Instagrammin’ in April

I love April!  The weather was gorgeous and this particular April was a special birthday for me.

hornets game! | weekend getaway to greenville, south carolina with my mom and sister. | birthday celebration with my tennis buds—tennis and then dinner and drinks! #andcupcakes | tough game for a defender. #centerback | sweet olive | more fun volunteering at promising pages. | beautiful day for a walk. | 40th birthday adventures at kiawah island resort. | field trip chaperone to latta plantation. #lovemyboy

My 40th Birthday

In lieu of a party, on the actual day I turned 40, I wanted to wake up somewhere beautiful.  I wanted to be out of town, away from wiping countertops and doing laundry, and with my entire family (including Olive).  Luckily, my birthday landed on a Saturday and the kids had a long weekend out of school.  We love the South Carolina lowcountry and Hilton Head Island, we decided to venture to the smaller and more exclusive Kiawah Island Resort for a very special birthday celebration.  What a beautiful, quiet place.  We enjoyed plenty of bike rides, beach time, dog walks, fancy meals, and lots of birthday love.  Jonathan and the kids prepared a ‘40 Reasons’ they love me slide show for my birthday.  I got some wonderfully thoughtful tennis and sour beer birthday gifts.  And, we ate my birthday dinner at the ultra-fancy Jasmine Porch at The Sanctuary Hotel (when we walked into the hotel Ella said, “This looks like Downton Abbey!”).  How fancy, you ask?  Ella had filet mignon off of the kids’ menu.

On Sunday, we explored parts of Kiawah we couldn’t reach by bike—the Kiawah Resort Ocean Course golf course and the Ryder Cup Bar.  The course has remarkable ocean views, and the spectacular houses we saw on the way in weren’t half bad either.  Jonathan had to fly out on a trip out of the Charleston airport, so we visited the Angel Oak Tree (a 400-500 year old giant oak tree outside of Charleston) on our way in to town and ate lunch at The Obstinate Daughter on Sullivan’s Island (highly recommend) before dropping him off.  Before heading home on Monday, Ella, Jack, Olive, and I enjoyed some more quiet beach time (there really weren’t many people on Kiawah) and an al fresco breakfast of gourmet bagel sandwiches.  It was an amazing 40th birthday weekend—definitely lessened the blow I was feeling saying goodbye to my 30s.  (I know, insert eye roll here.)

I only took a few pictures on the big camera—most pictures were from my iPhone and ended up on Instagram.

Girls’ Weekend in Greenville

I was spoiled for my 40th birthday with three trips this spring—my family knows me well, I love to travel.  The weekend before my 40th birthday, my mom, sister, and I headed to Greenville, South Carolina for a girls’ weekend.  My mom and I had actually never been to downtown Greenville, for as many times as we’d driven past it on the way to Tracy’s house in Atlanta.  Mid-April was just the perfect time of year to enjoy this beautiful downtown.  We started our weekend with a treat from Tracy, a Peruvian cooking class—yum!  I think the whole class agreed that our avocado, jalepeño potato salad was the best thing on the plate.  We also enjoyed a little shopping before heading down to the Falls Park on the Reedy to explore.  The park was magical that day.  Not only was the landscaping perfect with everything in full bloom, but someone must’ve cued not only the birds, but the brides, prom dates, and quinceañera young ladies looking for the photo op.  And we even watched a marriage proposal play out, complete with family and friends in on the surprise.  After people-watching in the park for a while, we enjoyed an al fresco dinner at The Lazy Goat right on the river and then headed to a community theater for the musical of The Addams Family. 

On our next full day in Greenville, we explored the downtown (which is full of public art), more local shops, and the Greenville County Museum of Art.  We saw works by many American artists including Andrew Wyeth, Jasper Johns, and (my favorite) William H. Johnson who has a remarkable story and whose works in GCMA remind me of the Fauvist movement I studied in college. 

It was a true girls’ weekend with the leisurely exploration of shops, art, gardens, and culture and plenty of yummy food.  This magical weekend with my mom and sister was the perfect lead up to my 40th birthday. 

(All photos from my iPhone—I decided not to lug around the big camera this weekend.)

Instagrammin’ in March

March brought Ella’s first dance, some nights out on the town, Ella’s 12th birthday, and even some travle down to Florida.

the black pit of doom | ready for cotillion ball. | ella and preston won the foxtrot. | wicked weed beer pairing dinner at the whitewater center. | mary poppins at ardrey kell high school was amazing. | my mary poppins dates. | return of the mac. | obsessed with her football. | ella’s painting with a twist birthday party and exploring the mall with friends, with the obligatory ‘urban’ photo. | happy 12th birthday to ella! | much latergram, both from the previous year when i could still have lunch with ella (before middle school) and when jack would still let me take pictures of him at lunch. | easter in st. augustine 

Easter

Easter in St. Augustine with Nana, PopPop, Aunt Jacqui, Uncle Randy, Harper, and Hudson! 

Ella’s 12th Birthday Party

Ella enjoyed a Painting with a Twist painting party with seven of her closest friendsfor her 12th birthday.  She poured through galleries and galleries of painting options until she settled on the sunrise scene of the giant oak tree.  After painting, eating cake, and otherwise goofing off, Ella and a few friends even got to wander around the mall together, a true rite of passage for a middle schooler. 

The day after her party, Ella officially turned 12.  Only one more year until she’s a teenager!!

Instagrammin’ in February

February in Charlotte means sometimes snow and freezing temps and sometimes short sleeves and skirts on the tennis court.  We had it all, and even a visit from some Florida relations who ventured north to see some snow (we had to chase some down in the mountains).

enjoying our new racquet club. | happy half birthday to jack! | back to soccer | they call her dabs at eyc because she always comes to the sunday evening meetings in her panthers gear. | boone! | we had to head to a ski resort to find some snow we could play in with jacob, noah, and emilee.  #emileesfirstsnow | somebody forgot to bring a winter coat. | tubing! | fun with our cousins—and we even got some snow! | linville caverns | my favorite comic series #shegetsus | ella did the 30-hour famine again with eyc.