Fashion Friday

Happy Friday and Last day of the month!!! I am dodging the rain like a pro today.   Totally packed the kids up to go to the park, only to drive through a downpour and detour to the library like a boss.

Thank you Starbucks for filling my tummy with a yummy green tea latte.

I snuck out last week for a quick mani/pedi and tried out this white eyelet top which I scored in a Jena box.  LOVED it!   {PS Side braid is code for: Crazy hair, don't care...}

Saturday night we had a fun little date night.  I rocked some Purple Reign Lipsense and our new fringe choker with an #LBD (little black dress)

I also took out my new waverly covet in cream!  I love it.

Our favorite White Gita Tassels are now available in black.   Score some today!

My style inspiration comes from this one quite often: Jena Green.  Her boutique rocks and she's constantly keeping up to date with all the trends for a fabulous price.

Our new engravable bangles are precious!!

I love how these mirrored sunnies show off whatever is in front of me!  I get such a kick out of them.

Last night we had a sushi date and a biz meeting.  GOOD VIBES!

Now is the time to spend those DOT DOLLARS!!  

Bring on my favorite month: 

JULY!!

Confessions and Randoms...

I confess...

...I'm so happy it's Thursday!! I'm beyond ready for the holiday weekend. Bring on the fireworks!

...I feel guilty for blogging.  I sometimes think I am "wasting" my time, but then when I think about it, I don't have many activities that I do just for me, and in a way, I hope that my blog helps others.  At least that is what I tell myself so that I don't feel guilty for taking some time to write!

...I did not want to workout today but I did it anyway.  I pushed play on my Beachbody on demand and did cardio with Shaun T.  Boom.

...I am not loving this silly weather.  Where are you Mr. Sun and please dry up all this rain?!

...I totally got my new Driver's license in the mail and cannot believe how chubby my cheeks were! The photo was taken years ago before I had kids...so while the fine lines and wrinkles are not there, man oh man my cheeks!

...Side note, I really appreciated being able to go to TOPS to get my vision checked and filling out all my info online and entirely skipping the DMV.  Not a place I want to go and bring the kiddos!

....Lots of good vibes and positive thoughts for this weekend. We have some big deals happening and I am praying for some smooth sailing!

...I have really been taking in what Brené Brown has to say.  She's got a lot of good stories and a way with explaining how our minds and hearts tend to work as women.

...That said, this quote stopped me in my tracks when I was walking the dog the other morning:

...I will fully admit I don't like the middle of things---the uncertain, the unknown, the crazy ups and downs and where the EFF is this taking us feeling...but it's so true.  Without a scary middle, there is no beautiful end.  I need to learn to embrace, get uncomfortable (even more than I was already thinking that I was) and that yes, I DO want to be in this arena.

...Confused about what I'm talking about? Do yourself a favor and grab this book:

...I'm sure I'll share more later as I am only a little ways in.

...Some days I don't feel like lifting heavy weights or jumping around like a crazy person.  It doesn't mean that I don't work out, it means I turn to Yoga.  I am obsessed with my new Alo yoga pants.

...I made the kiddos a homemade pizza last night and it took all of me to not eat the other half. #truestory

...however I did nibble a few bites and immediately felt a yuck feeling in my gut. I tossed both kids in the stroller and pushed them (it's rather heavy now!) and felt a little better.

...I saw this about about died.  Joe and I will randomly start singing this aloud and then question wth? Seriously this song is something else.

...Is it 5:00 yet?  Mama is heading out on a sushi and business date with daddy and is ready to get dolled up.

Happy Thursday!!

Road Trip Snacks/Foods

We are getting excited about an upcoming vacation to Lake George.  I've been starting to prepare a bit of snacks for our trip.  While I have every intention of enjoying delicious and maybe not so nutritious meals out from time to time, I know our bodies and they crave good for us foods.

First up?  These bad boys!  I remember years ago Joe meeting a guy who had his hands in on the actual making of these.  We had a taste and they were SO good.  Had to grab them when I saw them!

I'm in an amazing accountability group where the girls share food and recipe ideas. I totally hit up Amazon for these!  Brooke likes the fruit bars and Bradley loves the sqaure bars.  I haven't tried the power snacks yet, but I love me some Justin's maple almond butter!

I'm on that mom who believes in eating as healthy as possible, but real life and simple snacks that kids will eat happen too.  Bradley loves these tomato basil lentil bean snacks, the mac and cheese is an SOS meal if the kids don't eat their dinner or are starving.  Quick oatmeal in case of breakfast meltdowns before we leave the hotel.  Brooke loves the chocolate organic pop tarts.  PBJ --because, peanut butter and jelly is always an easy go to.   Rice cakes and quest bars for me.

Apples, mint milanos & graham crackers.

My friend Ann told me about these delicious waters!

We are bringing our Ninja and going to make these happen and sip them by the pool one day. #vacay

Can't leave without this yummy drink!

My sweet friend Shelby gifted me this adorable cooler bag with my monogram.

It will be perfect to keep my cans of rose cold!

I'll also throw in deli meat, cheese sticks & yogurt tubes.  I may be overpacking but I'd rather have too much than not enough.  Been there done that before and it's no fun!!  

Bring on the loose schedule, family time, beach and poolside fun!

What healthy-ish snacks do you bring on road trips?

Mommy Monday

The days do tend to tie together as they rapidly speed by these last few weeks.  I love documenting photos of the kids, because as cheesy as it is, they really do grow up so darn fast!  I don't even know how we are knocking on July's door.

I do know that these three souls are my world and while it was a little long to have Daddy working so much, we survived and thrived!

We kept busy with all of the houses.  They're super helpful.

We visited Crystal up at the Tent Sale.  Here Brooke was "Meadow the Skunk."

We put on the Moana soundtrack and Brooke pretended to row a boat with a broom.

I had a preschool board meeting and didn't want to have to pay a sitter, so these two came with me!  They played pretty well and did a good job for the 2 hours.

There may have been some bribes with ice cream, when I had to run and check on a house and someone wanted to stay and play in the sandbox.  The result.

Mr playing peekabo after nap time.

Stud man.

They also may have discovered ice cream sandwiches and the aftermath of one of the balloon creations from the clown.

Bradley boo was a bit off, as he missed Daddy.  We went to my dad's birthday dinner and usually Joe goes with us when we visit, so Bradley was missing him and the ride on our Side by side.  We went on a little walk into the woods and he had so much fun throwing rocks into the stream.

Nana's homemade ice cream cake cheered him up a bit as well.

Brooke was losing her mind over it.  Clearly it was delish!

Summer has just begun and I am over the moon to see what lies ahead for us in Summer 2017!

Thoughts & Confessions

I confess...

I am obsessed with this quote. I really want to finish the book Daring Greatly by Brene Brown (who by the way is the key note speaker at Hoopla in Vegas! SO bummed it's not working out this year, but I am so excited for all of the Stella girls who will get to hear her speak.    I think back to so many times where I felt the need to defend myself or explain for things, and during yesterday's devotional it really spoke to me as well.  There is NO need to explain why you tell someone no.  No need. Simple. End of story!

I confess...

I have not had a Starbucks drink in over 2 weeks!! Considering I was making it an almost daily habit of my Green Tea lattes, I consider this a small victory.  (It's to the point where my kids play "Starbucks" and will go to windows or my kitchen counter and order a green tea latte! I about died when they started doing this.)  These pretty things were floating around social media yesterday so I may have to treat myself to one on our upcoming vacay!

I confess...

I kept myself quite busy listening to books while Joe worked his butt off during his tent sale.  It was my 10th sale with him so I know the drill. No one is going to come and save me, no one lends out a hand to help out with the kids or ask if we need anything.  And ya know what? It's just something I have to learn to deal with.  I can sit and cry "poor me" (which I may have had one night where my girl Nikki talked me off a ledge---thank you mama!!) But the truth is, I'm a strong mama and I've got this.  I try to remind myself that we are living like no one else now, so that we can live like no one else later.

Know what else helped?  This book.  I am obsessed with GC.  I loved his 10x book and think I need to listen again, but this spoke to me in so many ways.  He reminds me of my husband and now Joe loves listening and watching him too.

They say you're the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with, and well other than the kids and Joe, I'd have to say my other "people" are authors.  Speakers. Podcasts.  I don't watch TV and really try to keep my mind right.  If you are looking for inspiration, buy Grant Cardone and listen to him speak the truth.

I confess...

As much as I love my personal development, I also need to turn the thinker brain off a bit.  I started this book awhile back and couldn't get into it.  I picked it up again and plowed through it pretty quickly.  It started out slowly but then took a turn and I was hooked!! One of those, "where the heck is this going?!" books...  I gave it a 3.5 and definitely recommend it if you like those murder mystery types of books.

Since I had no where to be or dress up for, I didn't take many pretty selfies haha! I traded them for sweaty selfies and have been working out almost daily.  It helps me stay sane for sure!!

I have been doing Beachbody On Demand and mostly Shaun T week.  I do Yoga too--pretty much no excuse to not workout with on demand.  Turn on the laptop and press play.

2 weeks of eating well (10 day cleanse) working out, etc. I'm down 6 pounds and I am starting to see leg definition!! I'm pretty pumped.  My little workout helpers aren't very helpful and it can be frustrating, but it's working so yay!

PS The apple watch was a game changer too! I love seeing how many calories I burn and how many steps I take in a day...it's a little addicting and I'm trying to not obsess.

I confess...

I was OVER the moon excited about our sparkle studs in gold.  I can't seem to find either my smokey studs or my regular clear studs, but I did order the new ones yesterday.  $19 and they look real!  I love a good stud in the Summer (especially a less expensive version of a diamond!) beaching it, pools, playgrounds, you name it and I won't worry about losing them.

Our ever popular white Gita tassels are now in black too! So fun.

I confess...

I love it when it's 90+ outside.  We always joke around that I'm a "SummerGirl" since that was my screen name on Match.com when I met Joe.  But really, we love the heat and just lounging in the front yard while the kids jump in and out of the kiddie pool.

I confess....

I did get to escape 2 times during the sale.  It's super hard to not have any help with the kids from the moment they get up until the moment they go to bed. I hit up a spa one day for a massage (she worked the sh*t out of my knots--quite painful actually!!) and acupuncture (which to me is more medicinal than just relaxing.) I go monthly for stress/reflux and simply tell her whatever is bugging me.  

Put those oxygen masks on mamas.  We MUST take care of ourselves.

I confess...

I feel like we all have our own paths that we are on.  I struggled for awhile wondering "what my purpose was" or just feeling insecure with what I was choosing to do in life.  I truly feel that the more I stay focused on me, Joe, the kids, our dreams, goals and our future, the easier it is to just be.  I also have dug a little deeper into my faith and see the bigger picture.  I'm not in control of anyone or anything, other than my own mental attitude.

Sometimes people will say that Joe works too hard or that I am too hard on myself.  I used to let that get to me a lot....but I've started to shift my thinking quite a bit and realize what a dis-service it would be if we just stopped. If we just settled for the average and didn't bust our tales out there, what greater good could we provide?

I have started making a list of the charities we want to donate to, the people we want to help, the places we want to travel to with our kids and all of the things that hard working money will be able to provide.

I heard Grant Cardone actually say that being poor is selfish because then you're only taking care of yourself.  You can't help anyone else if you're not able to really take care of yourself.  Wow.

I see a big future ahead of us and know that although we are in a great place in our life, God has so much more in store for us and we have a long way to go.

Fashion Friday

Happy Fri-Yay Style Babes!

I am soaking up the sunshine with my kiddos, staying busy as always and loving life.  Now that the weather is warmer (can I get an Amen?!) I love being able to air dry my hair instead of having to use the blow dryer all of the time.

Instagram filters are somewhat fun, no?

These are the same glasses above, but they change color in the sun, how cool? My mom's fiancé brought us up a pair when they came to visit.

One of my favorite necklaces is the Mina Drape --- it paired well with a nice can of rosé for an online style session I did a few weeks back.

I am still loving our mirrored blush Wesleys.

My sister rocked the Emme Choker when we finally went out for her birthday.

***THIS JUST IN***

The versatile fringe choker is SO fun and the must have necklace right now.

It layers so nicely with the Kari necklace and of course the large gold hammered wired hoops.

Here's some Summer Style inspiration for you too!

Happy Shopping!