Easter Weekend In Louisiana

The Mr. and I spent Easter in Louisiana with his Grandparents and the rest of his family and we had an absolute blast. In addition to admiring the gorgeous architecture and eating everything in sight in downtown New Orleans, I got to see where the Mr. and his siblings spent their summers as kids, Camp Chickamaw. It was so fun to have the camp to ourselves for the day, the new owners are still in the family and were kind enough to let us explore and picnic all afternoon. It was nice getting to know more of the Mr's ginormous extended family, and spend time with his Grandparents. In my opinion Easter break should not be limited only to those in elementary school, I want an Easter/Spring Break every year.

Vacation Highlights

The Mr. Hank and I returned late Wednesday from our 4.5 day trip to New England. I don't know what I loved more, spending time with my family or completely unplugging from reality. At the house there is no internet, cable, telephone, heat or air condition, dish washer, washer or dryer, and no shower. Staying in a house with so much family history is amazing, one of those "if the walls could talk" type of experiences. Reading the house Guest Book, which dates back before 1938, was probably my favorite. For some reason the House Guests who signed the book on the first few pages didn't fill in their arrival and departure date, nor did they leave any comments along with their entry. If only they knew how much it would have meant to us if they had! 

 It is so funny to think that at one point in time there were no trees within 300 yards of this rock which is now hidden by 40 foot tall trees deep in the forest.

 I don't know who these ladies are but in the background you can see the house before the kitchen addition.

House Before & After:

 These pictures may not fully illustrate how awesome of a transformation our Before and Afters really are, and to be perfectly honest my Mama is probably going to kill me for posting these, but oh well!

Before

the small child on the far right is yours truly ;-)

After
or "In Transition" if you ask Mom: Grandma Lizzie's old den sofa, two new Ralph Lauren navy and white ticking stripe pillows from HomeGoods, two new Ikea Ektorp chairs, and two new seagrass rugs is the most updating this room has ever seen.

Before

Pictured above are my Dad, Uncle, and Aunt with their Aunt and Grandparents.

After

I love how my Great Grandpa is standing in the before picture with my Dad and his siblings, and now his Portrait will forever hang on the wall behind him. 

Before

The only before picture I could find, which is actually too adorable for words, is of Grandma Lizzie baking cupcakes with my brother Sam and my cousins Jack and Tyler. 

After

 Our lovely farm house sink was centered in the kitchen to fix some plumbing issues, and placed under a stained glass window that was salvaged from the barn when it fell down a few years ago. Mom also added Some new Home Depot base cabinets, lights, and countertops from Ikea. 

I don't know who had more fun on our trip, me or Hank. Running around without a leash on for 4 days straight, attempting to learn to swim with his older mentors, catching frogs and spitting them out, and playing fetch with rotten apples that fell off the tree on the hill; what more could a pup ask for? 

The Garden

The Lake

Doing our laundry the old fashioned way

And last but not least, a peaceful car ride home!

Glen Acres

Growing up every summer our family would spend two weeks in Massachusetts at my Grandmother and Great Aunt's Summer house in the Berkshires. The home has been in our family since the early 1900's and up until this summer not much has changed. My parents have been working hard throwing away old rugs and furniture (which were purchased second hand in the 30's, no joke ) they bought a few kitchen cabinets from Home Depot, a new countertop from Ikea, and two new seagrass rugs should arrive for the living room today. It is still a work in progress, but I am so excited for the Mr. and Hank to see where I spent my summers as a child. 

My Grandfather holding my Dad in our pond in the back yard. It's a natural spring fed pond which used to be 10ft deep, but the damn cracked 30 years ago so it's only deep enough for the pups to swim in now. 

Keeping the family tradition, here I am with my brother and cousins by the pond. 

I hope one day it gets fixed so the Mr. and I can take pictures of our kids swimming in it.

I'll have pictures of the inside of the house and all its rustic charm when I get back!  

A Wedding In The Windy City

This past weekend the Mr. and I were in Chicago for my cousin's wedding. My Mom, Dad, Brother, Brother's fiance, the Mr. and myself all drove (well actually my darling father drove the entire trip both ways, and yes we're completely insane) to the windy city for the big event. Despite the long journey it was an awesome weekend, I could spend a whole week in Chicago without getting bored. On the way home Mom asked us all what our favorite part of the wedding was and we were all shocked by our response... it was the ceremony. Take a look at a few of the pictures and I think you will see why!

24 hours in the mini van was so worth the trip, I love my family! 

Too Hot For Weekend Eye Candy

I love summer, but yesterday was 106... it is so hot even Henry doesn't want to go outside. I don't know how our parents did it, but they deserve an award for growing up with out air conditioning. Stay cool!

Grandma Lizzie beatin' the heat in style.