Around The Diaz House Lately...

Isn't it funny how our schedules instantly seem to fill up once fall comes around? For me, it has something to do with getting back in the routine of things at the start of a school year. Below is a quick recap of what's been going on around here lately.

-Fall decorations have made a full appearance in our home.

-We joined a couples small group and ABSOLUTLEY love it!!!

-My husband's 29th birthday is this week!

-We helped plan our cousin's

gender reveal

party last week! It's a boy!

-This past weekend, we took a short trip down to the Keys. Have you ever been? It is definitely worth the drive. For us, it took about 2 hours to Marathon, Florida. What a great way to getaway, eat fresh fish and live in the moment.

-My

God-son

turns one on the same day as my husband! Lots of love will be sent to PA this week!

-Last week I had a coffee date with a local photographer and we have a neat collaboration planned later this month! More details to come soon!

-Jon Scieszka came to visit our school. If you do not know who he is, don't feel bad. He is an awesome children's author that we were thrilled to have! With the sales we made from the books,  I was able to purchase some new materials for our collection. I went Rifle Paper Co. + Puffin Book Classics all the way!

Hope your Monday was full of joy!

A Lesson In God's Provision & Perfect Timing

This week, Gabriel and I were given the task to keep our cousin's baby gender top secret. Talk about a tough job! Let me give you a quick back story of how it all started...

Our cousins tried to concieve for almost three years. (Insert) many days filled with hopelessness, fear and frustration. I can only imagine how hard this situation must have been.

But God never fails. After much patience and prayer, the Lord blessed them with a sweet baby boy that will be here late February. We are so excited for these two and the journey they are about to embark. God is Good!

1 Samuel 1:27

"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. 

Sasha & Joey's Gender Reveal

from

Erica Diaz

on

Vimeo

.

The Oldest US City

This past weekend, Gabriel and I enjoyed time away in St. Augustine, Florida. There is something so special about getting away, just the two of us. Although we both have weekends off from our daytime jobs, there's always a running to-do list around our house. Getting away gives us a chance to put those pesky tasks on hold and relax, explore, spend time together and dream.

Enjoy time away with your spouse or family. Sometimes, I find the little moments mean so much more than the big ones combined.

........................

My thoughts on St. Augustine:

I will start off by saying, if you've never been, it's definitely worth checking out. Think Savannah, except much smaller and tourist-y. You can pretty much see everything in 1 to 2 days max.

Lodging:

- If you are looking for a place to stay, I would recommend the Hilton or the Casa Monica Hotel. Although we did not stay in either, we had a chance to talk to locals and this is what they recommended. We stayed at the World Golf Hall of Fame, just a few miles north.

Food:

- For dinner on Saturday night, we decided to go for sushi in Jacksonville. Cozy little spot - we loved dinner. For $46.00 we ordered so much sushi, we couldn't even finish our plates. RARE!

-Breakfast was eaten at a local bakery called the Bunnery which was recommended by a dear blogger friend, Nilda. The biscuits were to die for!

- We ordered afternoon lattes at Cafe Dolce and were pretty blown away by the southern hospitality and quality.

Others meals were spent at our usual favorite spots: Chilies, Chipotle etc. 

Must See:

-Flagler College

-Matanzas Inlet

-The Fort

-The Missionary

-Henry Flagler's House

-Old Town Road

-St. Augustine Paper Co. (for paper lovers like me!!!)

All in all, St. Augustine was the perfect place to get away and disconnect for the weekend.

Where do you go to disconnect?

A Season of First Birthdays

With so many first birthdays going on this year, we've been busy creating name prints, milestone posters and birthday invitations. If you have a chance today, hop on over to two of my favorite blogger's pages and check out what we made for them!

Ford's 1st Birthday Chalkboard Poster

Addilyn's 1st Birthday Chalkboard Poster

If YOU are interested in having a print created, we are currently offering $10 off any order until the end of August. Email or message us at our

etsy shop

for inquiries on size & pricing.

Happy Monday!

Around The Diaz House Lately...

Now that I am back to work, the weekends seem more glorious than ever! This weekend we have plans to lounge around the house, visit our favorite local coffee shop and attend a dinner party hosted by close friends. It seems like it's been a while since I've caught you up on what's been going on in our lives...

-We started attending an obedience class with Gari, but didn't make it past the second week because my m-i-l's poor boston terrior got very sick from the facility. Needless to say, we did

not

return.

-My family drove down last weekend to spend time with us and celebrate my birthday! My little sis even got to come to work with me to help set up my library. She is going into her junior year Monday.... where has the time gone?!

-Our invitation shop is so blessed right now. We just started working on our 2015 wedding orders! Aside from invitations, our little shop has been extra busy with back to school prints, poster, name tags, welcome signs - you name it! Never did I image filling up the walls of teacher's classrooms, but I must say, I do love the joy it brings to both the teachers and students.

-We are starting a new small group with married couples - our age. I've been waiting to join one like this for a while and am so thankful God allowed it to fall into place.

-Gabriel and I are heading north next weekend to St. Augustine! It seems like forever since we've had a mini getaway,  just the two of us. I am extra excited because he has never been to this part of our state. If you have any St. Augustine tips, please send them my way. For those of you who've never been, its a charming little town filled with history, beautiful beaches and lots of coziness.

-I got accepted into the Blogher community as a social media influencer! Since I started blogging, around 3 years ago, I have been trying to join this community. After many applications, I was finally accepted - and on my birthday!

-I am in the process of trying to find a GREAT children's book author to visit our school this year. Last year we had a couple, but my favorite by far was

Peter Brown

! Can you suggest any?

-I've gotten into the

SheReadsTruth

studies and really love them! There is something so calming about starting the day on a positive note.  I need to make a better effort to sticking to it every morning though. Somedays I let lunch making, laundry and invitation orders get in the way.

Happy Friday sweet friends!