lately.

I just can't seem to keep with my life lately, let alone the blogging world.

I had a whole post planned the infamous day that blogger went down,

and I guess from there, I decided to take a week hiatus...whoops.

Thanks to those of you who are still sticking with me, 

I promise this summer has lots of great things in store and I plan to document it all. 

And the post I had planned? Started with the huge thanks to YOU!

For all of the birthday love on the blog, twitter, facebook, etc. 

You sure know how to make a girl feel loved!

Here's a little bit of what's been going on.

A birthday lunch date. My new white jeans.

Bday presents!
KDiddy...that's what hubs' calls me :)
Not pictured: my brass pineapple that is hanging on the house!

Family birthday dinner. My brother in law is the cake man...he picks a design for everyone for their special day.
This beach scene was mine.

Hammock naps are the best.

Hubs likes to make & build things.
I told him it would be cool to have a rope swing...next thing you know, we have a rope swing.
He is awesome.

I can barely find words to explain the cuteness of these last two photos.
All I know is I'm a lucky girl :)

the weekend in photos.

This weekend was pretty awesome. 
I've got some photos to hopefully serve as proof. 

These first two are actually from last weekend.
Hubs & I trekked down to New Jersey
for a retirement party for my godfather.
And got to see my whole family...I miss them.

Then, my sister came up to visit us this weekend.
Her first visit to our house.
And first time meeting her second niece, Mocha.

Pedicures please.

Margaritas, tequila & sangria. yes, yes, & yes.
Along with paella and fried ice cream :)

Sistahs.

It's very hard to get the puppy still for a photo, but it was love at first sight.

Saturday we shopped. For over three hours.
I have no photos of this, but my wallet can assure you,
it was a success.

Then we cooked. And hubs made some delicious cookies.
The pups will sit, for treats.

The Easter bunny paid a visit to our house.

My first attempt at deviled eggs. They were a hit.

And finally, it feels like spring in New England.
Today is the second day in a row I've had the windows open in the house.
It feels amazing.

Spring has sprung!

weekend photos

Parisian macaroons courtesy of my lovely sister in law who just returned from France :)

I indulged a lot this weekend

Obsessed with tulips.
I'm trying really hard to lure spring into Rhode Island.
Judging from the 30 degree temps this weekend, I'm not trying hard enough!

Brother & Sister

Sister & brother in law, fresh off the plane from Paris

Wish I could take credit for the baking. Thank you Pastiche.
I said I indulged a lot, ahem.

Love.

Presents! Can't wait to put that grill to good use.

Miss Mocha getting bigger every day.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

tulips, vegetables, & chalkboards.

What do these three things have in common?

Not too much, other than they have been making my week a little sweeter!

I bought a couple bunches of tulips at the grocery store at the beginning of the week, and they have been brightening the house ever since. I had enough to scatter small bunches and bud vases around. Is there anything better than fresh flowers? Well...besides maybe, puppies, but I'll get to that!

If you follow me on twitter, you might know that the hubs and I went to visit some little baby chocolate labs on Monday night. Well, everyone should be aware that you don't go visit puppies unless it's something you're really serious about...they are kinda irresistible. So needless to say, we'll be having a new addition to our little family in about a week! More on that to come :)

After visiting what will be our new baby, we made a little dinner. Have you ever tried roasting vegetables in the oven? If not, you definitely should. So delish! This week we tried brussel sprouts, which are SO much better roasted than any other way I've ever tried. 

Start with some finely chopped garlic, and saute it in a generous bit of olive oil, {enough oil to drizzle on the veggies, depending on how much of those you have} then add some kosher salt and cracked pepper. Music is also a necessity. Makes cooking that much better :)

Drizzle that mixture on top of whatever you are roasting. In addition to the brussel sprouts we also tried some loose spinach, which was also good, just cooks much faster!

Sorry this is a little blurry.
Roast at 400 degrees for about half an hour. {less time for the spinach} The outside turns crispy and the inside turns soft. Then enjoy! We've also tried asparagus which is equally as good, and only takes about 20 minutes. You can also add lemon or other seasonings to mix it up.

 

We found this vintage chalkboard at an antique shop. Last week when my nieces were over, I asked them to draw me a picture for the new house and this is what they came up with. Makes me smile.

 

Anything making your week a little brighter?

Maybe if you won my giveaway, that would help!

Enter here, you only have until noon tomorrow.

weekend highlights.

Sunday night dinner.
The way to a man's heart is through his belly, obviously.

Baked Artichokes. Angel hair with shrimp, garlic, lemon, butter & olive oil. White wine.
Not pictured: Chocolate covered strawberries...they were devoured before I could get a photo!

 Can you even tell what this is? This is my TV room/den with it's grasscloth wallpaper that now covers the walls in half the room. The rest of the wallpaper should go up this weekend, and that room will be done! I can't wait to show you when it's complete! I think it will be my new favorite room. And the only room {besides the basement} with a couch! Hooray.

I stumbled upon a neat little store in downtown Providence called Craftland. This place is awesome...it's basically like Etsy, in a store.
Everything is handmade. I can't wait to go back.
These were my two purchases: Letterpress note cards & a pretty pillow cover.

My new favorite book. All about inspired and unique locally owned eating and shopping establishments in Newport & Providece, Rhode Island. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Burlington, Vermont & Portland, Maine. Hubs and I love to discover new restaurants and shops, and if they are locally owned, even better. We can't wait to try out some new places this book mentions!

Hope you all had a great weekend! I was going to include a photo of my backyard because you could actually see the grass, and Lilly was loving it. However, now it's snowing and everything is covered again. Mother nature is laughing at me & that little taste of spring we had last week was such a tease!

Snowy Day Photo Update!

Well, now it's our turn. We've got a lot of the white stuff up here in southern New England and today? I don't really mind it! I love the snow when I don't have to work, and luckily, Hubs and I both managed to have the day off. Yay for snow days!

{snow day essentials: breakfast sandwiches, snowmen & hot cocoa}

{Lilly, part puggle/part snow bunny, with her new friend! & the view up the street from our house}

And I finally got around to uploading a ton of photos from Christmas until more recently. Is it too late for Christmas photos? I think not.

{Christmas Eve: The Hopkins tree, gingerbread houses & my cute nephew on his new pony}

{Christmas morning surrounded by boxes: Our new festive pajamas we exchanged on Christmas Eve & our little tree complete with filled stockings and some extra presents Santa brought for the new house!}

{The post Christmas blizzard that delayed our move by a day! & our old apartment packed to the max}

{January has brought birthday celebrations, my father-in-law's 60th & many renovation casualties!}