Snapchat Tips and Tricks!

Hello love! I'm Kelly and I blog over a little place called Love, Kelly Lorene. I live in the Pacific Northwest and have the best group of a friends a girl could ask for. In a nut shell - I believe that there's a country song for every situation, baseball is good for the soul and a good book has the ability to give you a break from everyday life. Want to know more? You can always check out my about me page.

About a month ago I posted a tweet asking if anyone else used SnapChat. Melissa answer and a few tweets, SnapChats and emails later here we are... sharing some of our favorite tips and tricks to an app that we're kinda crazy about! 

I've had this app for way over a year, but it's been over the last few months that my friends and I have started using it more than sending regular text messages. Yes, we're the weirdo's walking around town looking like we're taking selfies every two minutes. I had to up my data plan because of this app people! 

While Melissa is diving a little deeper into app over on my blog, I'm going to cover the basics.

SNAP CHATSThey're pretty much exactly like they sound. 

Snap a picture

I would just like to point out that this doesn't always have to be a selfie. We use it to send pictures of outfits as we try them on in the dressing rooms or of other random things without having to clutter up our phone's photo gallery.

Add some text/emoji

It kinda sucks that you're limited to <31 characters, but we've found fun ways to get around that. Such as using specific emojis for people rather than actually typing out their names. Not only was it fun to sit down and decide which person got which emoji, but it's kinda fun because should they see it they don't know we're talking about them.

Decide how long people get to view it for

This can be anywhere from 1 second to 10 seconds. Keep in mind that people can screen shot a snap so if you're sending a really embarrassing face, keep it quick.

Swipe for filters should you want to add them 

I thought I got screen shots of all the options but apparently I didn't. Sorry. 

Send it on it's merry way

Select which of your lucky friends gets to receive it and click send! Don't forget you can add it to your story too. For more on that visit my blog where Melissa is talking about it.

TEXT CHATS

This really isn't any different than sending a text message other than the fact that once the person's read it, it's gone. This has really come in handy when planning surprises and complaining about spouses.

VIDEO CHATS

That's right! You can send videos. They're limited to 10 seconds so talk fast ;-)

LIVE VIDEO CHATS

This is a new feature that I haven't really tried out to much, but that I'm pretty excited about! When you're both in the text chat you'll notice that the yellow icon on the right will turn blue. All you've gotta do is hold it down to send live video to your friend. If they hold it down as well.. It'll start a live chat! You can switch cameras my dragging your finger up or down. If you don't want to keep your finger on the screen the whole time then just drag your finger to the little lock icon that is floating around the bottom of the screen!

Alrighty folks! That's all the fun that I've got for you today. I know you're a little less scared to use SnapChat now. Head over to my blog to see what Melissa has to teach you and follow me on SnapChat at "kellylorene"! 

My (Blogging) Friends are Cooler than Yours.

Y'all, I have a lot on my mind lately. Mostly good things but there's a few mixed emotions in there too. Yesterday Christine posted about the Tribe, and I kind of had to branch off of that post a bit.

You see, I completely agree with her post. This Tribe that we're in is an amazing group of ladies. I'm sure most of blog land already knows them, but I'd like to take a moment to highlight them a little today. Mostly because this year has had a lot of ups and downs for me and they've all been there to support me in different ways. I'm truly blessed to know these ladies and call them friends.
In no particular order:

Kendra @ Kenji Is Here. Kenji really inspires me to stay on my fitness path. Battling a chronic illness and still getting the strength to go to the gym? Yes please! But it's not even just that. She's real, she's kind, and she loves dance parties. Why wouldn't you want to be friends with her? I mean seriously!! (PS: she's the current Daddy Llama in post sponsor here too, y'all!!)

Cassie @ Sage. Cassie gives great advice y'all. No kidding. When I was stuck in fitness rut, she came to my rescue. But she's all about building community and raising people up, so it's no surprise that she helped me out. Her love for God and her love for friends is truly an inspiration and I'm so blessed to have her in my life.

Christine @ The So-Called Homemaker. I had the honor to meet Christine at one of the Atlanta Blogging Network events last year. She's seriously just as sweet and genuine as she comes across on her blog. Even if she doesn't get snapchat, she's still a wonderful person to be able to call "friend".

That's me on the left and Christine on the right playing blogging games!

Amanda @ Knock on Wood. My IRL bestie. Amanda has been my go-to gal for almost 9 years. That's nearly a decade, y'all. I'm seriously glad she convinced me to start this little blog. You want honest advice? She's got it! I'm so glad she's been in my life for as long as she has because some days I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't call on her... even if it's about a laugh over an ex boyfriend!

'cause that's how we roll, yo!

Anne @ Love the Here and Now. If anyone has a bad thing to say about Anne, then you don't really know her. She puts her family first and I love that! She constantly reminds me that I'm not a bad mom, and she's forever telling me to just breathe... it will get better. Thanks for keeping me grounded when I need it most, Anne.

Emily @ Ember Grey. I'm not gonna lie, when I first started reading Emily's blog, I was intimidated to comment. She's so pretty and her posts are always what you need to read. You may not have known that you needed to read them, but trust me... you did. I'm so glad I started commenting. Emails turned to texts. Texts turned to phone calls. Now, I'm thankful I can randomly get a laugh about packing for trips at the last minute with this gal.

Meagan @ All The Joys & Rebecca @ The Adventures of Bug & Boo. Meagan and Rebecca were dubbed my blogging soul mates after a blogging matching game last year. After getting to know both of these ladies, I couldn't think of a better match. Our love of pizza runs deep, but mostly I'm happy that I can randomly text these two with panicky mommy moments!

Christine, I'm sorry for essentially copying my post, but after the day I had yesterday I seriously had to give a shout out to y'all. Please forgive me? I'll give you wine!
But in all seriousness, what Christine said yesterday rings true. In this great big blogging world, tribes are key. Communicate with other bloggers. Engage, linkup, email! It works, I promise. There's a lot I most definitely could not have gotten through this year (so far) If I didn't have these ladies!

Faves for Friday

I have to admit, y'all: this week has probably been the best week I've had since being home full time. Sure, it may not seem like it with my constant whining, but I feel better about this week. It's a big deal, and I'm feeling really happy!

A Few highlights from my week: 
:: I haven't had to watch neighbor kids everyday this week. The one day that I did need to watch them, all 4 kids (mine and the neighbor's) were in rare form, so I'm thankful it was just one day.

:: Zander is getting to be more creative with his artwork. He didn't used to care for drawing and painting & now he has amazing creations like this


:: I managed to knock one off of my Fifteen in 2015. I tried the Avovado Mashed Potatoes, and holy cow they were delish! They pair really well with turkey meatloaf!

:: I felt really good about all of my posts this week. That honestly hasn't happened in awhile!

:: I got a lot organized in my house. Call it spring cleaning. Call it boredom and me needing to keep busy. Whatever it was, my house looks AH-MAZING!

:: Getting to talk to bloggy friends on the phone. Props to Faith, Kristyn, and Anne for having nice long conversations with me even with noisy kids in the background! I'm a people person and I crave interaction with others so being able to talk with them about just random just stuff this week has really made me soo happy!

:: Super sweet texts from other bloggy friends about my post on Faith's blog on Wednesday for her Overcoming Insecurities series! It was tough for me to write, but I'm SO glad I did! Y'all are the best!

And while those were my favorite parts of the week, I had a few favorite blog posts as well! Since it's been a few weeks that I've linked up with Meagan, I figured this week was a perfect week to come back!

Linking up with Meagan

+ Emily / Ember Grey was a guest at Best Kept Self. Her post about Parenting Yourself was really incredible. If you have kids or not... or even if your kids are fur babes... this list is something great to think about throughout your day-to-day.

+ Kendra / Kenji is Here : You know when life just gets to be too much and you need to take a break? Well, Kendra did just that. She gave herself a Me Time Vacation. LOVE this idea.

+ Meagan / All the Joys : The Timing is Right. I really needed to read this more than I knew. A key reminder that time with your spouse  is important!

+ Cassie / Sage : 5 Tips for Building Community on Instagram. I love instagram. If I'm not on twitter, I'm on inta. Cassie's tips are really helpful to make sure you get the most out of it!

+ Kerri / HKB : Why She Won't Follow you on Twitter. I actually learned something about twitter from this post. So not only was it well written, it was informative too. Win/ Win!

+ Kristyn / Chits & Giggles : No Bean Veggie Enchiladas. I love veggie anything, and I love that beans can be added to this if you desire. This looks So good. Just go check out all the yummy veggies Kristyn used!!

And with that, I hope y'all have a great weekend!

Currently, I'm in Love!

Happy Friday! I kind of feel like this week as flown by. Just me? It's still hard to believe that at this time last week I was admitting to being a newly stay at home mom. This week I've been browsing dollar stores to find fun little crafts for Ainsley and I to do at home. Since it's been awhile and I feel like I have a lot of new readers, I thought it would be a good idea to end the week with a "currently" post!

Thinking: About birthday celebrations. Zander will be 5 on the 26th. I want to do something special for his birthday since he's gotten to the age where he really is remembering everything... and talking about everything for that matter. I want him to enjoy his special day. Not just at school with cupcakes I mean.

Feeling: Cold. Georgia weather lately has been all over the place. Which is kind of the norm around here. When we go from 66 at the beginning of the week to 43 at the end of the week though... I'm cold.

Listening To: musically, I'm listening to Pitbull's newest CD (Globalization) I'm loving this entire CD (Thanks Josh for the awesome birthday present!). Mostly I'm listening to the T.V. as background noise though since that's what I'm really currently doing.
Watching: HGTV. I'm typing this up as Ainsley naps. As soon as she goes to sleep the T.V. gets switched from having Disney Jr. as background noise to Mommy shows as background noise. I don't actively watch anything until Josh gets home from work.

Reading: Divergent. I have already seen the movie (loved it). I started reading the book back in December, but I couldn't set enough time aside to get into it. Now, three days into it I'm almost done. Loving it!

Needing: To go to the store. Specifically the dollar store. I have a lot of ideas for crafts and activities to do with Ainsley during the day. We've been coloring and reading, but I know she'll  have more fun with hands on things. I need poster board!

Thankful For: Extra time with my babies! Not even trying to be cliche, y'all. I'm so thankful that I have all of this quality time, and that I've been able to really see their unique personalities!

Wishing Praying: For the courage to actually apply to go back to school. But I kind of feel like that might be a bit much to take on JUST yet. Maybe I should master being a great stay at home mom first. It's been something I've been praying on all week. No firm decisions have been made.

Loving: The fact that I'm starting to get back into the swing of things in the blogger world. I started getting my schedule back to normal. I'm able to blog and promote while Ainsley naps, and it's gotten me confident into being able to be active with sponsorships again. (Shameless plug!). I'm also loving that my tribe of bloggers has been so supportive.

Additionally, I can't end the week properly without linking up with Meagan for Blogger Love & my favorites from this week! I've really missed this linkup, and last week it gave me a great way to catch up on a lot of posts that I had missed!

Blogger Love!

+ Kristyn / Chits & Giggles : I Can't Take a Compliment From my Husband. Raw, real, honest posts are my favorite. This was exactly that.

+ Christina / The Mediocre Housewife : Camping with Toddlers. Christina's posts are both very funny and very honest at the same time. In this her opening line is "Vacationing and small kids is the ultimate team building exercise for relationship."  If that doesn't make you want to read more, I don't know what to tell you.

+ Emily / Ember Grey : To Love Oneself. I love this idea to make time for yourself, even if you're in a serious relationship.

+ Kendra / Kenji is Here : Confetti! To go along with loving oneself, and the amazing "theme" bloggers had this week, Kendra had this little gem! A reminder to be the "ups" in someones' life because there's too many "downs". LOVE!

+ Liz / Simply Complex Mom : For Every. A sweet post about amazing moments in parenthood.

+ Paige / An Uncomplicated Life : The Nightmare that is Dating & Texting. Y'all... I didn't even know this was a thing. Paige has a great point if you're in the dating world.

What were some of y'alls favorites? Do y'all have any big plans for Valentine's Day tomorrow?

 

New Year, New Love!

Happy New Year, Friends! 
I'm happy to announce that today, not only am I linking up with Meagan for Blogger Love, but I am also co-hosting with her! I'm beyond excited! Meagan has been a great person to sponsor this past month! LOVE HER!

So...
I learned something yesterday - my recovery day/ day off. Despite being 27 years old now, I am afraid I cannot party like I could in my early 20's. Don't get me wrong, New Year's Eve was a blast! But New Year's DAY was rough.

My mother in law came over to bring in the new year with Josh and I. I ended up being the only one drinking. Josh and I thought that she'd be spending the night since New Years with us usually means a few adult beverages and a traditional champagne toast at midnight.

Wrong, Melissa. No one wants to play your reindeer games.

This happened NYE...

She didn't want to spend the night so she only drank sparkling juice. That's all Josh drank too. But that was fine with me! More booze for me. Only someone forgot to remind me that my kids' version of "sleeping in" is 7 AM. Oops. Someone also forgot to remind me that because of the 7 AM wakeup call, and I not only drank a lot but also stayed up until after 1 AM. Ugh.

I was drunk but we were still super cute! xoxo

Thursday was a rough recovery day. But I survived. I'm at work today. Can someone fast forward to May now so I can have another long weekend? Pretty Please?
Actually, no. Now that I say that I don't want to fast forward just yet.

I do have a few things I'm looking forward to this new year. like...
Ainsley will be TWO and Zander will be FIVE.
Ok... I'm a little saddened by this too, because it means my babies getting older. I'm already planning their (joint) birthday party. It'll be zoo themed. Stay tuned for some fun pinterest inspired zoo decor!

My brother in law is getting married in Sept. 
We always take a trip to Jersey once a year. This year we're going later in the year to celebrate a WEDDING! Josh is the best man. He's nervous but I know he'll be great! Even if I have to help him write a speech.

Ok... well, I thought there'd be more than that. Oops. I'm sure there is, but I did have some favorite blog posts from this week, and that's kind of why we're really here today... right? right!

+ Christine // The So-Called Homemaker : Playground workout for Mom's on the go. Um, firstly I cannot say enough how much I LOVE THIS! I'm always trying to find new ways to switch up my workouts. Sure, I just got back into it after almost 5 months, BUT having variety helps. This is a great way to get outside with the kids and do something!

+ Liz // Simply Complex Mom: Entrapped. Y'all... Liz has a way with words. I have very few words that can describe this post, but if you haven't read it already... you should.

+ Kristyn // Chits & Giggles : We Chose Giving. What Kristyn and her husband did for Christmas is truly inspirational. I love to hear stories like this, and it's even better when it's someone I "know". Kristyn and her husband "adopted" a child for Christmas and filled her wish items for gifts. It's so sweet to see people helping other people in need this time of year!

+ Rebekah // The Straight Arrow : Taxi Safety Tips! Would y'all believe I've never ridden in a taxi? My experience with them goes about as far as seeing people whistle for them on movies and T.V. Shows. So, basically I'd be the one you'd see on the news being kidnapped. NOT ANYMORE thanks to Rebekah though! With these safety tips, even a NOOB like me will be OK!

Who were some of your favorites from this week? Or Last week? Link up with me and Meagan to share!
This weekend I'm looking forward to not doing anything. We've already taken the Christmas decorations down, so I get to have a weekend of relaxation and recovery! Lord knows I need it!

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy Friday, Friends!

xoxo,

Oooh, I Love the Way You Love Me!

Happy Friday! Y'all, I'm so beyond excited for this weekend! The weekend will be jam packed full, but it will be spent with tons of family and friends. AND if you're not following me on instagram (but if you're not- WHY NOT?! you need to be!!!) then you don't know about my super exciting news.

Tomorrow we'll be adding a new member to our family. (No, y'all I have not been hiding a pregnancy) Tomorrow we'll be going to pick up this sweet, adorable baby. OK.. technically he's not a baby. He's about one year old. He's fixed, house trained and SO super sweet! I cannot wait to get him. The kids are going be to thrilled. Even though Zander drives a very hard bargain when it comes to his Christmas gift this year, I think he'll be thrilled. (Basically Zander ONLY wants a power wheels / battery powered John Deere tractor) This kid... I swear... BUT he is getting that. And a dog. As of Saturday. Fingers crossed things go well. hahaha. I'll definitely be sharing more about this guy on another day. I'm such a tease.

Saturday night we'll be spending the evening having Mexican with my mom's side of the family and doing Christmas with them a little early. My grandpa lives about an hour and a half away from everyone, so we always get together and do Christmas either before or after the actual holiday. It's always a great time!

Sunday... actually we might not have anything planned for Sunday. Probably a day spent making last minute Christmas gifts! I'm so behind this year, it's borderline ridiculous!

TODAY is Friday though.
On Friday's we link up with Meagan
for some Blogger Love and Friday Favorites!

Some of my faves from the week:

+ Sheryl // How to Make a Life : Put Your Phone Down! We live in a day where most things are seen through the screens of our cell phones. Down to concerts and events. Some couples are even glued to their phones during DATES. I love Sheryl's post this week. A gentle reminder that there's REAL LIFE to be seen away from the cell phone screen!

+ Kasey // Kasey at the Bat : Top 5 Ways to Win your Tacky Sweater Party. T'is the season for tacky sweater parties! I'm bummed I missed the one with the Atlanta Bloggers this week. However, Kasey has some pretty amazing tips that are sure to put you in the winner's circle for your tacky sweater party!

+ Kristyn AND Tabitha // Chits & Giggles AND A Hundred Tiny Wishes : These two collaborated with 10 Ways Kids and Animals Are the Same. I  laughed my whole way through this, nodding my head the entire time. Both ladies nailed it with this one. Such a great collaboration!

+ Nina // Flowers in My Hair : When Christmas is Hard. Sure, this may not be what everyone wants to or needs to read, but it's real and it's honest and I LOVE Nina for posting it. Christmases can be hard. Heck, any holiday can be. When emotions run wild and memories are flared up it's HARD. Her message is excellent in this post!

+ Kerri // Hey Kerri Blog : DIY Sugar Hand Scrub. Y'all, if I've said it once on here I've said it a million times: I don't have a creative bone in my body. I want to be the girl that does DIY Christmas gifts but year after year I'm not. THIS YEAR Though, my bloggy buddies have come through and saved me with all of y'all crafting ideas. Kerri is no different. This sugar hand scrub looks SO easy and SO CHEAP! Heck yeah! Love this gal! She's the best.

What were some of your favorite posts for the week? I hope y'all have an amazing weekend!

I'm High on Believing That You're In Love with Me

HAPPY FRIDAY, Y'all!!! Props to anyone that can guess what the song is from my post title today! I'll give you a clue: it's in a movie that JUST came out on DVD. ANYHOO... We've made it though another week and we're that much closer to Christmas! It's been kind of a crazy week for me. At work the girl that usually sits in the office with me has been running around doing Christmas Party things.

Speaking of the party... Our office Christmas party is tomorrow. I'm going to go ahead and apologize in advance for anyone that I text and / or snapchat frequently. Y'all MAY be getting an overwhelming amount of pictures tomorrow night because Chateau Elan is basically AH-Mazing!!

In the interest of not really wanting to type up a REAL post today, let's see what y'all may have missed during this week!

• Ainsley has a fungus! (It IS getting better, thanks for those have been checking in!!) 
• We got to know Llinos a little better
• I got a haircut
• I SANG on the blog 
• and now today. hahaha. 

Today is Friday. Which of course means we're linking up with Meagan for Blogger Love / Friday Favorites.

Here are just a few of my favorites from this week:

+ Chelsea // The New Wifestyle : Is your relationship ready for a dog? It's a great question. Not a lot of new couples... or even long time couples... think about all this. Sadly it leads too many dogs back into shelters.

+ Lindsay // Bourbon, Lipstick, & Stilettos : Sausage & Bean Soup. I tell you what... I'm pretty sure I'm constantly sharing something of Lindsay's each week but this girl is just the best. Her recipes are the bomb dot com, and AFFORDABLE. It's not like you have to go out and get anything super fancy to make the stuff, y'all. I tried this soup this week, and it's the BEST!

+ Kasey at the Bat : Deep Fried Tequila. Yes. Y'all read that correctly... deep. fried. TEQUILA! I can't tell you how easy this is! So glad Kasey shared her super easy methods. Also, beware of exploding tequila. It's a real thing, y'all...

+ Ashley // That Southern Mama : Blogs to Sponsor. Ashley is one of my best blogging friends. This week she shared some of her favorite blogs to sponsor. PLUS all of them have discount codes for you to use! Looking to sit back and let your blog be promoted and loved like crazy? Check out Ashley's post for blogs to sponsor!

+ Amanda // Knock on Wood : Golden Vlog. OK, ok... ALL of the Golden Vlogs that I've watched so far have been amazing, but Amanda sang the Hippo song. It's my second favorite after Silent Night!

What were some of your favorite posts from the week?

T'is the Season to Spread the Love

Y'all!! Who else cannot believe that we've made it through the first whole week of December? Yeah... that happened. I've barely started Christmas shopping. Thanks to Amazon I've been able to get a few things for the kids and my nieces and nephews in Jersey. I'm no where near being close to done though. I still have the secret Santa for my dad's side of the family to shop for. My dad, my mom, Josh's mom. The list is just too long.

our tree this year. Minus ornaments. because I'm lazy

Can we talk for a moment about the Secret Santa for my dad's side of the family though? Good cause we're going to anyways.

I have a big family. My dad is the 4th of six. My paternal grandparents had ALL BOYS. Six boys. That's madness. Each of my uncles has at LEAST 2 kids. So yeah... big family, y'all. So for Christmas to try and save everyone some money we do secret Santas. Great idea, right? Well.... it would be if you didn't have Grandma Linda running this three ring circus.

Normally... well, on my mom's side of the family... the name drawing process is only for the adults 18 or older who WANT to participate. Don't have the dough this year? No problem. You can sit on the sidelines and ooh & ahh over everyone else's gifts. All the kids get something though. That's just how it's done. My dad's side of the family though? Everyone draws a name. EVERYONE. My little cousin that's not even in prek yet? Yep, he has to pick a name. And the kids don't pick kids names. Zander this year has picked one of my aunt's names. AKA his great aunt. I'm sorry but it bugs me. It doesn't make sense. I don't understand how we're going to say "yeah, Zander really thought you'd love this bottle of lotion for Christmas!" This is the one tradition that I'm kind of a scrooge about. I feel like if the kids are going to be in there, at least make it to where they pick for the other kids. And make it to where they're old enough to understand what "choosing a toy for someone" really means. If Ainsley were to be let loose in the toy aisle at Wal-Mart to pick something for my baby cousin, she would go to the baby dolls and pick something for her. I think four is a good minimum age to start having kids be in the secret Santa / name draw. Once you hit middle school, you should be allowed into the adult name draw. Not because you're an adult but you can pick out something your aunt / uncle might like. #justSayin.

#SorryNotSorry. (Thanks for reminding me, Amanda < <honorary blog love shout out!>> that we don't have to apologize for every little thing we say / do!) That was on my mind and needed to be said. I feel like the title of this post should have been calling me out for being a scrooge. I'm done being a scrooge now, I promise. Tomorrow I'll be getting my first REAL haircut since May. Because apparently drunken Thanksgiving haircuts don't count? Anyway. Stay tuned on Instagram for new selfies tomorrow. #sorrynotsorry

Linking up with Meagan for Blogger Love Fridays!
(on time this week! whaaaat?!)

Here are just a few of my faves from this week.

+ Elizabeth // Simply Complex Mom. Y'all firstly, I'm SO happy to have Liz on my sidebar this month. Her blog is absolutely amazing. If you're not following along already, WHY not?! Do it! This week, "The Meanest Mommy" (in the WHOLE WORLD) really hit home with me. As moms we hate to hear this. However, hearing it makes us realize, "hey, we're doing something right here". Ahh-Mazing!

+ Lindsay // Bourbon, Lipstick, & Stilettos. How many of us out here online shop for Christmas? *Raising my hand*. How many of us either worry about someone stealing your info or have actually had info stolen? *Raising my hand some more* I'm terrified of this. Daily. Online shopping is so easy (and I don't always like braving the crowded malls). I give to y'all: How to protect yourself during Holiday Shopping! Ta-Da! Lindsay is so great.

+ Jenn // Hello Rigby. All around blog land you've probably been seeing TONS of posts for what to get the man or woman in your life. But what about your cute little furbabies? Jenn has you covered! Gift ideas for your pets! If my cat wasn't such a snob (and actually played with toys. lazy bum) I'd totally get her that little track thing. Your pets are covered, y'all!

+ Faith // Life w/ Mrs G & the Artist. I don't know about y'all, but I'm not crafty. I rarely have pinterest worthy posts. I'm not creative. So when I see stuff like THIS Christmas craft with minimal paint and supplies, I remember there's hope for people like me. We will definitely be trying these!

+ Kerri // Hey Kerri. Thinking of offering sponsorship's on your blog? Not sure where to start? Well, thankfully Kerri has you covered! A few things to be mindful of before you start announcing your sponsorship opportunities! A+ post with some great advice!

What were some of your favorite posts for the week? Be sure to link up with Meagan and share! Have a great weekend, y'all.
 

Thanksgiving Love and Blog Love

So... two days after Thanksgiving. I don't know about y'all but I'm still overly stuffed. Not just from the food but from spending time with my amazing family. My aunt and uncle are in town from Wisconsin until Monday, so we're soaking up as much family time as possible these next few days. Wednesday night, Josh, the kids and I spent the night at my mom's house. My little brothers are staying with their dad for this Thanksgiving so there was more than plenty of room for us (as well as my Aunt and Uncle that stayed in the big bed!)

Thursday morning, we all woke up and shared funny family stories over coffee and breakfast. Moments like these I truly cherish! I love my family so much. Food prep started shortly after since food would be served at three. The entire day was filled with laughter, food, and football. who could ask for more?
I thought it would be difficult not having my Grandma with us. I think everyone felt the same way. But it was beautiful. We talked about her, celebrated her memory, and celebrated her. I just know she was in the house smiling down on us. It was so great sharing old memories of her with my whole family. And YES candle napkins were made. Everyone loved them. We're so fancy.

Josh and His Mom! <3

 my mom, aunts, uncles, and their significant others <3 (bunny ears are common in our family)

 It was Uncle Paul's birthday on Thanksgiving. 

Who survived Black Friday?? Not this gal. I avoided it like the plague. I did get some great deals online though. High five, go team!

Today we're going to my Aunt's house in Gainesville for another dinner party and more family time. I'm so blessed! I'm loving all of this family time. Best time of the year!

It is the end of the week, which of course means it's time for another round of Blogger Love with Meagan from All the Joys (love her!) I finally got caught up on my bloglovin feed this past weekend, so this week I felt more prepared with blog reading. I was able to read after work. Feeling accomplished!

+ Elizabeth / Simply Complex Mom. Liz is one of those bloggers that seriously has amazing stuff with every single post. She has an amazing way with words. Tiny Dreamer is no different. Liz's daughter has such a big heart. A true reflection that Liz is an amazing mom

+ Katie / Life Is... Katie's relationship with her sister is a great one. In Sister, Sister I felt myself nodding along (yep, I've done that to Becca) and laughing. Such a real post and so sweet at the same time. I love it when siblings have terrific bonds like this!

+ Kristyn / Chits & Giggles. Life After the Wedding. Does anyone ever think about that? You spend months... years ... planning and then suddenly you're forced into just being y'all. No appointments, no meetings. Just you and your spouse on the couch on a Saturday. How do you get back into the norm?

+ Cassie / Sage and Elizabeth / Oak & Oats. This week's Equally Yoked post really hit close to me. "Do You pray for your husband?" Elizabeth's prayer cards are such a wonderful way that she prays for her husband each day. I absolutely love it! (Love this whole series!)

What were some of your favorites this week?
I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving. I found out a little too late that the linkup for this post this week won't be live. Which is fine... I still wanted to share! ;)

Happy Dance For the Weekend!

Happy Saturday!! You may notice a few changes around here. Don't worry, don't panic... you're still in the right place. The lovely Amanda @ Knock On Wood has given my little corner of the internet a face lift. This is why she's so great. Shameless plug, go check out her design page.

So, Y'all, I have officially made it through one WHOLE week at my new job, and I survived! I lived to tell the tale, and yes I will be going back for more. haha. Now that everyone is starting to get more comfortable with me, the pranks and jokes are starting to become more frequent now that they know I have similar senses of humor that they do. It's absolutely been a wonderful week!

Can we talk about this video for a second though? I saw this on the news last night and I got goosebumps. I totally emailed Kerri immediately after watching and said she had to watch the video ASAP. Her reply? "AHHHH holy crap ok the hairs on my arm are standings straight up right now that video is amazing" Yes.... my sentiments exactly. Just take a moment and watch. 
I've been really proud of myself because I've been able to schedule a lot of my blog posts, but Friday Favorites with Meagan are difficult to schedule. You see, this is one of those things I actually follow the rules on and you post faves from that week. It's still this week, and therefore here we are!!
What a great week it has been!

+ Lindsay / Bourbon, Lipstick & Stilettos. She's constantly one of my favorites. I ALMOST mentioned this post with bourbon hot chocolate, because hi, I'm Melissa and I enjoy adult beverages. However, on Friday Lindsay posted this gem about GRAMMAR!! 100% YES!!! It still shocks me that people don't get it (you're / your) ugh. Thanks for sharing Lindsay!

+ Amanda / Knock on Wood. She SANG on her blog. How awesome is she? I mean I know I say it a lot but that took GUTS! I especially love the bloopers at the end. Technically that was last week, but I did love her this week as well with what she's Thankful for.

+ Rebecca / The Adventures of Bug and Boo. Rebecca and I are both moms to very young, very strong-willed children. So when she posted A Battle of Wills, it spoke right to my heart.

+ Kasey at the Bat wrote about my favorite thing EVER! Christmas Movies!!! I mean, we're a week away from Thanksgiving! Time to start embracing that Christmas is almost here!

+ All of the Link Your Ink posts hosted by Cassie at Sage and Kaitlin at Sew my Soul. It was so much fun reading about everyone's tattoos and the stories behind them. So fun. Great link up, ladies.

What were some of your favorites this week? Tons of great ones out there!