Five on Fri-YAY!

Friday, August 28, 2015

This week feels like it went by so fast and so slow at the same time. I'm not sure that's even possible, but I do know that I'm SUPER glad today is Friday!

Before I start celebrating the weekend prematurely, here's my (sometimes) weekly five.

ONE.
Paw Patrol Christmas.


I was looking on Amazon for something completely different when Amazon decided to show me something that I didn't know I needed : The Pups Save Christmas! (a Big Golden Book). Seriously, it's like the Amazon Gods are mind readers because I immediately added this baby to the cart! It's being released September 8th, but I'm totally pre-ordering it now!


TWO.
Essie Gel Setter Top Coat.



I found this duo at Target the other day and just had to try it. I'd been eyeing it for a while but kept trying to talk myself out of it, but finally found the combo with Bahama Mama that I'd been wanting so I just had to. It's actually a really great deal at $14.99 for the two because the top coat is $9.99 on it's own and the nail polish is about $8.49. I haven't used it yet because I didn't have time to paint my nails this week, but I'd love to hear any feedback anyone may have!


THREE.
Etsy Planner Stickers.


I mentioned last week that I'm on the hunt for a new planner and asked for some advice on which one you guys liked and why. I got tons of great feedback that was super helpful! And then I found another blog post that focused on one specific planner, but also had these awesome planner stickers as well. I'm a SUCKER for pretty pens and planners and cute stickers are a close second. They seem pretty affordable and so cute and applicable, I might have to get some of them too!


FOUR.
If I Need Help.


I love the idea of these If I Need Help shoe tags, especially since Mason doesn't talk and wouldn't be able to tell a paramedic his name, if he's allergic to anything, or who his parents are if there was an emergency. BUT there's something about anybody being able to scan my son's shoe and getting ALL his information (and ours) that freaks me out. So while I think it's a good idea, I'm not too sure we'll be trying it any time soon.


FIVE.
Wall Calendars.


In addition to my planner, we have a wall calendar hanging in the kitchen so Seth knows what's going on too. I was scrolling through IG the other day when I came across these beauties. My calendar goes through the end of the year but this deal was too good to pass up! THREE years of printable wall calendars for $5?! And how cute are they?! Now I just need to get them printed!

Happy weekending!




The Guys Behind the Blog // August Edition.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

A couple months ago, I found out through Crystal that Betsy from Heavens to Betsy has this super cool series called The Guys Behind the Blog. Unfortunately it was a little too late to join for March but I joined in April and have been ever since! While I do talk about Seth often, I don't really know if you all know him very well. Enter : this series. Every month Betsy has different prompts that the guys behind the blog answer.




Here are August's questions.

1 // Share a funny wedding story with us - it could be from your own or one you attended.
I've never really had anything really funny happen at a wedding - ours or one I attended - but I guess the funniest thing that happened at our wedding was that our niece, Emma (who was 3 at the time), was the flower girl and was supposed to walk down the aisle throwing flower petals. Well she made it maybe 2 steps and then started bawling and ended up walking down the aisle with my sister (a bridesmaid). Once the ceremony was over, she was TOTALLY fine and was a dancing machine. AND she took pictures in the photo booth with EVERYONE - including our friends and other people she didn't know. We ended up playing "Where's Emma?" (like Where's Waldo) in all our pictures after the wedding!




2 // On the topic of love, who was your childhood crush?
Stephanie Tanner from Full House

3 // What is your top love language? What is your significant other's love language?
Seth : Uhh, I think I need to google that. He googles it. He says them all out loud and still looks confused.
Me : I think yours is physical touch and mine is quality time.
Seth : Sounds about right.

4 // How did you meet your significant other?
Barnes and Noble. She was my boss. Shh. Don't tell!

5 // If you're engaged or married, how did you propose? If you're not, how did you ask your girl out?
I proposed at Angels stadium. We were there for her birthday with a big group of her friends. I surprised her with the rest of my family and flew in her brother [from Northern California] and proposed to her before the game started. She was so surprised!





And there you have it! Thanks for playing along again Seth!




[A Year of Dates] August.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

We decided that in August, we would go on a day date instead of a night date. Mason's been going to his ABA therapy class at the learning center on Saturdays from 9am-2pm for the past couple weeks so we've found ourselves with a couple of kid free hours on Saturdays now. The first weekend we had a couple errands to run, the second weekend we had to work and Nanny took him, and then the third weekend, we decided to take advantage of and plan a little day date.

Dating your husband doesn't have to be anything extravagant or expensive, it just has to be the two of you together. And while we had a completely different thing planned for our August date than what we ended up doing, we still had a great time!



I know it might not seem like anything special, but we made it a point to have breakfast together. On the weekends, in the mornings, we usually throw something together in the morning before we hit the road to drop Mason off or go run errands or whatever, but we rarely actually go out to eat. (Which actually sucks because breakfast is the BEST meal!) So, we dropped Mason off at school and drove on over to Brueggar's Bagels and Starbucks and had a little breakfast date.

It was short and sweet but delicious and it was nice to get out and have a meal together without a toddler running around trying to eat half our meal before we can get the bite in our mouth.

After breakfast, we ran a few errands including our favorites, Target and Costco, and then headed home to hang out a bit before we needed to go get Mason. The date was short, but we're determined to have more of them since we've been given this extra time together on Saturdays now. Until next time! :)

***

We had plans to try this last weekend with Mason but things didn't work out and we still haven't gone. 
I would still like to try it though so it remains on the list!


You can find our July date here
You can find our June date here
You can find our May date here
You can find our April date here
You can find our March date here
You can find our February date here
You can find our January date here
Introduction to "A Year of Dates" here


[Back to School Activity] Window Clings.

Monday, August 24, 2015

As a tribute to my previous job at the bookstore, I thought I would share a fun back to school activity that Mason and I did this weekend. If I were still working at the bookstore, school would be starting today, so a huge shout out to those of my co-workers who are still there (and who might be reading this)... I hope you all have a WONDERFUL first day!


Window clings. One of the ways to Mason's heart.

I feel like Mason might be a little old to still love window clings as much as he does, but regardless, who am I to deny my little man the joy of window clings, so when I found these four sets in the Target dollar bin, I knew I had to get them.

There was a "crayon" set labeled with different colors, an apple set, a "learning is fun" set, and a school bus/school house set. We started off with the crayon set and I read each color to Mason as he put them up. "Red, Yellow, Dark Blue, Light Pink..." There were 12 in all. And after he hung them all up, I asked him where certain colors were and had him point to them.


Then we hung up all of the rest of the window clings and I described them all to him as he hung them up. I gave him the yellow school bus and then asked him to put the wheels with the bus.


Then I pulled off the school house, the sun, the grass, the clouds, the apples, the leaves, etc and just let him put them wherever he wanted. As you can see, the grass went in the sky and the clouds went on the ground. I tried to correct him and help him move them, but he immediately moved them back and looked annoyed that I moved them in the first place. Touché Mason, you win :)


The activity only lasted maybe 15-20 minutes total since he knew exactly where he wanted to put each item, but nevertheless, he enjoyed the activity and has gone back multiple times to look at his masterpiece. He even brought Daddy over to check it out when he got home from work. It's the Little Things that are the most fun!

Has your child gone back to school yet? Do you have any fun traditions? Link up with us below and don't forget to check out the other fun activities that have been posted!




Saturday Sip + Shop

Saturday, August 22, 2015

I've seen April from A. Liz Adventures do these on Saturdays and thought it was a fun idea to feature a fun drink and an awesome product. While it's not technically a link up, I thought I'd join in the fun this Saturday and share some things I'm loving!



Sip

Mommy and Mason milkshakes

Mason had his tube surgery and adenoid removal on Wednesday (more on that later) and while he seemed to be recovering well the first and second days, I was home with him yesterday and he seemed to be in a little more pain. He refused to eat and refused to drink pretty much all day and I started to get worried. I offered everything I could think of, even things I wouldn't normally offer so early in the morning, and then only thing that stuck and he somewhat ate (drank) was a chocolate milkshake. So we had Mommy and Mason milkshakes!

Shop

Charm Bracelets

I recently had the privilege of trying out these gorgeous charm bracelets from Soufeel and I wanted to share them with you because I love mine so much! I've always wanted a charm bracelet - something I could customize and have be really special and personal to me. While I love other jewelry and other bracelets, I always just choose them based on color and design and they never really have special meaning to me. Soufeel does.

This bracelet is perfect because I was able to choose whatever charms I felt would fit me. I chose the July birthstone for Mason, a blue glass bead for Seth, layers of petals for me, and hands in the shape of a heart for us all. I love that I can wear the bracelet and have all of us represented on it.

And the quality of the bracelet and charms is excellent. The charms are made from 925 sterling silver, 14K gold, rose gold, or Swarovski crystals. And the best part? They can fit Pandora charm bracelets easily and at an affordable price! If you know someone who would love one of these bracelets, it's not too early to start shopping for birthdays or even for Christmas! In fact, if you use the code Blog5 you can get 5% off any order on Soufeel's website! And what's even better is that they offer free shipping worldwide with orders over $50 and a 365-day return and exchange guarantee. Happy shopping!

Disclaimer : I was given these charms and the bracelet for free in exchange for this review. However, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hope you're having a great weekend!






[Summer Reading Challenge] Link Up #4 + a Giveaway!

Thursday, August 20, 2015

I can't believe it's here - our last link up in the summer reading challenge! I'm so far behind on checking out everyone's posts to see what books they've been reading but have been loving the suggestions I've seen! Mason's "to read" list has already grown ten fold, which I'm so excited about!

But, alas, with the last link up of our summer reading challenge comes the end of summer. And while Mason's been in school all summer anyway, there's something special about the "back to school season" that comes with the end of August/beginning of September. If you missed the announcement, Stephanie, Meghan and I would love to have you link up your back to school ideas with us! There are already a ton of amazing ideas to celebrate back to school linked up so don't forget to check those out too!

And now, on to the reading list...



(food)

Seriously, just the most fun book! It's hilarious and Mason loves reading about dragons eating and loving tacos. And as an added bonus, we had tacos for dinner. Turns out, Mason's love tacos too :)


***



(a trip somewhere)

I'm sure I've already sang this book's praises on the blog before, but we seriously love this book so it was the natural choice for a "trip somewhere". We've actually had this book for a long time and it has been a long time favorite of Mason's. I had actually thought that maybe he was over it because every time I suggested it, he would say no, but a couple weeks ago, he started LOVING it again. Every morning I catch him reading this book (or the original Little Blue Truck or Little Blue Truck's Christmas - he loves that it lights up!) when I go in to get him.

***



(food / a twist on an old classic)

A cute twist on the book There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly (a classic from when I was little), I saw this book when I was at the library looking for something else and thought it would be the perfect, funny addition to the fresh peach pie I made earlier this month. I'm not sure Mason understood the tie in, but he sure thought it was funny!

***

And that's that! Our summer reading list is full!


Now, tell us! What books are you reading this summer with your children? What books do I need to add to our summer list? Link up with us below!

PS remember you need to have participated in the challenge as well as linked up at least once to be eligible for the giveaway today. It's not too late! Link up today :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer : this post contains some affiliate links, which just means that if you click a link and buy a product, I get a small commission. 
Thank you for supporting my blog and my family!








The Great Planner Debate!

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

I'll admit it. I'm a planner junky. There's just something about putting a pen to paper that I LOVE. And one thing that I love more than anything is a paper planner and a good notebook to make to-do lists. Call me weird or call me crazy, but I love it. I just feel so much more organized when I write something down. Plus, I kinda sorta love all the pretty pens too!

Although it's only August and 2016 is still a few months away, I've already started to think about what kind of planner I want for next year. But, problem is, I have no idea which one to choose... which is where you come in :) Help!

I'm debating between 3 different kinds (but am totally open to suggestions!)

Erin Condren Life Planner


all images from ErinCondren.com

I love love love my current Life Planner, but I kinda don't love how big and bulky it is and how the page layout is vertical. And then, one day I was perusing Instagram and I saw Erin Condren's post that the planner now comes in the horizontal page set up. Game changer!!! I love that layout so much more, so it totally threw me when I thought I knew what I wanted in a planner for next year.

I know this probably sounds totally stupid to most people but I really like the big tabs, I really like the big 2-page monthly calendar layout, and I really love the stickers, page marker, and zipper pouch that come with it.

But I also feel like the only part of the planner I've been utilizing lately is the monthly page view, and surely I don't need a $50 planner for a monthly page view. But is it because I don't like the vertical page layout? I don't know.

Emily Ley Weekly Simplified Planner




 all photos from EmilyLey.com

According to the website, it seems to be small and lighter, at least compared to last year. Now I don't know what size it was or what it weighed last year since I didn't have one, but it's looking like it might be lighter than my current EC one. It also has the monthly view that I love, it has tips and reminders like "Mother's Day is next week!" and has protective corner covers on the cover.

I like that it already has the hours laid out for you so you know exactly how much room you have to write and then things don't get jumbled together or out of time order.

I also kinda love the accessories you can buy for it!


Small, cheapy planner from Target

I don't have a specific one in mind for this and I think that's the problem. Compared to the planner I have now, they all seem so... boring and small. And I know one of my complaints was that the EC one is too big, but the space to write on the little 5ish x 7ish planners is, well, small! And I don't write small so I'm afraid I'll buy one and hate how little space I have to write. The weekly pages seem like they have a decent amount of room, but I'm more worried about the monthly view, especially since that's what I've been utilizing the most recently.

So, help! Thoughts? Opinions? Recommendations? I'm hoping maybe I can make a decision by my birthday next month and can encourage someone *cough Seth cough* to get me a new one for my birthday but I need your help!

Thank you in advance!


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