Tuesday, November 25, 2014

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things | Stocking Stuffers

 
One | A cup of Starbucks has never let me down. This simple gift makes me so happy!

Two | My mom, sissy, and I love us some Benefit. So many fave blushes of mine all in this holiday value set. Plus, it's called "Cheeky Sweet Spot." Even better!

Three | Hi, my name is Elise and I'm having a baby girl. #givemeallthebowsintheworld But yeah...I'll take one of everything from Willow Crowns, please. And matching headbands with my little?! Double please. [All pics above from the @willowcrowns - follow them!]
 
 Cheers to the little things!


Monday, November 24, 2014

Baby Houston's Gender Reveal

I have a confession to make. I've known who this little babe is since last Tuesday afternoon.
Due to a little miscommunication/honest mistake about the reveal being for us too and not just for family...I found out on Tuesday afternoon via email. It quickly became something we could laugh about. So Mark and I enjoyed our secret for half a week of just the two of us "knowing" our baby. We kept on with the reveal for our family, of course. For this reason, I let my sweet Mimi and Papaw cut the cake to reveal their first great-grandchild. I adore my sweet grandparents (and feel incredibly blessed to have them here to celebrate!), so having them do the honor was a priceless and precious moment for me. Since we knew, we got to fully soak in everyone else's reactions.

So now that the beans are spilled and you know that we 've known....let's get on with the fun stuff!

Pure deliciousness by Kathy Allen

From working out (beside the Food Babe, hello awesome day!) to picking up our cake from our precious wedding cake baker turned friend, Kathy Allen. No one would ever put as much love into this cake as she did!

Family votes were given!

Cutting the cake! Mark and I manned the camera and the FaceTime.

It's a girl!
Nancy Hope Houston, we love you!

My sweet hubby and his three girls.
Marky has been making Amelia sing, "GIRL HOUSE, GIRL HOUSE!" this week.

Skyping with Grandma Scotland across the pond to tell her about her namesake.

Bring on the pink...and all the bows in the world.

My best friend from childhood, Ashley, came over straight from the airport. It meant the absolute world to me to have here there!


Maybe everything did not go perfectly according to plan with us finding out, but you know what? It's okay. Nancy's name means "grace." I love how she is already reminding us to show grace. I have always struggled with the need for control, and I know a baby forces you to give that up in many ways. So thanks, little one, for already teaching me that lesson. Surrender control to Him. Embrace life. Live joyfully.

Simultaneously (making the day EVEN BETTER!), God so perfectly timed the birth of our best friends' daughter, Harper Charlotte Hoidal. (Remember how I was wishing this would happen from my post on Friday?! I wanted Mark and I both to be in town so badly!) Mallory went into labor early Saturday morning (her due date!), so I woke up that morning to a text from 2am about the Hoidals not making it to the gender reveal. Of course I burst into tears of joy and went to wake up everyone in the house to tell them the news. Harper was born at 12:57pm the day of our gender reveal. God's perfect timing indeed.

FaceTiming with Mal circa 7:15am from the delivery room (before she started pushing, don't worry)!!
And yes, I'm wearing my mama's Hanna Anderson Christmas pajamas. :)

Meeting our goddaughter, Harper Charlotte, at the hospital.

Then the best surprise of all happened--we were given the honor of becoming Harper's godparents. Wow. I'm still soaking in that good gift! Mark and I are in awe of little Harper and cannot wait to bring her best friend into the world in 5 short months. Mal and Kyle, we love y'all so much! We are so blessed to have friends like the Hoidals that we can always "do life" beside.

What a weekend. What a wonderful, wonderful weekend filled with overflowing joy!
 
Nancy Hope Houston...arriving this April!
 

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Her Name


It's 5:47 AM as I begin writing this post back home in Charlotte, and I've been tossing and turning since 4. I think I'm too happy to fall back asleep. I wanted to share a little about our daughter(!!!)'s name. I've always been very into names and their meanings, so it is certain that this little girl has a name that is very special and meaningful to us.

Nancy 
Means "grace."
Our Nancy is named after Mark's paternal grandmother, so we are bringing another Nancy Houston into the world! She is an 89-year-young (seriously--she still gives historical tours at an old manor house near her home) Englishwoman living in Scotland who you could never forget upon meeting her. She's just that sort of person. I am sure that all of our friends and family who had the honor of meeting her over our wedding weekend remember precisely who she is! Clocking in at under 5 feet tall, she is one of the daintiest, sweetest, most well-spoken, smartest, loveliest women I have ever met. It is our honor to carry on her name through our daughter.


 I love this picture of Mark and Grandma from our rehearsal dinner!

Hope
Means "hope" - obviously. :)
Nancy's middle name is "Hope," after my little sister. Hope and I have one of those sisterly bonds that almost transcends our own understanding. We just "get" each other like no one else. Hope has undoubtedly lived out and given life to her name though her story (which you might know about as I've written lots about her). My sissy is one of the bravest, strongest, most inspiring women I have ever met; simultaneously, she is sensitive, tenderhearted, and painfully hilarious. I know she and this baby will have one of the most special bonds.


Though this picture isn't compete without my beautiful mum-in-law in it, 
I love that it has both of our daughter's namesakes as well as my mom and Mimi.
Baby Nancy is already so blessed to have these women in her life!

Romans 5:1-2 ESV

 
I'll be back tomorrow to share more about our gender reveal! And I cannot thank y'all enough all ready for all of the congratulations, kind words, and for simply sharing in our joy as we celebrate the newest love in our life. Thank you truly does not suffice!

God bless our little girl, Nancy Hope Houston!

Friday, November 21, 2014

5 on Friday | Sweet Drinks, Tunes, and Babies

ONE | HOT CHOCOLATE
Mark made a fire for us almost every night this week. Paired with a hot chocolate or a decaf coffee, it's the loveliest time of the day. I am dying to try some of these variations!


What almost every night has looked like at our house this week. Dreamy!

TWO | DAVE BARNES HOLIDAY
...on Pandora. Y'all, I've been listening daily since November 1 and haven't gotten the slightest bit sick of it. Some Dave Barnes, some Colbie, some Coldplay, some Phil Wickham...magic in my ears. Go add this station right now!


THREE | "EVERYDAY IS CHRISTMAS"
Speaking of that radio station, it introduced me to my new favorite happy song. (Please say you have happy songs too.) I just adore it! And I love Colbie too, of course. If you can't play/see the video below because you're on your phone instead of a desktop, here is the link! ;)



FOUR | HOMETOWN
It's been too long since we've been back to Charlotte. I think we both miss it more than we realize! (Mark considers Charlotte his "home base" in America too). Cannot wait to head back today!!!!


FIVE | GENDER REVEAL
Obviously the highlight of my weekend is on Saturday!!!!!!! Be sure to follow along on Insta for the latest regarding Baby Houston! Saturday is ALSO a very special day for our bffies, the Hoidals: it's their due date! In my dream world, the gender reveal will send Mal into labor so Marky and I can both be in Charlotte for their sweet girl's arrival!!!! Hey, a girl can dream.

Hopey and I at Baby Hoidal's gender reveal earlier this year. 
I had an intuition about their baby about 1000% stronger than with my own. HA! Truth.

Last chance to vote team pink or team blue for Baby Houston. The poll is towards the top on the right sidebar...and is actually 60/40 or the first time ever!! Exciting times over here! I'll see y'all tomorrow with some BIG news in Insta land...! EEEEEEEE!

  OH HAPPY DAY!
 

 Grab button for FIVE ON FRIDAY AT THE GOOD LIFE BLOG
Cheers to to Darci, April, Christina, and Natasha!
 
 

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Pregnancy | 18 Weeks


How Far Along: 18 weeks

Size of Baby: The sweetest sweet potato!!!

Gender: Reveal in T-2 days!!!
In case you missed it, you can find all of the Old Wives Tale deets right here. We'll be filling y'all in on the name too. Girl initials are NHH and boy initials are SDH. ;) Want to find out ASAP? Be sure to follow me on Insta. I'll announce on Saturday! CAN'T WAIT!!! 
Cast your vote for Baby Houston's gender...Right HERE! -------> -------> -------> 

With our latest ultrasound and THE envelope.

Movement: I can feel baby usually once a day at least. It's feeling less weird...maybe I'm just getting used to it?! Ha!

Weight Gain: A whopping 10lbs. Woof. I was complaining about it to my sister, who reminded me that I had no morning sickness. Truth. I'll stop complaining now. And keep telling myself that my body is undergoing a miracle.

Fun Facts:  If baby has hair, it is growing in now! Eyelashes are growing in too and hearing is improving everyday.

Sleep: Really well this week! Thank ya, Lord.

Workouts: PB x 4 and one 2 mile walk -- still so thankful for Pure Barre! 

Maternity Clothes: Nope? Probably because I have worn leggings every single day this week. Zero exaggeration.

 Leggings all day everyday. And pup bums on bumps.

Symptoms: Congestion and my arm falling asleep at night

Cravings/Aversions: Same old, same old. Sweets + protein.

Missing Most: My family. But we head home to Charlotte on Friday! And I'll be staying there all week!

Nursery: Power moves are SO about to begin. :)

Hubby: Has started calling me "preggy potato." Sounds offensive, but it actually makes me laugh. When said in an English accent, it's obviously even better. And he always says it sweetly. It just makes us giggle.

Best Part of the Week: Our ultrasound! We hadn't seen the babe since 8 weeks, so our former blob with arm and leg nubs looking like a real person was absolutely amazing! Saw all 4 ventricles of his/her heart...just incredible. What a miracle of God!


Can't Wait For: Gender reveal, duh.

Our Announcement | Weeks 4-12  | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Baby Houston + Old Wives Tales

 
Well, the countdown is on and the results to all of these old wives tales are in. Be sure to vote in our little poll on the right sidebar if you haven't already. :) Last thing: we've had names picked out for...mmmm several years. If it's a girl, her initials will be NHH. If it's a boy, his initials will be SDH. What do you think??!?!?! 

(This is all so fun! And surely the most exciting time of our lives thus far!!! Thank you for journeying along with us!)
 
 
T-3 days till reveal!
 

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things | My List


One | Truth is I've been eyeing this pair for a couple of years (!!!). Since the fascination hasn't died down, I think it's time to pull the trigger on owning my first pair of Hunter Boots.

Two | Surprise! This isn't a purse...it's a diaper bag. Is it not the most un-diaper bag you've ever seen?! I'm obsessed with it. Complete with ten interior pockets and the gray leather strap and bottom, I swoon for this bag.

Three | This has become a tradition within our little Houston family. For the past two years of marriage, Mark has purchased me a new pair of snuggly flannel pajamas. He thinks they look cute; I think they look cute AND are the comfiest ever. Here is my pick for this year: pupjamas!

Four | I want to get more serious about my oils before the bebe arrives. There's nothing more perfect to do that with than the family physician kit! Cannot wait to use it on our little family. (You might remember that last Christmas, I began my essential oil journey with a diffuser. It's still something Mark and I use almost daily!)

Five | In my world, this is the ultimate gift card of all gift cards in the history of ever. Triple threat.

Six | Because I have visions of sweet potato/cucumber/zuchinni pasta dancing in my head...

Seven | A gift towards being your best self, to health, and fun too. A month or three of PB is a lovely Christmas gift that keeps on giving. Not that I'm obsessed or anything. ;)

I can't wait to read all of your lists!

 

Monday, November 17, 2014

Wilmy Weekend

We are coming off one wonderful weekend filled with wonderful friends. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story of our cold but cozy weekend together!

 A clean house and a Friday night agenda of staying in! 
 
 Friday night sunset in our neighborhood as I headed to Food Lion on a beer run.

 The coziest dinner of all Lizzie's chili and cornbread!



It's absolutely the best veggie chili ever...recipe here!

 I happily whipped out our holiday/winter placemats. :)

 I spy a tinypup patiently waiting for the arrival of her boy(friend)s!

 Guest room ready for guests...before we get to making it into a nursery in the coming months!

 Using the bump as a pup bum pillow...? Tina!

 Mark pleased with his handiwork.

 Wally and Tina: reunited

Wanting me to open the door to the guest area circa 6:40am on Saturday morning.

Bundled up for cooold beach time.

 Modeling: Wally, Amelia, and Jake

Though I didn't fill up the rest of Saturday with pictures, we did enjoy dressing up and having a wonderful meal out at Circa 1922. Great company, good food, and fun times catching up.

 On Sunday the fall decor came down, and the Christmas magic began.
 I can hardly wait to get my hands on some freshly cut trimming!

And, as always, #tinainthemiddle.
 
P.S. If you haven't already, be sure to enter The Palm Tree Boutique's $25 giveaway! You don't want to miss the opportunitiy for some free goodies! :)
 
Hope y'all enjoyed the Polar Vortex bundled and snuggled up as well!