i have a thing for the beach

in june brandon and i went to panama city beach with my family - parents, brother, sister in-law and my 6 week old niece :) it was perfect. i could have stayed all summer long. some of my favorite things about the trip ...

1. spending time with my family. they mean the world to me. can't get enough.
2. holding my baby niece. definitely can't get enough.
3. my baby niece in a bathing suite. oh my gosh. adorable.
   
4. soft white sand. clear blue water.
   
5. an hour-long professional massage.
   
6. darn good seafood.
7. sleeping in. one of my favorite things to do.
   

last week we got to to to garden city beach with brandon's family - his mom, step-dad, grandparents, brother and our sister in-law. it was super hot, but we had such a great time. some of my favorite things about the trip ...

1. spending time with brandon's family. they are so much fun and full of love.
2. eating lots of ripe south carolina peaches :)
3. drinking icy lemonade on the beach - thanks cathy and brian!
4. starting and finishing 3 really good books.
   
5. lots of card games and cranium.
6. movie trip to see inception and fun morning of shopping with my sister in-law sarah. can you say anthropologie?!?
   
7. laughter was never in short supply!

all in all i've considered moving to the beach and becoming a professional seaside-lounger/novel-reader/spa-frequenter/seafood food critic/sunbather living in a ocean side cottage, but surprisingly i just can't find someone to pay me well enough. it's a shame i tell you. a shame. i'd be so good at that job.

and to satisfy your cute baby fix, here's a picture of my niece adley relaxing by the beach. i know she's so freaking adorable you all want to take her home, but you can't. we're all pretty attached.

i ...

• ... wish i was still sitting on the beach with a novel and a icy lemonade. that's what i was doing last week. and it was super awesome.
• ... just got the most beautiful pair of black leather knee-high boots with little buttons up the side. i'm in love with them. i cannot wait to wear them.
• ... need to go get my hair done. it has been too long. i've got a few roots, i'm not going to lie. now don't judge.
• ... seriously have the best husband. he is the sweetest.
• ... can't believe how good it feels to go to work and get home at a decent hour. more on that later :)
• ... really hope ally picks chris next week!
• ... had the dreamiest piece of chocolate cheesecake yesterday at cheesecake factory. oh my good gravy.
• ... know this is a very random blog post.
  

three

today is our 3 year wedding anniversary.

3 years full of laughter, some tears, a little bit of heartache and pure joy. 3 years that have been hard and so wonderful. 3 years that are just the beginning of a lifetime of marriage. i'm so happy to have found my best friend and my husband.

happy anniversary brandon - i truly love you.

and a very happy birthday to my brother in-law zach! we hope you're day is super awesome!

brandongilliamonline.com

brandon is in the process of relaunching his blog - go on over and check it out here.

here's a preview!

my husband is pretty much awesome.

the weekend

been working the last 3 days (fri - sun). will return to the blog tomorrow! hope you all had a good weekend!

happy 27th brandon!

today my smokin' hot hubby turns 27 years old. every day i love him more. seriously, he's the bomb :)

Chicago - a great city

john hancock building

celebrating july 4th

american girl store! if only i was 10 years younger ...

blue chicago - an authentic jazz club downtown. it was so cool.

beautiful at night.

on our last night in chicago - we loved this city!

Chicago - millennium park

after long hours of walking and shopping, we decided to go relax in millennium park, a beautiful part in the middle of the city near the modern art institute. it was a gorgeous day. my favorite part? the cloud gate sculputure that i just called the big bean :)

Chicago - navy pier

everyone knows if you go to chicago, you have to visit historic navy pier. it was less than a mile from our hotel, so we just walked there and spent an evening exploring. we watched eclipse at the IMAX theater, ate crazy good hotdogs, got dippin dots, rode the famous ferris wheel and just enjoyed walking around. it was really fun!

Chicago - the city

last week, brandon and i took a spur-the-moment trip to chicago. he has been twice before (for work and a concert), but i had never been. i had a few days off, and i realized brandon and i had never taken a trip with just the two of us. we had a fabulous time, probably my favorite thing brandon and i have ever done together. we walked everywhere, and despite some major blisters on my heels and some pathetically sore calf muscles, it was so worth it! we had perfect weather, no rain, temps in the mid-70s, cool evenings, breezy - it was seriously awesome. we stayed at the hyatt chicago downtown; we couldn't have gotten a better hotel in a better location. i'll post pictures in several posts (i took a lot!), and this one includes pictures we snapped while exploring the city. i heart chicago!

gino's pizza is one of chicago's most famous pizza places!

as of lately

there has been lots going on around here lately - hence the lack of blogging, which if anyone still reads this - i apologize for that. here is a sneak peek of what we've been up to ...

more to come!