Erin Akin Carroll

strawberry pickin'

May212014

May in South Carolina is just so beautiful! We’ve had our fair share of 95 degree days, but the temperatures have cooled off to 80 in the last week or two, and we’ve loved spending as much time as possible outside.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve already seen some of these pictures.

Yesterday morning, we met our friends Emily, Jack, and Hazel at the strawberry farm (Cottle Farms if you are local to Columbia and want to pay them a visit) to pick some strawberries. We kept reminding the little ones to pick as many as possible so we could make a pie for a daddy.

We went a few weeks back and the strawberries were still kind of tart. But the strawberries yesterday were bright red and so beautiful.

The kids had a great time running around and filling up their buckets. Some strawberries were thrown by the two three-year-olds in the bunch, but every strawberry is worth saving. And Hayes and Hazel both chowed down on strawberries the whole time.

They had a great morning, and I’m glad we picked them one more time before strawberry season is over.

We had some fun visitors at our house from Charlotte yesterday. Rachel, Katie, and both of their girls came to visit. We hung out at the house and caught up. We watched the kids play and then went to Whole Foods for an easy lunch. It was so much fun to see them and catch up! I just love those girls.

I came back home and washed the strawberries and sliced them to make a pie. I was so excited to make the Strawn’s strawberry pie, and kept thinking things were going great. I made a crust. I made the filling. I chilled the filling. And then when I poured the strawberries and filling into the crust, I could tell it might take it a while to congeal. Last night, I even dreamed about strawberry pie and wondering if it would still be a runny mess in the morning.

And it was. Just a soupy strawberry pie. But I let everyone have some this morning for breakfast anyway. Even if it’s ugly, it can still taste amazing. And it did! I broke my sugar ban just to eat some of this pie. And it is FULL of sugar. Holy sweetness.

So we had a great time at the strawberry farm. I had a small kitchen disaster with the strawberry pie. But boys are super gracious when it comes to ugly, delicious food!

hey, y'all!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

May192014

Oh my goodness! I hardly picked up my computer in over a week… and it was fantastic! I missed updating the blog, but it was also nice to just take some time off.

If you follow me on Instagram, you haven’t missed much. If you’re not following me over there, what are you waiting for? Instagram is so much fun! And I tried to upload pictures to my computer for this post, but that wasn’t working out so well today, so here’s a picture-less post for you! I missed y’all!

1. Today is officially our first day of summer. Hudson and Hayes had their last day of school last week and both of their classes celebrated with end-of-the-year parties. They both had such great years with amazing teachers. I saw enormous growth and change in both of them, and Todd and I are just in awe of how much they are changing and growing up. We’re looking forward to an easy-going summer, but I’m also about to implement some structure this week. (At the very least just to keep them from raiding the refrigerator 18 times per day! Holy hungry boys, Batman!)

2. I hosted a Kayce Hughes trunk show at my house this weekend with my fabulous friend, Mary Kent Hearon, the Heart Knot creator. Oh my word. All of the Kayce Hughes clothes were just beautiful and so easy to wear. My wish list grew every day while we stared at the clothes. I tried on almost everything and loved it all. It was so much fun having so many friends stop by, too. When we took the clothes racks down and packed the clothes away, Hudson said, “We won’t have anymore friends coming by?” He was surprisingly bummed! (If you want to order from our Kayce Hughes trunk show, you can! Just enter Trunk Show ID 95240)

3. We had Hayes’s birthday party here a week ago. It was such a fun celebration of our boy. A lot more low-key than our typical parties, but just so much fun to celebrate with our closest friends. And Hayes just had the very best time.

4. I registered for a great Bible study for this summer. It meets on Monday nights at our church and I’m thrilled that so many friends are going to do it, too. Have any of you done the Jennie Allen study called Stuck?

5. I’m still eating clean. I’m done with the Advocare 24 Day Challenge and I am down about 9 pounds. I did splurge on way too many chocolate chip cookies this weekend- oops!- but I’m back on track today. I just take it one day at a time and make sure that I am as prepared as possible with healthy snacks, a meal plan, and meals that aren’t overly complicated or fussy. I’m going to do a meal plan post later this week.

6. We’re looking for a new show to start this summer. We’ve seen The Newsroom, House of Cards, Scandal, Friday Night Lights, Lost, The Good Wife, Orange is the New Black, Pretty Little Liars, Homeland, and True Detective. So…. any suggestions?

7. I bought the Abide journal from Naptime Diaries and I am so excited about it! I love that you can start it at any time. You can miss days, but just do it at your own pace. And it’s so beautiful!

why I celebrate

Filed Under: Motherhood

May82014

I have some funny thoughts about Mother’s Day. I know it’s just a Hallmark holiday and it’s not to be taken too seriously. So we don’t really take it all that seriously in our house. There are cards, and my kids’ teachers were sweet enough to help them make some handprint gifts for them to give to me. Those are really the sweetest things about the whole day.

I don’t need to be pampered or given a day off. I really just want to be with my family and to spend the day with them.

I don’t take Mother’s Day very seriously until I look at my children. And then I am overcome with emotions about what it means to be their mother. I am the one that is celebrating because Hudson and Hayes Carroll are my boys.

And what an incredible gift that is.

I am not a perfect mother. I lose my temper. I snap at them. I don’t always give them my undivided attention. I could stand to play with them more and there are many times when I wish I could hit a “mute” button at our house.

They are not perfect children. They don’t always obey and they don’t eat all their vegetables. Or, really, any vegetables except green beans. They throw tantrums in public over silly things. But they are my boys.

And it’s when I stop, and look Hudson right in the eyes while he’s grinning at me and saying, “I never want to grow up and I always want to live with you and Daddy” that I see every little piece of joy in that moment. In his grin and his bright brown eyes that are smiling at me. Smiling at me because I’m looking straight at him. And knowing that he loves so so so deeply.

I’m so thankful for his grace. Hudson has taught me the true meaning of grace. As I’ve messed up and as we’ve both navigated this journey together. He’s my first and I’m his only. He trusts me and he’s the one that taught me how to trust myself. He made me a mama. I anxiously tip-toed and second guessed my way through so much of his short life. And we eagerly awaited each new milestone, almost in an effort to check the box to move to the next box.

He is full of sweetness. Full of wit and hilarity. And I love so very much that we have inside jokes. I’m not sure how it’s possible that Hudson has grown up so fast, but I am no longer looking forward to his new milestones because I want time to stop.

Then there are the moments when I’m busy folding laundry and watching the news, and I finally notice that Hayes has been running circles around me just trying to get me to look at him and laugh at him. So I look up, and we both give our biggest fake laugh, and I tell him that he is so funny. And he says, “I did it, Mommy! I’m funny!”

Yes, my sweet Hayes. He is the one that got me to relax as a mother. He’s the one that showed me that I don’t have to walk around with tension in my shoulders as I wait for the next new motherhood moment that will challenge me. Hayes is the one that has made us all laugh and lighten up and just enjoy each day for what it is. And we aren’t always anticipating the next big milestone. I’m not second-guessing myself.

I know that perfection is unattainable. We’re soaking up each day in a new way.

Maybe that’s how it always is the second time around.

So, as we approach Mother’s Day, I am thankful for the mama that my boys have helped me to be. And I pray daily that I can grow and show them the way to the Father. I am so thankful for the sweet little gifts that they are.

Our Home: The Kitchen

Filed Under: Home Tour

May72014

Welcome to our kitchen! I decided to continue with our home tour with the busiest room in our house.

We had so much fun planning our kitchen. I wanted openness and I wanted really functional storage. The biggest way we achieved more storage in an average size kitchen was to use more deep drawers instead of cabinets. We only have lower cabinets underneath the rangetop. Everything else is deep drawers. We keep our pots and pans, lids, baking dishes, sippy cups, and really every single thing in the drawers. We did one cabinet for huge items like our roasting pan, cake plates and one huge boiler I have.

The kitchen is open to the family room, and I know this isn’t for everyone, but it has been so great for us. In the last house, the galley kitchen was really far from the family room, but people still wanted to gather in the kitchen. There just wasn’t anywhere for them to sit. I love that in this house, everyone can be together and still have plenty of room to spread out or watch the game.

Cooking dinner at night has gotten so much easier just because the kids aren’t constantly calling for me, and I can see them.

We decided on a microwave drawer and have really loved it so far! I love that if something is heavy or hot, I’m not trying to pull it down from above.

Thanks to Pinterest, choosing our kitchen finishes was a lot easier than I thought it would be. There are so many beautiful kitchens out there. Antiqued cabinets. All gray cabinets. Dark cabinets. White cabinets. How could I possibly choose? It’s all so beautiful! But when I looked at my kitchen board on Pinterest, it was obvious was my style was. Every kitchen I had pinned was white cabinets, white subway tile, and a light counter top.

Despite second-guessing myself and its practicality for a few months, we finally decided to go with carerra marble counter tops. I had heard that it was impractical and that they stain and scratch. But I didn’t care about the risks. I knew that I’d probably never get the chance again to choose my counter top, and marble was what I really wanted. And it was surprisingly affordable! And I have not regretted that decision once. We absolutely love our counter tops and haven’t tip-toed around them at all!

Our mudroom, desk area, and laundry room are right by the back door on the way to the kitchen. That has helped us tremendously when trying to cut down on kitchen clutter. We still have clutter, but it stays off the kitchen counter top.

I’ve included a source list at the bottom of this post, and I’m happy to answer any questions y’all may have. Wish you could all come over for coffee today!

Sources: Wall paint color: Sherwin Williams Sea Salt at 50%

Pantry door color: Sherwin Williams Unusual Gray

Trim color: Sherwin Williams Extra White

Cabinet color: Sherwin Williams Extra White

Island color:

Breakfast table: given to my mom by her grandmother and passed down to me

Breakfast chairs: Found at Scott’s in Atlanta

Polka Dot Vase: Kate Spade

Island Lights: Round Top, Texas find

Breakfast table light: purchased wholesale through Arteriors

Bar Stools: hand-me-down from my mom, Palecek

Dragonfly pottery: found at the Charleston City Market

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