summer begins

We just returned from our first vacation this summer to the beach. We went to Destin, Florida and had a blast! The weather was perfect - sunny skies the entire time. It was hot but we had our umbrella so we had some relief from the sun. I was really worried that the oil spill would ruin our trip but the beaches were beautiful and filled with people. We ate plenty of seafood and the restaurants seem to be doing really well.

The beach at sunset, so pretty.

Danny and I on the way to dinner the first night at the Whale's Tail.

We setup a little oasis with an umbrella, chairs and a cooler.

Waiting for dinner one night on the beach.

Dinner at the Whale's Tail

My friend Brannon from college met us in Destin - we hadn't seen each other in over a year! We had so much fun.

Beautiful beach

On the beach the first day

There were schools of sting rays that kept swimming up near the shore and crowds of people were gathering to get a closer look...

Danny and people on the beach checking out the sting rays - you can barely see them in this picture but it is the dark shadow in the water in front of them.

The water felt great.

He literally insisted that I bury him - haha.

Hanging out at AJ's one night.

This trip was a great way to start the summer. I'm looking forward to a couple of really hot months here in Mississippi.

my fair house - part 3

Here are a few of my favorite things.

I love this summer wreath on our front door. I had it made by Leah at the Pine Cone and she always does a wonderful job.

I feel like I can at least leave this up until fall.

I also love this centerpiece I had made by Petals and Pails in Ridgeland. It's two silk orchids wrapped around bamboo.

This is my china cabinet that I inherited from my grandmother, Nannie. The dishes with flowers were a wedding gift from Danny's parents and they were handpainted in Costa Rica. The other dishes were Nannie's and I love them. I love how full the cabinets look.

And finally, this is an antique mirror that we got recently from the local Antique Mall on Highway 51 in Ridgeland. It is hanging in our entry way next to the front door.

At the moment, these are my favorite things. :)

show us your life - baby names

This week at Kelly's the tour is favorite baby names. I LOVE THIS! Even though Danny and I agree that we are waiting to have kids for at least five more years, we talk about names we like often. I love the idea of using family names, maiden names - anything that has a personal meaning. Sentimental names are so sweet.

Growing up I aways knew what I would name my children; I doodled names on my notebooks, in my journal, literally everywhere. My favorite girl name was Ashlyn Jade (my sister's name is Ashley and my mother's name is Lynn = Ashlyn). I've outgrown this a bit and don't really like Jade anymore. I still like Ashlyn. My favorite boy names were Brooklyn Thomas and Roman Stribling; they would go by Brooks and Stribling. Danny hates all of these so we've started over with our "favorites" list.

Danny and I both want a Spanish name and an English name for each child. He loves Marley Victoria or Marley Isabella for a girl. My middle name is Victoria and we both think Isabella is so pretty, but she would just go by Marley. Now I'm starting to think that Marley is a little too common - it's just so popular right now that I'm hearing it all the time. Here are some other family names that we like:

Adela (Danny's grandmother's middle name)
Lilliana (Danny's grandmother's name)
Samuel (my dad's name)
Tyler (my brother's name)
Iris (Danny's grandmother's name)

I really like the name Kylan Samuel for a boy. I also love Gabriel and Micah. For a girl my new favorite is Adela Bay. All of these names are first and middle but they would just go by the first name.

We both agree that Isabella is just beautiful. Ok, enough rambling, here are my absolute, top favorites (in no particular order):

Isabella Bay
Kylan Samuel
Adela Bay
Gabriel Tyler
Samuel Gage
Carolina Iris (pronounced Caro-leena)
Adelina Bay
Micah Samuel

What are your favorite baby names?