Free Easter printables! :)

I am putting up all of my Easter decorations today!

{Better late than never, right???}

I thought I would add in some cute decorations that I found online, free to download and print.  I do this for every holiday lately and it is so much fun to do.  It adds a little whimsy to my decorations, and it is FREE.  Here are my Easter favorites today....

 

Adorable printable tags over here today! :)

Can these cupcake toppers BE any cuter???

Loving this burlap inspired print!  Find it here.

And of course, I need a banner.  Loving this one! :)

 

What are you doing for Easter decorations?? 

xo!

 

What I Wore Wednesday

Another week and another few outfits to note! :)

 

Aqua Tee:  Kohl's

Skinny Jeans:  Jolt from Nordstrom Rack

Boots:  Minntonka Boots

 

 

Closeup of my comfy boots.  Seriously, these are like three or four years old and still amazing. :)  Minnetonka for the win! 

Top: From my sister!  I think she got it at Forever 21

Jeans:  Jolt from Nordstrom Rack

Flip Flops: Old Navy 

Sweater:  Old Navy

Top: Walmart

Jeans: Skinnies from Forever21

 

Linking up to What I Wore Wednesday!

xo!

 

  

Blessed.

St. Patrick's Day.
Wearing green.
A few fun decorations.
A beach date with little boys.
Toes in the sand.
Chatting about leprechauns.
I feel blessed. :)

Words of Inspiration: no. 2

This weekend, my husband is away in Arizona with two of his brothers and his uncle. They are out there for the Angels spring training and are having a ball so far watching baseball until they come home on Monday.

 

Since we got married last year, this is the longest I am going without my hubby here with me. The nights alone in my bed??? Hmmmph. I am already missing him. At least I am spending some quality time with my two darling sons. ;)

 

BUT, like these wise words state, sometimes being alone is healthy. Sometimes we need that to recharge, to watch what we want to watch, to eat what we want to eat, to spend the evenings with your self. It's healthy. And it's making me realize just how much I appreciate my husband being home with me. That man is getting a big fat smooch when he gets back, believe me. :)

 

Now I am off to watch an early Angels baseball game of my own... only my son is on this team. Go little league Angels! Hopefully Andrew's team will remain undefeated today!!! :)

Happy Saturday, xo!

The BEST French Dip Ever! (& some shop updates!)

 

I love my crock pot.  Especially since giving birth to Declan, I have found myself short on kitchen time and the crock pot allows me to make a delicious dinner without a ton of effort.  And I have stumbled on the BEST recipe ever.  Seriously, my husband requests this as often as he can :)

 

Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches

{recipe found here}

 

Ingredients:
3-4 lb. Beef Round Steak (or any type of beef roast- I use a London Broil and it works PERFECT)
1 packet Onion Soup Mix
1 packet Au Jus Seasoning
1 (15 oz) can of Beef Broth or Stock
½ cup water
4 slices mozzarella cheese
Sub rolls

 

Directions:

Put beef roast in slow cooker. In a medium bowl, combine Beef broth, Onion soup mix, Au Jus seasoning and water and stir until combined. Pour mixture over beef, put cover on slow cooker and cook on low for about 8 hours. An hour before serving, shred meat with two forks or take it out and you can slice thinly. Place meat back in the slow cooker for another hour. {I like to shred it!}

When ready to serve, place several slices of beef on roll, add sliced mozzarella cheese and place under the broiler of your oven for a few minutes. Watch carefully, broil for just a couple of minutes until cheese is melted and roll is just slightly toasted.

Serve sandwich with a bit of Au Jus from the slow cooker, which is all ready made for you! :)

 SO DELISH!!!! :)

 

And on to some shop news...

this past week, I added a couple of fab new items to my shop that I am so excited about!

You are My Sunshine tags :)

Convo me if you need a custom listing for these!

 

Ombre Pink Gift Tags!

So darling!  Need them in another color?  Convo me through Etsy and I'd be happy to make them in a different shade!

 

Whew!  I think that's it for my week.  My hubby is out of town for the weekend, so it's just me and the boys.  We are going to plan a fun mommy-kiddo weekend! {And I'll try to forget I am missing my husband so much already!}

 

Happy Friday!

today I am linking up with High Five For Friday- love it!  Go pop over and check it out.

xo!

American Idol Recap - Top 10

Seriously, Candice and Amber owned everyone else in the competition last night. Need I say more??? They both looked and sounded amazing. Way, way, way above the rest.

That being said, I still like Kree a whole lot. She is beautiful and has a lovely voice. Also, I have a weird love for Paul Jolley. I love his theatrics...is it just me? Maybe because I love musicals, but I think he is cool. :) And another favorite is Angie. She had an amazing voice and looked gorgeous last night. But get back on the piano, girl.

Who are you loving so far? Who did you like last night?? Xo!

What I Wore Wednesday

Another week, and another couple of note-worthy outfits have been documented! :)  Hopefully this is getting me out of my i'm-a-new-mom-wearing-pajamas rut!

 

 

Seriously, I'm keeping it real with my hair looking like it does in this photo.  Wow, roots.

 

Leopard Print Sweater:  Forever 21

Sleeveless Top:  Walmart

Jeans:  Jolt skinnies from Nordstrom Rack

Shoes: Velvert Bow Flats from Charlotte Russe

 

 Hair got a pretty makeover!  I am debuting my darker hair with highlights, yay!  Kind of a welcome change from the platinum I'm usually sporting. ;)

 

Top: Old Navy

Jeans: Forever 21 skinnies {$10.80!}

Sandals: Marshalls

 

Date night with my fabulous sister was a success!  It was fun to get fancied up a tad. :)

{Thank you to my photo-bombing sister, as well! haha!}

 

 Blazer: Forever 21

Tank: Target

Jeans: Forever 21

Heels: Aerosoles from Burlington Coat Factory

Necklace: Forever 21

 

So much fun to link up to What I Wore Wednesday!  Enjoy your day, xo!

Words of Inspiration: no.1

I find words comforting, inspiring, wise and happy. I will be sharing with you some of my favorite quotes, words, phrases and thoughts, each Saturday. They tie into my week or my weekend, my life at the moment, our my current state of mind.

 

 

This weekend, my sister and I are going on a little mini girls trip and night out. Long overdue! We are putting on fancy dress and pretty shoes, and heading out downtown San Diego for a fun evening together.

 

 

We have shared so many nights like this in the past and it always is so much fun. Fun hotel and a couple swanky cocktails, a little shopping and some sister chit chat!  Can't wait to have this girly night away!

Happy weekend, xo!

 

 

The Little Things

As busy mothers, sometimes it is hard to pick out the little things that make us happy on a daily basis.  We are running kids to school, feeding the baby, cleaning the house, making dinner, go, go, go all day long.  But we should all stop to see these little things, that while they may seem insignificant in a passing moment, are truly what our happiness is made of. :)

Here's what I stopped to smile at this week...

 

A happy baby at his two month doctor's appointment.  All smiles! 

...That is, until those crummy shots to the leg.  {sniff!} Made me so sad for this little man.

 

A wonderful husband who brings me flowers for no reason at all...

except to let me know he loves me. :)

 

 As a self-proclaimed TV addict, catching up on The Vampire Diaries was very happy for me this week.

{That is, until one of my favorites got killed.  Not cool, not cool at all.}

 Coffee.  {Need I say more?}  It's what gets me through the morning. :)

 Baby smooches!!! :)

{and for momma keeping it real with my crummy hair, roots and all, no makeup, looking like total crap.  A day in the life, people. ;) }

 Family game night!

{Seriously, who knew Risk could be so much fun?  And so addicting?}

 It was Andrew and my first time playing!  John was quite the teacher of world domination.

 

 

 One smart little cookie that I have raised.

Andrew got an A+ on his report about Teddy Roosevelt.  Go Andrew!!!!

You sure know how to make a momma proud. :)

 

What made you smile this week? :)

xo!

 

*Linking up with Falling for Friday :) Love her blog!!!

*Also linked to a new blog I just discovered. High Five for Friday! :)

American Idol Picks - Top 10 Guys

This was my first time watching the guys sing, and let me sum up the night with a single word: underwhelming!!! Seriously, the girls are going to kick butt this year if this is what the guys have to offer. There wasn't one guy who truly stood out to be special and worth rooting for yet. 

That being said, Nick and Lazaro were the most enjoyable performances for me, followed by Curtis and Paul Jolley. And don't even get me started on how super scared I am of Charlie Askew. Um, who decided to put that creep through?!

What were your thoughts of last night's show?? Xo!

American Idol Picks- Top 10 Girls

I have always been a huge fan of American Idol. This season, however, I have not been keeping up with it like I usually do. Since I am not a big fan of the tryouts, I decided to start watching the show as of last night. So my picks are truly based on their singing ability and not their popularity on the show thus far, which is actually kind of fun!!

My three favorites from last night are Angie, Amber and Kree. They were fantastic singers and each gave me goosebumps!!! I think they all seemed special in a way, different from current singers and they all seemed to be able to fit into today's music marketplace! My two other picks for the top five would have to be the cute country blonde Janelle and the powerhouse singer Candice. No one else really did much for me.

Who were your picks last night??? I am now dying to watch the boys sing tonight and can't wait for Thursday's result show!!!! I am definitely happy to be watching the show again. :) xo!

What I Wore Wednesday

Lately, I have been in a little bit of a clothing rut. Since I had my baby only two months ago, I am still feeling fairly frumpy most of the time. So dressing super cute has not been my number one priority. Comfortable outfits have been my go-to lately. :) I think that publicly displaying my outfits will help with that a bit, so here we go! Do you participate in What I Wore Wednesday?

 

Here is my caveat... I do not buy expensive clothing. My favorite places to shop include Forever 21, Kohl's, Target, Old Navy and yes, even Wal-Mart!! I love finding a great deal and I love bargain shopping, so these places always seem to have the best deals for my money. Here are some of my recent outfits.

Sweatshirt: Hollister
Tank: Target
Jeans: Jolt skinnies from Nordstrom Rack
Sparkle flats: K-Mart

 

Polka dot top: From my sister! :)
Jeans: Jolt skinnies from Nordstrom Rack

 

Top: Target
Jeans: Jolt skinnies from Nordstrom Rack
Flats: a Christmas gift from my sister! :) LOVE the jeweled bow of the toe!  So cute!

 

White sleeveless top: Wal-Mart
Plaid shirt: Old Navy
Jeans: LEI skinnies from Wal-Mart

Flats: same Christmas gift flats from my sissy!

 

Alright, those are the post worthy outfits...the rest of the time, I was probably in leggings and a sweatshirt. :)  Or pajamas and a bathrobe. ;)  Hop over to the Pleated Poppy to see the rest of the WIWW posts for the week!  So glad to be doing this again!

xo!

  

 

*Also linking for the first time to Whatever Whenever Wednesday,  Wardrobe Wednesday, Random Wednesday...how fun!!! :)

  

giveaway winner!

The winner of the four-pack of thank you cards is... Eva from tales of the scotts Eva, email me your address and I will get these in the mail to you asap. {I am loving her blog, by the way.  Yay for new reading material!  Thanks Eva!} And thank you to everyone who entered!  I will be doing frequent giveaways in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for another chance to win.   If you would like to purchase this darling set of "thank you" cards, they are now in my shop here!  {Single cards available as well, and you can find those here.} Yay for new items today!!! :)  More to come... and congrats again to the winner!  

Warm Days

I feel so lucky to live so close to the coast. We live four miles up the street from the beach, so this past weekend, the sun was shining and the weather was perfect for an evening trip to the beach. We tossed a few towels in the car, I grabbed my beach chair and a book, and took my boys down to enjoy the last couple of hours of sunshine.

Andrew splashed his toes in the water, played with shells and rocks, we shared some snacks, I started my new book, and we watched the sunset.

 

Oh yeah, and Declan slept right through it all. :) 

 

Thank you to the wonderful weekend weather, even though it's back to being a little chilly for the rest of the week. Feeling lucky to be a southern California girl right about now. :)

xo! 

  

Declan is Two Months Old! :)

Happy two month birthday to you, Declan!

{well, a few days ago actually.}

 

This month you are starting to get chunky and so much bigger it seems. How you've grown since last month's photo!!!  You have the cutest cheeks and the sweetest little wrist rolls;) You have started to smile all the time and you are the happiest baby!! You and I "chat" everyday, especially when you are getting your diaper changed. You love to lay there and coo at me and I love to hear you talk! :) You love your floor activity gym and you are so cute when you kick your legs like crazy. We have figured out that you love to be in a baby carrier while I get some chores for around the house, which is quite helpful! You are eating close to five or six ounces at every feeding and you are sleeping so much better. There have been a couple nights you have slept straight through around eight hours even! Let's keep this up, baby boy! ;)  Your big brother is wild about you, and you think he is fabulous, smiling at his every chance you get.

 

We love having you in our lives, and our family would not be complete without you.

Happy two months, my littlest boy. :)

Love, Mom xo!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Happy birthday to my wonderful dad today!!!  You are the best dad a girl could ask for and I am thankful to have you in my life :)

This cute photo is of my dad and Declan a few days after he was born. I am thinking that the boys and I have to do a mini photo shoot after Andrew gets out of school today. Declan has a "team grandpa" onesie that he is itching to break out! ;)

I love you, Dad!!! Hope today is extra special!!! :) xo!