friday, but before we dive in I just have to put out this PSA: kiss and hug all your loved ones today! You don't have a blog if you don't feel all the emotions in one week or day do you? Lots has been on my heart in the last couple of days about how quickly life can change and we have to celebrate the ones we love every chance we get. I heard on a podcast the other day to greet your spouse like a puppy and the same rings true for all the people we love in our life. So, go out have a great Friday and let's try to greet all the people we love like a puppy!

one | Mommas listen up! My sister turned me onto this product to use at the beach to avoid chafing and irritation for George while wearing wet bathing suits and diapers and it works!! You don't need Gold Bond or any other anicent potions. This will do the trick!

two | Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Salad = Best and easiest summer salad you'll make all season! I whipped this up while we were at the beach and served it along side crab cakes and roasted potatoes and it made for the perfect meal. This is so easy and flavorful!

three | Basic and I'm ok with it! Yes, I've turned into an Erin Condren planner gal and I'm cool with it. Just got in my new planner and I love being able to see our memories all year along.

four | I think I'm late to the party on this one but I just started following the Busy Toddler Instagram account. She has thousands of great [and simple] ideas and activities to keep your kiddos busy. Go check her out!

five | Are you an Elin Hilderbrand book lover? If you're reading this you've probably read all her books and wish one day you could be transported to Nantucket just for a summer. Well, I saw this on Instagram and had to share. I can't wait to see what they come up with!

I hope everyone has a great weekend - Cheers!

Friday's Fuel

First off, thank you so much for the outpouring of love from my last post. I honestly feel lighter from finally shedding that and standing in the light. It takes a lot of courage and vulnerability to be honest which has been on my heart recently since watching Brene Brown's Netflix special - The Call to Courage. If you don't know what I'm talking about you must go watch or use your sister's Netflix login. My sister called to tell me I HAD to watch because "you know we're the same, so you're going to love it." And well, darn it, she was right. I laughed and cried. It is amazing. Maybe even transformative. The message is clear - it takes vulnerability to be courageous. To stand in the light. To put yourself in the ring. To show up. To put yourself in uncomfortable situations that allow your true self to grow and shine. It's tough when different seasons of your life are upon you to feel like you aren't just letting life pass you by. I know that's how I'm currently feeling. The day to day can start to be a drag - wake up, rush out, drive an hour, work, work work, drive an hour, rush, eat, sleep. The last few months have left me feeling like maybe I am just taking a back seat. Maybe I do need to be vulnerable and adjust and reassess.  We can't be brave enough to stop letting life pass us by without vulnerability. So, enough about that. Just go watch it!

Let's get to today's Friday Fuel...

one | Speaking of vulnerability and courage I have to shout out 2 girlfriends that are standing in their own light, putting themselves out there and doing the darn thing! First, Jessica who just started a blog - The Honest Truth. She's wearing her heart on her sleeve and doing so beautifully. Go give her blog a read and join her community! And the second shout out is to my girlfriend Lauren who has been building her side hustle of Rodan + Fields into something amazing. Both of these women decided to go outside of their comfort zones and do something for themselves and I see them reaping the rewards from being courageous enough to do so! Go ladies go!

two | Mom truth... Have you ever gotten a call from the preschool to say your child has completely disrobed, diaper and all, and peed on the playground? Well, me either until yesterday. Fun times, fun times. Potty training just escalated to emergency levels.

three | Hi, I'm Anna and I have an addiction to something called an Iced Kong Fusion. It's sweetened black tea, espresso and steamed milk. Seriously don't knock it until you try it. It is amazing and life changing. I know Brene Brown would say so, haha.

four | Has anyone shopped at Target lately? Ever since we moved and are much further away from one I rarely ever go anymore, but I did manage to find my way there last weekend. Wow, ya'll! Some really cute things! I found this suppper cute jumpsuit/romper and some really cute swimsuits for George. They have really upped their game!

five | I love to see what people are buying on Amazon, and recently there have been a lot of really great things that I've added to my Amazon shopping list. Drop a comment below - what have you been buying lately?

one | two | three | four | five | six

Alright lovelies, I've so enjoyed being back in this space with you! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and a very Happy Mother's Day!

xoxo - A

Friday Fall Round Up

Happy Friday everyone! If you live in the City of Oaks or went to NC State then I know you're sitting at your desk with bags under eyes because last night's football game was on point and lasted well past our bedtime. The cardiac pack brought the heat for sure! As always, I'm linking up with Five on Friday for this week's Friday Fall Round Up!

one | leaves

Newest candle edition from Bath & Body Works to our household. Smells so good and I love a good description: This classic blend of spiced berries, Red Delicious apples, and golden nectar brings all the beautiful colors of autumn to mind. Yes, so basic and I'm ok with that!

two | music

I have two all time favorite Fall songs that come to mind when the leaves start changing color - Up 18 North and Carolina in the Fall both by the Kruger Brothers who are a bluegrassy trio based in Western NC. Take 5 minutes to listen! Also, I'm just your typical fall loving girl and searched "fall" on my Pandora and came across the Bonfire Folk station. Legit and will probably be perfectly curated before long.

three | loft

Recently checked out the Loft Outlet nearby which can usually be disappointing and found my new uniform for the fall. Super soft, fleecey interior cowl neck tunic. Looks similar to this Lou & Grey tunic currently available with an extra 40% off!

four | lil boy clothes

I recently bought these two pieces from a Facebook resale group. Waiting for the perfect occassion to bring these out!

five | FOMO

Leaving you with this sappy, weepy fall tribute. Every year at this time I get the worst FOMO for true apple picking, brisk evenings, and glowy sun atop crunchy leaves which we just don't get in the south. So, if you're currently in the middle of it enjoy it for all of us and send us your apple pie recipe when you've finally emerged from the pumpkiny fall induced haze we've all been put under!

Happy Friday!

We've made it another week, so here's another installment of Five on Friday!

one | Blog Love - Wedding Edition
Mr. B and I got a sweet surprise last week when our photographer, Five Copper Creative, posted a blog about our wedding. It was so fun to relive, and I love to see which pictures they chose to put up on their site. Especially since we're in the middle of creating our wedding album, I like to see what the professionals saw as their best work. Well, the surprises didn't stop there! Five Copper Creative notified us this week that our wedding will be featured on Tidewater and Tulle! It's a blog focused on Southeastern VA and the Outer Banks. So excited! 

two | Hello, Pizza
I have to give you a follow up to my last blog about morphing meals. I said we'd be making a pizza with Mr. B's leftover BBQ, and let me tell you! This did not disappoint at all. A definite repeat item! It consisted of: Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce, pepper jack cheese, caramelized jalapenos and onions, Mr. B's BBQ and to top it off Mr. B's eastern style BBQ sauce and cilantro. Hello, amazing!

three | Adult Life

I could talk about so many things here, but what I'm specifically referring to is the fact that we finally have a second nightstand. I know, I know. Mr. B was a package deal, and he only had one nightstand when we met. Little did he know I'd be the lucky one who would be using it all this time. Well, last night he finally got to fall asleep next to a real deal adult nightstand, and not his makeshift one that will go unnamed. So, cheers to that!

four | 3-0 WHAAT?!

2 weeks from turning thirty. That age clearly deserves the full word. THIRTY. Can we talk about that for a minute? This deserves its very own post. It's really crazy to actually think about. I'm married and turning thirty within a month of each, and to be honest I wouldn't have changed that timeline for anything in the world. 

five | The Fun Stuff

Let's get to what really keeps us up at night...

• Mr. B and I recently saw The Intern - a must see! Finally a feel good movie out there to enjoy. Plus, you can't beat a date night dinner of movie popcorn!
• Finished Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand in record time. Great and easy read for the holidays! Now onto Winter Stroll, as mentioned here. 
• Two songs I can't get enough of right now: Meghan Trainor/John Legend - Like I'm Gonna Lose You and Cam - Burning House
• I'm wayyy late to the party, but I just started watching Scandal. Tell me why I haven't started this sooner?!
• I've totally been into cozy winter sweaters, and I recently bought this, this and this from Loft. Clearly, now I need them in every color!

Enjoy your Friday!

If you want in on the fun, join Christina, April, Darci and Natasha every Friday!