Friday Favorites 9/30

Holy Moly it's the last day of September; that can not be possible.  We are very excited for this weekend and the upcoming month!  This weekend we have a very special wedding that Kevin and Emily have the honor of being in and we can't wait to celebrate.  Monday is Kevin's birthday and the month is already filled with exciting things!

As usual our week was filled with fun.  It was a true week of work hard, play hard.

It started last Friday evening with Emily's first school carnival where the girls partied hard!  They loved playing games, dancing, and singing karaoke.  I died and went to heaven when I asked Emily what game she wanted to play and she said, "Mom can I just dance?"  Yes baby girl you can dance, dance, dance!

This girls has no fear!!!!  The big kids were knocking her down and practically trampling over her but she wasn't going to give up.  She climbed all the huge inflatables and tackled them like a champ.

Emily had another cooking class this weekend where she made corn dogs, potato skins, and churros.

Have you started thinking about your Christmas Cards?!?!  I know you're thinking school just started are you kidding me!  But it's October tomorrow and it's honestly not too early to start looking.  I ordered our Christmas Cards last year from Tiny Prints and was so in love with how they turned out.  I'm already scoping out their website for their latest cards and this week they're having a fabulous deal that you should check out.  Click this banner for the coupon code.

We also were so excited to celebrate Jerome's 1st birthday at the Little Gym on Saturday.  Madi stayed home to nap but Emily had a blast and the party was a super cute camping theme.  Thank you so much Silveira's for including us!

Saturday night we went with some of our best friends to the Garth Brooks concert.  I almost have no words-it was EPIC!  He was born an entertainer and I enjoyed every second of his show.

I was very honored to be featured on Kindred Together this week.  I had to answer some questions for the feature which you can find HERE.

I am a CAR (California Association of Realtors) Director for my local association which means I attend business meetings several time a year to lobby for our industry and gain a ton of knowledge that I get to share with other Realtors back at home and my clients.  I am so blessed that my mom and Madi always travel with me.  This started this way a couple of years ago because I was still nursing Madi; now it just works for us.  In some off time during the meetings we got some fun time in.

My mom took Madi to the Long Beach Aquarium where they had lots of fun!

One of the best benefits of the blogging community and social media is connecting with other people.  I've met some wonderful women here and feel like I have friends all over the country.  As women I feel we are charged with supporting and uplifting one another.  It's in helping others grow that we grow as well.  "I was raised to believe that there's enough sun for everyone."  I'm sharing a little sunshine with you this morning but sharing some wonderful women with you.  You can check out my IG to meet these lovely ladies. 

I had another feature this week that I'm proud of on Gav + Ro.  Kelly, the author hosts The BLANK Mom Series where women share what kind of mom they are.  I have tagged myself the BOSS Mom and share all about what that means to me.  Check it out HERE.

Classy or Casual

It won't be too many weeks from now that I know I will be saying OMG where is summer?!?!  But for right now I am totally in love with the transitioning pieces for fall.  Switching up a few pieces can take you from summer to fall in a snap.  I always gravitate to dresses especially in the summer so finding a dress that works in the fall is a huge success.  I'm loving this cold should body con mini dress from Chaser.   

The long sleeves makes it perfect for slightly cooler weather and it has plenty of details to keep me happy.   The cold shoulder is a trend I'm not ready to leave behind with summer and the vent back on this dress has me swooning.  This almost taupe/grey is also one of my go-to colors for the fall.

Fall booties are the perfect way to help transition from summer to fall and I am literally so obsessed with my taupe suede booties.  A similar pair is linked below but I found these at my favorite local boutique Ooh La La.

It's amazing how one small change can transform a look.  This is a great example of how you can make small changes to your outfit and really switch it up, which is a great way to stretch your wardrobe without breaking the bank.  I've added a flannel plaid shirt wrapped around my waist (HELLO 90's) which makes it a bit more casual and perfect for the fall.

I love looks that easily transform and transition and this is one of those great looks.  Depending how I style it I will be wearing this dress to a wedding, bridal shower, and even a girls night out on the town.

Check out Chaser on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.

Dress was given in exchange for a review.  As always all opinions expressed are honest and my own.

From Baby to Big Girl- A Room Makeover

Our baby girl is on her way to being a big girl; I'm not sure where that time went?!?!  My two girls are so different in personality and Madi is definitely my wild child.  I wanted to keep her in her crib forever but for months she's been climbing out so we decided to finally bite the bullet and transition her into a big girl bed.  Moving from crib to bed inspired a room makeover that is still in progress.  In the meantime, I had to share with you what we've done so far.

I knew I wanted to find a spindle bed for Madi but I couldn't find anything that wasn't going to cost an arm and a leg.  I was just about to give up and order something over budget when I was driving to run an errand and saw spindle beds at a neighbor's yard sale.  My tires came to a screeching halt; I was giddy with excitement.  They were bunks beds but Kevin came back with me and we thought it was worth a shot especially for the $10 each it was going to cost us!!!!!

I don't have any painting abilities so I am beyond blessed to know the perfect person for a home project.  My very dear family friend of Beauty and The Brawn restored the beds and made them perfect for the girls (Emily got one too).  Kevin had the worst time putting the beds together because they didn't come with frames and like I mentioned we were converting from bunk beds to two twin beds.  In the end we got it worked out and I was very excited.

I didn't think I could top the spindle bed find but I sure did when it came to the bedding.  Have you ever struggled with getting your kids to make their bed?!?!  Does the comforter always hang crooked?  Does the bed skirt always bunch up?

My oldest, Emily has had chores from a very young age and making her bed has been on that list for a long time.  I want her to know that she has to contribute to our household and I also want independent children.  However, the Type A, OCD person in me always died every morning when I saw how she made her bed.  I never would fix it because I know how proud she always was. But seriously it's a struggle for me.  And let's be real if Emily can't make it just right then there is no hope for little Madi, lol!

Well Beddy's literally solves that problem!  The bed skirt is like a fitted sheet and goes around the box spring.  There is no movement or uneven edges.  The comforter, fitted sheet, and flat sheet are ALL ONE!!!!  The best part is that it all zips together and also has elastic around the bottom so it fits on the top mattress like a fitted sheet.  Almost imagine a sleeping bag that fits around the mattress of your bed.  Nothing is moving around and it's so easy to make the bed.  I'm not exaggerating on how simple it is.  Madi, who turned two in May literally got it down the very first time she tried.

Beddy's has super cute pillows to coordinate with their bedding.  I just added one pillow that I found at TJ Maxx.

This little girl was so excited about her big girl bed.  She couldn't wait to get in it.

These poses and faces are all her.  I just say, "Say Cheese!"

Peek-A-Boo

The top sheet is a super soft Minky fabric which is like a huge blankie for your little one.  It also keeps them very cozy.

Are you wondering about washing a Beddy's?  You take the whole thing off and throw it in your washer machine.  It's recommended to wash in cold water and tumble dry low and not to wash more than once per week.

I wanted to add a little extra to the bed and decor so I made a fabric banner that I attached to the bed posts.  They are so easy and forgiving to make, they just take a bit of time.  You can find my how-to DIY HERE.

Madi's room has laminate flooring so in my opinion a throw rug is a must.  It's adds some warmth to the room and adds just the right amount of character to the room.

When you're redoing a room you might not think about a monitor but a toddler's room wouldn't be complete without one.  Whether Madi is sleeping or playing I love being able to check in on her without having to be right there.  Especially since we were transitioning Madi from a crib to a bed I really wanted to be able to see her.  The first nap in her big girl bed she got up and out of bed and I was able to speak to her on the monitor from the couch!  I just told her to lay down and it totally worked! 

The Levana Willow video monitor has a 5" touch screen with pan, tilt, and zoom.  The screen quality is great and some of the features I really love about it are the temperature sensor and the thin/portable screen.  The best part about the Levana Willow Monitor is the option of adding cameras and split view on the screen to watch more than one room at a time.

Bedding & Pillows: Beddy's 

Area Rug: Lorena Canals USA

Monitor: Levana

Furniture Revamp: Beauty and the Brawn

Bedding, Rug and Monitor given in exchange for a review.  As always all opinions expressed are honest and my own.

Savoring Summer with a Last Hoorah

I wish summer would last all summer long for the warm weather, the long days, the trips, and so much more.  I've been mourning summer since school started but I had the opportunity recently to take a quick girls trip to LA.  It was the perfect way to savor summer and have one last hoorah.

Some of my besties, Pam, Gina, Rema and I left in the afternoon and had a dance party and tons of girl talk on our road trip.  We were shocked to not hit a lot of traffic and we arrived into town a tad earlier than expected.  We headed to The Grove for dinner at La Piazza which is an Italian restaurant that I'm in love with.  After dinner we wanted to check out the flavors at Sprinkles and I was giddy to find out they were handing out free mini cupcakes.  I literally raided them!!!

We didn't know where to go but after googling places in West Hollywood we landed at The Abbey for a Drag Show.  It was honestly one of the funnest nights I've ever had.  It was EPIC!

These mamas stayed out till 3 am, that's only 5 hours past my bedtime.

The next morning was headed back to The Grove to get our makeup done and get in some retail therapy.  Then we changed for the big event-Dancing With The Stars!!!!

We had the best time sitting front and center taking it all in.  After the show we got to meet Jana Kramer, Amber Rose, Vanilla Ice, and Ryan Lochte.  The two I really wanted to meet were Jana Kramer and Vanilla Ice so I was one happy girl to see them both.  Both were so genuinely nice; I hope they both make it to the finals.

After our little meet and greet we grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed home.

It was a whirlwind of a trip but loads of fun.  So thankful for my girlfriends and our last summer hoorah!