Friday Favorites-Favorite Things Party Edition

Happy Friday, Everyone!

I hope you've had a good week.  I'm joining forces with my girls, Narci and Andrea, to share some Friday Favorites.  We'd love for you to join us!  Simply blog your faves, grab our graphic, link back to one or all of us, and add your blog to the link-up at the bottom of the post.  EASY!

My post today is full of FAVORITES...

This week it was my turn to host our little group of girls (some of my FAVORITE ladies) for dinner and some girl chatting time.  I decided to ask everyone to bring their FAVORITE thing and we turned it into a little Favorite Things Party.  Everyone brought two of their favorite thing and then we all left with two new favorite things.  I put everyone's name in a bowl twice and we each drew two names.  These were the names of the gifts we opened.  I love getting recommendations from my girlfriends, but you know what's even better than that...getting to keep the actual products they're recommending.  

The picture above is the only picture I have from the night...so glad Jeni took it!  Thank you, Jeni!  But I thought I'd go ahead and share the gifts that were brought.  

These are a few of our favorite things...

*Chocolate Pecan Pie in a Jar

I can't wait to pick this up for myself!  My girlfriend said this makes the holidays so much easier!  Baking a pecan pie takes NO time with this goodness.  I'm going to remember this for gifts this holiday season as well.  Wouldn't this make a good gift?!

*Mod About You-OPI Nail Polish

FABULOUS spring/summer polish!  Your toes will thank you.  :)

*Starbucks Gift Card

Need I say more?  Who doesn't love some Starbucks?

*Mirrored Sunglasses

By the end of the night, (with a little help) I'd convinced myself I needed these glasses.  So cute!  And $12!

*Silicone Rings

These are perfect for any sport, manual labor, or painting.  If there's ever an occasion you don't want to wear your wedding ring for fear of damaging it, this is the perfect alternative!

*Jergens Natural Glow Wet Skin Moisturizer

This is an in-shower moisturizer you use on wet skin that gives you a sunless tan.  Double win!

*Puff Me

Puff Me is a volumizing mist that gives your hair some volume with just one little puff.

*Jergens Natural Glow Instant Sun Mousse

This sunless tanner is a mousse that leaves skin a pretty sun-kissed color and it dries in 60 seconds!

*Essie Backseat Besties Nail Polish

Apparently our group has a thing for the perfect soft pink nail color.  :)  

*Dr. Dennis Gross Glow Pads for Body

Correction...we have a thing for pink nail polish AND sunless tanners.  These tanners are amazing.  Perfect sun tan color every time.

Any of these would make a great birthday gift, gift of encouragement, or you could put a few together and have a cute little Easter basket for a daughter/mother/etc. 

I always have fun with my girlfriends but it was extra fun sharing some of our FAVORITE THINGS. 

Have a great weekend!

XO

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Help Please!

Hi Ladies!

One of my favorite things about this little space in the blogging world is the help I get from YOU!  Let me tell you...I need some today.  Do you guys ever purchase things off Etsy?  In the past I've bought some cute home decor items, holiday pillow covers, and other random things.  I've always been super happy with my purchases.  But I ordered a few things recently and didn't love any of them.  #bummer

Please tell me who are your FAVORITE ETSY VENDORS. 

I think we can help each other out.  If you have a favorite vendor, please share their shop name in the comments and tell us what they sell.  This way if we're looking for a cute kid graphic tee, personalized jewelry, or some Easter decor, we'll know right where to look.  

I'm keeping it short and sweet today.  :)  

I appreciate your help so much!  Please share your favorites and THANK YOU in advance!

What's Up Wednesday

 I'm joining Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer for their What's Up Wednesday link-up!

What we're eating this week:

Monday:  Cobb Salads...first time I tried this.  I had lettuce, hard boiled eggs, turkey bacon, cheese, tomatoes, shredded chicken, and avocado-everyone could make their own salad.  It was a success!

Tuesday:  Baked ziti and salad

Wednesday:  Southwestern Bowls...tonight I'm turning the kitchen into Chipotle, Freebird's, Nom Nom's, or any other burrito bowl location.  I'm seasoning some chicken and having black beans, corn, avocado, monterey jack cheese, rice, salsa, and anything else I can think of to add.  We're creating our own burrito bowls.

Thursday:  Salmon with rice and veggies.

Friday:  We'll go out!

What I'm Reminiscing About:

I cannot believe Birthday Month (April in our house) is RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!  Ebby Lee will be 8 and Nixon turns 7.  How did that happen?

What I'm Loving:

All the baseball!  I love spring evenings at the ball field.

What We've Been Up To:

I shared our weekend full of fun, family, and Joanna Gaines on Monday.  Not really Joanna, but that sounded better than "fun, family, and shopping".  ;)

What I'm Dreading:

SPRING CLEANING!  Ugh.  Every drawer and closet needs to be cleaned out and organized.  Is that gonna happen in the next month?  Absolutely not, but I hope to get started.

What I'm Working On:

Sending families like the Dreffs on magical vacations.  Narci and her crew spent four nights on a Disney cruise and then followed it up with a trip to Disney World.  If you've been thinking about a Disney World, cruise, or Mexico vacation, please e-mail us mixandmatchtravelagency@yahoo.com.  We love helping families and we'd love to help you!

What I'm Excited About:

Date night this weekend with this guy!

What I'm watching/reading:

Everything I Never Told You

I'm in the middle of reading this one and so far it's really good.  Has anyone read it?

I shared some of my recent book reviews just last week.

And lately, I've been watching a lot of little boys play baseball.  :)  That's pretty much all I've been watching.

What I'm Listening To:

Yes, yes...still on repeat.

What I'm Wearing:

Lots of jeans (a couple years old), tees, and flats around here lately.  

What I'm Doing This Weekend:

 Lots of baseball watching and then a date night to one of my favorite places!

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month:

*Celebrating Easter

*Ebby Lee turning 8

*Nixon turning 7

*A little road trip

Hope you ladies have a great Wednesday!  XOXO

Show and Tell Tuesday-5 Favorite Pictures

Happy Tuesday, Ladies!

Today, I'm joining Andrea for Show and Tell Tuesday and we're sharing our Top Five Pictures.  I'm a stickler for the rules so I deleted, deleted, deleted to get down to FIVE pictures only.  :)  

I must add I searched but not searched and searched so please know probably tonight around 10:00 p.m. five other pictures will pop into my head that I should have highlighted.  The point is...these are definitely SOME of my favorites.

 #1 Bowen on the Bridge

HOLY CUTENESS!  RIGHT?!  I just want to squeeze that cutie!  Bowen was about two years old in this picture.  It reminds me of that sweet squishy toddler we used to have at our house.  And his hair...what a good hair day he was having!  I would go straight back to these days in a second!  How I miss Baby Bowen.  

 #2 Manda Strong

This little photo shoot with my big group of girl friends is something I'll always remember.  Manda, that girl in the middle, was a FIGHTER.  This picture represents strength, courage, bravery, and a group of girls that banded together to let a friend know she was not fighting alone.  We were all in it together.

#3 Ring Bearer Nixon

I could gobble this kid up!  Ring Bearer, Nixon, was scheduled to walk down the aisle in just about an hour after taking this picture. Unfortunately, fever hit, he fell asleep, and he could not get his little three-year-old self down to the altar.  But good night...he was so stinkin' cute.  That little guy has my heart.

#4 Ebby Lee Ice Skating

This is one of my favorite pictures of Ebby Lee...elegant, graceful, all-girl, and so sweet.  She's the calm to our family crazy.  This pictures totally sums her up.

#5 Wedding

These two young kids had no idea what life adventure was awaiting them.  We're the first to say that married life hasn't always been easy, but there is no one on this earth I'd rather be riding beside on this journey.  

Again, if I had more time I have no doubts I could find fifty more favorite pictures.  Couldn't we all?  #somanyfavorites

Show and Tell 2017 Posts:

*Most Embarrassing Moment

*My Loves

*Steal vs. Splurge

See you back here tomorrow for What's Up Wednesday!

Our Weekend Recap-Waco Edition

Thursday afternoon, my cousin-Ty and his wife-Morgan, arrived in town for a weekend visit.  Ty and Morgan live in Bolivar, MO, right outside of Springfield.  My brother and Ty were the only grandsons in the family so any time Ty's family was in town...Ty stayed with us.  I think of him like a little brother.  It's CRAZY to see him married and living a grown up life.  My kiddos absolutely adore both Ty and Morgan so we were all excited to have them here for a visit.

On Thursday we hung out during Bowen's tee-ball practice and a friend mentioned us going to Magnolia in Waco on Friday.  I don't watch Fixer Upper...I'm pretty sure I just heard you guys gasp.  :) But I think that's why I hadn't thought about it.  We had no great ideas though so we decided why not?!

Friday morning, we dropped the big kids off and headed to WACO for a quick day trip.

Morgan's mom is a big Magnolia fan and she hadn't told her of our last minute trip plans so we sent her this silly picture as soon as we arrived.

Bowen and I were surprised SO MANY PEOPLE were there on such a yucky, rainy day!

This is a view of the inside of Magnolia Market. There was a front room as well that was definitely more congested.

 I should have taken a picture of the food trucks.  So many yummy options!  Crepe truck (recommended by Sheaffer and Meagan-that's where we ate-YUMMY), Cheddar Box (Fancy grilled cheese and fancy macaroni and cheese-I got Bowen's lunch from this place and HAD to try some mac and cheese-SO GOOD!), and to be honest...I walked by the other options but can't remember those at the moment.

The set up is GREAT for families.  Lots of benches, swings, a big yard area for kids to throw balls.  

We had our lunch under the big pavilion.

 The Magnolia Bakery was in another little building, but the line was a tad long (I heard it moves very quickly) for standing in the drizzle.

 This kid was a TROOPER!  He shopped 'til he dropped on the way back to McKinney.

For all you Magnolia pros, if you have any recommendations PLEASE share!  I had no clue where to park so I parked in the church lot for $10.  Where's the best place to park?  I'd heard week days are always better.  Probably Fridays are not the best day to visit.  If you know the best days, please share. Is there a best time of day to visit?

I learned that I'm not the best shopper in this environment!  haha!  But with your tips, I might need to make another trip ASAP!

We also checked out Harp Design Company store, grabbed a coffee, and made our way to The Findery as well.  Bowen is in The Findery in the picture above.  I was a big fan of that store.  The decor is very similar to Magnolia, but way less people.  I definitely recommend you pop-in.

The Spice Market in Waco is another place to shop if you have time.  We were a little pressed for time so we skipped it on this trip.

Saturday morning, Tab made a big breakfast.  It's his specialty.  Then the girls headed to the mall while the boys hit up the gym.

We met up with them in downtown McKinney for a little more shopping before dinner.

 Our guests requested MEXICAN for dinner so we decided our favorite-Mi Cocina was the perfect spot.  The weather was simply amazing on Saturday afternoon/evening.  We headed to this park area in Watter's Creek first.  Nixon got asked to play a little football game.  He was playing with four young boys when those four high schoolers showed up WITH DATES FOR A DANCE but asked if they could play for a bit before dinner.  They were so sweet with the young boys.  And they seriously made Nixon's night.

 He was having so much fun!

Do you see those navy umbrellas?  All the people dining up there must have been watching because any time a team would score-they'd cheer.  And the dates were the girls all dressed up.

We ended the game before the big boys were late for dinner (and before they got too sweaty), but we took a group picture first.  :)

We had guacamole and fajitas at Mi Cocina on the patio and then we ended the night with smores and a fire pit in our backyard.

Sunday morning we were ready for church in PLENTY of time!  SHOCKER!

We wished Ty and Morgan safe travels and are all ready for them to return again.  We had a great weekend!  Hope you did too!  

XO

Friday Favorites-Baseball Edition

Hey, Friday, are we glad to see you.  ;)

Tab was out of town the first half of the week (skiing with Andrew) so it was the kind of week we ordered in, grabbed food to go, and even had one night of leftovers/scrambled eggs.  We're ready for some normalcy! 

Like every Friday, I'm teaming up with Narci and Andrea to share my Friday Favorites.  We'd love for you to join us.  Grab the graphic, link back to one (or all) of us, and add your blog to the link-up. Super easy!

A little bit of everything today for you...

First up, this guy and I spent last Friday at the Dallas Zoo on a field trip.  Most schools in the Dallas area were off last week for Spring Break so there would kids EVERYWHERE and it happened to be St. Patrick's Day which meant EVERYONE was in green.  The good news is I chaperoned, we had a lot of fun, and I returned at the end of the day with all the kids in my group.  Win-win!

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This guy finally got his turn on the ball field.

Check out his warm-up.  Ashby (beside him) would cheer for him every time it was his turn.  It was adorable!

 Big Brothers, Nixon and Smith, were dying to get to help.

You have to watch the progression of the ball...it sums up beginner tee-ball.  Bowen is on pitcher's mound fielding (with Andrew).  He looks baseball ready.  Right?

Here comes the ball!

And there it goes.  hahaha!

They had fun anyway.  #thatsallthatmatters

 So proud of #4!

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Shay and I started a new three month series where we highlight our packing lists plus throw in a few tips and tricks.  This week I shared what to pack for a SKI VACATION.  You guys added to the list.  Thank you!!  And how did I forget sunscreen?!  And you also gave us some great recommendations on places to ski.  If you haven't read through all the comments, you might want to check it out.

Talking about travel is just what I did on Tuesday during Tuesday Talk.  I shared some places our family has vacationed over the last couple years.  My favorite thing about the post was then you guys shared some of your favorite places.  Again, you might want to check out the comments on that one as well.

And if you'd like some help planning a vacation like Disney World, a cruise to the Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, or Hawaii, or an all-inclusive type Mexico vacation, please e-mail us at mixandmatchtravelagency@yahoo.com.  We love helping families plan magical vacations.

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Nixon's team had a tournament this weekend.  They started off with a BANG!  First post-game speech this season.  So proud of those boys!

I'm a big fan of spring nights at the baseball fields.

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I shared some book recommendations and reviews yesterday.  If you're needing a new read, head over there to get a little book inspiration.

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That's if for today, friends.  We family in town visiting so I know we'll have a great weekend.  Hope you do too.  XO

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