Nursery Reveal

So before I show you the nursery, I have to show you where I started! Below is a picture of our guest room on the main floor of our house. This room was rarely used, other than for storage and looking pretty! Since its right next to our bedroom, its perfect for the nursery!

Before we knew if Baby Roberts was a boy or a girl, I fell in love with the idea of painting the nursery a dark blue. I figured I could use accent colors based on the gender once we found out! Below are a couple of pictures I tagged on pinterest for ideas.

And here are the after pictures! I am so pleased with how everything has turned out. Of course things are still a work in progress as we continue to get items needed, but if Baby Boy Roberts comes sooner than later, at least we are ready!

Hanging above the crib are three Ikea frames. In the frames are the crib skirt fabric and some adorable green giraffe fabric!

The white bookshelf was one I already had since college, but is a cute addition to the room to display items!

My mom had the blue and white curtains on hand that I could use, but we added a stripe of green fabric to tie in the colors of the nursery. 

The crib skirt fabric is from Forsyth Fabrics, the crib sheet is from Tuesday Morning, and the bumper pad is Carter's that was originally all white, but we added the pops of blue and green for the cording and ties. 

The changing table is a dresser from Ikea. The lamp on the changing table was found at TJ Maxx, but the fabric was swapped out with the crib skirt fabric. The mirror is from HomeGoods. 

 We replaced the knobs on the dresser with knobs found at Hobby Lobby. I love how it ties the room together!

The glider and ottoman are Little Castle from Buy Buy Baby. The floor lamp is from IKEA, and the framed print was a gift from a friend, which was my inspiration for the colors of the room.
 

Baby Shower!

This past weekend, my sweet friends on St. Simons threw me a baby shower! It was such a beautiful day, and I was thankful to get out of the house! The decor was blue, green and white - the same colors as our nursery!

Yummy food - homemade cookies and fruit and yogurt cups

Me and my mom with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law

And my sweet cousin, Mayer, made the trip down from Atlanta!

And baby Roberts received a lot of great gifts!

All of the wonderful hostesses!

Dad and Johnathan were so nice and came over after the shower to help load up the gifts

Next post ... nursery reveal!

Tomato, Squash, and Red Pepper Gratin

Wow, I can't believe how long it has been since the last time I did a blog post! Time goes by so fast, and I have no excuses!

So a few days ago I received the latest Cooking Light magazine in the mail, and it had the recipe for this Tomato, Squash and Red Pepper Gratin, and I had to try it! Johnathan and I had a cookout over at our friends house last night, so I brought this along as a side dish. I wish I had an after picture of the casserole dish, because it was cleaned out! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the dish, so I thought I'd share the recipe!

Tomato, Squash and Red Pepper Gratin

• 5 teaspoons olive oil, divided 
• 2 cups chopped red onion
• 1 1/2 cups chopped red bell pepper
• 1 pound yellow squash, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices (about 3 1/2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic 
• 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk 
• 3 ounces aged Gruyère cheese, shredded (about 3/4 cup)
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten 
• Cooking spray 
• 1 1/2 ounces French bread baguette, torn **
• 1 (12-ounce) beefsteak tomato, seeded and cut into 8 slices
• 
  
• Preparation:

1. 1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. 2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 4 teaspoons oil; swirl to coat. Add onion; cook 3 minutes. Add bell pepper; cook 2 minutes. Add squash and garlic; cook 4 minutes. Place vegetable mixture in a large bowl. Stir in quinoa, 1/4 cup basil, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper.
3. 3. Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, milk, cheese, and eggs in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add milk mixture to vegetable mixture, stirring until just combined. Spoon mixture into an 11 x 7–inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray.
4. 4. Place bread in a food processor; pulse until coarse crumbs form. Return skillet to medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add breadcrumbs; cook 3 minutes or until toasted. Arrange tomatoes evenly over vegetable mixture. Top evenly with breadcrumbs. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until topping is browned. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup basil.

**note: Instead of making my own breadcrumbs, I used store-bought croutons. I crushed them and placed them on top of the casserole before baking. Definitely a time saver! 

Trip to Fort Lauderdale

This past week I was on Spring Break (working at a school definitely has its perks!) so Johnathan and I decided at the last minute to plan an impromptu trip to Fort Lauderdale! We had heard friends say they really liked that area, so we thought it would be fun to check it out! 

We left Thursday afternoon and arrived around dinner time. Thankfully we found a great pizza place and enjoyed a low key meal!

 Saturday morning when we got up, it was pouring down rain outside! I was seriously depressed thinking we weren't going to be outside much, so we went into town. At a traffic light we see this Ferrari  next to us with a young guy driving - we both thought "who is this kid driving a Ferrari?" Well, we looked a little bit closer and it was Matt Stafford! I really wanted to roll down the window and yell "Go Dawgs!" but Johnathan was embarrassed, so I snapped this picture instead! 

Thankfully the rain and the clouds cleared out quickly, so we headed straight for the beach! Right now I am reading the Hunger Games series, and I am obsessed! I have literally read the first two books within about 4 days, and now I am on the last book. I can't wait to see how it ends!

 View from our hotel room Friday evening overlooking the inner coastal waterway. 

 All day Saturday was spent at the beach again, then we decided to get ready for dinner early and go to a local bar to grab a drink. We were sitting next to the water when this random guy  flew up to us! He's wearing some jet pack that propels him with water. It was entertaining!

Quick picture before heading to dinner!

Dinner on Saturday was at a local dive called Rocco's Tacos. It was a fun Mexican restaurant that had great food and margaritas! 

On Sunday morning we decided to drive up A1A along the coast line to see a few towns north of Fort Lauderdale (Boca Raton, West Palm Beach). It was an absolute gorgeous day and I did not want to leave, but we had a lot of fun!

March {Photo a Day} Challenge: Days 5-11

I'm sorry I am late posting these pictures! Working at a school definitely has its perks - I was off last week for Spring Break! It was so nice to have a break, but I definitely went underground and barely checked my email! I'll be better about posting, I promise!

Day 5: Makes You Smile

Things that make me smile - my husband, the arrival of spring time (especially early this year!), living at the beach, and cooking!

Day 6: 5 p.m.

This evening I was at a dinner for The Gathering Place, which is a community based ministry that serves the youth of Brunswick and the Golden Isles community. This picture shows some of the kids involved in the group and how The Gathering Place has impacted their lives - very moving!

Day 7:  What You Wore

Day 8: Window

I was lucky enough to take a tour of the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base and this is a picture from one of the boats at the base. 

Day 9: Blue

My favorite color! These are some antique mason jars that my grandmother gave to me. I display them proudly in our home!

Day 10: Shoes

My favorite shoes this season, my flats! 

Day 11: From a Distance

View from my parents back yard - the flowers and trees are starting to bloom! 

March {Photo a Day} Challenge: Days 1-4

Day 1: Self-Portrait

Gotta love taking a picture of yourself, right?! This is me before leaving work in the morning. I tried the whole reverse camera on my iPhone feature to take a picture, but they were all very unfortunate! 

Day 2: Fruit

This is a kumquat tree that grows next to our house! I always forget about them, but I need to look up some recipes and put them to use. By the way, how pretty are the azaleas?! Already in bloom! 

Day 3: In Your Bag

First I had to show you "my bag" - yes, it is very large, and yes, it is full, but I love having everything with me at all times! 

... hence the following picture. Listed below are all of my items "in my bag"

1. My Tory Burch sunglasses (wonderful birthday/Christmas present from my sister!)

2. My makeup bag (loaded with way too much stuff that I rarely use)

3. Car Keys

4. A pair of socks (hmm, random! I had planned on going to the gym on Saturday after running errands and forgot they were in there ... guess they got lost in the depths of my monster bag)

5. My Kindle Fire - my newest addition to my accessories! So far I love this thing!

6. My Kate Spade wallet (props to my mom and dad on this Christmas present!)

7. A screw driver (hmm, another hard one to explain. I wish I could say this was from all of my DIY projects I have been doing lately, but its just from a friend returning it to me!)

8. Eclipse Gum

9. Multiple Pens (they get lost frequently)

10. My handy dandy purse hook 

11. Medicine (pepto, nasal spray) hand sanitizer, and lip gloss

12. Hair Brush (I love this brush, there is a mirror on the back!)

**not pictured, my iPhone! 

Day 4: Bedside

A split image of Johnathan and my night stands. We both are trying to be better about reading at night instead of watching TV, so we have a lot of books beside us!

Here is a reminder of the photos for next week's challenge!
5. Makes you smile
6. 5 p.m.
7. What you wore
8. Window
9. Blue
10. Shoes
11. From a distance

March {Photo a Day} Challenge

So, I have to admit, I am now officially obsessed with Instagram. For those of you who don't know what Instagram is, it is an app through iPhone that allows you to take pictures and share them with other followers! I love the options it give you for editing photos, and it is so fun to follow friends, family, and celebrities! It is definitely bumping Facebook and Twitter to the curb!

Well, on the note of talking about photos - the other day I saw someone post a "Photo A Day Challenge", and whether or not you have Instagram or not, I thought it would be so fun for all of us to take one picture each day this month and share it on our blogs! I am going to take a picture each day, and post them at the end of each week. I have listed below the types of pictures to take each day. I hope you'll join in!

30th Birthday Surprise!

Hi friends! I am sorry I am late to get this post up, but I wanted to share with you pictures from Johnathan's 30th Birthday Weekend! He had no idea that I had been planning a surprise party for him for about 2 months, so I was really excited when everything came together and he was completely surprised! His actual birthday is February 17th, and I had convinced him that I was taking him out of town for the weekend, so since we'd be gone, we needed to get together with his immediate family Friday evening to celebrate with them. Little did he know that there would be about 50 more people there to celebrate with us!

 This is what surprised looks like!

 Friends and Family + Barberitos + Live Music = Good Times!

 Our good friends Tim Miller and Ben Jones came to play music, and of course Johnathan got a chance to play some Johnny Cash!

Mmm, cookies and cream DQ ice cream cake is always a big hit!

 Lauren got a hold of my camera ...

On Saturday the girls went shopping all afternoon while the boys recovered and played ping pong at Brendan's house! We went to dinner at The Red Barn, where Kevin sang with our waiter, and then we went to Ziggy's! Always a good time!

On Sunday most of our friends had to leave and go home, but Kevin was able to stay until Monday. Sunday was honestly one of the prettiest days we have ever had on the island ... 75 degrees, sunny, and no humidity! We picked up some sandwiches and rode bikes to the north end of the island. The pictures below somewhat capture how pretty it was!