Do you know....

Do you know Lola Donaghue?  Check out some of her beautiful paintings! I love her use of pattern and color, and the color is balanced with a muted white overlay or background.  So fun and vibrant!

I love that the work is neither feminine nor masculine, and I love their whimsical quality.  These would be great in a child's room, but also in an informal den or family room.  They are so happy!

How fantastic is this yellow guy?  I love the quality of the brush stokes in her paintings!

To see more of her bomb-diggity work, check her out on etsy!

Holiday Getaway

How is it already January 8th?!!??  The last few weeks have gone by so fast, and we did virtually nothing over the holidays to prepare for baby Daly.  It's not panic time yet, but I feel like it's getting close!

While I had great aspirations of finishing the nursery and arranging folded onesies into our new nursery cabinet between brisk strolls around the neighborhood or prenatal yoga, the reality is that we were out of town a lot and I ate my weight in chocolate.

But I was able to squeeze in a mini-vacation with the daddy-to-be, which was a great distraction from my extremely long to-do list.

Since we were already in Mississippi visiting family, we thought we'd first stop into New Orleans for a friend's wedding and brunch the next morning at one of our favorite spots, Antoine's.  This is a special place for us, because this is where we dined the night we were engaged.  Out of tradition, we ordered the Baked Alaska for desert, which really turned some heads and sparked a great deal of jealousy amongst the fellow patrons.  Some people just know how to order...

After brunch, we headed to The Grand at Point Clear for a few days.

Photos courtesy The Grand website

Neither of us had been to The Grand, and I must say, it was rather magical.  We arrived just in time to see the gorgeous blood-red sunset on the water before heading to dinner.  When we returned from dinner, the hotel's holiday lights were all lit up and it was beautiful.

While we were down there, we stopped into downtown Fairhope and found some great boutiques.  My fav was "lulu & me", a fantastic fabric and home decor boutique where I found some beautiful fabric for the nursery.

They also had these charming paper mache candelabras in the window, which I fell in love with.  I may have to try to recreate these on my own.

And by far the best restaurant we went to on our stay was The Wash House. 

 If you go to the Fairhope area, you must, must, MUST go to this place.  I wish I had taken photos of the amazing food we ate, but it's rather romantically intimate in there and I didn't want to spoil the mood for other diners.

It is located in a sort of backyard barn, and the inside is cozy and whimsical, with light-wrapped branches hanging from the ceiling and a brick fireplace.  And the food was absolutely amazing.  

The trip was short, but it was such a treat being able to spend time away from the real world with only my husband for a few days before we begin the marathon to April and then a new life with baby.

I hope your holidays were peaceful and relaxing!