I’ve been a little MIA for the past year but we’ve been a little busy. Our family is growing again…by 2 feet!!! Here’s our pregnancy announcement that we shared with our family and friends back in October!!
And here’s the news we shared in November on Thanksgiving…
It’s a boy! We’re very excited for our family to grow! I’m excited to post pictures of the baby’s room and other details! Stay tuned!
xoxo Shay
If you’re searching for a good way to display a special photo in your house a great way to do so is to make it into a canvas print. I loved so many of my wedding photos and decided to display a few canvases in my home. One of my favorites is a romantic picture of me and my husband, which i put in my bedroom. The website CanvasPeople.com was recommended to me and it did not disappoint! When they have a good sale, THEY HAVE A GOOD SALE! I took the advice of a friend to wait for a sale, and I’m so glad I did. Sometimes their canvases go 80% off! With shipping we got a huge canvas for under $50! If you don’t know, let me tell you…. THAT IS A STEAL! Best part is the canvas is absolutely beautiful and great quality. We’ve ordered from them many times and they make great gifts!
Again, the website is CanvasPeople.com… you’re welcome!
xoxo Shay
My sweet baby girl will be one next month. I can’t believe how fast this year went. Especially since I’ve been awake through most of it. My girl has been here for more than three hundred days and has only slept through the night two of them. Yup … 2. My husband and I have no idea what happened those two nights. (They were back to back.) Maybe it was a full moon?? Any who, I’m asking fellow parents out there for some help!!! Any tips out there that I haven’t read a zillion times over on the Internet? I am still breastfeeding so I’m guessing that has something to do with it. (However I do plan to stop at the year mark… Even though I assume that is going to be a nightmare!) her bedtime is 8:30… She won’t go to sleep before that and like clock work, is ready for bed at that time. We have a routine that we follow, and we play on going classical music in her room during the night. But my sweet angel wakes up between 12-2 every night wanting her mama. Once rocked back to sleep she sleeps till 4:30ish and then again rocked, then wakes around 7-8. We’ve tried crying it out which no longer works because she knows eventually I will come. I have an extreme amount of patience however I would really love it if she got a full nights rest. Please comment any advice you have! Thanks so much!
When the song “Happy” by Pharrell, came out I was an immediate fan. What I didn’t know is that it would be the most played song in my life this past year. My daughter was born in May of 2014, and “Happy” was still a big hit song on the radio at that time. My daughter hated car rides. Hatedddddd it! I used to dread going places because the sound of her cry would break my heart. Of course, staying home wasn’t always an option so car rides weren’t optional. One day I was driving to my mom’s house and Elena (my daughter) started crying. Then, a miraculous thing happened. The song on the radio changed to “Happy.” My daughter instantly stopped crying. I thought it was just a coincidence. When the song stopped she started crying again. I pulled over and quickly YouTubed the song and played it through the Bluetooth in my car. She again, instantly stopped crying. Pharrell became my angel. As a new parent hearing your newborn cry can be painful and heartbreaking. Especially if you cant pick them up and cradle them immediately. Of course, you want your baby to be happy all the time. After almost a year, I now realize crying can be healthy for babies and doesn’t always mean something is wrong. I still have a burned CD of all Elena’s favorite songs to listen to in the car. “Happy” is song number 1. At times it even has put my daughter to sleep. Pharrell, if by any miracle you ever read this, Thank you. Thank you for making my life a little better this year. Thank you for making my baby HAPPY. You have no idea how much you helped me and my husband. If you happen to be in Connecticut this May and you’re not busy, please come sing “Happy” at my daughter’s 1st birthday. (LOL) She already loves your amazing voice but would love you even more. Thanks so much Pharrell! We really appreciate it! We’ll have cake!
Love,
Shay xoxo
When you are asked to be a best man or maid of honor at a wedding you are over come with feelings of happiness and pride. Then, you remember you have to give a speech and you start to panic and pray. ((Unless you’re in the 1% population of people who are awesome at public speaking.)) I know from experience, (I was my sisters maid of honor) how nervous one can get. I asked my 2 sisters to be my maid and matron of honor and my husband asked 2 of his brothers to both be his best men. I thought they all did an amazing job on their speeches. Here they are on YouTube! Hope this gives you some ideas if you have to give a speech for a wedding!
xoxo Shay
Follow me on Instagram to see day by day pics!! 💋xoxo Shay
Instagram name: mygrantlife
Since I had a long engagement (20 months) I decided to put my heart and soul into every detail in wedding planning. The summer before the wedding I had started to brainstorm ideas for the church wedding program. I saw lots of ideas on Pinterest but didn’t want to spend a fortune on something I knew most people weren’t going to keep. Still, I wanted to make them look nice so I started putting together some ideas. Of course I couldn’t put together the final masterpiece until we knew exactly what the wedding entailed. We needed to know for sure what readings were going to be read, what songs were going to be sung, and exactly who was going to do what. We had taken some amazing engagement photos by our awesome wedding photographer, so I decided to use them for the program. I printed out pictures (2×3 inches) in black and white for the cover. I lined them in black and white card stock to make them POP! And glued then to a folded piece of card stock. (I did both black and white) I also punched 2 small holes on the folded part of the program and string and tied a bow through the program. I set that aside for months until we knew all the wedding details. Once we did, I printed on a grey piece of paper all the information, our wedding party details, a special memorial, and a thank you to our parents and to our guests! I love how it came out!
xoxo Shay
Cover…
The front and back of the inner insert…
The other night I made some yummy chicken piccata so I figured I’d share my very easy recipe. I would like to quote my husband- “This tastes like something I would get at a restaurant!” Enjoy!!
Xoxo Shay
Chicken Piccata
-6 pieces thinly sliced chicken
-Flour, salt & pepper for dredging
-butter
-1 1/2 cups white wine
-1lemon
-1 garlic clove
-fresh parsley
-linguine
Dredge the thinly sliced chicken in the flour, salt & pepper mixture. Melt 2 Tbsp.’s butter in skillet. Cook the chicken on medium heat, evenly on both sides till a light golden. (About 3 minutes each side) Remove from skillet and keep warm. Add another Tbsp. Of butter and sauté garlic till light golden. Add wine and stir gently, scraping up the chicken bits off the bottom for great flavor. Add thinly sliced lemon. Bring to a boil & boil for 6 minutes. Let simmer for another 6 minutes on low heat. Sauce will thicken up. Remove lemon slices. Place chicken over cooked linguine (that’s been tossed with butter) and pour sauce on top… Sprinkle fresh parsley.
Happy Valentine’s Day from our little Valentine!!!
Xoxo Shay
In April of 2013 I was finishing up classes for “Pre-Cana,” which is required by the church, in order for them to marry you. When me and my husband left, I called my mom to share the news that the classes were all finished and we were officially able to get married. (Which obviously we never questioned.) She answered the phone and said she couldn’t talk long due to the fact that she was with my brother. I only have 2 sisters so I was pretty confused by this. I thought for a second that she was talking about my brother-in-law. Nope. She said she was at the pet store and they were buying my sister a puppy.
The only pet I had in the past was a gold fish. Two actually. Ernie & Bert. (RIP.) We (my family and I) have never really been “animal people.” Of course, we never wish any harm on any animal, we just never had any. So this was very “out of the blue.” My first reaction to the news was, “what? It better not pee on my wedding dress.” (My wedding was less than 2 months away.) Then, “are you crazy? You aren’t dog people!” This went on and on and on for a while.
The next day I went with my sister to go see the pup. The deposit was paid for him but they had to wait a few more days before he could come home. That was the day. That was the day I fell in love. That was the day I became a “dog person.” When I was handed 1 pound “Charlie” I knew my heart would never be the same. He was the tiniest lil nugget I had ever seen, with the biggest eyes and softest fur. It was love at first sight. I couldn’t believe how crazy I had acted and instantly connected to my lil Char. Right then and there we became besties. He was even the first one I took a picture with on my wedding day. My sweet lil charlie.
Today is Charlie’s 2nd birthday. I can’t believe he’s 2 already. I feel like he’s been in my life forever. We’ve cuddled countless times, gone for long/ short walks together and really bonded over this short amount of time. His strange reaction to me 2 summers ago was the reason I took a pregnancy test and found out I was pregnant. He knew before I knew. I love my baby boy and wish him the best 2nd birthday ever. My only wish would be, that there would be countless years ahead with this lil guy. He is a part of my family. He is my puppy brother. He is my Char Char.
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