Being A Mother

I'd rather be a mother than anyone on earth
Bringing up a child or two of unpretentious birth...
I'd rather tuck a little child all safe and sound in bed
than twine a chain of diamonds about my [carefree] head.
I'd rather wash a smudgy face with round, bright, baby eyes
Than paint the pageantry of fame or walk among the wise.
-- Meredith Gray



I became a mother at 24, and it was the most AMAZING gift I had ever been given!!!!!

Becoming a mother Changed me......and it was welcomed!

I realized that this precious little girl was going to look up to me, watch my actions, study how I spoke to people, how I treated people, see how I loved, how I dressed, learn from me to respect herself, and I LOVED the idea of teaching her everything!



Just three weeks after turning 27, I became a mother again!

I realized that this little boy would look up to me for guidance on how to treat a woman one day, how to love, how to treat people, how to give, how to respect himself, how to be a leader, and he would look to me for help as he grew into a man!


Being a mom to these two has been SOOO much more than I could ever have imagined!

They have taught me SO much more than I will ever be able to teach them!




There isn't anyone or anything that I would rather spend my time with than these 3 people!

I feel as though 6 years ago I was given the gift of a family!

A family of my own that I created with my very best friend.


I probably couldn't be more proud of them and how sweet, loving, kind, and forgiving they are!


Being a mom changes you......it should.

It shifts your priorities and makes you realize just how big of a role you play!

I pay more attention to how I dress, how I speak, the people I choose to spend my time with......knowing that I have two little kids looking up to me!

I would walk away from anything/anyone that I didn't feel was in the best interest of this family.....and be totally okay with it.


And this isn't something that I would ever change......because I am a mom!

xoxo

Crepe Paper Projects

I was searching through Country Living tonight just checking out all of the craft projects! I am a sucker for a good "project of the week".

I ran across these Halloween Crepe Paper Flowers and really loved them! I am TOTALLY going to make some black ones for Halloween....but I will also be making some brighter colored flowers to add to Kacey's room as a surprise.

Find the easy to follow Tutorial HERE



This Crepe Paper Wreath is also a MUST on my list of "things to do"!!!! Tutorial Here

My son, Collin, has decided that he would like to have a Halloween Costume Birthday party this year to celebrate turning 4...... so I will be posting lots of fun craft/party/decoration ideas coming up! I can't even wait for this party!!!!!!!!!

xoxo

J.Crew Love

I have a serious Love/Can't find anything I love relationship with J.Crew.

I frequently check out their sales, and this is the BEST time for shopping sales when you life in Florida! Our "winter" doesn't start for another 3 -4 months....so we can snatch up all of the summer sales and get a little more use out of them!

Today I kind of feel like I hit the jackpot!!!!!


Studded Emilie Moccasins $49.99


Stripe Cotton Popover $29.99 LOVE THIS!!!!


Solid Schuyler Dress $39.99 (super cute for an upcoming wedding in S.Carolina that we are going to!)

Redwood Misfit Chino Shorts $19.99 LOVE THESE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gingham Schoolboy Blazer $59.99

Dot Chiffon Betsy Wrap Cami $59.99

Cascade ruffle Dress $49

I think it is safe to say that right now I have a serious LOVE for J.Crew! I also LOVE all of their fall styles that they just added......but since I can't even think about super cute leather boots and tweed blazers when it is 90 degrees outside, I will stick to their summer sale!

xoxo

Organic

We have decided to raise our grocery bill (not that we want to raise the bill, but it just comes along with it!) and start eating more organic foods! The produce tastes better, the chicken makes me feel better about eating a normal sized chicken breast instead of some insanely HUGE piece, and I just feel better knowing that our eggs and milk came from happy cows and chickens roaming in a field.

I am sure there are tons of studies about how I am just wasting our money....but for me....I feel like I am doing a great healthy thing!

And, I just think that our organic fruits will taste so much better in these beauties! :)


I LOVE these porcelain farmers market baskets from Jayson Home and Garden!!!
I have no idea where they have been all my life, but I do know that they will be coming in the mail shortly!

xoxo

Adding a Little Red Into My Life

I have always loved the color red! I have a farm table that is red, and I always loved it......BUT didn't feel that it fit into my whole white/turquoise/tan color pallet of my home!

These pictures have just made me feel like it is probably just because I didn't have ENOUGH red in my home to make the table feel at home!

I am super excited about adding some new red accents!

We are considering putting a little island into our kitchen this fall! Love this little one!


LOVE this stove!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That sign is great! I might just paint something red to add a little color!

This sign reminds me of Maine!!!!

(ALL PICS ARE FROM COUNTRY LIVING)

Maine- The Good Life

We went on an AMAZING family vacation to Maine for almost two weeks. It was SOOOO relaxing and we made SO many wonderful memories with our kids and family!

Just watching the kids be able to run around without us following their every move was just so great, and we were really able to watch them grow and explore! I LOVE MAINE!!!!!!



The weather was BEAUTIFUL! 70's and 80's in the day.........60's at night! PERFECT!!!!!



Living in Florida, we REALLY appreciated all of the HUGE trees!!!!!




We stayed right on Moose Lake and enjoyed every min of it! The kids all caught fish, swam, jumped off the docks, and hung out!


The water actually wasn't as bad as I had remembered it being as a kid. DEF not Florida water temps......but so refreshing!


What's a vacation without smores! My ALL TIME favorite food!!!!!!!!! I could seriously eat anything smores flavored and LOVE it!


my brave little guy on the zip line! Guess he thought the life vest would help him! ha!


Kacey was the biggest out of all of the kids (6 cousins) and went SUPER fast!

too cute!!!!!!!!!!!

Kacey and Elle are such great friends/cousins! They spent a good chunk of the vacation laying on this rock coloring pictures! They felt so free, and it was amazing to watch!

We went on several walks/hikes.

Love them!

Late night hikes.....to burn off their energy from all the smores! The kids were too cute, they would draw arrows along the dirt road so that we could find out way back to the house!

Home away from Home! BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have TONS of pictures and will add more later! We took Kacey and Elle to the American Girl store in Boston and I can't wait to share the pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was probably one of the best days of my life!!!!!!

xoxo

First Day Of School

The day after returning from almost two weeks in Maine, Kacey started her first day of Kindergarten!

She was SO excited about the outfit that she picked out, meeting her teacher, and making new friends! I was so excited for her as well, but could not even believe that my little girl was going to elementary school!!!!!!!!

We were in Maine during Back To School night, so we had to call to find out who her teacher was.........TURNS OUT THEY PUT HER IN A 3RD GRADE CLASS!!!!!!!!!!! We walked in and quickly made the trip to the office to get her switched to a kindergarten class! I mean, she is a bright kid.....but they should probably teach her to read a little better before shoving her into 3rd grade!!! :)




We finally made it to the right place and she was super excited!



Collin was a little bummed to say goodbye to her for a WHOLE day! They are too cute!



After school and dinner I surprised her with some TOTALLY AMAZING Banana cupcakes from Paradise Cupcakes. She was so excited as she told us all about her first day of school!



The very next day my little man went off to his first day of part time Preschool. He was SOOOO excited to be going to the same school that he had seen Kacey go to for the past year! He had a confidence about him that I had never seen before, and it made me so proud!

(he also picked out his clothes from head to toe......I have always let them choose whatever they want to wear. Sounds crazy I am sure, but they feel so confident about it!)

Kacey walked him into school and showed him all around and what he could expect for the day!

He loved it!!!!!!!!!!!

Both kids have already made friends and are really enjoying it! That makes this mom feel SOOO GOOD!

I also feel super good about the extra 4 hours I will have per week, kid less, to catch up on all of these orders from being gone on Vacation.....and working on some new goodies for my shop!

xoxo

Dress Up Fun

On Kacey's actual birthday, my mom and I took her to a really sweet Tea Room! She LOVES it when we all wear dresses and go on a girl's date for tea! (she actually calls her grammy to remind her to dress fancy!)

We had an absolute BLAST! There is nothing like seeing your daughter SOOO happy and just really enjoying every single minute of her special day!

This tea room had a huge section with all sorts of fancy dresses, boas, glasses, jewelry, barbies, and TONS of hats to try on! Kacey was in absolute heaven!!!!!!!!

I don't think there was a hat or an outfit that she didn't try on! She took this all VERY serious!

These pictures really crack me up!!!!!!!!

I am pretty sure the dresses were for the kids.....but the birthday girl dressed her grammy and me up as well........AND WE LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!

Kacey ordered pink tea and practically drank the entire pot!

I also ordered her a 3 tier platter ALL TO HERSELF! She was so surprised and excited that she ate basically EVERYTHING on it! I might consider serving all of her meals on a platter like this from now on!

If you get the chance to dress up and act like a kid for a day.........DO IT!!!!!!!!!

xoxo

Snack Attack

I have a serious snack issue! I would rather snack all day long than really sit down and eat a big lunch or dinner! It might be because I don't really want to cook a big lunch or dinner....but either way, I love to snack!

My all time favorite snack for myself and the kids is apples and peanut butter!

Try it!!!!!!

It will surely brighten your day and is really pretty darn healthy!

xoxo

I See London, I See France....

Kacey has a slight love for dresses and skirts, and they stop coming with "panty covers" once they turn 2!
But she received a pair of "monkey Bar Buddies" for her birthday and I LOVE them!!!!!!!!!



I wasn't sure if I was going to get her any new dresses or skirts for Kindergarten until I found out about these panty cover/shorts!

You can get them here!