FRIDAY FAVORITES...VACATION EDITION

Happy Friday my sweet friends! Wow, this week has gone fast and has been packed full! Why is it that the week back from vacation is just a little bit crazier? So anyway, the plan is to maybe get a little rest in this weekend but there are still all those pots to be planted! And I spoke too soon about Spring being here to stay in Indiana, within 48 hours, Mother Nature has decided to forecast SNOW for tomorrow! What the???? Let’s just get to the favorites, lots of good ones.

1. Airport/Plane Craziness / IGUANA Story

You guys, we were blessed to of made it to the Cayman Islands, but we sure did have crazy airport shenanigans to and from. First of all, I got pat down because of the underwear I was wearing had a spanks like lining. And I was wearing a dress! Then, when we boarded our connecting flight, they had boarded the entire plane which half of them, mind you, had tried to get out on Saturday and couldn’t because of weather. After sitting on the tarmac for an hour, they announced that there was no Captain to fly the plane and were going to deplane us. American Airlines was even replying to my frustrated tweets. Luckily within about 15 or 20 minutes it was Captain Larry to the rescue who was on his way to save the day! And they gave me extra Bailey’s!

Flying out, I got pat down for the same issue. Thank you Chantelle underwear! But I was also chosen for the random security check, which meant they took everything out of my two carry-ons, did the wand search for bomb residue and I was the one who had to put everything back in. Then, they called my name and had to do a search of the checked bag. Must’ve been my high bun, it scared them! We almost missed our connecting flight but thank goodness made it home.

IGUANA

 Another favorite story was the Iguana story. The iguanas aren’t like the little gecko lizards, they are big. Mind you, we only saw two and they were kind of cool but this one scared a guy I have to death and I would have died! 

See this bag right here in the photo below? Well, about five minutes after I took this picture a young guy laid down on his stomach and went to sleep not knowing the iguana was close by. The iguana climbed up on the bag and onto the guy scaring the absolute crap out of him. I wish I would’ve got the whole thing on video as his mom did and should’ve asked her for a copy of it. Priceless! 

2. Pretty You London Slippers

I know many of you fell in love with my Pretty You London slippers A few weeks ago, so how excited was I to get a pair of their sandals to take on our trip. They have some of the cutest sandals I have ever seen, and these black tassel slides were the ultimate! The base is an espadrille and the tassels are so cute and full and I got so many compliments on these sandals! Hop over there and check out their adorable collection!

BUY Sandals HERE

3. Greenhouses with Mom  

So, as I’ve told you often before, my mom and I have a tradition of going to several greenhouses every spring and picking out all our flowers. You may have seen my Instagram story about how she is a master gardener with some of the most beautiful flowers in the county. I always love her advice and we pretty much have the same taste in flowers. Yes, it means lots of watering but it’s so worth it for all the beauty that the posies bring every year! And I always get super happy to drive Mr. Nine‘s Ford Raptor truck!

4. Paper Bag Shorts
I was not sure I would love the paper bag shorts and pants trend, but this outfit changed all that! It is so comfortable and so flattering. Both these pieces came from JCPenney and I absolutely love them. My mom loved the top so much, she got it in pink. What about you, do you like the paper bag trend?
BUY Top HERE // Shorts HERE // Sandals HERE // Earrings HERE

More Inspo 

And Just this week, My dear friend Amy Ann from Straight A Style modeled her paper bag shorts too.

5. Causebox from Chrissy &
Pineapple Love from Nadine
My Awesome and dear friend Chrissy from Granola and Grace gifted me with the most amazing gift this week! It was my first causebox and boy is it a good one! Not sure if you’re familiar with CauseBox but all the products inside are so well-made, developed and created by women! They are environmentally friendly, often with proceeds towards a cause and many made with women’s bare hands. I’m all about women’s empowerment and I was tickled pink to get this box for my precious precious friend! If you have not checked out her blog, it is a must! Chrissy and I share a passion for our environment and lifting up other women!

Make sure to follow her Instagram too!!

I have been so blessed to know Nadine of Life By Nadine Lynn for about the entire time I’ve been blogging. She is funny, she is sassy, she is smart and such a great writer! She has the most darling little girl who was born on our oldest son’s birthday and I just love all the Zoe shenanigans! Make sure you check her out. Nadine decided we are just going to go ahead and celebrate my birthday all month and sent me all this goodness that I received in the mail yesterday! Talk about a sweetheart!

Follow Nadine's Instagram HERE

Look how cute mom and her babe, Zoe look. The sunglasses are because Miss Zoe has a better sunglasses collection than me, lol!

 

And in case you missed em'.......

Posts of the Week

Monday~ The Nine's Do the Cayman Islands
Tuesday~ Beth's Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Wednesday~ Back-Up Jumpsuit and WUW

Happy Weekend LOVELIES!!!

xoxo

NASHVILLE NOTES...FRIENDS, FOOD & FELLOWSHIP

Friends, Food, Fellowship and so much FUN! That is exactly what Nashville was. I was so excited to do this recap and I wish I could bottle the magic that happened between us all. Nashville had always been on my bucket list and to experience it with ladies who were as excited over it as I was; well, it was epic. 

I’m not gonna lie, I cried when we had to leave, I have tears in my eyes writing this post and I’m ever so thankful to God for bringing us together. I’m an emotional person but I don’t generally cry over people I’ve just met up with but see that’s just it, I didn’t “just meet” these 5 ladies! I know more about them from our blog relationships than some people in my real life. It was as if we’d know each other for decades, that we all kind of fit that same Living our best life, doing the best we can mentality. None of us are boastful, we truly are happy for others when good things happen, we get joy from lifting up others and I don’t know about you, but those are the kinds of people I want to know and celebrate with. And celebrate we did in the perfect meeting spot: Nashville! 

Where do you find the words to do honor and justice to ladies who have made your life so much richer? We each have a particular set of skills (as Liam Neeson does, lol) but as a collective, we are fearless, brave and empowering. The world needs more ladies like this whose unselfish hearts and genuine joy for each other makes us all better people. When you light the path for others, it doesn’t dim yours, it just makes it a whole lot brighter! 

Let’s get to the goodness first of why I love each of these ladies. I’m betting that you’ll adore them too if you don’t already by reading their amazing, inspiring blogs. 

FRIENDS 

Shelly  from The Queen In Between

Shelly is Stunning, say it 5 times with me, because she is! She’s striking in beauty and in heart! Her sweet soul draws you to her and she has impeccable taste! Shelly and I “met” soon after we started our blogs and I’m honored she signed on as a contributor for The Blended Blog as well. You talk about skills, this girl has em’ in spades. She knew the Nashville hot spots and had an amazing itinerary and wealth of ideas! I’m tickled pink as she took the stress out of “where to go?” for us all. And the beauty doesn’t stop with Shelly, have you seen her family? All gorgeous and full of talent. Shelly’s BLOG inspires and you’ll find yourself not only in awe of her style and fun adventures, but her way with words bring such a relatability. She genuinely wants you to be the best you can be. And I must thank Shelly again for driving us all around. She took over my wheel and I liked being driven, lol. 

Laura from The Horton Family

Laura! My precious roomie with a heart of gold! Where do I begin? I swear Laura’s heart is bigger than her entire state of Louisiana because she is such a sweet southern soul. Laura and I have always had a close relationship as we bonded a few years ago over our undying devotion to our respective favorite college football teams (Bama & ND). This girl makes you feel like the most important person in the room. She makes you feel invincible and boy, does she make you laugh! You’ll love how she chronicles her life and family fun on her BLOG and guys...Laura has been blogging longer of any of us: 12 years!!! Plus, she is just such a cutie patootie! I took her to the airport and bawled my eyes out after I dropped her off. I was just so darn sad our time together in Nash was over. 

Kellyann from This Blonde's Shopping Bag

Kellyann is a beautiful, positive force that you want to be with all day long. Her encouraging heart lifts your spirits because this angel sees the good in all. Kellyann reached out to me a couple years ago and boy did she ever warm my heart. This Floridian beauty knows how to style what real women wear with affordable pieces and cute looks. And she takes such good care of her precious family and her positive spin on any situation can’t help but make you smile. She loves to cook and bake and often makes my recipes which tickles me to pieces. In fact, yesterday she made the BEST FALL Sheet Cake! Her BLOG is sweet as can be and you just want to hug her after you’re done reading a post. And I am happy to say Kellyann is one of our newest contributors to The Blended Blog!

Lisa from Coast to Coast

Lisa, oh the darling, lovely Lisa! This girl’s smile lights up the whole block. I’ll say it again, she’s a hoot wrapped up in the cutest package. Her whole heart is in Nashville as her beautiful grown kiddos are there. Hopefully she and her Mr. can move there in a few years and then we’ll all stay at Casa de Lisa! This gal would do anything for anyone. She has such a honest grace about her and is just so good to the bone! Her sweet style will have you coming back to her BLOG over and over. Not to mention her fun Finds and tips. I adore this girly and Yesterday was her birthday so get over there and wish her a Happy Birthday because it will make her day as she travels back to California. Oh and this girl knows Trader Joe's, you'll love her Fish Taco Salad Recipe with ingredients from there!

Chrissy  from Granola & Grace

Chrissy makes my heart sing! Plus she can sing! This beauty, the youngest of us all, brought such smiles and giggles to each one of us and she is so darn fun, spontaneous and zesty! Another mom of all boys like Kellyann and I, she leads that crew with grace and gusto! This girl has some serious granola tastes and I loved it. You will never feel down when Chrissy is near, she takes you in the palm of her hand and makes you feel so special. Her boho and fun style is so stinkin cute! She began her fabulous BLOG to share thoughts on clean eating and her precious, personal style. You will come away fulfilled each time you read her blog! And this girl is the queen of INSTA stories!! What fun! I'll link all their Instagram pages below. She helped this Insta Newbie with my first boomarang!

We all had fun giving each other gifts! Look at all this cuteness and yumminess too!

I’m going to let a lot of these pictures do the talking, but here is where we stayed, a lovely 4 bedroom VRBO that was in such a great location. We were even able to walk to some destinations. 

FOOD 

Oh the Food, let’s get to the food! Sooo yummy! I told you about the delicious ice cream outings on Friday. Well, The first night we walked to get Taco's at Mamacita's. So good, plus I just love saying the name and watching Chrissy eat her corn!

We were shopping til we were dropping the next day and was able to get into Frothy Monkey for a late lunch. I had a super yummy cappuccino that hit the spot with my Bagel Sandwich.

Five Daughters bakery, I love you. Got some yummy doughnuts to share and they allowed Shelly and I to sit on their counter for Photos, lol!

Oh for the LOVE of Biscuits at Biscuit LOVE..YEEEES! The little BoNuts were to die for and just the right size! Enjoyed some Bananas Foster Oatmeal and a mimosa too!

 That afternoon, we enjoyed a bevi up on the rooftop at LA Jackson with the yummiest apps. I must recreate that bacon dip! 

FELLOWSHIP

Speaking of LA Jackson’s..here we are..just look at that view! 

What fun shenanigans we got ourselves into! Here are some highlights.

Opry

What an incredible night. Every single act from John Conlee to Rascal Flatts to several great ones on the middle like an up and coming Striking Matches duo had us singing all night long.

And the Guitar photo that made us famous on the Big Screen, we screamed when we saw ourselves.

And we even sang Jolene with Dolly!!!

Broadway and a Double Birthday Celebration 

Our last night after Bar Taco, We crowned our 2 October Birthday girls and headed to Honky-tonk Row! 

Chilled out on Luke Bryan's rooftop a little, his club that is.

We had some fun in a pumpkin patch too but saving those photos for the 17th graphic tee Fashion Link-Up

I think we already knew how well we get along because of how long we had been admiring each other's blogs and where we were in our lives. It’s just so amazing how well we clicked and enjoy so many of the same things. Treasures I tell ya...like finding a pot of gold!

Follow all these babe's Instagram....GOOD STUFF

Shelly, Laura, Kellyann, Lisa, 

Chrissy and Me, the Newbie

 These ladies make me believe I can fly, I can touch the sky!!! 

Love you all!

LINKING-UP with Biana // Totally Terrific Tuesday // Inspire Me Monday // Inspire Me Tuesday // Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party // Creative Monday's // Creative Muster Party // Wow Us Wednesdays // Wonderful Wednesday's Blog Hop // Feathered Nest Friday // Metamorphosis Monday // The Scoop // Cooking & Crafting with J&J // Friday Favorites Link Party // Clever Chicks Blog Hop //Tuesday Talk with Erika and Ashley

xoxo