WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY | JULY 2021

 Well, hey there, friends! Ummm...so I definitely didn't mean to take a 2 week blogging break! 🥴 I think I've started to realize that summer is almost over so I've been trying to enjoy it a little more before it has just completely passed me by. Over the past two weeks, we've made time for lemonade stands, fun outings with friends, water parks, girls nights out, a little overhaul of my office/craft room space, pool time...and I've been trying to stay caught up on Etsy orders before we leave for our little vacay next week!

Yes. We are FINALLY going on our summer vacation. (Knock on wood!) We typically wait until the first week of August each year because Craig's football camp schedule is crazy into July. We all hate waiting but it's a great way to end the summer. We didn't go anywhere last year because of Covid but the boys were just chompin' at the bit to get back to Branson so we'll be heading up there Monday. If you've never been, I highly recommend family vacays there. There is so much to do from lakes to amusement parks, hiking, ziplining, go-karts, shows, wax museums, fun restaurants, and everything in between. Take your kids while they are still young! They will love it! 

All of our vacations are geared around the boys and what they will love the most. I wanted to go back to the beach this year but they didn't. They wanted Branson and there was no changing their minds. I keep thinking about how we only have a handful of years left before they are no longer kids. (#gutpunch) It breaks my heart to think about it. So I may hate arcades with a passion but if my boys want to spend 2 hours playing loud (expensive) games so that they can win a bouncy ball and a tootsie roll, so be it. (I'll wait in the car if I can and let Craig cover that. 😂) 

But today, I'm back just in time for another edition of What's Up Wednesday so maybe we can get caught up today. 😉

Nothing blog-worthy. In the summer, we don't do a lot of set meals. Mason is usually out playing with his friends all over the neighborhood until almost dark, Craig has QB training a few nights a week and Matthew is the pickiest kid in the universe. So we do lots of grab-and-go options in the summer--sandwiches, quick salads, pizza rolls (I'm not above saying that my kids love pizza rolls), and breakfast for dinner. Am I "mothering" wrong? Probably. 🤷‍♀️ At least I'm honest about it. 😂

I'm about halfway finished with a new book review that'll cover some of my favorites that I've listened to this summer. (Don't hold me to a date when that will make it to the blog though.) One of the last books I finished was Kristan Higgin's new book, Pack Up the Moon and I told y'all how much I disliked it. If you want to feel incredibly sad and depressed with just the smallest bit of happiness tossed in at the end, then, by all means, this book is for you. 🥴 Kidding...I mean, kind of. But not really? I don't know. I am clearly in the minority with my review on this book. It has almost a full 5-star review on both Goodreads and Amazon. So maybe it's just me. 😂 Honestly, had this been a different author, I probably would have enjoyed it more. I just went into it expecting it to be a sweet, sassy, funny chick-lit novel which is what KH does best. Instead, it was just sad and emotional and not what I wanted in a summer read AT ALL. So take my review with a grain of salt. You may love it. 🤷‍♀️

I also listened to the new Elin Hilderbrand short story, The Sixth Wedding, which was a sequel to 28 Summers and it was really good but ended abruptly and left me wanting a lot more. If you loved 28 Summers, it's worth a quick read though!

After those 2, I jumped ship from audiobooks for a couple of weeks and binged the new season of Virgin River, re-watched Outer Banks (b/c the new season starts on the 30th on Netflix and I needed a refresher), and then of course Big Brother is taking up my TV time too! 

My current favorite is Xavier-not just because he's a hunky lawyer 😉 but because he seems smart, nice, and balanced--as opposed to our departed friend Frenchie who blew up his own game because he got paranoid. Seriously, what were you thinking, Frenchie? Terrible gameplay. Just terrible.

I'm also fully invested in all things Olympics. Swimming, diving, gymnastics, softball, volleyball--I'm trying to catch it all! My favorite gymnast right now is Jade Carey. I love that her dad is her coach and I feel like the announcers are always so surprised at how well she does in each event. Like she wasn't expected to perform as well as she has or something. She just seems so humble about it all. 

Other shows--Real Housewives of New York of course. This is probably my least favorite season of RHONY ever but I'll stick with it to see the Sonja/Ramona craziness. I'm so happy that Lou is sober now but she isn't bringing anything to the table this season. I want another season of LuAnn, Bethenny, Ramona, Sonja, and Dorinda. (Before Dorinda got scary.)

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is shaping up to be a pretty good season though thanks to Erika Jayne and that whole situation. Do I think she knew Tom was stealing all that money? I don't know. Part of me thinks yes, of course, duh--but then part of me thinks Tom didn't think enough of her to ever sit her down and whisper to her "Hey, I'm stealing all this money from widows and orphans that I'm giving to you. I just wanted you to know. Don't tell."

I just don't think they had the kind of relationship where they schemed together. She seemed to live her life and he lived his and while I think she probably wondered where all the money came from at times, she probably knew better than to ask about it. I'm guessing she just accepted it and went about her day. Does it make it right? No. But I just don't think Tom thought enough of her to want to make her privy to details like that. Just my thoughts (as of now). Those thoughts can totally change. Also, yes, I did watch the Housewife and the Hustler documentary. I know someone will ask! It's worth watching if you're interested in these people. It's on Hulu.

I DO think she's putting on a major acting job with all the crying and the mascara running down her face and all of that. Who cries like that in real life? In real life, you wipe your tears away or hit 'em with a tissue or something. You don't just stare into the faces of your friends knowing your mascara has run down both cheeks and is dripping off your chin without naturally dabbing at it. (Plus, it tickles.) So I think, even if she DIDN'T know how bad it all was, I DO think she has been playing it all up for some sympathy.

I'll tell you what sweet Chuck is loving. My new blanket! He is a fan.

After a few years of hearing all the hype about these Nordstrom sale blankets, I decided to see for myself what all the fuss was about--and I ended up with three. 😂

The plan was to give 2 away as gifts and keep one for myself. As of now, it's quite possible a second one may end up staying with me and I'll worry about that other gift idea later. 😂

These blankets really are so nice though. Insanely soft for sure and the braided tassel edges give it a little weight which I love. I bought the Grey Magnet for the living room because it had just a tiny hint of blue in it (maybe?) that works with my navy decor year-round but it will also work with my Christmas stuff that is all black/white/red/green. The lighter one is Vanilla and the other is Beige Birch but there are 19 colors to choose from. Like seriously. Go nuts.

The best part is that the NSale opens up to the public TODAY so you can grab one if you've been waiting for just $24.90. That's Home Goods prices so I'm loving that and these really would make awesome gifts for your teachers, girlfriends, moms, daughters, sisters, etc. Ships free too and you don't have to worry about it fitting. 😉

As of now, that is all I've purchased from the sale. I like Nordstrom for sure but I've found that my style tends to fall more towards boutique-y type clothes more often than not. Most of my wardrobe is from Jane or online boutiques.  Kancan jeans are my most favorite brand (and THESE are my most-favorite pair). Sidenote: Check the Kancan size chart in the listing, message me if you need help and if between sizes (in their chart), size up one.

Here are some more favorites from the boutique that I'm a Stylist with. I just got that pink tie dye tee in yesterday and it is that crazy soft, stretchy material. (TTS) And the Blondie tee should be here Friday! I had to have it! My favorite jeans are shown in the bottom middle pic but you can find everything HERE.

You've seen these before but every outfit head to toe is from the boutique. (Except that cute Victoria Emerson bracelet from Sheaffer's line! I LOVE it! You can get 2 for $20 right now too! See the options here.)

I also picked up the Supergoop Glow Stick last week to use on vacation. We will be spending a good amount of time on the lake and after all the stuff that's come out about sunscreens, I wanted to get a new one for my face. Plus, I just thought this one looked neat. 😉 I've always used those clear sticks from Neutrogena on the boys' faces and mine so we'll see how this compares. They are just so convenient and so much less messy than lotions. I'm all about that convenience factor.

Here's a great big photo dump of what we've been up to lately...

I've had more Girls Nights Out this summer than I've had all year. It's been so good for the soul!

I have to show you this next picture. We stopped a woman walking by to see if she'd take a picture for us. She seemed like she knew what she was doing and was very friendly. When we thanked her and she walked away we checked the pic and this is what we got. 🤣 That's when we grabbed a selfie instead.

Mason is my little social butterfly and he's been on the move. He went to the lake with his friend last weekend and now wants a lake house, a boat, a jet ski and all the water toys. 😂

Thankfully, we've scheduled a lot of lake time next week while we're in Branson.

Here he is again with another group of buddies.

And last week we got a big group of boy mamas together and took the crew to Hawaiian Falls.

There were so many of them we couldn't get them all in one place at one time so we had to take 2 different group pics.

The group was mostly Mason's buddies but when we got there, Matthew immediately ran into his cousins (twin boys his age) so that was a fun surprise! (I didn't get a pic of them all because I only saw them once in the span of about 5 hours. 😂)

Of course, there's been plenty of pool fun in our own backyard too. It's never dull back here!

Chuck doesn't love the water but he will run and chase the boys around the edge of the pool all.day.long.

And one afternoon, I went out there to enjoy some pool time of my own and Chuck made himself at home on his own raft--safely on land. 😉

Chuck still loves Matthew best.

Last weekend, I grabbed Mason for a quick trip to Ikea. I needed his muscle to help me load up a new shelving unit for my craft room. This kid is willing to help with almost everything except household chores. #gofigure

I treated him to lunch at his favorite sandwich shop. 

We ❤ Jimmy Johns. Both of us: #16, no tomato, add cheese. 

Me: Jalapeno chips. 

Him: Salt & Vinegar. 

#pleaseandthankyou

So the Ikea unit was for my poor craft room/office which has been a bit of a mess lately. Things just stack up when you're working on 10 different things at once. The room is small and I need a big workspace plus a lot of storage so I have to be creative with furniture placement. For the longest time, I just made the best of what I had in here but last weekend, I just got tired of it. It needed a refresh.

I got the Ikea Kallax shelving unit and put it in the back corner and then bought this inexpensive and simple white desk from Walmart to give me computer space. Everything else in this room I already had so it was really just a small refresh, re-arranging some furniture, removing some things altogether and getting organized. 

My chair and my rug clash so bad. I need to get a new chair but I love it too much! It's just going to have to look funky.

I have been so much more productive all week long because of it.

(Linked the things I could below)

Speaking of...

How cute is this new rainbow vinyl I just got in?! I love it with the black shimmer skinny tumblers and skinny can coolers!

I've also started making any of my smaller 3.5x12" signs into this 7.25"x24" size. 

You can find that listing HERE.

Right now, my shop is closed for all sign orders because I'll be out of town for a bit. But I'll reopen next week some time. I'll keep drinkware open until Thursday night and then I'll put the whole shop on vacation. So if you want drinkware, you can order now. If you want a sign, come back in a week! :)

Collagen girls! If you've been wanting some, if you need to reorder, or if you're wanting to try something new--whatever it may be--we've got a new promo starting tomorrow through the 31st! I'll try to do a write-up on it and stick it under the Collagen tab in the menu here on the blog but be sure you're following along with me on social media. (Deals Group on FB or on IG)

For more on the collagen, be sure to check out this post. That promo is over but a lot of that is still available minus the free gift (new free gift coming tomorrow). If you want to see my before and after pics, you can see those there too. 😉 

And if anyone wants to start their own collagen side gig--especially those of you who have been using yours and loving yours for MONTHS now--message me on IG or FB! We've got an insane enrollment special going on right now! Y'all know how much I've loved joining this company. I'd love to chat with you about it. I'm telling you...I've tried a ton of these side gigs with other great companies but this one is just different. 🤷‍♀️❤

VACATION of course! Let's go!!!!

Our last Branson trip in 2019! You can read all about that HERE.

I'm definitely dreading the return of school, sports craziness, homework, early bedtimes, and early mornings. (Mainly just early mornings if we're being honest.)

But this year I'll have 2 boys in middle school which is kind of cool. They are excited and I'm excited for them. So it's not so bad. ;)

Eeeek! I just saw the new arrivals for the boutique today and they are SO GOOD!! The flare jeans, that white top, that taupe purse, those cute earrings...Not sure I can pull off the hat but it's super cute too!

All of this will be live on the site HERE starting at 12pm CST. I am guessing those jeans sell out fast! I know I'm grabbing them ASAP. Remember that everything ships free from AZ!! Thank you for using me as your Stylist at checkout! (If you want!) If my name isn't there automatically you can type in Amanda Nall.

And that's it for today, friends! Thanks for sticking with me this far! It was a mega-edition of WUW for sure! 

Happy Wednesday!!

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