Life Lately

Hey guys! Hope everyone had a great weekend. Here's what we were up to + some of the fun things that have been going on in our lives lately.

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Friday was the 50th school day at Lily's school, so they had a 50's Day to celebrate. It was so cute to see all those kiddos dressed up. I think Lily fit the bill pretty perfectly, right? They also got to dance in the hall if they paid 50 cents. To be a fly on the wall seeing all those kids dancing!

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We went to our local zoo on Saturday and seriously had the best time. The monkeys showed off for us, and that was fun. :)

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I took the girls for flu shots last week (the flu has already shown up here) and had to bribe them with treats afterward to even get them in the door. But they took their shots like little champs, and I was really proud of them. Lily wanted ice cream for her treat, so I packed a bag of potato chips for Hadley. She can't get enough of salty potato chips!

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We saw the "My Little Pony" movie last weekend, and it was really cute. Plus the soundtrack is fun...the girls keep requesting Sia's "Rainbow" on repeat. I think I know every word now.

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I picked up this sweatshirt from Target recently, and it's a new fave. I got lots of looks while getting my oil changed...haha...

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Lily has taken off when it comes to riding her bike. For the longest time she would get on and immediately get off if she couldn't pedal by herself right away. She gets frustrated so easily. But we've persisted, and it's been a good lesson for her on the importance of trying things over and over, even if you can't master it right away! Anyway, now all she wants to do is ride her bike, and I think Santa may bring her a new one for Christmas. Next step...losing the training wheels!

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I got my hair colored recently, and it feels so much better. I never colored my hair until recently, as I'm starting to get some grey. Ugh. Getting older is for the birds.

I had time after my hair appointment to run by Barnes and Noble before picking Hadley up from school. I picked up Brene Brown's latest book and can't wait to dig in. She is so darn wise, I know I'll learn tons.

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Our church held a fall festival last week, and it was lots of fun for us and the community as a whole. The girls had hot dogs, popcorn, and cotton candy and jumped in bounce houses galore. They also got tattoos on their arms, and let me tell you...there's nothing better than tattoos from a church. Lily had a bat on her arm that read "Batty for Jesus," and Hadley had a pumpkin on her arm that read "Glowin' with God." Those tickled me.

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That's all I've got for y'all today. It's cooler here, and the leaves are changing colors. We're getting ready for Halloween, and it's just a fun time! Hope everyone has a happy Monday and a wonderful week ahead!

Weekend Update

Hey guys. Hope everyone had a great weekend. We surely did!

 

First, I can't ignore today's date. September 11. How in the world has it been 16 years since that dreadful day? New York will always be a part of my heart...it's the greatest place on this Earth, in my opinion. Today I'm thinking of those who lost loved ones on that day. God bless all of you.

 

 

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Our weekend: Rob is working on a huge project at work, and he's been at the office what seems like 24/7. He worked most of the weekend, so the girls and I had some girl-time.

 

Before we picked Lily up from school on Friday, Hadley and I had a picnic in their treehouse. How cute is she?

 

 

Friday night we met my parents for Mexican and sat outside. The weather here has been glorious, and we've enjoyed every second of it.

 

Saturday morning we picked up donuts, and the girls were sweet enough to go to Sephora with me. I picked up some new skin products, and I'm loving them so far.

 

 

I'm reading Jen Hatmaker's new book Of Mess and Moxie and can't get enough of it. It's one of those books where I'm underlining nearly every sentence. The highlighted portion below especially resonated with me.

 

 

Saturday afternoon Lily lost her first top tooth! I can't get over how different she looks!

 

 

We skipped church on Sunday because Hadley is getting a little cold. She still felt well enough to play outside, and we enjoyed most of our day in our backyard!

 

 

I adore the picture below...I think it perfectly captures the joy of childhood. Look at those happy, carefree faces!

 

 

I kept Hadley home from school today, so we're watching Trolls right now before I get busy with typical Monday stuff.

 

And, this is it...the week I've been looking forward to for what seems like forever. Rob and I are heading to New Orleans on Thursday to see U2 at the Superdome! This is a bucket list item of mine...they're one of my favorite bands of all-time, and I have heard they are incredible live. I am so stoked, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep! I'm sure this week will creep by...

 

 

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I hope everyone has a great day and a happy week. I'll be back with some fashion-related posts in a few days! :)

 

 



Weekend Update + Labor Day

Hey guys! I guess we can officially say adios to summer now that Labor Day has come and gone. It's already starting to cool off a little here, and we've been loving every second of spending more time outside. Here's what we were up to this weekend. Hope everyone else enjoyed their time as much as we did!

 

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Saturday morning the weather was nice so we took the girls to a local park. We played and took a long walk around the pond and found the first of 3 painted rocks. I think a lot of communities do this, but we're involved in this "movement" to spread kindness called #madisonMSrocks. You simply paint a rock, hide it, and wait for someone to find it. The person who finds it re-hides it in a new location to keep spreading cheer...and then joins in by painting and hiding their own rocks for people to find. Anyway, it may sound like a silly concept, but I can't tell you how fun it was to find these rocks. And then for our girls to want to pay it forward by re-hiding them for others to experience that joy too. If your community doesn't do this, I highly suggest starting a group up. It's a simple way to create (and find) joy in this oftentimes hard world.

 

OK...how funny is Lily's pose below? She pops her leg out in almost every photo...future model? :)

 

 

 

After the fun we had finding rocks, we came home and painted our own. The girls had so much fun with the process and thinking about where they wanted to hide them. After Lily's rocks dried, she wrote messages on them. Her choices: "Smile." "Be happy." "Be kind." Proud mama right here.

 

 

 

We took a trip to get sno cones later in the day. Hadley hates almost everything sweet and refuses to even try a sno cone. So she had Cheetos while the rest of us devoured our sugar-filled ice.

 

 

Rob was in his element because football officially started on Saturday. It's not really my thing (ha!), so after sno cones the girls and I hit up Michaels to check out all the Halloween decorations. We were in heaven. I picked up a cute craft kit, and we made Halloween bookmarks when we got home.

 

 

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Sunday we went to church as a family and spent the rest of the afternoon just catching up on things around the house. How cute are our girls in their matching Mississippi State dresses? Rob was happy that the Bulldogs won, so that makes for a happy Sunday in our house.

 

 

The girls spent the night with Pop and J on Sunday night, and Rob and I had a rare date night. We went to a local spot, Saltine, and had some seriously yummy food. The weather was nice enough that we sat outside and enjoyed the cool breeze. How cute is this place?

 

I had a kale salad to start, and it was divine. Those are pickled red onions on top, and they're my new favorite food. I could eat anything that's pickled.

I chose shrimp and grits for my entree, and it was yummy too. I have a hard time passing up shrimp when we're out. One of my favorite foods.



The interior at Saltine is so cool...wishing I could find a spot for these lights in our house!



 

If any of y'all are ever passing through Jackson, Mississippi, I highly recommend Saltine...the food and the atmosphere are top notch.

 

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We spent Labor Day, laboring. Isn't that what everyone does? I cleaned and swept our garage (why?!?!) and am sore today as a result! We also got out our fall and Halloween decorations. I know it's early, but it makes us happy. I'll be slowly transforming the house this week and will share pictures when it's all done!

 

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I shared my favorite picks from Loft's Labor Day sale yesterday. In case you missed it, you can check it out here. Did anyone order anything? There were some good sales going on!

 

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Hope everyone has a happy, short week!

 

 



Weekend Update + Recipe for Fluffy Slime

Hey guys! How was everyone's weekend? I've always felt that summer is on the downward slope once the 4th is over, and it feels like that even more this year. School resumes in one month. Yikes.

 

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I imagine when people look back at the summer of 2017 one word will come to mind: slime. It's been the summer of slime, right? We finally made our own on Friday, and it was so much fun! I'm going to share the recipe I found below because I found it was not as messy as I thought it was going to be.

 

 

 

 

Fluffy Slime
via Little Bins for Little Hands

 

Ingredients:

 

Elmer's Washable Glue

Foaming Shaving Cream (the white, fluffy kind)

Baking Soda

Food Coloring

Saline Solution for Sensitive Eyes

 

 

Directions:

 

Measure 3-4 cups of shaving cream into a bowl. (We used 3 cups.)

 

Add a few drops of food coloring.

 

Add 1/2 cup of glue and mix thoroughly.

 

Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Mix.

 

Add 1 Tablespoon of the saline solution and mix well.

 

Your slime is ready! **I found that kneading the slime with my hands for a few minutes made the mixture less sticky and more fluffy. The mixture will stick to your hands at first. The best way to get the mixture off your hands (and to make it less sticky) is to keep kneading it and keep playing with it! After a few minutes our hands were clean.**

 

Also important to note, most slime recipes contain a form of boron. In our recipe it was found in the saline solution. I don't know much about chemistry, but experts agree to wash your hands after playing with slime. So that's what we did! :)

 

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Saturday we had donuts on the front porch and spent the afternoon swimming at Pop and J's. We had blue cheese burgers for dinner, and we all went to bed that night tired from the sun and water. Typical summer day!

 

 

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Yesterday we made more slime (because it really is that fun), and we went to see "Despicable Me 3." It was really cute and clever. Animated movies just amaze me. And there was a Minion in the concession area so that was fun too.

 

 

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Today starts Vacation Bible School for Lily. Hadley can't attend until she's 5, and I'm the bad mom who didn't sign up early enough to serve as a volunteer. Whoops. Hadley and I have lots of fun errands planned (ha), and then we'll pick sister up around lunchtime and will probably spend our afternoon making more slime. Seriously.

 

I hope everyone has a great day and a happy week ahead. I'll leave you with two funny pics of my girls.

 

Below, I caught the stinker on the right mid-hit.



 

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Weekend Update

Hey guys! How was everyone's weekend? We were able to get some things on our to-do list done, but we were also able to have a lot of fun...the perfect weekend, right? :)

And, full disclosure, I have used some affiliate links in this post which means if you click the link and make a purchase I might receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting me! :)

Now on to the good stuff...

 

Friday night Rob and I went to a surprise birthday dinner for one of our friends, and it was so good to be out with other adults! The food was yummy, and the company was even better. I wore this cute top with skinny jeans and black sandals...love the bell sleeves and the tie at the front. It's sold out in black, but I've linked the striped version (which I'm kind of wanting now!).

 

Bell Sleeve Tie Front Top

 

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Saturday we went swimming at Pop and J's house. The water was cold, but it was still fun. I love that kids don't even notice the water temperature, but adults can barely put a big toe in. Hadley and Pop shared some potato chips on the side of the pool while the rest of us swam.

 

 

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We missed church yesterday but were able to get a lot of things done around the house. I'm working on the girls' playroom and upgraded their art table with a new one that's a little taller. This table is seriously the best. It's a great height, but it's not too bulky. The chairs come in an assortment of colors and are big enough for an adult to sit in! Plus, it's 15% off right now!

 

Industrial Kids Activity Table

Industrial Kids Activity Chair (Set of 2)

 

I picked up the pom pom garland at Hobby Lobby, and the cups that hold their art supplies are old and from Target. I wanted them off the table (to give more room for drawing and painting) and had the idea to use Command hooks to hang them within their reach. I love the way it turned out! And while I was feeling crafty I put together the unicorn banner. I love this little area and know the girls will enjoy it too!

 

I also framed some of my favorite pieces they've created over the years and plan on creating a gallery wall in the playroom. And I spray painted this unicorn head I found at Hobby Lobby. It was white, but duh...we had to make it purple. The horn is gold and glittery and just pretty much perfect!

 

 

 

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We picked up a bubble machine recently, and the girls had the best time with it. These things are worth every penny. I don't know about you, but I can't blow bubbles for too long! The girls enjoyed every second being outside with their new toy.

 

 

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Hope everyone has a great Monday and a happy week ahead. And just remember...