wedding weekend

Paul's brother Andrew got married this weekend. The weekend was packed full of fun wedding festivities. The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, and the dancing was a blast. We couldn't be happier for the lovely couple. Happy Wedding Andrew and Danielle! I didn't take many pictures over the weekend, but here are just a few.

Pedicures for all the girls!

Be on the lookout for a yummy recipe tomorrow!

happy birthday wrapped in raffia

One year ago today, Wrapped in Raffia was thought about, thought about some more and then created. Being part of the blog world has been a fun, creative outlet for me. The past few days I've been looking through the blog at all the many posts. I've had fun looking back at memories that I've made and at what has inspired me over the past year. Here are a few of my favorite posts from each category. Please pretend that I have a category labeled 'projects'. I plan to create this one in year two:) Anyway, here it goes for my favorite posts this year: Decor, Findings (the whole week), Life, Recipe, and Projects. Did you have a favorite?

Many thanks to my readers! I hope you've enjoyed this as much as I have. Most importantly, I want to thank my wonderful husband who is patient with me when I'm at the computer for what I'm sure seems like hours to him. He embraces my passion and encourages me to continue. I love you Paul. Don't think I don't see you checking the blog every morning with your cereal:)

Happy Birthday Wrapped in Raffia! It has been a fun journey. I'm excited about the year ahead!

comfortable night and similarities

It felt so comfortable outside tonight. We enjoyed shrimp tacos on the deck. I hope you were able to do something outside tonight too!

This is random, but remember this picture of my parents that I posted yesterday?

Well, I decided to compare some pictures and found some similarities between my parent's, Ashley and Daniel's and mine and Paul's wedding pictures. I just love looking back at pictures. I see so much of Ashley and I in my parents!

30 years worth celebrating

30 years ago today my parents said 'I do'. I'm so blessed to have parents that are such great role models. They know what a successful marriage takes. Happy Anniversary!

cardigans, scarves and boots... Oh MY!

I know it's 90 degrees outside, but many of the stores are starting to put out their new fall clothes and it gets me excited about fall. It is such an exciting time of year with football, festivals, and holidays! I am savoring what's left of the summer, but I'm definitely looking forward to what's to come!

all from here

Another reason why I'm excited about fall is because it's the perfect time of year to eat outside. Which brings me to tell you that our deck is now complete!! I am so proud of Paul. He did a great job. Pictures coming soon. Enjoy your last few weekends of summer, because fall will be here before you know it!

little vacation

We had a little vacation this past weekend. I took the day off from work on Friday to clean the house and run some errands. Side note: while running errands, I came across the ironing board cover below. I'm convinced that TJ Maxx is the best place to get ironing board covers. I'm sure Home Goods would have some too. I have been looking for a new one for a while. I checked Walmart and Target and neither had any that I was impressed with. If you're looking for one with good padding and a cute pattern, try TJ Maxx.

After Paul got off of work, we packed up the car and headed to Charleston. It felt great to see the beach. We had a nice time catching some rays, eating delicious food and...

...spending time with some of our favorite people!

Summer is just flying by! I'm going to try to savor what's left of it!

for your viewing pleasure

I hope you enjoyed! They are all from here, here, and here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

sip through this

Be sure to sip your refreshing beverage through one of these! Stay cool out there!

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the girl has got good taste

The other night, my sister and my good friend Aynsley and I decided we would meet to walk and grab a sweet treat at Yoforia. The weather was not cooperating so we decided to walk around the mall instead. You can get exercise that way too right? Leighton came with us and we had a blast. We stopped by the new Tory Burch store in the mall and we all fell in love. Leighton did too. She looked at the shoes and said 'cute shoes'. The girl has got good taste. I hope her daddy is saving up:)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

takes two to tango

You can serve in style with these lovely serving utensils.

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It's finally the weekend! And it's tax free weekend in NC. I hope to take advantage of that. I hope your weekend is great!

kabobs and item for sale

Happy Monday. I hope it was a good one. We had chicken kabobs tonight and they were delicious so I thought I'd share the recipe. Paul and I started making these the first year we were married and have continued making them ever since.

What you need:

chicken breasts or tenders

1 zucchini

1 squash

1 onion

cherry tomatoes

italian salad dressing

1. Cut the chicken into 1/2 - 1 inch cubes and then place them in a bowl and let them marinade for about 15 minutes in Italian salad dressing.

2. Wash your zucchini, squash and cherry tomatoes. Cut the zucchini, squash and onion into slices.

3. It's time to put everything on the skewers! Alternate the zucchini, chicken, squash, tomatoes and onion on each skewer.

4. Set the grill to 350 and grill for about 15-20 minutes. I served it with rice.

While Paul was grilling dinner, I decided to take a few pictures of our bistro set. It's for sale! The deck is still not quite complete, but it's getting very close. Since many of the patio sets are now on sale, we decided to go ahead and get one for our new deck. I'm really excited about having more seating outside. We've truly enjoyed our counter height table and barstools, but we no longer have room for them. I'm going to put the set on craigslist next week for $100. The umbrella stand is staying with us, but the rest is for sale. If you are interested, email me at amberjpoteat@gmail.com and I'll give you the wrapped in raffia discount.