Five on Friday # 7

Happy Friday Friends! Linking up with Natasha over at Hello!Happiness for a Five on Friday post.

[one] Neighborhood Spring Celebration. This past Saturday, we went to our neighborhood spring celebration complete with Mr. & Mrs. Peter Rabbit, Easter egg hunt, games, and food. My in-laws were in town so they got to join in on the fun! The boys sat on the Easter bunny's lap, got to hunt for eggs, and run around with their grandparents & friends. It was awesome. I always love to take my kids to the community activities because we always see lots of friends and it's a great way to get my kids tired out!

[two] Kings Game. Last Saturday night, Andrew and I took Mason to the Kings game while grandma and grandpa watched Owen. It was so nice to have alone time with our big boy Mason - he loved getting all the attention! Being Kings fans, we naturally really dislike the Anaheim Ducks. The guy who has season tickets to the Kings games in front of us always wears a "Duck Hunter" outfit to the games where the Kings play the Ducks. Well, Saturday they played the Ducks and he wore his costume. Mason got to put it on and turned into a different kid! He got SOOO serious & was all into it! Here are some pictures from the game!

[three] My new AdvoCare shirt!!!! Some of my friends and I who all are into AdvoCare just signed up to do our first expo through our community! We are so excited and all bought some new gear, this shirt included!

[four] San Bernardino Train Days. Last Sunday we got to go to the San Bernardino train days. Mason LOVES trains so this was a treat  for him. They also had a few firetrucks lined up outside so that was an added bonus! Here are some pictures from our day there.

[five] OC Half Marathon Training. Well I did it. I made it official. I signed up for my second half marathon, the OC half on May 3rd. I had an awesome training run last Saturday morning with my friend Ryann who is also training for the half and whom I run with weekly. She was basically my inspiration to start running all together (I started running mid 2013 & ran my first half in Feb 2014). For the past couple months we have been trying to get at least one long run in on the weekends. We have been slacking off majorly but were able to get an 11 miler in last week. Our normal long training run paces average around 9-930 minute miles. If you look below, you will see our pace was well under 9 minutes which is awesome for us!!!! After having some great training runs the past couple weeks, I'm hoping to do my half under an 830 pace.... wish me luck!! (Wouldn't that be awesome if I could do the half under 1:50?!!?! Wishful thinking?! =))

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend! Happy Easter! 

April 2014 Stitch Fix Review # 1

Have you heard of Stitch Fix?! I found out about it via a friend and just loved the idea: You pay a $20 styling fee to get a "fix" and five clothing/accessory items are sent to your home. You get to try them on, in the convenience of your home, and you can keep all five (and receive 25% off your purchase), or you can keep whatever you want! If you do decide to keep anything, your $20 styling fee goes towards your purchase. Brilliant! Before you schedule a fix, you get to fill out a style profile and let your stylist know exactly what you like and what you don't like. You can even specify what type of items you do or do not want sent to you. Oh and the best part for a mom like myself on a budget, you can pick price ranges for each type of clothing item. So if you request clothing items around $50 a piece, you won't get sent a $200 dress. Okay, enough talking -  we want to see pictures!

 





Now for the fun part.... Here are my five items I was sent. Please ignore the toys and any clutter in my pictures. I promise my next fix pictures will be in a perfectly picked up 3-year old's room! haha

[one] Mia Melon - Paloma Striped Short Sleeve Cut-Out Top. This top had a really fun back which is why I included a back view. There were buttons going up and down the backside & it sort of gathers at the bottom which makes for a very flattering fit. ;) The shirt is actually patterned which you can't really see in the pictures. It does lay really nicely and would be a great everyday shirt. You can never go wrong with black too! I'm torn between keeping this and returning it. What do you think I should do? Verdict: Unsure

 

[two] Pomelo - Corinna Striped Dolman Top. I'm a little biased with this shirt because believe it or not, my friend Lauren who introduced me to Stitch Fix was sent this exact shirt but in gray instead of pink! She raves about it and I've seen her in it - it's too die for cute! This was a no brainer. It's unique, cozy, striped (I love stripes) and a great fit! Verdict: Keep

[three] Kensie Jeans - Sophia Ankle Length Skinny Jean. It's hard to compare these jeans to my other skinny's I already have because I love my AG & J Brands SOOOO much! These Kensie jeans were too big anyways, so it made my decision easy. Verdict: Return

[four] Collective Concepts - Esten Button-Up Sleeveless Blouse. I'm not too hot on the shirt color, it's a little bright for my liking. Also, I thought this was more of a going out top, and for that reason, I think it's a little boring for me. I'm not much of a necklace wearer, so there wasn't enough going on in this shirt for me to like it enough. I did like the material and lay of the shirt though! Verdict: Return

[five] 41 Hawthorn - Florence Colorblocked Dress. From the picture I saw prior to trying it on, I thought I might actually like it! However, it was too big. =( Sad day because I could really use a cute dress. Verdict: Return

Conclusion: Some of the items are slightly move expensive than I normally spend for clothes. I wouldn't want to fill my whole closet with Stitch Fix items, but it's worth it to me to have a few pieces that are nice and that I can pair with less expensive items. All in all, I love the concept and would totally do another fix! For future fixes, I am going to tell my stylist no more denim jeans, more fun patterned tops, and to remember that I am only 5'2" so to please send me smaller & shorter dresses!

Now are you just itching to try it out? Go head over to their website and fill out your style profile! Then you can decide to order a "fix" whenever you want! It's so much fun =)

BTW - which items would you have kept/returned? Would love to hear anyone else's opinions.

Five on Friday # 6

Happy Friday Friends! Linking up with Natasha over at Hello!Happiness for a Five on Friday post. This week has gone by so fast and when I checked my phone to see my pictures from the week, I realized I didn't take enough!! I'm also thinking that it's time for me to upgrade my iphone 5 pictures and get a nice camera. Anyone have a camera that takes really good pictures but is still compact enough to lug around everywhere? I need one! Alright, let's get into my Five on Friday.

[one] We went to the Kings game on Saturday night and it was the third time ever that we took Mason AND OWEN. We used to always take Mason before Owen was born but then we stopped taking the kids, or we would just bring Mason, because Owen is just so difficult! We decided that we would try taking both boys again since it had been awhile since our last try...... It wasn't too bad but the game is so much different with a one year old who doesn't want to sit still. Oh well, we had a good time! =) Here are a couple pictures I took - the only pictures I took - at the game.

[two] Owen got his first haircut on Monday! He got to sit in a rocket and lick on a sucker, win win for little Owen! He only cried and got annoyed when the lady buzzed his hair line on his neck, other than that, he enjoyed his sucker. =)

[three] I received an email notification that my stitch fix shipped!!!! Ahhhhh, so excited! Anyone else request a fix before? Anyone want to try it out? Click here! It's only $20 & I haven't even received my fix yet and I'm having so much fun with the idea of knowing that I'm going to get clothes in the mail any day now!

[four]  Crock-pot salsa chicken w/sliced avocado - so simple yet so good! I literally threw three chicken breasts & a can of clean, healthy salsa into the crock-pot and cooked it! Then sliced some avocado on top when it was done.... Piece of Cake! 

[five] Got my boys some matching Easter shirts. 40% off the entire store.... I love deals & I love matching my boys. Easter bunny pictures to follow. =)

Hope you all enjoy your weekend!

It's the Little Things # 1

Hi Friends! I'm so excited to link up with Ashley over at Words About Waverly for my first ever "It's the Little Things" post. This is such a great idea for us moms who just want to take a step back and appreciate all the wonderful experiences motherhood allows us to have with our little ones.

This past week my boys were spoiled with not one animal feeding encounter, but two! On Friday, my mom and I took the boys to the Santa Ana Zoo. We were a little disappointed by the animal selection - there were tons and tons of monkeys & a bald eagle, but that was about it for the "wild" animals. Then we rode the train & carousel, and then all the fun began---- we went to visit the farm animals and fed the goats! Mason and Owen were both just loving life feeding those goats. They seriously came alive. Every time they ran out of food, Owen would say, "more, more, more" and learned to walk over to the food dispenser! Mason would ask my mom, "you have more money?" It was the cutest thing ever. And then every time a goat would grab a piece of food from their little hands, they squealed and laughed..... Music to my ears! Here are some pictures from our day at the zoo.

On Sunday, we went to Zoomars for a friend's 4th birthday party. It was such a great spot for a party. There were pony rides, playgrounds, goats and guinea pigs to feed, and let's not forget Mason's favorite, train rides!!! Both of my boys were brave enough to do the pony rides and Owen was a little "too cool" for pictures (see below). There was also a corn-box. Like a sandbox but with corn. I want one in my backyard..... it kept the kids entertained for a long time! It is always so much fun to see my boys interact and play with other kids. Here are some pictures from Zoomars. Happy Birthday Devyn!!

With each adventure with my boys, I learn new things. From the zoo and party we went to, I learned that Owen LOVES animals, and Mason is more into the trains & tractors! I love my boys!