Splashy Summer Dining!

Happy Friday! To get ready for the weekend, head on over to Create My Event for my latest post on outdoor dining, dinnerware, and durable summer serving pieces! Here's a sneak peek at my latest finds:

[1) Outdoor party melamine dinner set from Pottery Barn, 2) Talavera melamine salad plates from Pottery Barn, 3) Personalized melamine plates from More Than Paper, 4) Graphic melamine dinnerware from West Elm]

May flowers and June bugs,

Back from Tulsa...

My darling little sister graduated from high school on Monday! She has decided to go to ORU in the fall, and I am so proud of her!


I'm waiting on my mom to send me pictures to share from the weekend, but I had to share one adorable pic that I took of Betty Rascal on the ride home.




This little angel snoozed all the way home, with her newest little buddy tucked in her arms. Isn't she the cutest?

Snorgles and puppy dreams,

Birthday Perfection!

So, my birthday weekend was really fantastic, and I just had to share it with you!

On Thursday, I walked into the office to find a lovely tray of chess squares FOR ME, made by one of the great cooks in our office, along with some thoughtful gifts from my office buds. Then, for lunch, all the female partners and associates met for a birthday lunch. There are 3 female attorneys in my office who have May birthdays, and it was so fun to get out of the office and be "just the girls" for a change.

After working for most of the day, I scooted out of the office early to meet the Knight for our birthday day. First stop? Couple's massage at Gould's (prenatal for me, of course). It was the perfect way to wind down after a stressful day and week. When we got home, we were discussing our attire for the evening. He kept insisting that I wear my white button-up maternity shirt and jeans, and I was fussing at him for telling me what to wear, and explaining that I did not think it would be appropriate to wear jeans, if we were going to a nice restaurant.

Finally, he just laughed, walked off, and came back with a tiny gift bag in hand. Of course, the best gifts come in tiny packages (see, e.g., Babydoll Roberts), and I knew that the goodies inside were going to be perfect for me. Let me just say...the Knight 'dun good. :)

I opened the box to find a ridiculously long strand of black Tahitian pearls. They are beautiful, and can be wrapped around my neck 2-4 times. Fantastic. All of the sudden, his insistence on the white shirt/jean combo made sense. What sets of a strand of black pearls better than a crisp, white top?

After getting ready for dinner (still don't know where we are going), we drive over to this tiny little restaurant. Inconspicuous from the outside, but the smells emanating from the building were to die for. Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen has only been in Memphis for about a year, but since its debut, my friends have gone back again and again. After finally tasting the food (and dining al fresco), I have to say that A/M has become my new favorite restaurant. A/M shops locally, grows a lot of their food right in their backyard, and everything is made from scratch (including the pasta)! The service and the food are fantastic.

On Friday, the Knight and I visited the Memphis Zoo. We got a later start than I originally planned, but our arrival ended up timing perfectly with many of the animals' feeding times. We got to see a polar bear, panda bear, wolves, grizzly bears, and bobonos feedings. The panda was my favorite - such a couch potato. :)

On Saturday, the Knight and I woke early and headed to the downtown Memphis Farmers' Market.

It is one of my favorite places to go during the spring and summer. Fresh, locally grown organic produce, plants, flowers, breads, honeys, and a myriad of other delightful foods and gifts.

The peonies are in bloom right now, and I managed to snag a few from one of my favorite booths...aren't they beautiful?

After buying a few more plants for our yard, some delicious strawberries, and a few other odds and ends, we headed to Au Fond for breakfast.

It is fast becoming my favorite place to eat in Memphis. It reminds me of a quaint French homey general store and family cafe...the food is simple, reasonable, and beautifully prepared.

On the way home, we decided to spend the rest of the day working in the yard. We built a raised vegetable garden, planted and potted flowers, and soaked up the sun.

The left-hand bottom corner picture shows the end product. We ran out of chicken wire, so the Knight made a cute little gate. Now, I can get in and out with ease, but Henry Bear is easily kept away from the tempting seedlings. He loves to dig, and I am amazed that he hasn't tried to dig up the other "uncaged" plants that we planted that day.

All in all, it was a lovely "stay-cation" long weekend. I am so thankful for the time the Knight and I get to spend together...our schedules are very different during the weekend, so I really treasure the few moments we have, here and there. It felt positively decadent to have him to myself for 4 days straight!

Hope you and yours are having a lovely day. Anyone care to share about their weekend?

Pandas and perennials,

Race over to CME for details about KY Derby Party!

Whoops! Forgot to let you know that, on Friday, I posted details about a fabulous Kentucky Derby party that the Knight and I attended last weekend, while braving the crazy tornadoes in Memphis. :)

For some reason, Blogger won't let me post pics right now, but go here to check out all the Derby details, with TONS of great pictures!

Horsies and honeys,

Currently Coveting...Birthday Wishes

Today I am 29 years old! This is my last birthday in my 20's AND my last birthday as a DINK (dual income no kids). So, although I can't indulge in birthday drinks with my buds, the Knight and my friends are doing all they can to make this very big birthday special.

Last weekend, some of my best Memphis gals braved the tornados, and took me to a surprise breakfast at Au Fond and a pedicure. It was so nice to be pampered on such an angry weather day!

First, he took off today through Sunday, so we have the entire weekend to spend together! Normally, he has to work through 1/2 of Saturday, so we rarely get a full day on the weekend. I am so pumped! At 12:01 a.m. this morning, he made sure to tell me "Happy Birthday!" Next, he booked us a couples' massage at a spa in town for us at 2 p.m. today. Finally, we have dinner reservations at a mysterious restaurant tonight. A perfect day!

Tomorrow, we are going to tackle a few house project doozies that we have been putting off for a while, and Saturday and Sunday, we are spending doing fun things in Memphis. I'm thinking it would be fun to go the Memphis Farmer's Market, have breakfast at Brother Juniper's, and check out the Pink Palace Museum, but we are just going to play it by ear.

Obviously, I have no idea what gifts I'll get for my birthday, but here are just a few items that I have been "currently coveting!"

1) Outdoor Chaise

2) Simple pearl ring

3) Cute (but sturdy!) gardening set

4) Handmade Beginnings book by Anna Maria Horner

5) Striped summer scarf

Candles and cake crumbles,

Babydoll's Furniture!

Helloo lovelies! Hope you are having a wonderful day. I am elated, as the Knight and I just ordered Babydoll's nursery furniture! Interested to see our final choice?

Many of you may remember the Baby's Dream "cube" collection that we all loved. (It was the winner by your voting, too!). Initially, it was my first and only choice.

Then, I realized that the nearest store is 1.75 hours away. Shipping the furniture was going to cost hundreds of dollars more. Then, several of my friends who have children between the ages of 5 and 8 told me that their children were very opinionated about their "big kid" furniture, and the last thing their children wanted was to use the "baby" furniture in the big boy/girl room. Personally, I think the Knight and I would decide whether our child gets to made that type of decision, but their point was well-taken.

After considering the hidden shipping costs (or the 3.5 hour round trip drive), we decided that the cube collection was lovely, but not for us. Also, I think I failed to mention that the Knight wasn't wild about the furniture after all. So, that was a major decision maker, too.

After much hemming and hawing, we decided to go with the Baby Mod Olivia collection from (gasp) Wal-Mart. I'm not a huge fan of their retail and employment practices, but the Baby Mod furniture met all of our expectations, was very reasonably priced, and can be shipped for free to a nearby Wal-Mart. We bought the "bundle" which saved an additional $30. (every little bit counts!)

We are super excited...all the reviews are very favorable, and Baby Mod appears to be an environmentally conscious and responsible company.

Cribs and cutie pies,

Nursery Update

Hello to you all on this beautiful Monday! I am especially thankful for the sunny weather today, considering the crazy weather Memphis and the rest of Tennessee has been experiencing. While it appears that western Tennessee got a ton of tornados, my friends in Nashville are dealing with flooding of Noah's proportions! If you are in Nashville and reading this, I hope you are okay!

It's been a little quiet around here lately...the Knight and I have been super busy with social engagements, work, and trying to squeeze in projects on the house, here and there. On Sunday, I wrote out a little list of all the projects I want to finish before the baby comes, and that "little" list ended up being three pages long. Talk about feeling overwhelmed!

I can proudly say that we are in the thick of one project, though. On Sunday, we finally decided to paint the nursery. We had previously decided on the Tame Teal color at Sherwin Williams, but the weather had NOT been cooperating. Finally, we had a break in the rain, opened some windows, and began our painting. We used the Duration line, which is low VOC (for baby's sake) and covers very well.

About one wall into the painting, the Knight and I are debating about whether to paint the ceiling. Somehow, we end up at Home Depot, where we have purchased new doors for the closet and the entry, new baseboard, shoemold, and crown mold, and a bunch of brilliant white paint...

That's right! We are going to re-trim our entire house, starting with the nursery!

We had a lot of fun ripping out trim, shaving off 50 years of paint layers, and knocking out the doors. While I'm at work today, the Knight is at home, diligently painting new (and much more beautiful) trim. Hopefully, by the time I get home, I can help him set the trim and he can nail it in.

I can't wait to show you the final result! More details to come on the rest of the nursery soon!

Splatter and sweeties,