Saturday, August 31, 2019

August 31st, 2019



After about three weeks in a row rescheduling, we finally made it out to the Renaissance Faire! ⚔️🛡 We had such a blast together today. One girl randomly came up to me and said, "You're so pretty!" unprompted for no reason, and it totally made my day. 🥰

Thursday, August 29, 2019

August 29th, 2019



On the menu tonight: Cashew Chicken Quinoa Bake

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Augut 26th, 2019



I am always so excited whenever I manage to snag a picture of all four of my beautiful puppers! 😍

Saturday, August 24, 2019

August 24th, 2019



Happy 21st Birthday to my brother Zack! We had a nice relaxing evening as a family playing games and celebrating the (now legal!) birthday boy. :)


August 23rd, 2019



He jumped in on his own this morning after I took a shower?? He doesn't even like baths though??? 🤔



After work Mike and I went to see Dierks Bentley for his Burning Man Tour! It was such a fun night and I had a blast singing and dancing with my darling all evening. Two different girls also randomly came up to me throughout the night to gush about my outfit, so all-in-all it was a fantastic day. 🤩

Thursday, August 22, 2019

August 22nd, 2019



We wanted to do a girls night while Rachael was in town, so this evening after I got off work we all met up in downtown Naperville for dinner, shopping, and dessert! We started off at Rosebud, which has the best Italian food ever, before heading out to check out multiple stores around the area. At the end of the night we went to Le Chocolat Du Bouchard where I got the tastiest mint chocolate milkshake! It was a very lovely evening and I'm very thankful for a great time spent with my in-laws. 💗🍝🛍🍨

August 21st, 2019



Mike made our house in Minecraft! Isn't it so cute? :)

Sunday, August 18, 2019

August 18th, 2019

August 17th, 2019



Took a few gorgeous photos of my babies this AM! 😍



"mom stahp" 🙄



Stopped at Target in the afternoon to get this and that.



And then, later in the evening, we headed over to my Auntie Jan's house to celebrate Josh's 28th birthday! 🎉 It was a Fortnite-themed party and of course my aunt went all out.



We had a blast being together all night as a family! I love all of these people endlessly!

Saturday, August 17, 2019

August 16th, 2019



Such a fun evening tonight with the entire Donelson family! We all played a huge game of backyard volleyball and enjoyed a yummy cookout prepared by Mike Sr and Laura. 🏐🌭🍔 The best part for me was just being together with my family. I love all of them so much! My sides still hurt from laughing so much. ♥️



Friday, August 16, 2019

August 15th, 2019

Happy Ferragosto!! 🇮🇹



Another new holiday tradition for us—this time representing Mike’s Italian side! Ferragosto is an Italian holiday that was introduced waayy back in 18 BC. It comes from Feriae Augusti (the festivals of the Emperor Augustus) which most people think were probably used to celebrate a battle victory of some kind. These festivities were also linked to the longer Augustali period, which was intended to be a period of rest after months of hard labor.





Today, it’s tradition to use this long weekend in August to take a trip or vacation! Anyone who doesn’t travel and instead stays at home will enjoy a feast of food and lots of celebrating! In Italy you would find celebrations all over the country on and around this day typically including music, food, parades, and fireworks.



The Donelson family made sure to celebrate today, too! We decorated the house, put on some traditional Italian music, wore some Italian-inspired clothes (pups included!), enjoyed a traditional Italian meal, and even watched an Italian film!






Our menu consisted of: moscato, an Italian sausage antipasto, fettuccine al burro, spaghetti e polpette (meatballs), lasagne & bruschetta, insalata (salad), creme horns & caramel gelato for dessert, and then we ended things with some caffé (coffee). 🍝🍧☕️ The meal was served in the traditional Italian fashion: in courses, with breaks in between. 😉 We definitely felt like authentic Italians tonight—and we definitely felt stuffed. 😂




Overall the food was simply delicious and it was such a fun evening!! I’m so happy we’ve decided to start celebrating these new holidays to honor all the sides of our family tree. I can hardly wait until the next one! 💚⚪️❤️