This is a long list of summer fun, I’ll admit. But this is the good stuff, friends!! I am ridiculously excited about everything on this list, and I plan to check off every single one. My advice, if you’re planning to make your own: print it out! Ours is hanging on the fridge where we can see it every day, which just plain makes me happy, but also helps us remember to get out and do! In no particular order, the list to enjoy before September 21…

— go to a Bulls game
— feed June her first solid food
— road trip to Maine
— host my childhood friends for the weekend
— roast s’mores
— make bruschetta with our garden produce
— jump off the wharf at the Island
— outdoor movie at Koka Booth
— outdoor movie at the Art Museum
— make strawberry lemonade
— picnic at a Back Porch Music concert
— spend a day at the beach
— make chicken souvlaki
— finish our June in June movie
— watch fireworks
— ice cream at Maple View
— road trip to Connecticut (I have a whole other list I’ll share of CT fun!)
— take June swinging at a playground
— pick blueberries
— make a pizza with our garden produce
— lemonade at the Honeysuckle Tea House
— camp with friends (June’s first camping trip!!)
— buy a new flag for our house
— visit our friends in Brevard
— squeal over June in her adorable swim outfit
— BLTs at Merritt’s
— renovate our backyard

What’s on your summer fun list?

Hello, friends! May and June are always two of my busiest months of the year, and 2016 has been no exception. They are usually filled with some of my favorite things, though, so I can’t complain. However, as I commented to my Mom on the phone last week, pretty much all I’ve had time for this month are things I absolutely had to do, with little time for wants – and blogging falls into the latter. (The only reason I got June’s birth story up was because I had already written most of it a few months ago!) To jump back in here, I thought I’d share a little bit about what I’ve been up to.

June started school at the beginning of the month. It has been going really well so far! She always gives me a big smile when I drop her off and pick her up, and her teachers are smitten. We are so grateful for a smooth transition, and that we can afford care we feel so confident in!

John’s parents and Natalie and Joe and their daughter came to visit Mother’s Day weekend, the first time for June to meet Miss Maisie! Our two gals are only about four months apart, so it was a fun peek into what June might be up to by the end of the summer. We had brunch at Lucia in Durham and picked strawberries across the street from our neighborhood!

Week two was my company’s annual team retreat, so John and June accompanied me to The Carolina Inn for a few days. It took some extra effort to get her to school and back, but it was worth it to get in evening snuggles! I also scored some Lake Pajamas, which I was pretty pumped about. I’ve been wearing them around the house ever since; I feel pretty fancy walking around in matched jams.

My Mom arrived at the beginning of week three just in time to accompany June and me to The Greenbrier in West Virginia, a work trip for me. Have y’all even been?? I had done a bunch of research on it beforehand, but it still blew my mind – I think it’s the kind of place you can’t really wrap your head around until you experience it in person. The color and pattern are incredible! We laughed ourselves silly, and it was really fun to have June by my side while I did one of my favorite parts of my job. (Only possible because of my Mom – so thankful for her!!)

My Mom flew home the same day Marget, Seth, and Weston flew in! Two of John’s aunts also drove down for the weekend, and we had fun taking walks, cooking at home, exploring playgrounds, and riding the Pullen Park train. And reading bedtime stories in a tent, as you can see below.

We clocked our final two overnight guests last week, before another big work day for me. We were planning to finish out the month much like we did last year, with a weekend trip to Wilmington and Bald Head Island, but the rain scared us off. (Poor decision – the Triangle ended up getting more rain than the coast!) To console ourselves about the missed beach time, we ate almost every meal out this weekend, including an afternoon tea break at the Honeysuckle Tea House. Little muffin loved the open air seating!

And that’s that! As you can probably imagine, all of these adventures meant I didn’t make a ton of progress on my May goals… but that’s a story for tomorrow! :)

P.S. Another life lately post

Charleston is always lovely, but Charleston in the spring has to be one of the loveliest places on the planet. Since the Holy City is just over a four hour’s drive from us, we try to take a weekend trip every other year. (We would love to go more often, but CHS accommodations are $$$, and there are so many places to explore!) This year, we made our trip the last hurrah of my maternity leave so that only one of us had to take a day off work. We were curious to see how a road trip with our girl would go, and I’d say she did just about as well as we expected. Here’s a little recap!

We left around 8:15 on Saturday morning, after June woke up and had breakfast. We ended up stopping twice on the drive down to feed her (in the car). The second time was just a half an hour outside of Charleston, so we probably could have pressed on, but that timing meant that she was full and happy by the time we hit the stop-and-go of downtown. We parked in the metered lot by Zero George and had a late lunch at Cru Cafe – yummy shoestring fries! It is tiny, so be prepared to wait.

After lunch we drove to our hotel (The Mills House) and checked in. We ended up making our reservation super last minute (two days before we left!) on Priceline, and got it for $175 a night, which I thought was a great deal for being right downtown. We really wanted to be within walking distance to everything so we could just take June in the stroller. Plus, The Mills House is pink! :)

It’s no surprise Charleston is one of my favorite destinations, because it’s basically one big house and garden tour. After an initial trip around the historic district and the Battery (the first of many – we logged more than 12 miles every day!), we drove out to Sullivan’s Island for a late dinner at The Obstinate Daughter. This was our favorite meal of the trip – we split a farro appetizer and two pasta dishes, and practically licked each plate clean. SO delicious, great service, a beautifully designed space, and reasonable prices. Also, a convivial atmosphere that served as excellent white noise to keep June sleeping peacefully at our feet in her car seat :) We picked up dessert at Beardcat’s Sweet Shop, directly underneath OD – a gingersnap cookie and cinnamon gelato sandwich for me (yum!!), and strawberry + lemon gelato for John.

On Sunday morning we were planning to have breakfast at Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit, but the space was tiny and the line was long, so instead we opted for a donut from Glazed, which we passed on the walk there, and goodies from our favorite standby Caviar & Bananas. (I would seriously be happy eating every meal from C&B, it’s that delicious!) Glazed was good, but they were almost out of donuts by the time we got there at 10am!

After breakfast we drove out to Middleton Place and strolled the grounds. It was not SUPER stroller-friendly (lots of stairs), but with two of us to pick it up as needed, it was definitely doable. The camellias were mostly past, but the azaleas were in full bloom and glorious. June enjoyed wearing her Beaufort Bonnet gingham for the first time, and we had fun imagining taking her back for another visit when she’s older and can appreciate the animals, like the free-ranging sheep and peacocks!

We stopped at The Americano in Mount Pleasant for a late lunch, and I’m sad to report were underwhelmed. It seems like a place that spends a little more time on its decor and vibe than its food, if you know what I mean, and we felt it was overpriced. The rice and beans and dip trio were misses, but our two tacos and the street corn were delicious — so not all was lost.

Then it was back to Charleston and more strolling in the historic district, plus sunset on the Battery. The weather was truly gorgeous! We had dinner at Poogan’s Porch, which was conveniently just steps away from The Mills House. If you’re looking for classic Southern food done up a little fancy (and just right), plus the best biscuits anywhere, this is your place. We expected June to sleep through the meal, but she had other plans :) We dined a bit more on edge than usual, waiting for the next squawk or cry, but thankfully she was placated by a few trips around the dining room and bar in John’s arms.

On Monday morning we picked up blueberry muffins, parfaits, and hot chocolate to go from Bakehouse and enjoyed them in Waterfront Park while watching dolphins play (!!). We had the place pretty much to ourselves.

I always like being at a destination during the week, because you get to see locals heading to work, checking their mail, and doing other normal things! We looped once more through the historic district before eating lunch outside at Caviar & Bananas then hopping in the car for the drive home. June was not terribly thrilled about being in the car seat for another long drive, but she was a trooper and we are grateful!

You can see a few more of my Charleston favorites from our last trip, here! Any restaurants y’all would recommend for next time? I’d love to hear!

Of all the posts I’ve written on this blog (more than 1,200 over the last seven years!), the ones I most love to look back on are these year in review posts. John, too. Seeing all of these beloved memories and people in one place laid out so neatly never fails to make me feel like helium is filling me up inside!

I am really grateful for this year, and know it will be one I’ll always look back on with joy. Here are a few of the highlights of the year on Em for Marvelous and in our lives!

We started off the year by celebrating Christmas with my family in Connecticut over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend! The highlight was roasting marshmallows over the smoldering coals of our beloved childhood playground. We slowly added several new pieces to our home over the year, starting with this pretty vintage rug. Best of all, we celebrated our ten-year dativersary by recreating our first date: ice skating!

We got our annual dose of snow in February, which meant, much to his chagrin, John’s year once again included shoveling. I wrote about our strategy for replacing paper towels (one of the small things that made me happiest this year!) and preparing financially for a baby.

March was a great, full mix of some of my favorite things! John and I flew to NYC for an extended weekend so I could do a speaking thing for work and we both could visit with his family. We got to worship at Hillsong. Then we squeezed in a camping trip with friends, I flew to Austin and Houston for work, and I hosted a baby shower for Nancy! I also posted a few of my thoughts on camping.

We really maxed out our travel budget in 2015, which both at the time and in hindsight, I am grateful for! We visited Savannah and Beaufort, SC over Easter weekend. We also planted a blueberry bush in our yard, and finally ordered our wedding album!

Another month, another weekend trip, this time to Wilmington and Bald Head Island! My Dad also came to visit, we did projects around the house, picked strawberries, went to an outdoor concert and a Bulls game, and I traveled to Charlottesville and Charleston for work. I also wrote about my water drinking game, which is still holding strong! AND, we found out I was pregnant!

Good golly, June! The highlight was without a doubt our trip to France – our first trip to Europe, and one I covered in five posts (Paris, Versailles, Provence, Cassis, and the Côte d’Azur). I also flew to Connecticut to see my family and help my parents clean out our attic, my younger sister came to visit us, and I traveled to Richmond and Kentucky for work!

In July we threw a baby shower for Natalie and Joe in NYC, and got to tell the Thomas side of the family our happy news! I also spent the next week working remotely and hanging out with my Mom in Connecticut, which was really wonderful.

We had one of our best weeks ever in Maine in August, where, among other things, we got to tell my side of the family our news! At the end of the month we took a weekend trip to Greenville, and found out we are having a baby girl! I also wrote about deciding to have children (one of the most popular posts of the year) and our car fund. Also took my first bump photo at 18 weeks! :)

In September we flew to Nashville to visit my younger sister, and we did a lot of good eating :) Also took another bump photo on one of our runs – 22 weeks! I wrote a post about the best way to reheat pizza, and if you haven’t tried that tip yet, you are missing out.

In October we headed to the mountains for a weekend trip with John’s parents and aunts. Took another bump photo (26 weeks!), made some biscuits at our church’s Fair booth, traveled to Charleston for work, my Mom and Dad came to visit, hosted the third annual pumpkin and soup party, shared nursery plans, and posted a third trimester update!

Bump’s getting bigger (33 weeks here!). I was lucky enough to have three baby showers in November, one of which we traveled to Connecticut for and one for which my Mom and sisters flew into NC. We celebrated Thanksgiving with dear friends and finally pulled the trigger on new dining room chairs!

And finally, December. We were so happy to host John’s family for Christmas at our home, something I’m considering a little gift from our baby girl since it wouldn’t have happened without her due date aligning!

Friends, thank you for reading. I just love y’all – sharing with you, hearing from you, getting your opinions, and seeing what you’re up to. It is a joy to write here, and I can’t wait to see all the adventures 2016 will hold!

2014 year in review
2013 year in review
2012 year in review