lauren: "is mom around?" dad: "around what?"

My dad has a wicked sense of humor (I can't believe that I just typed wicked). He is constantly making me smile and laugh—even in the worst of moods during the worst of days. He has always been witty, but this is just one of his many qualities. He is a sweet, sensitive, selfless man with a heart for anyone or anything. He has taught me many a lesson and shared oodles of wisdom throughout the years. I wouldn't be the woman that I am today without the love from my father. Curt is THE MAN.

Dad's favorite pastime: singing. While commanding the boat? Why not?! Anywhere, anytime.

Typical expressions.

Today, I celebrate you, Daddy. Happy Father's Day! I love you.

anthro love.

I'm baaaack! After 4 days of pricking and probing in the hospital, surgery, and a week of recovery I have returned to the real-world (again) sans gallbladder. I just want to thank all of my sweet friends and family for all of the support, thoughts, prayers, texts, suppers, cards, flowers, and calls over the past two weeks. I feel incredibly blessed and LOVED.

During my downtime I spent a lot of time in the Word, doing crosswords, reading magazines, watching the tube, i.e. 'The Casey Anthony Trial', and surfing the web. My current obsession? Everything Anthropologie! I could spend hours on this website AND could spend thousands of dollars buying their clothes, accessories, and home furnishings. Here are some of my recent Anthro cravings:

Some items I will pass along to the husband as a hint, hint, however, most of my wishes and wants will never be attainable. A girl can dream, though, right? I hope that everyone has a great Father's Day weekend!

move over circles, hello stripes.

Well, I'm at home today, bedridden. Images of my inbox at work skyrocketing to the triple digits and stacks of paper on my desk piling up have been haunting me all morning. If I could hop into my car and head to the office I would, but right now, that's not physically possible. I woke up last night with a sharp pain in my upper abdomen beneath my ribs. It didn't dissipate and here I lay afraid to cough, roll over, or make any sudden movement in fear of the nauseating discomfort that it may cause. I have a doctor's appointment at 3:00 this afternoon so I am patiently waiting for the clock to reach the hour.

On a brighter note, I now have time to post on my chairs! Yesterday evening, the husband and I drove to meet the upholsterer to pick up our newly re-upholstered chairs. I could not wait to see the finished result. Lucky for me, it only took Mr. Jordan one week to cover both chairs and pillows. So, by the time I got home from my vacation they were done. I didn't even get the chance to miss them. I was so happy with the finished product. They look amazing and are exactly what I had envisioned!

Here is another picture of the before. They are so drab and too modern for my liking. They didn't fit in with the decor of the condo at all.

Bringing it back old school...right after I moved in!

AND...DRUMROLL...THE AFTER!

These pillows actually come off of the couch (I replaced them with the new striped pillows). This is their temporary home for the time being until I can find some fabulous gray, smaller pillows for the chairs.

I love the narrow, neutral stripe. It is so soft.

My new favorite coffee table book, 3oA Style

My little model, Coco, wanted in on the action.

The den sure has come a long way!

I hope that you love the "afters" just as much as I do. This room has become my favorite room in the house—clean lines, neutral tones, with a pop of color here and there. It is a breath of fresh air!

P.S. Please pray for me as I make the trek to the doctor for a diagnosis. Have a lovely Tuesday. XO.

ode to big buddy.

Whew! After a fabulous ten-day vacation, I'm back home and getting back into the swing of things. We had a great Memorial Day weekend in Auburn and at the lake with the Dilworths. Brooke and Michael were amazing hosts and treated us to a fun weekend with their family. We love our time with them. Their 4 year old son, Thomas, and 20 month old daughter, Holland, kept us laughing the entire weekend and are some of the sweetest little ones around. John picked up Thomas' favorite catchphrase, "Oh yeah!" and has been using it every chance he gets. It's too funny. We can't wait until our next visit. I hope that it comes around sooner than later.

On Monday, me, 'Shug' (Mrs. Bryant), Lea, Bennett, and 'Pops' (Mr. Bryant) headed to the beach for a weeklong vacation on the coast. Bradley, Lea's husband, joined us on Wednesday and John came down on Thursday. It was a wonderful and relaxing week away from home and the hustle and bustle of life. Our days consisted of sun, surf, dips in the pool, great food, crosswords (more so Lea), magazines, popsicles, and buggy rides. Hands down, the highlight of our week was spending time with precious Bennett, or as we like to call him, 'Big Buddy.' John and I have so much love for our nephew. He is at such a fun age (18 1/2 months) and his personality is really shining through. He loves to make faces, play with everything "boy," spend time outdoors, and above all, hang out with Pops. I didn't take very many pictures this weekend, but couldn't pass up taking it out to snap some shots of Bennett. Here is our ode to Big Buddy:

Bennett loves peaches...

Bennett doing his "happy" face.

...and his "sad face."

Playing in the ocean with Pops.

Playing with Uncle John.

I could gobble that big belly up!

Who wouldn't want to spend a week with this little man?! We were sad to say goodbye on Sunday and are already counting down the days until our next visit with Bennett, Lea, and Bradley.

Our time with Bennett made me miss my nieces, Abby Grace and Daley, and my other nephew, William even more—I didn't think that was possible! The last time that I got to hold and hug them was Easter weekend and the pictures that Jeff and Katye send to my phone don't fill the void. In July, my family will be taking a beach trip together. The Bryants are gracious enough to let us stay in their house and we are so excited. You can expect another photo shoot next month! Can't wait!