~a tale of 2 redheads~

Guess where I went today?

Emily's house!

A good friend, who is also one of Emily's blog admirers, stalkers,

and I made a road trip to visit her and her lovely family.

Her house is even more amazing in person, and her family is super sweet.

Every room has their own personal stamp on it, and every room is unique in it's own way.

It couldn't have been a more perfect day.

Thank you Emily for opening up your home to us and for the yummy lunch!

xoxo

~our weekend in photos~

One thing I love about camping, or just getting away from familiar surroundings, 

is all the neat stuff you see along the way. 

My poor husband, I made him pull over so many times so I could take pictures.

It was a great weekend, full of sun, friends, good food, and many laughs!

xoxo

~I survived~

This is not my typical Saturday.

However my evil friend Hillary 

{on the left}

always seems to talk me into these things.

I'm actually glad I did this survivor obstacle course, it was a lot of fun, and like I said, something I wouldn't normally do. 

If you are not frightened off by my no makeup face, covered in mud self, read on....

I survived the cargo wall of wrath....

 the muddy log jammer where you had to go over and under each log....

 the mayhem of mud.....

this one was the worst because there was enormous holes you couldn't see and you would lose footing and go up to your face in mud at any random time.

 mossy marsh madness......

 and the muddy bog battle.

And just to paint a picture for you.....

it rained the whole time, there was a long run in between the 14 obstacles and our shoes weighed at least  5 40  pounds, and FYI, it took me 3 showers to get all the crud out of my hair.

What did you do this weekend?

xoxo

~3 lucky girls~

~Warning~

LONG post! 

So, as you may or may not know, my good friend Jodi and I went to California recently to visit this dear friend {the gorgeous Maria on the right}

On Friday, the day after flying in, we headed to Sonoma for a little antiquing.

We ended up at the most fabulous shop, Chateau Sonoma where we were greeted by the owner and glasses of wine.

We browsed for hours and sat in the sun sipping wine and talking.

Sarah, the lovely owner invited us back to her house for a little gala and we agreed.

Well, we had no idea we were going to be in for such a treat!

It turns out Sarah's house is used for a lot of the Pottery Barn catalog and Internet photo shoots. 

You can read about it here.

She was so sweet and let me take lots of photos and even opened up her home to us for the night.

So, here we are, and I'm about to take you on a fabulous tour of the most gorgeous house in Sonoma!

Her farmhouse was built in 1875 and they have renovated it but kept in keeping with the period.

Here is their kitchen complete with soapstone counter tops and Annie Sloan Chalk paint 

painted cabinets.

She mixes in antiques everywhere. 

They are breathtaking.

I must get myself one of these dish drying racks!

Everything was pretty neutral, but there was pops of color here and there.

To die for if you ask me!

You can tell they really use all the items on the counter on a daily basis.

Now, onto the living room. It sits just to the right of the entry.

The whole home is filled with floor to ceiling windows and plenty of light comes streaming in.

I heart this coffee table.

And, this lamp.

Looking at it from a different angle.

Opposite the living room, just to the left of the entry is Sarah's den.

Jumping to the master bath.

Details, details, details!

I never thought to fold my wash cloths into triangles!

Antique French lighting.

And antique French baskets.

Check out that floor!

I believe this was in a guest bedroom.

The entry.

The upstairs hallway to the bedrooms.

A sitting area in the upstairs hall.

This was in the entry to the master bedroom.

I did take photos but am leaving those out for their privacy.

Looking into the master bedroom.

This grand birdcage was in a guest room decorated in a vintage circus theme.

Same room, a little vignette on the dresser.

This enormous birdcage sat right outside one of the porches.

There is 5 acres of perfectly manicured grounds.

Just to the left is the pool where a lot of the Pottery Barn outdoor shots are taken.

Thanks for coming along on the tour.

I will be back tomorrow to show you the dining room in this home!

See you then!

xoxo

~they met in preschool~

And yesterday they graduated 6th grade together.

It was a very nice little ceremony, and I couldn't be prouder of the both of them.

13 kids were nominated for student of the year, a big honor at our school.

All the teachers vote and the winner gets his/her name on a plaque displayed at the school.

Jordyn {left} and Savannah {right} were both nominated and Jordyn actually won!

We are so proud of these girls!

I feel like it was yesterday that they were making play dough creations in preschool together.

Now they are off to Jr. High.......

xoxo