WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY | JULY 2019

Hey hey hey!  It's What's Up Wednesday!  I love these posts but haven't done one since March!  I can't believe it's been that long but March is right around the time I start just hanging on by a thread when it comes to school and sports and work and blah blah blah so I can see how I veered off course. ;)

But I'm here today, linking up with Shay and Sheaffer, and our July has been a busy busy one so I've got a lot to post!

BRANSON, MO 2019 | PART 3

I'm back today with our final full day in Branson!  You guys, this was seriously such a fun, kid-friendly vacation.  There was so much to do, so many things to see and we just didn't have enough time to do it all.  But we fully intend on going back for all the stuff we missed.  I cannot recommend it enough.  Your kids will love every second of it and when they have kids, they'll bring their kids too.  Great memories.

If you missed the first two posts you can find them here:

Part 1

Part 2

Now let's get on to our last day!

FRIDAY FAVORITES #102

Another week of our summer is gone, friends!  We are 3 weeks away from a new school year and as much as I LOVE summer...I'll be glad to have my house to myself again.  My kids are driving me crazy.  Is that ok to admit?  😂🤦‍♀️  Every day its a house full of noise and friends and random cups, bottles of water, trash from all their snacks and a pantry that never stays stocked.  And Nerf darts.  So.Many.NerfDarts.  They are living their best life though so I try not to fuss too much.  

LET'S TALK...KETO.

I know I've been promising this post for a while now over in the FB group but I had no idea so many of you were curious about Keto!  So I wanted to do a good job on this post and throw in as many tips, tricks, recipes, and products as I could so you could have a comprehensive view of "Why I Keto"...and how. I knew this "Let's Talk..." series would be the best way to do it.
 (You can find my "Let's Talk...Makeup" post HERE.)

PS:  There's a lot of info in here so it might be a great idea to pin that graphic above to your new Keto board on Pinterest (b/c you'll want one of those!) and come back to it when you need to.  Plus, I'd appreciate it. ;)

So, I really went back and forth over putting my actual weight on the blog.  I don't want people to look at it like "Wow, she was a lot bigger than I thought" or "Is she serious?  She didn't need to lose any weight and this is all over the top.".  I'm not great at being vulnerable and that's how I feel sharing it so please be nice!

 But after I saw the response I got when I asked if anyone had Keto questions on my Instagram post the other day, I felt like I might as well let it all hang out because yall came out in droves with the questions and DMs.  (All of those Q&As are saved in my #KetoLife Highlights now by the way in my IG bio.)

 I wanted to be as real as I could be with this.

BRANSON, MO 2019 | PART 2

It's time for Part 2 of our Branson vacay!  Y'all, this vacation was not our typical relaxing vacation.  We went hard the whole week and were doing one fun thing after another.  And I did come home feeling like I needed a vacation from my vacation.  Cliche, I know, but so true.

In case you missed Days 1 & 2, go back HERE, check it out and then come back.  All caught up?  Let's move on to Days 3 and 4!

FRIDAY FAVES #101 | MY #NSALE PICKS!

So...are we tired of hearing about the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale yet??  😂😂😂  If you are a blog reader then I'm sure you've seen post after post about this sale for the past week and seen everyone's favorite picks.  I know I have.  (And I don't hate it because I seem to find new great stuff with each post.)  We just got back from vacation so I just started looking through the site on Monday (and purchased my first pair of jeans!) and decided to go ahead and whip up a few easy to shop widgets in case you want to just browse quickly.

Today the sale opens up to the public! Things will sell out and come back as people return items so keep an eye out if something you really want is showing as sold out right now.  Also, most of these items will be restocked after the sale as we head into fall, so if you do miss out on the sale price, there's always a chance it'll go on sale again later in the season.

But let's get to it, shall we?

The first thing I did was check out the jeans options because I get the most wear out of those.  When I saw these jeans for $38 (whoop whoop!) I thought it was a mistake.  I checked out immediately because I thought it was too good to be true.  Which I still thought until they arrived yesterday.  And OMG.  I tried them on and immediately fell in love! They are lightly distressed with a small rip and that fading is on point!  Lighter in the center and darker on the sides gives the illusion of smaller thighs and for me, I am all in when it comes to making my thighs look smaller!  And did I mention...$38!!!  I haven't checked but that's got to be the cheapest pair of jeans in this sale.

I grabbed my favorite plaid and my favorite booties for this little try-on session so if my top looks a little rumpled, it's because it's been stuffed in my closet with no breathing room for the past 6 months. Haha

LOVE. THEM.

(Booties are from last year and are sold out.  This plaid shirt is not available in this color anymore but DOES come in this one and it's on sale for only $14.99 right now!  It is the softest plaid shirt I have ever worn. I could sleep in it.  I'm wearing a medium but ordered my new one in a small.

Also...New rug--yay!--HERE.)

BRANSON, MO 2019 | PART 1

It has been a crazy July, friends.  I feel like we've had so many things going on this month and I'm (as always) trying to play catch up with it all!

We started the month with a pretty intense baseball tournament, then celebrated the 4th of July with friends and then the next day we said the hardest goodbye to our 15.5-year-old pup, Abby.  Three days later, we packed up the car and headed for Branson, Missouri for a week of fun and it was perfect timing because it took our minds off all the sadness in our now dog-free house.  We got back on Saturday evening and I spent all day Sunday doing all the necessary things you do after a week out of town (laundry, groceries, unpacking...tons of fun).  

Then first thing Monday morning I was up at a 5am (a ridiculous start time for me) to start posting all the Amazon Prime Day deals!  And for the past two days, I've been glued to my computer posting all the greatest deals over in my Deals Group on Facebook.  I feel like Amazon really stepped it up this year!  

So now, it's Wednesday. (right?) And Prime Day has come and gone, my house is back in order and now it's time to get back to normal around here.  I've got Etsy orders piling up so I'm diving headfirst into those today, and working on a bunch of half-finished posts.  🤦‍♀️

But today, it's all about Part 1 of our trip to Branson!

Y'all, we had SO MUCH FUN on this vacation!  Was it our typical relaxing beach vacation?  No.  Definitely not.  We were doing something 90% of the time instead of laying on a beach with a book and a cold drink.  It was actually a little exhausting.  haha  We've done beach vacations for years now so it was time to switch it up (check out those trip recaps HERE) and the boys were pretty pumped.  

Craig and I chose Branson because we both had great memories of it from when we were kids and it's only a short 6.5 hour drive from Mckinney. Branson is the ultimate when it comes to a vacation spot that your kids will LOVE.  It's a kids' paradise.  I'll show you what I mean by that throughout these recaps.  If you've never been, add it to your list!

We packed up the car and hit the road on Monday morning.  Everyone was all smiles, Dramamine-d up (just in case) and ready for a road trip!

 (Amazon pink/gold sunglasses HERE, $6 tank HERE)

IT'S PRIME DAY!

Welcome back, friends!  We got home from our week in Branson, Missouri on Saturday evening and I've been racing around trying to get us all unpacked, the fridge restocked, the plants revived (oops) and things back to normal as quickly as possible so that I can hit the ground running (so to speak) this morning.  Why?!  Because it's AMAZON PRIME DAY!

If you aren't familiar with Prime Day(s), it's a 2-day blowout sale that will run today and tomorrow on Amazon.  It's basically 48-hours of one amazing deal after the other on tons and tons of products from A-Z.  I'm talking vacuums (you NEED a robot vac!), air fryers, rugs, cameras, beauty, fashion, organization...you name it.  

THINGS TO KNOW

1. You need to be a Prime member, for one.  (You can join HERE for just $3 for a 30 Day Trial.  Cancel after the sale if you want straight from your online account.  Super easy and a great way to get Prime deals without committing to a full-price membership.) 

2. Also, these Prime Day Deals will come and go quickly throughout the day.  Some will sell out quickly and from what I can remember, they are all on timers, like Lightning Deals.  They won't be around for long so don't wait if you see something great!

3. Join my FB GROUP!  Did you know I have a Daily Deals Facebook Group?  (I'm guessing you did but just in case...).  I will be posting my favorite deals over there as they pop up so don't forget to join, set your group notifications to "All Posts" and make sure to refresh the page each time you come back!

There is a thread going in the group where you can list anything you are hoping to find a good deal on as well!  Feel free to use to let me know what you're looking for and if I see it, I'll make sure to tag you with the link.  

TARGET 2-DAY SALE

ALSO, this year Target is challenging Amazon with its very own 2-day blowout sale!  This is an online-only sale which will rival Amazon in every way it can and of course, I'll be posting their deals as well!

Both of these sales are a great way to stock up for birthdays, for Christmas (definitely), add new pieces to your wardrobe, revamp your kitchen with new pots and pans and appliances, back-to-school shop for your kids or update your home decor! 

Ready to get going?!  Shop the sale HERE for Target and HERE for Amazon!

See ya over in the group, friends!

Happy Shopping!

Linking up with Ashley and Erika for Tuesday Talk!

FRIDAY FAVORITES #100!

Today is my 100th Friday Favorite post!  That's a lot of favorites, friends.

Did you know you can find all my past Friday Favorites, all in one spot?  You can click HERE to see them all or you can always go up to my menu or header (depending on if you are on the mobile or desktop site) and click on "My Favorites!" under "Favorites & Reviews".  That tab also has my Amazon Haul posts, a few reviews I've done, my top Favorites of 2018 and a link to my Daily Deals FB group.

LIFE LATELY | MID-SUMMER EDITION

It is JULY, friends.  How did that happen?!

We have been busy around here living out our super basic summer in the best ways!  We always say we like to summer like it's 1989.  Haha.  Lots of swimming in all the pools in the neighborhood, running around outside with friends from sun up to sun down, playing hide and seek, riding bikes, having lemonade stands, having sleepovers, eating popsicles, going to the movies, pouring baby oil and dish soap on slip-n-slides...and then playing in the mud created by said slip-n-slides...(don't get a slip-n-slide.)

So I thought I'd show you a little of that with a bunch of pics pulled straight from my phone. :)

Starting with friends, swimming and watermelon! Can't get much more "summer" than that!