product love: bakers twine

THIS JUST IN: bakers twine
i always check crate and barrel for bakers twine because a.) i use bakers twine for EVERYTHING. our save the dates, invitations, wedding programs were all wrapped in this red & white striped goodness. and that's not including any dessert i make, cards, presents... the possibilities are literally endless. and so is this spool. and b.) this is THE BEST DEAL i have ever found. you get 2,300ft for $9.99... you can NOT beat that. i dare you to try. go on etsy and you have to save for a month just to afford a couple yards. this is the buy of the year if you are crafty & order fast because quantities are always limited.. they sell out quickly & it is so worth it. (i purchased a spool two years ago and am no where near the end)  enjoy & you're welcome :)

click here to purchase

images via crate & barrel

cape hatteras, NC

the island that we stayed on in the outer banks hosts the cutest white & black striped lighthouse. there is so much history & so much attraction to this landmark & we had to check it out. for mary's wedding i painted a picture of this exact lighthouse, so pulling up to it in real life was a trip. it was so neat to see the details that you can only grasp in person. the pictures don't do it justice. this lighthouse is enormous. we had fun with minna taking pictures, being silly, soaking in the sunshine & that view. after, we hit up the most adorable book store where i purchased a journal to start writing in. something i've been wanting to do for a long time. if you are ever in the area, there are three things you must do: the lighthouse, the bookstore, & a bakery called Orange Blossom that makes a pastry/donut/apple pie dessert called "ugly apple" that we ate every morning. delish.

over the past week...

i was given the most gorgeous sunflowers from a celebration 

for my mother's cousin who passed

(this flower has important significance in our family)

i hopped in the car for a 12 hour road trip with my husband

that mostly looked like this

after 6 hours we stopped in virginia to see our friend brian

and the two of them had a ball catching up

6 more hours later, we arrived at our hotel

with a view that overlooked the ocean... perfection

we went to the beach everyday

and had our favorite spot

that allowed for some serious soaking up of sunshine

& bonfires at night

we ate the famous "apple uglies" for breakfast

& sundaes for dessert

i found a store with checkerboard flooring... obsessed

bonded with my college friends

 got ready for my best friend's wedding

and had an absolute blast!

this week was full of the best "mini" vacation we've ever been on. we left wednesday morning, stopped at the hospital for a check up (the wound is closing!! yippee!), made it in record time to virginia for dinner with our friend Brian, who used to be in the coast guard with pete. we then made the journey down to OBX & pulled into the parking lot at midnight. we were greeted by the bride & groom with beers waiting & serious "i missed you" hugs. we all slept in the next morning & spent the day on the beach & exploring the island... friday my other roomies came into town & we visited the lighthouse (post coming later), went to dinner, ice cream, & drinks. and then the next morning it was go time. we got ready for a windy day on the water for the most beautiful wedding ever. i got to sneak in and see mary before she walked down the aisle & the girl was as cool as a cucumber in her robe, sipping champagne. we are so honored to have watched the two of them become husband & wife & couldn't be happier for them.

after a non-stop drive back this morning we are back in CT and are wiped out by the fire watching football. hope you all had a fabulous week & weekend!

shake it like a polaroid picture

SO, there is this app & it makes your photos look like polaroids...  pretty genius. below are pics from the family gathering this past weekend.THEN, i took some of my favorite photos of pete and i, and turned them into pretty polaroids. AND THEN, i even turned some of our wedding photos... SO FUN! i am way too obsessed with this app. it is called ShakeItPhoto & it is pretty fancy in my book.

my cousins chris & steph + kisses for my little brother

  & my great aunt, mom, & bonnie

wedding photos originally taken by krisrae

road trip

and we are off to outer banks for a weekend of sun, fun, & wedding bliss. can't wait to see my college roommates + friends. but to be quite honest, i am kind of excited to take a 12 hour road trip with my husband. i can't sit yet due to my surgery, so flying was out of the question... so we are packing up my trusty jeep & heading down for what will be a fantastic road trip full of fast food, frequent stops to see our friends in various states, good playlists, & feet up on the dashboard... destination: Buxton, NC.