It's a Party!

The welcome walk

Thanks to Keira from a pretty penny blog and her flower shop-Lasater Flowers!
I picked up these fresh market flowers and made the arrangements!

Thanks Martha Stewart for your tissue paper pom pom tutorial! Saved me some $$ 

Found these on Pinterest and my mom and I made them!

Cake by Sweet Cakes! YUM and fabulous! Invites: Forever Your Prints, Etsy

Tables for the royal fest!

The beauty bar!

The princess and one of her BFFs

So adorable!

Jumpin' and Slidin'

My baby girl is 4!!!! WOW! Thanks to great blogs and pinterest pinning, I had so much inspiration for this party! What girl doesn't want to play princess?? Especially big girls like me! I had so much fun with this and I was able to put it together with a LOT of time, and keep costs under control too! A mix of DIY and Dollar Tree finds made perfect decorations and goodies! My good friend Keira with a pretty penny blog, helped me with the fresh flowers that I arranged in plastic vases for the tables. Her flower shop Lasater Flowers in Winter Haven, FL is SO adorable! Hostess with the Mostess blog gave me the most inspiration, featuring a precious princess party! So sad to take the decorations down! I love them! :) Hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend! XXOO

DIY Fringe Scarf

DIY Fringe Scarf

What You Will Need:

-Old T-Shirt

-Good Scissors

Step 1:

Go through your old T-shirts and find a daring print or color combo. For a cleaner look, choose a solid.

Step 2:

Cut horizontally across the shirt, just below the armholes, to create a rectangular tube.

Step 3:

Working your way around the tube, make a series of vertical cuts that extend from the raw edge upward. The longer the cut, the longer the fringe will be.

Step 4:

Tug down on each strand to elongate it. You can also have some additional fun with it by knotting some of the ends!

The Getaway

Marco Island Marriott Resort and Spa

Amazing view!

Watching the sunset

The best riesling I have ever had! Not too sweet, and very light! 

Marco Island is an amazing place to visit! If you haven't been, you MUST! I came down with my husband for his last trade show of the summer. Luckily, he brought two salesmen, so he and I have been acting like a couple of newelyweds! :) Morning runs, sunsets, dinners, and lots of laughs. We needed this so much! I stopped into Miranda Spa yesterday while he was working for a mani/pedi and it was unbelievable! Best mani/pedi I have had in years! The ladies were super sweet and the spa was beautiful! We had dinner at Aurtoros, AMAZING!!! Beef carpaccio, grouper piccata, and chicken marsala! Topped it off with a canolli and melt in your mouth chocolate lava cake. I will be dreaming about that meal for months! Heading down to the beach now to soak up some Vitamin D, have a FANTASTIC Friday!

Floral Friday

Dress & Shoes: Target, Belt: Nordstrom, Bag: Big Buddah

I baked and cooked all day long today! It was fun! I made dinner on the go for a sweet friend of mine that had surgery! I had to put on something to deliver it other than an apron, so I chose this little number! This is one of my favorite summer dresses! So light weight, a throw on and go! Just add some accessories and voila'! I think this will be great for winter also with tights, boots and a blazer! I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am going to get mine started now! XXOO

Awesome and Awkward Thursday

Dress: Banana Republic, Shoes: Aldo, Jewelry: Stella & Dot, Watch: Michael Kors

Lips are "Crescendo" Orange: Siren by Revlon

Awkward:
-The story behind these shoes. Walking on 5th Avenue in NYC and broke the heel stepping in a subway grate. Hobbled to the next shoe store...which luckily was Aldo and not Jimmy Choo! HA!
-The two slash marks I have on my leg from trying to shave too quickly
-Debit card being declined because they cancelled it after mailing a new one that I DIDN'T get!!!


Awesome:
-Just booked a 4 day trip to Jamaica with my husband and another couple in September! Whoot
-Macaroons
-The new book,  P.S.- I made this, that my business partner brought me from NYC! Stay tuned for some awesome DIY tutorials!

Dinner Party

Cuban Tostones-WONDERFUL!

Love my Trish! 

Cooking up something good! Dress: Target :) 

The table

Place settings! So cute!

I love a good dinner party! I would prefer it any day over going out! Add some great friends and you need nothing else! What a blast celebrating our friend's birthday...cuban style!

New Dress

Dress: Judith March, Shoes: Steve Madden, Earrings: Who knows? 

So I went in to Hattie's Branches, my favorite Lakeland boutique to pick up another dress I saw on Facebook, and they introduced me to this little number! Those girls are rocking some CUTE Judith March right now, not to mention tons of other adorable things to drool over! LOVE! Thank you Trish for taking these pics, and Hatties girls, thanks for your help! XXOO

It's Been a While!

Dress: Free People. Clutch: M. Marie Boutique, Flops: J. Crew, Watch: Michael Kors

LOVE this clutch, my friend Meghan at M. Marie Boutique in Winter Haven has great style!!

Yes it's been a while! I haven't read any blogs, and I surely haven't posted on mine! BOO! With the kids home it has been crazy! We have had swim lessons this week right in the middle of the day so my schedule has been off! Here's a look at me in the first picture worthy outfit of the week! Thank goodness it's Friday! XXOO

Eloise at the Plaza

The BFFs! 

Lazy River Pool and waterlide! 

I joke that my kids are like Eloise at the Plaza over the summer. My husband has tradeshows pretty much all summer long, and the kids and I go along to hang and enjoy the resorts! This weekend was spent at the Omni Champions Gate, Orlando. We had so much fun! Some great friends came over to join us Saturday and we had a big slumber party in our room. Today we spent the day at the pool with another set of great friends! It is busy packing and unpacking with the kids, but it is so much fun to get to enjoy great hotels! I'm really going to miss our milk and cookie turn down service we have had for the past 3 nights!!! Next trip, Marco Island in just a couple of weeks! I am keeping my fingers crossed that will be a romatic getaway without the kiddos! Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

8 Years Worth Fighting For

His traditional gift to me, the vase (pottery) with 8 roses, one for each year.

This dress by Milly was hanging in my closet ready to wear when I got out of the shower!
I posted the link on Facebook a while back and he remembered!

My traditional gift to him: Wine glasses with a pottery base!

Wheww! It has been an uphill battle for us! I won't sugarcoat it! We have been through some tough times, but through it all, we have fought and God has given us the strenth to survive 8 years! Honestly, I am thankful even for the hard times, as I know they were teaching me. But I would REALLY like some smooth sailing for a while! :) Love is always worth it! Always!

Pattern Play

Tank, Shorts and Flip Flops: J. Crew, Necklace: Stella & Dot

I love mixing patterns. Once again, you see me in my summer uniform: tank, shorts, and flip flops! At least mixing patterns and adding some accessories spices it up a little bit! :) I am now 2 weeks past due for a haircut. I missed my appointment and the first date available was not until this coming Wednesday!! I am DYING! For any of you who have short hair, you feel my pain. You just can't go that long without a trim and remain sane. I hope everyone had a great weekend, we sure did! We spent Friday night out in Orlando with some awesome friends and karaoked it up at Rising Star, the best karaoke bar EVER...complete with live band and back up singers/dancers! It rocked! Today our pastor started a series called "I Quit," Focusing on hurts, habits and hangups! I know God is going to move big time in this! I am working on some deep resentment and unforgiveness issues, and I am praying that this is the push I need to make sure I let go for GOOD! I will keep you posted! :) Have a GREAT week friends! XXOO

Keepin' It REAL!

Tank and flops: J. Crew, Belt and shorts: Banana Republic, Adorable bag: 6 Petals
Watch: Michael Kors 

Am I the only one who barely has time to get dressed over summer, let alone try to put together something cute for my blog???? My toddlers are running me ragged, in pool, out of pool... inside, outside. So most days I am in a swim suit! Today just to show some effort, I added a belt and a cute bag to spruce up my boring tank, shorts and flip flops...aka...the summer uniform. Did not fix my hair, and only put on powder and lip gloss...just keepin' it real! :) Oh and here is the link for the adorable bag 6 Petals.

Happy Fourth of July!

The WHOLE Crew!
My shirt: Elizabeth and James, Shorts: Banana Republic
Family color coordination by: ME! Ha

YUMMY BBQ. I didn't eat two, one was Kades! I promise!

The painful looking smile! CHEESE!

Peek-a-boo Flag Girl! 

Mom is the best at  details! 

We spent the whole day at mom's house and stayed until the last firework blew up in the sky! I love the 4th of July! What a wonderful celebration! A celebration of something that most of us take for granted every day...our freedom! I am so thankful for those who have fought and continue to fight for the freedom that we enjoy daily! I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend! Now....on with the show and back to the summer madness routine! :)