This past weekend was beautiful.

Like, hole-in-my-jeans-but-I-don’t-care, flip-flops-even-though-it-is-February, playing-outside-before-dinner-because-we-can kind of beautiful, and I honestly am finding myself a bit sad that it’s over. The afternoons were a glimpse into what summer with a toddler is going to be like, and I just can’t WAIT! We played in the mud, threw balls to Graham, visited two different parks, had a family photo shoot just because, checked out some fun turtles at the Cool Creek Nature Center, and split a nugget meal from Chick-fil-A. So, so thankful for these days with our little boy!

As always, here are some lovely moments & thoughts galore from this past week:

• Gummy Bears are officially my favorite thing to buy at Fresh Thyme. We may or may not have started to shop there for produce and any other healthy on-sale products, but I knew our budget was a real goner when I stumbled upon the bulk candy aisle…haha!
• My small group finished up a Beth Moore study earlier this month, so we just started our next read: The Forgotten God by Francis Chan. Have you read it?! Two chapters in, and I’m feelin’ the heat! Other 2017 reads so far include: Plastic Purge, If I Stay, Uninvited, and Onward: How Starbucks Fought For Its Life Without Losing Its Soul (currently starting). As you can tell…my reading genres are a bit all over the place. :)
• Babies + Swings & Slides = Pure Joy! As I said above, Ryan and I adventured to Cool Creek Park on Friday while Chris was at work, and I loved getting to see glimpses of what the next few years of life may look like. He held my hands in order to walk around the toddler area and already started scoping out his favorite swings and slides. Oh, and we definitely have a rule-breaker, people: Ry already is trying to climb up the slides, too! Eeek! I know once he finally takes off on his own we’ll be in real trouble.
• Also, I just really, really love my husband. Chris & I went out to eat at The Eagle on Mass Ave for Valentine’s Day; it was somehow our first time downtown on a date just the two of us! The tagline for the restaurant was enough to draw me in: “A food and beer hall featuring fried chicken.” Ummm, yes please! Add in some of their famous spicy honey and a side of mac n’ cheese to share, and it was the tastiest Valentine’s date we’d been on yet!
• Which reminds me, for some reason we always went to Olive Garden for every. single. Valentine’s Day in college. Olive Garden!! My inner foodie just wants to cry a little bit knowing we chose the OG over places like Upland, Little Zagreb, or any place on 4th Street, really! Oh well…at least our taste buds have matured since our college years. ;)
• And, last but not least, I was over-the-moon thrilled to receive my very own Lily Jade bag this past week. I’m not gonna lie…it may be my favorite momma product yet! Stylish, convenient, AND it turns into a backpack?! #takeallmymoneynowplease Haha! Partnering with the company by providing lifestyle & product images was the perfect excuse to grab some updated family photos, too — enjoy some of my favorite below!

:)

And that’s about it, sweet friend. We’re taking advantage of the long weekend with today’s agenda: a friend trip to the Indianapolis Zoo! Have a beautiful Monday!

Love love love,

Sami