Factory Fan

I ordered this JCrew Factory necklace while at the beach and it's my new favorite! The dark stones are a deep blue. On sale now;)

Back from a road trip

Sorry I've been MIA again:) On Sunday the boys and I headed out on a little road trip to Virginia to spend a few days with my mom and dad.  It was a good time to go since Mr. C had business in North Carolina. I miss my parents (and my brother and his family) so much!  We took 2 cars and I had the boys.  They were so good considering it took us 9 hours. Nine very long hours!  But we got there safely and that's what matters. I thought I was so smart bringing the LeapPads this time (forgot them last time) but the combination of Leapster + mountains = carsickness for one little C.  We live and we learn:)

I packed my suitcase full of the above outfits (plus a few extras) and my new vinyasa scarf from Lulu (upper right corner). I admit my Lulu addiction is growing. Their clothes are so soft that I just can't stop wearing them. My girlfriend gets the credit on the vinyasa discovery, she told me about it and then I stopped by randomly and they were on sale! Can be worn 600 different ways, very fun.

My brother and sister-in-law have 4 precious children and there is nothing sweeter than watching them play together. It is hard to get them to slow down long enough for a picture but I snapped a sweet silhouette of the 5 oldest (little N was on the move so he missed out!).

Me with my sweet mama.

And daddy. This picture is from a previous visit but I can't leave him out. He's so good to me!

And for the sake of throwback Thursday here's a picture I found of me when I was little C's age.  I think we look alike?! Loving my Peter Pan collar and pearls mom, you go;)

There's so much going on right now! We have tons of house projects in progress and I can't wait to finish them, photograph them, and share them.  Living room drapes, pillows, kitchen drapes, and a very cool kitchen project.  We got a new counter depth fridge and Mr. C built it into the cabinets (the fun part is that I'm making a magnetic chalkboard on the side, can't wait to get it done)!

Hopefully now that I'm back I can get something finished! Happy Thursday:)

P.S. Thanks for your sweet comments and encouragement from Tuesday!!

Valentine's Day hodge podge

Happy Valentine's Day!  I've been running all over the place this week.  We've been up to our necks with school projects, Valentines, you name it.  So it looks like today is random, we have some catching up to do!

I picked up the cutest blouse from F21 yesterday.. sporting it today of course.

F21 blouse / TB flats / William Rast skinnies / F21 pearls

Quite similar to the JCrew Factory version, yes? Only much easier on my wallet:)

Another OOTD from yesterday..

While at Target this week (my home away from home) I noticed this adorable Nate Berkus fruit bowl thingie..on the clearance shelf no less(??!) I had to pick it up. I was getting tired of moving flowers off the table so that I could see my children. And good news, they keep eating the oranges!

Speaking of my sweet boys I walked in on this the other day.  How precious. Normally when the house is quiet I know trouble is lurking but not this day. They had created a little reading lounge. My heart skipped a beat!

We're jumping on another bandwagon and loving every minute of it..

I'm late reporting on the Grammy Awards but I surely did love Adam Levine and Alicia Keys. Wow.

And our plans for this evening.... we don't go crazy on Valentine's Day.  We'll make a nice little dinner, give the kiddos some treats, and cozy up on the couch for Skyfall, I've been dying to see it.  My idea of a perfect night!

What about you guys?  Hope you have a very fun Valentine's Day!

How the week looked

This was a busy busy week y'all! But a great one too:) Here are snippets Insta-style.

I've been snacking on this...hot & sweet mustard from Trader Joe's (with pretzel crisps). I'm so addicted I buy it in bulk.  Also delicious on a ham sandwich and for the record, not spicy at all. Just delicious!

I also ate WAY too many of these -- rice krispie treats with peanut butter, chocolate chips, M & M's, and flax seed for a slight health benefit.  So good!!!

Some OOTD's...

Seven jeans / JCrew sweater / Loft shirt / Stella & Dot necklace

Seven skinnies (yes I wear them every day) / Loft sweater /  JCrew popover shirt (a new fave)

Hudson jeans / Loft belt / Loft cardi / JCrew shirt / Stella & Dot necklace

Family snowman from last Saturday, so precious how excited the kids get over snow.  Frosty didn't last long but we sure had fun making him!

I finished a book and discovered a new author I love, Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio. I highly recommend it (discovered from EatLiveRun's review, she is such a good book reviewer and I've been a longtime fan of her blog). I was captivated from the first page and couldn't stop reading -- my favorite kind of book.  Add it to your list!  This book really deserves its own post but I had to go ahead and share.

Living room...making major progress!! Here are fabrics that my girlfriend pulled together for me.  Soooo pretty, I'm in love with them!

I'm going to change the wall color (currently neutral) to something similar to the room below (richer for some contrast).  I can tell it's going to be my favorite room.  My girlfriends have such amazing style, I'm enlisting them for the kitchen and dining room too;) I could just squeal, so excited to beautify these rooms!!  I can picture myself sitting in my favorite chair with a cup of tea and a good book (for a whole 5 seconds until I hear someone scream MOM!) Wouldn't have it any other way;)

So happy it's Friday people, this girl needs a weekend!! Hello and welcome to new followers (and old:)! Hope y'all have a great weekend:)

Playing catch-up!

Hey friends! I've missed you!  Let me try and catch you up quickly (idea loosely based on Christina's 'currently' post).

The following photos should be part of that Awkward Family Photos game...

Thanksgiving:  It was great! In spite of the looks on my family's faces, dinner was yummy and we had fun.

I mean really.

This one's blurry, but at least they smiled!

Currently reading:

Have been working on:  Christmas cards.  Finally finished editing pictures and Sweet Birdie's Nest is on the job:)

Favorite meal this week: Hot and Sour Thai Soup: Tom Yum Goong by Tyler Florence; that's a mouthful! I was a bad blogger and didn't take a picture. Here's the recipe, it's delicious and easy but has a few specialty ingredients so you'll need to head to Whole Foods.

Currently wearing: big cozy sweaters. It's cold, brrrr. My sweet mama treated me to this one from Loft.

Also wearing Mizuno Wave Inspire 8's.  More later, but in a nutshell, I'm in love with these shoes.  I had an MRI yesterday and will update my knee situation soon. Had 2 runs this week with no pain! Woo hoo!

Oops, I wore my compression sock backwards, who does that?:)

Currently watching: The Voice, Revenge, and NASHVILLE.

Current favorite treat: these truffles from Whole Foods. I eat one (yes, just one:) every night with a cup of decaf. So good!

Currently enjoying: watching my little men decorate for Christmas:) It's priceless.

So glad it's Friday, what a busy week! Y'all have a great weekend!

Weekend Update: fall festivities

My friends, here we are again! The 'fast forward' button is still pressed and these fall days go by like a blur. Nonetheless, we had such a busy and fun weekend--hope you did too:)

Some pics. First, OOTD's.

My furry vest is a fall favorite and I wear it so much I'll bet people are tired of looking at it.  And my boots (recent TJ Maxx find you may recall); I refuse to take them off of my feet except to shower.

My ON shirt; I love it.  Heading back for another color.

My precious cowboys.  We had a birthday party this weekend and it was so much fun.  My 5 year old refused to ride the pony (he felt the pony was too tall, ha!) but my 3 year old gave it a try.  We've been to a couple of fabulous birthday parties lately at friends' homes and they are so much fun.  I think I may try to be brave next year and have a birthday party at our house for the first time?! I'm inspired! Clearly I'm renting the pony.

I had coffee with Bailey's on Saturday evening (after the birthday party and dinner with friends), biscotti, and attempted to read my book.  It was so relaxing.  This book is not my cup of tea and I hope I can finish it soon to end the misery.  (It's Pictures of You and I just don't love the characters but I also can't put it down because I'm halfway finished.)

Some playground time; the leaves are amazing, I wish they could stay this way a little while longer.

The hubs made me a yummy breakfast; avocado, fried egg and ham on toast.  Delish.

And I couldn't resist this reality check.  I've had a few emails about my hair (bless your hearts, you must be trying to make me feel good;) and my routine is simple.  I just blow dry, then use velcro rollers (I roll the middle straight back, the sides straight down).  My hair cannot handle a flat iron, it starts smoking then falls off. Not good! Pay no attention to my unclean laundry room as it cries out for help.

Coming up this week (hopefully):  big boy room plans, living room update, and probably something random.

Happy Monday!  What've y'all been up to?

Linking today with my blog bestie Andrea, as well as The Weekend File and Life on Leroy!

Time for random!

I found a new shampoo and conditioner that I love!  (Sorry the picture is strange and out of focus.)

It's Matrix Biolage Exquisite Oil.  I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I loved Moroccan Oil shampoo and conditioner.  I still do, but I like these two too!  Very lightweight and my hair is happy.

Mr. C and I had a datenight at RPR on Monday.  If I was a prisoner on death row their shrimp and grits would be my last meal.  Divine as always:)  I tried to take a picture but as soon as I reached for my phone Mr. C got that uncomfortable look on his face (he HATES food pictures).  So no picture:(  I wore my new top from Forever21 (I love it!), Paige jeans, Stella & Dot jewels, and black suede booties.  Bad picture I know, but I love this shirt!  Hooray for datenights!

I am so glad Andrea told me Claire's sells the hair donut in smaller sizes.  I picked up a few, much easier to manage a small one!

I wash my hands like it's my job (germ-o-phobe!) and they get so chapped.  This handcream from Whole Foods is amazing and smells great.

I picked up my first pair of running pants from GapFit.  And I LOVE them.  They are nice and tight but don't ride up in places where they shouldn't.  I'll be needing more of these!

And that is all for random! Happy Hump Day!