We love the beach. We were thrilled when we found out we were going to be stationed in New Jersey, in part because of all of the cool travel opportunities near by, but also because we were finally going to be close to a coast.  As a Puerto Rican girl whose military family retired in […]

This post is a little late for most of you, but here in New Jersey the last day of school is tomorrow (June 20th)!  Plus, you can always keep it in the back of your mind for next year.  ?  My sweet Cam was so fortunate to have some pretty great teachers this year so […]

Many Catholics grow up hearing stories about their baptisms.  Some of us slept through, some of us charmed the congregation, while others screamed like Regan from the Exorcist.  I’m pretty sure my parents experienced all three (my brother pulled a Regan, my sister slept through most of hers and I like to think was the […]

Having already covered the Promotion Ceremony here, and the reception here, let’s talk about attire.  Non-promoting service members and civilian employees who attend as guests typically wear the “uniform of the day”.  Service members participating in the event usually, although not always, tend to match the promotee.  Tyler opted to wear his service dress, as did his […]

Immediately after the ceremony we had a receiving line and then it was time to celebrate!   For those who aren’t sure, the cost of the refreshments is typically covered by the promotee(s), especially in small group and single promotee events.  We decided to order catering (everything but the cake and punch) from a local […]

Promotions of any type, in any line of work, tend to be happy events.  Military ones are no different.  The biggest difference between a civilian and a military promotion tends to be the “ceremony” involved.  Depending on the rank achieved, the location or the personal preferences of the promoting service member (some choose to forgo […]

     My very first post!  I’m so excited to get started on this new journey and hope that you’ll come along for the ride!      Why  “Pearls & Pinecones”?  Two reasons.  One, I liked the dichotomy between smooth, feminine pearls (representing me as the lone female