View out of my window this morning.. hello sunshine and March! :)

Happy Wednesday friends!  I’ve missed you all!  One of my blog goals for 2020 was to make my posts shorter and less picture heavy and to post more often.  I’m clearly off to a great start since we haven’t chatted on the blog in a week and this post might hold a record there are so many pictures!  Ha.  Honestly things have just been so project heavy around here!  Which means fun things are coming.  But I always miss you all when I go a week without posting.  Isn’t that weird?  It’s not like we’re even actually talking since this blog is mostly a one sided conversation ;) but I feel you all there and miss my blog friends when I go too long between posts. :)

I have so much to share with you all but wanted to do a quick wrap up of Jan/Feb first.  January was the longest month ever and February flew by in a blink!  Did any of you feel like that too?  I have so many random recent favorites and things we’ve been up to that I want documented.  These past two months have been hard for me too and I’m opening up about why at the end of this post.  So bear with me.. this is a long one.  Maybe my longest post EVER.  As I always say.. time to grab a snack!  Preferably popcorn but I’ve found that chocolate chips work well too. ;)

{Knit Ribbed Tassel Blanket/Similar chair/Addie Tassel Pillow}

I found this pink tassel throw on-line and could not stop thinking about it.  I ordered it and about died!  I knew the tassels would be big but WOW!  These tassels are seriously huge!  The size of my hand!  Such a cool throw and I think it would look amazing draped over the bottom of a bed too.

{Hydro Boost gel/Hydro Boost extra dry skin gel}

When we went to Utah for Thanksgiving to visit family my mom was so excited to tell me and my sister about this great moisturizer she was using and loving.  She ordered some for me and Car to try and honestly I’ve been obsessed with it ever since!  I have extra dry skin so lately I’ve been using the extra dry skin gel (just putting some on my face every night) and it makes my face so smooth and almost dewy!  I love it.  And I didn’t actually try to coordinate and wear my blue jumpsuit to match the product for this pic but that worked out kinda cool didn’t it?  Ha.

You guys!  I have been organizing like crazy around here and I’m especially excited to show you my bathroom!  I took a little trip to the happiest place on Earth and picked up some fun drawer organizers.  You should have seen me in the isle with my 3 pages of sketches and notes mapping out organizers on the floor.  I was honesty giddy.  But ahh!  My bathroom drawers are next level!  Pics are coming! :)

{Ruffle Tie Neck top/Similar Tory Burch Purse (love this one too!)/AG Jeans/Peeptoe Booties}

A cute new top to welcome Spring!  I still needed a jacket but I’m so ready for warm weather clothes!  Honestly CeCe blouses and CeCe dresses have become such go-to favorites for me!  I’m dying at the cute things they have in for Spring.  I’ve worn this top so much lately.  With jeans for a more causal night out look.

Then with a black skirt and boots for church.

{Top/Horton Ripped Paige Jeans}

I love it so much I bought it in the blue too! Which I told myself I wasn’t going to do anymore (buy the same shirt in multiple colors) since I’m cleaning out my closet and trying to be careful about what I buy.  But ahh!  I couldn’t resist.  I love this top.  It comes in other colors too.   (Heading out in the evening so bad lighting for this pic!)

{market basket/similar vases here, here and here/Homebody book/Platters and Boards book/The Home Edit book/white candle/Pacifico pot (back in stock!)/faux plant/similar wood board}

I always get lots of questions about my cute little plant pot on this shelf!  It had sold out but just came back in stock for Spring and I linked to it in my Spring family room refresh post.  I’ve moved it around so much and it always adds charm and personality wherever it lands.  It’s a favorite so I’m sharing it again!

{fleece hoodie/leggings/similar Adidas}

As ready as I am for Spring we are still having cool temps and I know most of you are the same!  This beloved fleece hoodie has been on repeat the past two months and is so comfy and warm!

Do you remember these cute raffia tassel hoop earrings from last Spring/Summer?  They sold out so fast and are back in stock!  These earrings make me want a vacation ASAP.

Also two favorite leggings that I’ve shared before but honestly live in and can’t live without are in stock!  These performance joggers I’m wearing (I have them in 3 colors I love them so much – the softest!) and these Zella live in jogger pants.  I’m wearing the Zellas right now as I type this!  I highly recommend either/both of these joggers for the upcoming warmer months.

{Hundi Lantern}

OK.. I started a fun project yesterday that I shared on IG.  See the molding we have in our entry?  It’s in a lot of places in our home and I’m going to continue it down both sides of our hallway.  I was going to do that when we were building our house but I chickened out because I couldn’t quite figure out where it should stop/start and at the time I thought I’d maybe want to do something fun and different with that large wall across from our dining room.  Soon after we moved in I regretted that decision!  I have enough walls to play with, this hallway can feel a little dark at times (needs white paint to brighten it up!) and the flat paint in this main walkway is covered in fingerprints.  Time to do what I should have done when we built!  I’m hanging out with my carpenter and BFF Chuck this week and sharing progress in IG stories if you want to see more of the process! :)  (*For anyone new here and asking about my paint colors you can download a printable with all of them by subscribing to my blog here.)

These pics were on my phone and too cute not to share!  My friend Vanessa is so creative when it comes to party planning!  She helped me with Kole’s 9th birthday party last year.  Our church had a fun 50’s themed activity and she did all of the decorations.  It turned out adorable!  I went up to chat with her after it was set up and fell in love with the cute balloon sundaes for the ice cream bar!

So cute right!?  She found everything on Amazon or at the dollar store.  I had dinner plans that night and was bummed I couldn’t stay for the party!

We certainly could have come up with something to wear. ;)

It reminded me of a 50’s themed church party years ago so I dug up this pic.  I was so pregnant with Kole I remember my pink jacket was about to pop!

My sweet little girls in their poodle skirts!

I remember taking this picture of my girls sitting on this rock like it was last week.  And in January Ellie turned 16!  I honestly can’t believe I have a 16 year old.  I was 15 years old when I met her dad!  But we don’t like to focus on that little fact. ;)

For her birthday I decided to give her what most teenagers really want.. money!  I found this cute idea on Pinterest and just used a pizza box and cash. :)

She loved it so much!  It was was a fun surprise to wake up to the morning of her birthday. :)  I just taped a piece of paper to the top half of the box to write on and then fanned out the money and added a bow.  It felt like it needed something in the middle!  I’ve seen this with coins on top for pepperoni too – so cute.

I used painters tape to hold the money together underneath.  (Of course I did.)  You could do this with any amount of money for all sorts of occasions!  Now Kole and Addison want one for their birthdays too.. ha.

El’s friend who slept over snapped this the morning of her birthday.  We’ve been teaching El how to drive the past few months and oh my word.  I didn’t think anything would be worse than potty training but this beats it!  TERRIFYING.  Every time I get into the car with her at the wheel I can’t decide if I should laugh or cry!  So I just hold on for dear life and try to get through it.  She prefers to drive with her dad because he is “so much calmer.”  They tease me about coming up with creative excuses why she can’t drive each day because it stresses me out so much.  This was a text thread between El and her dad that I happened to see from December..

Ha ha.. they think they are so funny ripping on me.  But seriously.  Global warming!  We should all do our part.

;)

Ad and I spent a day in LA last month getting her some new head shots.  We decided to finally up our head shot game because she has been doing so many auditions/plays so we went to a great photographer and the picture package included getting her hair and make up done.

Didn’t they curl it so beautifully!?  She was loving it!  They were so good.. I wanted them to do my hair and make-up too!

The staff could not have been nicer and we had such a fun day together.  These next pics are two of my favorites!

She got a lot of serious shots too but the smiling shots are always my go-tos. :)  My beautiful girls.  Driving and wearing make-up!  They are growing up.  Much faster than I want them too.

Then there’s this little guy who also isn’t so little anymore.  He kicked off 2020 by getting braces!  (This Nike zip hoodie was a great Amazon find btw.. so cute and he hasn’t wanted to take it off.)

He got the lead in his school play (apparently during auditions he went FULL out – this kid has personality plus) but then he realized that the person who played “director” had to memorize LOTS of lines and quickly decided acting maybe wasn’t for him after all.  Ha.  Much to his dismay I wouldn’t let him back out!  He had to work so hard and sweet Ad jumped in and helped.  They practiced every night together for a month!  His 4th grade teacher gave him an award after the play for his acting and his dad and I were pretty proud because we knew how hard he had to work to get his lines down.  Kole has no fear being on stage and is a natural entertainer.  I would love to say “watch out Hollywood” but since he has a slight fear of hard work that might be the last time we see him on a stage.  It had to be documented. ;)

{Me with my bother and sister and their wife and husband who just feel like another brother and sister to me.. love this crew so much.}

Now on to the sad stuff.  At the beginning of 2020 my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She went in for a routine mammogram in December and they saw something and wanted to do a biopsy.  She was so nervous and I assured her it would be nothing.  But I was nervous too and it came back as cancer.  There have been a lot of ups and downs for our family over the past two months.  A lot of phone calls and tears and waiting for test results and prayers.  It’s stage 2 and we are so grateful it isn’t worse.  She had an initial lumpectomy to remove the cancer but then they soon found a second cancer and for 4 days in February we didn’t know how bad that would be.  Those 4 days were awful.  I was so stressed and distracted and emotional.  I would talk to Car on the phone and reassure her that everything would be ok and then I’d get off the phone and call Kenny crying and he would have to reassure me that everything would be ok.  Cancer is so unpredictable and terrifying and when someone you love has it a certain anxiety enters your life that you just can’t shake.  Luckily (without going into too many details) that second cancer was the same as the initial cancer and they can treat them the same.  This was such good news!  They immediately scheduled a second surgery over President’s weekend.  Back in the Fall when we visited them for Shawn’s 40th birthday we had all planned a ski trip over President’s weekend.  That obviously wasn’t in the cards anymore!  I asked her if she still wanted us to all come (a certain amount of chaos comes when the cousins all get together) or if she wanted just me to fly out to help.  She wanted us all there to not only help her, but to also cheer everyone up because the past two months have been rough for her kids and husband.  Lots of stress and sadness when mom isn’t herself.

So that’s exactly what we did!  We brought the fun!  We did some low key things at the house and helped Car get around and took kids to sleep at our hotel at night and then on the last day we were there Kenny and I took all of the kids tubing so Car and Shawn could rest and just enjoy a quiet house together.

We all linked together in groups going down the mountain and got laughing so hard!  Tubing just makes you feel like a kid again doesn’t it!?

Cousins and best buds. :)

We are so grateful that my sister has an amazing team of doctors who are on top of everything for her and we are especially grateful that it isn’t a worse cancer or more serious than it already is.  She is starting radiation soon and I know she will beat this.  I can’t imagine life without my sister.  One thing that has blown me away is how her friends and community have all reached out and jumped in to take care of her.  Many of them text me daily to see how she is doing and when to plan meals.  When we were at her house in SLC over the long weekend SO many people stopped by.  They decorated her front door and brought food and gifts and checked on her.  I teared up so many times at the generosity of others.  I’ve struggled the most throughout this with not being closer to help her more and I’m so grateful for all of the people who are close by and there for her when I can’t be.  There is so much love in this world.  Just good people looking out for each other.  It fills me with so much hope and gratitude and makes me want to give back more.  I debated on whether I should share all of this on my blog but wanted to because it’s on my heart and mind right now and you all truly feel like my friends.  When you’re going through something hard you want to tell your friends!  I also wanted to mention it as a reminder to all of us who this applies to – GET YOUR ANUAL MAMMOGRAM!  PLEASE!  Schedule a mammogram.  Don’t put it off.  If Carly wasn’t doing regular mammograms they never would have found this until it was possibly too late to do anything about it.  I’m so grateful she is on top of her health!

{Moroccan Blythe Runner Rug}

It took us a while to recover from our trip in the snow!  But we are happy to be back in the sunshine and grateful for the time we got to spend with my sister and her family.

The two of us are already scheming about an amazing vacation we’ll take when all of this is behind her to celebrate.  Somewhere warm!  And tropical!  Where we can sip umbrella drinks by the pool while the kids swim and she can make fun of me for reading my time management and organizing books. :)  Car – if you’re reading this I love you more than anything and am so proud of you.  You are my person.  Looking forward to MANY vacations in our future with plenty of opportunines for you to give me a hard time and make me die of laughter.

NOBODY makes me laugh like my sister does.  Oh the stories we could tell! ;)

I so appreciate your positive thoughts and prayers for her and her family right now.  I love you all!  I’m so grateful for this community.  Thanks for letting me ramble on about the past two months.  Signing off now because you’ve probably eaten enough chocolate chips and popcorn for one day.  I know I have.

;)