Girls Traveling

a quick and thoughtful holiday gift with walmart photo

Friday, November 27, 2015

Oh, hi Christmas! You're one month away. I guess that means it's finally time to get my act together and get organized on our gifting this year.

Usually I keep a running list in the notes section in my phone throughout the year and when I come across an idea I like - jot that down! Come November...it makes things a lot easier and less stressful.

Luckily, this year I have two of the more difficult gifts all figured out, and it was so, so easy.

It was also the perfect opportunity to put to work all those family pictures we had taken months earlier. I mean...those couldn't just be for our Christmas card!

so now I ask, what do grandparents love second to their grandchildren?

Answer - PICTURES of their grandchildren. The more the merrier, right?

Well, how about 12?

I picked out 12 of my most favorite pictures from our fall family photo session and uploaded them to the Walmart Photo site and picked my favorite style of calendar. I went with the 8x11 black and white frame because these are gifts and I wasn't sure on which style would be most appreciated by the grandparents, but the site has TONS to choose from.

Then I just plugged our photos into the appropriate months - September was graced with a picture of my farmer and me since we have September birthdays, and October with our best gals because they are both October babies. Heaven forbid either grandparent forget these important months!

Once I completed my order, the calendar arrived super quickly. But better yet, if you order in-store or online, you can do same-day pickup. Walmart obviously makes it too easy for procrastinators...such as myself.

Even better? The calendar is on sale! it's currently on rollback until January 31st from $17.47 to $12. so if budget is the name of the game in your house (ahem...I need to practice this!) - you can't beat $12 with same-day pick-up! but if you really don't want to leave the comfort of your home (which is me because the nearest Walmart is 35 minutes away) Walmart is offering free shipping on photos and gifts through December 30, 2015. Thank you Walmart. Thank you for giving me every excuse to stay in my yoga pants and fluffy socks on these ridiculously chilly days.

If you're an overachiever and make it to one of their 3,500 Walmart Photo locations, you can pull photos right from your phone at their photo kiosk either via the Fujifilm Kiosk Photo Transfer App...or you can connect with a cable. Super snappy and easy.

What I'm saying is...happy holidays. I just helped you shop for a super cute, super fast, super inexpensive gift. (Or maybe you want to keep it for yourself? That's a definite option!)

Have a look at all the great Walmart social media sites to stay up to date and inspired -

Be sure to visit Walmart Photo's brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers' posts.

our holiday card with minted

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

oh mercy. is it that time? time to order holiday cards and get them stuffed // addressed // stamped // mailed?

and why is it that actually physically putting them in the mailbox is the hardest step for me? no joke - i've had bundles of invitations or cards sit on the counter for weeks before. i blame it on the fact that our driveway is nearly a mile long.

regardless, i order our holiday cards from minted each year and i'm always thrilled with the quality and packaging...even if the picture on the front is less than...less than.

and because i know you guys are always game for getting a laugh at my expense, last year -

but this year. this year will be different. there are so so so many beautiful cards to choose from it's hard to narrow down. i'm particularly drawn to the foil-pressed cards. let me just show you...

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

see! all. so. pretty! and the best part is that you can buy them in a complete package! meaning - they'll print all your addresses beautifully for you AND you can order a corresponding return address wrapper sticker. it's the cherry on top!

i can't wait to receive our cards. i ordered them last week...so any day. i'm feeling very on top of my game, especially considering i decorated for christmas yesterday. more on that a different day. (it involves a crazy idea to switch all our furniture from upstairs to downstairs. #thoughtitwouldbeeasy)

happy happy thanksgiving, everyone! eat too much. feel a little sick. take a nap. eat some more. yay gluttony.

SAWYER | ONE YEAR (+ WHY I'M MOM OF THE YEAR)

Monday, November 23, 2015

of course i'm mom of the year. it's what i do.

and by mom of the year i mean my sawyer is now 1 year and 1 month and i have yet to do any sort of 12 month post. you know...the biggest one aside from her birth.

i mean...big picture - not that big of a deal.

but in the documentation of my children's lives - kind of a big deal.

so lemme tell you all about my muffy mc-muffs-a lot. my squishy cuddle bitty boo. my bittles mc bitty boo boo la roo. (i could go on and on.)

thinking back to the beginning of my sawyer-muff's life...she was just so darn different from her sister.

i remember the nurse waking me every two hours with kaye saying she was hungry. with kaye in our hospital room she was grunting and rustling and crying and squawking. but my sawyer was a sleeper. she was so relaxed. so chill. she was in our room the entire time. you never would have known she was there. but i just knew something would flip and we'd have another veracious, stage five clinger on our hands at any moment.

one month, two months, three months passed. sawyer was still our sleepy, sweet muffin who was so so happy to just sit on the couch and get her relax on. in fact...sawyer was such a good newborn we were actually able to have her in our room until she was five months. (with kaye - i painfully and sleeplessly had her in our room until she was three months.)

at four months our sawyer started to wake up and show her personality, but it's hard to describe that personality as anything but sweet and easy-going.

sawyer just snuck her little way right into our family and hearts.

five months and six months came and went and it became apparent that we were going to have another determined gal on our hands. she was determined to roll over. she was determined to sit up. she was determined to crawl. however, she did each of these milestones with a level of caution - a far cry from the reckless-abandon demonstrated by her sister on the daily.

catching up to present day and it's wild to see how much she's changed. i think it's safe to say...the other shoe kind of dropped. we have another stage five clinger on our hands who follows me from room to room to room to room crying. a clinger who doesn't like when i try to make dinner. a clinger who thinks i can do everything one-handed. a clinger.

but in the same breath i can say she's still the sweetest, squishiest little muffin. she cuddles so hard. she squeezes back when we hug her. if we ask for a kiss she'll comply about 25% of the time.

have i mentioned i do believe she's smart! my gal knows where her nose and eyes are. yeah. super smart. dare i say - gifted.

sawyer loves playing with any toy her sister has, and will go to battle for it. she has an incredibly intimidating war cry that has startled kaye to the point of submission. i laughed so hard until i realized kaye was crying. sawyer is definitely not afraid to stick up for herself. she learned quickly that being a push-over in a family of stubborn wasn't going to be in her best interest.

our sawyer is the happiest girl, quick to smile, and has the very best laugh. she absolutely loves patty cake and still can't get enough of peek-a-boo.

sawyer has recently decided she loves to cuddle with kaye and to see kaye squeeze her back - i'm not sure there is a better feeling. i'm beyond thrilled to watch their relationship develop and grow. to hear tell me, "bitty's my best friend!" i positively melt.

our sawyer is our best gal and brings everything to our family. we adore our her and love her and love her and adore her.

S T A T S

height - 28 inches (12th percentile)

weight - 19 pounds (40th percentile)

teeth - 4 with two more top teeth on the way

words - mama, dada...but so much blabbering. also notable - her war cry.

shoe size - tiny tiny! 6 - 12 months...barely.

favorites - being held, hugging play dolls or stuffed animals, pink blankie, reading books, pushing buttons on the remote, farming with dad, eating

favorite food - food in general. she loves an enchilada, homemade chicken nuggets, baked sweet potato fries, fruit and veggie pouches, blueberries

oh hey, friday! | i'm taking a big, fat pass

Friday, November 20, 2015

all the forgiveness. i'm taking a pass for oh hey, friday! this week.

i came down with the flu on tuesday and i haven't been able to get my act back together.

and by flu i mean i may have single handedly food poisoned myself with a large jar of nutella. is that even possible?

maybe.

i was sick. sick as a dirty dirty dog...who ate nutella. and we all know that a dog who eats chocolate...well, it's not good.

so...get your oh hey-ing! on without me.

and ps. amy and i are taking next friday off as well...you know...because we'll still be giving thanks and all.

so we'll see you back here on december 4th! (with a new holiday button, obvs!)

1 | grab this here snazzy fall-themed button and link back to Sept. Farm.

2 | link up your post at the bottom of this post.

3 | tell all your friends + have a fantastic friday.

i need your advice...

Monday, November 16, 2015

i need your advice on matters of the heart.

and by heart i mean...i need your advice on lots of things, but nothing extremely important.

so...not matters of the heart.

+ i have thick eyebrows...but THICK eyebrows are in, right? i mean...it's all about framing the face. guess this means i need an eyebrow pencil or something like that? so...what's your favorite?

+ christmas. it is RIGHT around the corner. i can think of 1001 things to get myself...just check out my shopping while tipsy post from saturday...but i always have the hardest time picking out something for my farmer. like...something really good. one year i got him a go pro. that was a fun gift. so...what's something awesome i can get for the jack of all trades kind of guy? (don't say clothes.) what's your favorite gift you've ever purchased for the guy in your life?

+ holiday decorations. i'm ITCHING to get them out. i'm ready to transform our house. have you decorated yet?

+ we're traveling to california to my sister's house for thanksgiving...and we've decided to drive, not fly. that's 10 hours in the car. any amazing car-riding advice for my two best gals and me? we'll definitely be packing our favorite road trip snack - popcorn. and i think we'll be splitting the trip up and staying over in tahoe. but what else? what do i need to have ready to keep my best gals happy, which in turn, will make me super happy?

+ netflix. i finished sons of anarchy a few weeks back (O-M-Good Lord!). and since then, my motivation to get on the treadmill has been wavering. i need a new series! what's your latest go-to show? (i've seen - SOA, parenthood, dexter, orange is the new black, weeds)

+ final question - i'm all about being healthy, but lately all i want is comfort food and sweets. that's a problem. (i mean...moderation is okay, but all the time? no.) what's your favorite healthy snack? or maybe your favorite thing to eat post-workout? (that seems to be when i get my hANGRYest.)

happy monday friends.

happy. freaking. monday.

ps. and because i totally need to keep earning mula for my main man's christmas present (that is still undecided) i'm going to offer 60% off my feature post ad space to two people!! use the code FARMERSPECIAL!

saturday | have you ever gone shopping a little tipsy?

Saturday, November 14, 2015

one time, years and years ago (pre children and pre farmer) i had made my way to the mall on a fine fine saturday.

i needed to pick up some new work pants. one thing...i needed one thing.

i called my friend to see what she was up to, you know, to see if she wanted to do some mall browsing with me.

as fate would have it, she too was at the mall! (except for she was offering wine tastings.)

W I N E T A S T I N G S ! ummm...okay.

i wandered upstairs to where she was stationed...and thus began my first pour. a heavy pour.

one turned into two tastings and two turned into ????? i'm not sure.

that's when i went shopping for those work pants i needed.

and just like the wine - work pants turned into several new tops. several new tops turned into a new bra. a new bra turned into some shoes...etc. etc. etc. i think i may have even purchased some makeup.

i spent so much $$money$$ that day. i looked like cher from clueless holding all of her colorful shopping bags. #winegoggles

as it turns out...when you're a little buzzed EVERYTHING looks so good you have to buy it.

you and my bank account will be pleased to know that i ended up returning most of the items the following week, but that does't mean i didn't learn a VERY valuable lesson -

shopping after you've had a sip or two is F.U.N.

which brings me to this fine saturday morning - i have a bit of bailey's in my coffee. the girls are eating breakfast and watching their cartoons.

and i am online shopping. (don't tell my farmer.)

this morning i'm on the hunt for some home decor (we're finally finishing our basement bathroom!) and maybe even a few gifts.

here's a light i'm considering for either side of the mirror in our bathroom. i want something different. not the typical bathroom light selection. i also want it to be totally girly. no farmers allowed. i was considering this flush mount, but our house gets so dusty and i think i would have to clean each little glass ball all the time.

i bought a holiday duvet (i change our bedding seasonally) last year, but i'm kind of in love with buffalo check this year...and i think i need this one.

these sheets would go perfectly with the new duvet.

but back to gifts for people...

this cheese board would make for a nice gift for the entertainer in your life. i mean...who doesn't love cheese...and boards.

ooo...all of a sudden i think we need a new bed frame for our guest bedroom. this one fits the bill. or maybe one magical day when we have our mountain cabin i'll put it there. that's a good idea.

also...these pillow covers are on sale now!! i bought two a few months ago and they are so wonderfully soft and look beautiful.

speaking of beautiful...how lovely would these sheets be with all white or ivory bedding. swoooooon.

has anyone else been into moscow mules the past few years? i recently tried one for the first time about a month ago and i'm soooold. there are some great recipes for holiday mules all over pinterest, which means i probably need these mugs. probably. plus they are on sale...that's a win. (ooo...these would make great gifts, too!)

should i be done shopping yet?

i could go into a pottery barn store, park it one of their glorious couch displays and then shop potterybarn.com all day. that would look hysterical, but i really could do it.

i'll just finish this shopping session up with one last want. we're in need of new bedside tables and i've had my eyeball on this one. i love the white, but i'm not sure it would be a good idea to get something without shelving and a drawer. it would definitely cut down on clutter, though!

____________________________________________

light // plaid sheets // mug // table
cheese board // copper mugs // crystal light // buffalo duvet
metal bed // pillows // fa la la sheets // ornament

oh hey, friday! | give me all the ice cream

Friday, November 13, 2015

hey hey party people.

and by party people...i mean not me. it's thursday night and i have a raging headache. i also have two gallons of ice cream that the schwan's man delivered tonight. it's calling to me.

must. be. strong.

but trust me...i'm considering every excuse in the book.

+ i have a headache - better eat some ice cream.
+ my farmer is out combining corn - better eat some ice cream.
+ i didn't eat healthy all day, so why start now? better eat some ice cream.

the list goes on and on. i'll let you know how it all works out.

but before i more than likely indulge...let's get linked up. it's oh hey, friday! after all.

1 | grab this here snazzy fall-themed button and link back to Sept. Farm.

2 | link up your post at the bottom of this post.

3 | tell all your friends + have a fantastic friday.

C U R R E N T L Y
1 | currently i'm trying to keep myself out of the freezer. i'm desperately trying to get back on the fitness train. i wouldn't say my workouts have been lacking...but my eating. let's just say i've been going without want. give me all ice cream, cheese, beer, bacon, cake, frosting, cookies. and guess what, while it sure does taste delicious...i've been feeling like total garbage. time to get things ship shape up in here...(up in here).
2 | currently i'm contemplating on whether or not it might be too harsh to write a post about why some bloggers won't be able to quit their job to blog. lord knows i'll never be able to turn this space into a full time gig. and guess what...there are lots of others who have those aspirations that won't make it fly either. and it's because of a myriad of reasons - not interesting content, poor writing style, consistency, lacking the it factor, etc. but i guess we can't fault ourselves for trying. so maybe i won't write that post...
3 | currently i'm trying to figure out if a third kid is in the cards. man...that has got to be the toughest decision...ever. i swore swore swore i would be done after two. and i'm 88% sure that we are. but i always dreamed of a big family. but i don't want to be pregnant again. i don't want to nurse again. i don't want to not sleep again. #selfish
4 | currently watching dirty dancing. i remember i saw this movie for the first time when i was young young. like...far too young to be watching 20-somethings GA-RIND on each other. and definitely too young to watch a show where the employees were sleeping with much older married women...and a 17 year old concurrently. ummm...where were my parents? all the same...dirty dancing holds a very special spot in my movie heart.
5 | currently feeling so super proud of party & paper! samantha of cotton tales posted pictures of a party she threw...and i designed all the paper goodies for it! go have a look! not to mention i'm beyond jazzed that i'll be designing quite a few of your holiday and christmas cards this year! you guys...you make me so happy! thank you thank you!
and as always...if you're in need of any paper goods, be it invitations // business cards // flyer // party banner // visual branding board // something i haven't mentioned, please please send me an e-mail! i'd love to discuss your ideas!
get yourself linked up!

our family pictures - 2015

Thursday, November 12, 2015

friends...i SWEAR this is the final round of family pictures i'll be throwing all over the internet. and i apologize in advance for sharing so many...but historical documentation people. my grandchildren's grandchildren will cherish this space. (right? or something like that.)

so here is what we know about family pictures -

1 | it's a nightmare to pick out coordinating outfits that don't look too coordinated...more effortless.

2 | trying to get two small, emotional beings to cooperate and smile and be happy and be candid is a roller coaster in itself.

3 | enjoying a beverage or two pre-pictures - i highly recommend.

4 | my dress looks more like a shirt. ummm...whoops.

again, i can't thank stephanie mballo for her great eye, quick trigger finger, and patience with our family. she captured so many wonderful pictures of my favorite people. we'll treasure these pictures forever...or at least until next year when i decide to put on an inappropriately short dress and have her take more.

is anyone else seeing how dead in the eyes kaye is here? as if she would rather be doing anything else in all of the world. anything. well, don't worry little girl...your farmer feels the exact same way about family pictures. poor gal.

however, this one...this one is a favorite. kaye may be poking her eye out, but everyone else looks great and you can't see how short my dress is.

kaye gave me about 25 kisses here. i'd take 25 more if she'd let me.

i also asked stephanie to grab some of my farmer and me. we haven't had any pictures together since our wedding, so i was so so happy when these came back as framers.

all we had to do was ignore our children for three minutes.

the most handsome farmer around.

kaye + sawyer | a birthday recap

Monday, November 09, 2015

happy birthday to my two best gals!

yes, their big days were october 24th and october 30th...but things have been busy. and i may have not wanted to look at anything else that was red // green // or a shade in between since then. no thanks. it's still hard to stomach.

is anyone else of the same conclusion that these parties are so. much. work! are they worth it? according to my fitbit...i walked nearly 20,000 steps that day. that's like...eight miles and i didn't even work out. i was just running around like a crazy person.

and with all that...here's how it went down...

i had this suuuuuper grand idea to create all my best gal's paper goodies. i mean...i do dabble in this kind of stuff, so why wouldn't i make their invitations, party banner, cute straw flags, etc?

when it came down to it, i was already busy enough making other goodies for various clients! i certainly didn't want to add one more thing to my plate. that's when minted came in to save the day.

i've worked with minted in the past, and you know what...worth it. their products are wonderful. the paper is thick and quality. their products are always adorable. and there were lots of different goodies to choose from to tie the party together. win win win - win all around.

i ended up choosing this sweet strawberry themed party...but it was super hard to narrow it down, because they have SO MANY to choose from...and they are all adorable. seriously, have a look.

the day had me super nervous...i mean...it was late october in idaho. you really never know what you're going to get on the weather front. but, according to the forecast it was supposed to be 68º that day...uh, that didn't happen. i think it was closer to 60º with a wind. i felt terrible for our nearly 50+ guests. (yes, between children and adults we had that many people. rent a bounce house...they will come.)

to keep friend and family warm i had four batches of chili bubbling inside. in hindsight...i should have just had the party inside...but the bounce house! i guess the kids could have just gone crazy outside...no parental supervision needed, right?

in addition to chili, i whipped up a SUUUUUPER delicious batch of sparkling apple cider sangria. if you're ever looking for a fall-themed party drink...this beverage is where it's at. i drank about five glasses of this delicious concoction...i had no trouble staying warm.

when the kiddos weren't busy bouncing their sugar out i asked my farmer's sister if she could do some face painting and she was more than happy to help.

she already had her face painted like a cat...so of course, kaye wanted to be a cat too.

we had butterflies, lions, and other various animals running around.

sawyer opted out of actual paint and went for frosting instead. when you think about it, she had the better idea.

i'm not super sure what animal she was going for, but it looked good and it was super fun to kiss her sweet face. #couldntgetenough

yes, sawyer's name is missing the Y. someone decided that bending and chewing it in her free time was the best idea.

we opted out of any sort of present opening this year...don't get me started. okay...you got me started.

i asked guests to not bring gifts for the girls this year. and farmer and i didn't get the girls any presents either. that's right...zero birthday presents was the idea. now, before you start to think that we are the meanest parents EVER...here's why...

my girls are SPOILED. spoiled beyond...i don't know what.

between my farmer...me...my farmer's parents...our neighbors...and other people in our gal's lives they are literally getting presents ALL THE TIME. all the time. i would absolutely hate for presents to become the expectation, rather than the excitement of it all.

i want my girls to value the people in their lives, not the gifts the people give them. because time is the best gift of all...isn't it? who cares about the doll with the jacked up hair they got at their birthday...but wasn't it amazing that so many people dedicated their saturday afternoon to celebrate my gals? yes...jacked up barbie is going in the trash in a few ~~months~~ years. but you can't throw experiences away!

the best part? my gals had zero clue that they missed out on a birthday expectation. granted, a few people did break the rules and brought gifts. i let the girls open one a day for the next few days and of course it was fun to see them excited. it was also fun to watch them play with the toy for an entire day before it lost it's shine.

i could go on and on and on about this...but i'll stop.

the party was so so fun and i can't thank all the attendees enough for helping to celebrate my two best gals.

we handed out little cookie jars as thank you's to all our friends and family.

i made little recipe cards to match the strawberry invitations i snagged from minted...not to mention, the cookies were delicious. win // win.

i love how the party came together and all the special touches from minted.

i did run out of time to make little smash cakes for both girls...so they had to settle for cupcakes with candles in them. in addition, the wind was blowing too much for the candles to stay lit...luckily we did a re-do on kaye's actual birthday a few days later, so kaye's wish still has a chance of coming true...even though she stated it to us out loud.

and a huge thank you to minted, again, for providing all the lovely paper goodies for my gal's birthday party. it added all the special touches to make the day picture perfect!