Marshmallow Madness

This summer we went on vacation to the river and the kids got to experience roasting marshmallows. Their minds were blown and have been begging me to do it again. So when we got our fire pit from Wayfair, we had to break it in with some good ole s'mores.

S'mores are so stinking messy, but the kids loves them. So I put my OCD aside and let them at it! Besides, they are so stinking good. What's a little chocolate and marshmallow all over your face?

Rae is always my one to dive head first and try anything! She was so excited. She kept sneaking pieces of chocolate.

Hudson takes time to warm up. Needs Daddy within arms reach.

After getting the kids their s'mores Kyle had to grab one for himself too.

We can't forget the littlest. He got the fire started!

Just kidding! ;)

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Summer Time Snacks

I can't believe that summer is here and oh boy this heat! I love the laid back feel and the days on end at the pool. The sun doesn't set until 9pm and it just feels so much more relaxed. Vacations are so much fun to take and celebrating 4th of July is coming up and my kids can't wait for our neighborhood parade and festival. It's definitely the highlight of the summer. I always love to make some festive snacks for the occasion and I love these easy fruit kabobs! Not only are they easy, but delicious and healthy! The kids loves helping make them too.

As you can tell Raegan loved helping. Hudson was more about inhaling all of the fruit before we could make any of the kabobs. No joke, we started out with a whole container of raspberries and we ended up with enough to make 3 kabobs. This kid and his love for fruit. So I may have planned to make a bunch and take really pretty pictures, but alas, life happened and my toddler ate all the fruit. So 3 kabobs is it!

Now if you want to include a yummy (but not as healthy) fruit dip, here is my favorite! I received it from a dear friend's mom at my wedding shower and I make it all the time!

Mama Stratton's Fruit Dip

8 oz cream cheese

4 oz sour cream

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar 

3/4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp vanilla

Mix it all up in a mixer and dip fruit in it! So easy and so yummy!

What do you have planned for the holidays?

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Bring the Beach

Summer is upon us! 

I am especially excited because Kyle and I are going to Jamaica in mid June and I am already dreaming of laying by the pool, with a cocktail in my hand, and no care in the world!

My new favorite drink for the spring and summer is a Amaretto Cherry Sour.

It's nice and refreshing and not too strong. Easy to make and such a crowd pleaser.

All you need is:

Put it all in a tumbler, give it a shake, and pour over ice. I love to float lots of cherries in the bottom for a fun treat at the end of the drink.

What is your go to summer drink?

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House Update and Guest Room Inspiration

Life is busy. So busy. I apologize. This poor little blog has gotten neglected. With 3 kids 3 and under, a photography business, and starting a new business with Matilda Jane (that's for another post), I barely get any time to just sit. So unfortunately blogging has gone to the back burner, but I promise to start dedicating 1 day a week to posting. I'll have to set an alarm on my phone to remind me, but I'm really going to try!

So as many of you know we bought and renovated a home back in August 2016. We moved in in February 2017 and I have slowly been redecorating and we are almost done! We still have the dining room, guest room/office, and our bedroom. Even though Kyle would beg to differ that our bedroom needs to be redone, but it does ;)

Over Christmas we had the siding replaced as well as having the brick painted. It made a HUGE difference!

Here is what the house looked like before.

Here is after the paint!

Night and day!

And then Kyle built shutters as well. I swear, the man can do anything. He just needs a picture! They turned out exactly like I wanted.

Eventually we plan to put a porch across the front. Probably sometime next year. We really need to replace the fence first. It's in bad shape.

This is the end results that we hope for! And we will eventually add on to the right of the house too like this picture, but that won't be for like 8-10 years.

So yes lots has been done to the house and I'm so ready to finish up the inside too. I've been dreaming, pinning away, and trying to decide what I want to do with our 5th bedroom. Eventually it will be a baby room and according to Raegan it will be a baby sister. Slow your roll little missy, you have 2 brothers that can keep your busy right now! For now though I need a place to work. Now that I am doing photography part time and am a trunk keeper for Matilda Jane, I need a work place that isn't my dining room table, but we still need a place for guests to sleep if necessary. So here's what I'm planning out for the room.

I wanted to do a day bed with a trundle to allow the room to not be filled with a bed and that's it. I'm all about tufted furniture right now and just love this day bed!

I also wanted a desk area for editing photos and all my of my MJ paperwork. This desk set comes with a filing cabinet and it's cute! Not that ugly metal. Score!

Of course a beautiful desk needs a beautiful chair and this one just screams farmhouse to me.

I also wanted to have a chair I could put in a corner as a reading chair and again tufted won. It's just too good!

I love this bookshelf that I can store Matilda Jane samples and books in. I'm still trying to find some kind of garment hanger to put on the walls to hang my samples from. Still searching.

I have so many decor items to go in the room, but the rug, lamp, clock, and scale were some of my favorites!

I'm still debating on bedding, but I'm really loving this quilt from Matilda Jane.

Wayfair really does have it all and the prices can't be beat. Grab a glass of wine and some pandora and have an evening of putting furniture together with the hubs and we will hopefully have our guest room done SOON! 

New Britain Daybed with Trundle	Oridatown Single Pedestal Computer Desk with Lateral File	Libourne Side Chair
Orville Cube Bookcase	Dorothea Ivory/Gray Area Rug	Monro Shiplap 18 in. Wall Clock
Alejandro 26 in. Desk Lamp	Rustic Scale Decor	Hodgson Button Tufted Wingback Chair

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Living Room Reveal

The living room is FINALLY done! It has taken MONTHS. We were waiting for couches to be upholstered and for Christmas to be over so I could take pictures. The day has finally come to share this beautiful space and I am proud of it. 

Do not be fooled. It NEVER looks like this. Normally there are toys all over the place and Landon's bouncer and play mat. Fortunately the kids played outside this morning and I was able to snap some pictures without little hands or feet in them.

When planning out our home we went with a farmhouse look. After decorating the living room it became more of a chic/glamorous farmhouse and I absolutely love it!

All links will be included at the bottom of the post. Here's what it looked like before.

And after.

couch, chair, pillows (Tybalt Mica fabric)// Weirs

wing back chair// Target

rug// RugsUSA

home picture // Small Wood Home

lamps// Target (similar)

ottoman// Wayfair

wooden box// Hobby Lobby

aqua wall decor// Hobby Lobby

wooden tray// c/o Wayfair

lantern//  c/o Wayfair

entertainment center// c/o Wayfair (similar)

glass table vase// c/o Wayfair

candlesticks and candles// c/o Wayfair

flowers and ratan vase// Hobby Lobby

topiaries// c/o Wayfair

decorative books// Hobby Lobby

Thank you to Wayfair and Small Wood Home for their collaboration on our living room.

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