Friday Favorites - Summer Staples Edition

Woohoo for the weekend!

First I need to say thank you for letting me vent yesterday! It's good to know I can relate to so many of you! That's one of my favorite things about blogging :)


Now onto the link up - I'm sharing some summer staples that I consider must haves :)


{ONE} - Shoes

You don't need to have a ton of shoes, but a few good pairs will go a long way!

These sandals are my new favorite! I loved them online, then when I got them I wasn't too sure, but they grew on me and now I love them

via

A good wedge is a must! Especially for me since heels are pretty much out of the question nowadays

via

Some good basic sandals are good too, like these and these

{TWO} - Shorts

Shorts have always been a favorite of mine but it seems like after having kids I've strayed away from wearing them. This year that's changing. I'm looking forward to wearing shorts more and I've already purchased these in a couple colors from Loft.

My girl Lindsay did a whole post on summer shorts that you can see here - she featured some really great ones!

I've also been eyeing these ones forever and I think they have my name on them :)

via

{THREE} - Tops

I'm all about the flowy tops now, long gone are the days where I like my clothes tight on me (Mom, you were right all along!)

This one looks so cute and comfy!




A nice loose tank like this is also a must have for me

I love loose fitting tees as well - Gap has great quality ones and I always order tall so they're longer one me

  

 


{FOUR} - Hats

I just bought this sunhat and love how it looks. I probably won't wear it as much as I should, but it's cute and when I want to wear it, I can.

This floppy looks so cute too! A good old baseball hat like this is good too



{FIVE} -  Sunglasses

Nordstrom has a great line of inexpensive and cute sunglasses. These are my favorites

via

via

via

I'd love to hear some of your favorite summer staples!

Have a great weekend!

Linking up with:

Momfessionals

Hello Happiness

September Farm

BLT Pasta Salad.....with a side of complaining

Happy Thursday!

Yesterday was an awful day all around and I'm hoping today is better.  It all started with me going to the dr for my yearly physical, just to arrive (early) and them tell me the dr is running behind. Not a big shocker as this is usually the case...well fast forward 20 minutes and the nurse comes out and says that the dr is still with her 1st patient of the morning and there were 4 people in front of me still and it would be 1 1/2 - 2 more hours until I could be seen. Ummm WTF!? They asked if that was OK to which I lost it a little bit on them and told them no, it would not be.  I had my Mom at my house and knew I couldn't be gone another 2 1/2 hours , plus I was starving since I had to fast so that didn't help my mood.  They proceeded to find me another appt next week after they tried getting me to come back in a month - oh and I should mention that this appt was a reschedule from my other appt I had in April that the nurse called me 1 hour before I was leaving and said the dr was sick that day... I swear I have the worst luck with this dr office.  After I got my new appt, they said I could still do my bloodwork and then come back to see the dr next week, ok fine. Well after 20 more minutes of waiting to be called for blood work, the front desk lady came up to me and said I actually couldn't do my bloodwork today because it would screw up my insurance, I guess it has to be done same day?? Needless to say, I was furious when I left there and called my husband crying and giving him my sob story of a morning. Can we say #dramaqueen ?? I so am when it comes to stuff like this - I totally get that this really isn't a big deal at the end of the day, but man was I pissed! And even worse, I let it affect most of my day and was not the nicest Mommy to my sweet kiddos. Thank goodness they are the best at forgiving and forgetting!!

Phew, now that that is off my chest, on to today's post.

I have been on a roll lately with salads. It's definitely the weather, once it starts to get warm around here, I want to eat lighter, and salads are the perfect way!

Today I'm sharing a BLT pasta salad I made last week.  It was a huge hit with the hubs too which is always a bonus since he doesn't always love my salads

I made a big batch of this salad as well and we ate it throughout the week.

What you need:

For the pasta 

• 1lb bag of pasta noodles of your choice
• 1 cup of romaine lettuce cut up
• 15-20 grape tomatoes, halved
•  Few pieces of cooked, crumbled bacon
• Chopped green onion (1-2)
• Shredded cheddar cheese

For the dressing

• 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• salt + pepper

What to do:

Cook the pasta al dente - once done, rinse under cold water to stop them from cooking.  Place noodles in large bowl, add romaine, tomatoes and bacon.

Mix all ingredients together to make the dressing, then pour over the pasta salad.  Mix together well. Add desired amount of shredded cheddar to the salad.

Put in the fridge for at least an hour to let everything settle together and for the salad to get good and cold.  

Enjoy!!

Favorite Vacation(s)

I'm joining in the fun with Andrea today and sharing my favorite vacation...although I'm cheating and sharing 2 :)

The first one was my honeymoon in Aruba.  It was GORGEOUS!! Me and the hubby still talk about how amazing it was and how we can't wait to go back, either with the kids or without.  If you haven't been, I totally recommend! Aruba is not on the hurricane belt so any time of year is good, the beaches are gorgeous and there is no one around hassling you, the food is delicious and the drinks were always yummy.

The view from our room

Ahhh my bikini wearing days...I miss them sometimes

ATV'ing around the island, sooooo fun!!

babies!

Of course I couldn't have a favorite vacation post, without mentioning Disney World!! That for sure one of my favorites!

It truly was a magical vacation and we cannot wait to go back!!

I could add a thousand more pictures, but instead you can read about our trip here, here and here if you would like and see many, many more pics!

Happy Tuesday!

weekly recap {5.23.16}

We had such a great weekend I was so not ready for Monday to come, yet here it is...  our whole week was a pretty good one as a matter of fact - here's our recap


Monday we went grocery shopping then met up with some friends and went to a park. The rest of the day we hung around the house.

Tuesday we headed to a local park/pond near us to feed the ducks. The girls were really excited for this, especially Avery who LOVES ducks.  Everytime she sees one, she yells DUCKS, DUCKS!

After feeding we played at the park for a bit

Then it was home for lunch and playtime! Ella was really into stacking these blocks last week which was strange because she hasn't touched them in years. Oh well, it kept her busy and she had fun!

                                

Wednesday we were having a playdate at our house.  The girls and I whipped up some blueberry & strawberry muffins before our friends got here

Thursday we headed to the library for this fun class called Lil' Gardeners.  It was a drop off so Ella would have to go in the room without me (just for some stories then a craft and I would stay in the library) but she was not having it.  I didn't push her so we just went and played in the main area.

After dropping my Mom off after the library, the girls and I headed to a nearby park.  They LOVE this park so much

 

Thursday night we had a baseball game at the park in our neighborhood.  Afterwards we let the kiddos play at the park for a while.  Brayden loved playing with boys his own age for once instead of his sisters

Friday was Hawaii day at school and this is the picture I got before he left for school.  Oh 5 year olds, they are so fun :)

The girls and I went shopping and Ella made her self at home on every chair she saw at HomeGoods.

Friday night we surprised the kids and took them swimming! We thought it would be fun to switch up our usual Friday night of staying in and eating pizza.  The kids were sooooo excited and we had a great time!

I can't even.

My whole world

Ella wrote my name on the driveway Saturday before swimming lessons.  This girl melts my heart!!

After swimming, it was off to baseball!! The boys played soooo well and I had so much fun watching

The Mom who brought treats also gave each kid a red nose so of course we had to get a pic!

Saturday afternoon we headed to my SIL & BIL's new gorgeous house for my nephews 2nd birthday party.  It was such a nice day and the kids enjoyed playing on all of my nephews new toys :)

birthday boy!

Sunday I took Brayden to his classmates party in the morning then it was home to do some gardening. I had the cutest little helper :)

At some point Avery was napping, the hubs was working on his sisters table and Brayden & Ella went inside because they were really hot, so this happened.  I sat outside, drank a beer and read my book that I've been trying to finish for months.  It was a great 20 minutes.

My Mom came over around 4 and we all went out for ice cream!

We ended our day with baths and showers all around.  I was so happy to just hit the couch and relax.

Now we're off to get our week started! :)

*linking up with B Loved Boston for Weekending