Happy Halloween. P.S. I Love You

Happy Halloween, y'all!

Let me tell you Zander has been asking when this day will get here for WEEKS! No exaggeration!
Tonight we'll be going trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. We might even venture down the street to some of the other neighborhoods if Zander's walking feet don't get too tired. We revealed Zander's costume here. Ainsley will be Tinkerbell. (pics all over instagram!) I still haven't come up with a costume, so I guess I'll just be the mom. Boring. I'll try to do better next year.

Last year, Zander and I were pirates and Ainsley was our parrot. We were a big hit!

I made this!

 

Tutu Cute Bowtique

The Costumes This year:

So it is Friday, and I do have Blogger Love to share.

Linking up with Meagan at All the Joys

+ Christine at The So-Called Homemaker went all out for meatless Monday this week with Vegitarian Chili. Holy yum, batman this looks delicious. I'm a big fan of chili, but I'm a bigger fan of veggies. Especially veggies that can be hidden and make taste delicious... like chili. This one is going in the recipe book for sure!

+ Cassie from Sage shared some interesting Gluten Free Alternitives. My grandmother has celiac disease and when she was diagnosed there wasn't a lot of information about "gluten free" foods. In fact, there were many years where cakes and breads tasted horrible at her house because they were gluten free. I love seeing posts like Cassie's as a reminder that there's constantly more and more research being done about this sort of thing and there's so many alternatives to the foods you love!

+ Lindsay at Bourbon, Lipstick, & Stilettos won me over again this week with her Pumpkin Overnight Oats. I'm a huge fan of oats, but I've never tried it with pumpkin. Normally for me it's a little milk, a little cinnamon, some apple and sugar - BAM: oats! This looks just positively amazing! Plus it's filling so win-win, right?

+ Kerri from Hey Kerri posted a great tutorial on How to Create a Blog Button W/ a Grab Box. I'm not even going to lie. I had ZERO clue how to make one of these before Kerri posted this. I have been lucky enough to have Amanda help me with my blog design. This is something I definitely need to save for future reference!

There were a lot more, but of course if I posted them ALL you'd have the longest post in the world. Think something like that could get me into Ripley's? Ha. After you're done reading all of these lovely ladies' posts, be sure to head over to Amanda at Knock on Wood for her big announcement today!

Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has a great night. Whether you're trick or treating with the kids or staying in watching movies (Cabin in the Woods or The Great Pumpkin?). Have a great night! Stay safe!

Daddy Llama Conversations

Can anyone else belive that tomorrow is Halloween? No? Me either. Well since we're at the end of the month it's time for another round of Conversations. Technically the blogger men tell all linkup went live a few days ago, but I'm doing my own thing here. My blog, my rules, right? ;)
Let's get into it! I think Josh secretly enjoys being featured on the blog more than he lets on. He's funny that way.

Blogger Men Tell All

combined with

My Conversations
 

Me: OK, Babe you ready to answer some more interview questions again?
[rolls his eyes] I guess. I have a question though...
Me: What's that?
What's for Dinner?
Me: Um. I dunno. probably tacos
OK. Cool. Continue.
Me: Thanks for your permission.

Is Halloween your favorite holiday?
No.
What is?
[thinking hard] Uh, I guess Christmas. No particular reason. Just cause.
[me laughing] ok.

What do you plan on dressing up as for Halloween this year?
[giving me an evil look over his glasses] seriously?
Me: Babe, my readers don't know everything about you!
[sighs] fine. I don't dress up for Halloween. I'll wear my work clothes like I do every year.

What is your go-to drink (alcoholic or non)?
Non alcholoic would definitely be coke. Um, alcoholic would probably be Yuengling. Although we haven't had any beer in the house in awhile. Babe, you wanna get some beer later?
Me: Haha, ok. we have to go to the grocery store anyway.

What's your favorite scary movie?
OH! That's easy! All of the Halloween movies. But Freddy is pretty great too. Maybe I don't have a favorite
Me: Is this harder than you thought?
Yeah. I just like movies.

What is your best Halloween memory?
I don't remember much about Halloweens as a kid, so I guess my favorite would be seeing Zander and Ainsley trick or treating last year.
Me: And Ainsley will understand the candy this year
I'll let you handle her asking for candy every five minutes after we get home.
Me: Great, thanks.

There y'all have it. My husband. I swear as much as he sounds like he hates answering these I really think he loves it. Thanks again Becca and Amanda for these great link ups!

Mama's Personal Time

Moms, let's get real today. We all know personal time is important. Before kids you absolutely took the personal time and went out for a massage, or that mani / pedi, or to a wine tasting, right? So why is it so different once the kids come? 

Making time for Mama - How do you find time to relax and treat yourself?

Linking up with Christine, Brittany, and Ashley for Mama Tells All



The thing is, it is different when the kids come. It's only different in a bad way if you don't take time for you.

I get it. Moms are nurturers. Not only do we want to take care of the kids, we want to make sure the entire house is running in tip top condition. Um, hi I'm Melissa and I'm guilty of this. I'm what you might call a control freak when it comes to matters of the house. I'm sure there's a lot of moms out there like that. Heck, I'm sure most women in general are like that. However, for me it prevents me from letting go and taking that break I need.

I admitted awhile ago that I don't always take the time I need deserve. I know I do deserve it, I'm just the world's worst about letting go. This is something I'm working to get better on. It's helped that all of my wonderful bloggy friends remind me to take a break and take time for myself. Especially since publishing that post about me being tired all the time.

What I do to relax now is simple.
+ After the kids are in bed, I go in my room to read a few chapters of a book.
+ Instead of stressing about the mess in the kitchen, the kids and I will take a quiet walk around the block
+ I'll take a long hot shower and just stand under the hot water clearing my head. (Seriously though, who doesn't love doing that?) Plus, alone
+ I go on coffee dates with my girlfriends to chat about the kids, the husbands, etc.

Like I said though... it's still a work in progess. Hey, at least I've admitted that I have a problem taking time for myself, right? Topics like this make me realize it even more. The good news is, this weekend coming up I'll be going to the Atlanta Blogger Network meetup. A real chance to get away from the husband and kids and interact with the blogging community! SO EXCITED!
Also, this past weekend I was able to get a small nap in. That rarely happens anymore.

In true Melissa fashion
I'm linking up with Anne from Love The Here and Now for Wednesday Wishes as well.

My wish this week is that I'm able to learn to let go more. I wish being able to relax comes more naturally to me. I know it'll take time. After all, it's taken almost 27 years for me to get the way I am now! Ha! I wish that other moms out there are able to take the time they need to relax. I wish new moms learn early to take time for themselves. Yes, babies grow quickly, but I don't wish anyone to become so wound up that they break.

What do y'all do to relax? Any tips for me? haha!

When Llamas Turn Grey

Good morning, lovelies! I'm so excited for today! I'm doing my Grateful Heart post a day later than normal for a special reason. This week I'm grateful for my sponsors. It's not just my sponsors though, it's my bloggy friends.

 

I know I've said it before, but dang it I'll say it a million times. I'm beyond grateful for the friendships I've made in this blogging community. If someone had asked me a year ago how I felt about connecting to random girls online through blogging, I probably would've laughed at them. Now I get it. I see the connections and bonds that have been made. This coming weekend I'll be going to the Atlanta Blogger Meetup, and I cannot wait!! I can't wait to finally meet some of my favorite ladies face to face. I'm grateful for each and every one of y'all that take time out of your days to email / chat / text with me. Or, hell, I have a few new pen pals too!

Today is special though. Today I get to officially introduce one of my amazing sponsors currently sitting on my sidebar. Emily from Ember Grey. I quickly fell in love with Emily's blog, and after commenting on each other's blogs I quickly fell in love with Emily as a friend! She's seriously so sweet, y'all. For us, comments turned into emails and emails eventually turned into text messages. Our random text conversations brighten my day, and she's so funny y'all.

So without further delay, let's get to know Emily a little better!

Describe yourself in four words  // Positive, loyal, compassionate, free-spirited.

How did you and "X" meet? // Well, for any of you new readers, "X" is a nickname for my husband, Christian. (I had to clarify because one time a reader thought I was talking about an ex boyfriend.) I shared the story of how X and I met in Part One of A Love Story, but in short: we met in an alley. He was wearing track pants and adidas flip flops and just randomly started doing the running man. (This was all before we'd even said hello.) That pretty much did it for me right then and there. 

You and your husband are adorable; how did you start the "Conversations with my Husband" series? //  I always said I wanted to marry a man who could make me laugh literally every day, and I did. The truth is though, both my husband and I have this goofy/twisted sense of humor and so a lot of the funny things that happen aren't necessarily things but, rather, conversations. The topics of these conversations are truly all over the place: from dudes at gyms to Alanis Morissette to UFOs to the correct way to pronounce certain words ... the list goes on and on. One night, X pointed out that we have these weird and hilarious conversations all the time but can never remember them the next day (totally true), so I told him that I was going to start to write them down. I started sharing some of the conversations with family and friends and quite a few of them told me I should share them on my blog. And thus, the Conversations with my Husband series was born ;) 

I really love your blogging style. What made you start blogging? // Thank you! My family and close friends are always commenting on how I tend to write just how I talk, and I've always taken that as a compliment. My favorite blogs to read are those where I feel like I can hear the blogger actually talking to me, telling me their story. I hope that's how Ember Grey readers feel, too.

I have always loved to write and tell stories, to connect with others - like really connect with them. I'd had a private blog for years, where I would share the day to day happenings, my dreams, etc. but only invited family and friends to read. At that time, I was in a corporate job and did not feel comfortable with clients being able to read about my personal life. When I left the corporate world in February, I knew that I wanted to have a public blog and to be able to connect to other creatives. The community in the blogging world is amazing and I'm really thankful for each person I've met and continue to get to know through this space.

Is this your first year doing Project 52? //  It is! Project 52 is a photo series/challenge where you choose a topic and then take a picture of that topic once a week. I chose to document the beauty found on weekly walks, which I'd hoped would not only encourage me to take more pictures but also encourage me to take more walks. Thankfully, that has been the case.

You're a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why? //  I assume we're talking about the huge 64 pack of crayons where all of the crayons have cool names?
(yes)
I would be a shade of purple (because it's my favorite color) and I would be called, Midnight at the Oasis. (This is a title of a song but also references a line in one of the greatest movies of all time: Waiting for Guffman.) 

What's the best advice you've ever been given about blogging? //  "Don't compare your beginning to someone else's middle." (I'm sorry- I don't know where this originated from, but whoever said it gets an air-five from me!) Fortunately, I read this quote when I first started publicly blogging and I've kept that close ever since. (It's actually written down and taped on my computer.) (How fancy of me, I know.) 

It's so easy to compare in the blogging world: whether it's comparing numbers or experiences or layouts or partnerships... the list can be endless, if you let it be. The important thing though is NOT to. Try really hard not to compare. This is such a personal and creative outlet for us and it's important to be thankful for the place we're in, in the moment we're in it. As cheesy as this may sound, the quote that says, "Life is about the journey, not the destination" hits the nail on the head for blogging, too. This whole blogging experience really should be just that- an experience, a journey. Perhaps instead of letting others who might be in their middle discourage you, let them encourage you to work hard and make your blog and your space into what you want it to be. 

What's your favorite movie quote? //  "Milk was a bad choice." - Ron Burgundy

See, y'all? How awesome is she? I'm telling you she's just as sweet and genuine as she sounds in the interview. Thanks again for doing this, Emily.

If you want to get to know Emily better, follow her blog and social media! 

 

Blog | Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Once Upon A Time...

...In a far away kingdom, there was a beautiful maiden.

haha, sorry y'all we're not making up stories today. I'm actually referring to the TV Show. Have you seen it?

Let me back track a little bit in case you're like me and had no clue until now. The show airs on ABC. Currently they're in season 4. Which of course means this is the year Josh and I decide to tune in. We had zero intention on getting hooked. It airs on Sundays and we usually don't have a "Sunday" show now that True Blood is gone. So we flipped it on during the season premiere this year and we were hooked. HOOKED, y'all!

So naturally we did the smart thing and started with season one. Except we're still watching new episodes of season 4 every Sunday too. Y'all I'm telling you this show is so good.

Quick summary: The Evil Queen from Snow White casts a curse on all enchated folk which causes them to get stuck in Maine and lose their memory. Snow White and Charming have a baby, but they send her away to keep her safe. She's the key to breaking the curse. On her 28th birthday she comes back to the "kingdom" (Maine) and the curse starts to break. Throughout the season we're introduced to all of the characters and they explain more about their different stories.

Things I Learned (about stories I thought I knew) that I find fascinating.

Rumpelstiltskin is everywhere. Not even kidding a little bit. Apparently he's not just the gold-spinning / baby stealer that we knew and loved. He used to be a regular man... with a kid. He got his powers from killing some sort of "dark one" and inherited the powers. He then abandoned his kid and proceeded to intertwine himself into everyone else's lives. What I've found out from season 1 is he is "Beast" from Beauty and the Beast, in season 2 he's the croc chasing after Captian Hook, and he makes an appearance in just about every other story. Not even kidding. But his character is so funny to me.

There used to be 8 dwarves. Yes, 8. Stealthy Dwarf was killed by Prince Charming's father's guards.

Prince Charming, btw isn't even a real Prince. He had a twin brother  that Rumplestiltskin stole and gave to the royal family. His twin brother was supposed to fight a dragon, but got killed by some random bad guy so in order to keep a deal with King Midas going bad the King had Rumple get the other twin (Charming). Are we still following along?

Gepetto is an orpahn. Rumplestiltskin (see? I told you he's everywhere!) gave Jiminy Cricket a curse to kill his own parents. Instead it was given to Gepetto's parents; turning them into little wooden puppets. Jiminy was so guilty about it that he wished upon a star to change the parents back. The fairy godmother couldn't change Gepetto's parents, but she was able to change Jiminy into a cricket so he could be Gepetto's conscience.

Josh cracks me up when we're watching because if he's not paying attention to the time and he thinks the episode is almost over he'll yell at the TV "don't you end yet!" haha. love that husband of mine.

This weekend we just started watching season two. I'm telling y'all this is such a great show. At the end of a lot of the episodes in season two Josh and I will look at each other and go "Dun dun dun!" at the same time. haha. The plot thickens.
There's also much more that I've learned in season two, but I'll share those for another day. For now I predict several more late nights after the kids are in bed to get all caught up. 

Have y'all seen any of the seasons? Which is your favorite?

Late To the Party

By the time you read this, It'll be Saturday. Which means Josh, the kids, and I will be in downtown Lawrenceville getting our family pictures for the year taken. I absolutely love getting pictures taken. Josh could care less. I have family pictures everywhere and I usually use these as Christmas Cards. Yes, I'm THAT mom. We also have a lot of family out of town so we'll send prints to them.

This week has kind of flew by in a blur. a few blog worthy things took place. I mentioned some of them on social media briefly, but I'll have to get into more detail later.
I did buy new boots this week. You may have seen them on insta, but I'm in love. Believe it or not, these were at Wal-Mart! I was shocked too. Now I have two pairs of Wal-Mart boots that were a steal. My black ones have held up almost three years now! The other shoe in the picture are my steel toe shoes from work. lol. oops. should've cropped / edited the picture!

Yesterday I revealed my Pretty Little Beauty Swap. I'm still loving all of my fun new things
Today, I'm late to the party but I'm linking up with Meagan from All The Joys to share the Blogger love.

Here are some of my faves from the week! As always, there were just too many to choose from.

+ Emily at Ember Grey reminded us this week that sometimes we don't always see what God has in store for us. Sometimes is takes A Few More Steps just to really see the big picture. I really loved this post because I know I'm guilty of "wanting it now!" [stamps feet and all!] Emily is so great about writing posts that I need to see and I didn't even know I needed to see them until I read them!

+ Amanda from Notes From a Newlywed touched on weight issues from the "skinny" side of the spectrum with I'm One of Those Skinny B*tches. I really loved Amanda's honesty about her story, and it really shed some light for me because I struggle with weight the other way- I can't get it off where as she can't keep it on. Her post is a great reminder to just think about what you're saying and how you say it. Even though you might think you're sounding mean, your words might still be hurtful.

+ Meagan from All The Joys (wonderful host!) almost had a heart-broken child with Where's Puppy?. I've been there, done that, and bought the t-shirt with Zander. I knew exactly the feels Meagan was feeling seeing the look on her daughter's face when Puppy was missing. Ugh! Tug at my heartstrings more, Meagan! lol!

+ Lindsay at Burbon, Lipstick, and Stilletos  was my life saver this week. I'm not even kidding a little bit. The day I started feeling a cold coming on, I was being a whiney butt on social media. And then I read Lindsay's blog! THIS! Celebrate Southern: Hot Toddy... this was my life saver. Hot Toddies. I forgot all about these for fighting that scratch in your throat. Thank you Lindsay for looking out for me, but not really.

+ Kendra from Kenji is Here is a craft guru! I can knit with needles. Allbeit not very well, but I can. Kendra proved It's Easier Than You Think to knit without needles. She's made some adorable scarves. I have a feeling this will be what everyone is getting for Christmas this year!

Did you have some of the same favorites as me?

What will y'all be doing this weekend?

Pretty Little Beauty Swap

Y'all! I'm happy to announce it's finally time to reveal the Pretty Little Beauty Swap. This fun little event is hosted by Sleepy Single Girl and Southern Beauty Guide. How does it work you ask? Well, it's simple... you sign up, fill out a short little "profile", and based on your style they match you with someone similar to you! How cool, right?

I was paired with Megan from Megan's Hobby Corner. Let me tell y'all, I really think Megan and I are beauty soul mates! It was so much fun getting to know her over the last several weeks. She's about to have a baby, and her blog is just so cute!

I really think Megan totally nailed my style when it came to my beauty box. Let's take a look, shall we

She sent such a sweet Note. Seriously, y'all she's a gem!

Assorted perfume samples. 

Y'all, I love perfume. Megan learned this early on and she mentioned she had a ton of samples so I was expecting a few but she's an over achiever!

Lash Domination Mascara!!

Megan explained this particular brand is her favorite. I love eye makeup so I'm really excited to try a new brand. My go-to is usually Cover Girl, so maybe I'll have a new brand

Julep eye pallet

Again! More amazing eye makeup! Natural shades for my eyes are great so I don't look over done at work. (I don't need to look fancy) so this is prefect. A+++, Megan!!

Lip balms!!!

Burt's bees I know and love. Jack Black I had never heard of, but Megan said she's completely obsessed with it, so I have high hopes that I'll love it too.

The Body Shop Honey Soap

Um, yes please! Honey anything I'm all about!

Assorted nail colors

I don't paint my nails often but when I do, I like fun colors. Another win!

Like I said, I cannot wait to try everything here.  Megan hit the nail on the head with absolutely everything, and I'm SO thrilled to have a new blogging friend. Especially one that loves to look pretty as much as I do. Be sure to head over to Megan's page today to see what I got her. 

Happy Friday, y'all!

Never Would I Ever...

Did Y'all ever play that drinking game, "never have I ever". Whatever the person says they "never" did, if you did it you'd have to drink? Yes? No? I know Amanda has played it because I've played it with her. Motherhood can be a bit like this drinking game. You get pregnant, and you immediately start imagining how you're going to be like when you're a parent. "My kid will never watch TV while I cook." Then the next thing you know, you're the mom taking a swig of your adult beverage because your kid totally watches TV while you cook. [raises hand] been there, done that, bought the T-Shirt.

Never Would I Ever... Until I did...

Linking up with Christine, Brittany, and Ashley for Mama Tells All



I was totally "that" mom. The mom that swore to all of her friends and family the things her children would NEVER do; or the things I would never do as a mom.
Yeeeaaaahhhh.... all of that pretty much flew out the window as soon as I was home from the hospital.

Feb 2014 / see? They're fine.

"My kids will never have a pacifier". They did take a pacifier. Zander stopped using his at 13 months, and Ainsley stopped using hers at 19 months. (so, a week ago!) haha. Let's face it. Sometimes babies just want to suck on something. You know they're not hungry. You know they're really ok. Sometimes sucking on that pacifier is the only thing to calm them down because 1) they haven't figured out their fingers work just as well, 2) you're bottle feeding and they can't keep a bottle in their mouth ALL day long, or 3) you're breastfeeding and you really don't want the baby comfort sucking on your boob ALL day long! (Uh *raises hand*, right here on that one, y'all!)

"Watch T.V. before they were two". Wrong again. Especially with Ainsley. Zander saw his first cartoon at 18 months. Thanks, Uncle Mike for babysitting. haha. But seriously, I was a real bitch about this one for no reason at all. Sure, you don't want to let your kids watch too much t.v., but there are just some moments when you need to finish the dishes or run the mop or whatever, and you just can't do it when the kids are dying for your attention. Ainsley got to watch t.v. at a real young age. I wasn't about to hide her from the cartoons if Zander got to watch them. PBS Kids actually has some really educational shows now-a-days, y'all. I admit to getting sucked into Super Why! when the kids have left the room. Guilty.

"I'll never let my kids go to bed with a bottle". Seriously though, y'all... moms have to sleep right? When both of my kids got to the age where they were waking for milk and they could hold a bottle - you better believe I changed their diapers, gave them a bottle and went right back to bed. Zander had it way more than Ainsley. He even went into toddlerhood with sippy cups in bed. Some kids require more to get to sleep. It just happens. And guess what? He's been to the dentist four times now for cleanings (twice last year and twice this year) and not once did the dentist say he had a problem with his teeth from "bottle rot". He's fine. Ainsley is fine. Trust your guts, moms.

     And just a few things I do that some moms don't agree with all the time:
I'm not a helicopter mom. I don't hover over the kids. I let them play how they want to play. If this means they fall, so be it. **In relation to this, Ainsley totally fell about 6 ft while we were at the playground this past weekend. She didn't even cry... because...

I don't make a fuss over falls and scrapes. Sure, I make sure the kids are OK, but if nothing is broken and they're physically OK I make sure they see that they're OK on my face. If I were to freak out over every little thing, then if something as small as tripping over a rug were to happen the kids would make a big deal about it. Parenting is all about acting, y'all.

I parent my own way. I do what feels right. Did I go into parenting thinking I'd be doing this differently? Absolutely. Do I regret changing my mind about what I thought I'd do? Not at all. Raising my kids the way Josh and I want to is the best decision we could've ever made.

linking up with Anne for Wednesday Wishes as well

I wish new parents all the courage and strength to just go with their gut. Don't do something when it comes to parenting if it doesn't feel right to you. I wish for all of the moms reading this week's Mama Tells All prompt gives them some sort of relief that what they're doing is OK if they're having doubts about it.



Candle Napkin DIY

Hey, y'all. If you're fans of Anne from Love the Here and Now (um, and if you're not... you totally should be because she's just amazing) then you probably remember this post from when I had taken over her blog for a day. It's getting closer and closer to the holidays (yay Thanksgiving and Christmas, and food oh my!) So I wanted to bring this post back in case any of my amazing readers will be hosting a holiday meal at their place!

For as long as I can remember, my Grandmother on my dad's side of the family has always made these napkin candles for all of our family functions. She taught me how to fold these when I was about 11 years old, and I've always remembered how to do it. (Good thing because now if I get to her house early for a family dinner she has me folding the napkins!) Today, I'm going to teach you! Who knows, it could be your fun new family tradition to pass along to your children and grand-children!

What you'll need
+ square, cloth napkin *
       *Grandma always uses cloth napkins and the real silver, so I have no clue if paper napkins work for this
+ these instructions.
[disclaimer: I don't own cloth napkins, but I do own bandannas so that's what we used for this!]

Start with your cloth napkin completely open, as flat as possible. 

Fold in half into a triangle. 

The bottom edge of the triangle then gets folded upwards about 1 inch.
**As you can see from my picture, the "about" is key; it doesn't have to be exact.**

Fold the outer-most part of the top corner down about 1 inch as well

Flip the whole thing over to where your folds are on the bottom

Begin rolling everything as seen below
Once you get to the end, leave a tiny corner
Stand everything up vertically
Tuck the tiny corner into the lip of the bottom of the "candle"

And there you have it, a napkin candle! You can make the "wick" look more like a candle depending on how far you fold the first top corner. Twist and play with the "wick" however you like.

I'd love to know if you try this! Let me know how your friends and / or family like it!

Grateful Llama / Grateful Giveaways

Happy Monday, y'all! I had a really amazing weekend. It's hard to believe it went by so fast!
//Small Recap 
Saturday I went to the park with one of my best friends. I've known her since middle school. The kids had a blast! The best part was, the park we met at had a pond with a trail around it; So once the kids got too worn out from climbing, we walked around the trail and threw leaves into the water.

Sunday my dad and step mom came over. My dad has been to our new house plenty of times since we moved in July, but my step mom had never been here.

In the spirit of Grateful Heart Mondays with Emily from Ember Grey, I'm grateful for weekends like these. We didn't do a lot, but it still so fun.

I'm also grateful for blog giveaways! There's a great one for y'all going on now!

I have teamed up with 5 other amazing bloggers to bring you this giveaway.

One lucky winner will be getting $50 to Enjoy Essential. 

This website has the cutest quote tees for adults & the littles, & more. 

That Southern Mama / Love the Here & Now / Casual Claire

The So-Called Homemaker  / The Rambling Llama  / Lot 48

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Birthday to Ashley today! Good luck to y'all for the giveaway! What are y'all grateful for today?