Tired of the Fakers!

Today I am linking up with all the pretty ladies for Five on Friday. Make sure you link up too! It's Friday, so there's a reason to celebrate right there!

one.

Due to the ice and sleet that we've had, my boss has given me the last three days off to be safe and keep me off the road, since my work commute is a good 40 minutes from home. Praise the Lord! I've spent the last three days bundled up with my sweet Cadence, enjoying our time together and even building an "iceman" since there wasn't really any snow.

two.

My budouir pictures came in and dayum...I didn't realize I could look that good...my photographer did an absolutely amazing job capturing just what I wanted her to and I think Tarl is going to be pleased if I do say so myself :)

three.

We are expecting 70 degree temperatures this weekend which makes me one very happy girl. I always thought I liked the cooler weather, but truth is, I like spring temperatures instead. This 20+ degrees is for the birds! Bring on flip flops and sun dresses!

four.

I am at a point in my life where I have absolutely zero tolerance for fake people. If you're not going to say hello to me in public in front of your friends, then by all means don't say hello to me at Church or when you're by yourself. You are a grown human being, you really should act like one! I also encourage honesty to anyone. Don't lie just to uplift yourself. Trust me when I tell you, being honest with me goes a lot further then pretending you're some hard core biotch...just be yourself, please! To be 100% honest I don't have a lot of friends. I have a full time job, a five year old child and a husband. When I get off work I want to go straight home and see them. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with girls nights, speaking of, Emily it's been way too long, but not every single weekend. My friends may be few, but I know the quality and integrity they have. It's so true - the saying, "quality over quantity"! Rant over.

five.

I've only worked two days this week (due to the ice storm) and truth be told, its harder to work two days then it is three. I am dragging major ass today and can't wait until quitting time. A schedule is a steady thing and when that routine gets knocked off course, it messes with your internal clock. I've got to sleep in for the past three days mid-week, waking up this morning bright and early was horrible and the bags underneath my eyes, well let's just say that not even Maybelline can cover them up!

It's hard to believe we're at a new month already! January truly has flown by!

Bring on candy hearts, sweet tarts, sweet lips and pink roses!

xo

February 14 (for her)

It's no secret that us women love Valentine's Day. Even if we say we don't care for it much, we secretly do. Let's be honest!

For the next three days I will share some great gift ideas for us, him, and even our darling kids. I'm giving price ranges for all amounts of the wallet.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

It's no secret that I love anchors, I could see this Kate Spade bracelet on my wrist, the Michael Kors watch would do too! I look forward to Saturday and Sunday mornings for the simple fact of coffee in bed. I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful husband who wakes up early, brews the coffee, and brings me my cup in bed. I would love for us to sip out of these precious coffee mugs, and stir in our creamer with those monogrammed stir spoons. I change my nail polish as often as I change my underwear, seriously.
The Essie 2014 Spring collection is one of my favorites thus far and I'm in need of the entire collection.
This Tory Burch satchel is a perfect spring and summer staple to any wardrobe!

What are you wanting for Valentine's?

weekend

Monday is here all too soon, but I am so very thankful for another week on this earth with my family.

(Give thanks to the Lord, always!)

We had such an amazing (but chilly) time at the boat show this weekend. Luckily most of the show is indoors, but there is that little bit that's outside. It was worth it though due to the free swag they give out, I added onto my coozie collection, for free! Holla!

Cadence enjoyed seeing all the boats and just loved going on board. She was Izzy off of Jake and the Neverland pirates. If you're a mom, you know about this show.

Cadence was asked to draw her favorite sea creature...

...she went with the starfish, pink of course.

After the boat show we went to the South Carolina Aquarium. All of my aquarium pics are on the Nikon, however I did get these silly pics of us right before the 4D movie.

To watch the 4D movie is an extra $5 per person, so if you ever visit the aquarium pay the difference. Cadence loved it! It's a 15 minute movie that is 3D and similar to theme parks the chairs move and interact with the movie. Fun times!

We kept to our tradition and went to California Dreaming. Fried Clab Craws...enough said!

We tried their onion loaf too, it was alright, not my cup of tea.

We did frozen yogurt for dessert and this face just says it all!

If you couldn't tell from her crazy hair, the wind was whipping in Charleston :)

Sunday we spent relaxing and taking selfies.

I hope each of you have a blessed Monday!

Friday Five

one.

Tomorrow my little family of three will venture off to Charleston and keep our annual tradition by visiting the Charleston Boat Show. We have gone to the boat show each year since I can remember and we make a day out of it. Tarl goes and drools dreams of all the boats he wishes he had, and I go and enjoy the vendors. They also have things to do for kids, which Cadence also enjoys. Afterwards, we go to our favorite Charleston restaurant, California Dreaming, which has spectacular views of the river and harbor which is adorned with yachts and sailboats. Depending on the weather each year we may or may not walk King and Market Street. This year we're skipping out on that, and heading to the mall instead. Thirty eight degrees is too chilly for us to walk around, I don't know how New Yorkers do it daily!

two.

My life planner decorating process has begun, I'm kinda crazy about a couple dates, can't you tell?

I can't wait to find some anchor tape to put on the summer months and some holiday tape for each holiday. Obsessed much? Maybe.

three.

We signed Cadence up for T-Ball today. It is my baby girls very first sport and with her having a late birthday her very first social activity. Don't get me wrong, she has been around other children plenty and has great social interaction, but she has yet to start school so we are all very excited about this. She has been practicing her throwing and hitting with her daddy and I. It's the sweetest thing you ever did see!

four.

My ThredUp box came in this week and I am absolutely smitten with all of the dresses that I purchased. Three out of the five dresses I purchased still had the tags on them and had never been worn. The Ann Taylor Loft dress I purchased tag was priced at $59.99, let me remind you that I paid a total of $50 with ThredUp for all five dresses, not just one! Seriously, check out the website and email me for a discount off your first purchase! If I can remember, I will try and take some pictures of the dresses this weekend. They are all Spring/Summer dresses, which means they are staying in my closet until it warms up about 40 degrees.

five.

Lastly, I leave you with this, as a reminder that we do only live once, and sometimes it's perfectly okay to splurge. Having a child, most of the time us mothers feel guilty if we buy something for ourselves, when we know the money can go to help the household, but you know what, we can't take it with us when we go...some food for thought on this fabulous Friday!

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Erin Condren Life Planner Review

She's here and she's beautiful!

So my beautiful planner has arrived and the packing is the first little piece of beauty that you see.

I saw the FedEx lady walking across the parking lot with the packaging in hand and she couldn't have walked any slower...I practically ripped the box out of her hand to be honest.

Not only did I receive my Life Planner but they gave me a whole lot of goodies for free that I was not expecting. A lot of labels adorned with my name, and y'all know how much I love a monogram!

I loved the Party Pops planner, but was not a big fan of all the rainbow colors, so I got with ECs design team and had them do it for me in my two faves, pink and gold. I could not be happier with the way it turned out!

The planner is filled with inspiration quotes and beautiful blank pages for notes.

Lastly, they added this little sticker on an envelope...

Oh I will EC, I will!

If you have been eyeing one of these beauty's for a while, email me for $10 off your first order!

I'm off to plan...

Sometimes You Just Need A Break

If you've been reading my blog as of recent you know our Disney trip is planned, what I have failed to mention is that it is several months away. Planning a vacation out is a good thing because you can plan it well, but it also leaves you feening for a getaway!

With the cooler lowcountry weather it has me missing mojito's, maxi dresses, white sandy beaches, crabbing, fishing, short shorts and tan skin. Needless to say a weekend away has been on my mind ever since. 

Some of the best weekends we have had are the ones that we have stayed close to home. Like our weekend getaway in Savannah when we stayed at the Westin Harbor overlooking the Savannah River and Riverstreet.

Recap here.

Another local place I have always wanted to stay is the Mansion in Forsyth Park. The Mansion is an autograph collection hotel rated at 4.5 stars. It's the top of it's class in Savannah. It's located in the historic district at Forsyth Park and Calhoun Square. It only has 126 rooms and it's views and locale are out of this world! They also have one of the most amazing restaurants in Savannah, 700 Drayton.

Hubby, if you are reading this, an important date is coming up! :)

It's 5:00 somewhere...

Disney Tips

While planning out our Disney trip I have relied on reviews, blogs, and online tips to ensure that we have the very best time during our stay. However, none of these are quite as good as your own past experiences, if you have been before.

We ventured to Disney last March for a long weekend and here are some tips that I have learned and will use towards this trip!

Rent The Stroller!

Disney offers stroller rentals for something like $10 for the day. The strollers are not only large enough for your child, but for all the possessions you will inquire throughout the day. (i.e. water bottles, souvenirs, balloons) They maneuver throughout the parks perfectly and are well worth the money spent not having to load your stroller on and off the trams to and from the parks. The only negative about the stroller is the fact that there are a sea of them parked while you are waiting to ride the rides. So when you come out it's like finding a needle in a stroller hay stack! That's where my vibrant pink scarf comes in! I wear a scarf in the park, and as soon as we rent the stroller, I tie that scarf right onto the handle. Voila, I can notice our stroller as soon as we get off  the ride.

Pack a Bag!

I have never been one to take a back pack into a park, ever. Last year our lesson was learned and we actually went out and bought a back pack the first night of our trip to use the rest of the weekend. Nothing big, nothing fancy, and hell no, not a fanny pack, a small back pack! Daily we stored three bottled waters, one small bag of Cheeto's, an apple, and wet wipes. Bottled water at the gas station is $1 verses the Disney price of $5. Snacks were a great time consumer for Cadence during those long wait times and wet wipes are always necessary when you have a little one! I also stored one credit card for purchases and our camera.

Character Dining is a Must!

Waiting two hours in line to take a quick picture with Cinderella is not ideal for our family. We want to make sure that our time is devoted towards the rides, not meeting characters, which is why character dining is so important to us. When you purchase the Disney Dining Plan, you get character dining for free. You do not have to purchase the dining plan to enjoy character dining, however I do strongly suggest it. Instead of waiting in line at the parks to meet and greet your favorite character, they come up to you while you eat to sign autographs, take pictures, and even have one on one personal conversations. Score! With the recent Disney movie, Frozen, being so popular, the average wait time to meet Queen Elsa and Princess Anna is 6 hours! I could not and would not waste half of our day waiting in line to meet them when they can come up to us while we eat...character dining is worth it's weight in gold, for lack of better words!

Stay on Property!

I cannot stress enough the benefit of staying on Disney property! Don't worry if you don't have the money to spend $700 per night on the Grand Floridian, Disney has options to fit every budget. Starting at Value, to Moderate, to Deluxe. They also offer camp sites and villas. If you stay on Disney property and purchase a dining package they give you a keepsake resort mug upon arrival that you can refill at any time, for free, at your resort. You have access to the extra park hours (so if Magic Kingdom is open 3 hours later that night, you have access to it to where others staying off property do not). You get to park for free at the theme parks, or you can choose to take Disney transportation at no extra charge too. Your choice. There truly are so many advantages to staying on property!

Face the Facts!

(You're not going to do it all or see it all)

For some people (like me!) this is a hard pill to swallow. I am the type of person who likes to do it all and see it all, and unless you live in Orlando and can go to Disney any time you want to, it's impossible! Disney is always adding something new, whether it be a resort, theme park, ride or restaurant. We are staying for a full 6 days and 6 nights. Will we see every theme park while we are there? Absolutely. Will we get to do every thing in those theme parks? Hell no! There are so many dining options that we want to do, rides we want to ride, shows we want to see, and still be able to enjoy ourselves. Truth is, we can still have a blast, enjoy ourselves, relax without seeing it all. You have to let go of the mindset that you're going to go and do everything, because you're not. I recently spoke with a fellow blogger who goes to Disney annually with her family, and they stay for 14 days and still do not do or see everything, but that's why you plan Disney trips as often as you can. It's an excuse to go back and visit and do it all over again and see something new each time. What we did, as a family, Cadence included, was sit down and explain to her what character dining had which characters. We let her choose her top 5 and we designated the 6th day for our choice at a nice restaurant in Orlando. We also designated one day out of our six there, as an open day to do with what we want. Relax in the resort pool, explore Orlando, go putt-putting, and go to a water park. We're going to be going non-stop the whole time, so this day gives us an opportunity to wind down and reflect on our time there.

Get the Park Hopper Option!

If you are staying on site at a Disney property, pay the extra money and purchase the Park Hopper option. This way you can enjoy those extra park hours at any park you want. This also gives you the opportunity to eat wherever you want. Let's say you love Cinderella's Royal Table at the Magic Kingdom, but are in Epcot that day. With the Park Hopper option you can take the monorail straight to Magic Kingdom to eat, without that option, you wouldn't be allowed to enter Magic Kingdom. We made the mistake last year of being cheap and not purchasing the option. We went to Epcot and although we enjoyed Epcot thoroughly we sure wish we would have been able to go to Magic Kingdom to watch the parade one last time before leaving. This year if we want to go watch it daily we now have that option :)

Don't be Lazy, Take Pictures!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying to stop at every turn and snap a picture, but don't get caught up in ride times, show times and dinner times to forget to do so. When we went last year we had a blast and those are memories we will cherish for our entire lives, but I think we have only 10 pictures total from the trip. I was so upset after leaving that we didn't take more. I'm not going to make that mistake again this year.

Don't forget about Resort Dining!

Some of the best dining at Disney are in their resorts. Cinderella's Royal Dinner in 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian, Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort, Character Breakfast in Cape May Café at Disney's Beach & Yacht Club...I could name more! Character dining is not only at the theme parks, but a lot of the resorts offer them as well (like the ones stated above). This also gives you the opportunity to check out other Disney properties for future stays!

Plan in Advance!

Disney is much like a cruise. Once you book a vacation you can put down a $200 deposit and pay a little at a time, as long as your trip is paid off 45 days prior to arrival. I love this! We pay a little at a time throughout the year, and in no time our entire trip is paid off, dining included! You also want to plan in advance to ensure you can get dinner reservations at their most popular restaurants. Places like Cinderella's Royal Table, Be Our Guest and Chef Mickey's book up to 180 days in advance, so make sure you book those reservations as soon as you can!

Let them have the Stuffed Animal!

Each day of our trip we let Cadence choose one item to purchase. We always go into a gift shop and let her choose one thing she'd like to buy (within reason). Last year she wanted a hand painted portrait of Belle for $600, obviously we didn't get her that! :)

Most of the time children are geared towards stuffed animals. If your children are anything like my daughter that's what there going to go for, and it's perfectly okay! If Cadence comes home with 6 new stuffed animals, then the more the merrier. 

This is something we love to do for her, because she looks forward to doing it every day.

This is also where another perk of staying on property comes in to play. Last year she chose a huge Belle doll. It would have fit in the stroller just fine, but would have been a hassle to tug along on every ride with us, and let's face it, I wasn't about to leave a $30 toy alone in the stroller for people with sticky hands to take off. At no cost what-so-ever they will take your toy to your resort for you, this way when you get back from the park late that night, that toy will be right there waiting!

Enjoy the time spent with family!

the weekend

Hey lovelies. I hope your weekend was fantastic! Friday when I got home from work, boredom had set in for all three of us, however we had a day in Savannah planned on Saturday so what to do? Ride around, and have a cheap family date night! These are the most fun some times! Of course, it seems each time we do this I completely forget the Nikon, thus the iPhone photog pics of places I just couldn't resist to take pictures of.

Neither of them had any clue I was snapping a pic. I love the innocent smile on her playful little face, with her sweet little eyes closed while her daddy is kissing her forehead and grasping her hand. This picture, although not photographed in perfect lighting or a serene background, is the most perfect picture in my eyes. It says comfort, safety, love. There truly is nothing like a father/daughter relationship, and Tarl is one of the most best father's I know!

Saturday we enjoyed a day in Savannah. Victoria's Secret is having their semi-annual sale so I stocked up on bras, panties, and some perfume while it was at a discounted price. If you want to see cray cray though, go in your local VS, on a Saturday, during their semi-annual sale, it's a mad house! Tarl, though warned, was determined to brave VS with me. He did one hell of a job and even picked out a bra that we both loved :)

We also took Cadence bowling for the very first time in her life. She loved it and did really well to be honest. I came in last place though...bummer! Bowling has never been my area of expertise, but I sure do love doing it. After bowling we had to get ice cream, it's just what you do! All ice cream is made better with rainbow sprinkles, of course!

Sunday, Tarl re-did our master bedroom with new flooring. It couldn't have turned out more beautiful. My dream master bedroom is becoming more of a reality one little step at a time, and the flooring was a huge step in this process! We played outside a little, while daddy was working.

Sunday was also the big day for my budouir photo shoot. My sister tagged along for support. While waiting on the photographer to arrive we played around with the Perfect365 app.

She's ready for her cameo in True Blood!

The budouir photo shoot was one of the most fun and exhilarating experiences of my life. I just knew I was going to feel modest and vulnerable (since the photos were taken outdoors). In all honesty, it was the complete opposite. The photographer insisted that I start the shoot with more clothing to begin with, and she would slowly ease me into less and less. I had no hesitations and just went for it. I encourage each woman out there to do this. Even if you don't have someone special to show them to, do it for yourself. This way you can have pictures to look back on. I am beyond ready to see how they turned out!

Here we are at another work week. Although I enjoy my job, it still is work and I'd much rather be home snuggling with my family, but am so thankful for the blessings that the good Lord has given me. 

xo