SOCIAL MEDIA

Friday, October 30, 2020

J Crew Factory Friends and Family Sale

 Hi there friends and happy Friday before Halloween! I had something else planned to go out for a post today but then yesterday morning J Crew Factory (one of my favorite stores!) send out an email that they were doing their friends and family sale. Literally EVERYTHING was on sale, some of it up to 70% off. So I put the kiddos down for their naps, left Devin in charge while he worked from home, and headed to the store! I found a lot of really cute clothes and wanted to share them with you today while they are still on sale. Let's have a look, shall we?

First up this bright yellow sweater. It was so soft I thought it was cashmere at first when I grabbed it, but apparently it's not. The description however is "crewneck sweater in extra-soft yarn" and I think that fits the bill exactly! I'm also wearing the high-waist jeans here and they were very comfortable. I still prefer the highest-waist cut though because I think it's more flattering and keeps everything tucked in 😉

Then I threw this navy blue puffer vest on top and loved how it gave the outfit a completely different look. These vests are my favorite this time of year because they are just enough to keep you warm without making you feel hot.

I thought the buttons on the neck of this sweater were cute but my hair is kind of blocking them, sorry! Here's what it looks like online:
I unbuttoned the top two buttons to give it a more relaxed look.

And then here is the same sweater with the blue puffer vest on top. Again I think throwing the vest on top makes it look like a completely new outfit despite everything being the same as the previous picture. 

And then this sweater I just loved the color of! I mean how bright and cheery is that? The color is called "bright amethyst" and I think that hits the nail right on the head. 


Then I threw another super soft sweater over the top of it, but this time it was a super soft cardigan. Same high-waist jeans here from before.


Another button neck sweater but in vintage Burgundy. Same high-waist jeans again.

Then these little bow earrings I saw and loved. I wear my pearl earrings almost every day because they're simple and go with everything. I thought this was a fun twist on the same old pearls. 
My favorite slippers were also on sale. I have these in the red/blue plaid pattern for myself but picked up two pairs in other colors as Christmas gifts. I thought the leopard looked fun! These really are my favorites because they keep my feet cozy and warm, but have a good base/grip on the bottom. 

So if you're like me and you've already started your Christmas shopping, then I'd check out J. Crew Factory! Might as well get some of those Christmas gifts checked off your list, right??

Today I am linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites. I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween weekend!!

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

What's Up Wednesday

 Good morning friends and welcome to the Halloween What's Up Wednesday! It feels like just yesterday I was writing up this post last year, talking about Halloween costumes of years past, some of our favorite neighborhood decorations and more. While in some ways this year has felt like it is crawling by, in other ways this year has flown by!

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Jack O Lantern Stuffed Peppers

 Good morning friends and happy almost Halloween! I usually do recipe posts on Thursday but thought it might be better to share them a little early in case anyone else wants to try these before Halloween. They were surprisingly easy to carve! All you will need is one of those little pumpkin carving kits you get for like $2 at Walmart/Target/any drugstore. We just so happened to have one on hand and I knew that we needed to use up the orange bell peppers, thus an idea was born!

Monday, October 26, 2020

Chasing the Fall Foliage

Good morning friends and happy Monday! We are back at home today after spending a majority of last week in the mountains trying to see all the beautiful leaves. We were lucky enough to get up there just at the tail end of "leaf season" and catch most of the leaves before they fell. I felt like every day I kept saying "It's a good thing we got here when we did, look how many more leaves are gone today!!"
Friday, October 23, 2020

Renovation Updates

 Hi there friends! I hope you all had a great week! We have been visiting my parents up in the Blue Ridge Mountains since Tuesday afternoon and it has been a dream. The weather has been perfect and there are still plenty of beautiful leaves to see. I will do a post on Monday with all my pictures but if you want to follow along for now, check us out on Instagram @dontmindourmess. And here's a quick sneak peak:

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Sweet Potato and Kale Hash

 Good morning friends! I shared this breakfast recipe on Instagram last week and several of you were asking for the recipe, so here it is! Seriously I cannot tell you enough how much it means to me when you all ask for the recipes. It makes me so happy to know that somebody out there is actually reading this stuff!! This is one of our current favorites around here. Not joking I have made this 4 times over the past two weeks and the whole family loves it-- every single time!

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

10 Favorite Spooky/Thriller Books for Halloween-- Adult Version!

 Hi there! On Monday I posted some of our favorite Halloween books for kids and it got me to thinking that maybe some of us adults would like to read a creepy/chilling/thriller type of book this time of year too! I don't know of many Halloween themed books for adults (unless you count the super famous teenage vampire series we all read but pretend we didn't 😂), but I do know some good books that'll give you that chilled-to-the-bone feeling! I don't want to give too many details and give anything away, so I just gave a brief reason why I loved it. If you're looking for something a little on the creepy side to pick up and read, have a look at these suggestions!

Monday, October 19, 2020

15 Favorite Halloween Books for Young Kids

 Good morning friends and happy Monday! We had some big plans to go up to Blowing Rock and the Blue Ridge Mountains this weekend to peep some leaves but then 2/4 of our family ended up with head colds ('tis the season!) so we decided to sleep in our own beds for a few days instead. We stopped by our house Sunday to check the renovation progress and then drove around the nearby neighborhoods looking at some fun Halloween decorations. This one was a favorite by far-- they had EVERYTHING! Witches, pumpkins, skeletons, spiders, etc. We were stopped in front of this house for like 10 minutes oohhhing and aaaahing. 😀

Friday, October 16, 2020

Our Favorite Homemade PlayDough Recipe

 Good morning friends! Last week I was making play-dough for Lily Grace's preschool class and it hit me that we make this same play-dough recipe all the time and I have yet to share it. 

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Crock Pot Butternut Squash, Carrot, and Apple Soup with Goat Cheese & Candied Pecans

 Hi there! I hope you're all having a great day so far. Last week I made this crock-pot carrot apple soup and posted it on Instagram and had several of you ask for the recipe (I love it when that happens! It makes my day!). The crock pot is one of my favorite cooking tools and I use mine ALL.THE.TIME. Especially this time of year. I mean who doesn't love coming home to a house that smells like delicious food? 

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Let's Look-- How We "Pumpkin"

 Good morning friends! Today we are sharing how we "pumpkin" which I took to be an open invitation to write about how we celebrate fall in our homes. Luckily, despite everything going on, this year hasn't been too different from years past. We still got to go to a pumpkin patch, it was just a different one than usual and we had to make a reservation. We are still planning to trick or treat (our neighborhood has okay-ed it!) but there will be some different rules/regulations involved. If there's anything I've learned this year, it is to be grateful for the things we do have and not the things we are missing out on! Here's a look at what we've been doing to celebrate fall in our home!

Monday, October 12, 2020

Not Just a Mom-- Getting Crafty

 Good morning friends and happy Monday! Today we have our monthly "Not Just a Mom" post and the theme is "Getting Crafty". While I know the entire point of this is our lives as Not Just a Mom, if I'm being honest, I get my crafty side out through my kids these days, so they're included in today's post. 😊

We really do love some good arts & crafts around here and we just so happened to be working on our Halloween cards over the weekend-- so I'm going to share them today! Each year I love to have the kids help make some homemade cards to send out to friends and family. In 2018 Lily Grace made these:

Friday, October 9, 2020

Trader Joe's Fall Items Ranked

 Hi friends! Happy Friday! Over the past few weeks we have been trying out several of Trader Joe's fall food items. I always love to see what other people get at Trader Joe's-- especially their seasonal food! I know that people have different tastes, so I thought it might be fun to have both Devin and I rank the different items on a scale of 1-10. That way you could see if both of us loved an item or if only one os us did. There was also one item that we both did NOT like! 

Fair warning, this is only a handful of Trader Joe's fall items because as you all know, TJ's does a LOT of fall foods! There was no way we could buy them all and taste test them all within a timely manner! When I go again this weekend I will try to grab a few different things if they're still there!

Look through the items below and tell me your thoughts. Have you tried any of these? What did you think? Are there any you haven't tried yet but would like to?

Thursday, October 8, 2020

Green Machine Smoothie Bowl

 Good morning friends! If you are following along with me on Instagram then you know we are going through a smoothie bowl phase. There is just something about these that make the most delicious and healthy breakfast (or afternoon snack!). Today's is packed with fruits and veggies, a great way to start the day!

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Fall Family Pics-- Outfit Choices 2020

Good morning friends! It's that time of year again where we start thinking "what on Earth we are going to wear for our fall family pictures?!" At least I do 😊 Our fall pictures are just a few weeks away and I have started piecing together what we are going to wear. I have already purchased most of our stuff, now I just need to lay it all out and make sure if all looks good together, without being too matchy-matchy. Here is the look we are going for this year:

Monday, October 5, 2020

From iPhone to Droid and Back to iPhone

 Good morning friends and happy Monday! Over the past two years I have said several times that I would tell you my whole spiel about why I left the world of iPhone/Apple products and switched to Droid, but have never gotten around to it. Well, if you read my post last Friday you may have noticed that I got a new phone case and screen protector... for an iPhone 11 Pro. So... I switched back. 😬 Let's talk about why, shall we?

Friday, October 2, 2020

What I'm Priming-- September Edition

 Good morning friends! It's time for the monthly roundup of what I've been priming. We didn't get a whole lot this month, but I know with Prime Day coming up in October that may be a different story next month! Are you all looking at anything in particular for Prime Day? Devin is trying to convince me we need to get a Ring security system, but I like the one we currently have... do any of you have a Ring? What are your thoughts? 

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Tropical Smoothie Bowl

Good morning friends! We have been on a big smoothie bowl kick lately for breakfast. They are something that just never gets old to me! And it's always good to start the day with a big bowl full of fruits and veggies. Here is one our recent recipes: