Spring Break Needs with Social Threads

Who is packing up and going somewhere warm for Spring Break?? I wish I could raise my hand to that, but unfortunately we will be here. We rarely travel over spring break because 1. it is insanely expensive to fly and 2. it is always super crowded


However, we are heading to the beach just the month after Spring Break - and I cannot wait!! I also cannot wait to sport my new items from Social Threads! my hat and these beach pants are going to be my favorite, I just know it!

                                                     Hat                        Pants


The thing I love about this sun hat is that the brim in the back is smaller so you can lay down and relax in a beach chair comfortably!


Social Threads also has the cutest dresses that would be perfect for a beach vaca!

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Social Threads also some really cute accessories! I am loving this bracelet!! So fun and colorful!

If you're heading out into town, this top would be darling paired with jeans and heels!!

You can shop all Social Threads collections here

Social Threads is a great company to follow, it is owned by 2 moms (who happen to be sister in laws) who are juggling life just like the rest of us! They wanted to give us gals a place to shop and find an affordable selection of clothes that we feel great in. How awesome is that?!

What's also awesome is that I have team up with them to give one you a $100 gift card!!!!!! 

Here's how to enter:

Join my FB group if you haven't already, there will be a post later today for the giveaway

Like the FB page - Social Threads 

Bonus entry for commenting below with what you would buy if you won the gift card

Giveaway will run through Saturday, 2/22/2020. Winner will be announced after giveaway closes - GOOD LUCK!!

Custom Family Illustration

For a while now I've really wanted a cartoon/custom family illustration done of us. I've been seeing them everywhere and I think they're just so cool!

Where else does one go for something custom other than Etsy, am I right? There was where I found Save the Forest! OMG you guys, Monique's stuff is so amazing! I knew right away I wanted her to work on my family's illustration.

Just look at some she has done:









Working with Monique was sooooo easy which was probably the best part! I sent her some images of our family and she got right to work on creating our illustration.

Once my illustration was ready, she told me to let her know if I wanted anything changed and to not hesitate because she really wants her customers to love their product.  I actually did ask her to tweak a few things like hair color and the color of our dog and in the end changed the color font and throughout all my emails (there were lots!) she was so patient and understanding and happy to fix what I asked.

How awesome does it look?!?! I am SO happy with how it turned out!  I think I might even try to copy it onto a wood slice like I showed last week.


If you want to get in touch with Monique about a custom illustration here's her contact info:

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SaveTheForest?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Pinterest: https://za.pinterest.com/monique27vgmailcom/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savetheforestillustration/?hl=en

I cannot thank Monique enough for such a special gift, I am so excited to display it in our home!

*linking up with Lindsays Sweet World & Our Pretty Little Girls

Back to School with Mabel's Labels!

Back to school time can be stressful for sure, but today I'm sharing something that can help make it a touch easier on you.

Enter Mabel's Labels - Have you heard of them? They made ADORABLE custom labels, stickers and tags for your little ones (or for yourself!)

These labels are so great for organizing your back to school supplies. 

We went with the Ultimate Back to School Combo - and Brayden was all about the sunglasses emoji!

Let me tell you, it was so nice to show up to Back to School night with these babies in my hand. It made labeling so easy!!  We labeled all of Brayden's folders, binder, supply case, glue bottles, highlighters and more!

I also labeled his shoes and used the tags to attach to his lunch bag and backpack

Thanks to Mabel's Labels for helping this Mama stay organized this school year! I hope my boy has the best year!

Thank you Mabel's Labels for sponsoring this post

My love for Mixbook

Today I'm sharing with you all about the company Mixbook- have you heard of them? I discovered them a few years ago and fell in love with their products.

I take ALOT of pictures and before I found Mixbook, I would make a quarterly photobook through Shutterfly of our family's year. There was nothing wrong with that except the photo books were piling up and I found myself creating a new theme for each book (which can be fun) but it was becoming exhausting.

I don't even remember how I found Mixbook, but when I did, I was instantly drawn to their yearbook style photo books. I decided at that moment that going forward, I would make one photobook a year and it would be our family's yearbook.

I went with black 8 1/2" x 11 size and I love the sleekness of it. That's the size I do all my books now.

I choose to put my photos in the book myself instead of having them auto uploaded. The reason is because I know if I do it myself, I can fit a ton more pictures on each page (which is necessary when you are well on your way to a $200 photo book because you take all the pictures)

It takes a while to do this, but it's worth it.





I have started a system that makes it a little easier. I save all the current years pictures in their own monthly folder on our computer. At the end of each month, I go to Mixbook and upload that month's pictures. Then I start my photo book for that month. If I do it like this, it is not nearly as overwhelming as waiting until the entire year is over and then going back and doing month by month (I've done this, and it has taken me FOREVER)







I can tell as the years are going by, my books are becoming bigger and bigger! 2016 was the biggest yet with almost 200 pages!

Mixbook doesn't only do photobooks - they have so many other awesome products! They do custom cards for every occasion, they do calendars and even home decor!

So tell me, have you heard of Mixbook? Do you order from them? If not, I hope you will check them out!

*I was gifted a photo book in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions



*linking up with Lindsays Sweet World & Our Pretty Little Girls

Getting Organized {Electronics}

I don't know how it is at your house, but at ours, everyone has an electronic device. We got all the kids Kindles for Christmas, I have one, Rick has an Ipad and then of course our Iphones. Whenever these things needed to be charged, you could find them all over our house plugged in. To say this drove me crazy would be an understatement.

Enter the gofanco 7 port charging station - the amazing product that has changed our life. Well ok, that's dramatic, but it has brought me so much less stress with charging and storing our devices and that my friends is worth so much.

Now we are lucky enough to have an outlet inside one of our cabinets, so that is where this baby stays. It's out of sight which for me, was SO important. Plus, we really don't have another good spot on our counters. Now the only thing I really need to get are those mini cords because the long cords are a little annoying

now you see it

And when we're done we can just close the cabinet and you would never know everything is sitting in there so nicely :)

now you don't :)

I am serious when I say I LOVE this product! I mean, how could you not! My kids all know exactly where to put their tablets when they are done and they can easily plug them in to charge when needed. Boom!

To see a full list of all gofanco products, go here

Do you have a multi port charging system? If not, I totally recommend this one!



*I was given this product in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own

*linking up with Jessi's Design

Teeth Whitening Review with Smile Brilliant

You guys - today I'm here to tell you and show you all about Smile Brilliant. Their teeth whitening system is AMAZING.

Let's back it up a little - I am an avid coffee drinker (like several cups a day) and I love my red wine. Over the years, and more recently, I realized that my teeth were not looking their best. I've tried crest white strips in the past and a couple other whitening products and let me tell you, Smile Brilliant knocked them all out of the park.

With the others, I specifically remember my teeth and gums burning during and after use! I would suffer through the pain because I thought the result was worth it, but even though my teeth did get a little whiter, they never really stayed like that.

With Smile Brilliant, I am happy to say I had no issues of my teeth and gums burning, and that's probably partially due to the fact that they have a desensitizing gel that you use right after the whitening gel.

Ok let's get to the whitening kit and what it's all about:

When you order your kit, the first thing you need to do is make your impressions for your custom trays. These are what you are going to use to put the whitening and desensitizing gels in. It is very simple to make your impressions. The kit comes with 2 pastes that you mix together, place inside a plastic mold and then you bite down to make your impressions. You will do this for your top and bottom teeth. Once they are dry, you send them back to Smile Brilliant so they can create your custom trays!

Once you receive your trays, you're ready to start whitening! For me, I did choose to use to the gels every other day because I felt that if I did it everyday, I may have some irritation. Doing the every other day worked great for me!

Whitening your teeth at home is so easy! If you want, you can watch a video on this affordable teeth whitening review 

I hope you give Smile Brilliant a try if you're looking to whiten your teeth at home! And one lucky reader will be able to because Smile Brilliant is giving away $139 towards any teeth whitening kit!!

Here are the details:

Giveaway link: www.smilebrilliant.com/g/thishappylife (**Giveaway open to UK, Australia, Canada, and USA residents*)

Also here's a 5% coupon code: thishappylife5

GOOD LUCK!!!

*linking up with Lindsay's Sweet World & Our Pretty Little Girls for Tuesday Talk

Christmas Tees with I Love Apparel

Hi Friends! Today I'm sharing a new favorite shop of mine - I Love Apparel. I don't know about you guys, but I am sucker for graphic tees, like give me them all please :)

When I saw I Love Apparel's line of Christmas graphic tees I couldn't wait to get one. I mean who am I kidding, I wanted them all, but ultimately decided on this one:

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Gahhh! How cute is it!? I chose the fitted womens tee vs the regular tee and I also sized up to a Large and it fits great. The material is so comfy and the quality is really really good. 

Check out these other super fun graphic tees - all and so much more can be found in their Christmas section

Not only do they have an awesome selection of Christmas tees, they have so much more! You can shop by interests and see just how many categories they have.

Another favorite of mine is their selection of Gilmore Girl shirts - I want every one!

If you are in need of that perfect Christmas present or just shopping for yourself, I really recommend ordering through I Love Apparel. 

Readers can use promo code 'thishappylife' to get 15% off your order. I hope you find something you love!


*I was gifted this shirt in return for my review, all opinions are 100% my own


*linking up with Jessi's Design