...on a Tuesday.
(go figure)

there were a lot of wagon rides to the park:

and lots of playing with Picibooth:
at Home Depot:
at Tasty 'n Sons for date night:
and Ruby Jewel:
Saturday morning lattes:
at my dad's surprise 60th birthday party:
(he really liked the nuts)
like father like son:
after running through the sprinklers for the first time:
Ember was a little relaxed:
working on the overgrown front yard with the in-laws:
and we got our new pendant light up and running:
(notice the white dining room as well!)
we got a sweet Edison style bulb for added interest:

I also joined this century and got an iphone!
Any favorite apps I should get?

I'm loving our new bbq and pretty much use it every chance I get. 
I can't grill a simple burger for the life of me, but I can do everything else!
This is what I have grilled lately...

grilled pesto chicken pizza
(follow this to grill the dough then top with pesto, mozzarella/parmasean, grilled chicken and sliced garlic)

 cedar plank salmon and grilled potatoes and summer squash
(I soaked the plank in a hard pear cider)

grilled bbq chicken pizza
(red onions, cilantro, mozzeralla, grilled chicken, bbq sauce)

ginger-teriyaki salmon with grilled grean beans and quinoa salad
(get Fawn's amazing quinoa salad recipe here)

grilled chicken fajitas
(peppers, onions, chicken. duh.)

What's your favorite thing to grill?
I'm always looking for new recipes!
I always have the best intentions of posting about our weekends on Mondays (naturally) however I'm usually so pooped when Monday comes around that I don't want to do a blog post. 
So Tuesdays it is. 
(unless I'm feeling super ambitious)

This last weekend we finished painting the dining room (I'll post pictures soon) and we also hosted a backyard campout for all of our friends with kids (or ones on the way).

We had a lot of fun regardless of the fact that Chris and I were the only ones sleeping in our backyard come morning...which is exactly why we didn't all go to a campground in the first place.
FYI: Camping with kids is hard!

On to the camp out...

Bennett chillin and waiting for friends to show up:
 we love our friends!:
 good food:
 watermelon is a must while camping:
the thousand island mysteriously exploded when Chris opened it:
 Lauren teaching B how to drink out of a hose:
(thanks lolo)
 pool time with the kids:
(including furry ones)
 fingerpainting is fun:
 Bennett didn't really think so:
(he doesn't enjoy being dirty and therefore really disliked that I put his hand in the paint)
 it's not camping without muddy buddies:
 tent setup in the dark:
(how many grown men does it take to set up a tent?)
 our new fire pit that our awesome friend Jordan made:
(we said we wanted it just like this one
It's exact. How amazing is he?!)
...and of course we had smores. 
this may need to be an annual thing.
Just processing ideas for the bathroom re-do which won't even happen until next spring. We are slowly buying things as we see deals though. If anyone is moving in the near future, totally sign up (in the change of address packet) to get West Elm's catalogs at your new address (even if you already get them, because catalogs don't forward.) They will send you a 10% off new mover coupon which should save you a pretty penny!

new bathroom inspiration





1.  DWR Gooseneck barn lamp I'd really like to find a cheaper alternative if I can. I'm not sure what lamps are used in the inspiration picture but I'd like to find them!
2. West Elm Organic Woodgrain bath towels We only had two towels to begin with, so I got two of these for guests to use.
3. We can use our existing chocolate brown bath mat!
4. White pennyround tile placed up to the ceiling behind the sink as well as in the shower.
5.  CB2 Coop Tower to hold towels and such. Brings in more of an industrial feel.
6. Kraus white square ceramic sink I can't decide if I would want a sunken sink with the counter overlayed (like in the picture) or if I want a basin sink on top of the cabinet. Either one would look good.
7. West Elm Blackened Metal Mirror. I've had my eye on this mirror for months and finally decided to call and see if they had any because I saw it was marked down to $79.99 (originally $130) online. None of the stores had any left but there just so happened to be one randomly being sent to the store so it was mine and was only going to be $45! Once it came in we went to pick it up and the price had dropped to $25! It's such an awesome, low profile mirror for an amazing price...if anyone is in the market for a mirror definitely call about this one and see if there are any more!

Do you guys like it?
Happy Friday!
Busy with some fun thrown in...
that pretty much describes this weekend and all weekends until October.
This time of year is craziness and it's not exactly easy to blog about it all with a busy toddler who won't stand still.
(who is going to be 2 in a few weeks!)

Anyways, back to this weekend...

For Lauren's birthday we went out for a double date night to Pok Pok, 
only we ended eating at a picnic table across the street. 
(read more about it over at Lauren's blog)

Did you know that I looove to wrap gifts and make cute little cards?
It's true.
Here's Lauren's:
and here is Chris and I after a great meal with great friends:
and here is us making funny faces with those friends:
(sorry Lauren I'm a picture stealer)
after dinner we ventured over to the foodcart pod on Belmont  to grab some 
celebratory desserts at The Sugar Cube:
Lauren and I both chose the same thing.
A warm brownie topped with peanut butter, vanilla bean ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate syrup!
It was pretty much amazing.
(a total splurge. then on Monday I worked it off during my 4 mile run. all is well.)
Sunday we went to Bennett's cousin's first birthday party.
It was in a giant backyard with lots of fun toys.
B especially loved the ride on tractor:
and the radio flyer horse:
I did all my grocery shopping on Friday which meant
I was finally able to try out this:
(yes that's dark chocolate and it's so good. I'm not a fan of cow's milk but I'll drink this stuff anyday.)
 It's great post-workout and I can't wait to try it steamed on a cold morning.
Oh and I also ordered a new waterbottle which arrived just in time for the weekend!
It's glass, has a wide mouth and there are no little parts which makes it super low maintenence and easy to clean. It also comes in a ton of cute colors. I decided to go bold with orange. Love it! 
Don't think we didn't get any work done on the house...
we finished painting the fireplace and hearth!
and we also have a white kitchen now:
Chris even painted the inside of the fireplace so it would be super low profile:

I hope you all had a good weekend!
I'm off to frost cupcakes for Lauren's baby gender reveal party tonight!

Recently we have been starting to figure out what we want to do with the dining room.
This is what it looks like currently and our plans for it:
(still no chairs yet, and yes it's really awkward to eat at the table sitting on a barstool)
I'm mostly excited about getting a new light above the table. 
(for right now we are going to spray paint the existing one)

I found an awesome Danish website with amazing light fixtures 
but I'm sure it would cost a lot to get them shipped over.

DWR doesn't even come close the the awesomeness of these.
 (though they do sell a few of the same ones)

I am in love with this top yellow one:

though the rest of them are pretty amazing as well:





















Pretty awesome huh?
What do you guys have hanging above your dining room tables?