{BF/GF Play Date}

Before the cutest mom ever has to go back to work, we decided to get together and have a play date. Melissa has two kids, Madison & Jamesom. We were preggers at the same time with Madison & Bayler, and we were so excited they were boy & girl. Yep, it's official. We have set them for life :) And cute little Jameson was born in May ... and boy is he a good baby. The whole time she just laid there, looked around, never fussed ... precious!

Here are a few pictures from our play date ... please note, I have recently got out of Auto Mode on my camera, so these pictures are less than impressive ... but hey ... I'm trying. {Feel free to give me LOTS of tips :)}

{Office Clip + Phone Charger}

Hope everyone is having a great Monday. It's a little slow here ... I am trying to get everything back in working order after being gone all weekend. Here's to the start of SUMMER for me anyways :)

This is just a little something that I have found useful. My husband calls it brilliant :)



This is attached to my nightstand, so now I don't have to reach down and grab it every night.

Today you will not be able to reach me. I will be spending my weekend here ...



Cheers!

{One's to Watch}

I couldn't be more proud of my hubs. Recently he was selected as a "One to Watch" in our hometown. Each year the Jefferson City Magazine selects a handful of individuals who's career and involvement in organizations make them stand out. Obviously it's a huge compliment to him, and I just am so happy he has achieved this. It really just shows how all of his hard work has paid off!




Congratulations honey!

{PW's Iced Coffee with a Pampered Mom's Twist}

If you do not read the Pioneer Women's Blog ... you are missing out. And if you have not tried her Iced Coffee recipe ... you are missing out even more. To find out how she makes her iced coffee ... click here.

Now, I am one huge fan of Iced Coffee. It's totally in my head, but every morning I wake up and my body drives to the closest Starbucks or McDonald's to grab their Iced Mocha. So when I saw her post on how to make the perfect iced coffee at home, and how much money I could save on a daily basis ... I knew I had to try it.

Her recipe calls for your favorite coffee ... mine ... is Mocha. I die just thinking of it ... yum! If you're too lazy to jump over to her blog and see how she makes her morning coffee ... here is how I made mine ... and let me tell you ... it's FABULOUS!

Here is what you'll need {to make an iced mocha - my style}:
-favorite coffee
-water
-large container with lid
-strainer/cheese cloth
-ice
-milk
-sugar
-chocolate syrup

To get started, pour your desired amount of coffee into the large container. You'll then fill the container with the appropriate amount of water. I used a cup of coffee and filled my container about 3/4 the way full. I took a whisk, and combined the water and coffee until there was nothing left on the bottom. Now you have to wait. Place the lid on your container and place in the refrigerator for no less than 8 hours.




After 8 hours have passed, take out your coffee. There should be a separation. The coffee back on the bottom and the water on top. Take a strainer {possibly a cheese cloth as well, like Ree says} and pour the liquid into a pitcher, leaving behind the coffee remains. I made mine the night before, so I put my iced mocha flavored coffee back into the fridge.







I made my iced mocha by pouring my coffee into a tall glass. I then take milk ... I use 2% and pour into the mocha. I add a small spoonful of sugar, and finally, I add a little bit of chocolate syrup. Stir together well, and add ice ... and you have the perfect Iced Mocha!

{Homemade Fabreze}

Anyone love the smell of Fabreze but hate the cost? I do!! It's something that I occazionally put back on the self after a full day's worth of shopping. That one product that I think I could do without, which is sad, because I love it so much!

After pinning on Pinterest the other day, I noticed someone posting "Ghetto Fabreze." And I was hooked ... especially since I had all the products already at home. SCORE!

So here's how it works ...

Step #1:
First you will need to find an empty spray bottle. Or if you're like me, empty and clean out a spray bottle to use.




Step #2:
Gather your items ...




Step #3:
Mix your products ... 1.5 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of baking powder & 1.5 tablespoons of fabric softener.




Step #4
Pour into your spray bottle ... and you're ready to go!




You can find the orgigional post at Curbly

Bayler's 2nd Birthday: The Reveal #2

So here's Bayler's party wrap up. I can't believe it was almost a month ago. Number 1, I should have posted this before now, and #2 ... I still have to get out the Thank You cards :(















I had so much fun designing and planning for this party. It was super fun, and even my "FIL" said that it was the best party that I have thrown yet!

Bayler's 2nd Birthday: The Reveal #1

Well, I totally planned to blog about this earlier, but it seems like every time I sat down to do so, my Internet stopped working. But, tonight it's up and running like a champ!

As most of you know, this year I designed Bayler's 2nd Birthday as a giraffe theme. It was so cute and precious! Let me first start by saying that Bayler loves them, he carries his stuffed animal giraffey around everywhere we go, and then we also have one of those 5 ft. giraffes in the playroom. Don't even get me started if he sees one on TV! So it was the perfect theme for him. Oh ... and did I mention he was a giraffe for Halloween?

Anyways, the party turned out super cute. I didn't go all out, I didn't do anything crazy. I really just wanted it to be about friends and family ... and most importantly, I wanted Bayler to have fun!

Theme: Giraffe
Colors: Brown, Blue & Orange
Invitation: HERE
Fun Details: Mason Jars, Stripped Cake & Straws, Water Bottles, Canvases & Chocolate Mustache & Lip Molds.

Everything looked so cute and perfect ... and since I was super busy the week of his birthday, I was pleasantly pleased how everything turned out!

See for yourself ...















Stay tuned for Bayler's Birthday Reveal #2!