Christmas 2017

We had such a lovely Christmas at home with the girls this year.  Our typical Christmas tradition is basically travel-travel-travel, but these last two years we've changed things up so we can enjoy Christmas morning at home.  It's seriously so nice.  Sometimes it can be hard for us to switch up traditions with family members because of hurt feelings and whatnot, but I honestly wish we had proposed this change years ago.  Having Christmas as a relaxing and slow time instead of chaotic and stressful makes all the difference in fully taking it in.


You guys.  Poesy's face just kills me in this one.  Oh, to feel like that again.  Being a kid at Christmas is just the best.


Poesy lost her voice this year, so listening to her high-pitched shrieks was pretty entertaining.  She gets excited about EVERYTHING, so you can probably imagine all squeaking and honking. 

This is the first year Hope hasn't really wanted any toys.  I was nervous about navigating those waters, but it was actually the most fun year for me to shop for her.  She likes clothes and jewelry and games.  Her favorite gift was a pink Taco Bell hoodie that I found at Forever 21 earlier this year.  It was the very first Christmas gift I bought-- that kid LOVES Taco Bell.  Her big present was a Harry Potter overnight bag filled with gobs of smaller Harry Potter presents.  (Clothes, Pop figures, DVDs, jewelry, etc.)  It was also a win!

Poesy's school travels to a local church once a month to shop with points they've earned.  There are clothes, toys... well, quite a variety of things.  The church gifted the kids 20 extra points so they could shop for family members, and Poesy was thrilled to have her very own presents to give us.  She picked a Springfield Cardinals hat for Johnny and I got a three pack of dollar store eyeshadow. 😂 It was precious and so very thoughtful.


The last 4 pictures are some of my favorite gifts from this year.  Johnny's mom and dad braved auctions to find these beautiful head vases for me.  I mean, I'm now the proud owner of a Lucille
Ball head vase.  What?!  She will go perfectly next to my Elizabeth Taylor vase.

The swan measuring cups were a sweet gift from Hope.  She braved the mall days before Christmas and bought these with her own money.  I love to see this thoughtfulness shining through her.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.  I know family stuff can be tough sometimes... I'm thankful for a year without any drama and a slow-paced, nap-filled Christmas.  xo.

Champagne Tort is Here!

Today is the day that my "Skunkboy" frames come out in a new color: Champagne Tort!  I love collaborating with BonLook, and this color scheme might be my new favorite!  (Well, if I'm being honest, they're probably tied with the pink ones.)

Many of you have been asking about a restock of the other colors and I'm happy to announce that Twinkle Tort and Panda Pearl are back!  Those of you wanting the pink or blue ones might be waiting a while, but hopefully there will be more fun colors coming in the near future.  For now, you can visit the BonLook website if you're interested in some new specs!

Tom Petty Tribute (and video clip)

("and the days went by, like paper in the wind"-- To Find A Friend // Wildflowers)

Johnny and I finally finished this Tom Petty documentary yesterday.  It was so good, but it was so long that we had started it so many times before actually making it to the end.  After we finished it, I felt even more of a connection to his music and an all new level of respect for his songwriting.  There aren't a lot of songwriters out there that stood the test of time like good ol' Tom, in my opinion.

After Tom Petty passed away, some of our friends got together to put on an epic tribute show.  They pulled in a rotating cast of musicians from our area (Springfield is saturated with great musicians in the best possible way) and we all poured our hearts into celebrating his legacy.  It was a wonderful night and we raised a bunch of money for Care to Learn, a charity that I love.  Johnny and I were honored to be a small part of the show, and since Poesy's favorite song long before she could speak words has been "Free Fallin" we figured it would be so fun to let her join us onstage to help out.  She's been around enough Tom Petty music to hold her own.  ;)  Here's a little video clip from that night:



She took her tambourine job very seriously.  I hope to continue to encourage her dreams of being a musician and being onstage.  Oh, and I'll just keep exposing her to as much golden music as she'll allow.  :)

Happy Halloween 2017!

I hope you all had the best Halloween!  This year was my easiest Halloween that I can remember.  Most of the girls' costume pieces came from various stores, and there was little that I had to make.  Poesy wanted to be a glittery witch, and Hope scraped together a fox costume the night before.


Poesy REALLY wanted to put our black cat, Teddy, in a harness and take him trick-or-treating with her, so Johnny bought a cat mask and surprised her by being her black cat.  Teddy is an adventurous kitty and there is no way we could have taken him out of the house and into that chaos!  He would've bolted for sure.


We enjoyed the Rountree parade like we have in years past, scored way too much candy, and scarfed pizza when we were too cold to trick-or-treat anymore.  After we got home and finally wound down, Johnny and I binge-watch/finished the second half of Stranger Things 2.  Don't worry- you won't get any spoilers from me.  Honestly, I'm a little glad to be done with it so I might actually go to bed at a decent time tonight.  Those dang suspenseful shows!

I really hope you all had a wonderful night!  xo.

Weekly Wears: Vintage Scores

Happy Halloween, friends!  I can't believe it's already here!  The girls are pumped for trick-or-treating tonight and I'm pulling out my warmest clothes because it's supposed to be pretty chilly.  Oh yeah, and I'm throwing chili in the crockpot so I can come home to warm comfort food.

Shirt: vintage from Maude Vintage // Dress: Whurl // Bow brooch: Color Theory // Shoes: Bali ELF

This outfit has nothing to do with spooky, scary things, but whatever.  I'm sure tonight I'll find something to fit the theme for tonight.  If you guys know of any great Halloween playlists, please leave me a link!  I'm ready to celebrate!

DIY Fruit Bouquet

Tick-tock, tick-tock... do you hear that?  Halloween is getting SO CLOSE!  I'm looking forward to the parties coming this weekend and the actual trick-or-treating next week.  I'm also excited to be teaming up with Edible Arrangements® today to turn my little Poesy into a fruit bouquet just in time for Halloween!  Making this costume was super easy and super fun, so let me take you through the steps!


First, I cut out felt shapes for the strawberries, honey dew, and chocolate covered strawberries, bats, and ghosts.  Since I wanted an extra pop of color for the cantaloupe, I used a printed fabric and glued it onto some poster board so it would stay upright.


I used some craft glue and yarn to give the chocolate strawberries a little more dimension and detail.  Once the glue dried I simply trimmed the edges.


When I finished cutting all of my shapes, I glued them together to make the arrangement.  Once the glue dried for this step, I safety pinned the fruit to one of Poesy's tee shirts and threw together some adorable accessories (including a little felt cut-out for her strawberry hat) to complete this simple and fun costume!


Who could ask for a better costume model, right?  Poesy had a blast dressing up and having her picture taken.

Edible Arrangements® is typically my favorite way to tell someone "thank you" or "I'm thinking of you" but their bouquets and arrangements are also great for parties... such as a Halloween get together!  Check out their site to see all of the delicious things they offer!