Easter Sunday

 I am a huge fan of Easter Sunday.  Easter weekend for that matter.  Spending a whole weekend with my family and focusing on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Sounds lovely to me!

 It was lovely for that matter.  We had Easter egg hunts, kite flying, Easter baskets (I finally got a new computer...my old one died.  The Easter bunny was good to me :)  yummy dinners and lots of good conversation.

I love getting my boys new Easter clothes.  I think it is such a fun tradition and I loved seeing them all dressed so cute.

Josh and I also got a few new things (Josh was super cute and took me shopping for a new "Easter dress").

I thought I'd just post a few instagrams of our Easter dinner.  We had my cute parents and youngest brothers over for dinner.  My parents are leaving for a mission to Zimbabwe and my youngest brother is going on his mission to France, so next year will be so lonely without them!  We were glad to be able to have them at our house for Easter.  I found this cute idea for a  menu here.  I loved the carnation bunny tail!

It was so fun to have these wonderful people over.  I seriously lucked out in the family department.  We had such a fun night with them!

 Top, skirt, necklace, bracelet: Jcrew | shoes: Aldo | Bag: Kate Spade
 

Navy and Peach

This is two post in a row where I wore polka dot pants (I bought them at the same time too, so I know I have a problem :)

I really wish my blog was they type that was planned out, but really it is more of a "what I wore yesterday" sort of blog so when I wear two pair of similar pants in two days...that's what ya get ;)

...and can I tell you that these are the most ballet-y ballet flats I have ever owned.  I swear when I wear them I want to jete and pirouette my little heart out.  I am now looking for excuses to wear them, who doesn't want to feel like dancing all day?

Shirt: F21(recent-ish) | Jeans: Bohme Boutique | Shoes: Target | Bag: Kate Spade | Sunglasses: Banana Republic Factory | Belt: Buckle

A Couple of Dots

Friends, I have officially gone overboard on polka dot jeans...I am a sucker for a polka dot and add that to a pair of jeans and I am hooked.

This picture doesn't show it very well, but this top is made out of a swiss dot fabric.  My sweet little 3 year old calls it my "snowball" shirt.  Apparently white dots on a white blouse looks like a snowball fight!

 Shirt: Loft | Cardigan and jeans: Bohme Boutique (both recent) | booties: Target | Necklace: F21 | Belt: Buckle | Sunglasses: Banana Republic Factory | Bag: Kate Spade

The 90s Called...

 ...and they want their shoes back!

I posted my new shoes on instagram and one of my hilarious friends reminded me of these gems that I actually had (pink version) back in 6th grade.  And while these new shoes do remind me of my once favorite LA Gears, I like them SOOOO much better!

 I love how comfy they are and how they make a semi-boring look a little more interesting.

 Speaking of interesting...I am excited to announce that my little ole blog is getting a make over (well actually an overhaul...) Stay tuned, big changes coming next week that I am ridiculously EXCITED about!

Sweater: Target | Shirt: Old Navy | Jeans: F21 | Shoes: Target | Sunglasses: Nordstrom | Necklace: F21 | Bracelets: Jcrew and F21

Cozy For Spring

So many of my winter clothes are black or navy blue.  This time of year I definitely want to be wearing lighter and more "springy" colors.  The bad thing however is that we are still having very "wintery" days. 

On Sunday we woke up to some FREEZING weather here and I was glad that I could pull these cozy, but not too drab pieces from my closet.

It was nice not to freeze, but to still feel like my outfit was spring-ish at the same time!

I just had to add these cute photos from Instagram.  On Monday nights our family has what is called "Family Home Evening"  We had a spiritual lesson, an activity and of course a treat.  Lincoln was in charge of the treat this week and he chose to make homemade ice cream sandwiches from this awesome kids cookbook (we have found some seriously good recipes in it!).  He got his cooking gear we gave him for Christmas as was SO cute about the whole thing.  I had such a fun time teaching him some things about cooking and our treats turned out delicious if I do say so myself!

Sweater, Skirt: Ann Taylor | Lace shirt: Loft | Boots: Amazon | Necklace: Jcrew | Bag: Kate Spade

Chevron

 How was your weekend!?  Mine was awesome and busy (I am pretty sure I always say that).  I am directing a local pageant and headed to a workshop.  After that I went to my brother's convention.  He has a pretty cool company called Thrive Life and I had so much fun hanging out with my family and celebrating my brother's company for the night.

During the course of the time at his convention I had the opportunity to listen to Allison Levine, she is one of my new heros!  

Girlfriend has climbed the tallest peak on every continent and skied to both the north and south poles (honestly check her out, you will be so inspired!).  I was so inspired, and left thinking I needed to make some bigger goals!

 Top: Bohme Boutique | Pants: Target | Boots: Aldo | Bag: Kate Spade | Necklace: F21 | Bracelet: Jcrew | Sunglasses: Ross

Passion for Purple

I know the "big color of the season" is supposed to be Emerald (according to Pantone), and while I do love Emerald, I have to say I have a thing this season for pastel purple.  My eye seems to be drawn to it lately and here is a few of the lovlies I have seen.

Drops of Awesome

In my church I serve in the children's organization (we call it Primary).  Tonight I was at a meeting and this thought was shared.  If you want the whole version, go to the link, if not I will paraphrase.  It is by a mother who was feeling overwhelmed.  Every time she did something good in her life or for her kids, she was plagued by all of the other things that she didn't do right.

I think as women that is something we all struggle with, whether it be as a mom, in your job, as a friend, sister, daughter, wife, whatever.  We all just never measure up.

To be honest I have lofty expectations of myself and especially regarding my family.  Most nights I go to sleep thinking of all of the things that I didn't do, or could have done better.  I am a bit of a perfectionist with things I care about.  In the blog post this mother starts to recognize the things that she DOES do and calls them "drops of awesome".

She talks about not worrying about all of the things that you don't do, or make mistakes on and focusing on those things that we DO in a day.  The times we do work out (and forget about the times we don't), the times we serve others, the times we are patient and understanding verses all of those times we fall short.

In the the post she starts to notice all of the "drops of awesome" she achieves in a day and also realizes in the end Jesus Christ makes up for the times we fall short.  Now whether you are Christian or not, I think this is such a good message.  That we try to be more gentle with ourselves, that we focus on the good and teach ourselves to let go of those times we fail, or come up short.

Life has been crazy overwhelming for me lately.  I have WAY too much on my plate, and usually that is how I like things, but lately every time I am able to check off something on my list, I immediately think of the 8 million things I still need to do.  I have had a hard time sleeping and have been a bit irritable (my poor husband and kids) as a result of how overwhelmed I am feeling.

This message was SO something I needed tonight, and I thought I would share it in case there was someone out there feeling as overwhelmed and down as I have been feeling.  Just keep counting those "drops of awesome"!

Jacket and shirt: Old Navy | Skirt: F21 (similar) | Boots: Famous Footwear | Bag: Ross | Sunglasses: Banana Republic Factory | Necklace: F21

Once Upon a Time...

...I had this great necklace.  I loved it so much, but was worried to wear it because I was afraid it would break.  That is why I don't wear a lot of jewelry, because I have a horrible habit of breaking everything I wear.  Well, I was helping my boys today with their bikes, and guess what...I got the necklace caught on a handle bar and...it broke. 

I know I can probably (no idea how) fix it, but I can't even tell you how many necklaces I have broken.  A lot.

I wish I could blame it on my kids, but sad to say it is all me.  I am a mess with jewelry.

 Striped shirt: Jcrew | Gingham shirt: Abercrombie | Jeans: American Eagle | Boots: Banana Republic | Belt: Buckle | Sunglasses: Banana Republic Factory | Bag: local boutique | Necklace: Aldo

Top O' the Mornin'

...okay it's really evening, but that phrase just seems fitting for St. Patrick's Day

When my boys were little Josh and I had heard of a tradition where children put their shoes out and the next morning they were filled with candy (magically ;)  We decided it must be for St. Patrick's Day and started the tradition then and there.  Our boys loved it and we had been doing it a lot of years, when I heard the tradition of St. Nicholas' Day...and that you leave shoes out to be filled with treats...Well, it seems we were mistaken, but nonetheless, the tradition stuck in our family.  

Last night the boys left their shoes out and our lovely (some years naughty), leprechaun left treats and decorated our fireplace with shamrocks and confetti.  

For dinner we had our traditional Irish Stew, Irish Soda Bread and rootBEER (still not sure if we should do the last one, but I figure as Beer is as Irish as it gets...rootbeer works, and I think it is funny).  Irish soda bread is way better than it looks good 

 Today we had Stake Conference (a Sunday meeting held 2 times a year in our church) and I was so busy getting the boys ready (we had to be there way earlier than normal and Josh was there early to save us some seats), and making sure they had green on...ya know we wanted to be pinch free, that I barely had time for me (and you betcha I would be pinched if I left off my green).  At the last minute I threw on a green scarf and ran out the door.

 It was actually freezing cold today and I missed the warm few days we have just had.  I guess the only thing I should expect of spring, is the unexpected :)  I hope you all had a lovely St. Patty's Day!  If you want to check out our past St. Patrick's Day celebrations you can check 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.

Sweater (similar) and skirt: Old Navy | Scarf: Nordstrom | Boots: Famous Footwear | Bag and sunglasses: Ross