WEEKLY WRAP-UP

This week has felt like months. Jon and I took of this first week of July off from work to rest, vacate, and celebrate the holiday. We started off the week driving to South Carolina to see our new little niece, Emerson-- "Emmy" for short. We are so in love with her, her sweet coos, and precious faces. I'm so proud to be an aunt and I can't wait to watch her grow up. :) My family was in Tybee Island for a couple days, so Jon and I joined them for some time at the beach. It was so wonderful to just get away and feel the peace of the beach and be with my family.

We got home Tuesday evening and spent Wednesday and Thursday with friends, going out to eat, talking, and having way too many burgers. ;) On Friday, Jon spent the day with me celebrating my "birthday eve". He took me out to eat for breakfast, went to Atlantic Station and let me pick out some birthday presents from West Elm, took me to the Titanic Exhibit, lunch, and then to see "Spiderman" with Kate and Glenn that evening. I was feeling pretty spoiled at this point. Yesterday was my real birthday. We spent the morning sleeping in and watching shows and then had a get together at my parents' house for dinner. I feel tremendously blessed to have such amazing family and friends around me.

Today was our "mentally get ready to go back to work on Monday day". We did some cleaning, visited with friends for lunch, and we are now turning in way early to get plenty of rest before going full swing into the rest of this insanely busy month. I think I'm ready.

Snapshot(s) of the Week: 1// Scene from the beach. My sister, brother and brother's girlfriend, Jessie. 2// Cute restaurant installation in Atlanta. 3// Gifts from Jon for my birthday. Twig flatware sets and a new shower curtain from West Elm. My new favorite home store of all time. 4// Lunch with sweet friends Jenny and Kate on Independence Day.

5 Favorite Posts:
* Watermelon Basil Margarita by A Life Styled
* My Nail Essentials by The Dainty Squid
* DIY: Galaxy Art by MooreaSeal
* 5 Easy Tips for Better Photography by Kelli Murray
* Blogging Wisdom & a Fresh Start by Making Nice in the Midwest

Favorite Blog of the Week:
* Making Nice in the Midwest - Mandi is such an inspiring blogger. I love her new blogging space, down to the last detail. You can tell she puts a lot of work into each of her posts and has great content. One of my favorites.

Inspiring Me this Week:
* West Elm - Did I mention this store is amazing?! I love all of the furniture, decor, and their prices aren't bad either. I'm planning to make a lot of purchases from here for our condo when we move. So, I will be visiting the one here in Atlanta A LOT.

3 Things About Yours Truly: 
* I haven't unpacked my suitcase from this week's travels yet. :-/
* I HAVE packed 9 boxes, however, for our big move this month! But I'm pretty sure I still have 100 more to go.
* As anxious as I am about this month's busyness and deadlines for both my 9-5 job and Maiedae, I'm very ready to get back into the routine of things.

PS - Made some updates to the blog design! Check out the nagivgation pages for some updated content and new features on the sidebars. I've still got some little details to fix up but I'm really happy with the new look!