A Little Life Lately...

Happy Friday, all! I've dropped the ball lately on recapping the weekend and sharing favorites. I wish I did more on this little blog of mine, but I'm in a lazy phase and can't seem to muster up the energy to do much else. In the meantime, I definitely want to keep documenting my favorite things and weekends...

MUST start off this "life lately/favorites" post with some faves from my girlfriend's wedding a few weeks ago.

Starting off with some "details" shots I took during the rehearsal...

They had a little Polaroid station set up so guests could take pictures, stick one in their guestbook and take the other one home. Such a cute idea--Sammy and I have ours on our fridge :)

A little blurry, pre-glam shot with the bride :)

I played Exploding Kittens with her niece while we waited to be called for hair and makeup. I know people are super into this game, but I couldn't follow the directions for shitttt I tell you.

And then we were called to makeup ;)

I got to do her older niece's makeup and I've never been happier in my life.

Our gorgeous, gorgeous bride.

Wedding ready with my love.

Alicia got us these gorgeous robes as part of our bridesmaid gift.

SO gorgeous, I can't even talk about it.

I loved wearing this bridesmaid dress--it was so fun and on "theme."

Her nieces were flower girls and wore the sweetest floral wreathes in their hair.

And then my guy showed up, looking dapper as ever.

& my momma!

& I can hardly believe these two celebrated their one year anniversary a week before this.

Sweetest, sweetest. Such a fun day and night. & now I'm exceedingly jealous of all their honeymoon pictures ;) the MOST deserved.

*

It's definitely the season for family parties. We have multiple parties each day on the weekends these days. We've had graduation parties... (which was larger than my girlfriend's wedding the day before #italians)

With these parties comes a lot of niece time and it's the best. (Look at how sweet the back of her dress was!)

Sammy's cousin threw a combo graduation party for her daughter who graduated from 8th grade and her son who graduated from high school and it was so fun. 

They have an enormous yard with a ton of space for games, a trampoline, and to light fireworks. 

This is just one side of Sammy's mom's family haha

We've also had (Hello Kitty themed) first birthday parties...

My cousin even dyed the pasta salad pink in order to be on theme ;)

Best part: they had an ice cream truck stop by

Which we obviously enjoyed

*

Taking a break from family updates and favorites...

Disney is doing a collab with Toms and they're releasing new designs each month of the summer. I knew I wanted Cinderella ones 'cause she's my ultimate and was so excited when they came in a few weeks ago. I chose the pattern that showed her dress progression because it's my favorite scene in the movie. I wouldn't normally buy shoes with a seemingly busy pattern like this, but up close, the illustrations are so gorgeous and a slight departure from the movie's animation. They're really pretty and fun and I love them.

Also, the cutest detail: Jac and Gus Gus on the soles of each shoe! 

I made this Tuscan Chicken and Sammy went nuts for it. You're supposed to serve potatoes with it but I had to improvise when I realized we didn't have any left. I threw in a steamer bag of the Birdseye lentil and zucchini pasta and called it a day.

I also made this creamy sausage tortellini and I think it was Sammy's favorite meal I've made so far. It's like six ingredients, so it'll definitely be on repeat with us.

We hung floating shelves over the couch a few weeks ago, and by "we" I mean Sammy. I'm obsessed with them and will definitely post a picture when they're all decorated.

I had my family over for the Fourth and we started the day with lunch from Tommy's. Apologies to my brother for the action shot.

After lunch, my mom and I started on our painting-the-worst-why-do-they-make-these-bathroom-cabinets project.

Despite the kit we bought being super user friendly, each step required a minimum of an hour wait time in between, so after our first step, I came down to get some apps ready. 

I swear the table looked so much nicer at the beginning of the meal (and people looked so much happier than they appear here...) We served hotdogs, hamburgers, tamales, baked beans, potato salad, and Frito corn salad.

As I've said a million times before, I love having my family over. Nothing makes me happier. My dad called me later that night and said, "Geez, we were over at your house for longer than Sammy's entire shift...that's obnoxious!" haha and I said no, it's not, please move in ;) 

Because we have terrible lighting in our bathroom, this picture doesn't do the charcoal color justice, but we're happy so far with how they're turning out! Now we just gotta get those walls painted...

Last week I met my dad for some dinner and driving practice and we had the best night together. Just love that guy.

I discovered that there was a possibility our favorite Mexican restaurant had a sister restaurant in Island Lake only ten minutes from our new house in Crystal Lake, so we decided to check it out to see if it compared. It's exactly the same and I'm equally thrilled and concerned for my health that it's so close to me.

Chelsie came over last Friday so she could finally see our house and she brought the sweetest Trader Joe's "care package" with all my favorite things :) she's the best.

It was the BEST weather on Friday, so we took a bunch of snacks outside and hung out on the patio for a few hours catching up.

Sufficiently stuffed with snacks, we headed over to Julie Ann's for some custard. This was my first time going since we moved to Crystal Lake and I will definitely be back. I got the salted caramel Oreo concrete and I'm in love.

We came back to the house with our custard and watched several episodes of New Girl before my girl headed home.

 I spent the rest of the evening putting the finishing coat on the vanity in our second bathroom and am ready to be done with this project (and those floors) haha.

Sammy is in South Carolina with all his guy friends this weekend, so we've been trying to clean out our fridge this week since neither of us will be home (I'm staying by my momma's), which means eating a lot of leftovers, hence one of my favorite--albeit not very appetizing looking--lunches: baked beans, hotdogs, and tamales. It sounds weird but it's SO good.

We celebrated Sammy's grandpa's 81st birthday recently and it was such a nice day. He's been suffering with some health complications, so it's always wonderful to spend time with him.

Baby saying hi to the baby :) a huge favorite is getting to see this gorgeous woman's bump growing. Can't wait to meet that baby boy in only a month!

 And we showed Eliana the grapes by Nonno's house ;)

Recently gotten into the site "Nextdoor" like the 67 year old that I am. But seriously I feel like the selection of stuff people are selling on there is just better than on OfferUp or Craigslist. I found this desk for $40! I love the details on it and can't wait to use it. I'm also thrilled to have finally found SOLID WOOD shelves for our library on this site too! Hopefully picking those up sometime this weekend as well.

We celebrated my momma's birthday last night by going to a dive bar near my house (her request) and having cake and presents by me. I got her the marble rolling pin from Crate and Barrel and an adult Peanuts (she loves Snoopy) coloring book ;)

Turtle Supreme custard cake from Julie Ann's since I'm obsessed now

*

That's all for me!

I have my cousin's rehearsal dinner tonight and the wedding is tomorrow! Other than picking up those shelves, I'm looking to do some relaxing on Sunday.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

xo