*This post is sponsored by Walmart. All product selections and opinions are my own!
I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! We are gearing up for my girls’ last week of high school this year with El’s graduation on Friday. While I’m dreading her leaving in August for college I am definitely ready and excited for summer! School burn out always seems to hit this time of year doesn’t it!? For both the kids and the moms! We are ready for a break from the schedule and all things MAY! Ha. Moms understand. :)
I recently ordered 3 things I’m excited about from Walmart and I can’t wait to share them with you today! The first is this beautiful round marble end table.
We used to have a table in this spot by my couch and ended up moving it to another room. I’ve missed having a place to set my drink and book in this corner ever since! This table was a steal and it’s beautiful in person. It has a marble top and I love the open wood shelf below to hold a few decor items. That’s my first Walmart score.
Second is this beautiful luggage! Addison turned 16 yesterday! We had such a fun weekend celebrating. With her birthday and Ellie’s graduation I wanted to get them both something fun. They needed new luggage and I thought this would be a perfect gift to represent future adventures for both of them. So proud of my girls and all they are doing and becoming. :) Addison loves blue and El always goes for pink, beige or black so I choose these two colors but they come in LOTS of options.
My 3rd Walmart find has a little something to do with this mess. I’m so excited to share the start of some recent office organization going on at my house! Honestly my office has been a mess for a while now. Half of it is organized but the other half.. not so much as is evident by the above cupboard. :) It had become a catch all for random items. The wooden boxes below my shelves have always held our school/office supplies but it was never a great solution because it was hard to see what was inside. I tried to keep them organized, but we were still always searching through every box and digging for items when we needed them.
I was so excited when these clear bins from The Home Edit landed at Walmart! I knew they would be the perfect solution for this project! Really they are a great solution for any project. I wasn’t sure what I would need/use so I ordered a few different sets (linked above) to play around with. They have set names for the bins (for certain spaces) but you can really use any of them in any space! They are so interchangeable.
I ended up doing most of the organizing on my family room floor watching Friday Night Lights (recent Netflix obsession). Kenny’s like um.. you won’t watch much football with me but you’ll stay up all hours of the night watching a show about football?
Yes babe. That is correct. Actual football is about the game.. not the real life drama with the players. Ha.
A few shows and one hard earned state championship later this is what I ended up with..
Ta-da! SO MUCH BETTER right!? Oh my word.. I’m obsessed with this solution! Aside from looking great these bins are going to make finding what we need a breeze.
I love that the bins are clear and I can see exactly what’s inside. No need for labels and everything is stackable!
The bins are different sizes so it was easy to customize and create exactly what I needed.
The bottom bins obviously hold the smaller items and the top larger bins hold things like my furniture swatches, paint swatches, notebooks, camera manuals, etc. Odds and ends! The types of random items that can really make a space look and feel cluttered. The Walmart Home Edit bins are so good! I have some left over and can’t wait to use them for other projects around my house.
I wish I could tell you that the rest of my office is also organized but this is what it looks like at the moment..
Yup. If you give a mouse a cookie.. I started with one cupboard and ended up pulling apart everything!
Wish me luck this week getting it put back together. Looks like a few more episodes and another state championship is in my future. Go Panthers.
For now I’ll just keep staring at this space and listening to the angels sing. One cupboard/game at a time right!?
Checking in after a hard, emotional week. Like so many of you my heart is broken for the families of the beautiful children whose lives were taken after another school shooting. It’s just devastating and I can’t even begin to imagine the suffering. I’ve cried so many tears thinking about it that my eyes are puffy. Add that to the end of the school year madness and emotion with our oldest graduating from high school next week and my youngest graduating from Elementary school and I’m honestly just drained! We are celebrating Addison’s 16th birthday this weekend and are also trying to rest and spend time together as a family. I hope that you are all able to do the same!
On a lighter note I’m sharing some May favorites today. Things I’ve been loving lately! Not long ago I shared this fun seagrass set of dishes (on sale this weekend!). They are so beautiful for summer entertaining.
I love the salad bowls! I’ve been making my favorite salad a lot for lunch lately so I thought I’d share it although it’s about as basic as you can get! I just toss in:
pre-washed spring mix
strawberries
sliced almonds and walnuts
feta cheese
sometimes I add chicken (if I have the time/energy to pre-cook it!) and sometimes I add grapes.
This Briannas poppy seed dressing is my favorite and so good with this simple strawberry salad! Toss in other fruit or whatever you have on hand. I always have strawberries cut and washed in my fridge so this salad takes two seconds to make.
Isn’t this little cheeseboard the cutest!? Perfect for summer entertaining or just to use for decor in your kitchen.
We also love raspberry lemonade with fresh raspberries around here in the summer. I can’t wait to get my kids out of school so that we can stay up late and sleep in! That along with raspberry lemonade and popsicles are true signs of summer for me.
Speaking of fast lunches.. a while ago I asked who could remember my go-to for lunch and so many of you nailed it! Pretty impressive because I think it has been a while since I shared that little tidbit. You all have good memories. :) A turkey sandwich with cheese, baked lays, strawberries and a Coke Zero. I’ve been eating this for lunch most days for honestly over 20 years! Dinner is all over the place but at lunch I just want something quick and easy that I know I like. I’m lazy like that. :)
Another summer favorite.. this free people you rock t-shirt. I’m honestly embarrassed about how much I’ve been wearing this! At least 3 times a week if not more. I love the length, I love the way it hangs and I love the casual sleeves. Here’s proof that I worship this tee. I have it in white..
I have it in black.
And I have it in green. Of course I do. :) Once in a while if I love a top I’ll get one more in a different color, but this is the first time I’ve bought 3 of the same tee! I’m wearing it with jeans in these pics but I also wear them a lot with my Vuori performance joggers.
My carpenter Chuck (who many of you know well!) came by my house last week and gave me this box that he carved by hand and painted himself. Isn’t it beautiful? He wanted to thank me for the help I’ve given him and clients I’ve sent his way. We had a teary exchange because I feel like I owe that thanks to him! He is my right hand man around my house – has done all of my woodwork and continues to help with hanging pictures and fixing odds and ends. He is truly a family member at this point and I’m so grateful for him. I had to share this among my May favorites because it is something I will treasure forever!
A while back I went in to buy some new eyeshadow and the lady helping me at the make-up counter noticed that my skin was dry (I have really dry skin so I wasn’t shocked she noticed!). She suggested this vitamin nectar glow water and sprayed a little on my face. I fell instantly in love and bought it faster than I bought the eyeshadow! It’s a face mist that smells amazing! It instantly re-freshes your face and gives your skin a glowy, dewy look. I’ve absolutely loved it and I spray in on every day. You can use it with or without make-up. If you have dry skin (especially this time of year) I would highly recommend it! I love it so much I started exploring other best selling fresh products and am trying this vitamin nectar face serum that has great reviews. I’ll let you know if I love if after I’ve tried it a while!
I recently bought this gorgeous large terra cotta vase from CB2 (I think it’s sold out because the link keeps taking me here and I can’t find it on-line anymore!) I’m having a love affair with round vases like this at the moment and rounded up some favorites below!
Happy Tuesday! I’m so excited about today’s fashion post! I’m kicking it off with a favorite outfit I’ve been loving, but before we get rolling I have some fun news! I’m working with Anthropologie on something fun for IG (very excited because you all know how much I love Anthro!) and today they let me know that I could share an early sale code with my readers! Memorial weekend sales are kicking off on-line and we get to shop part of the Anthro sale a day early! If you shop on-line through my links and type Sunny40 at checkout you can get an extra 40% off ALL sale items! That sale will open to the public on Wednesday May 25th and items will sell out quickly so I’m thrilled that we all get to shop part of the sale early! I went through everything on-line that’s on sale and picked all of my favorites (they are all rounded up at the end of this post!). I’m ordering several of the items in those collages early with my own code. Woot woot! It’s happy day for Sunny Side Up Anthro lovers. :)
And yes! The outfit above is all Anthro. So cute right!? (Not on sale because it’s all new – bummer! But everything at the end of my post is.) :)
This puff sleeve top is so beautiful! I went with the petite xs because the sleeves were a little shorter and worked better for me but the top fits true to size. The green pants are so much fun. They are cropped and actually fit me like a cropped pant which is rare when you’re 5/3 and 1/2 (or shorter)! They are a nice thick material, a great fit (true to size also) and have really cute pockets on the back. I know I will wear them often with so many different tops. Green is basically a neutral for me. A neutral necessity in this house. ;)
Ok.. another favorite clothing brand of mine is Madewell (I know you know) :) and they are kicking off their weekend sale early too. Everything is 25% off and I have been LOVING so many of the new items they got in for spring/summer! This smocked top is beautiful in person. Perfect to go with jeans or shorts. I finally broke out of my skinny jean rut and have been wearing these cute bootcut jeans. I didn’t venture too far though since they are still AG (my all time favorite brand for jeans). They are really soft and slimming and take me back to all of my boot cut days. I’m so happy that style is back! But I’m keeping my skinny jeans too. :)
See.. there they are again. :) Another fun Madewell top that is perfect for summer! I love this color and the playfulness of this style of top. It’s also a great option if you’re eating out. You can unbutton the top button on your jeans and nobody will ever know! ;)
This top is so cute! It fits so well and has a small puff sleeve that makes it feminine. I love the casual vibe and the black dot pattern. Sizes are going fast at Madewell so I also linked it at Nordstrom! They have it too.. just not on sale.
Let’s go outside! Don’t mind if I do. :) You know I love a good graphic tee and this tee is summer perfection. So are these pants! I’ve had them a few years (I have them in white too) and wear them all the time. To the beach, to the pool, to the grocery store, on vacation, out to eat. You can dress them up a little but most of the time I wear them just like this with a graphic tee and flip flops. They are in stock here in white or navy and I also just found them in black (and lots of other colors!) on Amazon! I ordered the olive to try. Of course I did. :) They fit true to size (I’m wearing a small). I’ll report back on how the Amazon pants compare but they look identical.
This has been a favorite dress in my closet for the past few months! I just wore it to Ellie’s end of the year dance team banquet. It’s beautiful! I love a fun white dress for summer. It’s a little long on me – I think the petite length would have been perfect but it sold out! I’m happy with it this length too. It’s a beautiful dress and so flattering because of the way it cinches at the top. (I’m wearing standard length xxs)
Below are a few other favorites from Madewell that are 25% off! So many cute things right now.
Ok.. this post is a fashion novel at this point but I have two other fun things to share that I’ve been wearing and loving! This cute Rails top (Rails is always a splurge but every Rail item I own I get my moneys worth!) Great quality and something I will wear again and again.
Below are my Anthro picks (home and fashion) that are on sale and an extra 40% off when you use Sunny40 at check out! That’s an extra 40% OFF the sale price. So good! Yea! Happy sale shopping everyone! I’m so pumped we get to pick what we want a day early and I hope you are too! A regular old Tuesday just got a lot more exciting. ;)
Well hello! I hope you’re all having a great month and moms I hope you’re surviving May madness! We had a couple of not fun weeks being sick at our house. I spent Mother’s Day in bed because of a lovely sinus infection and I kind of want a re-do on that one. Guess I’ll have to wait a year! Ha. Really I’m just so grateful to be feeling better. It always make you extra aware and appreciative of your health when you go through not so healthy times doesn’t it!? I’m especially grateful to be getting some of my energy back because I’m definitely going to need it finishing up this month!
Totally switching gears because today we are talking bike organization!
How was that for a transition.. bikes.. switching gears.. clever right? Yes.. the sinus infection may have affected a few brain cells as well.. ha. I can see my kids all shaking their heads right now.
You might remember the original way we stored bikes in our garage on the floor using a system similar to this rack (our exact rack isn’t in stock anymore.) We also stored our scooters next to them using these little stands that link together. I loved this system! It was perfect when our kids were little and were constantly riding their bikes. It made it so easy for them to safely get their bike and go on a ride and then put it back. We upgraded our bikes when life shut down in 2020 and (like so many others) we were riding them almost every day and I loved having our bikes so easily accessible.
Fast forward to today. Life is back to full speed with ALL the activities and we are lucky if we can find one day a month to use our bikes. (Hoping for more riding time this summer!)
Plus my little minis who used to look like this zooming around on their razor scooters in the back yard..
now look like this. My girls grew up (tear) and we now have TWO teenage drivers. Don’t blink moms! I really don’t know how this is even happening! But here we are and aside from not using the bikes as often we also needed more garage space for cars.
Kenny spent some time researching what would work best and finally decided to go with these rail mount lifts that would hold the bikes on our garage ceiling. He got to work installing the mounts and had no problems attaching them to the ceiling.
Two up.. two more to go!
Of course he couldn’t have done it without such a trustworthy and loyal assistant. :)
A few hours later and done! We now have a new system for bike organization and I have to say that we are obsessed! It feels amazing having the bikes off of the ground and out of the way. I can’t believe how much space it gave us back. Now we can easily park all of our cars with room to walk around them.
I had Kenny come out to take these pics so that he could show me (and you!) how to get the bikes down and put them up. The bikes are attached with hooks and a rope. To get them down you pull and release the lock (just like using a blind!) and then use the rope to lower the bike.
There is a locking mechanism that keeps things secure and they are so easy to raise and lower. Really so simple!
You can attach the ropes to the wall but because of the way we hung ours it was easier to just tie the extra rope around a bike petal.
So nice to have our bikes off the floor and out of the way! I wanted to share our new system in case it’s the right solution for any of you too. You can also use these mounts to hold ladders. Let me know if you have any questions! I’ll also share more on IG stories and save it to a garage highlight if you hang with me there. :)
I’ll be back with more organization (and other fun things) soon! There’s no stopping the projects (or cheesy jokes) when mom is feeling like herself again.
Happy Friday! I hope your week has been a good one! I’m sharing my spring/summer porch to kick off the weekend. Bring it on! The porch and the weekend. I’m ready.
Don’t get me wrong.. I love real flowers on my front porch this time of year! But I’m limited on what plants will work since this porch gets full shade and every summer my plants die a slow death when we travel. I always think I’ll remember to ask a friend to water my plants while we’re gone and then I always forget to ask a friend to water my plants while we’re gone.
I usually return home from summer travels to dead plants and a sad looking porch.
But not this year!
You’ve all seen these beautiful raspberry peonies in my home. I’ve had them for years and love pulling them out every spring! I placed them in these textured ceramic planters and love the way they instantly brightened my porch. (*Sidenote – The peonies are marked down right now! Also these planters look more white in person than they do on-line.)
I’ve had these beautiful faux white hydrangea stems for years too and bought a few more to have enough to fill my coiled round baskets. I have 7 hydrangea stems in each basket and I could easily fit more, but the leaves on these faux stems are thick and and bushy and I like the way these flowers look a little spaced out!
Very excited about today’s post! I’ve rounded up so many of my favorites things to give you lots of fun ideas for Mother’s Day this year! This is a long post FULL of ideas so sit down and grab a snack. :) I’m kicking things off with lemons. You all know I’m a fan. I have lemons at the top of my blog, lemon trees in my back yard, lemon planning pages and notebooks and dishtowels and lemons in my kitchen year round.
Do you know why I love lemons so much?
They remind me of my mom. :) My mom’s favorite color is yellow and she is a true “yellow” personality on the color test (fun loving, happy, optimistic and ready for a party). Her favorite thing in this world aside from her family?
Lemons.
I get the yellow extrovert side of my personality from my mom. The other side of my personality – the peacemaker who is happy at home and needs to have all things in order I get from my dad. :) Aren’t my parents the cutest!? This is an older pic (I think Ad was in 4th grade!) but I had to share because of my mom’s yellow purse. She always has something yellow on or around her! Every Mother’s Day my sister and I try to get creative with a new fun LEMON gift for her that she doesn’t already have. We know if her gift has to do with lemons she’ll be happy.
Mom – this lemon collage is dedicated to you! Let me know what you want this year. ;) Thank you for all of the happiness and sunshine you bring into my life. I couldn’t ask for a better mom and being a mom myself has made me realize time and time again how much you sacrificed for us and how lucky I am to have you. Can’t wait until we are together again this summer – swimming, shopping and eating garlic bread at Pizza Factory.
Like always, you bring the Diet Coke.. I’ll bring the lemons. :)
Next fun gift ideas are for all of the moms who love the sun and are ready for days spent at the pool or beach! We’ve had these beach towels for years and they have held up so well. Really large, nice quality!
I shared these recent summer favorites not long ago. This hat is so cute and perfect to keep the sun off your face!
These linen pants are go-tos for me in the summer and I lived in them on our Kauai trip! Perfect to throw on over a swim suit for the pool or beach but also nice enough to wear after to lunch. This straw bag is a favorite too! You can find this year’s version here.
This cute maxi cover-up dress is also back in stock. Great for vacations and another great option to throw on after the beach to head to lunch. Below are my summer favorites!
I bought these beautiful dishtowels in the fall and they are seriously so good. Beautiful and thick – I love the texture and how soft they are! They would make a great gift and I wouldn’t mind a few more for Mother’s Day this year!
This round woven serving tray I recently shared is perfection and would also make a fun Mother’s Day gift because it’s such a staple – works everywhere!
Below are more fun gifts ideas for mom’s who love to entertain! Most are personal favorites I’ve loved. :)
My celine throw is on sale and comes in lots of colors! This throw looks beautiful draped over a chair or couch.
This antiqued metal tray is another favorite that works all over the house and can be styled so many different ways. It comes in two sizes (mine is the large) and would make a beautiful gift your mom could use for years!
These are all beautiful home decor books that I love and would also make great gifts. Below are more favorites you’ve seen in my home for mom’s who love to decorate! I tried to include the items that I use again and again and again – tried and true favorites!
We can’t talk Mother’s Day gifts without including a few of my favorite cozy items. Barefoot dreams blankets have become not just mine but also my family’s most requested gift! Pricey I know.. but wow. The coziest! A gift that keeps on giving and we use ours every single day – even in the summer! I’m always cold from the air conditioning and this blanket is never far. :)
Ok.. I saved my least favorite gift collage for last. I mean.. the gifts are fun! The cooking.. eh.. not so much. ;) This pic sums up how I feel when I cook too perfectly. A combo of tense, annoyed and just waiting for the fire.
I know making scrambled eggs isn’t technically “cooking” but in my house it totally is.. so much so that Kenny has taken over all of the egg scrambling around here since I can’t be trusted to do it. This egg spatula is one of our favorite things! I love that it doesn’t get egg all over the counter when we aren’t using it (Addison is allergic to eggs so we have to be especially careful).
Kenny loves the way it scrambles eggs so perfectly every time. I eat his eggs all the time so I can attest – they are perfect. :) Below are some fun gifts I rounded up for those of you who love to cook! I will never understand you, but I will say that cute mixing bowls and aprons and dish towels do make it more tempting. :)
I hope this round-up was helpful and you are able to find something special for the mom/moms in your life who deserve to be celebrated! This post took a hot minute to put together so I’m off to celebrate myself and enjoy a Coke Zero.
Well! It has been a week! So many end of the year activities. I am running on dry shampoo and little sleep and don’t know if I’m coming or going anymore. I know all moms feel me. This time of year is not for the weary!
I’m a little weary. Ha. So quick post today! I’m sharing 5 things I’m loving recently starting with this cute large tote! I shared it in the collage in my last post but here is a better pic of it. I gave it to a friend for her birthday and just love it. Nothing like a stylish bag that holds all the things and this one comes with a smaller bag inside too. It also comes in a medium size. So cute!
Talk about a perfect set of dishes for summertime. I couldn’t love this seagrass dish collection more! I saw them last year and waited too long to get them and they sold out so when I saw the collection on-line here this spring I didn’t hesitate! I bought the salad bowl too and have already used it multiple times! You can remove the seagrass sleeve on everything except the pitcher and put them in the dishwasher so they are easy to clean. Later I saw them back on-line at PB too. When not in use they are beautiful kitchen decor on an open shelf or inside a glass cabinet. Or just out on your kitchen counter/island on a tray! They would make a beautiful Mother’s Day gift.
Ok.. remember my beloved navy herringbone kitchen rugs? I love them so much I still have them even though I’m not using them! Just couldn’t part with this set in case I want to pull them out again.
Then there is my malta striped rug that is so beautiful! I wish I could say that it’s still in my playroom and that my playroom looks like this but sadly no. Kenny bought a ping pong table and there went this cute set up! I’ll have to share a pic soon of just how NOT cute this room is at the moment. But it’s full of teens most days so practical won in this space! Anyway.. back to my rug. It’s currently in our guest room! It looks so beautiful there. One of my favorites.
I’ve always loved Dash & Albert Rugs and so many cute styles are on sale today for WayDay! You can find them all here but I rounded up my favorites below!
Ok.. this is a horrible pic of me but I had to share because this book! A friend gave it to me for my birthday and I read it immediately (it’s a quick/easy read) and then sent her this pic of me in a puddle of tears when I finished to thank her for such a thoughtful gift. (Her message to me on the inside was so kind I was crying before I even started the book!) It is just the sweetest simple story that weaves in life lessons about love and hope and the true gift of friendship. It’s a book for everyone.. young and old and I adore it along with the friend who gave it to me.
That’s a wrap! A cute tote, summer dishes, beautiful rugs, good home sales and a charming book that felt like a warm hug. 5 things I’m loving right now!
Happy Sunday! I’m popping in to share a couple of fun spring arrangements today! I guess these could really be summer arrangements. Or even fall for this first one. But since it’s spring at the moment let’s call them spring arrangements shall we?
I’ve had this black terra cotta pitcher for a while and absolutely love it. It looks great with flowers or greenery in it, but also just on its own on a shelf. It looks especially good next to my beloved spectrum pitcher, but that little jewel goes with everything! (Both pitchers are on sale at the moment!) I set it all on this beautiful handwoven serving tray. Round woven trays like this are my favorite. No surprise there because I have them all over my house! I love that they work in every room – kitchens and bathrooms and living rooms and bedrooms. They look good on coffee tables and console tables and on islands and in all the corners. Staples! Candles are staples for me too so I added a candle to make a nice little grouping of three.
My second spring arrangement is all about these beautiful faux cherry blossom branches you might remember from last spring. They are STUNNING! And take no effort to style. I literally just plop them in a vase and the branches bend and land every which way and look amazing instantly. I love them on my black cheese board – the white and black are a fun contrast.
I use this artisan vase over and over every season because I love both the size of the vase and also the size of the opening. It tappers in a little at the top so you don’t need a crazy amount of stems to make a nice arrangement. I have six of the faux cherry blossom branches in it now and could probably get away with just four or five. This cute little woven fruit basket is a recent find.. perfect for summer! You can never have too many lemons in my opinion. :)
Which arrangement is your favorite? I don’t think I can choose so one is going to land on my dining room table. :)
I’m sharing a few fun Mother’s Day gift ideas below from Anthro that are all on sale this weekend! Most are items I have and love and all would make great gifts. I also added a few seasonal favorites! In other fun news Studio Mcgee’s latest collection at Target released today and there are some beautiful options for spring/summer there too. Such a fun time of year to get our homes clean and organized (who is working on my list!?) and then add beautiful spring decor for the cherry on top. :)
I hope you all had a nice Easter weekend! We ended up going to a friend’s house for Easter dinner so I got ham instead of pizza after all! I was on salad duty. Easy and done. Good things come to those who slack off.
Kidding!
Kind of. ;)
We’re getting back into the swing of things around here after a fun week in Kauai for Spring Break. Not a bad view right!? Take me back! We met my sister and her family there and it was so nice getting away and spending time with family. I was supposed to be going in for knee surgery as soon as we got back from our trip, but because of a few other things that came up I ended up having to re-schedule my surgery. I’m kind of bummed because I was ready to get it done and behind me, but also happy that I’m not spending this spring/summer on crutches. Silver lining for sure! I’ve decided that I’m going to make the most of this extra time I have (that I thought I would be spending in bed!) by wrapping up some organizing and other un-finished projects around my house.
I know you’re all very surprised by that decision. Ha.
I did two things today that instantly made me happy. First, I planned out our summer. I always print out my June/July/August calendar pages (in my printable library.. you can download them here). We use our on-line calendars for every day things, but I like to visually see what’s going on during the summer months. We finalized all of our travel plans snd I signed Kole up for a few summer camps. It feels good to have that done because it will be a busy summer for us and all of the things going on during those months were swirling around in my head. Now it’s organized and written down on paper and planned and I can forget about it!
The second thing I did was print out my “20 Easy Ways to Spring Clean” list. I shared a Spring Cleaning list a few years ago and I’m sharing it again with a few inspo. pics! If you want to instantly feel better about your home print my Spring Cleaning list (link is also at the end of this post.) Then pick one item to tackle each day! It’s so easy and fun and you will feel amazing when this list is complete and checked off!
Here we go!
20 EASY WAYS TO SPRING CLEAN
1 – Toss any old medicine in your medicine cabinet.
2 – Clean out the glove compartment in your car.
3 – Wipe out your fridge and freezer.
4 – Clean out and donate any clothes you didn’t wear over the winter or last spring.
5 – Organize the apps on your cell phone (delete any you can!).
9 – Clean out your purse and buy a new one if it’s old/dirty. I wrote a post on purse organization here. Nothing like a clean purse! If you’re looking for a new purse of course I love Madewell totes! Here are a few others I’m crushing on at the moment..
or faux! In my opinion faux flowers make a better splurge because they are a gift that keeps on giving! (Table details are in this post.)
11 – Pick a closet that’s driving you crazy and clean it out.
12 – Sweep your porch and add some plants, flowers, a new rug and/or a wreath.
I swept my porch last week! I’m using my same faux Eucalyptus trees and jute rug this spring. Still working on my porch and I’ll share it as soon as it’s done!
I rounded up some fun spring doormats if you’re working on your porch too. They are all so happy!
20 – Last but not least.. organize a kitchen drawer or cupboard that is usually a mess.
You can print out my Spring Cleaning checklist HERE and get started today! Feels so good. :) Below are some of my go-to favorites for cleaning and organizing. Bring on spring! We’re all going to have the cleanest houses on the block!
Just in time for kids to get out of school and destroy them again.
*This post is sponsored by Walmart. All product selections and opinions are my own!
Easter is right around the corner! After I set up my festive Easter dining room table I started thinking about some fun snacks I could make to help make the weekend feel special.
I ordered my groceries on-line from Walmart and got to work decorating cooking. Ha. We all know there was no cooking involved. I like making cute platters because it’s basically decorating with food. Now that I can do. :) This simple 4-piece serving set is a staple at my house I use over and over that I’ve shared before. I use it for candy, I use it for ice cream toppings, I use it when we’re roasting s’mores and I use it for after school snacks for my kids. It’s perfect to hold cheese and crackers and fruit!
Don’t you think Easter candy is the best candy? Chicks Ducks and Bunnies don’t last long at our house. Then there’s Cadbury Eggs. Cadbury eggs from the grocery store don’t even make it through the door. :)
This is a simple way to make a festive snack for Easter that kids love. Make fruit kabobs and add a peep in the middle! You can get really creative with colors and use a rainbow of peeps or just stick to one color like I did. These white porcelain serving platters I’ve shared before.. they are also staples I use over and over when I serve food/entertain. They come in a rectangle size too!
I saw this on Pinterest a few years ago and love making it for Easter because it literally takes two seconds! Isn’t it the cutest!? I made one for my friends a couple of weeks ago. We were meeting quick to chat and have Diet Cokes before we all took off for Spring Break and I came walking in with this carrot. They were cracking up. Paired perfectly with our Diet Cokes if you ask me. I’m all about balance! Ha ha. :)
This is another idea I saw on-line a few years ago and really enjoy creating. So fun right!? I love this too much and always have fun making different versions with the bunny face in the middle. You can use a bowl instead of bread and get creative with the face. This year I used blueberries for the eyes, celery for the whiskers and smile and a strawberry nose. Cutest little bunny face. One year I used all fruit and this pink fruit dip in the middle..
It’s seriously the BEST fruit dip if you haven’t tried it yet! I share it every summer. You just whip together 8 oz cream cheese (softened), a 7 oz jar of marshmallow creme and 2 teaspoons of Maraschino cherry juice. YUM.
Isn’t the floral food server fun for spring!? I ordered it along with my groceries, but then when it came it was so pretty I didn’t want to cover it with food! It would be a cute table centerpiece too or fun to set napkins, utensils and salt and pepper shakers on (smaller items so you can still see the pretty flowers!)
Candy, peep kabobs, carrots and cucumbers. Like I said.. balance in all things!
I know most people have Easter food traditions that include fancy hams and side dishes, but when you’re lacking in the cooking skills department (and your ham would 100% turn out less than desirable) you have to get creative.
Bunny face fruit & veggie platters for the win!
Plus pizza.
;)
If you’re doing last minute Easter shopping Walmart has everything you need! When I ordered this food I also ordered all of the candy for my kids’ baskets. So nice to do it all on-line. When I was on-line shopping I also noticed that a lot of the items I ordered for my summer guest room re-fresh last summer are back in stock!
My rattan lamps are also back! Love these lamps. I left them up all year but they are especially fun during the spring/summer. The ceramic basket pot is also a favorite.. I think I own over 5 of them! Last summer I had them all over my house. They sold out quickly last year so don’t wait if you want one.
Sharing a simple Easter table today! I can’t believe Easter is next weekend! I put this together quickly with things I had on hand around my house.
Soft pinks again for the win!
Favorite olive branches in my go-to white vase for the center. When it’s time to eat I’ll take the vase off and fill in the open spot with my delicious main dish. Maybe pizza? Kidding!
Happy April! I hope the month is off to a good start for you! I’m sharing our March Amazon buys today along with a few other favorite things I’ve been wearing. Then wrapping up the post with some personal pics I want documented so feel free to skim if you’re not interested. There is no time in my life during this stage for documenting family life so once in a while I go old school and toss a few things up here. :) If you’re new here and don’t know, this blog started as my family journal around 13 years ago when my girls were 3 and 5! Sometime (if any of you are interested!) I’ll have to write about my blog journey so that it’s documented too.
But that’s a story for another day. Today we’re talking about recent favorite green pants. Because that’s fun too. ;) Seriously though.. how cute are these high waist pencil pants!? Talk about an Amazon score. They are so flattering and comfortable! I’m wearing a small (they fit true to size) and I would 100% recommend them.
I’m wearing them with my paily slide sandals and thought I’d share a pic of these two sandals because they were my most worn shoes last spring/summer. They work with everything! Great neutrals and the square toe is so much fun. The flats are Marc Fisher slides and come in several colors. This is their new version out this year.. so cute. Below are other similar options I’m loving that are also out this spring!
These are my March Amazon purchases! Lots of fun things for Kole because he turned 12 on the 30th. :) He needed new ties for church and new swim wear.. I ordered lots to try, sent a few back and kept the ties/suits in my collage above.. they are all great! I ordered #3 and #12 for our spring break trip! A cute clutch and a huge mesh bag that’s easy to pack and perfect for the beach. The hair putty is Kenny’s favorite he has used for years and the the furniture repair markers we use on our wood floors for larger scratches. You have to find the color that matches your floor and it works so well! Underwear for the girls and a cute cover-up and knit outfit for me. The knit outfit is so cute and comes in lots of colors! I’ll share it on soon too. The EzyRoller (#9) was Koles main birthday gift. He loved his ziggle so much growing up we got him a more adult version to help with any summer boredom. ;)
I can’t believe my baby is starting middle school next year! Love this boy so much. :)
In other fun news I have a discount for you on my favorite speakers! I shared my Kove speakers around the holidays.. great sound and we use them all the time. They connect to your computer or phone but they don’t need to be right next to them. I love using them when I clean the house to listen to music or a podcast. We use them a lot outside too when we’re hanging out, exercising or when we’re lounging in/around the pool.
They just came out with a travel size I’m loving! So small but the sound is still great and you can attach them to your bike or backpack. If you use my link you can get 67% off! They would make a great Easter basket gift for a teen. My girls love using them too. :)
You know that I’m all about comfort when it comes to clothes.. I run around in joggers/leggings at least half of the week! These are 3 tops I’ve been absolutely loving! All so cute and comfortable. The first is this twist top pullover. It’s cropped so I love it with high waisted leggings like the pair I’m wearing. Perfect to throw on after a workout or wear on its own. The material is so soft!
Vuori is hands down one of my favorite brands (and my husbands #1 favorite!). This halo crewneck is also so cute and comfortable. I’ve been running around a lot with belt bags because they are so easy and convenient and this Madewell belt bag is perfect. Just right for your phone, keys, credit cards and chapstick. I think the black sold out but it comes in other fun colors and I linked both places you can find it above.
This is another belt bag I love. They are perfect for spring/summer family outings too! Especially if you’re traveling to a theme park, zoo, etc. So nice to not always have to haul around a purse when you’re doing a lot of walking. This Zella crewneck sweatshirt is what I reach for more than anything else in my closet! I love it so much I bought two of them! It’s the perfect length and such a great fit. Really soft and comfortable.. I can’t recommend this sweatshirt enough. Staple!
Alright.. a little blast from the past.. you know how I always pop my left knee in my mirror selfie outfit pics?
This pic was taken on my first day of Kindergarten.. can you find me? Apparently the knee pop has been my signature look my whole life.. ha ha. Always posing. ;) Behind me are a couple of other girls who became life long friends.
This was our class picture that year. I love old pictures like this! Can you spot me again? Just a slight head tilt this time. :) (Second row of girls.. red turtleneck and a pony tail.) If you find the tallest girl in our class you’ll spot my then future BFF Koni.
Koni and I were friends all through school but by high school we were inseparable. The tallest and the shortest in our class and we did everything together. Everyone said we shared a brain and we pretty much did. Who remembers how cool these striped shirts and braided belts were!? I miss the 90’s!
When I say we were always together I meant it.. this picture always cracks us up! Me kissing Kenny at a ski resort and Koni isn’t far.. ha ha. She didn’t approve of him at first but eventually he won her over. ;)
This was the rest of our crew. I was so lucky to grow up in a small town with these girls! I was close friends with all of them through Elementary, Middle School and in High School we got really close. (Bangs were all the rage at this stage. I remember the night of this dance I was experimenting with hot rollers.. maybe not my best move.. )
{homecoming royalty senior year – I’m with my buddy Tyler.. the two shorties of the group} ;)
A new High School was built in our area right before my senior year and everyone within the boundaries had to move schools, but as seniors we had the choice to stay at our previous high school and graduate there or to come over to the new school. It was a hard decision because we all had so many other friends we would have to say good-bye to! We decided to move to the new school together and to help get it up and running and we ended up having the best senior year. We got to pick out everything for the new school.. school colors, mascot, we set up new traditions, Koni and I got to be in charge of everything with the new dance team. It was an amazing experience and bonded us all so much.
We finished high school together (class of 95) and all went to our local community collage for two years (basically an extension of high school!) before all taking off in different directions for more school or work.
College graduation with my girls. :) We have all stayed in touch and every year when we visit our families in our hometown for the holidays we try to get together for lunch. It has become harder through the years to all meet and we have talked about making a girls trip happen for years! Last weekend we finally did it for the first time and I don’t think we’ll let a year pass going forward without doing it again!
Above was us then.
And this is us now. :) One of us couldn’t make it and we have one close friend (shoutout to Bonnie in the far left!) who wasn’t from our little town and stayed at our original high school senior year, but she was always part of the gang. :)
We went to Sundance and lucked out because even though there was still snow on the mountains the weather was warm and beautiful!
We rented a cabin for the weekend and had the best time together laughing and catching up!
We swam in a crater..
ate out, went shopping and bought Sundance hoodies. Because when in Sunance you should buy a Sundance hoodie. Unless you’re like me and live in a place you don’t wear hoodies much. Then you buy a Sundance long sleeved tee. :)
But most of the trip we did this. Stayed up hours every night in sweats eating all the food and just talking. We talked and talked and talked and then laughed until our sides hurt and then talked some more. So many funny memories we all have! It’s cool how everyone remembers different things. There were so many things about our past I had completely forgotten! But it all came back pretty quickly with this crew.
My friend Angie brought everyone bracelets with our home town zip code on them. That was the name of our group because in high school we were obsessed with Beverly Hills 90210.. ha! Our plan was to grow up and leave for school and then all move back to our hometown and live in a cul-de-sac together. We haven’t quite pulled that off, but we’re thinking there’s still hope for when we all finish raising kids and retire. ;)
There is something so special about childhood/highschool friends isn’t there? I could go years without talking to these girls and then see them and pick right back up like we were never apart. We’ve been through so much together. From constant play time and sleepovers and riding our bikes to the local Merc for candy, to braces and awkward middle school years, to first dates and kisses and high school drama, to college and “adulting” for the first time, to careers and marriage and having babies, to raising toddlers through teens. We’ve been there for each other though all of life’s joys and through a lot of heartache and hard times too. We will forever be close and I’m so grateful for the special bond we all share. This was the first of many girls trips to come and in 5 years when we all turn 50 (yikes!) we are going to plan something BIG. Maybe THREE nights of non stop talking and laughing instead of just TWO.
I think after all we’ve been through together we’ve earned it.
;)
xoxo, Erin
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