High Five For Friday

Happy Weekend everyone. Each day we get more and more settled and a bit more comfortable with our surroundings. Here are some awesome moments from my week.

1.) My sweet friend from college got married on Saturday so Tolar and I got to go celebrate with the happy couple. I love weddings, they are always so beautiful and fun. And I always cry at weddings - except my own!

2.) My sister, brother in law and nephew were in town for a few days and let me tell you, my nephew never disappoints in making us smile. Check out those shoes!

3.) I saw this sign while working on some Rodan and Fields items and I completely agree!

4.) Baby K set up a "command center" while playing.

5.) My mom and I spent the day shopping and I got this sweet, sweet photo while we were away.

I hope you all had a great week and that you have plenty of opportunities to relax and enjoy your weekend. I'm linking up this High Five For Friday post with Lauren Elizabeth.

A Day From Our New Life

When I first started this blog, I had many reasons for writing.
-to keep my family informed of what was happening in my life
-to connect with new people (my fabulous readers)
-to suggest beauty products and accessories that I love because my friends always love recommendations
-to have a space that I call my own where I talk about things that I like
-to chronicle my life

I still plan to do all of the above and I sure hope one day soon I get back into my What I Wore posts (Marcy - right now I'm wearing a lot of tshirts and polka dot crop sweat pants, so you aren't missing much). But I'm realizing now that I live in a new area, I will probably post a lot more about what is happening in my daily life. Its always fun to explore a new area and talk about fun adventures.

One of the really cool things about living in Dublin, VA is that we are close to Claytor Lake. It is just a fifteen minute drive and we can swim and kayak and work on a suntan to our heart's desire. We tried to go to the lake two different days last week (both when my Dad was off work), but the weather was either rainy or too cold for us to go. I never would have imagined that the weather would be too cold in the middle of the July, but the Polar Vortex sure hit us.

But yesterday we woke up and the weather was perfect! We had planned to go after Baby K took her morning nap. Her first nap is always a good one (2 hours good!!!) so I don't ever want to do anything to mess that up. Once she woke up, I changed and fed her, changed into my swimsuit, waited on Mom, Dad and Tolar to eat lunch, we packed the car and off we went. We got to the lake right around 1 p.m.; the sun was shining, the weather was hot, I was ready to get in the water. After selecting a spot on the beach and setting up all of our stuff, I got to work lathering myself up with sunscreen (yes, it was R+F!). Just as I was finishing getting covered I started to feel a few drops of water. Nope, Tolar wasn't splashing me - I felt some sprinkles of rain. Tolar looked out on the water and pointed out that yep, it was already raining a little ways down. No sooner had he said that and it started to pour on us! I couldn't believe it, this was our third time trying to get to the lake (I want to preserve my tan!) and here we were getting rained on just as soon as we got settled. I can't event make this stuff up.

Luckily, the clouds all around our rain cloud were still nice and white and there were spots of sun, so I was hopeful that we would still get a day of relaxation at the lake. We ran up to the shelter and waited up there so all of our clothes and towels wouldn't get wet. My Dad tried to wait it out down on the beach, but the lifeguards saw lightning and asked everyone to evacuate the beach. Great. I was so ready for a day at the lake; I'm currently struggling with boredom from living in a place where I don't know anyone but my family, and I was really looking to having something fun to do. Yes - I do find it quite hilarious that I used to WISH for boredom when we lived in D.C., so I realize I should embrace my boredom. Luckily, the weather was on my side and we only had to wait about an hour before we could get back in the water.

We ended up having a fun day. Baby K got to splash around in the water (all while trying to drink from the lake), Tolar got to take a brief swim, Mom, Dad and I got to cool off in the water and we all got a little bit of relaxation. And sweet Baby K was introduced to the wonderful thing of sand in your crack. But she had fun! :) I'm so thankful that we are getting this time as a family to experience fun things together. I know once Tolar starts school, our lake days and middle of the week family fun days will be few and far between, so I am savoring every moment we get together.

You know, I often wonder why Tolar had to lose his job. Why we've had to go through these hardships and move out of D.C. I realize that I probably won't learn the exact reason for sometime to come, but I already know one great side effect. That me, Tolar and Baby K get to spend all of this time TOGETHER. Yes, we made the decision for me to stay home and be with Baby K, but through this situation, Tolar also gets to stay home with her too. He has gotten to spend a lot more time with her in the past four months than he would have had he been working. I will choose to be thankful for that. And now onto more adventures before Tolar starts school in a month!

We Have Landed!

To give everyone an update from this post:

We are finally getting settled and figuring out our next steps. At the end of June we closed on our house in Alexandria, VA and moved down to Dublin, VA to move in with my very generous parents. All of our stuff (and I tell you we have A LOT of stuff) is currently stored in their garage with the exception of our clothes, a few office items, our bathroom supplies and all of Baby K's items. I'm so so so thankful that we had a place to land and store our stuff during this incredibly difficult time.

Tolar is going to head back to school for 2 years to study instrumentation and automation. I'll just tell you to look it up, that would be easier than me trying to explain what it is. :) We are excited about this program because there are normally 6 job offers for every graduate! Woohoo! And it is something that Tolar is excited about - we are ready for a change.

At the end of the summer/beginning of fall we will move into my aunt's house to live there for the rest of the time that we are in Dublin. She is renovating my Grandmother's house and will move in there, allowing us a terrific option to have our own space. I'm completely overwhelmed by the generosity.

Life is different, plain and simple. Target is 20 minutes away (the horror), but my parents are a few steps out of the bedroom. I'm so excited for Tolar to start classes in August and for us to get a better glimpse of what our future holds.

For now, we have a beautiful view from my parent's deck.

I'm Back!!! High Five For Friday

No, you don't have to adjust the settings on your computer or phone screen, I really am back to blogging!!!! We are getting settled in our new location (I'll fill you in on that next week!) and unpacking/arranging our stuff has become my life. I'm excited to be back to blogging again and figured I'd give you a quick glimpse into my life with a High Five For Friday post!

1.) Baby K is finally letting us read to her (meaning, she waits about 2.5 minutes before she grabs for the book). I captured this adorable moment of Daddy/daughter time.

2.) My sweet friend Suzanne invited us to her lake house over the weekend (I'm so excited to be living close to her again!) and Baby K took full advantage of the relaxation that the lake allows.

Thanks for the sweet chair, Grammaroo!

3.) Such a perfect sighting, mine and my sister's names right next to each other!!! I love this new Coke campaign.

4.) We took Baby K to the park and she had a blast swinging in the sun. Check out my instagram profile for a cute video.

5.) I'm so excited to use my Day Designer Planner to keep me organized and get Pursuit of Pink back on track!

I'm linking up this High Five For Friday post with Lauren Elizabeth.

First Birthday Thanks plus a giveaway

Baby K's first birthday was Lady Bug themed, based off of a nickname that we gave her when I first found out I was pregnant with a girl. My maiden name is Mady which is often pronounced incorrectly, so to get people to pronounce it correctly I always said that Mady sounded like Lady but with an M. I had some friends start calling me Lady Mady shortly thereafter and the nickname stuck (sidenote: I mourned the loss of Lady Mady when I got married). Once we found out that I was pregnant with Baby K, we started calling her our Little Lady Mady Bug and fell in love with anything Lady Bug for her. So her first birthday theme was decided long before we even planned her party.

While planning her party, I wanted to be certain and keep the Lady Bug theme all through out. We included a lady bug on the evite, had lots of lady bug and lady bug inspired decor at the party and my sister even found a precious little lady bug dress for her to wear. But I didn't want the theme to stop there - I also wanted her thank you cards to include the theme. So what's a Mom to do? Check out Minted and all of the fantastic thank you cards designed for kids.

Let me tell you, Minted has some amazing items for those who love paper products and photos! From wedding products, to party invitations, to Christmas cards, to birth announcements, to art prints, Minted has you covered. So that's why I didn't look anywhere else but Minted to locate the perfect thank you cards for Baby K's first birthday. 

I started by looking through all of the children's thank you cards just to see what was available and there were so many designs that I loved, it was actually kind of hard to choose. But it was love at first sight, when I located the "Love At First Bite" Children's Birthday party thank you cards. 

I like pretty clean and classic designs and it is no secret that I'm a huge fan of polka dots. So when I laid my eyes on this design, I knew I had to order the thank you cards. And let me tell you, they do not disappoint in person; the coloring looks exactly the same in person as it does on my computer screen. It always irritates me when I order something thinking it is going to be one color because of the way it looks online only to have it delivered and realize it looks completely different in person. I'm so thankful that Minted delivered to the fullest potential.

Another great reason to check out Minted and their great selection of products is for the quality. They print their products on thick card stock instead of cheap thin paper.  You don't have to worry about your pen ink bleeding through or accidentally ripping the card because the paper is so thin. Minted has great products, I've never been disappointed with anything I have ordered. I will keep going back for more anytime I need an invitation, thank you card or announcement. And you can customize the products to fit your family. I added Baby K's name to these thank you cards, aren't they just adorable???

And to help you fall in love with their products, the generous folks at Minted are giving one lucky Pursuit of Pink reader a $100 credit! That is such an amazing prize, just think of all of the amazing products that you can get with $100. Thanks Minted - that is seriously one sweet gift! All you have to do to enter is click this link to hop over to Minted's website and enter the Giveaway - so easy!!! Best of luck!!!

Pool Days

We are all moved out and finally getting a chance to relax! What a crazy week we had last week with loading up the moving truck, driving 5 hours to SW Virginia, unloading the moving truck, driving 5 hours back up to Northern Virginia, closing on our house, flying to Nashville, driving to Southern Illinois and celebrating Tolar's Mom's retirement. After all of that, the pool is calling my name.

We will be visiting Tolar's family for another week and I plan to lay out by the pool as much as possible. Baby K got her first experience in the pool earlier this week and she had a great time. Here are some pics for your enjoyment!

High Five For Friday

Happy Friday kids! This has been an insane week with a lot going on, there is too much to tell you in just five points. We celebrated Baby K's first birthday, took Baby K to the doctor three (yes three) times, moved out of our house, drove down to Dublin, VA, drove back up to Alexandria, VA, closed on our house and we are now flying to visit Tolar's family for a week and a half. Shew, I'm so tired and very much looking forward to relaxing by the pool for the next several days.

For your viewing pleasure, here are some pictures from some fun moments during the week. There are so many more great moments, but sadly not everything got documented. Tolar and I want to give a huge shout out to our friends Dane and Courtney for letting us crash at their house when we were back in Alexandria for the house closing.

1.) Poor Baby K had to take two long car trips this week; I sat in the back with her on one of the those trips since she wasn't feeling well. While she was sleeping, she reached out for me, it was the sweetest thing

2.) Even though Baby K was a bit under the weather, we still attempted to celebrate her birthday. I love this picture of Tolar praying for our baby girl at her party.

3.) My family was in town for Baby K's birthday party and to help us move. My Dad actually ended up driving our UHaul moving truck, along with my sister's dog as his passenger. And now I am working on my first one act play: The Adventures of Grandy and Madison.

4.) Completing the sale of our house was exhausting for Baby K, she fell asleep in the car and Tolar had to carry her inside. Look at her hand, so cute!

5.) Baby K got a new ride for her birthday from Grandy and Grammaroo and she loves it. She even got a cell phone, I need to teach her about no texting and driving.

I'm linking up this High Five For Friday post with Lauren Elizabeth.