Best News Ever

Okay, well, maybe not ever but still pretty exciting...

That's right. The Hobby Lobby is coming to Orlando! Ryan, surprisingly, broke the news last night and I've been giddy thinking of all the craft supplies and decorations I'll soon be able to get (locally - I usually try to hit Hobby Lobby when I am visiting Atlanta). I can't wait!

Harvey Wedding in HHI

Good family friends of ours planned a destination wedding this weekend in our favorite spot - Hilton Head Island, SC. It was so nice to travel back to the place that we got married and celebrate such a special time!

We arrived in time for a dinner date on Friday and ventured to a restaurant called Eat! It's owned by Chef Robert Irvine, who you may know from Food Network's "Dinner: Impossible" and who happened to be there chatting with diners while we were there. We shared tapas and then a giant piece of chocolate cake for dessert...half of which ended up coming home with us because it was so huge!

After some tennis on Saturday morning with my parents, my dad, Ryan and I took a trip to Harbor Town to check out the boats and soak in the sunshine. No giant yachts in the harbor this time, but it was still fun to walk around and dream about what kind of sea vessel we'd want. It was so beautiful out - clear blue skies and lots of sun.

The wedding was held at Palmetto Dunes on Saturday evening and it couldn't have been a more gorgeous setting (although, I may have asked for it to be a tad bit warmer). The bride and groom were so happy and the whole event was perfect.

The bride and her fatherMr. and Mrs. Lake O'Donnell

The ceremony overlooked the ocean on a deck with a floral arbor. The bridesmaids wore light blue and the groomsmen were in khaki, so the beachy colors looked perfect amidst the backdrop.

Me and Ryan

We enjoyed a cocktail hour while they rearranged the deck for dinner, and then welcomed the bridal party in before sitting down to a buffet meal. There was a salad bar, mashed potato martinis, carving station and custom pasta - yum! And the wedding cake...wow, it was some of the best cake I've had at a wedding!

The night got cooler and cooler, so we were all thankful for the fireplace and heaters scattered around the deck. Dancing didn't even seem to help, so I eventually ended up in my dad's suit jacket to stay warm. This southern girl's blood sure has thinned!

My mom and dad, staying warm by the fire

My sis, Alex, helping send off the happy couple

It was a fun time, and great to be back in Hilton Head. Hopefully it won't be long till we're there again!

Prognosis: New Garage Door

Ah, the joy of living in an old house. We had a repair man come out today to fix our garage door, which happened to fall off the track on Saturday night. Not just a casual, easy fall, either - a metal-grinding, bolt-busting, pieces-flying-everywhere kind of falling off. It was quite scary trying to force it closed at 10 pm at night!

The repair man was able to put it back together for security's sake, but we were told it is no longer safe to use. In fact, it is currently unplugged so we aren't even tempted to push the button. We can push it - it just won't do anything if we do.

Yikes!

Now the search is on for a new garage door. Perhaps we can just have one panel replaced, but by the sounds of it, that is not likely.

So, the design-side of my mind is thinking..."Should we get a whole new door, maybe with windows along the top, or a different color to spruce things up for our curb appeal?" but the budget-minded side is thinking "Let's do as little as possible to get this thing fixed and working again." We'll see which side wins...

Loving the time change

While the dark mornings are a little tough to wake up to, the lighter evenings are great! Jax appreciates it, too.

Gifts for my nephew, part 3

Carter's birth day wouldn't have been complete without a few more gifts from his doting auntie. I whipped up a couple of onesies for him to sport...And to finish off the nursery, I painted a beachy-ocean scene to hang above his changing table that matches his name above his crib. The plane flies a banner that now has his birthday on it.I surprised Kel and Linc by hanging them up while they were still in the hospital. This was the big reveal.
I am sure this is only the start of many gifts for this precious baby boy. He is going to be one spoiled kiddo!

Just can't get enough...

...of this adorable, squishy face!

We've only been gone a day and I already miss my little nephew! (not to mention the rest of my family.) Here's hoping for a lot more more visits to Atlanta in the near future...and maybe some visitors in Orlando, too!

He's here!

I am so, so overjoyed to report that Carter Lewis Hamilton (my nephew!!) arrived at 6:50 am on March 5, 2010 - which just happens to be his mama's birthday, too!
He is a beautiful, snugly baby boy with a full head of dark hair (with blond highlights - so stylish already!). Mom, Dad and baby are all doing great.
Kelly and Lincoln have already impressed me so much with their parenting skills, and they are both just so sweet with their son. We got the call to head up to Atlanta on Thursday night, but had already fallen asleep and had a couple of things to take care of at work the next day. So we frantically woke and began packing on Friday morning, went to work for a few hours, and then hit the road to Atlanta.
Thankfully, we made it in time to see the whole family before hospital visiting hours ended that night.We'll be in town until tomorrow, visiting and soaking in as much Carter time as they'll let us have! He is adorable, and I am so in love with this little boy already. He finally opened his eyes for us last night, and it was amazing!Even Uncle Ryan got in on the action last night, and finally held him. He did a great job, and the baby's head stayed right in place (much to Ryan's relief - he had been so afraid of hurting him!).We haven't even left yet and I am already looking forward to Easter weekend, where we will be back and get even more time with Baby Carter. I can't wait!

Wine Party

Last Saturday (yes, I know, this is a bit late) our friends hosted their 2nd annual Wine Tasting Party at their new apartment. I was very excited to participate this time around because I missed the party last year due to a major flu bug.

They did a great job setting up an Australian theme, complete with Aussie varietals and "Awesome Blossoms!" We had 3 whites and 3 reds to try and then had to guess which was which. I was 3 for 3 on the whites but missed all 3 reds...guess it shows what I drink more often!

We were also asked to bring our favorite bottle for the group to try, so we had another 7 different wines (whoa!) to test and judge as best overall. I am happy to report that our selection, a Sterling Sauvignon Blanc, won!

They also had trivia along with our tasting sheets, and whoever got the most right won. It ended up being a tie between Ryan and our friend Rachel, so they had a taste-off (a few rounds, in fact) to determine the winner.

Unfortunately, I left a trivia question completely blank (the wine must have affected my test-taking abilities - ya think?!) and had I actually answered what my guess was, I would have won! Oh, well. Rachel ended up naming all of her final tastes correctly, so she beat Ryan out for the awesome gift card to Total Wine.

It was a great night and so much fun to taste all sorts of different wines. Thanks to Mike and Lindsay for putting it on. Can't wait to see what the theme is next year!