Five On Fri-YAY

It's time for another edition of Five on Friday and I do hope you'll join along!

Remember, all you have to do is post about five things on your mind, add our logo (found at the bottom of this post), and join the party using the linky tools below. Easy, and a great way to find new blogs and be found. :)

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First full week of autumn and we are still hovering in the low 90s! Ha!

I ordered the cahhhh-utest matching Christmas outfits the other day for the girls from (shocker) Zulily ... they are green corduroy, matching little pants and shirt set, with a Christmas tree embroidered on the front. But goodness, I'm remembering back two Christmases ago when Camille wore short sleeves! Hopefully we will get a chill in the air that will stay through the holidays so that my girls can actually wear these!

Outfit from Zulily

T W O
My mom came in town for Wednesday evening and we did a little blind taste test on some inexpensive (supah-inexpensive) white wines from Aldi. Flirty Bird sauv blanc comes in at $3.99 and Coastal Cove sauv blanc is a whopping $6.99.

She and I are alike in so many ways, BUT she favored the Flirty Bird and I favored Coastal Cove! She's more of a pinot grigio preferrer, and the Flirty Bird has less of that citrusy zing that a lot of New Zealand SBs have, so that helped shape her opinion. But of course I'm a sucker for that particular tartness, so I like the one on the right!

Even if you may not want to serve a $4-7 wine for your in-laws on Thanksgiving, they sure do make great Wednesday night wines!

T H R E E

Fall candle poll! What's your favorite scent?

I'm finishing up some of our springy scents around the home and ready to start burning the fall ones. I do have a giveaway coming for you soon of some really wonderful NC-born-and-bred candles! I know we all love a delicious-smelling home. :)

  

voluspa candle // nest candle

F O U R
Please look at what Ian did to Camille's room! He put the lights on a timer so they come on for about 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes right before bedtime. They were reading Fancy Nancy one night and noticed how Nancy has lights strung up in her room, and that became their special little project. She loves her new lights (he said she can keep them up through Halloween) and we love seeing how proud she is of her room!

F I V E

This Sunday I will be participating in a pop-up shop at the Argyle Alligator on East Boulevard (new location near 300 East). Bows, bonnets, and bibs galore will be at our booth! I have also started making bow holders which are so very sweet! Please do stop by from 3-6. 

** Mention you are a blog reader for a discount on your purchase! ** 

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That's it for today! Hope you have a lovely weekend -- thanks for linking up with us below!

A Princess Brunch

Sunday was a really special day for Miss Camille because we had some very special mama/daughter time!

The club we joined this summer has been so impressive as far as their childrens' programs go. Lots and lots of emphasis on family get-togethers. When we joined, they already had this princess and superhero brunch in the works and I knew Camille would be all about it. 

Ian recently bought Camille this Snow White dress and I'm not kidding when I say the Snow White obsession these days is REAL. 

If you're aware of the scene at the end where she holds Dopey by both ears and softly pulls his head in and kisses him on top of his head, she does that with Charlotte. I'm not kidding. It's the cutest thing ever. 

They had a buffet brunch which was great because we were able to sit down and then eat quickly! I told Camille she could have anything she wanted to drink and she said "Mmmm... Diet Coke."

Yeah right, sister.

But she did get a lemonade and I didn't even instruct them to water it down. :) 

Belle, Ariel and Captain America were all SO kind and spent so much time with the kids! I got the information from the company if anyone is looking for some special attendants for a birthday party or get-together ... it's Enchanted Entertainment. 

Having these one-on-one times has been so special for us since a lot of my attention naturally goes towards Charlotte, being the younger one and less independent. So spoiling my oldest rotten for an afternoon was incredibly amazing for both of us. Camille was on her very best behavior and just had the time of her life! 

For The Baby Book

I have real, tangible, legit old-school baby books for each girl. Nothing fancy, just like the fifteen dollar ones you can get on Amazon. 

I have written down important stats in each girl's book (Charlotte's is admittedly more sparse) and truly do hope they enjoy looking through them one day, just as much as I enjoy looking through mine that my mom kept for me -- and later passed down to me. 

The books (and really, the box they came in) have also become a holding place for various papers and birthday cards and doctor office printouts and photos. I don't save every single birthday card or piece of artwork, but birthday cards that make the cut are the ones with sweet writing inside and artwork is usually just anything that involves a handprint ... since I know I will forget how tiny they really once were.

Camille made a doodle the other day that I am SO proud of, her first real face! Charlotte got ahold of it and scribbled on it which maddened Camille so much that she threw it across the room like a frisbee on fire. 

Oh well. I still think it's absolutely amazing and it's totally going in the baby book. 

Five On Friday! Fall Fall Fall!

It's time for another edition of Five on Friday and I do hope you'll join along!

Remember, all you have to do is post about five things on your mind, add our logo (found at the bottom of this post), and join the party using the linky tools below. Easy, and a great way to find new blogs and be found. :)

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HAPPY HAPPY First Day of Fall! The high here today in Charlotte is .... well, 87 degrees and sunny. No doubt the girls and I will be playing outside in the sun and NOT snuggled up in my plaid blanket scarf (please oh please let those still be in style this season because I love mine).

(I still wear Uggs too and don't you dare tell me they're out)

T W O
One of my most requested blog posts is about dressing the girls. I'd say my style for them is 10% stylish and 90% practical, meaning that it's clothing that 1) is comfortable, 2) is easily washable, 3) was passed down for free to us, or 4) was purchased at a church consignment sale or resale shop.

The most compliments are on days when I dress them in MATCHING clothes! So cute. It also makes dressing them in the mornings so much easier.

Okay, so when I do purchase new clothes for them, my secret supply source for matching clothes is Zulily and SPECIFICALLY the Nanette brand. These clothes are cute and cotton-soft. Plus, with the drop-down menu for sizing, I can easily grab one in 2T and one in 4T (I like sizing up a little bit with this brand, plus there's a chance the clothes might fit again next fall).

Nanette just happens to be on sale now on Zulily and here are 4 little outfits that I picked out as my favorites!

T H R E E

I don't know if you saw my Snapchat yesterday with Charlotte cruising around on the Ybike, but WOW! She was so mobile (she's not walking yet so this is HUGE) and so independent and so PROUD. We gave this bike to Camille two Christmases ago, and she never really took to it, so it's been just sort of collecting dust in our garage. I decided on a whim to pull it out yesterday evening for Charrie and I had tears in my eyes because of how great it was for her! Ian was out of town but I sent him a long video and he was in shock and so, so proud!

The pediatrician said we will revisit her not walking yet at her 18 month checkup which is in about 3 weeks, so I'm really feeling a ton of pressure to do everything I can to reach this milestone before we have to seek third party therapy. 

Ybike on Amazon

F O U R
Last Friday at the Nature Museum, I was talking to the other moms about our Aldi favorites (OMG IF THAT WASN'T THE MOST ADULTISH SENTENCE EVER). Ahem. Anyway!

We were saying that the one thing we didn't buy from Aldi was their beer because our hubbies drink the name brand stuff.

Well. Lo and behold. I was at Aldi on Monday and saw "Hop Lift" which is a not-so-subtle nod at one of Ian's favorite beers, Hop Drop & Roll. This one isn't as strong (6.2% vs 7.2%, in case you're curious), so that's good. I picked up a 4-pack for $6.99 and Ian was super impressed. He said he's been paying $12.99 for his 4-pack of Hop Drop.

Aldi IPAs for the win! This weekend we plan to do a blind taste taste and pick our favorite.

F I V E

Happy Friday, you guys! I've got 2 minutes before Camille's clock turns green and I still need to jump in the shower REALLY fast and wash this charcoal mask off my face! Looking forward to a great weekend with a special birthday party to attend on Saturday and then a fun little adventure planned for Sunday with Camille!

XOXO and would love to hear from any moms with late walkers :) 

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That's it for today! Hope you have a lovely weekend -- thanks for linking up with us below!

Outdoor Beautification Plans ... And Do You Have Tips?

It's not that we are running out of improvements to make on the inside of the house (because trust me, we have lots of work to do still!) but we are starting to turn our attention outdoors ... which is a lot of fun! The temps are moving from "sweltering" to "not as sweltering" here in Charlotte and I have to say that I actually kind of like beautifying the yard when I don't have to worry about a sunburn in five minutes.

We had our lawn-moving service guy over to quote us on removing the existing plants in the beds and that quote was $700 ... um, yeahhhhhNO. I know my frugality halts me sometimes, but seven-hunny just to clean slate our beds? I just think that's extraordinarily high. There are 9 plants there of varying sizes but nothing crazy huge.

So tell me here if I'm being cheap or smart(ish). Ian wants to rip everything out and start anew but I'm just thinking we can plant more boxwoods and other trees of varying heights around what's there and end up with something pretty. A smorgasbord of plants that all sort of work together. More color like azaleas and camellias ... making sure to layer the plants for visual interest and add in some evergreens and colors.

Here are some of the inspiration photos I found on Pinterest. I would also love to know what plants have worked out really well for you!

From Internet Friends to Real-Life Friends

Justine and I "met" a few years ago -- Camille was only a few months old. We were connected by our blogs, and she first reached out to me with an email. 

Writing this blog for seven-ish years now, it's so interesting seeing how my circle of friends has been impacted by this little corner of the internet. Some of my very, very best friends now are ones that started off with an email. Soooo twenty-first century of us. 

I love Justine so much that I will even post this photo of us where I look dog-tired. We'd stayed up chatting in the den with our husbands until after midnight and I hadn't yet showered yet that morning. Woof. 

So, let's rewind a little bit. 

My family rolled into town on Saturday afternoon at lunchtime and I sort of had to remind myself that I'd never actually met her. We've emailed, texted, and chatted on the phone, but that's it. But it just felt so natural!

Our kiddos (her 5 and my 2) hit it off right away, having pizza together, playing, and getting to know each other. 

The littlest ones took an afternoon nap, and afterwards, we took the clan to the park. It was one of the greatest parks I've been to in a long time! 

The husbands were at a football game this whole time, I should add! It's so wonderful when friendships are such a natural fit between the wives AND the husbands.

Later that evening after dinner and some trampoline time, we took the children back out for Pelican's sno-balls. Look at the littlest babies in this pic! So adorable!

Camille had her first sleepover that evening in the playroom! I was shocked that she laid down and slept in her sleeping bag the entire night ... goooo Camille! The advantage of having older girls to learn from and look up to. :) 

Her face looks a little pained in this photo (haha) but she had the time of her life. 

So, as we drove away the next morning, we were already planning out the next time we will get together. Friendships like this ... they don't happen every day!

Pinkness And Blueness

Monday, Monday ... beating the Monday blues with a funny little life quip for you today.

So, Camille has turned into quite the literal namer when it comes to babies and dolls. We have Pink Baby, Brown Baby, you get the drift. It's cute.

Well, recently she received two little play mermaids from my mother-in-law -- one with a hot pink tail and hot pink hair, one with electric blue hair and the matching blue tail. 

My MIL Marsha said "So Camille, have you thought of a name yet for your pink mermaid?"

And with zero hesitation she yelled out "PINKNESSSSS!" except the "k" sound was really, really silent. Really silent.

My head and my MIL's head whipped right around and our eyes were the size of saucers, and then finally Camille said "... and this other one is named BLUENESS." 

Whew. Whew, whew, whew.

Pinkness and Blueness. 

And then about a week later a girlfriend was over and the exact same scenario happened, and luckily then I was able to explain immediately that it was NOT a male anatomy reference. 

These little ones, they keep us on our toes -- am I right?

So, coffee cups up, cheers to a great week, and Happy Monday y'all!

Friday! Fall Outfit, Fall Lip Color

It's time for another edition of Five on Friday and I do hope you'll join along!

Remember, all you have to do is post about five things on your mind, add our logo (found at the bottom of this post), and join the party using the linky tools below. Easy, and a great way to find new blogs and be found. :)

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Thanks for all of the love on Instagram with my outfit for movie night. I really love that top. Size down, guys, but it's so cute over leggings. This duo was perfect for snuggling in a dark theater for a mid-week movie night date.

Ian and I started off with sushi and then went to watch It (guess whose choice that was). My husband lovvvves horror flicks. I do have to say that it was spooky and creepy but not really disgusting/gory. I can't do disgusting/gory. I don't like to see things that I can't unsee -- know what I mean?

Outfit will be on repeat this fall! On repeat! (that sort of sounds like a fashion blogger)

T W O
I've been uber busy this week with getting Panthers bows out to local mamas. These bows are fun to make for me and they are also a great way for me to get a little fall shopping money. I advertise these on a local FB moms group here, but if I have any left over I will post them on Instagram! You can find us HERE.

T H R E E

Okay, so we may have inherited leaky pipes and gobs of brass fixtures with our house, BUT we also inherited some absolutely stunning hydrangeas and gardenias. Anytime you see these lovely violet hydrangeas in my kitchen, they have been cut from our side yard. We really hit the floral jackpot with these lovely plants! 

F O U R
Short hair updo ... check this gorgeous style out! We don't have any really chi-chi events coming up soon, but I could even see a more casual version of this hairdo at a girls night out or on a date night. Or just to conceal unwashed hair, ha!

F I V E

This week I tried out the rose gold lip trend that's making the rounds. I love how it turned out! If you have a peachy-pink color and a shimmery beige, just layer them for this look.  

Okay, off to breakfast with the kiddos and then the Nature Museum! Happy Friday to you all!

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That's it for today! Hope you have a lovely weekend -- thanks for linking up with us below!