If you aren't reading my friend Emily's blog, you should be. It's one of the best written blogs that I read, and I've been reading it for.. I think like 8 years now? Wow! Em reached out about having me join in with some friends to share my best of 2019, and it's been so fun! I genuinely can't wait to read all the other posts from these girls! :)

Emily 

Lisa

Nancy 

Rhiannon

Samantha

Best adventure/travel/trip: Hands down, our first trip abroad as a family of four to England! Sometimes it's easy to get your expectations high when it comes to a big trip, but this was just such a sweet and refreshing time for our family. We've had a lot of work changes for Ben this year which has lead to a lot of tension for us in creating time for rest. Even though we were out and about all over London with two toddlers, we really took time to rest and enjoy and overall the trip was just incredibly refreshing. What it was like to adventure abroad with two children really exceeded my expectations. Below are a few of my favorite photos from the trip. :)

Best book: 

I can't mention a best book without mentioning that on Amazon prime day this year, I bought a kindle. I know this is controversial for some, but I love digital books. There are some books that I'd prefer to read in a hard copy but overall, I'm an e book girl. I really enjoy re-reading old favorites so I like that I'm not having to hoard tons of titles and also that I can't loose them. I've also been borrowing a ton from the library digitally and it's been great. I've read e-books for years on the kindle app but the kindle itself is much easier on my eyes and keeps texts from interrupting me.

I think the book that I enjoyed the most in 2019 was November 9, by Colleen Hoover. It's "rated r" haha but the plot was different to anything I have ever read and I genuinely didn't know what was going to happen so I was GLUED to it.

Best movie: This might be a silly answer, but Frozen 2! :) A friend of ours told me that she took her oldest daughter to her first movie at 18 months, so I started thinking about trying with both of our kids. We tried watching the first movie at home and Beau lasted a long time and Sophie was REALLY into it. So we went to the theater with two cars to watch. Beau was over it after all the previews and about 30 minutes of movie, but Soph lasted the whole time and is now obsessed with the soundtrack and all things Elsa. It's just been a really sweet thing for me because it feels like such a big girl mom moment, her loving her first princess! :)

Best album or song: I am not the person to ask this, haha! Not a music girl. 

Best podcast: This is SO hard for me. I love my podcasts. I am always a big Risen Motherhood fan, but I've also really been enjoying The Office Ladies (it's just really fun and incredibly restful for me to listen to!) and A Beautiful Mess. I like A Beautiful Mess because you never know what it's going to be about. I will note that they occasionally use mild language that it's my fave but it doesn't take away from the experience for me at all. 

Best follow on Instagram: This is a hard one for me! I have lots of favorites, haha! A new one this year, though, is @NicolaBathieDesigns. She is incredibly stylish and makes beautiful earrings (I've snagged two pairs during her sales!) Her style is very elevated. She is also of British parentage and she has a daughter named Sophia so I like to think she is the fancy version of myself, haha!!! 

Best date: This is so bad but one doesn't stand out, haha!! Real life!!! I will say though that during the summer we enjoyed several date nights to the movies that we really loved. We realized that the movies is a really great way for us to relax outside of the house. We especially like the eat in movie. :) My favorite date of the year is usually our anniversary on December 29, a perfect time to reflect on the previous year and look forward to the next. 

Best kiddo milestone: 

Beau- For my big boy, starting school! It was not my ideal situation for me in any way, but it has been incredible in inspiring growth for him, and he genuinely loves it. His teachers are amazing and the whole thing has been so much better than I could have ever hoped for!

Sophie- I think I would have to say getting to hear her little words! Because Beau's mostly still waiting on the Lord to give him his words, it's just felt really surreal and I thought it might be bittersweet but it's really just been SWEET! :) She learns new words every day and can sing a few songs and it's been so special. I can't wait to continue to get insight into her little thoughts. 

Best faith grower: Honestly, this year was hard! We had three surgeries for Beau with tough recoveries on two of them, and it was just a lot for me. Life has thrown a lot at us over the last few years and I think that 2019 was my time to really start to process what we've walked through. I think just navigating the surgeries and just the dynamics surrounding this have been my biggest faith grower. I actually recorded my first podcast interview (!!!!!!! Life goal complete) with the Friends of a Feather podcast and talked a TON about this so I'll be sure to share that link when it goes live in January. It's my hope that hearing my voice explain these things will translate better than via typing, haha! 

Best trend you tried: Headbands are back and my college, Blair Waldorf loving self is ALL about it! :) 

Best beauty purchase: Hands down, the Tarte lip quench rescue balms! I found them from Lindsey Regan Thorne, where all the good beauty recommendations come from. :) They are minty, moisturizing, light. I feel put together but not overly made up which I LOVE. 

Best family memory: This might be a cop out answer because it's not one specific memory, but when I think about our family in 2019 I will think about the relationship that has formed between our two children! Sophie is absolutely OBSESSED with her big brother. So many little moments string together and are my sweetest memory. One obstacle in our home right now is that when one of them gets in trouble the other one gets VERY upset. Haha!

Best habit you created: This has been only in the last month, but we bought a work out bike and I've been taking classes with the Peloton app and getting into a consistent routine for moving my body has been so life changing. It's been a challenge for me this year to take time for myself as a person, outside of mothering so this has been an incredibly encouraging habit! :) 

Best new recipe: So easy for me to choose! Since I discovered Kristin Cavallari's Sweet Potato Hash in her True Roots cookbook, we've made it every week or two! :) 

Best life or mom hack: This category is making me think, Wow! I don't really have any hacks and my life would probably be better with some! Haha! I've kind of fallen out of this habit but for awhile every month or so I'd go ahead and write down in my planner on different days any recipes that I'd recently discovered and wanted to try. That way, when I came to that week I wouldn't be staring at the paper trying to come up with what to feed our family that week. Need to get back into this! 

Best mama moment: 
Beau- I have had so many proud moments with my boy this year it's hard to pinpoint just one. He's been so brave and overcome so much this year that there have been so many times where I have been just bursting at the seams with pride over him being ours.

Soph- we traveled to South Carolina on a girls trip for Sophie to model for The Beaufort Bonnet Company, which was really special, but the afternoon after her wonderful experience with them really took the cake. We went to the beach on Hilton Head Island and Sophie just had a blast and it was one of those meaningful, real life moments that I have been thinking about since. Sitting in the waves with my girl and her loving every second. We are going to the beach in May and I can't wait.. but I'm also thinking I need to get very into cardio training to be able to keep up with her!

Best home improvement: We are actually pretty certain that 2020 will hold a move for us (more on that soon!) so we didn't do a ton of improvements this year, BUT I did save up and finally splurge on this popular mirror and it has completely changed our living room. I love it so much and was nervous that I would regret spending the money I had saved but I haven't thought twice about it.

Best little luxury you've enjoyed: FACE MASKS! My #1 relaxation. I've been known to have one on in the middle of a stressful day. I really like the Summer Fridays ones. 

Thank you so much to my sweet friend Emily for putting together this fun post! :) 

Pink Friday 2019

The Beaufort Bonnet Company's biggest sale of the year is finally here! Our absolute favorite spot to shop for all children's things! :)

I have so many sweet memories of shopping this sale. Particularly, when I had just found out that Sophie was a girl, it was really fun to shop for her for the first time. I got so many special things like her first bonnets. SO special! This is really the time to stock up on their things. 40% off everything + FREE shipping! Below are some of our favorites, Happy Shopping! :)

Beau & Sophie's Favorite Christmas Books

My friend Michaela messaged me about our favorite Christmas books for children, and I thought I would just share with everyone! :)

We recently reorganized all of Beau and Sophie's books and right now they have a basket of Christmas books and a few other favorites on the playroom floor. Having less options has really lead to them picking up titles outside of their few top favorites (our copy of Baby Bear, Baby Bear is literally in shreds!)

Sales I'm Shopping This Week

The best advice that I can give for all the crazy sales this week is to have a list of what you'd ideally love to get a deal on. There are so many sales popping up in your face that it can be kind of overwhelming and lead to overspending and sometimes things are final sale and it just turns a little wild. For example, my list consists of a birthday gift for my bestie (Hi Polly! Don't try and guess what I'm getting you please!), checking out whatever goes on sale at IVL Collective, ideally some more khaki pants for my Beau Bear, and a few other things.

When I saw this deal on a 4 quart Staub dutch oven, I dove into a ton of research about Staub vs Le Creuset and now I think I've landed safely on #TeamStaub. This would be a great gift to have some siblings chip in with you on for parents.

My favorite, super versatile top is 20% off with code!

40% OFF ALL THE BEAUFORT BONNET COMPANY STARTING AT 8PM EST ON THANKSGIVINGGGGG!!! Haha!! My picks are here.

DUDLEY STEPHENS ON SALE SOS!!!

The sale that I was most excited to shop  is now LIVE!! My absolute favorite workout brand.

Beautycounter currently has 15% off so I thought I would repost my Beautycounter favorites post!

The kindle that I have and love is on sale. This is the same price that I snagged it for on Prime Day. I've LOVED it so much! Highly recommend. 

Will update as I go.. but this morning I had to immediately share the big Lake Pajamas Black Friday! My picks are below. This is my favorite pajama brand for me, and they are still an investment but the sale really helps!

More updates coming soon! I'll reshare this post as things are added! :)

My Christmas Wislist 2019

It's fun to look back at my Christmas wish lists over the years. In some ways they stay pretty much the same every year. I feel like I'm always wanting kitchen stuff, haha! What should I add to my list? :)

The Other Side of the Coin- You can sign me up for anything royals related.. this would be SUCH a great gift to receive.

Brown Sugar Saver- boring, but I'd honestly love to get this. Haha! On this same note, I emailed Ben last week. Subject: Stocking Stuffer idea Text: Chip clips. So silly but we always have little bags that need to be sealed and having enough would be great, haha!

Woven Door Mat - This mat looks so much fancier than it is to me!

Ceramic Kitchen Aid Mixer Bowl- Our mixer is always out on our counter, and the ceramic, textured bowl would be a lovely addition. I use our mixer constantly, so from a practical perspective, having a second bowl would be helpful too.

Hoover Floor Mop- This addition to the list is how we know I'm pushing 30, but I'm totally fine with it. My friend swears by this and I'd love it!

New Lysa Terkhurst bible study- Full disclosure, I already purchased this for myself to look through and decide if it's a good fit for the women in our bible study to walk through next semester, but I thought I would include it anyway because it would be a great thing to gift or add to your own list. I've found that walking through a specific study is really helpful to me!

Woven Canister Set- I've had these on my hidden "wishlist" pinterest for ages.. they are so beautiful and would be really practical in our kitchen!

New Diffuser- This is kind of funny because they've been around forever, but I've just recently jumped on the diffuser train. This one is pretty!

Aquis Hair Towel- Supposedly this hair towel really cuts down on drying time. I already know someone has gotten it for me and I'm SO excited!

A Few Things I Own That Make Great Gifts

The holidays are right around the corner and if your'e anything like me, you're already doing your Christmas shopping. Early gift buying is one of my life passions, haha!! Ideally I like to have everything wrapped to go under the tree pretty soon after it goes up. And on that note, last Thanksgiving weekend I was in a wedding, so I decorated early. It was SO nice to not spend that holiday weekend putting things up. It made it so much more restful to put everything up mid November. So that's going to be how we roll moving forward. I love Thanksgiving and want it to have it's moment, but watching a new Hallmark movie with twinkle lights on on the night of Thanksgiving.. doesn't that sound amazing? I digress.

In my first Dudley Stephens fleece! :)

I was putting a face mask on and I was thinking what a great gift it would make, and this post came to be. Enjoy! It's a great one to reference for your own wishlist, or anytime you need a great gift. :) This time of year people are making wish lists to share with parents, in laws, whoever.. so hopefully this helps you with that! :)

Note: As always, I choose retailers based on best price, and where you can get free shipping!

Origins Charcoal and Honey Mask- Face masks are one of the most restful things ever to me. This one is amazing because the honey smell is really lovely. It just makes the whole experience feel extra luxurious because the entire time you smell the honey. It also really clears up the skin, the main purpose, haha! I really love it. Check out the great reviews for people who can describe better than I can, haha!

Monogrammed Weezie Towels- In my humble opinion, anything personalized is an excellent gift because it shows the thought that went into it. Weezie towels are at a higher price point, but especially for someone who loves little luxuries or interior design, these are a great gift. If someone gifted me a set of hand towels I would about loose it. I personally have my eye on the robe!

Rothy's- Rothy's are super talked about right now, but for good reason. I own three pairs and they're so comfy. These are a great one to put on your own holiday wish list. I recently got the slip on sneakers in "salt honeycomb" and I wear them almost daily now that sandal weather is over. In case you're interested, the other two pairs I own are the Meghan Markle flat (size up), and this pair in leopard.

Dudley Stephens fleece- I originally wrote off this brand. I was like, oh fleece would make me feel hot and yucky and I wouldn't like it. Then I fell down the rabbit hole of how incredibly chic everything on their instagram is. So I thought I would try something in their lighter "terry fleece", and fell in love. I would own everything they make if I could. The quality is amazing and their stuff is so comfortable and makes you look so much more put together. For the record, I did end up branching out from the lighter terry fleece to their regular fleece, and cannot wait to wear a few styles this fall and winter. They feel incredible. I size up in everything with them. They are a splurge but the amount of wear that I've already gotten and it hasn't really even been cold yet.. it's amazing! Trust me on this.

For $25 off your first purchase of $150, shop from this link! :)

IVL Collective leggings- Okay, so everyone always goes on and on about their favorite leggings. I've tried them all. Lululemon aligns, the amazon knockoffs, etc. I have followed Emily Jackson (the IVL creator) for years, and her sister Rachel Parcell might be my favorite person to follow of all time. I love her!! Haha. Anyways, you never know with blogger brands if it's all just hype or not, but these leggings are truly the best I have ever had. They are thick and nice but feel light. They're so comfortable, don't get piling on them (my aligns are nasty with piling!!) and the high waist sucks you in and stays up. Like TRULY stays up. If you read the reviews they're all about that. Incredible!! I splurged on a pair and then was like okay I need a second pair.. and to try the bra. They're that good. This time of year I live in leggings so I'm hoping Santa magically gives me like 5 pairs. Probably not realistic.. haha!! For sizing.. I got my usual jean size in the leggings (4) even though I expected to size up because I usually would with some luluemon styles and I just imagined it being comparable. I got a 10 in the bra and I'm a 34DDD. Can't believe I put that information on the internet but here we are. Thought it would be helpful for anyone buying. Of all the things on this list these and the Dudley Stephens fleece are really close to tied for first!

Little Seed Farm Deodorant- Great stocking stuffer for your gal who wants a natural deodorant but hasn't found one that actually works. I have tried a zillion, and I react badly to the baking soda in most natural deodorants. I few without it that I've tried just plain don't work for me. Like, REALLY BAD don't work for me. My sweet friend Mycah recommended this and I'll never look back. I got the lavender and I honestly will probably order another one of these to have with me in my purse. Don't let the fact that you wipe it on with your fingers deter you. I almost let it and it's not weird at all. Just rub it on, wash your hands.. done!

Risen Motherhood by Emily Jensen and Laura Wifler- Amazingly encouraging, perspective shifting read. Perfect for any mom friend. I'd love to gift it to a friend wrapped up with her favorite type of chocolate or tea for a birthday gift, surprise happy, hostess gift, Christmas present... anything!

On that note.. here are a few other books I've enjoyed that would make gifts in the same way.
Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin- easy to read (or listen to!) book about bible study
Slightly South of Simple by Kristy Woodson Harvey- I loved this fiction series so much this summer and quickly read all three books!
American Royals by Katharine McGee- For someone who loves a good fiction read and the royal family
Educated by Tara Westover - Very talked about and interesting
Tell Me Everything by Cambria Brockton - For someone who likes a creepy mystery

Happy gifting! :)

Friday No. 85

One. 
Probably two months ago I ran into Sephora to get a few mask samples to try out. I had in mind kind of what I wanted to try but the skincare specialist insisted on this mask. Sure, whatever. By far my favorite mask I've used. The honey in it just feels so luxurious when it goes on because of the texture and also just the smell is heavenly. It really tightens and brightens my skin. And compared to some other options, the $34 price tag isn't the worst that you could ever come across. Masks are my mama self care, big time. Yesterday afternoon Beau had two back to back therapy sessions and I wasn't feeling good so Sophie and I were just trying to survive the wait and get home. When we did, I plopped the kids in front of the tv, put this mask on, and hung out with my babies letting us all relax until daddy got home! I actually have a photo of this that I sent a friend, haha!!!

Two.
Jessica's Charleston collection is absolutely GORGEOUS. I loved looking at it and if you had a spot for art in your home one of these pieces would be a great choice!

Three.

Not the most amazing photo of your life but Ben built me this coffee table! PRAISE HANDS! I kept coming across this style and loving it but every option was just not what I was wanting to spend. We didn't get amazing wood or anything but this ended up being less than $100. 

I kind of think that I want to white wash it (vs staining).. does anyone have experience with this? Any tips?

Four. 

We leave for London on Monday! Yippee! I'm not as prepared as I would have liked to be with Sophie being sick last week and me this week. Thankfully the boys in our household have killer immune systems. I shouldnt jinx it but Beau has done SO well with not getting sick the last maybe year or so. Anyway.. we're so excited to see family and also to see England through the eyes of our children. On our last international trip Beau was barely crawling and now I have two toddlers who RUN so it's going to be so fun. Someone posted a video of the changing of the guards at Buckingham palace and I realized that I hadn't even considered something like that because it's not something that in the past Ben and I would have wanted to do.. but Beau and Sophie (Beau especially) would be absolutely in awe... added it to our list! It was such a fun realization to realize that now our children are at the stage where we can do some activities catered to them. The thing I'm most excited about (outside of seeing family) is our day trip to the Cotswolds!

Five. 

On Wednesday we celebrated Charlotte's Joy with homemade cookies for friends. It was a bright spot in my week to do something in support of the precious Robson family! 

Happy Weekend! You can read other Friday posts, here. 

Ten Things I loved in July

1. Beau's Room Refresh: One random night I had enough with the problems in Beau's room and just started purging and ordering to solve the problem. Good thing I had some fun money saved, haha! His previous bed was metal and the bars were so wide that several times he would wiggle between them and get stuck and one day I was just like, NO MORE! I ordered him a new bed that has been a much better fit in several ways (it's a bit lower to the ground, giving me a little bit more peace of mind if he were to fall out, haha!) and ordering the bed just inspired me to get rid of a lot of lingering "nursery" details and give him a full big boy room. I need to style the top of his dresser but everything else is done and it's so much happier of a space. I've loved it being redone for him! I know he probably doesn't care too much but it makes me happy. More photos coming soon!

2. My New favorite Dress: Y'all may have noticed that I have a thing for dresses. This one is one of my favorite ones ever. Can't wait to take it on our upcoming trip!

3. Pina Coladas (lol): This is actually from the end of June, but we went out to dinner with some friends for a birthday and everyone ordered margaritas. I don't drink and on a whim I ordered a virgin pina colada and it was SO good. Like a yummy pineapple smoothie milkshake. I had another one last week for a girls night. It even had toasted coconut on top! Yum!!

4. Amazon White T-Shirts: I talked about these before but a white t shirt that you can wear without an undershirt, and has great length... AMAZING!!! I want 100 of these!

5. Elisabeth and Butter Banana Muffins: I'm always loving healthier baked goods for my kids since they wolf them down. This recipe was easy and delicious. Beau and Sophie approved! :)

6. Megan Molten on Instagram: I love finding new designers to follow on instagram, and her stories are particularly entertaining. She explains her installs and I've gotten a ton of inspiration from her spaces!

7. My kindle: CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC, haha! I gave up "real" books several years ago. Although I agree the experience of reading one is lovely, I don't like clutter, but I love reading. I also love rereading books. So the whole not wanting to hold onto books yet wanting to still have them thing only had one solution, e-books. I've exclusively read the kindle app on my phone or iPad for years but it had been hurting my eyes and I didn't love that I would still get texts which would distract my experience. I guess I could have put my phone on airplane mode but instead I got a kindle on Amazon Prime day and I'm so happy with it!! I ordered the one that Shay Shull recommended!

8. The Beaufort Bonnet Company's new fall arrivals: Shopping for my children is my #1 hobby, haha! Fall arrivals are so sweet and since I know it will be a bit cooler when we're in England this month, I quickly ordered a few things. Below I'll put a quick little slider of my favorite pieces from this first fall launch! :) I also jumped to order Soph a Christmas dress that is just DARLING!

9. Family Staycation + House stalking: Last week we had a sweet little staycation of family time and we ended up going to an estate sale on a gorgeous street. This beautiful home stopped me in my tracks and I loved looking at it, haha!

10. My Patriotic Babies! July 4th will always have a different meaning for our little family. In 2014 on July 4th we lost our first little angel in a miscarriage. It may seem silly to some, but putting my two in a special July 4th outfit and taking their photo brings me comfort and hope to a loss that will always sting. The photo this year was crazy to me because with Beau & Sophie sitting side by side I could almost imagine another baby or two seated beside them. It makes me excited for the ways the Lord will grow our family in the years ahead!

Friday No. 84

One.
As you can see from the photo above, a highlight from this week was cleaning out our linen closet. Wow, getting old! Haha! These are the things that I get my kicks from these days. It felt so good to get rid of what we don't need. I originally had linens and a bunch of toiletries in the closet and I moved all the toiletries to under the bathroom sinks and the closet is now only linens, it just feels so clean and organized. This is embarrassing but before our extra sheet sets were just all stacked together and I would struggle to match the right pillow cases but now I have each set in a basket and life just feels so much better. Any other organization lovers out there? :)

Two.
On a similar note, if you enjoy reading birth stories, this is a great one.

Three.
And on another similar note, I really enjoyed this post on body positivity while planning a wedding. Random read for me, I know, haha! But I've loved following Krista's blog, honestly because we have really similar body types. Full disclosure she curses a few times in the post which isn't my fave but it isn't constantly throughout or anything.

Four.
An inexpensive fashion find that I need to share with y'all.. First, the perfect white tee shirt. I had basically given up on thinking that I would ever be able to find my ideal white tee shirt. It was starting to feel like the idea of an opaque shirt wasn't realistic, haha! I can't remember where but I saw on Facebook someone mention these and you will not believe the price. I ordered immediately (sizing up because of my tee shirt looseness preference, haha!) I don't have to wear an undershirt and the length is just what I want and I'll probably end up ordering many more of these! :) Order and you can thank me later, haha! :) 

Five. 

This is a pretty old post, but I really enjoyed this post from Do Say Give on Postpartum and Newborn time. I felt it a little less after having Sophie.. but there is so much pressure to be up and doing everything quickly after baby. I  have especially felt this in regards to your body. Like let's try and not look like you just had a baby ASAP. This time around I really let nursing be my permission to just chill out and it's been so good!

Happy Weekend!

You can find all previous Friday posts, here.

Sophie's First Birthday Party

I don't know what it is about today.. but I just felt like blogging. If anyone's still out there.. haha! I miss this space and honestly, what's kept me from it is the fear of criticism and cranky people. In general I had been struggling with how much of my kids to share, and a few aggressive comments and instagram messages from people putting words in my mouth or making horrible accusations.. well that was enough to make me want to retire, haha! The reality though, is that I need to ignore the fear, and I can still share lots of sweet moments about Beau and Sophie without actually sharing a lot of WHO they are and things that I would prefer to keep offline. :) So, today, Sophie's first birthday party!!

The weekend of the party was a huge undertaking. It came at a time in life where I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. Honestly not for any big reason but just in general I was treading water. My dear friend Meredith was planning on coming in town for the party with her daughter who's exactly a month younger than Sophie. We thought we would be crazy and try and do a family portrait session the night before the 11am party. Coordinating everything for photos and the party was honestly too much and I don't have any regrets because the family photos were some of our best ever (I mean.. this pic!!) but it was a lot for me as a type a person who was already feeling overwhelmed with her life. Meredith had to keep telling me to put one foot in front of the other, haha! So Friday morning I had a dry bar appointment and then drove to meet my friend Haley who made the party cookies, and then to drive to Dallas to pick up Meredith and Mary Quinn from the airport. We then went straight into last minute party errands, then came home to feed babies, freshen up, and leave for photos. We got home at like 9 that night, and stayed up late working on balloons for the party. Phewwwweeee. All of that being said, a ton of things I wanted to do for her party didn't end up coming together. I loved the time we spent celebrating Sophie but in general my vision didn't come to life for a variety of reasons. But it was still incredibly special, and she has many more birthdays that I can craft an elaborate vision honestly. Haha!

The morning of the party we put together this incredible balloon installation on this stand. I put so much work into it. But what we couldn't plan for was a freak wind storm. Even once we attached them to the stand the wind was so crazy that the entire thing blew over. Thankfully no one was around it and there was nothing else on it yet but the whole thing was destroyed. We literally threw the mess in the garage because we were running out of time, and meanwhile inside the house some mishaps were happening and the inside of the house was flooding. Overall just super overwhelming haha! If you look closely you can see we literally had to scotch tape every single bit of the banner because the wind was so bad. It settled down just as guests were arriving which I was so grateful for. 

The cake was absolutely perfect. I loved the candles (inspired by my friend Sarah!) and my sister in law and one of my best friends arranged the flowers. Originally my sister in law and I wanted to make the cake but they ended up having house guests too and we decided this was an area we needed to outsource, haha!

Another special detail.. Sophie's cake knife set! This was what we got her for her birthday. It's engraved with her full name and birthdate, and her monogram. We'll use them for each of her birthdays and then on her wedding day. Cue the sobs. We have one for Beau too and they're so precious to me! I ordered them both from here.

We had tons of pink candies out and the whole party my niece played candy shop and served everyone. Such special memories of this!

We actually had to move the location of all the food tables because of a ton of rain that we had just had and so they ended up being in direct sun, which wasn't my preference but it is what it is. :) 

So special seeing Soph love her party!

I wore this dress, with this cardigan, these earrings, and these slides.

I imagine that in this photo she's thinking "Welcome to my party y'all!"

Sophie's dress was from our favorite Beaufort Bonnet Company. Here are links for her bow, shoes, and socks. :)

My people!

We had cute bows on the corners of the high chair... but remember the wind storm!! Haha!

Sophie was SO happy to be sang to. She loves a lot of sweets but cake isn't her favorite. 

  Just look at her happy face! She wasn't super into the cake so Beau started helping her, and both her cousins. That was by far my favorite part of the whole party, my four favorite babies together! 

She had a custom hat and bib from Preppie Peony and somehow the hat didn't make it onto her head for this. Which is nuts!! Haha! Couldn't recommend the shop more though. 

Hope you enjoyed a little peek into our girl's day! :)