weekend review {a bittersweet goodbye}

Playing at the park with daddy. Our only pit stop on our 7 hour drive.

My sweet grandma passed away last week at the age of 98. When people ask if it was a surprise, I can't help but think yes. Even though she was 98, how do you prepare for saying goodbye and having to miss that person for the rest of your life?
We packed up and drove to Colorado for grandma's funeral this past weekend. Can I just brag on my baby for a minute? It feels like we were in the jeep more than we weren't over the weekend, plus we just went on a long road trip only a couple weeks ago to Arizona! And Mia was an angel! I think I complained more than she did ;) Anyway, I'm so glad we went to the funeral and got to see SO much of my family!
During the funeral they offered to let anyone go up and say whatever they wanted about grandma. I knew what I was going to say, but when the time came, I didn't go up. I'm not sure why? But I will share it here! I know how grandma (and granddad) touched my life and my family's lives. Three words, so. much. love! But it has been an incredible experience to see how they have touched the lives of those I hold dearest to my heart now. They welcomed Eric into the family and it was as if he had been their grandson forever! And the first time grandma met Mia? I'll never forget it! Grandma had my dad at the age of 48... he was definitely a surprise! She felt some guilt because she was sure she would never live to see him get married or have children. When granddad passed away 2 years ago, I suspected she would soon follow. How do you continue living without your partner of 77 years (did you catch that? They were married SEVENTY SEVEN YEARS!) but grandma made sure she got to see my dad become a grandparent! We took Mia to visit for the first time when she was barely 2 months old. When I lifted Mia's car seat cover she was all eyes for grandma. After staring at her for a few seconds, she flashed the most brilliant smile! She was instantly in love! Anyone and everyone fell instantly in love with my grandparents :) I want to be as kind, inviting and loving as they always were!
I am incredibly grateful I got to have them in my life as long as I did!! I (we) will miss them so much, but I'm glad that grandma and granddad have been reunited and there is no more suffering for them! And most of all, I can't wait to see them again!

barbie magic hairstylist

You know, when I started my blog I had no idea that there was this whole world of friendship and inspiration awaiting me. The reason I began and continue to blog is to document my life. My url is cheesy as heck because who knew that others would actually come to my corner of the internet and keep up with our lives. People have always joked about calling me "Barbie" because of my blonde hair, bubbly personality and obsession with pink. When Eric and I got together it just made sense to call him "Ken" Even our wedding photographer left a note in our wedding book calling us Barbie and Ken :) There was a time when I wore a pink apron at work and the girls at my salon loved to call me "Barbie hairstylist". Well, it just so happens that my favorite computer game when I was a little girl was called "Barbie Magic Hairstylist". So to keep up with the cheesiness, that became my blog email. Once again, who knew that others would actually come to my corner of the internet and want to email me? So now that I've shared some background on the ridiculousness of my blog, we can all laugh at Eric's reaction to this outfit....

I walked (or skipped?) in the room to see Eric's reaction to the perfectly bouncy, pink tulle skirt of mine. As he stared me down I asked him if he liked it?! Of course he told me "yep" (so much enthusiasm). Then I asked him, "well, what do you think?!" With a straight face (because I'm sure he was totally serious), "Barbie. Magic. Hairstylist." Bahahaha! I think I'll take that as a compliment ;)

 

I am obsessed with this skirt! I thought I was going out on a limb by ordering this skirt from eShakti (as in, I don't have anything like it in my closet and I wasn't sure I'd be able to pull it off) until I showed a friend what I ordered and she rolled her eyes and said it was perfect for me! I guess all things pink, tulle, bows and girly are just "me", ha ha! I must admit that I'm seriously considering ordering this skirt in a couple more colors (I wish I was kidding!) but that's the beauty of eShakti! You can have a one of a kind with the same item because of the altering options! You can literally shape an item specifically to your body!

You really must head over to eShakti and check out their new spring line and see the ways you can turn their dress into your one of a kind! And while you're at it, check out the black skirt I'm dying over. DYING! I think it's screaming my name, don't you? Everyone but Eric can answer that question ;)

bitter and sweet

Bitter. Sweet. There are no better words to describe our "weekend", so here goes! 

Bitter: Eric expectantly had to work over the weekend which was a huge bummer for us because we had planned (for 2 weeks) to go visit my in laws. There have been some big changes in our family and we just really want to be there to show our support and love! But you know, life happens.

Sweet: Eric took Monday and Tuesday off so at least we were having our own "weekend" and we were SO excited to just relax, get a date in, and watch Frozen on repeat :)

Bitter: We woke up in the middle of the night to a sick baby. Mia experienced her first stomach bug :( What a long, sad night. And to make it even worse (ha ha)... Frozen still hadn't arrived by mail and all we wanted to do was hold our sweet babe and get lost in the world of Olaf :)

Sweet: Mia's bug was short lived so Eric and I were able to sneak in a quick Temple date. I'm grateful for these moments with my hubs because we don't get that alone time nearly enough! Then we took Mia to Target and let her run lose :) It was hilarious watching Eric and Mia in the toy section together. She is just like her daddy, has to push all the buttons she can reach and she loves to test out the toy cars! Oh and we finished our shopping for Mia's tiny Easter basket. I can't wait for Easter! Did I mention Mia experienced another first? Definitely at the top of my favorites list! I can't wait to share the details!

Bitter/sweet: After having some ups and downs the past few days because, you know, life happens... we received the news that my dear, sweet Grandma passed away last night (Tuesday). I know the reunion with my Granddad was the sweetest ever, but she will be so very missed! 

In a lot of ways, these past few days worked out in the worst ways! But in other ways, I'm grateful for the ways it worked out because I got to soak up some serious time with my loves and we were reminded just how important that time is. I love my little family so much (some might say I'm obsessed, and I won't disagree) and we are so grateful for the families we are blessed to be a part of!

way back when...

Do you ever think back on your life and wonder "what the heck was I thinking??" Or maybe there are no words and you just have to roll your eyes or facepalm? 

After Eric and I got married (close to 6 years ago, say whaaaat?!) I made huge, ridiculous, unrealistic goals that we had to reach by our first anniversary. Are you ready for these?... Pay off all of our debt (mostly mine, the necessary debt like car and school), buy a truck, buy a wave runner (and trailer), and if we were on a roll we could always buy a house. Did I mention I was 20 and Eric barely turned 22? Oh and I was still building my clientele while Eric was at the bottom of the totem pole of his profession AND in school! HA HA! HAHAHA! Can you imagine the reality check I experienced when we celebrated our one year anniversary and hadn't crossed anything off the list? We still lived in our studio apartment (we lovingly called it "the box"), we still lived paycheck to paycheck, BUT we did pay off our debt within a month or two after our one year mark. So at least there was that. I spent the first few years of our marriage always wanting and wishing for more than we had. Always setting goals that really should have been categorized as dreams (that would have made life way less stressful, ha!). I was young and dumb naive and I had a lot to learn about life.

What a relief it is for me to say that now I am totally happy and content with where our life is and it just feels so good! Do we still have goals? I make new ones everyday (and it's usually a new vacation destination, ha!). Do we still have dreams? Oh, do we ever! Eric wants to retire by 40, own a private jet, and rebuild numerous hot rods :) I have no doubt that I will have my moments of wanting and wishing (and not in the dreaming kind of way), and they will be ugly. And in the future when I look back on them? I will have no choice but to roll my eyes and facepalm (or beat my head against the wall? Whatever works!) :) Growing up is hard and sometimes it just plain sucks. But at the same time, thank freakin' goodness we grow up and learn to live a better, happier life along the way!

All picture from our firstish year of marriage. All of my pictures are stuck on our broken laptop so I did the best I could with what I could find :)

just some randoms {15}

I love this picture! Eric was coloring with Mia and she was watching so intently as he lowered his face closer to the picture while coloring. Next thing I knew she was trying to lower her face (which started with laying her head on the table, then bending her neck, the lowering her whole body) to color just like daddy. This is probably one of those things where you had to be there, but it was the cutest thing! Headband c/o Sweet Angel Kreations

It's official... Mia is obsessed with being outside! And she insists on walking everywhere. Obviously I think she has the cutest walk, but she really does! It's like a party with her arms a-swingin' and hips a-swayin', ha ha!

This picture kills Eric and me each time we see it! Mia only gets her binks at nap/bed time but every once in awhile she finds them in the diaper bag and we take them away when she does. Her expression kills me in this photo! Those puppy eyes are begging me not to take anything away (her precious binks because you can't ever have more than enough, her dog that Eric gave her for Valentines, and that dumb $2 backpack that she loves), ha!

We officially said goodbye to ruffle bum pj's yesterday and I'm kind of really sad about it. They are my absolute favorite but they don't make any bigger than 6-9 month size. I am grateful that Mia is a peanut and was able to wear these as long as she did, though. My obsession with ruffle bums is kind of ridiculous :)

I snapped this picture when we spent a night at my cousins home in Arizona. I always adored my sweet cousin while growing up (I still do) so it was no surprise when Mia instantly made herself at home and was attached to Tanis the whole time :) I love the happiness in this picture!

spring bucket list

 A little flashback to warm weather, tiny baby and a little mo hawk :) Mommy and me head wraps c/o Sew Much Baby

1- Buy a new pack (the huge, serious baby packing packs... any recommendations?), renew my National Parks pass and hike, hike, hike as much as possible! I have been having major hiking with drawls and I'm dying to get back into it! Mia and I went on so many adventures last year and it was the BEST!

2- Speaking of hiking.... Hike Angels Landing in Zion National Park with my dad (and hopefully Eric) before it gets too hot! This one definitely belongs on the spring bucket list, not summer!

3- Buy a kiddie pool to put in our backyard. We had an unseasonably warm winter so maybe it will be warm enough for Mia to play in the pool this spring? If not, we will have it ready when summer hits!

4- Get crafty with friends. Because a craft day is just way better with girlfriends and our littles!

5- Go visit my Grandma in Colorado. I'd love to do this with my little family, but Mia and I may have to leave Eric behind. She's 98 and her health is definitely declining. I would really love to get one last visit in. It makes her world to see Mia :)

6- Stop spending money on clothes. And when I say clothes, I'm talking about clothes for Mia. Let's be real, I rarely shop for myself. Everything is SO much cuter Mia sized. But she doesn't need as much as she's got. So my goal for spring is to only buy the necessities and snag bigger sizes ONLY when it's a killer deal. And the money I would have spent on clothes? Put it in the beach fund because I need a trip to the beach!

7- Go to the tulip festival at Thanksgiving Point. There is a slim chance that we will be able to make this work. But I'd love to make it a goal for this year or next. It would be SO fun to take Mia!!

8- De-junk my house. Get rid of crap from every. single. room. I didn't ever hit the "nesting" stage of pregnancy. And I never get the urge to "spring clean" my home. Maybe I can blame that on living in rentals and when we do own a home one day, I'll be singing a different tune? I don't know. But from what I "hear", spring time is the best time to get in and clean out the house :)

I am totally looking forward to spring! Last year's warm weather holds the fondest memories for me!! I can't wait to have more adventures with my little bestie! What's on your bucket list for spring? I might snag a couple of your ideas and add them to my list :)

happy 15 months to my love bug

It's so hard to get a picture of Mia these days! Ain't nobody got time to pose for a picture when you're a busy baby toddler! But obviously she loves having bath time at Grandma's house, so at least there's that ;)

- Mia has learned to tickle! She has tickled me a couple times and she tickles herself. She thinks she's super funny when she does it. She's the cutest!

- She can be SO helpful! She throws away her diapers. When I unload the washer I throw the clothes on the dryer door and Mia pushes them into the dryer. And she cleans up her crayons when she's done with them.

- Mia learned how to open zip lock bags.... which isn't the most helpful thing in the world ;)

- We bought Mia her first ever kids meal at a Mexican restaurant and she ate almost everything! We have bought her 1 or 2 more since then. Crazy that we have a baby that eats that much food!

- She has figured out how to screw the lid on a water bottle or on a pouch! In fact, she refuses to eat a pouch until we give her the lid because she likes to screw it on in between slurps. Ah!

- Two more words have been added to Mia's vocabulary. Doggy (doggyyyyyyyy!) and tickle tickle (teeka teeka!) And she calls Eric "daddy" now instead of dad (dah!) but she still refuses to say mom. She used to say it all the time :(

- She got her top 2 molars, totaling 10 teeth. Getting the molars were easier than we could have hoped for, yay! Or Mia is just incredibly good natured despite the pain?

- Eric picked out Mia's first pair of Nike's! Pink sandal Nike's to be exact. He's very proud of them and keeps asking if I've posted a picture of them :)

- Mia still wears 6-9 month and 12 month clothing.

- Still in size 3 diapers.

I can't believe Mia is 15 months!! I guess time isn't going to slow down... ever. So we are doing our best to soak up every second with our sassy little lady (who is full of attitude these days. Her favorite word is "no", ouch!) We are just plain obsessed with this little girl. We love you, Mia!

P.S. I know a few of you were having a hard time purchasing an ad spot. I've fixed the problem and I am SO sorry about the inconvenience! Today will be the last day to buy any ad space for 50% off using the promo code "spring". Happy first day of spring, my friends :)

Mia's 1st zoo adventure

Daddy is showing Mia his favorite... turtles! She loved the turtles and ducks in this pond.

We joke that Mia is a peanut because she's so small, so when we told Mia that elephants love peanuts she got a little nervous that the elephant was coming to eat her ;) But once she realized it was coming through the fence, she loved watching the elephant!

I die!! This girl!

Just trying to get these 2 interested in each other! Actually, Mia was totally interested. So much so that I fear she scared Ryder away, ha!

Clapping and cheering Ryder on before he bent over and drank as much of this water as he could, ha ha! Kids, man!

 Mia's headband c/o Sweet Angel Kreations

I hardly need to write anything about this day because the pictures pretty much say it all buuuuuuut... I'll just share some of our favorite moments from this day!
We met Courtney and Ryder at the zoo and we seriously had the BEST time with them! Mia loved waving to the animals! We loved the giraffes but I'm totally sad to say that we forgot to feed them. The line was pretty long when we saw the option, so we decided to wait until closing time to feed them and get a picture. I guess this means we just need to go back ;) Mia's least favorite was the birds on the ground. She loved the little birdies through the fence, but there was one section where you can walk around with large birds. Mia was trying to scramble out of her stroller to safety, ha ha! Our very favorite part was the splash pad! This was Mia's first time playing in the splash pad! There was a little spout of water that was the perfect height for Mia to enjoy! Ryder and Mia ran around like crazy kids and it was so fun to watch them!! This day really couldn't have been any better! It was the best watching Mia enjoy herself so much :)

P. S. Don't forget! 50% off any ad space! Just use the promo code "spring" at checkout!

Arizona or bust

Guess who escaped to Scottsdale/Phoenix, AZ for a mini vacation?! We did!! Mooooonths ago I hinted at the idea of going to Arizona to visit family and hangout with some friends. Well that amazing of husband of mine made my dreams come true, once again, because hello?! Spring training! And you know what? This truly was the perfect little vacation!!

This trip was full of everything a vacation should made up of! Swimming. At 9am! Oh bless that warm Arizona sun! Naps with Mia. Baseball, but not as much baseball as we originally planned. We went to our first game with our good friends/travel buddies from home and let's just say it's not the same with toddlers. Our babies are only a couple weeks apart and it's safe to say that no one enjoyed that game, ha! So we sent the boys to a night game together while the girls attempted to shop and stuff our faces with ice cream. Food. We ate so. much. food. Friends! We got to play with our friends from home (because the only time we can find for each other are these vacations, ha!), friends that I met through blogging (but more like sisters, or something, because I'm creepy like that. I can't even describe it except for the fact that we were meant to be friends forever!! It just felt SO good to be reunited! And our hubs got along perfectly. Have I mentioned that we were all meant to be friends forever?!), and I even got to meet a blogger I've adored since the very beginning of my blogging days, Shalyn! Arts Festival (and food trucks!!) Shopping. The zoo. And family. I admit that I didn't get one picture with my cousins and all of our kids playing, but it's because I was too busy soaking up time with them! We always go too long between seeing each other and yet we always have the BEST time! It just felt so good to see everyone!
The only thing I could do without is the driving... but I must admit that Mia was an angel for our trip home, despite some major delays and having to reroute to some back roads. Ugh! We seriously loved Arizona and can't wait to go back, someday :)

my favorite way to be selfish

Two words. Spa day!
Last year Eric treated me to the best birthday gift I could have asked for, especially since I'd just given birth to a baby the month before. If that doesn't do a number on the body, I don't know what does. Anyway, he sent me off to be a "diva for a day" ha ha. I waited a couple more months to cash in, but I got to enjoy a massage, facial, pedicure and lunch.
One word. Heaven!
I demanded (because that's the kind of wife I am, yikes!) that this become a yearly tradition because I loved it so! In fact, I wouldn't mind indulging every holiday... including St Patrick's Day and the 4th of July :) I'm only half kidding. That perfect husband of mine treated me to the package again this year, and once again I waited a couple more months to cash in, but this time my best friend came with.
Even better!
This may make me incredibly vain and selfish, but I don't even care! Some serious pampering and girl time is the best ever! Who wants to join in next time?? :)

currently

via

Loving: all things spring! Especially when they are Mia-sized :) I admit that I haven't held back when it comes to the adorable clothes that are popping up in stores. I spent $22 on a spring dress for Mia from Target for crying out loud! Stupid, stupid, stupid. But it's so perfect I could die (just picture the cute little girl from Despicable Me saying that, okay?) :) And the weather? Perfection! I'm ready to spend our days outside again now that Mia is finally on the mend!

Reading/Watching: I had to add "watching" to this because let's face it, I'm not reading much with a crazy toddler running lose. And yes, it hurts to type toddler because hello? She's still my baby! ANYWAY! I've been catching up on The Bachelor on hulu. I really don't know why everyone is hating on Juan Pablo? I just finished the Women Tell All so I know the ending is a real kicker that I need to get caught up on buuuuuuut, I still don't get it? Why is everyone surprised by his loving the ladies and not really settling? This season hasn't been shocking to me at all. I mean, if you give a dog a bone, or 25.....

Trying to: learn the best way/time to get a good deal on plane tickets. I'm only a little embarrassed to say that I've never booked a plane ticket before. The one airplane Eric and I have been on together was one that a travel agent booked for us. Our Boston trip is still months out but I don't know if I should have bought our tickets already? They prices seem high, but maybe they will only go higher? Oh man, I have a lot to learn. I'd love some advice!!

Wishing: that I could whip up some dang good guac! I crave fresh guacamole on the daily during the warm months but I suck at making it! I've only ever made one successful batch and it seriously kills me that I'm not good at it! I could live on chips, salsa and guac.... except that I suck at making it! I need to take a class specifically for this, ha ha!

Excited for: a fun giveaway I have in the works for you, my favorite blog friends :)

if you really knew us...

Blogging has taken a back seat to Mia's sickness... it is kicking our butts! Croup turned double ear infection (plus we suspect teething, ah!) poor baby! But I miss blogging and knowing what's going on in your lives! I'm ready to dive back in so I thought I'd start with this fun post. I like to do this every so often as I think of fun little facts about us and so that my new readers friends can get to know us better!

If you really knew me...

You'd know that I have only done one drastic hair change in all my years of being a hairstylist. I chopped 15 inches off right after Eric and I married (and then started to grow it back out 3 months later, ha ha). I haven't even really changed my hair color. That is crazy talk coming from a hairstylist!

You'd know that I love having my picture taken... as long as someone else is in it with me (mainly my precious babe. or Eric... when he's being nice ;)) I just can't pull off selfies like so many other girls can!

I despise baking but don't mind cooking. One we have to survive off of, the other? We don't. Plus treats taste so much better when someone else did all the work!

You'd know that I'm a dang good mom. And I try every day to be the best version of myself so that I can be the best wife and mom for my little family!

If you really knew Eric...

You'd know that he has major OCD tendencies, especially when it comes to our vehicles and electrical work. It seems like each week he does something and it just hits me that the man I married is way more OCD than I suspected in the beginning. And I love him for it... most of the time ;)

You'd know that he is fiercely loyal!

You'd know that he is a total shower singer. Which also includes singing to Mia during bath time (and it melts my heart every time!) But only in Spanish.

Because if you really knew him, you'd know that he speaks fluent Spanish.

If you really knew Mia...

You'd know she like animals from afar but once they are on her level she is terrified, especially with dogs. I don't know where that fear came from, but if a dog gets near her while she is standing on the ground? Well, I've never seen her more scared in her life than at those moments!

You'd know that her favorite foods are yogurt, string cheese and fruit! She won't touch chicken nuggets and really couldn't care less about fries.

You'd know that the girl knows what she wants. If you ask her for a kiss she will lean in with a wide open mouth... or she will yell no, shake her head and run away (or push your face away if she can't run) all at the same time, ha ha! 

You'd know that she really is as happy as she seems in her pictures :)

If you really knew us...

You'd know that we love to dance! Dance parties happen more often than not now that Mia has caught on to the joys of dancing :)

You'd know that we love to travel. We've got big plans to see the world... someday ;)

You'd know that we are very real. We don't hide our emotions well. We are crazy. We can be a lot of fun ;) But most of all, Eric and I are totally in love and totally obsessed with Mia.

If you really knew us, you'd know that despite life's unexpected, day to day trials we feel very blessed to have each other and be living the life that we have and love :)

tidbits of our weekend

Just a really bad picture of one of my favorite things! I love that she holds our fingers now!

Our weekends have been nothing short of lame sauce these days, and definitely not worth talking about. This weekend was none the better.... but that's just life I guess. There are still little moments that I want to remember so it's being documented :)
This past weekend was the kind of weekend where we had no plans set in stone. I wanted to plan a hundred different things and Eric wanted to plan on nothing but some serious R&R. Eric won, but not in the way we would have liked. Mia came down with what we self diagnosed as a mild case of croup :( Poor baby! What started out as what I thought was random coughing because of the wind, turned into  a full blown coughing fit Friday night that kept Mia from falling into a good sleep. She got up with us 3 or 4 different times (which I didn't mind! this never happens so I took full advantage of the extra cuddles) but finally fell asleep once we went to bed for the night. The coughing has affected her most when she lays down to sleep which has been so sad! But thank goodness she caught this now instead of when she was much younger when this would have most likely developed into RSV!
So this weekend consisted of 1. Pajamas. Allllllll weekend long. 2. Dairy Queen blizzards. I really thought we deserved one each night, but we only indulged on Friday. But no worries! Our order of girl scout cookies came and that got me through the rest of the weekend. 3. More movies than we've watched since Mia was born. Catching Fire (so good! I thought it was way better than the first. Plus I got Mia cuddles throughout the movie which made things a lot easier on my heart :) ha!) Enders Game (not as good after watching Catching Fire.) Despicable Me (Mia's favorite. She loves the minions!) Tangled (still one of my favorites! And how am I just now realizing that Rapunzel's voice is Mandy Moore?) How to Train a Dragon (Eric's favorite. He's been waiting forever to watch this with Mia!) Plus a few random netflix picks... I mean seriously, we've never sat and watched this much TV since Mia was born, but it was the only way to get her to take some down time! 4. Our own personal time which was much needed! I went to spin and Eric went shooting! 5. Lots of outside time! Mia loves being outdoors and the cold air helps croup so we spent as much time outside as possible in between the movies!
Fun little facts about Mia 1. She now says doggy but only when she hears one barking! She just oohs and aahs if we show her a picture of a dog and looks at us like we're idiots if we try barking to get her to say it, ha ha! She loves to hold our hands fingers when we go for walks, and at home she grabs our fingers to take us to show us what she wants. She is into hiding things these days! I find her sippy cups in the craziest places, but mostly cupboards. I think she thinks she's putting them "away" :) We found a couple more things to make Mia laugh hysterically. Best sound in the world! Mia has been such a trooper even though she's felt like crap. Poor girl has been getting so annoyed over her coughing (which is kinda cute in a sad way) but I think she's on the mend now. Hopefully she'll be totally over it in the next couple days!

f i v e

These are a bit blurry  but I couldn't help but share on Instagram! Mia was so stinking excited and smug to be sitting in a bumbo! It's like she knows that's a "baby" chair! But what I really want to talk about here is Mia's adorable bow! I love supporting new shops and Sweet Angel Kreations is offering 15% off your purchase for her grand opening! Be sure to enter 'GRAND15' at checkout! 

Shopkick

Who uses this app? I just downloaded it a couple days ago and I think I'm in love? But I need more details from those of you who are pros at it! From what I understand, you gain points by walking into certain stores, scanning different items or buying product... and those points earn you gift cards! So who uses this app and please share some pointers so that I can get the best use out of it :)

Cliff Kid Organic Fruit Rope  

I realize that these are for kids... and I bought them for Mia because I thought they'd be a great snack/treat. But truth be told? I can't stop eating them!! Mia loves them, too, when I decide to be a nice mom and share with her ;) Seriously though. SO GOOD!

Scandal

You guys, Eric and I blew through the 2 seasons on Netflix in less than 2 weeks. We rarely have time to watch TV together so that is really saying somethin'. And that somethin' is that I'm obsessed! And to be honest, Eric could really care less. Ah! So I had no one to squeal, stress and die over each episode with. I really should start a netflix club. You know, like book club? Except a bunch of girls get together and stay up all night long watching shows, eating junk and talking about everything together! P.S. Do you think stuff like that (as in what happens on Scandal) really happens in real life? Ah! 

Date Night!

 This really isn't a new concept in our house... but I'm just loving that we have one night set aside for dates, no matter what! And if I don't feel like cooking that night? No guilt here because date night! I'm in the mood for ice cream? Date night! I admit that we aren't the best at getting a babysitter, so half of our date nights are really family date nights, but that's okay! Except I really need to find the perfect teen to become our weekly babysitter. But I digress. I'm just really appreciating the little moments I get to enjoy with Eric! 

Linking up with The Good Life. A. Liz Adventures. Carolina Charm. & Hello! Happiness for Five on Friday.

from here to eternity

Choose your love. Love your choice.

Can I just say that life is so good?! Eric and I have been making a serious effort to put each other before the other and to make each other feel loved. And it feels so good! 

No matter how badly we try to avoid it; no matter how badly we don't want it to affect us... life gets crazy and we put our relationship on the back burner. A few months ago I felt like we were drowning as we dog paddled as quickly as possible to make our marriage #1 on the list again (I know, that was totally dramatic and cheesy). We made goals and more importantly, we've followed through with our goals and for the most part? I don't even feel like we are trying anymore. It just feels so good and so natural to just be in love, you know? 

Eric is my best friend, my forever love and totally worth fighting for! I know that we will have highs and lows in our marriage even though I prefer to have the perfect "fairytale" marriage, ha ha! But I couldn't be more thankful to have Eric by my side, from here to eternity!

Choose your love. Love your choice. No matter how hard it may be at times. It is always, always worth it!

it's the little things...

.... like Mia's first ever, itty bitty piggy tails!

After an hour of playing and trying real hard to get pictures of this girl's hair, she rubbed her head enough that she pulled out some hairs. Now you know how these are possible. The mullet is long enough to create pigtails, ha ha!

 I am dying, DYING to give Mia her first ever haircut! 

So what's the hold up? Um, that would be her father. Eric is a leetle over protective of his daughter's mullet and it's driving me crazy! 

Eric is a very hands on dad and likes to be around for as many "firsts" as possible. And of course I need someone to take pictures for the blog while I'm cutting her hair (the girls at my salon threaten to cut her hair each time they see Mia. But if anyone cuts her hair besides me... heaven help me! The momma bear will come out and won't hold back! This is something I've looked forward to since we found out we were having a girl. Maybe that sounds weird, but whatever!) But I've told Eric I'm going to cut her hair without him if he can't let go of her dang mullet that will surely grow back in the blink of an eye (ha ha)!

I decided to see if I could make pigtails (before the "beloved" mullet is gone) and voila! My baby certainly doesn't look like a baby anymore....

But that's okay for today because these are the cutest little piggy tails I ever did see! :)
Linking up with Ashley and Jess for It's the Little Things

insta-life

The obligatory first day of "love month" photo. Does it get any cuter?

Shopping with this little diva is the best! The girl knows what she likes ;)

Me and my little bestie celebrating Valentines Day with a friend party!

My favorite husband took me on a day date to celebrate Valentines Day and our engagement anniversary (February 15th)!

The prettiest baby in all the land. Don't even try to disagree with me ;)

Crazy hair and the only picture I could get of our big 14 month old that wasn't blurry!

Running the crappiest of errands with this cheeser is the best! And so is her darling headband from Sweet Angel Kreations!

A little sister love from our family vacation! I'm ready to go back!!

One of those things that just has to be documented... daddy dressed Mia! She's wearing a hot pink onesie that says I Love Mommy :) Also, Mia is in love with her jelly sandals! I mean, in love!!

I had the hardest time picking what pictures to add to this post! I know I'm totally biased, but Mia is the cutest and I can't stop posting pictures of her! If you don't want to miss anything (or some of the great giveaways I've been able to host) you must follow along at courtbrink!