birthday love

hello lovely,
well birthday week is officially over.  i felt so much love this week from all of my family and friends. thanks to everyone for the well wishes. my husband was extra sweet and took great care to make sure my birthday was special. i had dinner with family,  a trip to the drive-in with friends, a day at Dollywood, and saw Monsters University! i have several things to look forward to this year: joining a new team at work, going to the beach with my family, celebrating two years with my husband, one last wedding for the year, my friends welcoming their first child, and the first ever Fly Free Festival put on by some other dear friends. looks like my late 20's won't be so bad.
xoxo,
alyssa renee

*Dollywood photos courtesy of my friend Maddy

10 on 10

happy anniversary to us!

my friend amanda suggested i do a "10 on 10" post since the 10th is our anniversary. so here it goes, 10 things from our 1st wedding anniversary celebration. the first one is my gift to Niles. the traditional gift for the first year is paper, so i had the lovely Kelsey Roy make this sweet watercolor caricature of our family as of year one. she is so talented! niles and i can't stop looking at it. it is a treasure that will hang in our home always.

1 our family as of year one

2 the angel oak tree

3 my anniversary gift from Niles

4 my card to Niles by oh my deer

5 brunch

6 complementary strawberries and champagne

7 charleston pier

8 dear god make me a bird

9 our rings 1 year later

10 beach day

snapshots

hello lovely,
well it's been over a week since we returned from our grand european vacation. i figured it was time to check back in on the ol' blog. we had such an amazing adventure. so many beautiful sites with even more beautiful people. we were so blessed to experience such love from our ulster family. honestly, it was so wonderful being with them i wish we would have stayed there longer. london was expensive but one of the best cities i've visited yet. and we got to go to the harry potter studio tour! amazing! then we spent a lovely few nights with some friends from home in paris. honestly that city would have been a bust without them. (not a big paris fan) then ashley and i got to spend some quality time in munich and salzburg. it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. i took over 500 photos so this it was hard to slim them down. i hope they inspire you to make the time to get out of your everyday routine and experience something new. it is well worth it.
xoxo,
alyssa renee

a dream come true

the most wonderful time of the spring approaches

hello lovely,
well it is almost that time again... the clinch river spring antique festival is May 4-5th! twice a year downtown clinton is filled with tents upon tents of thrifted treasures. last fall we got a group of girls together to attend and i am so excited to see who all comes out for the spring fest. i have to keep myself under control this year so i'm making a list of specific vintage pieces i really want. i will TRY and avoid pyrex & broaches but i make no promises.
here are a few must have items for me this year.
xoxo,
alyssa renee

PS
baby shower pics coming soon!

a sassy yellow wall phone for my kitchen

a danish modern sideboard

small bookshelf for our living room

fun assorted plates for my kitchen plate wall

owl napkin holder... or maybe i just want to buy this one!

source: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.