Friday Favorites-- a Summer Giveaway!

 Hello friends! I hope you are having a nice week. We officially have a kindergartner in our house and I am equal parts excited and also wondering where my tiny little baby went. 

Fall Family Pictures 2021

 Good morning friends and happy Friday! Earlier this week I shared that we had our fall family pictures taken and received our proofs back. We were finally able to narrow down the pictures we wanted and I am happy to share them with you! 

Friday Favorites-- Halloween Edition

Good morning friends and happy Friday! We are all excited about Halloween around here and have been doing everything we can to get in the festive spirit. This week we made our annual homemade Halloween cards to send out to friends and family. 

Friday Favorites-- Trader Joe's Edition, the Frozen Section

Today I am linking up with Erika and Andrea for Friday Favorites and I am sharing some of my all time favorite finds from Trader Joe's.. but everything from the FROZEN SECTION. Why from the frozen section? We were so blessed last time we had a baby that several family members/friends/neighbors brought us food and it spoiled us rotten. Then, we ate all the food and realized "oh snap, we actually have to start cooking again??". I am "prepping" in advance for some last minute meals that don't require anything from me except popping it into a microwave. Because when I'm not getting any sleep, making a home cooked meal is NOT how I plan on spending my time. #mustgetsleep #andmaybeashower

Friday Favorites-- Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale

Good morning friends and happy Friday! I am officially on maternity leave-- woohoo! I now have a glorious week and a half (give or take) where LG has started preschool before the baby's due date. Wouldn't it be my luck that the baby will come tomorrow and I won't get to enjoy any "quiet time" before the craziness hits?? Hah! 

Today I am linking up with Erika and Andrea for Friday Favorites to share with you some of what I **hope** to see as a part of the Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale. In case you didn't already know, the sale begins in stores this weekend and online Monday.
 This is the BEST time of year to buy Lilly Pulitzer items at a heavily discounted rate. Last year I grabbed a swimsuit, a couple maxi dresses, and some dresses for Lily Grace. I love buying her dresses from the sale because when they're heavily discounted I don't worry as much about things getting on them/them getting stained. 

Here is what I am hoping to see go on sale:

Pearl Stretch Shift Dress-- I love these classic shift dresses because they will still be in style for years to come. They are also so flattering on every body type. 

Friday Favorites-- What I've Been Wearing to Work

Good morning and happy Friday! Today I am linking up with Erika and Andrea for Friday Favorites and am sharing an update for What I've Been Wearing to Work, baby bump style 😉 

 Dress (old, but similar here)

Friday Favorites-- Life Lately

Good morning! I hope you all have some nice plans for the weekend. I am off to Blowing Rock, NC for the last weekend of summer before school begins. I am looking forward to some family time, some cooler temps, and some relaxation! 

Today I am linking up with Erika for Friday Favorites. This week's FF is a random hodgepodge of things that have been going on around here lately. 

Friday Favorites-- Another Random Assortment

Good Morning and happy Friday! Our week feels a little off because we are still on vacation in Colorado. Vacation days all kinda feel like a Friday, right?

Before we get started today I wanted to remind you that there is still time to join the "Weekend Highlights" link up from Monday. I love learning more about the people who read my blog, so please feel free to link up with what you and your family have been up to. It'll be so nice to put a face with the names of you sweet readers!!

Friday Favorites-- Kids Swimwear Edition

Good morning and greetings from Jacksonville, FL! We are in town this weekend for a wedding and are looking forward to some quality family time, including today's trip to the beach! If you don't already follow along with us on Instagram, come join us! My name is allaboutthatmommylife18

Today I am linking up with Erika for Friday Favorites and the topic is all about kids swimwear... let's get to it!

Our local pool just opened this past weekend and we have already been a handful of times this week. It was a whopping 96 degrees here on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday-- yuck-- so we've been trying to stay cool by hanging out in the pool. 

Friday Favorites-- A Random Assortment

Good morning, happy Friday, and happy Memorial Day Weekend!!!! I don't know about you, but we LOVE Memorial Day Weekend around here. The weather is almost always beautiful, we get to spend some time outside together with family and friends, and Devin gets an extra day off work to spend with us. It doesn't get much better than that!

Today I am linking up with Erika for Friday Favorites and am sharing a few of my  recent obsessions. 

Friday Favorites-- Nordstrom Finds Lately

Good Morning and happy Friday!! Today I am linking up with Erika for Friday Favorites to share some of my favorite recent finds at Nordstrom. 

This baby bump is growing bigger by the day and I am trying SO hard to avoid maternity clothes for as long as I can. I have been on the hunt for some "regular" clothes that will still accommodate a growing belly without having that "maternity" look to it. Do any of you hate maternity clothes as much as I do? I am all about spending a good amount of money on clothes, but only when I can wear them year after year. I HATED that so many of the cute maternity clothes were so expensive. I didn't want to drop hundreds of dollars on clothes I may never wear again. Yes, this is my second pregnancy, but LG was born in May and this baby is due in September, which means I don't have any summer maternity clothes-- sigh. 

So I have been on the lookout for clothes that can work with a larger tummy, and unfortunately my favorite go-to store, J. Crew Factory, doesn't have the best selection for that. I hopped on over to Nordstrom to see what they had and was blown away by all the great choices! They had so many cute items that could work with a larger tummy, but also for next year when that tummy is (hopefully) smaller again. 

Here is what I found:

Friday Favorites-- A Random Assortment

Good Morning and happy Friday!! Today I am linking up with Erika and Andrea for Friday Favorites to share a random assortment of things I've been loving lately. 

Friday Favorites- Devin's Birthday Edition

Good Morning and happy Friday! Today I am linking up with Erika for Friday Favorites and I am sharing one of my BIGGEST favorites over the past week: Devin's birthday!

 Crowder's Mountain, NC 

The view from the top of the mountain

Friday Favorites Maternity Activewear Edition

Good Morning ladies and happy Friday! This week was my spring break so not surprisingly it FLEW by. We had a great time going on a quick trip to Charleston (you can read about it here and here) and then spent the rest of our break here at home. 

Today I am linking up with Erika to share something that has been getting a lot of use lately-- maternity activewear. This baby bump is growing bigger and bigger and while I am loving it, I am trying to keep it at JUST the bump that's getting bigger and not everywhere else too :) 

Friday Favorites-- Easter Edition

Good morning friends!! Devin and I are currently toddler free and enjoying the first little bit of my spring break from Charleston, SC. 

Friday Favorites-- Easter Outfits Edition

Good Morning! Today I am linking up with Erika for Friday Favorites and we are talking coordinating Easter outfits for the family!

Earlier this week I was on the hunt for Easter outfits for our family, and while I know they look super cheesy, I wanted the three of us to have coordinating Easter outfits. Living in the South, Lilly Pulitzer is EVERYWHERE on Easter, so typically I wear a Lilly dress and Devin will find a button down shirt to match me. This year however I wanted us to try to include Lily Grace in the mix. If any of you like coordinating outfits for holidays then keep reading below! I found a few cute options from various stores and have linked them for you. 

Friday Favorites-- Gardening Edition

Good Morning and happy Friday! Today I am linking up with Andrea for Friday Favorites and sharing some of my tips on how we prepare our garden. 

A hibiscus flower from my tree last year.

Friday Favorites-- A Random Assortment

Good morning! The weather here today is supposed to be 73 and sunny... does it get any better than that?? If you are looking for us we will be outside soaking in the sunshine and beautiful temperatures!

Today I am linking up with Andrea for Friday Favorites and it is a whole random assortment of things for you today.  

My first favorite is actually one of Lily Grace's favorite things, but has become one of mine too because of something I picked up on one day while reading to her. 

Friday Favorites-- Skin Care Edition

Good Morning! Today I am linking up with Andrea for Friday Favorites. Today's is all about my skincare regimen and my favorite skincare products. 

Okay first let me start by saying the most important thing I do to take care of my skin is make an annual dermatologist visit to have my skin checked. Unfortunately in high school/college/shortly after college I spent way too much time in tanning beds. I've written about it before here, but after my several years using tanning beds, I eventually had a mole come back as "severely abnormal" in 2014. Fast forward to fall of 2018 and I had another "severely abnormal" mole. As my dermatologist put it, "this isn't cancer, but it is cancer's next door neighbor." Yikes. I'm honestly hoping that none of my readers out there were as foolish as I was, but something tells me I'm not the only one in this boat. 

Friday Favorites-- Book Edition

Good Morning! Today I am linking up with Andrea for Friday Favorites and since many of my friends out there are getting ready for Spring Break, I figured it would be a good idea to post some of the books I've been reading over the past year. If you have a flight in your future, or some down time on the beach, maybe you'll pick up one of these books before you go!

I try to read about 3-4 books every month and review them in my monthly "Book Club" posts. If you're interested in any of the following books, click the link for each month and you can read my thoughts on them: