7.24.15 // High Five for {the little things} Friday!

I swear, I'm normally shocked and happy that it's Friday already!

Here are my favorite little things from this past week! 

1. I went searching for a dress and accessories for my brother's upcoming wedding. I ended up finding this necklace and earrings (shoes I already had) to go with a dress I decided to borrow from my mom. I love it! Just what I was looking for. The necklace and earrings are from J.C.Penney and came out to $20 total. 

2. We hit up the community pool again on Sunday and it was so nice! The kids are continuing to do a great job learning to swim. And we just so happen to have another pol day planned for this Saturday with our family.

3. While doing some yard work, this little guy came around! I love when butterflies come around our house. This one decided to not even flutter away when I got close, so pretty!

4. I got a lot of decluttering done this past week. I still have more planned to do but I was happy to get rid of a TON of old makeup, kids clothes and lady 'under things' (how did I hoard so many of these ?!).

5.  My mother-in-law found these bows at Wal-Mart for $2.50 for 6. Such a great deal and they actually stay in my daughter's hair. She has really thin hair right now and a lot of clip in bows just slide right on out of her hair.

How was your week? 

Have a great weekend! 

7.17.15 // High Five for {the little things} Friday!

Oh man, this past week my sleep has been so messed up. Rather, my timing in getting up each morning has been messed up due to how I am falling asleep. For awhile there, I was turning off the T.V. and phone at around 9:30p and winding down with either a magazine or a book in order to fall asleep around 10:30p. Ideally, I need to be up at 6am and I'd like to feel like I've had enough sleep and am ready to get the day started. Whew, not sticking to that routine doesn't do me any good. So, I'm going to try and get back to that sleep schedule next week and see how I feel.

Now let's get to my favorite little things from this past week...

1. I finally got to take the kids to the pool for the first time this summer! We have a local community pool that opened not too long ago. It has a regular pool, a wading pool and a whirl pool. OMG, the kids had so much fun bouncing between the pools, I could barely keep up. My 4 year old has made so much improvement in his swimming (he loves the pool but has been so scared to do things without someone holding onto him) and my two year old just kept saying "I'm a dolphin, I'm a fish!". LOL It was great to see them really comfortable in the water.

2. I picked up these beautiful sunflowers at Aldi for $2.99 each. They just make me smile! Although they don't look like that now and I'm hoping it's because new blooms are coming and not because I killed them already.

3. I had to stop by CVS to pick up milk and diapers (staples of course!). I ended up having such great coupons that I also picked up contact lens solution and a peppermint patty for my little helper for under the price of the diapers alone! I had $6 in manufacturer coupons, $4 in CVS store coupons and a 30% off my entire purchase coupon from CVS which saved me an additional $7. If you shop CVS, make sure to sign up for their emails to receive coupons like the 30% your entire purchase, always scan your card at the CVS coupon center and check your receipt for additional coupons.

4. I made the easiest, delicious meal the other night. Crockpot salsa chicken. Maybe you have heard of this, maybe you haven't. But you literally throw some frozen chicken in a crockpot, cover it with a jar of salsa and cook on low for 5 hours. Shred. Put on a hard or soft tortilla shell (or on top of a bed of lettuce) and top with your favorite taco toppings. My kids ate multiple servings so I call that a win in my book.

5. A fun quote from my son last night that had me laughing... "Oh mom, my head hurts! Avery made my head hurt from her screaming so loud in Wal-Mart!" And that incident happened HOURS earlier in the day. I got a good chuckle...I thought it was a good try at blaming his sister for his head hurting.

How was your week? Any tips on a better sleep routine to help me get up early?! 

7.10.15 // High Five for {the little things} Friday!

Hi! Happy Friday! The weeks go by and I barely get to squeeze in much more than work, eating, sleeping and repeat. Ha! Glad to see the weekend and hoping we get the chance to finally head to the pool or splash pad. I need to break in my new swim suit!

On to my top five favorite little things from this past week...

1. I worked an event Friday night for 4th of July which was so fun! And Saturday for the actual 4th of July, we had a neighborhood street party which got pushed into our garage due to rain. Oh the rain, it put a bit of a damper on our party and fireworks but it was still fun none the less. I didn't get to take any pictures during the festivities (because you know...rain...) so I will leave you with a picture of Andy Grammar watching the fireworks from the night before. ;-)

2. I was finally able to clean the inside of my car over the weekend! It was in serious need of a good vacuum and wipe down. Do you know what kind of things you can find under car seats and in crevices when you have kids?! Food crumbs from who knows how long ago, band-aids...yuck! My car is all fresh and clean now and smells like Sun and Sand thanks to these little guys from Yankee Candle. I got a bunch of fragrances during their last sale for under $1.50 each pack.

{via}

3. We finally replaced the plant that has been slowly dying by our patio door. So nice to see life again from this new plant we brought it. Just have to work on remembering to water it...

4. I mentioned in the last Friday post how I've been taking my kids to the library for a heroes program they have put on. Well, I have to share that we went again to learn about service dogs and meet this incredibly sweet dog named Gabriel. He is a service dog for people with diabetes. I wish I got a picture of his little face because he has one floppy ear and one that goes straight up. *melts*

5. And last but not least....that dang bag of Cheetos that got left at my house from the 4th of July is finally gone! LOL I don't buy them, they are not at all good for you, yet if they are in my presence I can not resist!

{via}

How was your week? Did you have a great 4th of July?! 

7.3.15 // High Five for {the little things} Friday!

Hey, hey! Short work week, long weekend. Sounds good to me! I've got today off but I did volunteer to work an event tonight for my company. We've got a 4th of July block party planned for Saturday and hopefully a day of rest, cleaning and all that good stuff on Sunday. Hope you have a great weekend!

1. I've been taking the kids to a summer program at our local library where they are having heroes visit and talk about what they do. So far we have learned about nurses, policemen and firemen. My son looks forward to this every week...he's loving it!

2. I picked up a box of these Back to Nature Sweet Potato & Cinnamon crackers over the weekend. I broke into them this week and they are SO. GOOD. On sale for 2/$5 at our local grocery store was a plus.

3. I've had a white vest on my wishlist for at least a year now. I was re-inspired to track one down by Noelle's post here on BeautyGirl24. Love the way she styled hers! I ended up finding this Alfani vest at Macy's for $18!

4. I stopped into LUSH and grabbed a sample of the Ocean Salt Cleanser to try. I've heard some gret things about it so looking forward to trying it. Love that you can sample the products before buying.

5. I've got a long four day weekend ahead of me! Well, only three days left at this point and it's been great so far! Happy 4th of July! Eat good food and enjoy some sparklers. 

How was your week? Are you just as excited bout the holiday weekend as I am?!

6.26.15 // High Five for {the little things} Friday!

Hi! It's Friday... *does a little dance*.
Yeah, let's just get right to it. Here are some of my favorite things from this past week!

1. We took the kids to the local petting farm and it was so much fun! Milking cows, catching ducks and chickens, holding baby ducks and chicks, feeding pigs and sheep...we loved it!

2. My daughter turned two last week, so over the weekend we had a bunny party complete with bunny cupcakes. It was just close family but it was great! I shared details on the party here as well as how I made the bunny cupcakes here.

3. Since Sunday was Father's day, we had my husband's family over for brunch and I made sausage, biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, hash browns and fruit for everyone. And then we just hung out and chatted. I also gifted my husband a really cute photo from the kids... <3

{inspiration for our photo from here}

4. I've been trying to make it a nightly thing that I read a book to the kids after bath time each night. Even though they can't always sit still, it has been such an enjoyable time for me! When we missed a day because sometimes the evenings get so crazy, my son even pointed out that we forgot to read a book!

{source}

5. I stopped into Bath and Body Works and grabbed a wall plug-in refill in Tiki Beach. I am LOVING the way it is making our house smell! The plug-ins are still just $3 in store and I believe they have a few other items in this scent as well.

{source}

How has your week been? Looking forward to anything over the weekend? 

6.19.15 // High Five for {the little things} Friday!

Happy Friday everyone! Sorry there weren't any posts this week (besides today). It's been busy with working on wedding invitations, birthday party decor and Father's Day planning. And I'm sure this weekend will be just as busy as this week has been. But there have been some fun little things this week so here we go...

1. We finally got to take the kids to Seaworld with our annual/preschool passes. It's been awhile and I really want to make sure we start getting good use out of the passes. We giggled so much over the dolphins and we are planning out or next trip already.

2. We're taking our family to the local petting farm for my daughter's birthday this weekend and I had been looking for a coupon or discount. What do you know...on Monday a Groupon for half off admission popped up. Love when that happens!

3. I'm always super nervous buying things online, especially when it's clothing. I decided to just go for it when I saw that American Eagle was having a clearance sale plus freeing shipping this week and I knew I could return what I didn't like in store. I bought these high-waist bathing suit bottoms in two sizes in my journey for a two piece, high waist suit that fits comfortably. We'll see how it goes!

4. The summer programs have kicked off at the local library and the theme is heroes. I took the kids to the first event where they got to speak with a nurse and learn about working in the hospital. So fun! Can't wait to take them to the other events in the upcoming weeks.

5. OK, so this wasn't exactly funny at the moment it happened but now I can look back and laugh. I tried to bring in ALL of my groceries from Aldi in at one time and well....that didn't work too well. Both handles just completely fell off!! Thankfully no food was harmed in this incident but now I owe my mom a new shopping bag! (She left it at my house ...sorry mom!)

How has the week been for you? 

6.12.15 // High Five for {the little things} Friday!

Good Morning! It's been...just another week. The week's just kind of fly by for me going through our daily routine. Out the door around 7a, work all day, home with the kids by 6:30p, cook, eat, clean, shower, go to bed and do it all over again! Whew...let's get to it. Here are my favorite little things from this past week.

1. Got to take my kids to the park for the first time in weeks! My son has been sick and has not been allowed to be too active per doctors orders so parks, bounce houses and the like have been off limits.

2. Culver's just opened in our area so I took the kids for ice cream after the park. We got the flavor of the day, Really Reese's. We'll definitely be back for some more Flavor of the Day's and some Wisconsin Cheese Curds!

3. I found these beautiful candle sticks at Goodwill for my brother and his fiance's wedding. They are doing a Great Gatsby/1920's theme and I thought these would be so pretty to display with white candles and some pearls on one of the tables. They were $4 each.

4. I picked up a couple more party decor items for my daughter's 2nd birthday. Her birthday is Monday but we'll be celebrating next Saturday with a bunny theme and a trip to the petting farm. Speaking of birthday parties, I posted some details from her 1st party that we put together over here.

 

5. I'm actually making the invitations for my brother's wedding and was having such a hard time finding lace (that we are using to band the invitations) that wasn't going to cost an arm and a leg. I was finally able to score some on Amazon for a great price and I just got it in the mail yesterday...from China! They gave a delivery date of 6/8-6/22 so the fact that I got it so early made me super happy.

How did this last week treat you? Any highlights to your week? 

6.5.15 // High Five for {the little things} Friday!

Happy Friday! (Do I say 'Happy (insert day)!' way too much?!)
I'm sick again, well the whole family is sick again with a yucky cold. Bummer! Looking forward to the weekend and a little relaxation. On to my top five favorite little things from this past week. 

1. My husband and I finally attempted to make our own headboard over the weekend using a few tutorials we saw online and I'm happy to say it came our pretty darn good! It ended up costing us a bit more than we thought the supplies would cost but end the end it cost under $65. Here is a little sneak peak, I'm working on a post with a step by step on how we did it.

2.  We had breakfast at Keke's again and can I just say that every time I have gone (and tried something new) I have not been disappointed! This time it was the Eggs Portabella (poached eggs) with portabella mushroom, roasted red peppers and home fries. *drooling*

3. After hearing about the Target Beauty box for Spring after the fact (it was no longer available when I heard about it), I was able to place an order for the Summer Beauty Box and I can't wait for it to arrive! Thank you Brenda over at Chatting Over Chocolate for sharing that it was live! Can't wait for it to arrive.

4. Last night my son was begging to go outside to play with the neighborhood kids. I was feeling pretty crappy but after his convincing that he hadn't been outside allllll day, I said 'yes' and mustered up the energy to take him out for a few. He responded back with an enthusiastic "Thanks mom, you're the best!" and it was worth it! <3

5. Um...it's Friday! Some weeks I just think that Friday deserves to be on the list.

How was your week? Staying healthy or is your household coming down with a bug, too?