Month: November 2016

Our Family Christmas Photos

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This post has been sponsored by Janie & Jack, however, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. 

I can’t believe it’s that time of the year! Life gets hectic and lines get longer, but your heart feels warmer and your smile grows bigger! Yep, it’s officially Christmas time!!!! Haha

Thankfully, Janie & Jack made my life a little less hectic by outfitting my sweet daughter in the most stunning and adorable outfit I’ve ever laid eyes on! They also saved me from the long lines since I was able to order online. Their holiday line has arrived and every single piece is absolutely beautiful. Adalynn’s outfit was perfect for our family photos! And she’ll also be wearing it on repeat throughout the season as we attend different holiday events.

I was SO excited to get our Christmas pictures done! Not only do I love sending and receiving Christmas cards, particularly when people send picture cards, but it’s always nice to have our family documented professionally. I’m all about snapping a zillion pictures on my phone or whatnot, but I think it’s so important to take the time to get some good posed ones that everyone can be in together.

Anyway, enough from me, here’s the first look at our Christmas shoot! 😉

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Love my little family of three!

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She didn’t quite hold the mistletoe up like she was supposed to, but that little face is just too much to handle!

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Love this one! Who knows what she is looking at?? Haha And that bow!!! Can’t believe my sweet girl is old enough to wear headbands!

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Snuggles!

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This is my favorite one y’all!!!! Her kissy face because we’re kissing her, her little foot placement, those adorable fur trimmed boots from! Actually that whole outfit!!! I’m just in love with Janie & Jack!

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MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE MCKINNEY’S!

[Photo shoot by: Vanessa Grondin Photography]

Thanks again to Janie & Jack! They truly offer the sweetest holidays looks. They even have entire outfits already pieced together on their site to help you shop! Their beautiful details and classically modern looks make this magical time of year even more special – something to treasure for a lifetime.

Shop Adalynn’s complete look here

OR

shop her dress (w/bloomers), boots, or headband

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Check out Janie & Jack’s website! What are some of your favorite items?

6 Small Shops You Need to Be Ordering From RIGHT NOW!

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There is nothing on this Earth I love more than being a girl mama! She is my little bestie and I love reading to her, snuggling with her, giggling together, and buying the cutest fashions for her! And as a GIRL mama there are so many adorable accessories.

I also love shopping small and shopping online soooooo for Small Business Saturday (and Cyber Monday) I’ve pulled together a post showcasing my favorite small shops for my sweet baby girl!*

Coupon codes and sale info is listed below! Woot woot!!!

*Also, I see you boy mamas out there! Some of these items can be rocked by your little gentlemen and/or many of these shops carry accessories for boys as well.

I was gifted one of the mentioned items below. All thoughts & opinions are 100% my own.

Lily Pads & Lace

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Small Business Saturday AND Cyber Monday: 40% off site wide

Aside from their hip bows and infinity scarves, Lily Pads & Lace also carries head wraps, personalized clothing, skirts, and other all around cuteness!

Frogs and Flowers Fashions

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Small Business Saturday: All icing leggings are $8.99

Cyber Monday: 30% off store wide using code CYBER

Aside from their darling leggings and head wraps, Frogs and Flowers Fashions also carries shoes, socks, necklaces, sunglasses, and a variety of different clothing items and complete outfits. They also carry clothes for you too mama! 😉

Blue Dinosaur Clothing

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Small Business Saturday AND Cyber Monday: 25% off using code YOUROCKGIRL

AND a flash sale on the above hat in newborn sizes here

Aside from their precious personalized hats, Blue Dinosaur Clothing also carries personalized body suits, necktie onesies, and mommy & me shirts.

Hny Baby Shop

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Small Business Saturday AND Cyber Monday: 35% off sitewide using code beefriday

Aside from this cute bandana bib, Hny Baby also carries stroller accessories and pacifier clips.

Everly Avenue

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Small Business Saturday: 15% 0ff up to $30 (code: BLACK15), 20% off for orders $30-$50 (code: BLACK 20), 25% off for orders $50-$75 (code: BLACK25), and 30% off for orders $75+ (code: BLACK 30)

Cyber Monday: Ready to ship sale

Everly Avenue has a variety of beautiful bows. When shopping, you select your fabric of choice, what type of bow you would like, and whether you would like it on a headband or a clip.

Grantley Design

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Small Business Saturday: 25% off all items with code SMALLBIZ

Cyber Monday: Free shipping on orders over $10

Aside from these adorable headbands, Grantley Design also carries a variety of headbands, head wraps, and bandana bibs.

Happy Shopping!!!!!!!

Make sure you come back and tell me what you ordered! 😉

xoxo

My Nanny

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I’m sitting here at the computer and don’t even know what to type. I was planning on working on a personal blog post that has been sitting in my drafts folder, but I feel like when I look back over my blog in years to come this will be something I should have written… My grandmother died on Monday and it seems like I have to address that on my blog before I can move forward. I don’t know. Sounds silly now that I’ve typed it, but there it is.

I also am supposed to be working on the slideshow for her memorial service on Saturday, so maybe that’s what I’m really putting off.

I think I’m still in a bit of a fog from getting the call on Monday. You see, she wasn’t ill or anything. She is (was??! Ugh!) sharp as a tack. Her memory impeccable. Her body, doctors said recently, healthy enough to live another 20 years. I actually found myself so upset once I got to her house that day because there was a black and white picture sitting on her desk and I don’t know who is in the picture. Since I’ve been a little girl whenever I would come across a picture, Nanny could always tell me who it was. Always. Now what am I gonna do when no one knows who’s in the picture? Again, typing this out, that sounds so silly, but it’s just a normalcy you get used to, “Nanny, who is this?” and the answer and an explanation of the picture that immediately followed.

I’m going to miss that.

I guess I should also address that name – Nanny – since I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone else call their grandmother that. Her husband, my grandfather, was always called Bunky. That name was made up by my oldest cousin and just stuck. I think I’ve asked over the years where “Nanny” came from and no one remembers.

Did I ever ask her directly? Does she know where the name came from?

There are so many things about Nanny that I love and appreciate. She would always like eclectic things that Adalynn or I would wear. A lot of times when I bought something I’d think, “Nanny will like this.” She always liked clothing or jewelry that was different. When I was a little girl she gave me a pair of earrings. They were made of wood and carved in the shape of a fish. And they were huge. But I wore them with pride because Nanny and I liked them and that’s all I cared about. Not that other fifth graders don’t typically wear giant tropical fish earrings made of wood.

Adalynn has on gold pants today and a gray shirt with ruffles and hearts all over it. It’s ridiculous and adorable and I just know Nanny would love it.

Her and I have a joy for pictures too. She was working on organizing bunches and bunches of pictures she had from over the years. She could always count on me to flip through albums with her. She was proud to show me how she’d organized them. And anyone that knows me now knows that I can’t help but love pictures, it’s genetic. I always showed her pictures too – family photos, vacations, whatever – and above anyone else I would get her undivided attention while she looked at them. For goodness sakes she sat there and watched the entire half marathon course tour video I showed her! (Even though I’m not sure she ever 100% believed I actually ran 13.1 miles Haha)

I’m going to miss her so much. Adalynn and I would go see her every other week or so, but of course, I wish it was more. Especially now so! It’s not something I am going to beat myself up about because whatever the situation I could find something I could have done more. I may have visited her everyday and said, I should’ve stayed for more time. You know what I mean? I passed by her house on my way back from New Jersey the week before last so Adalynn and I stopped for a visit. Sometimes she wasn’t in the best mood or Adalynn was kind of shy with her, but this particular visit she was in great spirits and Adalynn had the outgoing, silly, fun side turned all the way up. She was teasing Nanny with toys, dancing around the living room, and climbing up into her lap. They were both so smiley, I jumped in with them and snapped a couple selfies. A little bit later, we left, but not before Adalynn ran back up to the door. I stuck my head in again and told her again that I loved her. As wonderful as a memory that day was I sit here and still can NOT believe that was the last time I saw her.

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I love you Joyce Marie Dixon, my Nanny bug, mine and my daughter’s middle name sake. I’m so thankful for all the time we had together and the memories we made. I love you!

Must Have Monday’s

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Must Have Mondays – Issue 10 WINE THEMED!

Oh hey! I know this is a “bi-weekly” series and I just posted last week, but I kept it this way to get back to my original schedule. Anyway blah blah blah lol

If you haven’t checked out this series yet, it all came about over the summer when I wanted to share products I love using and also wanted to shout out to some of my fave blogs to follow! The recipe was an afterthought since I’m such a horrible cook. My idea behind the recipe aspect of Must Have Mondays is that I find lots of yummy, delicious recipe that fit my busy mama life and I thought others may enjoy them as well!

And this week you’re in for a SPECIAL treat!!!! As stated above, this week’s Must Have Monday is WINE THEMED!!!! Woot woot! 😉

Enjoy!

This week’s recipe is Paprika Chicken & Spinach w/White Wine Sauce by The Kitchen Paper

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Photo courtesy of The Kitchen Paper

Does this dish even need an explanation of why it’s on here?! So yummy, makes me feel fancy, and super easy! Can we also talk about how wonderful it is when a meal has easy clean-up? If I’m being honest that is part of what sells me on a recipe! Everything pretty much just melts together and creates a bunch of deliciousness. I could eat the sauce alone (but I promise not to) and the chicken is nice and moist. Perfection!

This week’s blogger is Chelsie Petras of Chel Loves Wine

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Photo courtesy of Chelsie Petras

Well I’m sure you can already see why this girl is getting a shout-out on this particular Monday… she gal is ALL ABOUT the wine! I randomly came across her blog months ago and to be honest I was like,”what does she mean she blogs about wine??” Girl was not lying – posts about wine pronunciation, wine “country” and regions around the world, how to remove wine stains, recipes that involve wine, and even face masks! And the list goes on and on. Her blog is so fun and one you can definitely get lost on for hours!

This week’s product is the Goverre Portable Wine Glass

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I love to drink wine, but if I’m not on my couch drinking it, we are either picnicking, at the beach, or grilling out, among other things! This portable wine glass is my life right now! It is a portable glass with a silicone sleeve. Yes, glass! I’ve had other wine “glasses” I could throw in my  bag, but something about drinking wine out of plastic just changes changes. This has the silicone sleeve to keep it safe and intact. It also has a secure lid that you drink through, that way there is no mess or hassle. It comes in a ton of bright, fun colors as well!

 

Now go drink some wine…. CHEERS!!!!

xoxo

I received the mentioned item in this post in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are 100% my own.

Thoughtful Holiday Gifts on a Budget!

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This post is being sponsored by Groupon.
All thoughts & opinions here are 100% my own.

Okay y’all! I have the best holiday gift idea ever. You can thank me later. 😉

I am one of those people that always wants the perfect gift, but never quite knows what to buy! A few years ago I started shopping a bit differently and boy has it made for some big smiles come Christmas morning! I have purchased a golf outing for my husband, a horse-back ride on the beach for my mom, and one year my best friend and I both purchased Paint Nite tickets for our moms so we could do a mother/daughter double date night! Believe it or not, these awesome things were all purchased through Groupon!

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I find myself searching for gifts there often because being able to buy someone an experience is truly a unique gift. And how cool is it that they’ll be creating memories for a lifetime through a gift YOU gave?!

Besides that, let’s be honest, the deals are great! If you’ve known me for at least five minutes you know that I am NOT about to spend full price on something! Enter Groupon! Sidenote, they also let you sort your search by clicking “low to high” when it comes to pricing. (Please tell me I’m not the only one that does that!)

And last, but most certainly not least, I loveeeee shopping for gifts, but I’m either 1. Getting too old for the lines in the malls and whatnot OR  2. Live in a area too populated by people and stores to make sense of getting into the chaos.

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Okay, so maybe both of those reasons make me sound like the Grinch, but I promise I’m not. I would just much rather do all  a lot of my shopping from the comfort of my home (insert, yoga pants and snacks). Hello online shopping!

Groupon is a app and website that offers deals on a variety of products, services, and experiences. It is easy to use and there are no membership fees. It truly has helped me find unique and special gifts.

Best of luck with your shopping!

Have you ever used Groupon for gift giving before? What did you buy?

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Must Have Monday’s

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Must Have Mondays – Issue 9

Thanks for joining me for another round-up of my favorites, or as stated above, “must-haves!”

I missed last week due to the craziness of packing to go out of town with a tiny human, but I am back this week! And to keep the schedule straight will post again next week!

I said all that to say….if you’re new to Must Have Monday’s this week, this is a bi-weekly round up on a favorite recipe, blog/blogger, and product of mine! I hope you fall just in love with all three as I have! Let me know what you think & have a wonderfulllll Monday!

This week’s recipe is Cinnamon Apple Quinoa by Simply Quinoa

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Photo courtesy of Alyssa Rimmer

When I kicked processed foods and started clean eating a couple summers ago I really began experimenting with quinoa. I quickly fell in love with it and just how versatile it is to cook with. Ever since then we eat quinoa multiple times a week, and I constantly trying to find new and creative ways to eat it and use it for more than just dinner dishes. Enter Alyssa’s quinoa recipe blog! Yes!!!! A blog devoted to the health of quinoa and a ton of wonderful recipes to make using it. One in particular I love and make frequently is the apple cinnamon breakfast recipe. It is so easy to make and it so yummy! And for a snacker like me, one of the best parts is that it’s filling! I am a lover of all things breakfast and you may think it sounds silly, but on days when I eat this it truly makes me feel like I’m start my day off on the right foot!

This week’s blogger is Abbie Ginther of Grumbling Grace

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Photo courtesy of Abbie Ginther

I truly don’t even know where to begin with my love for this gal! We connected back in March (I remember specifically because it was on St. Patrick’s Day hahah) and stay in touch pretty much regularly via good ol’ social media! She is a FANTASTIC blogger. Her blog posts have made me cry and her blog posts have made me laugh hysterically! Does it really get any better than that? She does a lot of blogging about faith and motherhood, two things that come before pretty much everything else in her life, so I connect with her on so many levels. Her writing is true and beautiful and her posts are always ones I’m sure to read from top to bottom. I also secretly want to hang out with her in real life. I guarantee we wouldn’t run short in things to talk about! Hahaha

This week’s product is the Hny Baby sippy strap

These products are genius!!!! If you’re a mom and reading this you know just how hard it is to keep anything and everything that involves your child CLEAN! Including said child. Kids are just downright messy! They smear things all over themselves and everything around them, they have so many bodily fluids (tmi? haha), and they just loveeeee to drop things on the floor! Now let’s be honest if I clean my own house and still don’t think that floors the cleanest, you can bet I don’t trust the floors of the restaurants and grocery stores we frequest. Insert the sippy strap and toy along by Hny Baby! My favorite place for the sippy strap is on the highchair and the cart. My favorite place for the toy along is on my jogging stroller. It is a strap that secures around the sippy cup or toy and then clips to pretty much whatever you want. If the child drops (or throws!) the cup or toy it will dangle from the strap and not hit the ground/floor. Win, win, win, win, win!

 

I received the mentioned item in this post, in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

Things I Accomplished This Week

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– I took two showers. (Yes, the title is “Things I Accomplished This WEEK) #momlife

– I spilled an entire bowl of cereal seconds after pouring the milk in.

– I committed to going to the gym and showed up with my daughter to childcare on their 4 hour break time.

– Forgot to put even a single DIAPER in the DIAPER bag. Rest assured, this is the THIRD time I’ve done this recently. And don’t worry, I remembered wipes, a change of clothes, a changing pad, and even little deodorized bags for particularly stinky diapers, but nope, no diapers.

– Left the grocery store without the one item I went in for (seriously, why does this always happen?)

– Unintentionally skipped two days of my birth control pills (stay tuned for an exciting blog post in about a month or so….kidding!)

– Ran a bowl through the dishwasher three times because it didn’t come out clean the first time.

– Lost track of time in Target

– Ran a load of laundry with zero soap in it. Realized when they were half done drying… let’s just say I don’t think they were that dirty to begin with…

– Got tears in my eyes when I realized we didn’t have a bottle of wine for me to crack open…I wish I was kidding.

– Did my makeup in the car, five out of five days.

– Ran a couple miles at a nearby park and was feeling quite proud only to realize once I got home that my breast pad was hanging half way out of my sports bra…for who knows how long

– Ate a donut while shopping

– Wrote an email to a manager to tell her about one of her team member’s exceptional customer service and failed to get the lady’s name. The email went something like… “SHE was fabulous. SHE was so helpful.” I’m praying she doesn’t reply and asked who “she” is!

– Successfully fought the urge to get out of my car and punch a lady that almost side swiped me (Too intense? Sorry! My kid was in the car yo!)

– Went to the grocery store three different days, and twice on one particular day.

– Made a list halfway through the week because I could tell the chances of me getting my life together weren’t looking good… I figured I’d at least use it to my advantage and make a blog post out of it for your enjoyment! And because we might as well laugh at ourselves, right?!

HAPPY FRIDAY LOVES!

I HOPE YOU HAVE THE MOST WONDERFULLY FANTASTIC WEEKEND!

XOXO