Wishing You & Yours

In the midst of some late night gift wrapping/bow making/frozen hot cocoa drinking at 12:20 in the morning I thought I'd share our christmas card this year!

p.s. I totally slacked on addressing and mailing these so some are still on their way if you haven't gotten one yet!

Jingle Bell Hop: Stocking Stuffers

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Sadly today is the last day of the oh-so-awesome Jingle Bell Hop! Make sure you go check out these other fabulous blogs! 

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Today we are sharing our favorite stocking stuffer ideas! These are always a hard one for me - so I'm exicited to see what everyone else comes up with! 

california baby bubble bath/ little blue truck leads the way/ ella's kitchen pouches/ green toys boat/ melissa and doug triangular crayons/ plan toys car/ kids camelbak 


I decided I'd share some things that I am putting in Trey's stocking/or things that he has really enjoyed this year that would make great stuffers! What is going in your little one's stocking this year?


p.s. You know I had to throw in the gold coins and an orange in the bottom - my mama would be proud! Does anyone else share that tradition?

Trey's Favorite Toys 18-24 months

You can check out what we were loving at 13 months here. 

This post is a *smidge* late seeing as how Trey turned 2 in August but I thought this might be helpful for those of you looking to pick up Christmas gifts for boys of this age.

(Mamas - if you have favorites please leave them in the comments for others to read!)

Source: target.com via Beach on Pinterest

I picked up these bristle blocks on a whim one day while I was at Target and was so glad I did - they are so much fun! Trey loves them and J.D. and I have a blast sitting down and playing with them too! These have instantly became a favorite gift to give as well.

Source: amazon.com via Beach on Pinterest

We love all sorts of wooden toys and when Trey fell in love with these Uncle Goose blocks at a friends house I knew I had to order them stat. They are a great classic toy, made in the USA and slightly bigger than other wooden blocks which was great for stacking when he was younger!

Source: amazon.com via Beach on Pinterest

I wish I hadn't purchased so many mega blocks when Trey was around a year old becuase duplos have quickly taken over our home and the mega blocks have taken their place. He has really been enjoying these lately!

Source: target.com via Beach on Pinterest

This b. toys easel was a gift from a friend and she hit the nail on the head with it! Trey plays with this almost everyday - I usually just keep it open on his little table in the kitchen. The markers that it comes with are awesome and you can also use any other washable marker on the white board. Trey's bestie always instantly goes straight to it when she comes over our house!

Source: target.com via Beach on Pinterest

Trey must have inherited his love of music from his Daddy! This b. toys (can you tell we LOVE ALL b. toys?) keyboard and dog guitar are constantly in rotation in our home - they are really fun and play some fun songs on them!

He's also a big fan of play phones (leap frog and a cheapy one from the Disney store), his leap frog laptop, balls, STICKERS of any variety and is still really loving his Alex 3-in-1 trike!

What were your favorite toys at this age? Any suggestions for Christmas gifts for a 2 1/2 year old boy that I may not have already thought of yet?

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

I can't believe the weekend is already over! Isnt' that how it always is though? The long weekends fly right by?



While Trey is napping I thought I'd try to sit down and share a quick recap of our weekend. I'm going to make it a goal to try and sit down and blog more over the holidays - there are always lots of fun moments that I want to capture and share!

We had a not-so-stressful Thanksgiving morning (for once!) and sat around and played and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade - the Mickey & Julius balloons were a huge hit in our home. I've hosted Thanksgiving here every year since I was 26. The first year we had 23 people attend. I had barely made dinner at that point in our marriage and was so nervous and scared. Each year it has gotten so much easier, I've learned tips and tricks along the way.

Did you know you can cook a Turkey upside down? Well, I did it by accident one year and it turned out AWESOME! Years later I read in a magazine that it's a great tip - that way the breast meat stays juicy. 

(Great I'm sure I'm going to get all sorts of spam comments for that one! HA!) 

This year we didn't have nearly as many people due to travel and other family plans but it was wonderful. Trey has so much fun playing with everyone and just eats up the attention.


I just adore this picture of him and my Mom together.



Before we knew it we were packing up sides to send home and putting Trey to bed.

I'm not a huge black Friday shopper - I like to order things online or I'll go out to the mall later in the day once everything has died down some. After Trey's nap we headed to the mall and picked him up some new shoes and a few small things.

We came home for Thanksgiving round two (leftovers!) with some good friends and let the kids stay up late watching Christmas movies. It was a fabulous night!

On Saturday morning my sweet MIL had an awesome day planned for us - horseback riding on the beach!! It was SO FUN!!! My horse's name was Cupid and was so sweet! It was a cold day but the way we were riding most of the time wasn't  bad at all. One of the horses got a little crazy and tried to run off but for the most part it was just peaceful! We have already planned our next horseback riding trip at a nearby park.

Saturday evening I headed out to take Christmas pictures for the SIL and her fiance. I am by no means a professional (nor am I trying to be) but they just wanted some shots for their Christmas cards so I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. Here are a few! They were so easy because for real... they are SO in love and mushy!!

Speaking of, on Sunday I helped with a proposal! My maid of honor got engaged to her boyfriend (now fiance!) and it was wonderful! Sadly I don't have any pictures to share, but it was perfect and all captured by a professional photographer - complete with a mini engagement party thrown by one of my besties and myself!

Sunday evening ended with a nice quiet trip to our favorite Mexican restaurant, just J.D., Trey and myself and then snuggling by a fire downstairs while watching Revenge!!

Who else is obsessed? I just CANNOT get enough of that show!

I hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving weekend too!!!

What a *Treat* - a FREE card!

I've been a long time Shutterfly & Tiny Prints fan - I've ordered cards, books and pictures from there for years. But more recently I've fallen in love with one of their sister companies. 

Enter: Treat.com

About Treat: 

Treat is Shutterfly’s exciting new greeting card brand that makes it easy for people to create and send one-of-a-kind greeting cards. Treat cards are perfect for holidays, birthdays, congrats, thank yous and every occasion in between. It’s crazy fun. It’s super easy. And it’s totally personal.

Your holiday checklist just got shorter. Create and send a totally personalized greeting card from Treat for FREE. Whether saying thanks for Thanksgiving, wishing a best friend a holiday birthday, or simply sharing the holiday cheer with a just because card, Treat lets you create a one-of-a-kind card that is sure to impress.

How cool is that? Who doesn't love a personalized card on their birthday, father's day, anniversary, etc? 

Here are some that I am loving: 

So head on over to Treat.com and order your free personalized card!

Code: TREATBLOGR

(Code is only valid on 11/19 & 11/20)

DIY Lace Boot Socks

A while ago I started noticing lots of cute boot socks with lace at the top (like these) on Pinterest and instantly fell in love with them.

Source: 2.bp.blogspot.com via Chelanne on Pinterest

After searching for some and coming up empty handed I decided to make some myself!

And y'all... I do not sew. At all. Like never.

My husband has three dress shirts in a bag that the dry cleaner broke buttons on and I have yet to a. fix them myself or b. take them to the dry cleaner and tell them to fix them

I apparently hate confrontation as much as I hate to sew...

I promise this is a super easy DIY!

Supplies:
Plain boot socks - these are from Target
Sewing kit
Fabric shears
Lace of your choice - I found these at AC Moore for around $3 a roll

Just start the lace on what would be the inside of your calf and sew the lace into the sock.

You can cut your lace first if you would like - make sure you measure around the thickest part of your calf that it's going to have to slide over and give some extra at the end for good measure.

The hardest part of the whole project is making sure that you are stretching the sock as you sew the lace onto it, after fussing with it for a few I started raiding my pantry for a cylinder shape to help me along, these tomatoes worked great! I still stretched the sock some but this kept it steady for me. 

 
Your sewing doesn't have to be perfect - no one will be able to tell on the outside!

Ta-da!! 

What do you think? Are you loving this trend too?

Make sure you head over and check out all the other blogs that are linking up with AP for Hey That's Pintastic! today too!!!

Tiny Prints Giveaway Winner!

And the winner is....

Congratulations Ashley! Tiny Prints will be sending you an e-mail soon!!!

Thanks so much to everyone that entered!!! I loved hearing everyone's holiday traditions!!

62 Days Until Christmas... & A Tiny Prints Giveaway!

I know, that stresses me out too! 

62 Days? 

Goodness, Halloween hasn't even happened yet and we're talking about Christmas? This year I've decided to really try and stay on track. I've been picking up gifts here and there for months now and planning our annual cookie decorating party, I've even started on a few crafts. 

And now, I'm spending hours searching the Tiny Prints site for the perfect Christmas Cards!

Here are some that I'm swooning after:

(All Card images are from the Tiny Prints website)

Gorgeous right? You can also check out the Tiny Prints current special offers by clicking here.

WIN IT! 

Want to win $50 towards your total holiday card order with Tiny Prints?? (shipping not included & cannot be combined with other promos)  All you need to do is leave a comment on this post with your favorite holiday tradition! I'll announce the winner on October 29th! 


Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post from Tiny Prints. I was compensated for this post but all opinions are my own. 

Project Pinterest Link-up: Starbucks Teacher Gift

Today I'm linking up with AP over at ILYMTC for her new "Project Pinterest" link up!

I thought I'd share the first day of school teacher gifts that I made last week!

A long, long time ago I cam across this on pinterest and thought it would be so cute to gift a starbucks giftcard this way.

Source: saucysprinkles.com via Beach on Pinterest

So (the night before school started) I stopped by Starbucks and picked up two gift cards, one for each of T's teachers and asked the barista for a cup, domed lid and a bag (for T to carry them in).

The barista was more than happy to hand them over and then we had a 10 minute convo about how obsessed we are with Pinterest!

I created the tags on PicMonkey, printed them on cardstock at Office Max (glossy) and then used my
2" punch from Michael's to cut them out. Easy Peasy!

I filled the cups with brown tissue paper on the bottom, stuck the gift card and the straw in, then added the white paper.

They were a huge hit and such a fun and easy project!!

You can follow me on Pinterest here and make sure you head on over to AP's blog and link up your Pinterest Project of the week!!!

Hair Care Product Loves

For the longest time I have been meaning to do an updated hair care post (kind of like my "What's in your make-up bag?" post here). 

Forever and a day ago I posted about how my hair lust for Kyle Richards. And well, not much has changed I still want her hair, with just a smidge of the Kardashians mixed in!

Here are the products I am loving right now:

1. John Frieda - 3 Day Straight - I hardly ever try new hair products. I'm a very set-in-my-ways type person but when The Bargain Blonde was dishing about this on instagram I figured for the under $10 price tag I'd give it a whirl. And boy, am I glad I did!! I LOVE THIS STUFF. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I'm on my second bottle already. Basically it's a semi-permanent straightener for your hair. You wash, towel dry and then spray this into your hair. You then blow dry and straighten (using no other products) and voila! You can have frizz free, straight hair for up to three days, or until your next wash. I last about 2-3 days with this. My favorite part? I can put my hair in a pony and then take it out - without kinks. Sold. Love this stuff. 

2. Matrix Smootherapie Deep Smoothing Shampoo & Conditioner - I get the big liters of these at Ulta and they last forever. I love the smell and I feel like they really help with smoothing and taming any sort of frizz in the summer! 

3. Fekkai Brilliant Glossing Cream - For days that I don't use the three day straight I love this glossing cream. I've used it for about 5 years now and will probably use it forever. It's perfect on days that I don't feel like blowdrying and straightening my hair - to make it look more polished. It also smells amazing and leaves my hair feeling super soft!

So tell me, what hair products are you loving? Anything new and exciting??

(This is where I say, I was not compensated at all for this post, in any-way-shape-or-form, all of these products were bought with my own money, all opinions are my own.)

Blue, Yellow & Burlap Engagement Party

Last night I had the honor of hosting an engagement party for my sweet sister-in-law and her husband to be!

She wanted it to keep things simple, with yellow, blue, burlap and mason jars. We had a signature drink, all the fixin's of a cookout and lots of yummy desserts. 

{via} 

It was an amazing night and I can't wait to get to work on things for her bridal shower!! 

Trey's 2nd Birthday Party ~ Paul Frank Themed!

This year we decided to keep Trey's birthday party pretty low-key and have it at The Little Gym! We have been long time fans of our local LG, Trey has been attending classes there since he was 5 months old and I have met some of the BEST mom-friends you could ever ask for there! 

The party was broken up into two parts: play! and then cupcakes and snacks. And let me tell you, it FLEW by. Before I knew it - we were handing out favors and hugging and kissing left and right. But it was definitely FUN! And I didn't feel any stress besides just getting there. The crew at LG took care of everything. To the point where I felt weird like... um... I can help with that!

It was so awesome to be able to 110% focus on Trey and our friends and family that came! 

One of Trey's first "favorite things" was his sock monkey that he calls "chi-chi" and Paul Frank's Julius quickly became a favorite when one of the first sentences he said was "Look, mama! Mon-KEE!" and pointed to his Paul Frank shirt! 

So the theme for my sweet *little* one's birthday was born! I didn't want it to be too "theme-y" - which I may have failed at? So I tried to incorporate lots of primary colors too! 

Since the party was at 3pm we had very light snacks (chips, crackers, applesauce pouches for the kiddos), beverages and cupcakes. Nothing fancy - but perfect for a two-year old celebration! 

I still have more pictures to get from my bestie, but I wanted to go ahead and share some that my SIL took while everything was fresh in my mind!! 

Trey's shirt is from Pumpkin Butter Kids!
(Check out her Etsy shop and Facebook Page! She is my "go-to" for all things personalized in the clothing department for Trey) 

Other Little Details:

I threw this together one late, crafty night. It's just a beverage tub from Target with vinyl cut outs! 

For the goody bags I just bought plastic buckets at Party City and cut each kids name out with vinyl on the cricut. Inside I included stickers, bubbles, maracas (because we do "shakers" at the Little Gym), crayons, a Paul Frank Bracelet and a little bag of Yummy Earth lollipops! 

The Thank You notes and the file for the cupcake toppers (I had them printed at Office Max) came from Chloe Tate on Etsy (LOVE her!!!), the 2 beverage tub is also from Target as well as the dry erase Paul Frank boards that I used to make a banner!

I just took the stickers off of the bubbles, cut out vinyl circles on the cricut and threw a Paul Frank sticker on! 

Personalized water bottle DIY post here.