Friday Favorites- Easter Cupcakes, Tea and A New Dress For Me

I'm linking up here today to show you some of my favorite things this week!

Thanks for stopping by and let me know what you're loving too! 

My favorite thing I made this week was these Easter Cupcakes for Lizzy's class Easter Party....

Jelly Bird Eggs and a handle made from Spree Rope candy. Lizzy watched a YouTube video and wanted to make them and they turned out just great!

My favorite beverage of the week has been this....

Bigelow Benefits Radiate Beauty

I have been loving this tea all week! I bought it a month or 2 ago as I usually get on a "tea kick", drink a few cups then go months without it but I'm on my second box of this and could still drink it all day long, hot or cold. The neat thing is....

It's pretty! It tastes great and its this pretty shade of magenta.
I'm not sure that its actually going to make me radiant, but I think its great!
(I also like this one at night for sleep.)

And I got the comfiest dress this week and have worn it already and love it!

I blogged all about this shopping trip and started a fun new Thursday series called What's In Store you can read the full post here.

Thanks so much for all of your kind words and support from this post!
I am already looking forward to next Thursday's edition!

Those are my quick favorites on this Good Friday.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Easter weekend celebrating the glory of God
and our risen savior, Jesus Christ!

Friday Favorites

I'm linking up here today to show you some of my favorite things this week!

Thanks for stopping by and let me know what you're loving too! 

Its Friday again and we couldn't be happier! I do love linking up and sharing ideas with friends. Its probably my favorite part of the interweb. :) So, here are some of my favorite things this week!

I'm in week 2 of a new bible study--Looking for Lovely at our church. I just loved what Annie Downs said in the video portion of this week's lesson. To paraphrase she was explaining how when we love someone we often see things in our everyday that remind of us of those loved ones. "Karla would love that picture." "Heather would love that shirt." "Lizzy would love that bracelet, it looks like her." Downs goes on to explain that seeing Jesus around us everyday is part of the love relationship we have with him, part of fixing our eyes on Jesus--that we see him everywhere, not just in our mind's eye or on the cross at the front of the sanctuary. I just loved that--it was probably my favorite moment of the study this week. Its my prayer and my desire to see him around this week in little moments and lessons and in the beauty I see in my town and in my people.

Of course these two little people are my very favorites and I loved sharing their fall photos here this week.

I also loved sharing our fun Halloween costumes and characters. These two transformed in front of the camera!

This year for both sides of our family, the adults drew names for Christmas gifts. We used drawnames.com and it was quick and easy. We loved that we could register for what we wanted and knew we would get something we desired instead of "a gift for the person who has everything".

 

I registered for this robot vacuum and its great! It transitions from hardwood floors to tile to slate and area rugs, handles the cleaning under beds and clawfoot tubs, can withstand a bulldog attack or two, and is simple to use.

If you've wanted one but were afraid to get one because of the price, the one I have is under $200 and is worth it! I've been using it for a few weeks and have no problems!

And this was my favorite thing we ate this week

Buffalo Shrimp

I really loved how easy this was to get on the table for a weeknight meal that didn't destroy my kitchen! Sometimes we just need quick and simple while we're cooking Whole30--am I right? This recipe does the trick!

Friday Favorites New Year Edition

I'm linking up here today to show you some of my favorite things this week!

Thanks for stopping by and let me know what you're loving too! 

Okay, okay its a New Year and we're nearly halfway through January!! I can't believe how fast time is truly flying, this year is whizzing on by and its time to start getting going and taking care of business! Here are my Friday Favorites that are helping me along so far this year.

1.Essie/ Lady Like
I adore this nail color. Its soft and feminine and the perfect neutral. I might buy an extra bottle or two to keep in the car and at the beach house because y'all its perfect. Its almost the exact same shade as my nude nails and lips so its the perfect touch if you like your nails to be done but not distracting. I would buy this for my wedding, without a doubt. (If I were a bride-to-be, but I'm not!) Say goodbye to french manicures and kiss the greige goodbye because this nail color is it.

Buy it here and thank me later!


2. Podcasts, podcasts and more podcasts-- Now that school is back in session the house seems big and empty during the day. This week it really helped me to tune it to some friendly voices of like-minded moms while I packed away Christmas decor and cooked. Some that I'm subscribing to--

Big Boo Podcast these girls are hi-lar-i-ous. If you dont know BooMama and Big Mama you should!
Hello Mornings Podcast with Kat Lee
God Centered Mom Podcast
Wire Talk with Karen Stubbs

Are you into podcasts? I'd love to know what you're listening to! Tell me which ones you love so I can keep filling my house with sound, because I never learned how to whistle, so whistling while I work is out. Ha!

3. Zoe's Kitchen Greek Dressing.
We're back Whole30 this month and Zoe's dressing is a life saver. When we're out of homemade dressing this bottle saves the day every single time. It's easy to find all around Birmingham and Alabama, but if you just cant get to a Zoe's, just call me and I'll send you some!

That's it for me this Friday, but I'll be back soon! After some more encouragement from friends and family I'm back at blogging in the New Year. I shared my Recipes page recently on Facebook since so many friends were starting their own Whole30 reset, and so many of my friends have praised the recipes and the blog and asked for more--here we are! Thank you all for your sweet comments! And let me know what you're loving as we start this new year!

Oh! and see those updated pics in the sidebar ---->
I'll be posting more about those next week! Can't wait to share the fun day we had in Tuscaloosa!

Preschool Programs 2015

Preschool Program Day, for me, is like Christmas, my birthday, all of my graduations, Easter and New Years all rolled in to one. 

Not to over-exaggerate, but I LOVE them. 

I love seeing all of the children and their energy, nerves, smiles, dance moves, collaboration, pride and silliness. 

I  love seeing a year's worth of growth, learning, development and teamwork (from the teachers and the classmates) come together for a half-hour of showmanship. 

I love hearing little voices sing and shout about the world, things they know and God's love for us. 

I love it all!!

This year was epic because for the first (and only) time I got to experience this as a parent TWO DAYS IN A ROW!

Both programs were adorable and I loved every single second of the programs and art shows.

Jay's was Thursday and Lizzy's was Friday. 

Some Highlights:

1. West kids in the back row now and forevermore. I hope they like it there. 

2. I wish it was okay for Jay to wear his hat like this all the time. Its perfection. 

3. Lizzy took a bow between every song. I loved it every time. 

4. Who knew Lizzy was the tallest out of all of the twos (now threes!)? That was surprising. 

5. Lizzy's bow game was strong. I actually thought we were going "simple" for the show, turns out she had the biggest bow of the bunch.

6. I just love watching all of the kids look around and find their own people. They are all so proud.

7. I messed up (forgot to press record) for part of Lizzy's performance and missed a good 3 or 4 songs including the sweetest Jesus Loves Me I've ever heard and Wheels on the Bus. Its a bummer I cant share those here, but I have then deep in my memory bank. 

8. Everyone told me how much they enjoy watching Jay at these programs, how funny he is and how they love his expressions. I humbly agree. 

9. His teacher also told me that he did about half of the show in different, various accents and she was sitting right next to him and had to keep from laughing the whole time. 

10. They are so proud of their performances. I don't think they get it from their Dad! ;)

The fours presented a "Barn Yard" program and I knew it would be awesome the day I got the note home telling me Jay was to wear a red shirt and denim shorts to be a Farmer. Yessss!

This was our carpool selfie pre-program. The excitement was palpable!

Scroll down for some videos of Jay's show.

Lizzy's Music and Movement show was the cutest!

Lizzy was not feeling well the morning of her show, thus she was not into taking pictures at all afterwards. I loved being there with her and Dede also came to cheer her on. She loved the show but the second it was over it was like a little virus took hold for the weekend. Way to be a trooper Lizzy! "The show must go on!"

And now for your viewing enjoyment (mainly for the fam in Tennessee)....I give you the programs! Enjoy!

This one made me sad! I've loved Jay's preschool and this Goodbye really got me!

Thanks for sharing my most favorite day(s) of the year!! I really could watch these kids every week--I just adore all that they learn and love seeing them have fun together. 

Friday Favorites: Lunch game-changer and Happy Mornings

I'm joining the Friday Favorites link up this week.

Mainly just a few random things this week that have made a BIG difference--they didn't need their own post because they are so random, but these are my favorite things this week.

1. This Thermos Food Jar. Game Changer. 

Since the start of school, I've been looking for containers to send hot food in Jay's lunch. We have a Pottery Barn lunchbox he got for his birthday, but I was on the hunt for a thermal container that was microwave safe and would be easy to clean and easy for Jay to manage. Oh, and it needed to actually work if I was going to spend $20 or more on it. (When did this stuff get so pricey?)

Anyhow, after looking in stores and online and reading reviews I was more than a little discouraged. It was really a bummer that I couldn't find anything that would do the job. I looked again at Publix this week and found this little fella. 

I am thrilled with it's design. No rubber grips on the outside to get gunked up. Inside there is a plastic bowl that you take out, fill and can microwave. Screw on the cap then lock into the stainless steel case and you're done! I can store the insert in the fridge overnight with the cap on then microwave (uncovered) in the morning, cover and send to school and what isn't eaten is still warm in the afternoons after carpool.

2. My absolute favorite thing I've done around our house lately---hold on to your hats-- I moved the coffee maker. 

Yep, I took it from the kitchen and moved it to the little bar/ice maker area.

If I could tell you really how this has made me so happy and made my mornings so much easier you would laugh. And likely roll your eyes and wonder why it took me nearly 2 years to figure this out. I don't know either, but better late than never I guess. Happy Mornings made simple. Grab and go coffee I heart you.

3. After I realized this was my new happy space, I couldn't stop thinking about it--even when I was at my long-time happy place--Home Goods. So I picked up some cute cocktail napkins. I was looking for something fall since the whole-wide-world seems to be fall crazy, but these little guys sort of sum things up for me.

$3 and you have my entire mentality summed up on one napkin. I'm working on getting used to fall--but really I am a summer girl. We've just had the BEST Summer (click here and here for the recaps) and I am so excited when I think of the fun we'll have next year. Eventually, I'll "warm up" to the idea of fall but for now my heart is still in shorts and sand. Ahhh....

Happy Friday!