Girl's got some moves!!

This was a weekend of moves, to say the least!! Mollie is on a roll!

Saturday morning, after a much-successful C4W Purse Auction the night before (yayyy!), Matt, Molls & I along with 4 other friends had our first 'Water Babies' swim lesson~ ok, I know you're going, um, Mollie's not old enough for swim lessons. Alas my friends, according to our fabulous swim instructor Lindsey Ballenger, the sooner you get them acclimated to the water, getting their head wet, etc, the more comfortable they will be when it does come time to actually learn HOW to swim. Makes sense to me!

We sang some songs, splashed around & even went under water a few times!! It was so nerve-wracking for us parents to think about dunking our baby, but everyone did great! Lindsey was a wonderful teacher and made us all feel super comfortable. As she said 'the class was a success; no tears, no rain & no poops in the pool.' Couldn't have said it better myself, haha;)

Saturday afternoon, Molls & I were playing on the floor in the living room and all of a sudden the girl got on all fours and was starting to crawl! What the %^&*?!?! I know she can roll just about anywhere she wants and she'll also scoot herself wherever or spin on her hiney in a 360, but crawling?! Man..I wasn't ready for that! Jojo..are you ready for her this week??! ;)

I called mom & dad to hurry over to the house & Matt to come in the living room--such a trip to watch this lil peanut get around all by herself! Fast forward to Sunday and now she wants to pull herself up! Nooooo, haha!

The time has come, my little girl is now mobile. Let the baby-proofing really begin and the exhaustion really set in. As crazy as it is to watch her grow, it's absolutely incredible to watch her grow & learn. As I told a friend today, it makes me want maternity leave to be NOW, not when your baby can't do anything!

Sunday afternoon, we met up with Matt's friend John, his wife Kelly and their precious little girl Maya, who is 3 months younger than Mollie. They live in Chicago and are on IOP for the week on vacay. Not only have I never met John or Kelly, I swear we've talked via email & facebook probably over 100 times like we're lifelong friends! John is a regular blog reader (thanks bud!!) and soon after Maya was born, the new parent questions began--breastfeeding tips, sleeping issues, etc. The rest is history and we FINALLY got to spend time with our families together and celebrate our successes of survival!! There were def times I think we all questioned our sanity..but that's what friends are for right?! John & Kelly, cheers to our sweet girls and the lifelong friendship among us from here on out~ xoxo

A special weekend

What a fabulous Mom's weekend to share with my amazing mom and amazing daughter-- Blessed to have a mom that's my best friend and to be a mom now, thanks to Molls:)

Saturday we headed out to the Firefly Distillery & Irvin~House Vineyard for the 'Sippin Saturday' event. Locals, if you haven't been GO. Out of towner's, make sure to put this stop in your next trip. Wadmalaw is just beautiful to say the least.
At the Vineyard & Distillery, we sampled their flavored vodkas mmmm, ate some Home Team BBQ & collards mmmm and finished the day sightseeing the grounds, farm animals and listening to some guitar pickin' out there.

First sight of the animals

lil rascal trying to grab my shot glass!

giddy up..

Sunday, we started the day with a lovely breakfast compliments of the darlin' husband; French toast, turkey bacon, scrambled eggs & fresh fruit--my faves!!

Early afternoon we headed down to 2nd Sunday on King Street, one of my favorite free things to do in town. Ideal for a little stroll & some ice cream:)

I love my family!

 We finished the afternoon with a backyard swim including our friends, Lauren & Nicole. Perfect way to cool down after being hot downtown!! :)

Best friends!

Splashed herself silly

What a FUN weekend with those I love the most--thanks mom, dad, Matt & Mollie for making it a memorable first Mother's Day! xoxoxo

Friday Loves!

My Friday Love post is alllll about Mollie! Um, well, the whole blog is all about that muchkin:) In honor of Mother's Day it got me thinking just how LUCKY I am to 1) be a mother to a healthy & thriving little girl and 2) be HER mother.

Today she is 10 months old- wow. Matt & I enjoy every second with her & it's been amazing to watch her grow, learn new things, become aware of new people and new surroundings and the list goes on.

A few things to summarize her latest antics:

She LOVES her friends at Jojo's house!! Matt & I swear that we have the only child ever, who's excited for their parents to leave them in the mornings. Haha. I know she adores us, I'm not saying that, but it truly warms my heart that she LOVES other people, especially other kids:)

Mollie's officially a Garrett-- she could NOT get enough of the Costco samples!! On the menu last weekend were whole-grain crackers, mini spinach florentine quiche and whole grain pancakes. They must have known we were all 3 coming & decided upon kid-friendly foods:) The girl had seconds of each item..when it was quiche time & I was holding it breaking off pieces for her, she didn't want me out of her sight. I agree sista, a quiche is delish!

We had a lovely family Easter in Myrtle Beach! She's not yet a beach baby (didn't love the sand on her hands) but have a feeling that will change..she's not really going to have a choice:) We love the beach!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. Whether you've given birth to a child or play the mother role to someone in your life, CELEBRATE-- you deserve it!!!

xoxo

Friday Loves

 Is this blog going to turn into just 'Friday Loves?!' NO. I haven't posted anything in a week, though...oops.
 

 The Royal Wedding. Enough said. I was SOOO OVER the news coverage this past week & not hearing anything new or interesting, but that all changed at 5:45 this morning when I watched the beautiful Kate Middleton leave her hotel to get into the car taking her to the wedding ceremony. Gives me chills to think about that moment. All brides remember that moment leading up to our ceremony; just magical. I think my favorite part of the coverage was seeing her ride with her dad to the wedding. So touching and she was a total natural. Welcome Princess Kate, you've earned that title! *I'll also add that I'm glad she's a brunette:)

I was so flattered to be a guest blogger on Style Concierge today! Lee asked me some money saving & coupon questions & I had a fun time thinking about them:) Hope you'll enjoy and learn something maybe. *Lee is also offering a FREE 20 minute style consult via phone, so email her today to get started. I did mine with her & got some great organization & closet tips. Since it's over the phone, you can live anywhere! :)

Again, on the coupon theme, I love Harris Teeter Super Doubles! I went this AM for a quick, but productive trip en route to work. had my list made, my coupons organized and a plan for my day--that is until I got to my car & realized I didn't have my cell phone! Lovely. I knew I had it in the meat section because I text Matt about some fresh chicken wings that were on sale..beyond that I had no clue!!! Of course I left my name with customer service and PLEADED with them to help. A few hours later they called me at work and had FOUND it! Now, that's some good customer service. * I pick it up this afternoon, and sooo curious to know just where they found it. Please Lord, don't let it have been lying in the meat section...

And this is NOT a Friday Love, but feel the need to support my Sweet Home Alabama. If anyone can help in South Alabama or donate in SC, I'll gladly help organize things. Here is a link to a drop off and there's a ton more!! PLEASE do what you can, so many people are suffering.
- Animals who need to be fostered or re-located
-Pictures & Documents that were found in the storms and need to be placed with their owners.

A reminder to be grateful for all that we have and all that we are given--nothing is to be taken for granted.

Friday Loves!

Welcome to the 'It's Friday, I'm in Love' series! Join Summer for her version or my inspiration Katie!

Ahhh Jack Roger's has come out with a JELLY version of their awesome shoe! Perfect for the beach & pool without ruining the original (leather) ones!! I know Brooke & Katie are going ga-ga over these....

Tiny baby was just 7 weeks here!

On that same note, our lovely Easter weekend will be spent beaching it or poolside the ENTIRE time. Mollie gets to go swimming for the first time!! Her bathing suits are packed (yes plural, we have to have options) and swim floatie is ready. We're not scheduled to have our first official swim lesson until mid-May, so hope Mollie can hang;) Haha.

My mom is SUCH a crafty & thrifty woman --they bought this old, but lovely potential home here in Charleston that used to the be original West Ashley Post Office. How charming is that??! With the history in mind and the fact that my mom is a super recycle gal and has been waaay before this 'trend', she wanted to keep with the natural look and feel of the house & that she did. Kudos mom...great job!!!

Last, but not least, I've taken on a fun, new side venture & am now a Stella & Dot Stylist!! If you haven't seen the jewelry, check it out! I'm tempted by almost every single piece. I hope y'all will support me by encouragement, purchasing OR by hosting a trunk show & earning FREE jewelry!! (Most hosts take home $250 worth of free goods!) I have one show already lined up for Cinco de Mayo & cannot wait to mix some margs with these jewels:) So much fun!!
Since my job at Center for Women is so fabu & I love helping women, this seemed like a natural fit. Once I read about the S & D Foundation, I was in. My day job mission is to 'Help Women Succeed. Everyday.' Now my hobby mission is 'Behind every great woman is another woman.' Amen to that!

My lil' Bunny!

We had a wonderful weekend in Charleston despite the forecast for HORRID weather on Saturday--not a drop of rain & beautiful blue, sunny skies!

Mollie had an eventful weekend and was quite the social butterfly:)

Saturday we went to my friend Melissa's church to meet the Easter Bunny & then had lunch at Sesame with some friends. Their church puts on the most wonderful events for children! We also did the breakfast with Santa there in December & it was awesome. Great Santa, fun activities for the kiddos and even great food! All for free. So very nice of them to do.
Not much was different for celebrating Easter either--the Bunny was super cute, the kids had a ton to do & of course there was an overload of sweets to enjoy! Mollie actually did okay with Mr. E. Bunny...no tears!

Hippity Hop!

Heading out to  meet E. Bunny!

I love this pic! She's not quite sure what to make of him...

On Sunday we went to brunch with my dear friend Courtney, who was in town from NYC. I was excited about trying this new place, Leaf, but to my dismay apparently 'brunch' only happens on Saturday..when they are open!  Y'all know I'm a planner, but alas, this place has no working telephone number, nor do they have a website OR a facebook pace, so I couldn't call ahead or pick out my meal in advance--the audacity of them;)
We quickly chose a Plan B, which was Fleet Landing & possibly an even better choice. We sat on the deck overlooking the harbor, watched the sailboats during Race Week, noshed on delicious seafood and sipped Bloody Mary's. Now that's a perfect Sunday morning!
I was enjoying my time sooo much, I forgot to take pics!  Those in Charleston can envision the setting & those of you not here, well....you just need to come & visit!!!

Friday Loves

Welcome to the 'It's Friday, I'm in Love' series! Join Summer for her version or my inspiration Katie!

Our friends, Ben & Jess, just started a new company in Charleston, Tavers Flavors, making local, fresh BABY FOOD! We are soooo excited about this & cannot wait to see what great things come their way. Matt & I are very good about making Mollie a ton of food from scratch & she has quite the taste-buds:) Although not everyone has the time or know how to make their own healthy baby food, Ben & Jess are here to help!

They will be participating in the Farmer's Market every Saturday, so PLEASE stop by and say hello! *They are also asking for some for some of your baby's favorite flavor combos, so feel free to shoot them an email & let your ideas be heard!

 Oh me, oh my --a daily deal site featuring Etsy vendors called Heartsy! I feel my wallet getting thinner as I write this..Love love the beautiful & creative items we soon shall see:)

I know summer is on the horizon when my most favorite beer makes it's appearance on store shelves. Ahhhh, it's wonderful to see you again Son of A Peach!