July 4th Inspiration

July 4th is just a few days away and while I'm a little late with this post, I figured better late than never! Actually, once I found the gorgeous romper included below, I knew I just HAD to share!

Elsa Top

Off the Shoulder Top

Red/Blue Cover Ups

Essie Red/Blue Nail Polish

Halter Romper
Nautical Stripe Dress (Only $33)

Tory Burch White Sandals

Embroidered pull on shorts

Do you have any big plans for the 4th? We have done a variety of things over the years, but this year we are going back to my hometown for a family pool party/cookout/fireworks display. It should be a lot of fun, I just need to finalize what I will be fixing to take to the cookout. :) I have always fixed festive foods in the past and really enjoy coming up with different ideas. But this year I'd like to try something new.

I found these (nonalcoholic) drinks and thought they were really cute!

And I've made a fruit pizza in the past but never thought to fix in on a brownie! YUM!!

Any festive food/drink ideas you are planning to fix?

Weekending

Happy Monday!! I hope you all had a great weekend! Mine started out really quiet. The kids were gone for most of Friday and Saturday and as much as I thought I'd enjoy some time to myself, I missed them like crazy! But I am thankful they have grandparents that live so close where they have the ability to have sleepovers. So fun!

Saturday evening when I finally picked them up and we came home, we took some silly selfies. I sure did miss my munchkins!

Then at (almost) bedtime, I decided we should fix homemade chocolate chip cookies! My mom ALWAYS made them growing up. I have fixed them quite a bit too, but it's been a long time! I tend to just want to eat the dough whenever I fix them, so it takes serious willpower to go ahead and bake some cookies! I had such good helpers!

After the kids were tucked into bed, I had planned to watch the Miss Virginia Pageant, but for some reason even though it showed it was airing, it wasn't! I was so bummed out! Fortunately I found one of my all time favs playing "How to lose a guy in 10 days", so I watched it.

Sunday was a usual day or church and preps for the week ahead.

I am looking forward to this week with the hubs being off and also heading out of town for the holiday. I hope you had a wonderful weekend! And don't forget to enter the giveaway I am co-hosting. The watch is absolutely gorgeous! Tomorrow is the last day to enter and the winner will be announced Wednesday.

And don't forget my link ups with Biana and Meghan.

It's Friday, Y'all!

Happy Friday!! This week has seemed to fly by and I'm okay with that! We have some exciting things to look forward to next week so I like that we're almost there!

~ONE~
Family workouts!
 I mentioned before that the kids had been running some with the hubs some in the evenings. Well this week they've decided to join me in our basement every morning for a little family workout. The pics aren't the best quality, but the pic on the left shows them both on the treadmill. The pic on the right shows my daughter on the elliptical, my son on his mini stationary bike, and me on the treadmill.

~TWO~
My 6th family blog book finally arrived! And we couldn't wait to flip through it and look back at our lives over the past year. My 7 year old literally reads through every page! It's such an awesome keepsake. You can read about what I do in this post (in case you missed it and are interested).

~THREE~
My mom and I took the kids to see a movie earlier in the week. My mom always takes my daughter to the movies - it's sort of "their thing". But I always hated being left behind (but we just didn't think my son was old enough to sit thru an entire movie). This time I decided to let my son try it for the first time. And he actually did great! Mind you, he literally ate popcorn for the entire first hour. #whateverworks #myboylikestoeat

Inside Out was SUCH a good movie! I highly recommend it!

~FOUR~

Don't forget about the giveaway I shared earlier in the week! The watch is absolutely gorgeous!

~FIVE~
My kids are going to my in-laws tonite for a sleepover and the hubs is working late. I am tempted to get Chinese takeout and indulge in a good chick flick! I can't remember the last time I spent the evening alone!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!! See you back on Monday!!

As always, my fun link ups:

 Liz

Erika, Narci, and Andrea

 Hill Collection.

GIVEAWAY (Short and sweet post)

Happy Wednesday!! Yesterday was a crazy busy day so I didn't get around to writing a post for today. However, I have some exciting news! I have teamed up with a fabulous group of bloggers to celebrate the 2 year blogiversary of Medicine and Manicures. We are giving away a gorgeous Kate Spade watch! The giveaway begins today and continues through next Tuesday, June 30th. The winner will be announced next Wednesday, July 1st. You don't want to miss your chance at winning this awesome accessory!

Hosted by:

Medicine & Manicures
The lovely co-hosts:

The New Mrs. // Katie Elizabeth // Life on Myers // Girl Meets Bow

 Champagne & Suburbs // Meet at the Barre // Sequins & Seabreezes    Sell Eat Love // Home of Malones // Davis Duo // Playdates & Prescriptions
a Rafflecopter giveaway

DIY Canvas Flag (Tuesday Talk Link Up)

Today I thought I'd share a super easy DIY flag craft I made with my kids last year. It's no secret that I love to make things using my kids' hands and feet. They enjoy participating and it leaves you with fun keepsakes you will cherish for years and years.

Last year around July 4th, I decided I wanted to create a flag using their hands/feet. Here is what we came up with; we used my son's hands and my daughter's feet. These types of things are never perfect, but it's the imperfections that make them so special!

Just for fun I thought I'd include this pic of my son and his "war paint". After we finish with the "required" painting, I always let them free paint. Apparently he didn't understand the concept of just painting his hands for the artwork. He decided to continue painting his body! Ha! (I love his look of innocence!)

And then the finished product with my patriotic cuties last year!

I hope you found this helpful.. :)

Today I'm linking up with Keri, Jessica, Katie, and many more for Tuesday Talk.

Weekending

Happy Monday!! I hope you all had a great wknd!! Ours was good but pretty low key b/c the hubs was asked to work at the last minute. Boo!! But at least we enjoyed the week with him and plan to celebrate his Father's Day tonite by fixing him one of his favorite meals! :)

On Friday we took my parents out dinner for an early Father's Day treat for my stepdad. Unfortunately I didn't take any pics at the restaurant, but we did manage to snap a quick pic on the way out. We wanted to show off our Greece attire that my mom had bought for us during their recent trip. I guess it was too bright for the kids, hence my son's eyes shut and my daughter squinting! ha!

The kids also started running with my hubs at night the past few days. He takes them for a short run before his long run. It's such a cute thing to watch! (Not the best quality pic b/c I only used my phone.)

Saturday we cleaned house most of the day and then met a good friend for dinner. Since I was already at the mall, I decided to run to Macy's (we don't have a Nordstrom...so sad) and purchase the lipstick I mentioned last week. It's definitely bright but I love it for Summer!

The kids also helped me fix some of my hubs' favorite dessert - mini cheesecakes!

Sunday we went to church and then home to set up our little gift area for my hubs. Even though we didn't fix his big meal until tonite (b/c he worked past dinner last night), we still wanted to shower him with some love (after work) yesterday.

And don't forget my link ups with Biana and Meghan.

It's Friday, Y'all!

Happy Friday!!! It's been a good week here b/c the hubs was off (for the first time in almost 3 weeks), but I have somehow contracted a stupid Summer cold. UGH! But hopefully it'll pass soon and it'll be a great wknd!

~ONE~
Earlier in the week we marked another item off of our Summer bucket list. We took the kids to a local skating rink. Our daughter had been begging to go ever since her class took a field trip there about a month ago. Both kids seemed to enjoy it, but were also very hesitant and cautious. The hubs and I hadn't been on skates since we were probably in high school and we really didn't get to skate much b/c we were helping our kids. We agreed that maybe we'd have a date night there in the future! Silly, but sometimes these activities that you used to do as a kid are still just as fun!

~TWO~
The hubs finally got to join us at the pool this week! We all loved having him there and while he did get in the water with us some, he mainly sat in the shade with our son. I thought they were cute with their coordinating visors while both eating sno' cones. 

~THREE~
 I can't seem to get enough fresh fruit lately. And the kids are eating it up too! We stocked up on Monday (during my weekly grocery trip) and we've almost eaten it all. There's just something about the warmer months that makes me crave fresh fruit/veggies. 

~FOUR~
Is anyone else getting a LITTLE bit annoyed with The Bachelorette?? There used to be a "to be continued" episode every so often but I think they've done it with every episode this season. UGH! It's just annoying. 

~FIVE~
We can't wait to celebrate my hubs this weekend. He's such a great Daddy to our kids and I hope to shower him with love this weekend. Our kids are very fortunate b/c they have a lot of special "dads" in their lives; their dad, my dad, my stepdad, my father in law, and my grandpa. Lots of love to go around for all of the wonderful Dads! :)

I hope you have a great weekend!! See you back on Monday!

As always, my fun link ups:

 Liz

Erika, Narci, and Andrea

 Hill Collection.

Wishlist Thursday

Originally this post was supposed to happen yesterday with the title "Wishlist Wednesday", but I was a little behind so I decided to still post it but change the title! :)

Here are some things I have my eyes on lately!

After reading The Sequin Notebook post about Guacamole, I discovered that I desperately need a molcajete.  I probably fix guac once a week and everyone in my house loves it. So I'm not quite sure why I don't already have one. However, I hope this changes soon. I have a birthday next month and I think this would make the perfect gift!

I love a good white dress and actually only own one (and it's pretty old). I fell in love with this one the minute I saw it. How could you not with the cute back?

I recently purchased my first tube of MAC lipstick and love it! I went with a light pink (Saint Germaine) and wear it often. But now I'm thinking I need to add another color to my selection. (Candy Yum Yum)

  .

It's no secret I am a huge Lilly lover. And recently I've had my eyes on anything in the "Red Right Return Print". I typically stick with mostly pinks but I think this would be a perfect option for July 4th!

I think this Kendra Scott necklace speaks for itself! I love all of the colors, but I would imagine the pearl would really pop on my sun-kissed skin!

Anything you have your eye on recently??

Share Your Summer - What's in My Pool Bag?

With my busy weekend (revolving around the pool, nonetheless), I forgot to write my post for yesterday's link up with The Magnolia Mamas. This week's topic was all about our pool bags.

We're fortunate enough to live fairly close to our neighborhood pool, so we choose to walk. The kids don't mind the walk over, but aren't as crazy about the walk home! Ha! (What about poor momma pulling the wagon both ways??) But nothing beats not having to load up kids (with sunscreen) in a hot car to drive over. So we load up our wagon instead. 

Inside the wagon, you'll find a few different bags. 

The biggest one is our food bag. I always pack our lunches and lots of snacks since we usually go for a few hours. Plus, the kids always seem to wanna eat during the "adult swim" time.

Then I always pack a cooler with our cold food/drinks.

I have a smaller bag for sunscreen, pool passes, chapstick, cash, my phone, and tissues. 

I also have a bag of towels and a bag of pool toys (but I forgot to snap pics of them).

In addition to all of our bags, we load up pool noodles, a stand alone umbrella, life jackets, and anything else we can think of! Ha! Needless to say, we are pretty loaded down for our journey to the pool. 

But once we are set up - we are good to go for a few hours. And my son mostly prefers to sit in the shade and eat food for the majority of the time. Ha!

Anything special you like to take to the pool that maybe I should add to my wagon??

Weekending

Happy Monday! Today's post won't have many words, as I returned late last night and barely had time to upload pics.

Our weekend was great! I loaded the kids up on Sat morning and we drove back to my hometown to visit my family and friends. The kids always love going to "Pops'" house. He has a gorgeous pool that we all enjoyed and he recently bought a new "toy" that the kids REALLY enjoyed. I loved spending time with my dad, brother, and niece. She's such a sweetie! Then yesterday some of my friends came over with their kids and we all enjoyed some time by the pool. I really missed my hubs (as he stayed home b/c of work), but look forward to our next trip up there for the 4th (when we will all be going).

My sweet niece!

We all took turns driving the "mule".

Friends since elementary/middle school!

I hope you had a great weekend too!!

And don't forget my link ups with Biana and Meghan.

It's Friday, Y'all!

Happy Friday!!! It's been a good week but we are really looking forward to the weekend. We are going back to a local outdoor music festival tonite and then heading to my hometown for the rest of the weekend. We're excited to see my family (especially my sweet niece). But before I go, here are my Friday Favs!


~ONE~
Did y'all see these adorable Royal Baby pics earlier this week?? And the best part, I heard their momma (Princess Kate) was the photographer. I love how down to earth they seem.  I just want to squeeze George's cheeks in these pics! SO cute!

 source

~TWO~
Thankfully the rain passed and we were able to enjoy our pool days again this week. The kids are becoming more and more brave in the water and that makes this momma very happy!

~THREE~
I fixed two separate batches of pasta salad this week. I always crave it in the Summer but I'm the only one in my family who will eat it (so I typically don't fix it). I decided to just fix smaller batches just for myself. And I'll tell ya, it was so much better than I've ever fixed it before. I bought the Zesty Italian dressing (vs always buying the plain Italian in the past), and I swear it made a huge difference. So tasty!

~FOUR~
Did you happen to catch my post yesterday about rompers and jumpsuits? I don't know what I'm waiting for, I need to purchase the Lilly romper already!!

~FIVE~
I happened to catch a little blurp on the upcoming cast for Bachelor in Paradise. I'm so excited! I tend to enjoy the spin off shows (Bachelor Pad, Bachelor in Paradise) more than the actual Bachelor/Bachelorette seasons. But I'm not sure how I feel about the cast yet. Most of them are from very recent seasons. (And I tend to love the older veterans.) I was happy to see Claire and Tenley, but most of the guys are very "new". I'm sure it'll be great either way!

image source

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!! See you back on Monday!!

As always, my fun link ups:

 Liz

Erika, Narci, and Andrea

 Hill Collection.