Great Additions to Your Wardrobe for under $12

I wasn't going to blog today, but since we're friends, I had to pass on these amazing Wal-Mart fashion finds ASAP!!  I also realize that this is a funny post in the middle of the onslaught of Nordstrom Anniversary Sale posts that are currently bombarding the internet.  The reality is that I do far more shopping at Wal-Mart than I do at Nordstrom.  Enjoy all the great deals for under $12!!

1. Peplum Tops
I love peplum tops.  I always have an probably always will.  I currently don't, and may never have a super flat stomach, so these peplum tops are such a flattering look.  They're flowy and forgiving in the middle and look great on so many people.  I'd encourage you to give the peplum trend a try if you never have.  All peplum tops aren't created equally.  Keep trying them on to find a top that looks great on you!

Back to these tops.  They were all just $11.86!!

Checked, striped, pattern mixed and embroidered.

The brand is called Time and Tru.  I really love all the things in this line!
They fit true to size.  They're prettier in person, modest, flattering and would be great with a jean jacket for Fall.

I already worn them several times and only owned them for about a week.  I wore this for our date night on Friday and Kevin said he LOVED it.

2. Plaid bow flats
I stumbled on these in store and LOVE them.  They're true to size and just $5.78 a pair!!!  Again, they're from the Time and Tru brand.  I know they won't last forever, but they'll be super cute for at least one season.  They had them in denim, coral, black and plaid.

3. Bandana Scarves
These seem to be all the rage this season and I love them!!  I'm basically on board with any scarf so it's no surprise that I love these for Summer.  My Wal-Mart had a large selection of colors at patterns for $1!!!  I stuck with colors I thought I'd get a lot of wear out of and love them.  Don't pay lots for fun accessories like these.  I've seen them in popular stores for around $12 - yikes!!

Are you surprised to see these cute things were from Walmart???

Sunflowers Galore

We took a little road trip to our favorite Sunflower Maze in Paris, IL last week.  I've been watching L & A Family Farm's facebook page closely because the maze doesn't last very long.  They announce it's ready and then you have a week or so to get there.  We loved going last year and couldn't wait to go again.

I had to talk Kevin into going last year.  This year he was really excited to go.  It's amazing to see a huge field full of sunflowers.  It's hard to describe so I'll just show you tons of pictures.  The maze spelled out MARRY ME and involved a sweet proposal this year.  You can read more about the maze here.

I loved these pictures so much that I came home and quickly printed six of my favorites as 8x10s for a fun gallery wall in our family room.  It makes me smile every time I walk by them!

We tried to pick the coolest day of the week, but it was still HOT.  There's very little shade so we tried to move quickly.

Olive loved looking for flowers that were just her size.

Always love going on adventures with this guy.

They added cute benches throughout the maze this year.  We took pictures on them and enjoyed a bit of sunflower shade.

We bumped into some sweet girls in the maze and asked them to take our picture.  It was HOT, but it makes me happy to have a picture with all of us in it.  Maybe one day we'll be up for some professional sunflower pictures.  For now, my iphone pics will have to do.

Olive dance, twirled and smiled her way through the maze.
Fletcher fussed, insisted that I carry him and I wish I had brought our little stroller for him.

Look I'm a sunflower! -Olive
She kept saying, "I'm taking pictures with my mind so I'll never forget this place!!"

The bumble bees and butterflies were out in full force.  We didn't see any butterflies last year.

Kevin snapped this picture of Olive and it's my new favorite.

Real Life:  We had a great time at the maze, but I wanted to remind you that there are always challenges when you go on adventures with young kids.  This little road trip involved: one kid getting car sick, crying, whining, one kid being carried through the entire maze, lots of dust, one person getting a little overheated and a frozen pizza for dinner.  So just remember, I try to focus on the highlights and the positives, but there are always highs and lows mixed in every family adventure.

Sunflower Maze 2017
*Olive insisted on wearing her same sunny yellow dress two years in a row.

Hope you have a very happy Monday!!

The Highlights

Happy Friday!!  Hope you had a nice week.  It was a busy one with July 4th, Kevin's birthday and some fun with friends.

The highlights of our week were:

DATE NIGHT
We are trying to plan as many date nights as possible before our babysitter moves in August.  I surprised Kevin with a fun night out last Friday.  We did some organizing in his office (my favorite) because he got some new office furniture (his favorite).  We went out to a fun dinner, went for a walk at the river and got DQ Blizzards on the way home.  I LOVE this new Matilda Jane top!!

ALDI
My sweet friend Justine surprised me with this quarter keeper key chain to use when I shop at Aldi.  I hadn't seen them before and am so excited to no longer have to dig around my wallet or my car for a quarter.  Isn't it cute!?!

T-SHIRT QUILT
We surprised Kevin with a custom t-shirt quilt for his birthday this year.  I've been saving all of his Notre Dame t-shirts for years for this project.  Read all about my experience with Project Repat here.

LUNCH DATE
We met Kevin at our favorite lunch spot - Jimmy Johns!  It was fun, but the reality was... Fletcher managed to spill three cups of water, Olive was singing at the top of her lungs and eating out with kids always feels like a gamble.

4th with FRIENDS
My friend, Whitney, hosted her annual 4th of July party and it was so much fun.  We swam in their lake, played games, ate delicious food and saw some amazing fireworks.  I always love trying lots of new foods at carry in dinners.  This is one of our favorite summer events!

CHURCH
We have been going to the same church for the past few Sundays and we FINALLY hit a MAJOR parenting milestone.  We dropped both kids off in their classes and they stayed for the entire service.  Olive enjoyed her class without any tears and Fletcher recovered pretty quickly after having a meltdown at drop off.  They said he loved the Goldfish crackers, games and fun with friends.  It's been years since both Kevin and I sat in the same church service together while the kids were happily in their classes.  What a blessing!!

KEVIN TURNED 37
We went on a quick road trip to celebrate Kevin's birthday with our families.  We had a great time!  I stuck with the red, white and blue theme.  He bought fireworks.  It was lots of fun!

Kevin has the sweetest grandparents!!

Siblings:

PARTY #2
We celebrated Kevin's birthday with my family next.  My parent went all out with a homemade ding dong cake a homemade ice cream!  The taco bar was delicious and we had a great time.  Fletch sneak attacked Kevin's candles and blew out half of them himself.

The Fun uncle with all the fireworks :)

BUILD A BEAR
Kevin surprised the kids with a trip to Build a Bear.  They were thrilled!

CHICKENS & COUSINS
The kids had the best time hanging out at my sister's house.  Fletcher was super brave and loved on all the chickens.  Olive said she needed a nap afterwards because she played so hard.

Hope you have some fun plans for your weekend!!

Linking up with My Glittery Heart

HighFiveforFriday, FiveonFriday, and Momfessionals

Best Gift Ever: A T-Shirt Quilt

I have been saving Kevin's Notre Dame t-shirts for years... like 15 years.  I knew I wanted to give him a t-shirt quilt someday, but I wasn't exactly sure how to make that happen.  My sewing skills are not great.  I knew I needed to outsource this job.  I just didn't want to spend a small fortune on this birthday gift.  Insert the perfect solution: Project Repat!!

I learned about Project Repat through a friend on social media and I got so excited.  I couldn't wait to collaborate with them for this project.

Head here to read all about the company and the process of making each quilt.  If you sign up for their emails, they will send you an instant coupon code for 15% off right now!  You can also use the code "repatfriend" for 15% off.

I dusted off the box of Kevin's t-shirts and got busy prepping them to be sent off.  I was a tiny bit nervous about sending off his favorite shirts, but the company has made over 200,000 t-shirt quilts!!  That was an impressive stat that made me feel confident in their work.

You can read all about their story here.

Get all of your questions answered and watch a video tutorial on how to prep your shirts here.

I was really impressed with the process!  It was far cheaper, easier and more fun than I was expecting.

The process:
You place your order for the quilt.  Be sure to count up how many shirts you have - each side counts a quilt block so figure out if you just want to use the front, back or both of the shirts.
Pick a fleece color for the back side of the quilt.
Select shipping time.
You can pay an additional fee to choose the arrangement of your shirts.  I DID NOT do this option and was VERY pleased with the lay out they chose.

Start cutting your shirts along the seam.  Watch the tutorial video on their site and it's super easy.  I had a Gilmore Girls marathon while I cut t-shirts one night.  It took me a little over an hour to cut and choose my favorite 30 sides of shirts for Kevin's quilt.

You are responsible for the shipping cost to mail your t-shirts to the nearest manufacturing cut and sew company that they assign you to.

They email you updates along the way when they receive your box, when it's in production and it's really easy to track.  Everything was made and shipped on time.

I'd HIGHLY recommend Project Repat to anyone!!

I was so excited to give Kevin his quilt.  He was SHOCKED.  He couldn't believe that I'd saved, organized and prepared his t-shirts for a quilt.  He LOVED it and said seeing all of his favorite Notre Dame t-shirts was almost as wonderful as seeing me walk down the aisle on our wedding day.  Hahahaha  Guess that means he was a big fan :)

Do you have anyone in your life that would LOVE a t-shirt quilt???

I can't wait to use Kevin's blanket at home, when we tailgate or when we're cheering on the Irish this Fall!  It's such a fun keepsake.