Is it FALL yet??

Ok I know its not but I really want it to be!! I love everything about this season. School is back in, which my kids have had a great few days so far. All except the homework. I think I dread it as much as they do. Other things I love about fall are the changes in the weather because I am really done with the Vegas heat right now.  The leaves turning colors, the smell of the fall air and of course Halloween! My favorite holiday.
   Going shopping this weekend also got me excited for this upcoming season too. Just had to invest in a great pair of riding boots....and a few sweaters! The outfit I am wearing is a mixture of summer and fall. The white skirt I usually wear doing the summer but adding the brown belt and brown shoes made it feel more fallish to me.

                      Loving this braided belt. Perfect addition for the fall. This necklace is one of my classic pieces!

                       
                                         How I dressed this outfit down for a more casual comfy look.


                                                        Yellow top-Downeast clothing
                                                        Skirt-F21
                                                        Necklace-Rapsidelle
                                                        Belt-Ross
                                                        Shoes-Discount shoe factory

                                linked to-The pleated Poppy,Rolled up Pretty,Transatlantic Blonde,two thirty-five designs,  mom trends,marionberry style 

Neutrals

Though I have been trying  to follow my "no more buying neutrals rule" because I have way too much of it, I still find myself drawn to these "safe" colors. When I saw these nude colored heals I knew I had to get them with the same rationalization that I always use "they will go with EVERYTHING!" Ok well these heels really do. I think they are a must shoe color for everyone's closet.

                                                        Top-Rhapsodielle
                                                        Skirt-Rhapsodielle
                                                        Shoes-Discount shoe factory
                                                        Necklace-Burlington Coat factory

                                   linked to-The pleated Poppy,Rolled up Pretty,Transatlantic Blonde,two thirty-five designs,  mom trends

Why I love Kohl's

First off Happy 4th of July everyone!! Our celebration always starts the night before attending a Patriotic concert that my mom is a part of . It is always such a great performance! This year was extra special as congresswomen Shelley Berkley was there and she presented a Gold metal to one of the Veterans in the audience who served in World War ll. This guy was 90 yrs old and it was very inspiring to hear him share a few words. I will probably never in my lifetime get to see another Gold metal in real life again. That was so awesome! I am so grateful for this country we live in and the freedoms that we enjoy because of all the brave men and women that fight and have fought to protect our rights.
        After the concert my family comes back to my house to watch the big firework show that is put on at a nearby park. I love that we don't have to fight the crowds to see a great show.
     Today I look forward  to the pancake breakfast that our church puts on every year and to the traditional BBQ, swimming and fireworks party that my fabulous Sis in Law hosts year after year. I cannot wait to eat some yummy pulled pork sandwiches!!

      There are a lot of clothing stores that I love but Kohl's has got to be at the top of my list. Every time I walk into that store I always find something that I love. Great clothes shoes and home decor! Oh and what ? Its on sale?! Pretty much everything that I want!
     This whole outfit is from Kohl's, minus the shoes. Those are from Target, another store I can always walk out of buying more than I planned.

This lace belt is my very favorite! I seriously wear it all the time. It came with another pair of jeans I got a while back from Kohl's.




  linked to-the pleated poppy, glam a mom

Pawn Stars

My Step Mom came to visit me for a few days. I was excited be able to spend time with her as she was in much need of a get away and I don't get a chance to see her very often. When she first came, I asked  her what she wanted to do and if there was anything on the Vegas Strip she was interested in seeing. I was pretty surprised when she said the only thing she really wanted to do was go and see the Gold and Silver Pawn shop off of the Reality TV series "Pawn Stars". Of course she was really wanting to see the guys from the show! Its crazy how on TV things appear bigger than they really are. The Pawn shop from the outside looked pretty small. Inside it was pretty cramped because the place was packed full of people and they just kept on coming! There was some pretty cool stuff to look at and my boys really liked seeing all unique collections of things.  Unfortunately non of the guys were there. They were in New York that week dang it! We all wanted to see Chum Lee! Oh well. It was still fun to go anyway.

                         

                                                                    Blue cardigan-khols
                                                                    Pink striped tank top-F21
                                                                    White capris-Agaci
                                                                    Mint Green wedges-Styles for less
                                 


                                      linked to-The pleated Poppy,momma go round,The letter 4,Rolled up Pretty,Transatlantic Blonde                         

Serendipity

In general I totally eat healthy and love the benefits of doing so. However I do believe in balance!  Treats and fattening food are meant to be enjoyed within reason. So when we go out to eat it is a treat  and I do not hold back! No watching the calories and fat content in any way! I usually always end up getting the most fattening food on the menu. I seriously love me some good Fettuccine Alfredo and  great bread to go along with it. Oh and if it is a new place that I haven't been to before, I have to try their dessert no matter how full I am! I have heard people talk about the restaurant Serendipity for months and I knew we had to go check it out. We went with some  good friends of ours and we all made sure to order something different to try out. The food was great but I really loved their frozen hot chocolate! Sugar has always been my weakness of mine. However after overindulging like I always look forward to eating healthy again.

                                                                Yellow wedged shoes-Rhapsodielle
                                                                Green blouse-F21
                                                                  Belt-F21
                             

                                                    linked to-The pleated Poppy,momma go round,The letter 4,Rolled up Pretty,Transatlantic Blonde

Easter Traditions

This last week has been awesome! The kids had spring break and we spent a lot of time outdoors. Started off the week by getting an early Easter present for the boys which was a trampoline. Having all boys and the amazing amount of energy they possess, I have been asking myself why we didn't own a trampoline sooner! I have never seen them get so worn out. Its been great! The rest of the week they spent time playing with friends, going to a  museum than headed out  out of town for a day to visit my Brother and Sis in Law. That was my favorite part of the week as my brother lives in the small town and there is nothing to do but enjoy the outdoors and the quietness.
     Easter was such a perfect way to end our great week together as a family. This is probably one of my favorite holidays mainly because of what the holiday is all about but also because we have some really great Easter traditions that we look forward to every year. The Saturday before Easter all of out extended family gets together for an Easter party at a park. We stuff ourselves with great food, have a big Easter egg hunt for the kids and end the party with a water balloon fight. Always good times. Also another tradition  we have is my kids always get new Sunday outfits for church. Sometimes I wish I had a girl just for this season! Its kind of hard to shop for boy outfits when I am distracted by so many pretty girl dresses! However I do love seeing my  handsome boys in their suits and I at least get to buy a cute spring outfit for me.
     Easter pictures in their new Sunday outfits are a  must.  I swore when I grew up I would never be that parent to take a million pictures at every holiday or event. I hated it so much when I was a kid. My dad was extremely camera happy. Now here I am doing the same thing to my kids taking a tons of shots of them to ensure that I get one or two really good pictures. I tell myself one day they will really appreciate having all those family pictures as I do now.

My Easter outfit. Fell in love with these orange wedges from Target!

My handsome boys!

     This one is my favorite because it really shows all of their personalities.

 Our final tradition is on Easter morning. The buckets are set out and all of their Easter toys and candy are hidden around the house.  They then get to hunt for all of their stuff. To make it easy we put these labels on each of the items and let them know which color dots was theirs to search for. If they found someone else's stuff they would just put it back and they weren't allowed to tell. The boys have fun searching for their Easter goodies every year and we have a lot of fun watching them.



linked to-The pleated Poppy,momma go round,The letter 4,Rolled up Pretty,Transatlantic Blonde,g-rated

Not too bad being 33!

Had a fabulous time celebrating our anniversary and my birthday this weekend! Every year my husband and I get a night away for our anniversary and it is amazing how this does wonders for our marriage! We truly look forward  to this every year. To have a full 24 hrs to focus on each other without any other distraction. Makes us feel like newly weds again. Well our anniversary is actually in February but  had a busy month and decided just to combine our celebration with my birthday this year. This for sure worked out to my advantage as my husband hates to shop but he was more than willing to go anywhere I wanted since it was my birthday weekend.  He truly is a great man! We started our night off by  heading to Ceasers Palace and eating at Max Brenners. Yes I'm a proud Vegas girl! The food was really good but the dessert was to die for. Their chocolate fondue was AMAZING!  Well conveniently right across from the restaurant was the huge 3 story  H&M clothing store that I have been wanting to check out for a while. Did I mention how much I love my husband?! If you know me you would  know that I take forever to shop and  I have to check out everything! I could easily spend two hrs in a clothing store just looking without buying a single thing. In this case I walked out buying two items.
    So sleeping in is a luxury for my husband and I and the only down side to a hotel is that checkout time comes way  to soon!  I think out best sleep we have ever had has always been during this once a year over night getaways. Something about those black out curtains and  no noisy  kids to come wake us up. Our day consisted of  eating the breakfast buffet at the hotel  than checking out some other great shopping areas and finally  we went and saw  Hunger games. Wow that was an intense movie! Shame on me for seeing the movie before reading the books and a greater shame that my husband read the books before me! I now feel compelled to read them as I anxious to find out if there is some sort of happy ending to this disturbing story.We ended our night eating at Mimi's Cafe and discussing the movie. By the end of our getaways we always miss our kids and look forward to going home.
      Every year since turning 30 I have always dreaded my birthday as it just meant I was getting older. However this year I have finally learned to embrace my age because I now recognize  that  every year I seem to gain a little bit more understanding about life and value the things that matter most in it a little bit more.I have learned that this this is a good as it gets. To appreciate every day and be happy and content no matter what life throws my way. I know there are always blessings and good to counteract the bad. I have also learned the importance of taking on life one day at a time, slow down a little and putting my trust in God as my life depends on it. It feels great to be 33 today!

                                                 

                                                  Had to match my nails with my outfit!

Love these shoes but wished I had listened to my friend who said I should stash some flip flops in my purse just in case I could't walk anymore. 

                 

                                                                          Where I shopped

                                                                Blue blazer-Styles for less
                                                                Pink and grey striped tank top-Ever
                                                                Lace belt-Rue 21
                                                                Necklace-Down East Clothing
                                                                Bracelets-made by my mom
                                                                Shoes-Discount shoe factory


linked to-The pleated Poppy,momma go round,The letter 4,Rolled up Pretty,Transatlantic Blonde,g-rated

Date night with Hubby

My husband I don't get out together as much as we should or would like.  This night we had a dance and a fireside put on by our church for couples  that we were attending . It was just nice to get all dressed up and be reminded on how important our relationship is to each other. We got to dance again  to our song played at our wedding 12 years ago! Which was "I knew I loved you" by Savage Garden. Such a great moment as we were reminiscing about some of the meaningful moments we had during the time we were dating and fell in love with each other.12 years later I can still say I  really did get my prince charming and my happily ever after! Sorry for the cheeziness but seriously God knew what I needed and sent me better than I deserve and I am so thankful for him and the husband and father he is! This weekend we get to spend a night away from the kids to celebrate our 12 years of marriage. I can't wait!

                      My husband and I and a few good friends
                                                           
                                                         
                                      Where I shopped

                                 Blue blazer-Syles for less
                                 Black sequin top-Ross
                                 Red belt-Rhapsidielle
                                 Red shoes-Amazon


inked to-The pleated Poppy,momma go round,The letter 4,Rolled up Pretty,Transatlantic Blonde,watchout for the woestmans

Little black dress

I've had this dress for a few years now and I don't think I will ever get tired of it! To me its just one of those classic pieces in your wardrobe that you just hold on to. Its super feminine and I really love the lace trim at bottom of the dress. Just makes me happy when I wear it and it always reminds me of spring, my favorite time of the year.

Where I shopped

Dress-Ross
Pink sweater-Khols
Shoes-Discount shoe factory
Feather earrings-Styles for less
Bracelets-Ever


linked to-The pleated Poppy,momma go round,The letter 4,Rolled up Pretty,Transatlantic Blonde,watchout for the woestmans

Bootie Attention

 I think these booties are my all time favorite shoes! Not just because they were the first that were out of my traditional-style comfort zone shoe buy, but for the great conversation piece they are becoming! The first time my husband saw these shoes and I asked him what he thought about them, he gave me this shocking comment. He said I  will call them your murder boots because they have the high spiked heal to kill, and a mop in front to clean up the blood!" Than he proceeded to tell me that the shoes would be really easy to make, "All you would have to do is put a ton of glue on the front of heeled boots and go out into the dessert and kick a bunch of rabbits around!" That became joke of the night amongst us and some good friends of ours. Like I have said before about my husband, never a dull moment. I take his humor to me as a compliment.
       No matter where I go I get fabulous compliments about these shoes. I hear people in passing talk about them, or get some serious stares and double takes. Just this weekend at the grocery store two girls yelled "Excuse me!"  halfway down an isle, just to tell me how much they loved my shoes. My favorite story to tell about these grey booties was when my husband and I were out on a date and we made a stop at the mall. A guy and what appeared to be his wife or girlfriend passed by us, and my husband started busting up as the guy was seriously checking out my  shoes and after he passed me, he turned his head around to continue to stare at them. The girl he was with did not seem to notice them at all. For a man he apparently has very good taste in shoes,my husband doesn't think that relationship is going to last.

Pin It

Where I shopped?

Striped top- Ross
Shoes- Discount shoe factory
Necklace -Ever
Earrings-Burlington coat factory


Linked to- The pleated Poppy,momma go round,The letter 4,Rolled up Pretty,Transatlantic Blonde,
raegun ramblings

Sleek and Stylish

I can not get enough of this mustard colored top. I had talked about it before on how it is kind of a new edgy neutral. It goes with everything but because the zipper in the back is red it inspired this color combo. Oh and how about these red pumps. Its crazy how many things I am finding that I can were them with! My new fav!!

Where I shopped??

Top-Rhapsidielle
pencil skirt-Rhapsidielle
Red suede pumps-Amazon
bracelet-styles for less
apple necklace-old

Linked to-The pleated Poppy, g*rated, momma go round,The letter 4,Rolled up Pretty,Transatlantic Blonde,Blonde Episodes,Hollie takes notes

What HE wore Wednesday

Who's this random guy with the bow tie?  My hot and as Weird Al Yankovic sang it "White and Nerdy" husband!!  He thought it would be pretty funny to strut his stuff and show off his Sunday best. About the bow tie?  The start of his bow tie trend was when he wore his 1st one at his at his pharmacy school graduation. I just had to laugh as devoted some serious time to finding the perfect bow tie to go with his graduation gown! I  Didn't realize then he would soon slowly gain a collection of them and wear them on a regular basis! Seriously never a dull moment with this man. He keeps me and everyone else that  knows him entertained on a regular basis. He prides himself on his love for all things geeky and that text book he is holding, well he really does love that kind of stuff! If you are interested in unique humor here is his blog   You're-not-normal where he likes to write about any random crazy thoughts he has or ideas and projects he has made. 

Linked to-thepleatedpoppy,transatlanticblonde,momma go round.rolleduppretty

In blue

Where I shopped??

blue sweater-Rainbow
belt-old
necklace-styles for less
Earings-Burlington coat factory
booties-Agaci


Linked to-The pleated Poppy,The letter 4,Rolled up Pretty,Transatlantic Blonde,Blonde Episodes,Rae Gun Ramblings, Hollie takes notes

Winter Dress

Check out this apple necklace! Isn't it awesome?! Its super old. My mom has had it for over 25 years! I had to majorly convince her that she needed to give it to me!

Where I shopped??

Grey dress- Ross
Boots- Khols

Linked to g*rated ,The pleated Poppy,The letter 4,Rolled up Pretty,Transatlantic Blonde,Blonde Episodes,Rae Gun Ramblings

Brights and furry boots

For our family pics this year I wanted to have a little fun with color. I knew I wanted red but  that is always a pretty traditional color for pics so I happened to have this blue cardigan that I got during the summer at Khols for $4! Just  the perfect extra color I wanted to add! Oh and of course how can I not mention these grey booties that were very much not my usual style but I fell in love with the moment I put them on!

   cardigan-khols
Grey ruffled tank top-F 21
Red lace tank top-styles for less
Grey fur boots-discount shoe factory
necklace -Rhapsidielle

Linked up to

The pleated Poppy
the letter 4
Rolled up Pretty
Transatlantic Blonde
Blonde Episodes
Rae Gun Ramblings

classic black and white

Black and white is always such a classic combination that never goes out of style. Its just what I was in the mood for today!

                                                         












           Where I shopped??

  Black Blazer-Rhapsodielle

   white blouse- Rhapsodielle
   pencil skirt- Rhapsodielle

   shoes- Discount shoe factory

   Feather earrings-styles for less

   bracelet-old

Linked to-The pleated Poppy,,Transatlantic Blonde,Blonde Episodes, g*rated

Feeling Bold

These boots inspire me to breakout and venture out even more! What do you think of this mustard colored blouse?? I am really lovin this color right now!! Its kind of an edgy neutral color that can go with almost anything! shout out to my sis Andrea  who has helped me see color a little bit differently.

Where I shopped??

blouse- Rhapsodielle 

shoes- A'gaci 

red belt-forever 21

Necklace and bracelet -Burlingtion Coat Factory

Linked to-The pleated Poppy,,Rolled up Pretty,Transatlantic Blonde,Blonde Episodes,Rae Gun Ramblings, sugar and spice

Gold and teal

If you would have asked me a year ago what I thought about gold jewelry I would have told you I would never have been caught dead wearing it!

I now try and figure all the time what I can where with my gold! haha Yea I'm seriously out of the closet with fashion and color. I was told today that I needed to get some purple, pink or teal

tights with this outfit Why not?! I might give it a try!

Where I shopped??

Teal top- Rhapsodielle

black lace skirt-forever 21

shoes- Alloy

necklace and bracelet-styles for less

linked to-rolled up pretty, transatlanticblonde.