Friday Favorites | Hilton Head Vacation

It's Friday and I am linking-up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday Favorites! Today is the official first day of the Haemmerle Family Vacation 2015 so I figured that today would be a perfect day to highlight my favorite family vacations!!

For more years than I can count, my Aunt and Uncle have rented this beach house in Hilton Head for 1 week of July. During the same week my Dad has rented a house for our family - which has expanded over the years! For our first year, we are renting this house and I can't wait . I have seen most everyone in my family a few times this year due to various trips up North, but am especially looking forward to a relaxing week with everyone! During our vacations we spend countless hours relaxing on the beach or in the pool, talking, laughing, and dancing [especially dancing :) ].

Over the years the group that we vacation with has grown to include family, friends, spouses, and in-laws. This year there will be about 55 of us down there for the week and I am SOOOO excited for some much needed time away from work and everyday life. We have taken beach photos with family and friends over the year, and this was taken with a group of my friends in 2008. This was Jonathan's first year on vacation - a year that 5 friends came to visit since it was first trip to the East Coast after moving to California. 

My family enjoys our vacations - and this particular year Jonathan challenged my cousin Terri to a push-up contest. The winner of the contest depends on who is telling the story, but I recall it being a very close challenge! There may or may not have been a few adult beverages consumed just prior and immediately following this...

Our wedding day marked the 1st day of Haemmerle Family Vacation 2013, and for me was the most memorable Hilton Head Vacation to date. It was exciting to have such a large group of family and friends in town for our wedding, and then to spend the week afterwards with everyone. While we may not always be in town on our anniversary, we know that Family Vacation will always be right around the time we were married - and we can always head back to Harbour Town to celebrate our anniversary while we are in town.

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This year while we are on vacation we will be heading to Bluebelle Bridal so that Molly can try on wedding dresses! I have been helping Molly with wedding plans since she got engaged a few months ago - and I can't wait to see what kind of dresses she loves.

Since I'll be enjoying my family vacation through the 25th I am going to take a break from blogging until I get home! I'll see you all back here on Monday the 27th for an exciting vacation recap! Make sure to keep up with our vacation by following me on Instagram!

Wednesday Weekly Recap | July 1 - July 15

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I hope that you are all having a great day - I know that I am super excited for my last day of work before vacation begins tomorrow!! Here's what we have been up to so far this month - Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Jonathan and I have a love of Netflix, and are probably the last people on Earth that still get movies in the mail. We have a queue of 10-15 movies at any given time, and I love the surprise of not knowing what will be coming in the mail each time. We spent the first day of July drinking one (too many) bottles of wine and watching Netflix movies!

Thursday, July 2, 2015

 

I am working on a project for Amelia's Bachelorette party and couldn't be more excited to show everyone the final product. While you won't see it until she starts posting pictures after Labor Day Weekend, I can promise you'll love the final look!

Friday, July 3, 2015

On Saturday, July 4th there was a cupcake challenge at work - and of course I had to bake cupcakes the day before. When I started making them I wasn't sure how I was going to decorate them, or what they would look like. All I was sure of, is that I wanted to stick with the 4th of July theme!

The original design called for only 50 stars, but I liked the look of more stars on each cupcake so I went for it. Here is my final design! Our cupcake challenge/sale raised almost $300 for Children's Miracle Network and I couldn't be happier with the success!

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Working in the hospitality industry, holidays are always SUPER busy. On the 4th of July I helped our Activities and Food & Beverage departments and my work day started at 6:00am. By lunch time I was ready for a hot dog fresh off the grill and a red bull - sticking with 4th of July colors of course!



Jonathan and I ended the holiday watching fireworks from our driveway and drinking champagne [with popsicles]. It awesome to be able to watch 3 sets of fireworks from our driveway, and nice to walk right inside afterwards!  If only Noodle enjoyed the fireworks as much as we did. Note to self - next year give Noodle anti-anxiety medicine a few hours before dark on the 4th!

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Sunday I got called into work for a few quick things, and then was stuck in traffic heading home for a couple of hours. I picked up Dunkin Donuts for Jonathan on my way home and we spent the afternoon relaxing outside and then on the couch. I love reading books and watching golf with Noodle and Jonathan on a Sunday afternoon!

Monday, July 6, 2015 - Tuesday, July 7, 2015

 

Monday and Tuesday were SUPER busy days at work. We had a HUGE Grand Re-Opening party scheduled for Wednesday, July 8th so these days were spent running errands, picking up supplies, and setting up the room for the big event! I was lucky to have our Food & Beverage Supervisor looking out for me and making sure I had a healthy lunch both days!

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Wednesday marked the Grand Re-Opening of the Pool Deck at work. The morning started off crazy with a power outage at work and no A/C, but we pushed through. The flowers were delivered on-time and they made the room where we had the cocktail reception. They were exactly what I wanted and I was very happy with the look.

The entire management team wore black for the event, and I tried out Rent the Runway for the first time. I will be posting about that when I return from vacation, but I loved the dress and overall had a great experience.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

 

Many of you are aware that we have Friday Night Pizza Night at my house - but this week I rescheduled for Thursday. I had an extremely busy week and was going to have Friday off of work so Thursday night ended with pizza and beer.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Friday marked the 6th anniversary of the day that Jonathan and I started dating. It all began at a Toby Keith concert when I was visiting him in Virginia in 2009. He bought me these beautiful roses for our anniversary and I love them!

Since I had the day off I decided to make Luau Ribs, which take about 2 1/2 hours - definitely a day off dinner. They were a huge hit and a great meal to eat while celebrating our anniversary. After dinner we hung out and played Phase 10 - for the record I won!!!

Saturday, July 11, 2015

 

Saturday I headed to work while Jonathan and his co-worker Anthony went golfing. When I got home from work we decided to head to the beach to grab dinner and drinks, and picked up Madeline on our way. We had a great dinner at Spazio followed by an entertaining night at Soprano's Piano Bar. #MadsAndJacks love hanging out with the #TParkerHostTwins!!

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Sunday we celebrated our anniversary - since we both had to work on Monday. The day started with delicious cinnamon buns from Publix, and a few episodes of Fixer Upper. Jonathan said I could pick the show for 2 hours since it was our anniversary :)

After exchanging out gifts, a nap, and a few hours of lounging around the house we headed to the Jeep Dealership. We traded in the old Jeep for a pretty new one! Happy Anniversary to us!

Monday, July 13, 2015

Monday marked our 2-year anniversary, and you can read my post about our celebration here. We both had to work so we headed out for a sushi dinner. Nothing fancy, but it was great fun, great conversation and a great way to celebrate our special day!!!

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

I decided to make tumblers for my family for our upcoming trip to Hilton Head. Of course, I couldn't decide on a design until the last minute and just washed the tumblers last night. I'm excited to add the vinyl design, names, and box up the cups to take with us tomorrow. I'm hoping everyone in the family is as excited about these as I am!
 
I won't be back for a weekly recap until after my vacation - so check back on July 27th for Part 1 of my Haemmerle Family Vacation Update!

Happy 2nd Anniversary

Today, July 13, 2015 is two years from the day that Jonathan and I were married! You can read about our engagement here and our wedding here to learn a little more about our story!

The past 2 years have been so much fun and I wouldn't want to spend them with anyone other than Jonathan. He is the most caring person, he always makes me laugh, keeps me sane, and is truly my best friend. As we both have to work today, we celebrated our anniversary this weekend and will continue the celebration while we are on vacation next week!

When I was trying to come up with something to get Jonathan I searched high and low and found a few ideas that I posted about here. Even though he doesn't regularly read my blog I didn't want to put what I was actually getting him up there in case he did happen to read it. As the traditional gift for the 2nd anniversary is cotton, I started off with 2 shirts and 2 pairs of shorts that he can wear all summer. I found great deals at the Factory J. Crew store and the 4 items were less than $40! I then wanted something that would last forever - and searched forever before landing on these drawings of the 4 places we have lived together. I found Laurenish Design on Etsy and she was able to draw these on cotton paper, so that I could stick with the cotton theme. I found the frames on sale at Michael's and Jonathan's anniversary gift was complete!

If you want to see some of my 2nd anniversary ideas for her, check them out here. Even though I came up with some great ideas, Jonathan did way better than I could have ever hoped for with my gifts! We have recently been playing golf and he got me two awesome golf club covers - the lady bug and sun flower. My next gift was a pair of shorts I "liked" on Facebook that he decided to purchase which was a welcome surprise. Then I opened a gift card for a hot stone massage along with the only cotton gift - a $50 to get my nails done! My final gift I opened was an amazing David Yurman necklace - Jonathan has such good taste!

As if our gifts to each other were not enough, we decided to head to the Jeep Dealership and trade in our 2013 Laredo (gray) for a new 2015 Laredo (white)! Our new Jeep has a bunch of new and upgraded features that we didn't have in the old Jeep and I am so excited this is my new car [at least for the next 39 months]!!!

We will be heading to a sushi dinner tonight, and then wrapping up our Anniversary Celebrations while we are in Hilton Head/Savannah next week!!

Friday Favorites | 4th of July Pinspiration

It's Friday and time for a link-up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for another edition of Friday Favorites! Since we are leading into the 4th of July weekend I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about my favorite 4th of July Pinspiration - see all of my Pinterest favorites here!

4th of July Looks I Love

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Having to work on the 4th requires me to find a work-appropriate outfit when I would much prefer to be in a shorts and a tank top at the beach. These are a few work appropriate outfits, along with some that are made for the beach. What are you going to be wearing this weekend?

4th of July Desserts

one | two | three | four

We have a 4th of July Cupcake Challenge at work tomorrow - and I am still undecided about how I am going to decorate mine. There are a few different options I have found to choose from - check out my Instagram tomorrow to see what I decided on! I cannot promise you that they will look as good as these pictures, but I am hoping that they will taste amazing - classic white cake is my favorite!

4th of July Appetizers

one | two | three | four | five

I could live on appetizers and never eat an entrée again. I love holidays because they often center around great food and many appetizers! Here are some fun 4th of July pinspired treats! Do you have any other suggestions for themed treats? I'd love to hear about them!

Working in the Hospitality Industry I have to work today and Saturday but have big plans for a relaxing day on Sunday. I hope that you all have a great holiday weekend with your family and friends!

Thursday Thoughts | 2nd Anniversary Gift Ideas for Her

There are both traditional and modern Anniversary Gift Guides and this is the one that I have found most places, and seems to be the one to follow! July 13, 2015 is our second wedding anniversary and I posted some great gift ideas for him here. I thought I'd post some ideas of cotton gifts that I am sure any lady would love to receive!

I have no clue what Jonathan is planning on getting for me, and since I know he doesn't read this blog I guess he will have to figure something out on his own!

Budget Gift Ideas

Pajamas | To wear while cuddling on the couch watching Netfilx!

Cotton Candy or Cotton Candy Flavored Snacks

Makeup Bag | with a monogram or message

Cotton Knot Bracelet

Vintage Map | Hand Embroidered

Splurge Gift Ideas

Mr. & Mrs. Bath Robes | Include a Gift Certificate for a Couple's Massage

Shop together for a new outfit to wear on your Anniversary Date!

Egyptian Cotton Sheets | 1200 Thread Count Sheets - Jonathan and I are obsessed with nice sheets!
Tickets to the Theatre and a beautiful dress to wear to the show

I would love to find out what you guys have gotten for your guys for your 2nd Anniversary! Let me know what other ideas you have for our guys!

Wednesday Weekly Recap | June 26 - June 30

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I know this post is a few hours later than usual, but it has been a busy week at home and at work and I'm just getting around to this update! Here's what we have been up to for the past week. 

 

Friday, June 26, 2015

 

 

Jonathan had to work late on Friday and I decided to drink a beer and watch a few episodes of Orange is the New Black. Jonathan isn't a big fan of this show, so I have to find times to watch it when he isn't around!

Saturday, June 27, 2015

 

Saturday night dinner was awesome - we headed to Zinburger. I had the Ringer with a beer and Jonathan had the Breakfast Burger with a Double Chocolate Malt and a side of mac & cheese. After dinner I had a scoop of ice cream and we headed home!

Saturday evening ended with some serious Mario Kart on the Nintendo 64. While it appears as though we were evenly matched by this picture that I put on Instagram... I have to admit that Jonathan beat me 12-4 at the end of us playing.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

 

Sunday morning started with bloody Mary's, omelets, and a few episodes of Mad Men on Netflix. We are almost done with season 4 and are slightly obsessed! We then spent couple hours at the pool and then relaxed until it cooled off a little.

We headed out to Davie Golf and Country Club for my 2nd ever round of golf. I did not do as well as I did last week, but I definitely hit some great shots. The tees were farther back this week than last week and it caused some issues because I cannot drive it very far.

 

We ended the night eating Mexican food - and it was awesome! There is nothing better than inexpensive Mexican restaurants like this one.

Monday, June 29, 2015

 

 

 As per my typical routine, I spent some time at the pool on Monday. I also did a bunch of laundry, cleaned my house, got my nails done and read half a book! I would say it was a very successful day off!



Tuesday, June 30, 2015

 

On Tuesday I headed to Publix after work to find something to eat - and this salad was being prepared by the Publix Aprons associate. I bought everything, brought it home and made the salad. Jonathan and I loved it, and it will definitely be a menu staple this month!

I will be back next Wednesday and I hope to see you then!