Wednesday, September 9, 2015

wiww

I've had several events to dress up for lately and I have enjoyed putting together outfits for them.  I no longer have to dress up every day now that I'm not teaching so it's a treat to dress up a few times a week for events.  I love to wear statement earrings in the summer especially if I'm going to be outside in the heat.  It seems like it's been too hot for bulky necklaces.  I'm looking forward to scarf season being right around the corner.

1. Baby Shower Host
top - Old Navy
tulle skirt - GAP
necklace - Charlotte Russe
blush rose earrings - Polka-Dotty Place etsy shop
flats - Payless

2. Southern Wedding
dress - JCP (NEW)
lace top - Loft
earrings - Wal-Mart (NEW & on clearance for $3)
shoes - Clarks (NEW Macys)
Olive's dress - TJ Maxx, sandals -SeaWees, bow - Julia's Bowtique

I had originally planned to wear a cardigan with this dress, but the temps were 90+ the day of the wedding.  I tried on several different outfit combinations and loved the look of the dress with lace sleeves.  Isn't it great when you find new outfit combinations in your own closet??

Thanks for stopping by my blog!!

Southern Wedding

We got to attend the wedding of our friends in Kentucky this past weekend.  It was held at the bride's parent's farm in Kentucky and it was stunning.  I just love everything about a good Southern wedding.  We'd been looking forward to going for months.  We had a little reunion with several of our friends from Utah and were excited to spend the evening celebrating our friends Matt & Jenny.

We arrived early for the cocktail hour.
Enjoyed drinks, harp playing and checking out the grounds.
 Olive thought the harp was amazing.  She stood there just listening to him play.  When he finished a song, she'd clap and yell yay!  He seemed to appreciate his tiny cheerleader.
The twinkle lights, draped fabric and fresh flowers everywhere were quite a sight.

We got to visit with the groom.
He was Kevin's best friend in his program at Utah.
I loved all the guys in plaid bow ties.
 Olive gathered leaves, picked flowers and ran around playing super hero.  She had a blast until she got tripped up on the driveway and skinned her knee.  She recovered pretty quickly, but wanted to show everyone her ouchie.
A short storm unexpectedly blew in so we snapped a few pictures and then headed to their porch for shelter.  Olive kept running out to play in the rain and Kevin chased her around.  Luckily there were giant trees all around the house for them to hide under.

The festivities had a slight rain delay, but everything was back up and running after not too long.  Our hair got a little curlier as the evening went on and we had a great time.  I brought a bag full of snacks/toys/distractions for Olive and she did great.

 The ceremony was in the backyard.
I loved seeing the variety of bridesmaid's dresses.
The bride's brother did the ceremony.

 The tennis court was transformed into a beautiful reception site.
 The tables were so pretty!
Fresh flowers, sweet details and candles everywhere.
 Dinner didn't end up starting until 8:15.  We decided we'd stay as long as Olive could handle.  We took things a course at a time and she fell asleep in my lap after two courses, a few first dances and toasts later.  They served her gourmet mac & cheese along with some fancy applesauce.  Olive was convinced it wasn't her beloved orange mac & cheese so I happily ate it for her.  She wasn't a fan so I couldn't let it go to waste - right??  She was out cold shortly after that so we just visited with friends at our table and enjoyed our meal.  Everything was so fancy.  I loved seeing all the different courses come out.  We changed Olive into her pjs in the car and headed home. 
She was a pretty perfect wedding date.

We didn't get a picture with the bride and groom, but they were beautiful.  Olive told Jenny, the bride, that she liked her necklace and asked to touch it.  Kevin might be in trouble, because Olive can spot a diamond a mile away or in this case a diamond/emerald vintage necklace.  So happy to be a part of Matt & Jenny's special day!!

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Tuesday Talk: Potty Training

We are entering a new, foreign territory at our house called POTTY TRAINING.

Olive started showing signs she was ready to start this summer so I decided once we got moved I would work on it with her.  Her pediatrician said signs to look for to show readiness were: wanting privacy when she went to the bathroom in her diaper, announcing when she was going, being curious about the potty, going longer periods of time with a dry diaper, not wanting to wear diapers, and waking up dry from naps/bedtime.  Olive was showing many of those signs so I felt good about getting started.

I purchased a small potty,
potty seat for the potty
her favorite character underware
a few potty books
and her favorite juice & candies.

I don't think there's one right way to potty train.
Each kid is different so you have to do what works for your family.
I thought I'd share what's been working for us for the past few weeks:


We have been working hard on pottying in the potty on days when we are home.
We've had a really low key schedule and have stayed home a lot lately.

If we are out and about or traveling, she's still wearing a diaper.
She gets embarrassed when she has an accident so I don't feel like she's quite mastered pottying consistently enough to go out and about in underwear.

We give treats for going on the potty.

Read potty books often.

Setting a timer on my phone so I ask her often about pottying.

Talk all about the potty and the routine of going potty.

Practice hand washing.

Wearing lots of dresses because they are easier than messing with pants.
Summertime definitely seems like a great time to potty train :)


I'm not in a big rush since she just turned two.
We went through a phase early on of her not wanting to wear panties.
We worked through it and she's fine with them now.
She feels like it's a fun potty game we're playing and she's definitely getting better at it.
She's having less accidents and making great progress so far.
She's proud of all of her new potty things and she talks about going potty a lot.
She tells people "I potty training!"
So I'm happy with our progress
and know we still have some work ahead of us to get this new skill mastered.

Do you have any potty training tips that you'd recommend to me??
Olive and I would love to hear them :)

We have a fun giveaway going on this week!!
Several of the link up ladies are teaming up to give away a Starbucks gift card this week.  Hurry up and enter because who doesn't love a warm drink in the Fall?!?!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It's time to link up with my favorite ladies.
Come and join us with your best post from the week.


(Starting from the upper left:)
Beth - Our Pretty Little Girls ~ Michelle - Grammie Time
Keri - Living In This Season  ~ Christina - Waltzing In Beauty
Tara - Mrs. Coach Sims ~ Lauren - Simply Free
Jess and Katie - Sweet Little Ones ~ Whitney - Polka Dotty Place
Becky - BYBMG ~ Elizabeth - All Kinds Of Things
Emily - Morning Motivated Mom

Polka-Dotty Place

Friday, September 4, 2015

Wrapping Up a Great Week

It was a HOT week in Indiana.  I had hoped that the last few weeks of temps in the 70s meant that we were fast tracking Fall, but no such luck.  Hot temps ahead for the weekend so not quite scarf wearing weather just yet.  We had a nice week and the best parts were...

1. We ordered a pair of matching wing back recliners several months ago from Lazyboy and they finally came in!  We hadn't purchased any new furniture in YEARS so it was fun to get some new things.  We hope to replace the couch in the future, but love the updates for our family room.  My dad delivered them to our house yesterday and I LOVE them!  They are olive green with a faint stripe and they are so comfy.  Everyone fights to sit in them.


2. We have a wedding to go to in Kentucky on Sunday and I've had fun planning our outfits.  I picked up this dress on major sale at JCP and can't wait to cut off the tags.  I making a few modifications because the current forecast is 94 and sunny for an outdoor wedding.  It's going to be HOT, but hopefully that won't stop us from having fun.

3. My Fitbit is up and running/walking again!!  It quit syncing with my app back in July and I tried everything to fix it myself.  I finally called Fitbit customer service last week and they ended up sending me a new one for free.  Hooray!!  Now back to my 10,000 step a day goal.  Any other Fitbit fans out there??

4. We decorated for Fall this week and seeing pumpkins everywhere makes me so happy!  I put all of my plastic/indestructible pumpkins down at toddler level and kept my fragile ones up high.  I also picked up these giant acorns at Hobby Lobby this year.  They are really pretty, but they are SO FRAGILE.  The stem broke off one of them and then the other one has a hole on the backside because it got dropped.  Consider yourself warned if you're thinking of buying them.  I also picked up a bag of the small, real looking acorns at Hobby Lobby and was really happy with them.  They've got great detail and I'd highly recommend the real looking ones.

5. We had a family date night at our favorite mexican restaurant Real Hacienda.  Their salsa is delicious and I always share the rice/white cheese/chicken dish with Olive.  Chips and salsa might be Olive's favorite food and she requests it often.  We wrapped up our date by getting groceries, but everything just seems more fun when we do it together :)

Looking forward to a fun weekend.  We are headed south to visit family, celebrate a birthday, watch a lot of football and head to Kentucky to see our friends get married.  They are friends from Utah so we are looking forward to a little Utah reunion of sorts.  Hope you have a wonderful 3 day weekend!!  See you back here on Tuesday :)

Any fun plans for your weekend?