i hope you all had a wonderful holiday! on friday, i rode up with my parents to hot springs village, arkansas to visit my grandmother [nama], who lives on the calm and beautiful little lake balboa. [pictures of her home and the lake at christmastime in the snow here!]
my brother was already in silicon valley getting ready to head up to seattle for his internship, so he unfortunately wasn’t able to join us, but it was glorious to be able to spend some time with nama, who we don’t get to see as often as we’d like, and indulge in delicious food, perfect weather, boat rides, and some R&R by the lake.
below is a mini recap of the weekend in instagrams [with a few more pictures to come at a later date from my nikon]:
{lucky and i were backseat buddies for the trip… we arrived at nama’s house late that night and she welcomed us with wine and this delectable fruit tart! a.k.a. perfection}
{my parents’ 27th wedding anniversary was on saturday, and on friday night, we pored through their wedding albums as nama, mom, and dad recounted the events of the wedding weekend and pointed out the guests to me. [i think everyone should do this with their parents at least once every few years, and what better time than on their anniversary?] the photo on the left was taken several years ago, but it’s one of my favorites, and the wedding photo on the right is NOT my parents’ wedding [i hope that was obvious!], but it’s my great-grandparents’ [nama’s parents’] wedding. i think it’s a gorgeous photo, especially the train and that bouquet!}
{saturday morning began with coffee and tea on the deck, basking in the morning breeze, and then a breakfast of blueberry quickbread and fresh fruit with lemon cream}
on saturday during the day, we went to into hot springs for lunch and shopped downtown for a while. i found some super cute clothes in some of the boutiques and took lots of pictures of the main street with my nikon, but failed to take any with my iphone [a first!]. stay tuned for the nikon gems…
{this little guy is king of the couch… even nama’s big one!}
{we went to a little italian place outside the village to celebrate my parents’ anniversary. i had shrimp puttanesca which was yum yum in my tum [along with wine and bread and a couple bites of tiramisu], and we may or may not have drank some galliano’s at home for dessert…}
{after church on sunday morning, it was lake day! sadly, it was partly cloudy [although the sun made an appearance for a little while], but the gray sky didn’t keep us from having a good time! we took the speedboat out for a spin…}
{…and had a picnic on the pontoon boat – a tradition of ours.}
{the water was a little too chilly to get in, but we laid out by the lake, talking, reading magazines, napping, and watching the crashing water make scaredy-dog lucky jump!}
{…and then a wild whippersnapper of a storm blew in, and we got inside just in time… for some cocktails!}
{“memorial day dinner” [one day early] was so lovely and festive! marinated flank steak that dad grilled, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, and – my very favorite – caprese!}
{…and dinner at nama’s wouldn’t be complete without one of her fabulous homemade fruit pies [another favorite of mine!]. this one was fresh strawberry. after all the great food we ate, i was pretty appreciative of our favorite mirror in nama’s bathroom – we call it the skinny mirror, and it NEVER FAILS to boost your confidence about how you look… until you look in any other mirror! i swear this one takes like 15 lbs off anyone who graces it with their reflection… obviously it’s much more accurate than all the other mirrors in the world… and scales…}
{and one more selfie, because i’m lame like that. but also because i’m the type of person who loves to document EVERYTHING, and that includes outfits. even when they’re not that special or anything, and already i’ve worn them 23 times, but sometimes, ladies, you just need an outfit photo, dammit! so. there you have it.}
my actual memorial day was mostly spent packing up, saying goodbye to my sweet grandmother, roadtrippin’ it for six hours back to texas, and then going to the grocery store and looking at finances and searching for apartments and all that boring sunday evening-type stuff, but it was a grand time in hot springs and i couldn’t be happier that we got to go.
to conclude, let’s not forget the real reason for the holiday. not to be confused with veterans day, memorial day honors all the men and women who died while serving our country, while veterans day celebrates the service of all u.s. military veterans. my dad is a veteran, and i’m so-beyond-words-thankful that i’m not honoring him on memorial day. for those of you who are honoring a loved one on this day, what humble and sincere respect and admiration i have for that person, and i know our country is in a better place because of him/her. what a selfless sacrifice that person made for millions of people who they don’t even know. as you remember the love they brought to you, our country will remember the freedom they brought to us.
nama, thank you for a perfect weekend! i miss you already! and happy anniversary to the best parents in the world, hands down. love you all!
xoxo