SOCIAL MEDIA

Monday, June 29, 2020

Our Weekend at the Beach

Hi friends! It is late Sunday afternoon as I am writing this and we just got back from the beach... meaning today's post is going to be short and sweet-- I have laundry and grocery shopping to do!! This past weekend we went to Wilmington, NC to visit Devin's parents and his grandmother. It was the most wonderful weekend spent outdoors and with family. We went kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming in the pool, and did a lot of playing on the beach. 
Friday, June 26, 2020

What I've Been Wearing Lately

Good morning everyone! I hope you all had a good week! We are at the beach today in Wilmington, NC so if you are looking for some fun, beachy, sandy kiddo pics, follow along on Instagram @lcdarrell!

Fashion related posts are always some of my favorites to read on other blogs, so I figured I'd pop on over here to share with you some of the outfits I've been wearing lately. Some of these pictures are several weeks old, because let's be honest the likelihood of me having clean hair, makeup on AND cute clothes all on the same day is pretty darn slim! Remember when we used to do that every day? #quarantineproblems  Here's a look at what I've been wearing lately:
Thursday, June 25, 2020

Grilled Veggie with Honey Balsamic Vinaigriette


Hey there friends... today I wanted to share one of the recipes we have been making at least once a week: our super simple honey balsamic grilled veggies. We mix up what veggies we use to keep it interesting, so use whatever you have! It doesn't have to be the same veggies I have listed!
Wednesday, June 24, 2020

What's Up Wednesday

Good morning friends and happy Wednesday! It feels like life was crawling by there for awhile, but somehow this past month has absolutely flown by. While our state is still in phase 2 of re-opening, I think even just having a few things opened back up makes life feel like it's flying by again. We finally have things to do other than the same old stuff over and over. 
Monday, June 22, 2020

Our Father's Day

Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a nice weekend and the weather where you live felt like summer! It was beautiful and sunny here all weekend and we spent as much time outdoors as possible. 

This year more than ever I was so grateful to be able to celebrate Father's Day with my dad. Unfortunately I'm getting to the age where some of my friends are beginning to have immediate family members pass away, and I've had several girlfriends lose their fathers in the past 2-3 years. I have the most supportive, loving, and encouraging dad and am infinitely more grateful for him now that I have become a parent myself. For those of you who have lost your fathers, please know I am thinking about you today. I can't imagine how hard it is to have a holiday all about celebrating someone who means the world to you, only to have lost them. 

Our Father's Day started with Devin getting to "sleep in" a little, AKA Lily Grace brought him his coffee in bed and then we left him to drink it and read the news on his phone in peace. 
Friday, June 19, 2020

Couples Enneagram Test and the Five Love Languages

Good morning friends and happy Friday! Today I wanted to share with you something that Devin and I did recently that helped us to understand the other one a little bit better: Enneagram tests and the 5 Love Languages Quiz. These are nothing new, and have been all over the internet for several years now, but we had never taken both quizzes and discussed our results/how we show our love for each other before. It was fascinating to see how our personality types affected our interactions with each other, and how we both show and receive love in different ways. 
Thursday, June 18, 2020

Thai Cucumber Salad

Well we are officially in cucumber season over here at the Darrell house! We have had 8 cucumbers ripen within the past week... yes, 8!!! So needless to say we have been trying to come up with as many cucumber recipes as possible over here, be prepared to see them all over the next few months!
Wednesday, June 17, 2020

My Luau-at-Home Birthday

Good morning friends! I hope you've all been having a nice week so far. Lily Grace has been at Frozen 2 themed dance camp and it has been such a blessing for the whole family. Great for her to get out of the house and play with kids her age, great for Liam because he gets one-on-one time with his mama, and great for me because I can get other things done during the day now that I'm not watching two kiddos nonstop!

Last week we celebrated my 33rd birthday with a fun Luau-at-Home theme and I wanted to share it because I think Devin knocked it out of the park! You may be wondering "why a Luau-at-Home theme?" Well, for the past few years (yes, YEARS) I have been on a kick of wanting to go back to Hawaii. Devin and I have been fortunate enough to travel to many places around the world, but Hawaii has been and always will be one of my favorites. Devin keeps saying "the flight is too long" or "the kids won't get enough out of it yet" and you'd better believe I am trying to counter every single one of his arguments! 
This pic is from one of our hikes on Kauai in 2013. Can you see why I want to go back?
Monday, June 15, 2020

Weekend Highlights

Hi all! Happy Monday! For the first time in months our weekend looked a little different than our regular weekdays and I was so happy to document it to share with you all. 
Friday, June 12, 2020

Life Lately-- Our Slow Return to Normal

Good morning friends and happy Friday! We made it through another week and I have to say this week went a lot more smoothly for our family than I initially anticipated. This was Devin's first week back at work and I was nervous about being outnumbered by the kids again-- it's been so long since I've had to handle 2 on 1! I am happy to report that it went very well, apparently I was worried over nothing. 😊 We are extremely grateful to be getting a teensy glimpse of our "normal" lives back and every day seems to get a little bit better.

Side note-- does anyone else feel like it's easier to parent when only one parent is in charge? Devin and I are on the same page for the most part but have some slight differences in how we parent. I think Lily Grace's 3 year old brain appreciates understanding that there's only one person in charge. It's like she knows her rules/boundaries are more consistent when it's just mom. 

Anyway, here's a little look at what we've been up to:
Thursday, June 11, 2020

Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

I whipped this up as a quick and easy side one day for lunch, but this could easily work as a breakfast or a dessert. It took less than 5 minutes from start to finish, my favorite kind of recipe!
Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Tour of Our Backyard

Good morning friends and welcome to my backyard! Over the past few months I have been telling you about the non-stop projects we have been doing back here and I figured it was about time I showed you all the work we've been doing. So pretend you're pouring yourself a glass of white wine and come relax with me in our backyard 😀
Monday, June 8, 2020

Not Just a Mom... Fun Facts

Good morning friends and welcome to another "Not Just a Mom" post! This month we are sharing some "fun facts" about ourselves, and I realized that some of my fun facts might be more described as "quirky things about me", but whatever! I am who I am 😀. Here are 10 fun/quirky facts about me!
Friday, June 5, 2020

Book I Read in the Month of May... and What I'm Reading in June

Good morning friends. Today I want to share with you the books that I read in the month of May, but before I do that I wanted to let you know about two of the books I plan to read this summer. 
Thursday, June 4, 2020

Garlic Roasted Broccoli with Bacon

Sorry for the less than glamorous picture here, I forgot to take a picture before I scooped some of this onto our plates-- oops! I was not about to dirty another bowl just in order to take a picture, sorry! This was one that I whipped up as a quick side item last week and it was a smash hit! Enjoy!
Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Pinterest Recipe Round Up-- Summer Edition

Good morning friends! Today I wanted to post another Pinterest Recipe Round Up, but a summertime edition. We all know how frustrating it is to find a recipe that looks great but the taste is actually a let down. Here are a few tried and true summer-y recipes I have found on Pinterest, actually made, and would recommend to you. Happy eating everyone! Enjoy!
Monday, June 1, 2020

Goals for the Month of June

Good morning friends and happy Monday! This week our lives begin the slow transition to our new normal. It makes me a little nervous, but I know we are itching to start returning to a bit of normalcy. Lily Grace's swim school is opening back up this week and we have her first lesson back already scheduled. I also have plans to have a few girlfriends over to our backyard to have a little "social distance hangout". I am looking forward to seeing my girlfriends for the first time since March!

Last month my focus was on relaxing and soaking up this family time. I think I nailed it. It turns out "doing a whole bunch of nothing" is a lot more up my alley than I used to think. Pre-quarantine I was that person who always had to be busy, was always checking things off my to-do list and felt more fulfilled when I accomplished more stuff. Being forced into relaxation mode has been chicken soup for the soul, truly. I hate that it took something as awful as COVID for me to realize the importance of doing nothing but spend time with my family. Why spend my days running a bunch of errands when I can just have it delivered and spend that time with my family? 

Anyway, on to June's goals!