FRIDAY FAVORITES....NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE

But we ARE in Kansas, lol! Lots of time on the road this week. Tagged along on a road trip with Mr. Nine for business in Salina Kansas! No commercial flying for us with Covid. I do have lots of Friday favorites for you this week.

1. Road Trip

I’ll have much more on this next Friday and catch glimpses on my Insta stories! Not the most exciting place to tagalong to but at least I’m with my man and at least it’s getting out of the house and on an adventure! We’ve actually had a great time so far despite forgetting ALL my makeup and having to buy replacements after 12 hours in the car, lol! 

I shopped til I dropped yesterday! Just one of the cute tops jeans I got

2. Cute Earrings

Pineapples From My Pal

I think many of you know that Laura Horton is one of my best girls! I adore this girl more than words can say and she always knows the exact right time to bring a smile to people’s faces! She sure brought one to mine last week when she sent me these adorable pineapple earrings! She knows My love of pineapples; she knows my taste and she knows my heart and that I adore her with all of it!

BUY Similar Earrings HERE & HERE

Nickel and Suede Brights

Speaking of earrings, I also ordered a couple more statement ones from Nickel & Suede. I just love Nickel and Suede earrings and the quality, and I truly love the orchid color and tangerine color!

BUY Orchid Pair HERE // Tangerine HERE

3. Week's Attire

BUY Similar Tees HERE & HERE // Shorts HERE // Earrings HERE // Shoes HERE

 BUY Top HERE // Shorts HERE // Earrings HERE //  Lock Necklace HERE //Headband HERE // Shoes HERE

And on our trip, I'm bringing this tee and can't wait to show you how I style it!

4. Cozy Earth PJ's

Cozy Earth now has my heart. And To think I was going to order similar pajamas from the Nordstrom sale or Target but when I received these from cozy earth, I knew the search was over! These pajamas are made out of bamboo and they are so so soft!

BUY PJ's HERE

5. Misc Fun

Post of the Week ~ Wild Days Ahead

FLOWERS

A few more of my flowers but a story behind this first picture of the Iced Cherry Verbena... two hours after I took this picture, rabbit had eaten all of the blooms off! Little sucker! Thank goodness these grow back pretty fast and had several buds getting ready to bloom.

BOOK

28 Summers

I had been waiting to read this awhile and my mom bought it. I plan on finishing in Kansas. It’s so cool because it references the area where I live. 

BUY BOOK HERE

MEMES

So many funny ones 

Hope it's a Sweet and BEAUTIFUL weekend!!

Linking up with  Friday Favorites // 
#DreamTeam Linky // Metamorphosis Monday

NINE THINGS LAST YEAR TAUGHT ME THAT'LL HELP ME SLAY 2020

I am a lifelong learner, always something new to know. But one thing I need to work on even more on this decade is learning from mistakes and encountered situations or environments. While many of us have shared goals and intentions and reflected on the past year, I decided to take a look at how to slay this new year and decade from looking at the past. 

Hope you can relate to some of these. 

1. Not everyone has a good heart!             

I’ve always been that person who sees the good in everyone and thinks everyone has hope and potential but unfortunately, that’s not the case for some. There are just some people in this world that will never be kindhearted no matter how bad you want them to be!

2. Expected outcomes often turn out to be the unexpected.                                    

There are so many times that we kind of expect what an outcome will be, or we expect how people will react to a certain situation. I realize this is not the case. The prime example was when our sweet Daisy passed away last summer. It was me who I thought would be the strongest regarding the event, but it turned out to be me who grieved the hardest and the longest. While my family was hurting, they are men and they did not show it in the same way I did. At first, I was a little angry, but then I came to understand. This is something I will remember moving into this new decade. And I will be open to the fact that I may not react the way people think I should either.

3. There really is something to this Joy Thing.                                                    

Within the past two years that I’ve quit my Professional Position, I’ve decided that I am only going to surround myself with things and people that bring me joy. This year, I’m going to make even more of an effort to do that. If it makes me anxious or stressed or leaning towards the negative, I must let it go!

4. Love is all you need.

How true is this and that’s probably what is wrong with our world right now. The hate is outweighing the love. When you look at your own life, think about the people that love you and about the people that you love! Concentrate on that and know that if the world falls apart and everything good goes away, you will forever have that love, whether the people are with you here today, miles apart or in heaven, that love continues through all of the time. and in regard to romantic love, strive for this quote below.

5. It doesn’t matter where your friends live as long as they live in your heart...but try to get together yearly.                                   

I have been blessed to find a friend group, where the only drawback is, we don’t live close to each other, we are scattered across the country. While I miss having a best friend in my area, I'm blessed to have 5 besties. These are the kinds of ladies that bring me infinite joy and while we keep in touch in all other ways including our beloved Marco Polo, the most important thing is that we are going to make an effort to get together annually and let me tell you, our trips are the best!

From our last trip to Texas

Here is a print I had made for the ladies recently from an Etsy shop that just reminded me of the 6 of us and one if the best things..all our butts look good, lol! The Etsy shop I got these from has closed but find the same thing to customize HERE

6. Food is medicine.                                    

This is so true and I’m going to remember this, especially going into the new year. When I eat junk, I feel like junk but when I eat whole and healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and unprocessed items, my body feels and behaves so much better. when I put things in my mouth, I need to remember I’m doing it to stay alive and healthy. While I will still allow myself the occasional treat, I just have to remember, stop, not so many extra treats, LOL!

7. Not everyone will like you.                        

My goodness is this ever true! It’s like, you know in your heart you’re a good person, you try to be kind and loving to everyone, but some people simply will find that as a threat and everyone has different taste, even where friendships and people are concerned. There were still a couple negative comments on my blog this year and I found it hilarious that for every poll I did on Instagram stories, there was always one or two followers that would disagree with everything I had to say. Moving forward into this new decade, I guess I just don’t care. Haters are gonna hate and all I can do is live my life the way it should be lived and always treat others with kindness! And I’ve stop trying to get people to follow me back on Insta..waste of time..I leave like a bazillion nice comments and all they do is like it, never reciprocate, never follow back…ok….

8. My Body needs Sleep!

Isn’t this the truth! Sleep is so important. You know sometimes I wonder why my boys sleep in so late but then I remember that I was a teenager who liked to sleep until noon because it means our bodies need it! I am an early riser and most productive in the morning and I probably always will be. However, it is so silly to get up super early just to comment on blogs and link up. I can comment any time and why get up on the mornings I don’t have a blog post when I can sleep in until my man gets up or even a little later. This is a perk of having older kids and no longer working in the professional world because trust me I put in my years getting up early when they had school start times at 7:25 AM. I’m definitely not saying sleep until noon, I’m still usually up before seven or eight, but over the holiday break, I enjoyed more sleep in days and realized it is so worth it!

9. Taking a Step Back = More

I don’t really have a word for 2020, just lots of intentions. However, one thing I want to work on is simplifying in so many aspects of my life. It really is true that less is more. I relate to this in the fact that I want to simplify my cooking with more wholesome and easy ingredients. And I want to simplify my stress. I’m not going to put in so many hours into the blog and Instagram. Currently I work on this blog about 50 hours a week and to save from getting burnt out and ending this hobby, I’m simply not going to worry about it as much. Nothing really changes when I put more time into it. so why not put just enough time into it, the time I want to devote and place my precious time in other areas of my life! I’m also going to try to not buy so much “stuff” and instead to concentrate on experiences. People think you always need to move forward to succeed, I think taking a small step back helps you grow by leaps and bounds.

One of those dear friends I alluded to in number 5 has a BIRTHDAY today. I could not let this blog post slip by without wishing her the ultimate day and entire week of happiness and joy! This precious friend of mine shines her light wherever she goes. Her positivity, sweet take on life, culinary skills, excellent taste, Love of family and fierce loyalty to friends is hands-down inspirational! Head over to her fabulous BLOG and wish one of my ultimate besties, my dear Laura Horton, a very Happy Birthday! Wish she'd move to Indiana, lol!

HERE's to Hoping YOU all SLAY 2020 too!!

LINKING-UP with Creative Muster Party // Metamorphosis Monday// Tuesday Talk with Erika and Ashley // Love your Creativity // Hello Monday // Inspire Me Tuesday // 

xoxo

TWINING WITH LAURA...PAPER BAG PALS

 Of all the outfits I’ve shared on Insta Stories, this has been the one to receive the most messages. You guys are loving the paper bag trend and so am I. 

 This post is extra special because it’s a joint venture with one of my favorite people on the planet: Laura from The Horton Family! 
This is not the First time I have twined with Laura, you can see another outfit match clear back in July 2016 HERE! A few weeks ago, she mentioned some cute stripped Paper bag Pants she'd gotten from Penny's and right away I knew they had to be the same ones I had just ordered.

Just when I think I couldn’t love my friend anymore; she will say or do something that puts her in the category of angel on Earth! An encouraging word, a hilarious story, a care package of my favorite things, a listening ear and a revelation that we both ordered the same exact paper bag pants and didn’t even know it! From the small things in life, to the big, my sweet Laura is there beside ya all the way. She’s the kind of friend who’d sit with you during an MRI if you needed her too just to reassure you and no doubt make you laugh! She’s one of my “people!” Well, not only did that call for a toast of our glasses, but that called for a post to share both our stylings of them! And some fun boasting that we both share awesome tastes! 

Laura wore her cuteness with a sweet white tee and dark denim jacket. Spot on Spectacular from this curly haired cutie! 

And how incredibly cute is her circle rattan bag, I have this same bag and until I saw this picture, I didn’t know Laura had it too. Make sure you check out Laura's Precious BLOG

 I was lucky to find a little crop top that matched the yellow stripe in the pants. And a denim jacket really is the perfect choice. 

Love that you can do a cute flat sandal with it or a wedge.

BUY a.n.a Pants HERE // Top HERE // Necklace HERE // Tory Burch Flats HERE // Jean Jacket HERE

Can’t wait to see what outfits we pack come this Fall when Laura and I meet up with our other 4 besties in Austin. I’m thinking matching outfits are in order! 

PS..after this post, one of those besties, Kellyann, shared with us that she had gotten the striped pants too!! Had we known, we could've been triplets! Check out the 3 CUTE ways she styled them HERE

INKING-UP with Tuesday Talk with Erika and Ashley // Hello Monday // Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party // Creative Monday's // Creative Muster Party // Wonderful Wednesday's Blog Hop // Metamorphosis Monday // Friday Favorites Link Party // 
Oh Hey Girl  // Visible Monday // Style Me Wednesday // THT  //Fashion Moda // Fashion Friday // Lizzie in Lace // Trend Spin // Fab Favorites //A Labour of Life // Confident Twosday //I will wear what I like // Jersey Girl Texan Heart// Fancy Friday  // Fashion Frenzy // Straight A Style // On the Edge

xoxo

3 THINGS ~ MAY

Eek, this one has me so excited because I feel like it’s the kick off to summer. My dear and precious friend, Laura Horton from the Horton Family Blog has come up with the best me questions for her 3 Things, Write with Me series!

1. If April Showers bring May Flowers, what 3 kinds of flowers are you planting this Spring?
If you know me at all, you know I am totally crazy about my posies and inherited my green thumb from my sweet mom. You know I go to at least half a dozen greenhouses every year and plant many varieties of flowers. My Ultimate favorite every single year are Bubble Gum Petunias. They get huge, spread out fabulously, you do not have to dead them in the pink shade is absolutely amazing!

Here are some of mine from last year by the pool, I had some in the ground and in Pots, it was still early I the year and they got much bigger.

Here they are at our old house in railing boxes and pots. Our old neighbors just texted me the other day and said how much they miss looking over at the beautiful bubblegum petunias. 

 Here is mom and I in a town about an hour and a half south of us that have the biggest bubblegum petunias we’ve ever seen. This is just one pot of about 200 that the town plants every year.

I also love geraniums and last year I got a beautiful red and pink shade to go in one of the window boxes on our pool shed. This year I got a couple dozen of that variety to plant in various places. They are called Calliope medium Crimson flame.

Another favorite is Verbena, they get huge and do so good. I got several varieties this year and these are some of mine from last year at their peak. I love hibiscus too

I love hibiscus too! 

And Ferns and Sweet Potato Vine too...

These are Mom's Impaitents, still going mid-September last year! 

2. Cinco de Mayo. End of the School Year. A Long Memorial Weekend. How are you celebrating the kick off to Summer?

While we celebrate and love all of these, the best way for us to kick off summer is Memorial Day weekend. Usually, Mr. Nine and I do this alone because it often falls around our anniversary and we always go to either a beer and brats festival in Michigan or sometimes we take a long weekend in Chicago. This year, we will most likely just be hanging by the pool with the boys as we have our last one graduating this year. That will be a true kick off as we will have no more in regular school but Eek, three in college in the fall!

Michigan Beer and Brat Festival  

LOVE hanging with my guys poolside

3. What 3 qualities make a great mom? Or show us a picture of you and your mom and tell us why she is so special to you.

It is no secret how wonderful my mom is. In fact, I just mentioned her on Friday and have often shared her and talked about her on the blog. She is just the cutest and most beautiful inside and out! Her beauty, grace and precious heart touch everything she does and everyone she knows. She loves her family so much and does whatever she can to help us when in need. She is fun and spunky and loves life! A big part of the woman and mother I am today is because of her and the values and love she has instilled in me. I am the luckiest girl to call her mom and I don’t know what I would do without her!

1974..look how beautiful mom's hair was.

1990....look how BIG with our hair was, lol.

Yep, we like to toast once again. 

Yesterday, before Brunch

And because my sweet photog is a son of mine and loving the dress and sneakers look..always...Took these on the windiest day yet this Spring..may have lost my hat a couple times, lol! LOVE this Blooming Jelly line!

BUY DRESS HERE // HAT HERE & HERE // SHOES HERE & HERE

A very Happy Week to you all!

LINKING-UP with Inspire Me Monday// Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party // Creative Monday's // Creative Muster Party // Wow Us Wednesdays // Wonderful Wednesday's Blog Hop // Feathered Nest Friday // Metamorphosis Monday// Friday Favorites Link Party // Clever Chicks Blog Hop // Share Your Style Link Party // Oh Hey Girl  // Visible Monday  // THT  //Fashion Moda  // Fashion Friday // Lizzie in Lace // Shoe and Tell // Trend Spin // Fab Favorites //A Labour of Life // Confident Twosday //I will wear what I like // Jersey Girl Texan Heart// Fancy Friday  // Fashion Frenzy // Straight A Style // Metamorphosis Monday // On the Edge // 

xoxo