Classic Annie.

Zoo

2026-05-08T06:00:00.000-04:00

Among two baseball games and two field hockey practices this week, Molly Anne's class had a field trip to the NC Zoo which I chaperoned. Her last field trip! It was fun but we def see more animals at the SC Zoo! Grateful to get to be with her and the flexibility at my office to make it happen!

On The Hunt

2026-05-07T06:00:00.000-04:00

I am on the hunt for a work dress for a conference and a couple evening dresses for Vegas that are still professional but fun. And shoes for a wedding! Here is what popped into my head!

ONE - love this dress and it looks long enough for a 43 year old!

TWO - a classic but I won't want to sweat through blue so tbd

THREE - not sure how flattering this smocking at the waist on this dress will be but going to try bc Spanx!

FOUR - no heels for me any more at least not for hours on end!

FIVE - this one is so good.

Grady's Party

2026-05-06T06:00:00.000-04:00

Grady turns 8 on Saturday so we had a little get together for him on Sunday at home. We had a video truck come and then the boys played wiffle ball. He requested hot dogs, bananas and Doritos as the meal with lots of Gatorade! Done done and done!

He picked out who he wanted invited and then we went with it. Easy peasy!

He picked out the Publix cake! Marble inside!

For the party favor I did baseball lifestyle socks wrapped in red so it kinda looked like a baseball.

Squishy Hunting

2026-05-05T17:40:54.098-04:00

Last weekend it rained on Saturday so all games were canceled. We went squishy hunting and roller skating! Win!

We went to 5 places to check for them! It was fun! These are the days.

Magnolia

2026-05-05T06:00:00.000-04:00

Fresh flowers make me happy! For this bubble vase that I got at a shop in Charlotte (Creative by Nature), I trimmed my little gem magnolia tree! This is four stems and five bunches of leaves and it fills the space so nicely. And free!

Thursday Finds

2026-04-30T06:00:00.001-04:00

Here are my finds this week:

ONE - these slides look so old lady but they're like walking on clouds! I love mine.

TWO - a great tee and the sleeves are cute

THREE - so fun $18

FOUR - jelly bedazzled?! Yes!

FIVE - yes I'm wild this week! Saw this in person and it caught my eye!

SIX - been looking for a dress to wear to a formal wedding this summer and this one may be it! Appears to be flattering and stretchy...and I'll be able to wear it again. We will see!

Randoms

2026-04-29T06:00:00.000-04:00

Anyone else refuse to turn clothing inside out after it's dried when you're folding it? I'm pretty sure I learned to put things correctly into the laundry basket when my Mom said she wouldn't do my laundry anymore unless I did it. This is happening at my house currently.

Molly Anne and I have been working on camp packing and it's been fun. We got a bunch of things knocked out this week. She wants to take skin care this year and I'm like whyyy but evidently they all do it!

Are needohs popular where you are? Everyone in charlotte wants one with very few to be found!

Trying to plan a couple of mini trips this summer and I'm really not good at doing it. I think it's because I overanalyze and then don't spend the time to look into it all. I want it to be easy! Also, I'm used to sort of winging work trips and that is not how Kevin rolls! We want to go somewhere and watch a good concert. Hmmmm!

That’s all I've got today. Nothing wild.

Baseball and Tennis

2026-04-27T06:00:00.000-04:00

Another busy weekend of my children's sports! Baseball and tennis and some other fun in between!

Boys and their puppies

Celebrating Greer!

A fun game playing against friends!

Got to have dinner out at the Spaghetti House with friends!

Brittany brought me a rosemary plant and I think it looks so good in this pot!

It inspired us to head to Lowe's to get some flowers!

I'll have to post about our new plants and flowers soon!

Happy Monday!

The White Shirt

2026-04-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

Okay so I got a white shirt that is cropped for some high waist bottoms. And I love it. And it's $48 so not wild.

Here it is a couple different ways. It is not see-through with a nude bra but it is with a neon pink sports bra - see up close pic at the bottom of this post! Full disclosure!

Anyway I'm so happy about it! I can wear it with jeans, leggings, long skirts and shorts!

I washed and dried it then put it back on with leggings. It comes to right at my belly button. My leggings also do so it covers. I don't feel like the top shrunk!

Graduation Gifts

2026-04-23T06:00:00.000-04:00

Need to give a high school graduation gift but don't want to give cash? Here are some ideas!

ONE - love this bangle. You could go neutral with a pearl but why not pink?!

TWO - nice initial necklace

THREE - a great stackable bracelet

FOUR - super cute ring

FIVE - my fav of course - this yurman necklace - it is sooooo beautiful on - this is on my wish list!!

Randoms

2026-04-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

Whew last week about did me in. I think it's because I hadn't had a normal week for the three weeks prior for one reason or another. This week is going better and also I think Skiff finally understands potty training but I hardly want to say that so I don't jinx myself!

How are you guys?! Hard to believe it is the end of April already. Summer will be here so soon!

Molly Anne and I went through her and Grady's camp stuff on Monday night and I found out exactly how many things they didn't come home with last year! Haha!

Haven't been to the grocery store in awhile. We are cleaning out the freezer this week!

This week is staff appreciation week at school so lots of things to send in and remember each day! The mental load thing...!

I have been keeping a to do list written on paper and in my work notebook. It has been helpful for me to check off the random to do's I need to do that bog my calendar down.

Chat soon!

Sports Weekend

2026-04-20T18:00:00.001-04:00

We had a busy weekend of sports!

Lacrosse and field hockey at the same time, baseball, more field hockey and a tennis match!

We got to go to our friends 40th birthday party which was super fun!

We also got to have our niece visit us from college with her boyfriend. That was a treat for us!

Chat soon!

Thursday Finds

2026-04-16T06:00:00.000-04:00

A few fun finds this week -

ONE - this looks like such a cool top to throw on with white or denim pants!

TWO - reasonably priced clutch and has a strap to carry too

THREE - I'm finding myself wearing this jacket quite a bit on chilly mornings. Mine is green but I LOVE it.

FOUR - cute dress for the summer - work or play!

FIVE - this is a bit random but we LOVE our shibumi chairs and right now you can get two for a bit of a discount! Free shipping too.

Menu This Week

2026-04-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

My friend Micki and I meal planned together when we were at the beach so we could feel like we could survive when we got home. This is what I ended up with:

Sunday - Beanier and creamier

Monday - egg roll in a bowl (my kids were still obsessed - I added mushrooms chopped very finely so they didn't know, and used 3 eggs for extra protein)

Tuesday - baked ziti which I made on Sunday night (I grated zucchini in for extra veg). Didn't use a recipe.

Wednesday - greek chicken salads with this new dressing Micki told me about

Thursday - probably leftovers

Friday - pizza night

Spring Break

2026-04-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

We went from Maryland to Ocean Isle for the rest of spring break! Yes, Skiff was a very good traveler for his 9 hours then 8 hours then 3.5 hours back to Charlotte!

We got to show him the beach which was soooo fun!

A dock dog!

It's all in who you know! Thank you Ms. Tiffany for making these kid's dreams come true!

This is delish

He loved the playground

And the evening pool adventure

And the beach where he dug a hole then fell asleep in it!

Had some fun with friends!

Checking the crab basket - nothing!

Canal afternoon playing on the mat and kayaking!

Skiff wasn't sure what to think of the kayak ride!

On Jen's rooftop!

It was a spring break well spent!

He has doubled in size from when we got him 4 weeks ago. He was 10 pounds and now 20!

But as you can tell, he doesn't know how big he is!

Easter in Maryland

2026-04-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

On Good Friday we drove up to Maryland to see my parents. I had a wedding shower for a cousin and Easter and my Dad's birthday! And Skiff needed to meet them!

On Saturday I went to the wedding shower at the Atlantic Hotel in Berlin. It was stunning.

We got to visit with several neighbors and friends!

Easter morning

We had Easter brunch around 2pm and it was simple and good. Ham sliders, hashbrown casserole, fruit salad (fruit cocktail and a couple other cans with vanilla pudding mix on it), sister Schubert cinnamon rolls and sausage egg cheese casserole. And blood Mary's of course!

Poppa's birthday!

Skiff met a half brother in my parent's neighborhood - same dad! Isn't that crazy? Dad is from Florida too. Small world!

We had a nice trip. Last Tuesday we drove down to Ocean Isle! More to come.

Thursday Finds

2026-04-09T18:33:05.177-04:00

I'm a little late this week!

ONE - I have two patterns in this dress and it's the best. I wear it with a jean jacket if it's chilly.

TWO - love these glasses. What a great birthday gift for a friend!

THREE - getting ready for a member guest I was invited to play in with these super cute earrings. 18k gold

FOUR - my niece had this top on with leggings and it was so cute. I ordered it in three colors for Molly Anne and I feel like I may need it too. $12!

FIVE - some new sandals and $70

Bar Area and Minor Closet Reno

2026-04-08T06:00:00.000-04:00

We decided as part of our third floor project we wanted a pebble ice maker in the bar in our main area. We knew one day when we built our house that we may do this so we already had a water line back there.

Eudy's cabinets basically transformed a 24" wide space we had used for a mini fridge to a 15" space for the ice maker and made a custom wine section in the other 9". (There was a 24" wine cooler here)

Progress..

Ta Da

Also, while Eudy's was in the house doing the downstairs bar and upstairs cabinets, I got some cabinets in my closet! Yesssss! These have been sooo amazing to have. They hold so much. Our cabinets have always been one of my favorite parts of our home.

The Hang Out House

2026-04-07T06:00:00.002-04:00

Lately, we have really enjoyed being the house where the doorbell rings every afternoon. It is sometimes wild if I'm just getting home from work but it's truly a joy to be where the kids want to hang. Don't get me wrong, they hang in other house in the hood too, but I love them being here.

I've always heard to have the food and drink and they will flock right over! I'd rather them be here than anywhere else.

One thing I think has helped is finishing our third floor that I talked about last week. It has been so nice having a space for them to play and have a little hang area with "fun" drinks. We got a Big Joe huge 7' bean bag which has been a huge hit for sleepovers and jumping on it.

Anyway, bring on all of the friends!

Thursday Looks

2026-04-02T21:31:27.464-04:00

ONE - a great dress to have in your closet . 15% off right now

TWO - love these earrings

THREE - I have this top in ivory and wear it so much

FOUR - wear this dress to work with flats or out for fun with sandals

FIVE - finally getting on board with these kicks

Third Floor Project

2026-04-01T06:00:00.001-04:00

Oh boy, this was the longest project of all time. In fact, we built an entire Dollar General at work in the time it took to finish one room and one bathroom in my own house!

When we built our home back in 2017, we didn't know how we'd live in the space. Grady didn't exist either! We decided to leave the third floor semi finished but not totally. We did the hardwood stairs to it, hung dry wall and painted it and then plumbed the bathroom and left stubs. We didn't floor it, we just left the subfloor. The space counted for our SF in our cert of occupancy when we built the house. It was conditioned etc.

We decided to move the playroom from the second floor up to the third and make the second floor more of a theatre/gaming room.

So this was our list to do for the third floor:

Put carpet down

Tile the bathroom

Add a frameless shower door

Get plumbing fixtures

Get a pretty light and mirror for the bathroom

Add three cabinets - one in the bathroom, one big "closet" for games etc because there isn't a closet up there and one wet bar so they could have drinks etc.

Granite for bar and for the bathroom cabinet

-------

We started in July and finished in November. It was ridiculous but I'll spare you the details. Here is where we started and finished!

Our storage room...

And the finished product:

Should I mention how horrible of a tile job it is? Or how he used brown grout instead of gray and I had to paint every spec of grout to fix it? Or how we had a water pipe burst when the cabinets were installed? Or the two countertops it took to make sure the sink was in the middle? Or how the granite for our bar we picked out wasn't big enough even though they said it was? Or how the big closet cabinets couldn't fit up our doorway so they had to take them back to their shop to cut them in half to then bring them back? Or how the zillion pound beverage fridge was broken and I had to haul it back to the UPS store? Or how they didn't order enough tile? Like so many things went wrong.

Details details. We are happy with the end result. These pics don't show the big bean bag we got or the current state but this was when we were sorta moving stuff up there!

Top 12 Things I Still Love About Our Home

2026-03-31T06:00:00.003-04:00

1. Two dishwashers flanking our kitchen sink. It's a game changer when we have people over. Otherwise we switch each day. And the Shaw curved sink still makes me happy.

2. Wiring every room with speaker wire. We have multiple "zones" for Sonos and enjoy having good sounding music in our main area, dining room, powder bath, porch, office and our bedroom/bathroom/shower. We don't have Sonos speakers, we have more boom boom ones ha. Eventually we will put speakers in the kids room when they are ready.

3. Our cabinets - best vendor we had building our home. Eudy's Cabinets

4. My getting ready area - it's just outside of our shower/bathroom and on the same side as my closet and the rest of the house so if Kevin's in the bathroom I can still get ready and off I go.

5. A storage area within a garage. We made one garage extra deep and built a wall so we have an area back there for yard stuff.

6. Lighting - I still love every single light I picked out for this house back in 2017.

7. Mudroom - my friend Lisa told me to do a "command center" for my junk with a charging station. It's so wonderful. It's standing height so I can stand in there at counter height and operate.

8. Second set of washer and dryer in the mudroom. We use them so much - pool towels, dog towels, muddy baseball clothes, car wash towels and so on. PS - do you like how they're labeled? My mom couldn't figure out which was which many years ago so I labeled them for her!

9. Soooo many electrical outlets. And if they're on a wall in the vanity, they're not centered which would be behind a hand towel, they're moved forward to be easily accessible.

10. Walk in attic space - a game changer.

11. I like how none of our rooms other than the gym have those angled ceilings. We were particular that we didn't want those. Oh and the other wild thing - we did not want columns in our main room / kitchen so we have metal beams built into the wall to span the wide openings.

12. Our porch - it is PERFECT in every way because it's 21'x26' and we have a gas starter real wood burning fireplace. We love it and spend so much time out there.

Things I wish we had done -

Electrical outlets below each window for Christmas lights. More outlets in closets (not required for code but need for steaming or vacuuming). Can lights in kids and guest rooms.

Weekending

2026-03-30T06:00:00.000-04:00

Friday night we hung around the house and made pizzas and went on a golf cart ride where we ended up hanging with a bunch of neighbors.

Skiff walked about one house length. He is not allowed to walk long distances until 18 months old to let his bones develop. Walking with Daisy and Lindy!

He's the highlight of the neighborhood these days!

Saturday morning Grady had lacrosse and it was sooooo cold and windy. He LOVED it though and did super great! I was proud of him giving his all at something new to him.

Next up was baseball where they won. Hung around in the afternoon then went to the club for dinner with some friends.

Sunday night steak fajita bowls. Couple neighborhood girlies were here and ate with us which was fun.

Our driveway became a meeting ground of a bunch of neighbors riding by and stopping to chat... and see Skiff of course. Chat soon everyone. Crazy week.

Friday

2026-03-27T06:00:00.000-04:00

Sooo many Skiff pictures!

Skiff came to Grady's game this week! He loved it!

He also provided emotional support for a ton of math homework.

At the ballpark

Every day is a good day to play outside

Shrimp Alla Vodka -

Fresh garlic, chopped onions, mushrooms and shrimp. Mixed with protein angel hair and Alfredo and marinara.

Molly Anne was Alice in the Alice in Wonderland play at school!

More homework with a tired puppy.

Happy Weekend! Oh, did I tell yall that skiff started sleeping through the night on night 4 of being with us? He's a good boy! 9:30-6:30 these days!

Spring

2026-03-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

ONE - my friend asked if I had seen any cute spring bags and I sent her this one. I have it in black and now I feel like I need it in this ivory. Best part is you can wash these!

TWO - this top with white jeans!

THREE - this skirt with a simple white tee or...

FOUR - this top! It would look good with jeans or a long maxi skirt.

FIVE - spring break vibes