a trip to birmingham, alabama

last weekend, nash and i traveled through a few states to visit my cousin, kelly, and her family in birmingham, alabama. parks stayed back with tim and made memories at the park, an ice cream shop, the aviation museum and at the donut shop (his very favorite.) knowing he was in the hands of my sweet husband and my in-laws, eased my heart. 
our trip was such a beautiful experience, getting to spend moments and time with my dear cousin. i grew up near her and often babysat her and her brothers, spent almost every christmas day together, we ran wild on our grandparents’ farm, went on beach trips/ordered more seafood than we needed most of the time, loved to create arts and crafts, celebrated our german heritage at our local oktoberfest and went on many shopping trips with my mom and her mom/my aunt pam (whom i also adore with all my heart). 
with just the tiny babies, who still sleep a lot, we had time to just be and talk and laugh and browse thrift stores and indulge in sweet potato biscuits / spicy takeout food, and finally, a cold craft beer at a brewery. it was time together and it felt so deeply ours. saturday was a simple day, but the older i get, the more those days tend to be the best days. 
there are people in life that you just really mesh with… and kelly (one of my most loyal supporters in life/blog readers) and her husband, michael, are those types of people for me. they are both so kind and loving and have the best senses of humor. it was a weekend i will always remember. thank you both for opening up your home and creating such a comfortable space. i enjoyed it all so very much.

we ate at the most charming brunch spot (with the best food/coffee drinks)… it’s called woodlawn cycle cafe. the staff was so friendly… well, that was actually the case everywhere we went. this is something that i tend to notice right away, something that is important to me. and boy! did i feel the genuine love for others in bama.
we both love to spend hours and hours browsing vintage stores
woodlawn cycle cafe . i loved the simple sign and those doors- just gorgeous.
watching her as a new mother was so special
you are doing such a wonderful job
+ a few of my favorite things: eyelet lace (top is from madewell), the solly baby wrap, the color, camel, zutano booties, persian rugs and a little bundle of baby snuggles
sozo trading co was incredible (i highly recommend!) we both simply LOVED.
on another note, this boy showed up in alabama with his first tooth / he’s working on two bottom ones
we had the best time thrifting but with two babies (who hardly cried but still… gave us some surprises) we were ready for a cold beer at a local brewery (avondale) under some twinkling market lights  
i didn’t purchase this vintage piece but did fall in love with it
so in love with her … hollis kate 
she was born about seven weeks after nash and is such a sweetheart
sunday, we woke up really early to make it back for friendsgiving here
we feel lucky to have such amazing friends here in charlotte
our friend, jenny bought the kids crayons (superhero crayons) and christmas books and lottery tickets for the adults… so thoughtful. 
i missed this one:
a few from this week at home // 
one of my thrifted pieces (the small art piece for $2.95) in its new spot / tiny pieces of birmingham around our home
i am also so thankful for a good travel baby (two for two so far… how did we get so lucky?!) he cried for about ten minutes of the fifteen hours we spent in the car together. he was a dream.
i am already looking forward to our next road trip 
christmas time in the midwest and the new year in philadelphia 
(and already praying and hoping for snow days in one/both places)
have you ever explored birmingham? 
…any favorite spots…

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