Grant and I recently returned from our Italian adventure to Rome and Florence where we walked along the fabulous cobblestone streets admiring this...

And indulging in a daily cappuccino and cup of gelato


We've both traveled to Italy before, but never together and so we celebrated Christmas, our next anniversary and set of birthdays a little early! Grant took about 500 pictures every day, so I tried to narrow it down for you.
Some of our loves in Rome...

Coliseum by day

...and by night


Our room was on top of this beautiful gem, which I guess you could say is really my love. But I didn't allow myself to step foot inside and honestly never saw one person in there in 4 days!
(I'd say not, seeing as how the cardigan in the window was $250! What?!)


Grant loves to hold my hand, hug and kiss me in public :)

Roman Forum


we sat here with our gelato every night...

No coins thrown this time. We thought the legend can only work once, right?

Vatican City

I found these beauties in the Campo Dei Fiori piazza and wished so much that I could buy a bundle and put in my house, thousands of miles away!

Last dinner in Piazza Navona

Part of our hotel and the doors leading to our room upstairs... love these doors!

We trained to Florence for more fun...

the famous view from the top of the hill

Duomo

a little fun with the camera...

View from the roof of our hotel.

Lovely piazza

It's been 2 weeks since we've returned and I think about Italy pretty much everyday. No real agenda, no TV [except right before bed :) ], quality time with Grant and walking everywhere we wanted to go. Which made my daily gelato trips (sometimes 2!) okay.

As much as I love Italy and frankly, Europe in general, here are a few things we learned to appreciate about our beloved U.S.A.
1. Smoke-free restaurants
2. Going to Swanky's Taco Shop and eating for $15, for both of us.
3.Flat ground (cobblestone is beautiful, but only for a short time ;)
4. Walking around Memphis with only 5-6 other people in your personal space.

I love Italy, but I really love Memphis.

sweet babies

Despite Grant's rule of "no babies allowed", I've had a lot of time with some cute babies lately and I have loved every minute of it!

My good friend, Jennifer from OT school had her sweet baby boy (over 9lbs!) April 6th.

Reid Luke McMahan

Look at that hair!

Somehow, Jennifer and I never got a picture together with Reid! But both are doing great and I look forward to holding him again soon!

Not too long after Reid's birth, another one made her way into the world. I took off work this past Friday and headed to Pleasant Plains, AR to visit my dearest friend, Emily and her sweet baby girl, Sadie Belle Smith!

She's already got jewelry on! I love it!

She was such a dream... slept the entire time and barely fussy. My kind of baby! Thank you Em for a great lunch and for allowing me to "steal" your sweet one from you for awhile! It was so good to see you and your wonderful family.

Grant met me in Pleasant Plains and we headed to Heber for some R&R. While there, we met up with our friends, Joe and Chanda along with their family and yes, there was more baby time with their precious girl, Mia Murphy.

How adorable is she?!

Oh sweet Mia, you can fall asleep on me anytime!

We also enjoyed the Jerkins' company on the boat with plenty of baked cheetos, swimming with turtles and good music... all without a baby. :)

Truly the best of both worlds this weekend.

A lovely find

I know, I know, we don't need another project! But I could not let this beauty pass through my hands and to the garbage (because that's where it was going!). Grant snagged a nice card catalog very similar to this from the MUS Library as they were cleaning house which I hope will turn into a great functional piece for our house. And the best part about it, it was FREE!

I haven't decided what do with it yet, but I like these ideas so far...


for the office?

add some legs to it for the dining room?

paint it (any color)

create a distressed look?

What do you think? Any other ideas come to mind?

Ultimate Teamwork

From painting and installing our garage door, we have moved on to the overwhelming project of a master bath re-do. And I must say, this has been the most challenging of all our projects thus far. Two weeks ago, Grant and I spent a portion of our Sunday afternoon removing our 400lb bathtub in preparation for a walk-in shower. Surprisingly, we accomplished this task without injury or harsh words!

My day job came in handy during this task!

Thanks to Grant's thought-out plan x 4 days, the tub made it through our bedroom, out of the sunroom and onto the patio by way of Grant's tracking system, which allowed us to salvage the carpet and tile.

And here she is, our beloved pink and blue bathroom.
(The first day of ownership)

This is our progress as of today, a few weeks into the remodel. To our surprise, it took longer than we expected to demo everything and we are still working on that part. We are notorious for letting a project linger, but hopefully this one will be different!

(The space is small and requires a wide angle lens)

Bathtub successfully removed.


Our goal is to finish no later than October! Stay tuned...

Near 30

At least that's how I felt when I turned 27 on Friday. Why is it that 27 seems so much closer to 30 than 26?! Not that 30 is old by any means, but there just comes a time in life where you finally feel older and I think that time has arrived!
I had a great weekend celebrating my birthday. My friends at work organized a lunch for me on Friday to celebrate the day and I had a good time listening to my patients guess my age. I heard everything from 18 to 35 (what?!), but most of them were very close.

When I got home, I found these on the kitchen table along with a hidden Starbucks gift card! Thanks Grant! :)

We celebrated Friday night at P.F. Changs with my Mom

And of course she showed out with her beautiful wrapping and cute ideas

I love Martha Stewart and Mom baked 3 different cookies out of the new cookbook she got me. So cute and so yummy!


Grant and I went the Farmer's Market for the first time yesterday and got lots of fresh fruit that I plan to turn into a pie later this week! The weather was perfect last night and we headed to Live at the Garden to hear Joe Cocker and watch old people dance real funny. It was a great night.

And because I love brunch so much, the Burke's took us to Paulette's after church and I so enjoyed their famous popovers with strawberry butter!

All in all it was a great weekend! Next up, Grant's 30th! (Well in a few months).

Near 30

At least that's how I feel after turning 27 on Friday! Why is it that 27 seems so much closer to 30 than 26? (For all of you older than me, don't be too quick to roll your eyes! I know you felt it too)!

I had a great weekend being 27. My friends at work prepared a wonderful meal for lunch on Friday and we enjoyed all kinds of fresh foods that one of the therapists brought from her garden. I didn't even know lime basil existed but I love it! Thanks, ladies!

I got home and found these on the kitchen table with a hidden Starbucks card on the inside!

Global Efforts

I recently finished reading this book and I am contemplating reading it again because of the way Immaculee inspires me. I realize I am behind the times a bit, considering her book was released several years ago. But, better late than never on this one. There were parts of the book I found very difficult to read, but the overall awareness of the Rwandan Holocaust, the reminder of our freedom and Immaculee's trust in God outweighs the gruesome details. Despite the tragic events, there is beauty in her reflection of God's protection and how her relationship with Him deepened during this time in her life. I do wish I could meet her.

Maybe not what you'd consider a normal "summer read" but a good one, I assure you.

And as I made a quick stop at Starbucks this morning, I was happy see to more products available to the public, as a part of the (PRODUCT)^RED™. This summer, Starbucks has released small handbags and tumblers with authentic African fabric created by Rwandan artisans. Click here to read more. I couldn't find any pictures and I didn't purchase one today, so you will have to venture to a Starbucks to see for yourself! This is one of many reasons why I love Starbucks.