Favorites From The Week

Happy Friday, friends! I hope your week has been filled with spring-like temperatures, smiles, and lots of love. And if not, unfortunately we've all been there and probably have said, TGIF. The boys started t-ball this week and I am loving that they're both on the same team, at least for this year. It makes running around a little easier for the time being. 

Our weather has been beautiful and put everyone in the best mood this week. All the praise hands for that. In fact, I'm sitting out on my deck typing up this post and feeling really grateful right now. I took a minute to admire the birds chirping, a blue jay just pasted by and a cardinal isn't far from me. I can see some flowers budding and a beautiful light breeze passing by as the baby is crunching a few leaves that gathered in the corner. It's moments like this that I appreciate God's simple reminders and promises to us. 

I also have some changes coming to this little space of mine. I'm finally taking the leap (should have done it years ago) and will be migrating everything over to WordPress. The timing feels right and I've always heard great things about essentially taking things to the next level so I'm excited to see how all of this goes. 

Here's a look at some of my favorites from the week...

Women's Conference-Joy Restored:

there's something really special about gathering with a group of women for the sole purpose of worshiping and drawing closer to God. I had the opportunity to attend a women's conference with some of my dear friends. It was a two day event with lots of fun, encouraging take aways, worship, and the feeling of peace. The featured speaker was author Rebekah Lyons. Her story of grace and working through her own struggles was very inspiring. Sometimes as christians we feel the need to be put together, to hide our feelings, and ashamed to talk about real life struggles. But you see, the thing is, God gives us continued grace and knows that we are humanly flawed. We weren't created to be perfect, we were created to seek his perfect peace and lean on Him continually. 

I truly appreciated how real and down to earth the whole message was. In a way, it had me relating it to social media. Which on a side note, I think so many of us have gotten better at. I know for myself, I don't always share the perfect picture, and my captions are relatable in that I want to talk with all of you about what happens in motherhood, life, and our ever day feelings. Sometimes christianity can be an extended version of a perfectly curated feed on the outside, but inside, so many of us are struggling but don't always talk about it for fear of judgement. It's important to lean on God and those around you that are true examples of Him. Those that are there to lift you up and not condemn you. Things like anxiety, fear, and depression are real, and while we know we have eternal hope in our creator, there are moments when struggle becomes a reality. I know for me I experienced some of that when going through everything with C and navigating his cleft journey. But what I've come to realize is, if we shift our focus in those moments to stop beating ourselves up that we might be sinning and having fearful thoughts, and instead, use it as an opportunity to draw closer to Him, we can experience so much more than we're able to on our own. I'm not sure why I went into all of that, but if someone needed to hear this, I hope that it has brought you some encouragement. 

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." Isaiah 26:3

Outdoor Fun:

i mentioned our weather has been really nice, and I say that not to brag, but it has seriously set the whole tone for this week. My kids are happier and more cooperative when the sun is shining, they get outside even more to let out some extra energy, and things are just different. Especially coming off of the winter. It's like a new found hope that we are all excited about.

Travel Posts:

i know a lot of what I've shared lately has been from our travel adventures, but that's a big part of us and we have some exciting things coming up in the next few weeks as well. In case you missed it, I shared more about things to do when visiting San Diego and how to maximize your time in Disneyland. I always find travel guides so helpful and jump on Pinterest before our trips to get an idea of things I might have missed and want to check out.

Grocery Delivery:

i'm still wondering how in the world I didn't realize we had grocery delivery with our prime membership. I mean, it was in the back of my head but I don't think I fully realized how easy it was and that the option was screaming out to me so easily. A friend mentioned how she does grocery delivery about once a month and it has really helped her to manage her time a bit better throughout the week. I decided to give it a try, and was pleasantly surprised. It was at my doorstep within two hours and was exactly as I ordered it. I wish they had a bit more of a selection to choose from, but I know there are also other services or even curbside pickup that I might be considering as well. I hate to err on the side of convenience, but #momlife. Have you tried out grocery delivery?

Favorite Finds:

This section includes affiliates links. Thank you for your continued support and happy shopping. 

after I had a facial with my sister last month, I decided to switch up some of my beauty products to try and add a little more life back into my skin. I'm still working on those fine lines, but for now, I have been liking what I'm seeing. I use this peptide serum both in the morning and at night under my moisturizer. It's light weight, not greasy, and leaves my skin with an extra glow. I have sensitive skin, and so far over the past month, I have not had issues with breaking out. I wanted to try neutrogena's new bright boost cream but I haven't been in love with it. It has a slight scent to it, which doesn't bother me, but I'm not loving the overall moisturizer feel of it. I've substituted and went back to their hydro boost. At night I use an oil-free acne wash and then follow up with the peptide serum and moisturizer. I decided I needed a better primer to wear under my makeup, but was on the fence about a few. I saw a fellow influencer friend do a whole video about how she uses this instant smooth perfecting touch, and well, I was sold. A little of this stuff goes a long way. I really like how it leaves my skin feeling and how it looks under my makeup. It smooths things really well and my makeup looks great throughout the day. 

Some of you might remember when I shared easy ways to refresh your living room. I talked a bit about how pillow covers are a great way to switch things up and use the existing pillows you already have. It's still one of my favorite quick refreshers. And not to mention, they're so much easier to store when you aren't using them then packing away a big bulky pillow. I'm working on some updates to our master bedroom and wanted to add a spring feel to our bed. I got two of these jacquard-weave covers and this fun tassel one. I love how they look on our bed and add to the brightness of our space. I've been big into the tassel trend and also have a bunch in my living room on our couches. They have a lot of great prints and colors to choose from depending on your style.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Favorites From Our Cali Trip

Happy Friday, friends! I hope it's been a great week for you. We are just back from our sunny California trip and I'm already missing that warmer weather and beautiful scenery. We've had a pretty mild winter, for the most part, but there is something so special about visiting a warmer place and being able to escape the cold for a bit. I have some fun posts coming up about our time in Disneyland, some of my favorite things to do in San Diego, and also essentials when traveling with children. If there's anything specific you'd like me to focus on in any of them, you can send me an email or drop it in the comments. Since we took advantage of exploring several different areas in the golden state, I figured I would highlight them here. 

Let's get to those favorites...

BEACH TIME: 

surprise, surprise! Ahh the beach. If you're newer around here, then you will quickly learn the beach is our happy place. We have big hopeful dreams of owning a beach house and possibly even living bi-coastal one day. It's nice to dream, hope, and pray. We'll see what happens later on down the road. We had the chance to visit beaches in both Newport and San Diego and I love them both for different reasons. Let me put it this way, as long as my boys are near the water, they're happy. What I also really loved about this trip was the refreshing feeling of slowing down, relaxing, and living in the moment. After all, isn't that what vacationing is all about?

FAMILY TIME:

the focus of our trip was to spend time with family, and aside from all the other fun we had, that's exactly what we did. Eric is one of three boys, and his two brothers live in San Diego. I mean, I can't really complain because his brothers are in Cali and now two of my brothers are in Florida, so we have some pretty awesome spots to visit. One of my brother in-laws had their first baby two months ago and we were all sooooo excited to meet him! You guys, I'm now an Aunt! Oh that little squish was giving me all the baby feels. He is just so precious and it was hard leaving him. I'm the oldest of five, and my husband is one of three, so we have a larger family between the two of us, and someone, finally someone else had a baby! We are so happy for our boys to have a cousin and how cool it's another little dude. Yup, the boys run strong in our families. My boys are obsessed with their uncles and love being with them. The memories they created were so special.

JOSHUA TREE-DESERT ADVENTURE:

talk about opposites here. We had the chance to lay seaside and then drive about 2 hours (without traffic that is) and head to the desert. Joshua Tree has become a trendy and popular place to visit so of course visiting was no exception for us. The fun part about Joshua Tree is, my brother in-law has 15 acres there that he is in the works of developing a really cool structure for. We're excited to come back out and see the progress and eventually spend even more time there. We've driven through the desert from Las Vegas to Cali, but it was dark and I really didn't get a chance to take it all in. Wow, Joshua Tree was so cool and also met a lot of my stereotype ideas I had in my mind. It was certainly interesting to see the locals that live there full time, the stores that are around, and the feeling of kind if being in the mild of nowhere. There are a lot of dirt roads, cactus and joshua trees everywhere, and some of the biggest tumbleweeds I have ever seen! 

If you tuned into my stories (always a huge thank you for checking out our crazy) then you might have seen A drew an adorable little map and took me on a treasure hunt, the boys found some "treasures", and even the shell of a snake egg. They found a desert chinchilla (not sure if that's really a thing but that's what they were calling it), we heard coyotes howling at dusk, saw jackrabbits darting out, and caught a beautiful sunset that pictures don't even give it justice. 

DISNEYLAND:

i shared last week that we got to celebrate Valentine's Day at one of the most magical places around. We all had such a great time and got to do so many things while we were there. It felt like it was such a successful trip and we've been reminiscing about so many memories for our visit. A missed out on being able to ride the incredicoaster by two inches so he's already talking about going on it the next time we go back and all the fun things we did ride on.

LOCAL FAVORITES:

there is so much to do in southern california that it feels impossible to be board. Between our afternoons on the beach, eating at local restaurants, shopping, and exploring the parks, we took it all in. I'm happy to say there were very minimal tantrums (I can think of two, and for a 9 day trip i'd say that's a huge win) and a lot more smiles than anything else.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

Valentine's Favorites

Happy love day, friends! I hope it's been a great week for you filled with so much love, not just today, but every day. I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of our past Valentine's Day celebrations and share in all the love. I've mentioned it before (probably every Valentine's post), before Eric and I had kids we never made a big deal over the day. We were perfectly fine with ordering in and maybe watching a movie or doing something low-key. I remember one year we went out and the restaurant we went to was completely packed. It felt more chaotic than enjoyable and wasn't the idea I had in mind of a fun night. So we nixed that and kept it simple from then on. That is, until we had kids. 

Yup, it was a whole different story once we had kids. Things are just different with kids and it feels like every holiday, no matter how big or small, means so much more with them. One of the approaches we've taken to Valentine's Day is explaining to our boys that it's another way for us to show Jesus' love to others just as He shows love to us. I know some look at the day as a halmark holiday, and I agree, sometimes the meaning can get lost or everyone feels they need to go above and beyond with things, but if we find a way to tie it back into our beliefs and showing love to others, than I'm on board with it. 

DISNEYLAND:

this year we had the privilege of celebrating in one of the most magical places with our little family. I am so excited to be partnering with Disney and look forward to sharing more about our adventures. We took the boys to Disney World a few years ago, but this was our first time visiting Disneyland and taking it all in.

ICE CASTLES: 

visiting the Ice Castles in New Hampshire was probably one of my favorite trips because it was so unique to us and not something you do everyday. Well, at least if it's not in an area that's right around you. As far as I know, this is the only location on the east coast out of their 6 locations total.

NYC HEART WALL:

i remember for little nugget's first Valentine's Day it was unseasonably warm so we wanted to take advantage of doing something outside. I had seen another blogger, barefoot blonde, post about a heart wall she came across in NYC. I did some digging to try and find where it was located and thanks to some hashtag searching, sure enough we were able to find this heart wall mural. We had a great outdoor brunch after and a successful day taking both boys into the city for the first time.

ICE CARNIVAL:

before we even knew the ice castles existed, there was an ice carnival that was near us. I'm not sure they even have it anymore, but I am glad we went when they did. Just envision a carnival made out of ice with games, rides, and attractions all made out of ice. I think everyone's favorite was the ice slide.

VALENTINE'S THROWBACKS:

i always enjoy a good throwback so I put together a post a few years ago with some of our first celebrations and a throwback pic of Eric and I from college. There's also some cute ones of A baking his first batch of Valentine's cupcakes for his little class. Gosh, they really do grow so quickly.

I hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day and a wonderful weekend of love! 

Favorite Things

Happy Friday, friends! I hope it's been a good week for you all. This week was all over the place for us but still filled with many great moments. A was sent home from school on Monday with a stomach ache. I had just gotten back from my weekend away and had hopes of getting a lot done around the house. Leave it to a change of plans and that didn't happen. Oh well, what can you do. Motherhood can be unexpected a lot of the time. Let's get into some favorites, shall we...

Charlotte Getaway: 

it was so nice to be able to get away for a little girls trip with my mom and sister. My sister randomly found round trip flights for $68 for us. That was a no brainer that we take advantage of a getaway away for the weekend. We brunched, and brunched some more, enjoyed some really nice rooftop spots, found some fun street art (check out more of this heart wall)  enjoyed the trendy hipster feel of the south end area. I'll share more of our trip soon and some fun spots to check out if you ever make a visit.

Self Care:

one of the things I have been trying to incorporate more of is focusing on self care. My idea used to be more of lighting a candle and reading (which is still great) but I'm not sure I truly get a lot of time to just focus on myself. Sometimes for me it's better to be out of my house and around less distractions to actually feel more relaxed. My hair grows really fast and felt like it got to a length that was just so long and blah. I only got about 4 inches cut off, but it feels so much better, and I'm looking forward to getting into more of a routine with styling it. My face could also use a little help with brightening and freshening up, so I also booked a facial. 

I was considering doing a peel but thanks to all of you who sent me messages when I posted about is in my insta stories and gave me some more insight, I decided it against it this time. I didn't realize your face needs about 1-2 weeks after to feel normal. Since we're traveling in a few days, I didn't think it was best to try it out for the first time. My esthetician also advised against it because I would have some sun exposure and the skin peeling that can take place after. I went with a hyrdafacial instead that left my face feeling amazing. It feels so smooth and brighter which is what I was hoping to achieve. And if you all caught my stories then you even saw me with no makeup on sharing my results. 

Little Helper:

we're headed to Cali in a few days to see my brother in laws and meet my new nephew. We are all just a little excited to be out in that Cali sun and enjoying some time together. For once I'm getting a head start on packing but boy does this little guy make it tough. He has already unpacked two bags, threw everything around, and sat on one of my hats. Gosh, he sure is cute though. We also have a big surprise for the boys once we're out there that we aren't telling them until we get there. If you've been a reader around here for awhile you might remember a big surprise we did for them a few years back that will be parallel to this one. You can check in with my stories to see some of our fun and find out the news.

Shopping:

i made the decision to take A and C to the mall with me and at first when we got out of the car I questioned my decision and what in the world I was thinking. A needed some new jeans and sometimes shopping for them online when he isn't a true size makes it tough. I also noticed while we were out that he acts very different then when he isn't with little nugget. I think they feed off of each other most of the time. Anyway, we ended up getting a few compliments which is always a huge confidence booster when you're a mom. I only brought the single stroller and A was sitting down with holding C on his lap. I met the sweetest woman in the checkout line that told me all about her children and sons and even had me tearing up at one point. I shared more of the story on my instagram if you want to check it out and how even though you can be years apart from someone the common bond of motherhood can allow you to relate.

Favorite Finds: 

This section includes affiliates links. Thank you for your continued support and happy shopping. 

speaking of shopping, I'll share some of the things we picked up during our trip. I couldn't find links for everything because some of them were on clearance racks, which are always my favorite finds. Even though these jeans weren't on sale, when I put them on they had to come home with me. My sister wore this animal print turtle neck in Charlotte and I loved the way it looked. I told her I was heading out to get the same one and I love it just as much on me. I'm planning on wearing it for date night tonight. This colorful knit sweater, and also this fine-knit sweater came home with me. This knit hoodie was on a great sale and it's really comfy. I think it will look really cute with leggings or jeans. This dusty rose love sweatshirt was too good to pass up and perfect for Valentine's day and even after. 

These jeans were perfect for A and his slender build. I have the toughest time with finding something that fits him in the waist and has enough length. These also have the adjustable buttons on the inside that help. He also really liked this sequin flip alligator sweatshirt and he was all about these distressed jeans, so we splurged. I picked up this set for the baby that will be perfect for our trip.

I hope you have a great weekend! 

Friday Five Favorite Things

Happy Friday, friends! I hope it's been a great week for you. Here we are, already at the end of the first month of the new year. January is always a tricky month where it feels like it drags on forever yet goes by quick at the same time. Not sure how that's possible, but it is. I have been fighting a nasty cold for what seems like ages now. It's really been more like a week and a half but still not fun. Congestion hits me hard and I'll be happy when I can breath again.

Enough about all of that though, let's get into some favorites...

Never A Dull Moment: 

my sweet little C has been keeping me on my toes so much lately, which is always a kicker when you're not feeling well. What can I say, he's super cute so that makes up for it, and I know he's still learning and exploring all new things. If you saw my instagram you might have heard that I caught him elbow deep playing in the toilet bowel water that I'm about 95% sure his brother flushed after he went. My gagging refluxes kicked in when I thought more about it and quickly put this little one right in the sink for a bath. He was having the best time splashing around, in the toilet that is, and I'm pretty sure his little smirk shows that he knew he was up to no good. I'm sure we'll be looking back at this laughing one day and I'll probably miss these moments.

Getting Outside:

as much as January is not one of my favorite months, I am so thankful that it's been a mild one for us. Usually we are bundled up and running from the car to the house with freezing temps. This year, we've mainly been in the 40's with opportunities to get outside and enjoy some fresh air for a bit. We only had one dusting of snow this year and of course had to take advantage of that and run outside to enjoy it while we could. It all melted by that afternoon but it was pretty to see while it lasted. I have no clue what February has in store for us, but what I do know is, if we can make it past February I feel like we'll all be in a better place.

Valentine's Day: 

i shared earlier this week some easy ways to make Valentine's Day special for your kids. I was recently talking with a friend who mentioned she wants to make Valentine's Day special for her little ones but doesn't want to spend a lot of money or feel like she has to put on a big production. I get it. Most of the time we are exhausted as parents, working off of a budget, or wondering how we're going to fit something extra into our schedule. I want to share some easy and cost effective ways you can make Valentine's Day special for your kids without breaking the bank or feeling like you need to put on a Pinterest show.

Being Inspired: 

i also shared more about how I want to be inspired and what's been on my heart lately thinking more about this space. My hope is that you will always find this to be an authentic, relatable, and engaging outlet. I enjoy each and everyone one of your comments so much and it let's me know that what I'm sharing is of value to you when you take the time to communicate with me. Always a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a support.

Favorite Finds: 

This section includes affiliates links. Thank you for your continued support and happy shopping. 

if you've been tuning into my stories (always a big thank you for that as well) then you know my playroom project has been a big thing for me. We have a great sized playroom that unfortunately felt like a mess and a dumping ground for things. When I shared more about my thoughts for the new year I mentioned that organization was going to be one of my focuses. I'm happy to say it's been going well so far.

we turned this little nook area into a reading nook for the boys and I love, love, love, how it now has function and a purpose. It was an odd space that felt like you couldn't do much with it before, but it's amazing what a little creativity and some planning can do. I will do a full playroom post and reveal once it's all done. We have a matching nook area on the other side of the room that we are planning on turning into an art station that will take some time to get together. We have to build out a custom table so it might not be for a little while util that happens. I'll try to share some more progress as we move along and of course you can check out more in my stories!

I'm linking some of the items I have here because I've been getting a lot of messages about them and figured if they can help someone else out, then why not. The bookshelf was a piece we picked up for $10 at a yard sale when we were first putting A's nursery together. I decided to give it an update with some black spray paint to keep with the black and white theme we have going on. These floating shelves worked out so well to make this little book area easily accessible. I'm looking forward to switching the books up every now and them and making them themed around the holidays. This floor poof has been a great spot for them to sit down and read and I couldn't resist this, I'd rather be reading pillow cover. This hanging map works out really well above the bookshelf and I love that it's also a chalkboard so they can draw on it as well.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm headed to Charlotte with my mom and sister for a little girls weekend. If you've ever been I'd love to hear some suggestions!

Favorites From The Week

Happy Friday, friends! I hope everyone had a great week and your new year is kicking off to a good start. It looks like this year isn't going to change much with feeling like time is just flying by. The boys were back to a full week of school and it was nice to have a bit of a routine back. I was able to cross some things off my to-do list and get the house back in some sort of order. Let's jump into some favorites, shall we...

Family Game Nights: 

I think we do a good job of doing a lot as a family but something we're also working on this year is trying to have our week nights feel more relaxed and engaged with each other. Sometimes after school, work, getting dinner together and cleaned up, lunches made, baths, you know all those necessity things—there isn't much room to play with the kids. Over the summer it feels different because we can do a lot more outside and the days feel longer and less rushed, so for now, a nice little focus has been game nights. The boys got UNO Flip for Christmas and it has become almost a nightly thing for us. They love regular UNO so it's been nice to learn and play the game with a little twist. I also love that they enjoy playing some of the classics that Eric and I grew up with like, Sorry, Candy Land, Trouble, Guess Who, and Twister.

Organization:

I shared more in my stories about trying to get some things organized in the house, in particular, our playroom. We have a really good sized playroom that I feel like the boys don't take enough advantage of. When we would go in there, I realized it felt more like a dumping ground for toys than really a functional playroom. So what better way to kick off the new year than hitting up those storage and organization sales (retailers are smart) and tackling all the things. We sorted through tons of toys and made piles to donate, keep, and take some things over to grandmom's.

This 6 cube organizer shelf (currently 15% off with code HOME) helped out a ton with getting things up and off the floor and into specific bins. We picked up these cubes (also currently on sale) and a few decorative baskets. I mentioned that I wanted to do a wallpaper accent wall (thank you to everyone who voted on my poll), it was a really close call. Since I loved both wallpaper designs (we narrowed it to down to this one or this one) for different reasons, I decided to let the boys decide since it is their playroom and I want them to feel involved as well. My mom is coming over this afternoon to help me put it up so stay tuned to my stories to see which one we picked.

I think the playroom is going to be my work-in-progress-project since we also have two little coves in their that I have some ideas with how I want to utilize them better. This will be a bit of an on going project for the next few weeks, but I'll try to share more as we move along. 

Holiday Rewind:

It's hard to believe that we have to wait almost a whole year to experience the Christmas magic and joy of the season again. It was sad packing things away yet nice to have the house back in order. Funny how you can experience sadness and joy all at the same time. It was fun looking back on all of the things we did and the moments we shared together. You can read more about how we spent our winter break.

Thoughts For The New Year: 

I also shared more about my thoughts and 2020 vision ;) I really struggled with trying to narrow down one word to focus on for the year, and making resolutions hasn't really been my thing. I decided not to stress over achieving the perfect mantra for the year and instead focused on what would be best for us as a family. You can also see and read more of our 12pm kids down and the fun we had with the boys.

First Date Night: 

It can be hard to find time to sneak away as a couple for a few hours when you have a house full of little ones. Anyone else struggle with working in date nights? It's something Eric and I are going to try to make more of a priority this year. We were able to have a sitter and enjoy a sixers game by ourselves. We were invited to a coaches meet and greet before the game so it was nice to be there early and also grab something to eat. We weren't able to record anything while we were there but we did get a picture at their table. It's always nice when it's a night that they win, too.

Here's to enjoying the weekend and focusing on our goals for the new year!