Summer Bucket List

Happy Hump Day!

Today I am guest posting over at Simply Southern sharing my Summer Bucket List.

I wrote this post at the beginning of the month and one of the items has already been checked off...any guesses as to what it might be!?

I'll give you some hints...

1. I posted about it last week
2. It involved Bellaire Market
3. It also involved wildlife

Need a visual hint?

Hop on over to the guest post here and see if your guess is right!  

In other news, tonight I am meeting some of Bryce's friends for the first time!  We are grilling out and having two couples over that Bryce is close friends with.  On the menu is steak, baked potatoes, asparagus, salad, and brownies for dessert.  I'm a little nervous, but also excited!

Finally, I'd like to thank bAs from Preppy Wife Preppy Life and Hannah from The Pink and Green Prep for the Lovely Blog Award.  Both of these ladies gave me the award AGES ago, and I have just been a very bad blogger and haven't acknowledged it.  I received this award a while back, so to see my 7 random facts and the bloggers I awarded, click here!

Have a wonderful day!

The Swan House

Hello my friends!

After another late date night last night, I'm feeling like I could do this today:

Cutie B always claims he's not asleep, rather he's just "resting his eyes!"

Now in between my yawns, onto today's post!  I wanted to share a fabulous book with you:  The Swan House by Elizabeth Musser.  If you liked The Help, (which I posted about here), you will LOVE this book.

The Swan House is a coming of age story that takes place in Atlanta in the 1960s. Mary Swan Middleton's life is turned upside down when her mentally-ill, artist mother dies in the Orly Plane Crash of 1962.  

During her grief, her family's loyal maid, Ella Mae, decides to take Mary Swan to Grant Park, the inner city of Atlanta.  Ella Mae hopes that exposing Mary Swan to the poverty and sorrows of others and helping them through service will help Mary Swan's grief process.  Working in the inner-city exposes Mary Swan to a way of living she never knew existed and makes her begin to question ideas such as civil rights.  Mary Swan also forms a close friendship with Carl, a fellow teenager from the inner-city, and the two, with Mary Swan's best friend Rachel, embark on an adventure to discover who Sheila Middleton, Mary Swan's mother, really was.  In this story, as Mary Swan seeks to learn more about her mother, she in turn finds more about herself and cultivates relationships that will change her life forever.

Musser

I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially those of you who enjoy Southern literature.  I finished the book in just a few days (which was quite the feat considering how busy and exhausted I've been this summer).  It is told from the point of view of 16 year old Mary Swan and is a quick read that also really makes you think.  

Have you ever read this book?  If so, what'd you think?  What has been your favorite summer read so far?

John Deere Shower

Happy Monday!

Did y'all have good weekends?

Mine was one of the best of the summer!

Saturday, was our John Deere themed baby shower for my cousin RLE and his lovely fiancee KLB.

Friday night we were working up a storm to get all the final preparations done.

I made these marshmallow treats that Laur, from Sweets & Treats, posted about here.

Didn't they turn out pretty?

The shower started at 2 pm, so we got there around 12:30 to set up.

Mommy and Allie

The Hostesses of the Day

Side table with Snacks

Marshmallow Treats--doesn't it kind of look like a bucket of flowers?

Main Table

Our menu consisted of ham biscuits, pasta salad, and chicken salad with croissants and crackers.

The cake table!

We ordered the cake from a Richmond favorite, Westhampton Bakery

It was delicious!  We did a layer of chocolate and a layer of yellow cake.

With the Momma to Be!

We only played one game,  called the "Crazy Baby Advice Game," which can be found here.  Then we followed with food, presents, and cake with lots of mingling and chit-chatting added into the day.

KLB received a lot of great gifts.  

I love her smile in this picture!

This Baby Einstein Musical Motion Activity Jumper was incredible!

In addition, we requested that everyone bring a favorite children's book for the new baby, which thrilled the teacher in me!  

All in all, the shower was a huge success and a lot of fun!

In other news, Bryce got home from Canada late Saturday night.  Yesterday morning I headed over to his house and we cooked breakfast together.  After that we spent the entire day together and even took a trip to Belle Isle an area on the James River in Richmond to go for a swim and lay out on the rocks!  We're getting together again tonight and I am so glad he is back!

What did you do this weekend?

Mango Chicken Kabobs

Happy Friday y'all!!  This week has dragged by SO SLOWLY and I am jumping for joy that Friday is here AND that Bryce will be back in the country tomorrow night!

Today I'm guest posting over at Flip Flops & Pearls, one of my favorite blogs, sharing the recipe for the Mango-Chicken Kabobs AMF and I made at the lake for Memorial Day weekend!

Remember these?

Don't they look tasty?

Hop on over to Daphne's blog (here), link up, and enjoy my recipe!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Beat the Heat

Happy Thursday!

Today's post is a short one, because, I was very exhausted last night--please forgive me.

Here in Virginia, it gets HOT in the summertime.  Heat and humidity are a natural part of life for a Southerner.

For example, last week I snapped this picture of the thermometer in my car:  102!!

Well, the 100s are back and with a vengeance.  We are under a heat advisory starting today and going through Saturday.  Temperatures are supposed to be around 100 for the next 3 days, but the heat index is supposed to be between 105-115!  

When it's this hot, the Cuties, and I spend the day inside.  Sometimes we'll cook, other days we'll have a movie day, game day, or even go bowling or to a museum.

My question for you today, readers, is how do you beat the heat?  What fun indoor activities do you do on hot days like these?  Any moms out there have suggestions of fun, creative things the Cuties and I could do inside?

Have a cool day!