Favorites from our pregnancy announcement beach shoot

Sharing my favorites from our beach shoot a few weeks ago! We wanted to have pictures taken while we were down at Edisto Beach, a beautiful and old-fashioned type of beach destination. It's a special place to Alex, as he grew up going there every summer with his grandparents, and it's become dear to me, too.

Easter Sunday

After a last-minute decision, we spent Easter with my in-laws and I'm so glad we did! They originally had other plans and we didn't really have any plans, so it just came together the day before to spend the holiday together. 

Let's be honest: when you're not a kid and you don't have kids, Easter plans aren't usually elaborate or all that exciting. Maybe next year will be different, but we had a low key Easter in 2015 and it was really nice! 

We spent Saturday night with A's parents and caught up with them out at dinner.  Then we went to church on Sunday, followed by a delectable brunch at one of our favorite restaurants in their town. Afterwards we went back to my in-laws' house and watched the junior Masters Drive-Chip-Putt championships on the Golf Channel - those kids are so cute!! - for some quality time before heading back to Columbia. 

It was a quick trip but definitely worth it! So thankful for family and especially that He Lives! 

xo

KH

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living, just because He lives

Five on Friday

Ladies, I am in Sunny (or rainy...) Florida right now! I'm visiting my family for a few days in my hometown and it's so nice to be with them. I seriously cherish the time I get to spend with them, especially my grandparents - sometimes living a few states away is tough! In just going to soak up as much love and Vitamin D as I can this weekend! 

One. I'm here right now. Home.

Two. Back in my actual home, we've had some nice days lately and A and I have been able to play with the dogs in our yard. I even got a little sunburned last weekend! And then the next day it was cold and rainy again: go figure. 

Three. I've had a breakthrough in the kitchen: I will never boil eggs again! A friend told me about this trick and it's so easy, it will blow your mind. Place eggs directly on oven rack (put a cookie sheet on the rack below juuuuuust in case one breaks), turn oven in to 325 and set time for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, put the eggs into an ice bath and voila! Perfect hard boiled eggs without the guessing game! 

Four. I spent two days this week watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt until there was nothing left to watch. Another Netflix win!!

 

Five. I switched my closet from winter to spring (Penny helped, naturally). We're not out of the winter woods yet but I had to have something to wear in Florida! And it won't be long until South Carolina is scorching, y'all! 

Happy Friday! 

xo

KH

Linking up with

 April, Christina, Natasha and Darci! 

Weekending and GSD

Sometimes, you need a weekend to GSD (get sh-t done). While this wasn't necessarily the most productive weekend I've ever had, I do feel that I crossed a lot of my "to-do but don't want to" list.

My Fridays are now all about errands. I try it do all of my essential errand-running for the week on Friday when the masses are at work. Yoga, meeting the pest control guy, groceries, pharmacy, post office - all that fun stuff. 

Friday night Alex and I had a date night in: he grilled steaks and asparagus, I made GF Mac and cheese, and we had some yummy wine while watching Mockingjay Part 1 (finally). I read the trilogy several years ago so I'm a little fuzzy on the details: was it similar to the book, or did it deviate? All I know is they are milking this Hunger Games franchise for all it's worth. I thought the movie was alright and I'm glad we waited to Redbox it instead of spending a small fortune by going to see it in the theatre. 

Saturday I got up and went to yoga in the morning while A packed up, readying himself for two back-to-back tournaments with the team. I swear I won't see him until April. Okay, not quite, but it feels like it. March is by far the busiest month of the year for collegiate golf which means I'm single-dog-momming it for awhile. 

After Alex left, I decided to work in the yard since the weather was absolutely gorgeous. What was going to be a quick rake turned into practically a backyard overhaul. I guess I was feeling motivated, because I ended up hauling about 15 wheelbarrow loads of leaves and such to the curb and before I knew it, I'd been at it for 3 hours. A warning, ladies: 90 minutes of hot yoga followed by 3 hours of intense yard work will leave you dehydrated. Fortunately we had some Gatorade so I avoided the worst (I know - that was really, really stupid not to drink enough water out there. Lesson learned). 

in case you needed to see my giant pile of  yard trash

After attacking the back yard, the girls and I watched THREE movies on Netflix. Three. In a row. I never, ever sit down and watch movies while doing nothing else and it was quite nice to relax with some wine.

maybe I should say that I watched movies - the girls napped. 

Penny is looking might dapper! Me notsomuch

Sunday was another errand and house stuff day. Like a fool, I'd made an appointment for Penny to be groomed Sunday morning at 9, not even thinking that it would be extra tough to get up because of the time change. So we - Penny and I - struggled to get out of bed and bust it up to PetSmart by 9. I thought I'd hang out near there until she was done because there are a lot of stores in that area. Another poor choice - nothing opens before 11 on Sunday. So instead I spent some quality time with my iPad in Panera.

In the P.M. I sweated my butt off at yoga and was energized after my class so I decided to handwash my car (added incentive: it was warm and sunny! A perfect day).

Sunday evening was spent updating all my clocks in my house - a task that takes 5 minutes but is such a pain, honestly. I was also preparing for the next two work weeks which will be pretty grueling by knocking out some personal to-do's (bills, ordering wedding gifts, etc) so I wouldn't be tempted to do that stuff at work. I love when I get to work on Monday feeling ahead of the game, don't you?

xo
KH

The couple that jumps together stays together

I just love when Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday! It just makes for so many good options for having a memorable love day. This year, Alex made dinner reservations at an awesome restaurant that we'd been wanting to try since we moved to Columbia. Since he made plans for the evening, I told him not to make any plans on Saturday morning because I had a special date in mind.

Getting ready to get our jump on!

Face it: nothing says "I love you" like a a trip to the trampoline park! I'd been only one other time with my work peeps, but A had never been. As you can imagine, the place was crawling with kids. And we were definitely the only adults there who were not supervising their children. Luckily, our "flight time" was early - 10:30 - before the absolute gaggles of children arrived. However I still managed to knock down one small child. (Gotta learn at a young age to stay in your own trampoline square, kid!)

Taking it back to my cheerleading days

A trampoline makes you feel like a kid. Very therapeutic!

Catching our breath

Free jumping: so fun!

After we jumped for a solid 40 minutes, we were wiped! It is a huge workout that will leave you out of breath. Or maybe that's just me...at any rate, I was sore the next day in my shoulders of all places! Even though our tickets allowed us to jump for an hour, 40 minutes did it for us! We left just as dozens of kids were piling in - good timing!

We grabbed a post-workout (since that's what it felt like) lunch and did some errands before heading home. Our dinner reservations were early (6pm) since A had to leave earrrrrrrrrly on Sunday morning to go to Florida on a recruiting trip. We laid around the house and recovered from our jump session until it was time to head to dinner

Columbia skyline from across the river, where the restaurant was

Dinner at Terra was absolutely divine and mad props to my husband for calling more than a month in advance to get us reservations! You don't understand: we've tried to eat at Terra several times for different special occasions, and we've either tried to go on a day they were closed or we couldn't get reservations. So the hubs didn't take any chances, and I'm glad he didn't!

When we came home from dinner, we opened gifts and toasted to each other: prosecco for me, espresso for him.

And of course, Valentine's Day wouldn't be complete with snuggles from Penny and Ellie. These girls make me smile every day, and nothing makes me feel more loved than when they greet me at the door!

Alex and I had such a fun day together. I love that we both planned parts of our date day, and the fact that it was Valentine's Day made it even more special. So blessed to have a husband that is not only my Valentine, but my best friend.

xo
KH

Valentine's Day is for lovers

V-Day. Love Day. Single Awareness Day. February 14. Whatever you call it, I love Valentine's Day as (sometimes) overrated, (almost always) cheesy, and (often) expensive as it can be. I love that it is a day dedicated to celebrating those you love. And the flowers and candy don't hurt, either. 

Here are five things that will make Valentine's Day 2015 extra sweet:

ONE. Dress up in a cute date night outfit

I am so excited and VERY impressed that my husband got Valentine's reservations a full month ahead of time. Way to go, hubs. You get an A++ just for the planning! We're going to a restaurant that we've been wanting to try since we moved here 18 months ago. It's not a super, extra fancy place - not many places in Columbia are - but I still want to get a little dressed up and wearing pink and/or red is a must!

Valentine's Day by klhamilton featuring kate spade jewelry

TWO. Make a decadent dessert, like this flourless chocolate cake

Because when you're gluten-free and want V-day baked goods, it does not get any better than this! I found a recipe on Pinterest for a flourless chocolate cake and I made a few tweaks and came up with this one. You can easily double it for a "normal" size cake - but this one will make it just the right size for two (and still have some leftover). 

Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 2 TB Sugar
• 10 oz. 60% cocoa chocolate chips (like Ghirardelli)
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 TB cocoa powder

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat the HECK out of the 5 eggs. If you have a stand mixer, beat them on medium-high for 5 minutes (just set the timer and walk away: let that Kitchenaid do its thang). When the 5 minutes are up, add the sugar and beat until mixed. Meanwhile, line a springform pan with a round of parchment paper in the bottom and grease the sides with butter. Melt the butter and chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between each time. Once melted and smooth, add the cocoa powder. Then, fold egg mixture into chocolate mixture slowly until mixed (but don't get too aggressive with the mixing). Pour into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. After it cools, flip onto a platter. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. SO EASY and so delicious!

THREE. Know your Love Language

Alex and I never have read this book, and what better time of year to do it? We just did the assessment to figure out our love languages and it's really eye-opening! I highly recommend!

FOUR. Make the house feel festive

Love is in the air when you've got an XOXO banner across the hearth. And fun Valentine-y candles. And a big bowl of Hershey's Hugs and Kisses. And y'all know by now that I love me some throw pillows. I switch them out for different holidays and seasons - it makes me happy! 

FIVE. Dress up your dog

You can't help but feel the love when this little cupid shows off a "Little Valentine" shirt (which has gotten a little more snug over the years...) or a heart sweater. Penny has some great wardrobe options for Valentine's Day!

And with that, I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with a lot of love. Take the time to tell a single friend that you think they're amazing. Call your grandpa and tell him you love him. Text your brother. Take your pup for a walk. Send a stranger a smile. Share the love!

xo

KH

Linking up with

 April, Christina, Natasha and Darci! 

Five on Friday afternoon

What a week! I feel like death warmed over right now. The hubs brought a sickness into our home earlier in the week and I was hoping to escape it. But yesterday in the middle of an all-day work event, I felt that telltale tickle in the back of my throat. Now I'm pounding the OJ and Airborne but I think it's too late. Hopefully this thing will not ruin my weekend! 

One. Last weekend, I reorganized my tops using a trick I've always wanted to try: hanging items backwards until you wear them, then hanging them back up normally in order to see what you did and didn't wear over a given time period. I started this on February 1 and I'm going to give it to April 1, at which time I'll probably be switching everything out for spring anyway. I bet I'll be surprised at how many things I didn't wear over 2 months! Which will tell me what to get rid of. So cleansing! 

Two. We gave the girls new collars for Christmas and recently swapped out their old ones for the new ones. I love them but...do they look like bowties instead of bows?? I had this moment of "Oh crap! Did I buy BOY collars??" Ha! Anyway, theyre still cute and the black and white is so posh on my little lovelies. 

Three. I had a work event for one of my clients yesterday in Charleston and it was on a boat. Yes. On a boat. A meeting, panel discussion, tour of the Port and then...a booze cruise. It was awesome. The sunlight was gorgeous and it was so nice to be out on the water! 

Four. I am so happy to report that I am making progress of my overall goal for 2015 - "Stress less, relax more" - by hiring a housecleaner!!! **Happy Dance** I came home on Wednesday to a sparkling home that smelled amazing and I wasn't the one who cleaned it. This was the first time I've ever hired a cleaner and it was worth every dime. Plus, she is a super nice person whom the pups love :) She'll be coming once a month. I can already tell this is going to be a very smart investment. 

Five. Alex gave me Bean Boots for Christmas, but apparently thousands of other people gave them as gifts too because Bean Boots were so ridiculously popular this year, there's a huge backorder. Alex knew they were backordered (until March!) when he ordered them (in December!). But the Best Customer Service award goes to LLBean, who sent us this teeny, tiny, cutest-thing-I-ever-did-see Bean Boot with a letter explaining that they appreciated our patience while they worked to produce my boots. How great is that?! Customer for life right here! 

That's all, folks. Hope you have a wonderful weekend and that I don't spend mine on the couch in sickness!

xo
KH

Linking up with

 April, Christina, Natasha and Darci!