Friday Favorites

I haven't posted a Friday favorites in so long so I thought today I'd list a few favorites going on over here.

First up are these pretty flowers I picked up at Trader Joes this week.  The color is so pretty.  Fingers crossed they make it through the weekend!

Wednesday night I made one of our favorite pasta dishes and knowing that there are some leftovers waiting for us to enjoy over the weekend is a favorite for sure! 

Recipe found here

So I love, love, love Anthropologie's home decor but not getting free shipping and living an hour away from one makes me not shop there as often as I would like to so now that Nordstrom is carrying some of their home items I'm enjoying the free shipping.   I ordered this candle a few week ago.  It smells so good and has me even more excited for the Summer months!

Finding pretty things for our home like these flowers makes me happy!  Hobby Lobby has so many fun choices and it's even better when they are 50% off.

Since Summer is only 7 weeks away I am stocking up on some Summer fun goods for the girls as well as a few fun decor items.  I recently found this cute shop called, DecoMod and I ordered two of their banners for our home.  I ordered and already received this banner.  It'll be perfect for our annual 4th of July party.

 I loved the quality so much that I immediately ordered this watermelon banner which I'll put up for Summertime.  Their prices are great too!

These two got a hold of my camera last weekend and had too much fun taking selfies.  I laughed out loud at all of their silly photos they took together but this ones my favorite.

 This weekend is full of soccer games and 7am pictures one of the mornings.  Yes, I said 7am!  We are not looking forward to that.   Hopefully you all get to sleep in for us this weekend.  Have a good one!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!

I'm linking up a few of my favorites over here.

  

First up my favorite lotion that I've been using for the past few months.  I bought it at Rite Aid but it is much cheaper online at Amazon or Drugstore.com.  It smells so good and is free of parabens, sulfates, mineral oil, petrolatum.  The bottle is pretty big so it lasts a long time too!

here

Next up is regular sugar!
I read on somebody's blog that they used plain ole sugar to gently exfoliate their skin every morning before putting on make up and it made their skin look so much better so I decided to give it a try and I swear it makes a difference.  My skin looks so much better and I can definitely tell a difference if I skip a day of using it.  If you try it let me know what you think!!

I recently won a giveaway for a gift card to Coton Colors and after trying to make the hard decision on what to choose I ended up with this Happy Everything platter.  I waited patiently for it to arrive and I love it!!!  I ordered the exact heart attachment that you see here along with a St. Patrick's day shamrock to use for the month of March.  I will definitely be adding to the attachments in the future.  I love that I can change it out for each holiday or season.  It looks so cute sitting on my kitchen counter!

here

My last favorite is from the site ePantry.
I started ordering from them a few months ago and love the convenience of the program.  They basically mail you household items that you would normally purchase in the store for cheap.  You can cancel at anytime and their customer service is awesome.   If you want to give them a try use this link and you will automatically get a $10.00 credit to your account and be sure to order one of their candles, they smell and burn perfectly!!

here

Friday Favorites

Happy first Friday in December!! 

It's unbelievable that Christmas is less than 3 short weeks away.  I'm hoping to pack in as many fun Christmas activities as possible and enjoy every minute of it!!  I've been busy trying to get our home all decorated for the holiday and hoping to get it photographed soon to share but for now I'm sharing a few fun holiday items or gifts with all of you.

here

Last year I purchased Anthros Fir and Firewood scent for the holidays but it was a small mercury glass candle that I burned out very fast because it smelled so amazing!  When I saw that this year there was a large version and a small version I quickly snatched up the large one.  Good thing I did because now all that's left is the small one which I would still buy because it smells that good!

here

I always liked Taylor Swifts music but after this CD I might be teeny bopper obsessed with her!  I especially love her new single Blank Space and it could be on repeat constantly in our home.  I so want to be Taylor Swift when I grow up!

here

I received this popcorn in last months PopSugar Box and it so delicious!  I'm a little bummed to find out that I can not buy it anywhere nearby so looks like I'll have to order it from Amazon if I ever want it again but if you're lucky enough to find it in store, buy it!!!

here

I love, love, love these pillows!  If you don't follow  Craftberry Bush, you should she is so talented!  She paints the most gorgeous things and you can purchase some of her designs as pillows.  I purchased the top deer but have a long list of wants to add to our home, it's just so hard to narrow it down.

here

I've been spending this last week making these Christmas banners and still love them even if there is glitter all over my house.  The JOY banner is sold out but I still have the NOEL available in the shop and the BUON NATALE banner is newly listed.  If you are interested please order quickly since they seem to be selling fast!  They make great gifts or you can just keep 'em for yourself. 

Enjoy your first weekend of December!

Friday Favorites

*Vintage Florentine ~ I love using trays to gather decor and right now I have been gathering vintage florentine, mainly as trays.  You can find them at antique stores for $5 - $10 and they look so pretty with items displayed on them.  I have a post about decorating with trays coming up so drop back in next week to see how I use this florentine tray in my home and a few others.

* L'Aromarine Vanilla Perfume ~ I picked this up at Anthropologie and it's one of my everyday go to perfumes.  It's light and smells delicious!

* Thankfuls ~ Every year in November the girls right one thing they are thankful for each day.  In the past we had a Thankful tree that they would hang them up on but this year they are gathering in a silver bowl on our coffee table.  I love hearing what they come up with everyday and it helps them understand what this month is all about.

* Turkey Handprints ~  We made these cute little turkeys last year on canvas and I love that I get to pull them out each year to see how little their hands are or were.  They were super easy and a great Thanksgiving decoration.

* Halloween Candy ~ thanks to Halloween we are overflowing in delicious treats.  I can't help but grab a treat throughout the day!

* Jamberry Nails ~ My sister in law turned me onto this brand about a month ago when she hosted a party and I loved all the amazing designs they had to choose from!  I ordered a couple and love them, they last so much longer than polish and look so pretty.  I'm hosting a Jamberry party online right now through Facebook and would love to have you join!  Leave me a comment if you are interested and I'll get you all set up.  If you feel like browsing and find something you like feel free to purchase just please select Shannon's Party when checking out, thank you!

(here is the Iced adhesives by Jamberry, I used only half of my set and did my hands and toes!  my pinkie is not on correctly due to the fact that the nail is about to fall off  but the rest look so pretty.)

Friday Favorites

Since it is Fall and all I thought I would share my favorite soups for Friday Favorites.  Unfortunately we haven't had many soup nights here but fingers crossed that that changes in the next week or two.  

If you love soups be sure to give some of these, if not all of these a try. We love them around here!

Roasted Tomato & Basil Soup 

I make this soup every year for Halloween night, usually in advance and freeze it and I make A LOT so we are stocked through the cold months.

We also like this version of Tomato Soup as well, if we run out of our freezer stock I will make this one to switch things up a bit.

Cheese Tortellini Soup

this soup is easy and delicious what more could you ask for?

Chicken Noodle Soup 

Kayla loves chicken noodle soup so I make this especially for her.  I follow this recipe except I use store bought chicken stock, shhhh don't tell Ina!

Vegetable Soup 

all of the veggies just makes me feel healthy and the cannellini beans give it such a hearty flavor but make sure you make the baguette croutons to go with it.

Cheeseburger in Paradise Soup 

I never knew kale was so delicious until I made this soup, seriously the kale makes this soup.  I would say it's one of my favorites but really I love all of these soups the same except....

Corn and Cheese Chowder Soup 

This is my favorite, in fact it's the entire families favorite well minus Brooklyn but she rarely eats anything at dinner anyway.  Kayla has been requesting this since August and I have yet to make it because it has not been cold enough here.  This soup calls for the perfect weathered day and I'm hoping that is in the next few weeks!  I don't add the bell peppers in since hubby and Kayla aren't fans but it is served in a bread bowl just as the recipe shows and is AMAZING!  You really must try it.

Friday Favorites

It's already Friday again and I haven't posted since last weeks Friday Favorites!  I've been slacking on my blogging lately but I've already got plans to post again tomorrow morning so don't you worry I'll be back again before another week goes by.  This weeks Friday Favorites includes a few of my recent purchases that I've loved, one that I want and one that I just love to watch.  Hope you find something fun from my favorites!

1.  Jack O' Lantern Luminaries  if only I had more room or needed more Halloween decorations.  These are just too cute!
2   Tic Tac Toe Board  I'm so glad I bought this, the girls love playing with it and hubby and I have even played it a few times.  It sits on our coffee table so it's always getting use.  I sure wish I bought a few more for the other holidays!  I don't think it's available any longer but I'm keeping an eye out so I can purchase some more.
3.  Halloween Headbands  headbands are popular over here so when I saw these I had to buy them along with a few other cute hair goods from this shop.  Be sure to check out this etsy shop, there are a lot of cute hair accessories.
4.  Dolman Tunic  I just ordered this long sleeve dolman top in black, I've ordered 3 of the short sleeve ones in the past and I love them.  They are so soft and comfortable and you can't beat the price!
5.  About Time  have you seen this movie?  I love it, it's such a great movie and has a great message.  I cry everytime I watch it.
6.  Vigoss Tomboy Crop Jeans  all my jeans are Vigoss and I just got these and as always they do not disappoint.  I love that they are comfortable, fit perfect and are not $100 dollars!

Friday Favorites

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A few of my favorites on this first Friday of October,

*Fall Magazines~Love gathering my decorating and food magazines during holiday time there is so much inspiration found in a good magazine!

*Pumpkins~best way to decorate for Fall and so easy.  You can buy them at just about any grocery store and easily sprinkle them around your home or gather a bunch of little ones in a cute bowl and set out on a table.

*Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin lotion from Bath & Body Works.  I'm usually a simple vanilla body lotion person but purchased this scent for Fall and love the change for the season.

*Pumpkin Cupcake Candle also from Bath & Body Works.  I love just about all the pumpkin candles I smell but lately this is what has been filling our house up with the sweet smells of pumpkin, well other than pumpkin chocolate chip bread!  I have this and this candle on my list to purchase next.  

*Thomas English Muffins, Pumpkin Spice~Last year I read tons of amazing reviews of these and completely ignored them thinking they didn't sound that good well a few weeks ago I saw them and decided I would give 'em a try.....they are now like gold in our house!  The girls and I fight over who gets the last one they are so good.  Run out and buy a bag, I promise you'll love them.

*Trader Joe's This Pumpkin Walks into a Bar cereal bars~another delicious treat from Trader Joe's, seriously you can pretty much never go wrong buying food from this place.  These bars are so good and Kayla and I agree that even though they are supposed to be a Fall pumpkin flavor they have just a small amount of a Christmas flavor as well.  We love them!

*Candy Corn~we have candy corn in a bowl out all through Fall.  I can't believe how many flavors there are now-a-days.  Right now we are snacking on pumpkin spice flavored ones but we also really like the Indian corn flavored candies.

*Lunch Box Jokes~if you have kids you've gotta print some of these and put them in your kids lunches.  I put one in Kayla's lunch daily and she loves them.  She thinks they are so fun and all her friends love hearing them daily now too.  Pinterest has so many of them to print out, they even have some fun Halloween ones.

Linking up my Friday Favorites here, 

Friday Favorites

With season premieres just around the corner I thought I would share a few of my favorite t.v. shows which I can not wait to come back on!!

After months of horrible reality t.v. which I will not lie but do enjoy to a certain extent I am so looking forward to some good 'ole fashioned television shows to watch in the evenings!

First up is Nashville, I love a good drama and it can't get any better than this show.  I love all the music and can Deacon and Rayna just get together already please!

I was hesitant to even add Revenge to this list.  It used to be so good but now it's just getting weird.  I'm worried this season might kill this show if last season didn't already.  I'll still be tuning in though just to see what happens since I've been a follower from the beginning.

Ugghhh this show, The Following, it's so darn scary!  It's one of those shows that I can't stop watching even though I'm scared to watch it every time.  It is VERY suspenseful and I dread watching but I just can't turn away, I can't!  I'm curious to see where this season goes after the past finale.

After watching something scary I need some humor and I do love a good comedy!  The Goldbergs is hilarious, the mother is an absolute nut and I love that I can relate to her crazy mom ways except I usually just think them she full on does it.  It's also a fun throw back to the 80's. 

Of course Modern Family is a favorite!

I'm pretty sure everyone has seen this show by now if not, where have you been?

I look forward to Friday nights to watch Last Man Standing, why, I don't know.  It's a good easy comedy I guess.  Tim Allen is very conservative and his daughters and wife are a bit more liberal.  The show brings up political junk but it's done in a humorous way making it light and funny.  It's something fun to watch after the long week.

Parenthood.....need I say more?!  

By far my favorite show I have ever watched.  I just started watching this 3 seasons ago and spent the first half of the Summer going back and watching every single episode I had missed on Netflix.  To say I am sad this is the last season is an understatement!  I wish this show could go on forever.  I love that they pretty much cover every life event a person/family could ever deal with and I seriously want a cliffs notes on this show so I can go back in the future to remember how each character dealt with a certain situation at the time.  I cry every episode....every single time.

Watch it!

I haven't heard of too many new shows that sound like they are going to be good except for, Marry Me.  I'm looking forward to watching this new show coming in October, we loved Happily Ever After and it's supposed to be just as hilarious.  Hopefully it will be good! 

I know Scandal and The Good Wife are supposed to be really good but I never watched them because of recording conflicts with my previous shows.  Other than those two what are a few of your favorite shows that I might be missing out on?

Friday Favorites

T.G.I.F.

Thank goodness the week flew by, after having a 3 day weekend I have not been very happy to get up early this week and have really been wishing it was still Summer(just to sleep in, the heat can leave please!).  Now that we are in the beginning of September I am anxious to pull out some pumpkins but I wait every year until after Brooklyn's birthday party because I sure as heck don't want people thinking I'm crazy and all having pumpkins mixed in with her princess party decorations.  But after this Sunday it's pumpkin candles, pumpkin decor and chocolate chip pumpkin bread all the time!  As for now here are a few Friday favorites going on in our lives this week,

Dried hydrangea's are my favorite flower to decorate with, I love how pretty they look once they have dried.  You can find them all over my house whatever season it is but I usually trade out the blue ones for the ones above once Fall arrives. 

similar stand found here

My parents got me this tiered stand for my birthday and I love it, I've used it to display cupcakes, flowers, seashells, the list goes on and on.  Click here to see it filled with cupcakes and get my favorite cupcake recipe!  I'm looking forward to filling it with Fall decor and Christmas decor during the holidays.

I received my Chatbooks order this week and I could not be more impressed!  I have over 1000 instagram pics and I had been wanting to find some way to have them printed and these books are perfect.  Each book is $6.00 and contains 60 pictures, the date and the caption for each picture.  I'm so happy I have them all printed out to look back on one day.

Kayla loves reading and during the week you can usually find her just like this.  Her favorite book series to read is the Magic Tree House, she has been reading 2-3 books a week but once Friday rolls around she is all about playing Legos or Littlest Pet Shop with her sister!

As I was walking around taking pictures this little, or should I say soon to be 5 year old kept jumping in trying to get in the picture.  When I said I was all done she asked "Are you sure you don't want to take a picture of anything else??"  as in her.   Little goof always brings a smile to my face.  I can't believe she is going to be 5 on Monday, she was supposed to stay little forever!
We'll be celebrating with family and friends on Sunday so I'll be back next week with a whole lot of birthday pictures!
Have a great weekend.

Friday Favorites

My Friday Favorite this week was Wednesday spent with my girls on Balboa Island.   We love it there and most Summers although not this Summer we rent a house for a week on the island.  So when I told them we were going to go to the beach I figured we would be going to a beach with waves since that is what they usually want so when they mentioned Balboa Island I was more than excited.  It meant for the most part I could sit back and relax all day while they played happily and I wouldn't have to worry about a thing.  It was even better when we arrived and I set up our stuff on the sand in the same spot we stayed last year to find out the same family that was there the year before was back again this week.  The girls got to play with the same little boys as they did the year before which was fun.  They happily played in the sand, had a boogie board tricks competition with the boys and chased each other around in the water.  After six hours in the sun I told the girls it was time to grab dinner, we ate at a little diner on the island and afterward we walked over to the candy shop to grab our annual bag of taffy before taking a stroll around the island.  It definitely made me sad that we didn't get a house on the island this year(click here to see previous Balboa visits) but I do not miss paying for it!

I love these little girls so much, I'm so thankful I have them to share these days with!