My Perspective on Motherhood

With it being my first Mother’s Day and with Grady recently turning 6 months old, I thought I would take a few minutes to reflect on what motherhood means to me.

I have always known that perspective is one of the strongest forces in understanding and appreciating life in its truest form.  Perspective can change everything, and my new perspective most certainly has done that for me.  I used to think that my life had such purpose, that I lived a full life and could not be any happier.  And while that may be partially true, I now see that I was just living a life to prepare me for this. Every bit of happiness I have felt in my life prior to October 27, 2015 pales in comparison to what I feel now when I hold my son and I embrace my little family.

No matter how long the days feel or how sleepless the nights can be, I truly try to stop and enjoy every minute. I now know that (for me) parenthood is the true meaning of life.  If I do nothing else in this world, I strive to equip this little man (and any of my future offspring) with the tools and capability to live a fulfilling, thoughtful, and happy life.  I know he has already done that for me in just a few short months.

I’m sharing some special photos from Grady’s 6 month photo shoot.  The amount of love that John and I both feel for this little boy is indescribable.  He steals a new piece of our hearts every single day and from these pictures it’s easy to see why :).

So far, this journey has been an epic one and I can’t wait to savor every second of what is to come.

Photography by Aimee Nelson Photography

 

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Mother’s Day Spa Day

Mother’s Day is seriously one of my favorite holidays ever. I have always loved it because it gives me the perfect reason to celebrate the beautiful women in my life who sacrifice so much of themselves on a daily basis.  I understand that sacrifice and love more than ever this year as a new mama.  I am beyond excited to be celebrating Mother’s Day for my first time and it makes me want to recognize the special moms in my life even more.

This year, my mom is treating my sister and me to a Spa Day at the Four Seasons.  So, I really wanted to give them both something that is fun and pairs well with the occasion.  After getting massages, we are planning to have lunch by the pool and then will spend the day at the beach. After chatting with some friends, I realized I should make a gift basket that has all the things they would need for a beach day at the resort.

I came up with a fun tote bag that includes beach sandals, wide-brim hats, water bottles, magazines, books, journals, beach towels, kimono cover-ups, and chocolates.  Everything came from Target – they have such an amazing collection of things that I was lucky enough to find everything in the right style for what I wanted.  Super convenient! I should mention that another special mom in my life, my mother-in-law, isn’t here locally this weekend. So John and I sent her flowers since mailing things can be tricky.  While I love flowers and they are amazing, I was able to get all of these (useful) things for pretty much the same budget.  Pretty crazy! A little thoughtfulness and time spent really do go a long way.

I absolutely love the way they turned out!  I plan to bring these to the Four Seasons and have them waiting for them in the Locker Room when they arrive.  So excited!

One tip to point out is that the tote bags from Target came with cardboard shapers on the inside.  I took the shaper and flipped it upside down so that the solid piece is at the top of the bag.  The idea was to provide stability so I could have the contents visible at the top.  I then covered the cardboard with pretty pink tissue paper so it acted as a base.  Here’s a look at it:

And of course, here are a few more shots of the bags and their contents!

 

 

Sunday Brunching

This past weekend I hosted some of my favorite friends for a Sunday Brunch.  It’s been awhile since I have posted so I thought I would share some pics of the table setting and maybe give some inspiration for Mother’s Day Brunch ideas :).

Also, it’s my favorite flowers’ season–peonies!  Of course I had to make an arrangement showcasing the few peonies I could find in this market (this time of year makes me extremely jealous of the west-coasters who have plentiful access to beautiful buds!!).

I went with a natural and gold color scheme with some pops of light pink.  These candleholders came from Target in the patio section and were a steal at $4 each.  It added a nice touch for the look I wanted:

We had so much fun eating, drinking, and laughing the day away. Not much better than good friends, bubbles and yummy food to cap off a weekend!

The menu included:

Bacon — the trick here is baking it in the oven at 375 on a parchment-lined cookie sheet (make sure the cookie sheet has a lip to it to capture the cooked-off fat). Your bacon will come out perfectly flat and crisp (and you can season it if you wish too!)

Eggs — we did ours in muffin pans so that each individual serving was wasy to dish up. We offered both scrambled and over-medium options.

Caprese Salad — always a hit for brunch!

Jumbo shrimp — the best Jumpbo shrimp comes from Fresh Market.  A bit pricey but well worth if for the quality.

Bakery Basket with preserves

Charcuterie

Fresh mixed berries — strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries create a gorgeous rainbow of colors in a glass dish.

Waffle Bar

Mini Desserts — I wish I had time to make these from scratch, but with a 6 month old, that’s not really possible.  But the Whole Foods bakery did the trick :).

And of course, Champagne.  Lots of Champagne.  We had fresh juices, berries, and mint leaves to mix in as well.