Five on Friday

It's Friday again, so that means it's time join Darci for the weekly blog party!

{one} I came across this quote on Pinterest yesterday, and I just really loved it. Is it not so true that, as parents, we only hold our babies for a little while? I know mine is only a year old, but I also know that the time will come for her to flee my nest entirely too soon. I want to do the very best job that I can to prepare her to "fly free," but I also always want her to know that my love for her will never waver. I will always be her biggest fan. Wah! Sappy stuff here, y'all.

I created this suuuuper fancy {sarcasm font} graphic, so feel free to save it!

{two} Have y'all seen these Cotton Candy grapes?! I was so confused about these things when I first heard about them last week, but I had to give them a try. Wow, they are pretty yummy! They definitely have a cotton candy taste about them which is actually really bizarre. They're WAY expensive, but they are a tasty little change up!

{three} We've had little Tatum staying with us 2 days/week for a full month now, and Jaqs absolutely loves her. She kisses her head ALL day long, and it's the sweetest thing I ever did see. I can hardly wait to see how their friendships evolves; I know Ness and I are counting on these sweet girls being forever friends :)

{four} I know I cannot be the only 90s girl that has been jamming out to N'Sync all week, right?? After their SUPER-SHORT VMA reunion, my 5th grade self was wanting MORE! Of course, I still have all my old CDs, so I busted those bad boys out and have been listening ever since. It's amazing how quickly the words of a song you haven't heard in YEARS come right back.

{five} Jaqs had a big time at daddy's scrimmage last week, but I'm a little nervous how the game tonight will go. She normally goes to bed at 7:30, and that's when kick-off is. Should be interesting to say the least, but we'll do the best we can :) I love my little football girl!!

the queen of the stands!

{bonus} I don't know how this keeps happening, but I have another fun giveaway happening right now! They all kind of came on at once, so this will likely be the last one for awhile. If you have a little in your life, you don't want to miss out on this chance to win a cute holiday tee for them! There are several EASY ways to win.

Happy Friday, y'all! Hope you enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

La Mia Bella Boutique: A Review & GIVEAWAY!

Just like most mamas, I loove shopping for my little lady; I would much rather buy something cute for her than for myself these days! I don't know what it is about "styling" a mini that is so darn fun, but it JUST IS....everything about it!

So, when Courtney, owner and operator of La Mia Bella Boutique, contacted me about doing a little review for her on the ol' blog in exchange for some darling baby girl clothes and accessories, I jumped ALL over that! I've never had the opportunity to do this before, so I was very excited about it.

We received quite the loot from Courtney! Here it is in all its glory:

peasant style dress w/ coordinating bow
chevron top with minky pants set
baby legs + clippies & pins

 Of course, she was even thoughtful enough to include some Wildcat swag!

wildcat boutique style bow

As most of you know, I've just gotten Jaqs wearing bows within the last few months, so she is basically NEVER without one now! I still can't get her to keep a headband in, though.

Anyway, this "wildcat" bow is ADORABLE. The quality is great and quite sturdy. It is affixed on on a lined alligator clip, so it stays in place in her hair. Courtney has a wide variety of bows in her shop and is all about customizing to YOUR needs/desires, so be sure to visit with her if you're needing specific colors or styles!

 You cannot go wrong with leg warmers on little girls of ANY age! Jaqs wore them a lot as a newbie, and I still love to put them on her now. These blue & red ruffled chevron ones are so precious and the perfect colors to support our Cats! Again, there is no slipping or sliding with these, and she'll be able to wear them even as she grows below the knee! LOVE THESE!

 This little paisley printed peasant style dress is stinkin' adorable, y'all. Seriously. I absolutely love all the colors in the fabric, and even more importantly, it is cut to a super cute fit. These dresses are meant to have a little "room," but it certainly doesn't look like she's wearing a tent with the way Courtney has sized it.

 The gathering on the neck is very sweet, and the flower applique just sets it off. Also important to mention is that the fabric is really great quality, so this dress should be able to live up to a rough & tumble little girl juuuust fine! :)

 Tell me this is not one of the sweetest little outfits?? Love!

You can find similar styles available in her shop, and again, Courtney is all about customizing, so see if the two of you can't dream up a little something together!

Pink and orange are two of my favorite colors, so of course I adore this little pant set! The top is cotton and the pants are minky, so although it's really cute, it's also really comfy! That's a biggie for me just because I hate to have to change Jaqs into something different to wear for naps during the day. I love the fact that this outfit is special enough to wear to a party or small event while still being comfortable. 

Courtney included some bonus clippies & embellished bobby pins for casual wear, and they're the perfect little addition to every day play clothes. Jaqs wears these smaller clips in her hair from the time she wakes up because she can't stand for it to be in her eyes. The butterfly clip is on a lined alligator clip, and Jaqs really does love it. She brings it to me to wear all the time, whether it matches or not!

The bobby pin with the dainty rosette is one of my favorites that I've seen! Far better than anything I could have picked up at Target or elsewhere, that's for certain. I love these!

I would absolutely recommend La Mia Bella Boutique for outfitting your little ladies! The clothes we received are well-made, and the bows are just perfect. I love that Courtney can customize things so your little one has something all her own! After all, she is a mom to two darling little girls, so she knows the importance of being unique!

*****

Now for the REALLY fun part: YOU get the chance to WIN an item from Courtney's shop! She has generously offered up {one} appliqued holiday t-shirt, and you have THREE choices to pick from. The options shown are for girls, but they can also be customized for boys, so boy moms, you definitely don't have to miss out here :)

To enter, follow the Rafflecopter below! :) This giveaway will run through the end of next week.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

one more birthday post...

 I think it's safe to say that my 26th year is off to a pretty good start after one little hiccup the day before. Sunday was Rob's first Sunday back to work, and Jaqs and I had A DAY. It was awful, really. I even had a whole "keeping it real" blog post written up, but now that the dust has settled, I've decided it'll just stay unpublished. We survived, the girl slept from 630pm-8am that night, and things are a little happier now :)

When I put Jaqs to bed that night, I sent a "dinner" request to Rob to pick up BBQ chips and a chocolate shake on his way home. Somehow I felt SO MUCH better after inhaling all that! Ha.

 The night got even better when he gave me my birthday goodies! The man read my blog, y'all, and he delivered. Not pictured are the Stella & Dot earrings I was eyeing...they haven't left my ears since I received them!

Side story: Rob and Jaqs went to Ulta together to pick up part of this stuff, and he picked out the nail polish on his own. What a man! I really wish I could have been a fly on the wall...I bet the girls working there were wondering how in the world this guy and his baby ended up in there buying eye cream and blue nail polish. Glad he's mine!

Monday was the big day! My birthday always falls on or around the first day of school, and of course the one year my birthday would have been on a Saturday was leap year, so I haven't spent my ACTUAL birthday with my hubby in years. Anyway, a couple of my girlfriends took me to lunch and loved on me instead.

 My friend, Cassi, got me the most perfect card. We say "haters gon' hate" in response to almost everything. Want an extra piece of cake? Go for it, haters gon' hate. Head to Target in gym clothes and no make-up? Why not, haters gon' hate. You get the idea. Feels good when someone knows you so well!

After lunch, Jaqs took a looooong nap, so I had some "me" time and didn't feel one tinge of guilt for not doing anything around the house. I even took a nap myself...it was AWESOME!

My birthday was simple, but I was happy. I got to spend time with people I love, got to be spoiled a little bit, and I received wishes all day via FB, text, phone-calls, IG, and twitter. I was feeling the love! Thanks so much to all of you that wished me a happy day! Each one made me smile.
*****
Last but not least, the winner of my "Golden Giveaway" was Brett of Handpicked Notions! It kind of freaked me out when random.org gave me "entry #26" for the winner.  26 on the 26th and entry #26 wins my giveaway in honor of the occasion? Wow! Talk about meant to be! 
Congratulations, Brett, and thank you so much to all of you that played along! I wish I could send something to each of you!

Five on Friday

Wow, this week has FLOWN by...I can't believe it's already Friday! I can't say I'm mad about it though ;) We have our first official scrimmage tonight, so things are buzzing around here. Anyway, y'all know what I'm about on Fridays...linking up with Darci & her girls for yet another edition of Five on Friday!

{one} This week has been FULL of firsts for Miss Jaqs!

--We went to do our grocery shopping on Monday, and J spotted this cart as I was putting her into a regular one. She started say "oooooooo! wow!!!," so how could I even turn down that excitement?? Yep, I can't. I wet-wiped that thing down and put her in with her pony, and she raced all over the store. She had a BLAST, and I actually got to shop in peace...it was definitely our most "relaxing" grocery trip as of late. Think this is going to be happening many times from here on out ;) #dontjudgeme

--Even though J's hair is pretty long, I had yet to put it into piggies. This was the week! She looked so stinkin adorable...I can barely even handle it!! Unfortunately she pulled them out within about 30 minutes, but we'll keep working on it!

--We went to Jason's Deli one night with some friends since our hubbys haven't been getting home until 9:30 this week, and when momma needed a little extra visiting time? Pea got an ice cream cone! Oh my. She was in HEAVEN & STILL for like 15 minutes. Miraculous!

--The janitor has been letting me in the weight room at the high school since Rob has been busy with in-service, and one day two of them were in there eating donuts and asked me if they could share with Jaqs. Oy. It made me cringe a little bit, but those guys are so sweet that I didn't want to turn them down! So, Jaqs had her first donut, too! Another BIG moment for her ;)

 {two} I get asked about gluten-free bread from time to time, so I thought I'd let y'all in on a little secret: you can buy a FULL sized loaf at Jason's Deli! It's Udi brand which is by far my favorite brand. It's pricey at $12 a loaf, but that turns out to be the same if not a little less than buying the miniature loafs only offered at the grocery store.

mmm, grilled pepper jack & cheddar...i could eat this EVERY day.

{three} Oh, one more thing about Jaqs ;) She's been sitting on the potty ALL the time lately, and she has been letting me know when she goes #2 this week. What does it mean?! Nothing? Something? Should we start introducing the idea of pottying on the toilet or is she too young to bother with it? Help me out seasoned mommas!

{four} I came across these adorable cookies on Pinterest! Ohhh how I wish I knew how to do these fancy royal icing sweeties. I love these little football ones! Perfect for this coach's wife!

source

{five} I'm having a giveaway of all things gold in honor of my own golden birthday coming up! It's happening for a few more days, and I'd love if you entered to win!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! XOXO

Golden Giveaway!!

I've mentioned (probably too often) that my GOLDEN birthday is coming up on the 26th, and I've decided to include you, my blog friends, in my celebration! I've collected & crafted a few fun GOLD items to give away to ONE lucky winner. There's only one mandatory entry, but there are several other ways to up your chances of winning!

gold tassel garland

gold dot thank you cards

gold eye liner pen

(I've been using this--really brightens the eye!)

glittery, gold nail polish

long, gold coin necklace

I hope you'll join me in the fun & enter to win!

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a belated weekend post...

 Hey y'all! I've been feeling behind all week, so it's only fitting that my weekend rehash is a little late as well. Hopefully I can get it in gear the 2nd half of the week ;)

Friday -- I begged asked my parents to come in to celebrate my mom's birthday that was Sunday, and they obliged...it's not terribly difficult to talk them into coming to see their grand-girl! Rob was home that night for the last Friday this fall, so we did our best to keep Jaqs entertained so she could stay up to see Grammie & GP! They pulled in just before 9 p.m., and it was definitely worth the wait. Jaqs was so excited to see them!

redneck playpen #noshame

Saturday -- The Wildcats scrimmaged that morning, so I went to torture myself by running bleachers first, then got to watch the boys debut their hard work this summer. Rob has a good feeling about this season, and so do I! They looked really good. 

Once I got home, we took J to the little water-park for a little bit, but she was SO TIRED from staying up "late" the night before, so we didn't last long. We came home for lunch, then my mom & I went out for some errands and left GP to babysit during nap. Well, wouldn't you know that the babe took nearly a FOUR HOUR nap for him after napping terribly for me all last week? That's how it goes, isn't it? I never knew kids started showing off so young for their grandparents ;)

Rob got home Saturday evening, and we all went out to dinner to celebrate both my mom's and my birthdays, then we went to the playground for some after dinner fun!

 I think Rob & my dad had the most fun. They were like a couple of little boys on the playground! So funny. Jaqs loved it, too, though!

We came home for presents, cookies, and ice cream after that....perrrrfect combo!

Sunday -- My parents had to leave, of course, and we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the hubby's last day off together. The girl took another good nap, so we had a lot of time to relax & be lazy...it was nice!

That evening I went to our head coach's wife, Roxanne's, house for our annual wives party. As always, it was so much fun! It's a great way to kick-off the season for us girls. This year, Roxy lead us through a guided paint, and I think it's safe to say we all had a good time with that! I don't have much (okay, ANY) artistic ability, and I was happy with how my beach scene turned out! I hope she'll do this one again ;)

Roxy also served us dinner & dessert, so it was just the perfect girls' night!

Wildcat Wives

Thanks so much, Roxanne!!

I hope your week is off to a great start! Word on the street is that there's a GOLDEN giveaway coming to Perfectly Us beginning tomorrow ;) Don't miss it!!