Five on Friday!

Happy Friday! For this weeks's Five on Friday I am linking up with these sweet girls:

This week I wanted to talk all about Target's beloved "One Spot Collection." I am sure 90% of you know just exactly what I am talking about :) It is that neat little "spot" right when you walk in Target where everything is $1-$3!! ...andddd on top of the crazy great, wonderful, amazing prices the stuff is SUPER cute and always on trend. If you have never visited this section...it is a must and definitely love at first sight ;) And right now if you have the Cartwheel by Target app you can get an even additional 20% off the already crazy cheap prices! Now if that's not a great deal, I don't know what is!!

Here are my top 5 favorite things to pick up at the "One Spot." And ALL of these items happen to only be $1 each! After using my Cartwheel app coupon, each item came to 80 cents! ...now that is a great deal! If you have never shopped the one spot I hope you are now a new believer after this post :) 

#1 These super cute little organizers...I use them for mail or smaller crafting tools :) ...and for SO cheap!? It's a no-brainer! 

#2  Pretty baker's twine, flag push pins, sticky notepads, and pens. The baker's twine is a cream and gold, but in the past I have gotten all sorts of colors in this section-- red, mint, and pink-- so many fun options! Any happy crafter knows baker's twine is a must-have! The flag push pins are just adorable and fun, and everyone can use a cute notepad and pens :) 

#3 Trendy clips and paper clips! These are just so fun and have such neat designs, colors, etc. to add just the right pizazz to any craft or for everyday use. I love, love, love these! 

#4 Washi tape and ribbon! How cute are these fun washi tape designs!? The "One Spot" always has such festive patterns per what season and holiday it is close to. Right new there are so many fun Valentine's prints :) And the ribbon is perfect and fun for all sorts of happy crafting. 

#5 The perfect kiddie stuff and holiday goodies! The "One Spot" is my best friend when it comes to stocking stuffers at Christmas or just little travel-size sticker books, crayons, notepads, or little toys. Also it is great for treat bags at your kiddies' birthday parties or little holiday goodies for your own kids. This year I picked up some great finds for my kiddies' Valentine's Day table set-up. I also got some extra fun little trinkets. 

Well I hope you might have gotten some ideas from this little fun post! What are some of your favorite things to buy at the "one spot!?" 

...until next time!

A Comfy Cozy Wednesday

Happy Wednesday everyone! This week has been snow day after snow day, but with just a two-hour delay today it was nice to get back to a routine-- even as much as I loved the "off" days!! With a calm afternoon with two kiddos napping (rarely EVER happens anymore) ;) I thought it would be the perfect "Comfy Cozy Wednesday" kind of day and wanted to share with you a Bible verse that has been resonating with me lately. 

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed where to "start" when I want to pick up and read the Bible; so sometimes I will just randomly think of any book or verse in the Bible and open to that particular verse. The other day I was doing exactly this and came across John 14:16. And my oh my did I ever feel that the Lord had laid this verse on my heart for a special reason. It read:

"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter [Counsellor], that He may abide with you for ever;" 

This verse really seems so simple, but it truly is so powerful at the same time. Doesn't that word comfort just make us all feel so warm & loved? I know there are so many days that no matter how many people I have chatted with or been around, I still feel lonely because all I want so badly is to talk to my sweet mama. And I know even if she was still here I would probably feel the same sometimes. In fact I think we all have days like this; it is part of our human nature. And the truth in this little verse really will "set you free" from feeling lonely, for God is ALWAYS with us and ALWAYS our comforter that never leaves us. It teaches us to lean on Him and not the world for our daily "love-fill" or validation. It is so easy to get wrapped up in feeling sorry for ourselves  (in my case losing my mama) with whatever we may be going through at the time. But it is so important to look to God and always always always lean on Him to get us through those not-so-easy days-- whatever they might entail. 

I know this verse has really made a difference in my life these past few days, and I hope it can yours too for those days we just aren't feeling fulfilled by the world around us (because really we can never be totally fulfilled by "the world" or any person). Only God our Comforter has the power for that kind of feat.  I hope to always remember that even though God called my sweet mama home to Heaven earlier than we ever could have expected, I will always rely on Him first and foremost as my Comforter.

God has truly given me so many "signs" of comfort over the past few months since losing my mama. ~from gorgeous "pink" skies as I call them to birds flying across the sky and circling back around or even swooping right in front of my car while driving. I feel He has given me these things as signs of love and peace of heart that not only is God always with me but also my mama is always right by my side. I am sure others who have lost a  loved one have similar stories as well. It is amazing what we can feel comforted by if we just listen to the Holy Spirit's whispers of hope and love; for these stunning skies and beautiful birds have gotten me through more days of tears and heartache than I ever would have thought possible. I truly believe when losing a very close loved one our eyes become more open to the world around us than ever before. It is just so important to recognize what God has set before us and take notice enough to let it help us through that day and the next and the next. God gives us exactly what we need if we just open our hearts to accept Him. 

I hope anyone reading this has been able to find some kind of peace, hope, or love  in our Savior.  ~wishing you a comfy, cozy, fulfilled heart today! 

Five on Friday!

I am linking up for Five on Friday with a few other blogs!

Today I am sharing five of my favorite "reads" this week! 

#1 ~ Proverbs 31 Ministries shared this on Facebook yesterday, and I thought it spoke so much truth:

It was titled "Always in Pursuit" ~ "7 Ways to be More Content"

If you don't already follow them on Facebook, you must!! My sweet friend Brittany told me about them, and I absolutely love following along daily what words of wisdom they have to share :) It's always something that you can use in your own life in one way to have a new, better perspective. I just love Proverbs 31 Ministries. 

#2 ~ Hello, Darling

This year the theme for MOPS is "A Beautiful Mess," and this little publication we received this week had so many good articles that spoke to the heart and made us all be a little easier on ourselves. 

I love love love this message below for all of us mommies. It is beyond relatable! Enjoy:

#3~ Real Simple

I have always been intrigued by this magazine but have really never delved into the pages like I did this week. The pretty picture caught my eye, and upon grazing through it there were some great articles on simplifying and making easier so many different aspects of day-to-day life. It was a refreshing read. If you have never picked one of these magazines up, it is definitely worth the read! 

And a fun little quote also caught my eye too: ;)

This quote speaks truth-- a little fun and relatable for all of us. 

#4~ anythingggg you can read by Lysa TerKeurst!!

This is obviously her Facebook page, but she is another great person to follow. Her daily words of wisdom and life experiences inspire and make one want to be the best self they can! Brittany and I saw her last year at a conference, and listening to her speak was more motivational than any speaker I have ever heard. She has some amazing books with another in the works. A great one to get your hands on is one of her latest, "Unglued." 

I think we can all relate to becoming "Unglued" sometimes! This is definitely a wonderful read!

#5 ~ I thought it would be fun to end this post with a little Friday Fashion fun! This week I received the spring "lookbook" for White House Black Market, and I loved looking through the pages. I picked my five favorite trends to share with you. 

     1) Beaded Trophy Jacket 

         I LOVE how this can be dressed 

         up or down...and the navy with

         a bit of embellishment...so pretty!

     2) LOVING this green swing jacket!

     3) Lace Stripe Sweater~ so classic!

     4) Anorak jacket-- I am so obsessed 

         with this! ...and it happens to be 

         navy...even better!!

     5) Polka dot sweater (because how 

         can you not love this!?) ;)

Anyone who knows me well knows I am obsessed with this store...of course with a good sale and coupon stacked ;) ...it is much more reasonable then!! But anyway this little lookbook has me so excited for spring clothes and warmer weather! Happy Friday everyone!!

And if anyone has read any of these things I have posted about I would love to hear! 

...Until next time!!

My dad's Chili! ~Tuesday's Tasty Dinner Ideas!

Last week I posted about a super sweet and thoughtful recipe book my dad hand- wrote for me. If you missed it you can catch up on it here. This week I am starting with his chili recipe to share with you. 

*note: since it says chili powder I would say 3-4 TABLEspoons. And of course for the kiddies I try to keep theirs aside and not as "spicy."

This is my absolute favorite chili recipe, hands down. And I love that my kiddies and hubby love it too. It is full of flavor and super tasty; you will want to make it again and again. It is super easy because you are literally just layering ingredients into a crockpot or pot on the stove.  

                  Ingredients laid out

              This is what it looks like 

              after the veggies are cut 

              and meat is browned. 

It takes about 30-40 minutes to prep, but that is spent mostly on browning the ground beef and cutting the veggies. I have tried using a chopper in the past, but I just find it easier to hand-chop myself. It is definitely less clean-up and mess in my opinion :) 

               It is super yummy to add

               some cheese to the top 

               with your favorite tortilla 

               chips for dipping :)

One of the reasons I love this recipe so much (besides the great flavor) is because it is full of TONS of veggies-- I feel more than most chili recipes. With cooking it long enough, the veggies get nice and soft and blend right in so my kiddies don't even know they're eating all the celery, peppers, and onions that is in it.  And this makes me a happy mommy knowing they're getting a bowl full of veggies and protein :)  

                 The kiddies had fun

                 painting while I prepped

                  dinner for the evening.

Hope you enjoyed my dad's recipe of yummy goodness!

...until next time! 

Matching Mama Monday

As most of you all know, I absolutely adore a Matching Mama Monday!! Who doesn't love to take a matching picture with their little girl (or boy!) ;) ...young or old it truly can never GET old capturing a matching moment! 

I included in this post a re-cap of our past matching looks for fun! I know my sweet mom always loved the matching pictures :) and after an emotionally hard day yesterday missing her so incredibly much on her birthday I thought it would be nice to have a fun post that I know she would want me to do-- choosing to be happy and doing what I enjoy. I miss her so much everyday, but I know she is  right by my side smiling along with me. I just so wish we had more time together to capture more memories & moments together.

I have been more intenional taking pictures matching with Bella this past year. I do love matching with Preston too-- it is just much harder finding things that match! 

I will say that the fun part of matching is that 95% of the time I have shopped our own closets! If you really look it is so neat to see how many items you have that probably match your kiddies'. I say this because people ask how I find mommy/daughter matching items, and the truth is that they really are never bought together or at the same time. It just happens to be that they match, and we already have both pieces. 

So every Monday for the past couple of months I thought it would be fun to do a "Matching Mama Monday." I will continue to do it as long as I keep shopping our own closets and finding things that match! It is just a fun little thing that is neat to capture a quick picture of that holds a sweet memory too! I know everyone loves a sweet mommy/daughter or mommy/son picture so I thought it would be a fun excuse to take one every Monday :) 

 I did find a picture of her & I matching and being silly when I was about 9.  I can not remember exactly why, but we both decided to put in "pig tails" and take a funny picture. :) She was definitely always the fun mom who was up for creating special memories doing fun, silly things with us and LOVED laughing with my brother and I and seeing us so happy. She truly was the best mama. These are the pictures that make me miss her more and more because it automatically brings back all the beautiful, happy memories. But really I have to be so grateful I feel sad because that means the memories were so happy, precious, and give me such warm, fuzzy feelings of all the fun times we had together. <3 <3 <3 

...until next time!