Friday 5 On Saturday....

I have my Friday 5 written down....on a piece of paper. I spent the evening driving Mini K from practice, to a party to pick up Baby C who went to hockey with Daddy.

So I am officially making Friday last longer...until after the littles get their flu shots tomorrow morning!!!

Be envious single friends of my exciting Friday night of playing cab driver ...I am sure my littles tipped me in Skittles and Goldfish all over the car!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Dirty Hands

First, I am sorry for not posting a Friday 5.  I was too busy enjoying date night with Baby C since Mini K and her dad were in Nashville for a surprise trip to see Taylor Swift.  He had some milk, I had some water, we ate popcorn and watched Cars in our pj's.  Can you think of a better date than that?  I knew you would understand.

This weekend, we did a little jump start on our Fall Wish List.  This year we started making lists by season of stuff we wanted to do as a family.  One of the items for fall was plant bulbs..I confess it was more my idea but K loved the idea of knowing what color tulips would come up in the spring and making her little brother guess.  This is something I have NOT done before, but thanks to Google, a trip to the nursery we passed the test.

As all great stories start, we didn't follow the directions.  We put potting soil in our planters mixed with some bulb food and packed in the tulip bulbs ignoring the directions to space them out.  If we are going to have flowers, why not have a planter FULL of flowers.

We then covered the bulbs with more soil and then placed in a layer of hyacinth bulbs.

We packed in more potting soil and then topped it off with an ornamental kale plant.  I have always called these winter cabbage, but our local nursery informed me I was wrong.  I hate looking at dirt all year long while we wait for the flowers so this way we have a little green.  The best tip I learned was once the kale blooms with a flower in early spring, you take it out of the planter and it will encourage the bulbs to come up.  Who knew?  Well, my guess is a LOT of you knew this but I did not.

So there was our weekend adventure in gardening.  I thought I would share as it was super easy and I am so excited we have full planters for fall, winter and spring!

Favorite Fall Pieces

It has been chilly in the mornings this week, but hot by early afternoon, but I am silently and maybe not so silently willing fall to hurry up!  I took advantage of some sales this week that I thought I would share in case anyone else has been needing an excuse to help their fall closet.  If yuou haven't joined EBATES yet, join NOW if you want to purchase any of these items as you can get extra cash back on your purchases not just the discounts!

Vests
I will not confess to how many of these J.Crew vests I own, but I love them!  This week I had to add the camo one to my closet, especially since ALL purchases are 25% off with FREE shipping.

Sweaters
My favorite sweaters are Vince.  If you are not familiar with the brand, it is sold at Neimans, boutiques and Sak's.  It is also sold at Neiman's outlet store Last Call.  This week Last Call is having their friends and family sale and taking an additional 30% off their discounted prices.  I picked up 2 Vince sweaters for less than I would have paid for 1 plus I am getting 5% cash back through Ebates!

Boots
I LOVE my Frye Paige riding boots from the Shoe Hive so much that this year I decided I needed the gray pair too!  In addition to their sale I am getting 8.5% cash back through my Ebates account!

Leggings
Last year my friend Elizabeth who owns The Shoe Hive introduced me to ilux leggings.  Let me tell you, they are LIFE changers.  They are not see through, they do not snag and every pair from last year is still in great shape for this year.  For those of you that live where it gets cold, I highly suggest the fleece lined leggings.  I will be adding the Winona style to my collection this year as they are the contour version aka they suck it in!  Just call Elizabeth and she will have them on their way to you!

So what am I doing with all of my savings....stocking up on gifts for Mini K's friends.  Plum District is having a GREAT deal on Rainbow Loom bracelet supplies.  The deal is $10 and it includes everything but the loom itself: 1,200 loom bands in assorted colors, 48 clips to connect your bracelets and 2 loom hooks.  If that isn't enough to have you clicking over,  you can save an extra 20% with code: SepBest20

FREE!

Did that get your attention?  I know I have blogged about my love of my Maven Boxes from Julep before, but they sent me a special I can share with you today!

Julep Maven Boxes arrive each month and are filled with everything from nail polish, to mascara to dry shampoo.  Did I mention the products are all FULL SIZED?  Some of my now favorites beauty products are Julep and I confess I probably would never have tried them without the boxes.  I discovered Julep while googling chemical free nail polishes because both Mini K and Baby C are sensitive to chemicals and I couldn't give up my mommy manicure/pedicure time.  Their polishes are now my favorite...above Essie and OPI and they have a polymer Freedom topcoat that makes your manicure last like a gel manicure WITHOUT damaging your nails.

My other favorite is their mascara.  I am slightly mascara addicted.  I have one (SMALL!) make-up bag in my purse that is only lip gloss and mascara.  I take turns applying them, how is that for honesty?  I think that a coat of sunscreen, some powder, mascara and lipgloss can make even a long night look like a good morning.

The maven boxes are $19.99 a month and come with over $40 in product.  You take a quiz to help select your profile, but here are some of my favorite things:

1.  You can "gift" your box to a friend at no additional charge and make someone's month a little brighter.

2.  You get 20% off all of your other purchases

and this one is the BEST.......

3.  Your first box is FREE when you join HERE.

Friday FIVE

Its' FRIDAY friends!!!!!!!  I am doing my happy dance that another week is over and praying we are inching closer to FALL weather.  As always I didn't really theme my Friday FIVE, but they are 5 things I am loving this week!

1.  Life Savers!
A friend of mine emailed me with bad news last Sunday.  Her computer crashed and went to computer heaven and took with it ALL of her photos ...as in EVERY photo she had of her almost 2 year old and not everything was in the cloud.  I of course had a panic attack:  what was in my cloud, was my back up working, what if what if what if.  I called my IT guy and he said PICTURE KEEPER so that is what I ordered.  Of course the day after I ordered it, I find it for half price, so I am making myself feel better by sharing the deal with you!  Essentially it works on both Macs and PC's and the best part is after the initial back-up it only saves new photos when you plug it in.  There are 3 different sizes:  4,000 photos, 8,000 photos and 16,000 photos.  The BIG one sells for $99.99 and Plum District has it on deal for $50 and if you order today and use code FRIDAY13 you can save an extra 13%.  You can purchase it HERE.

2.  Photo Cards
In the 11 years since PGG has been open I have never ordered my cards early.  I am usually the last one....but there is a first time for everything.  We got a few great photos of the littles when we were out of town and I just used them and GOT IT DONE.  TO celebrate I am passing on a discount to all of you!

ALL photo cards are 25% off AND we are also giving you your choice of FREE return address printing or return address stickers!!!!  Simply enter code:  S13H25 at checkout!  The sale runs through October 9th!  That is almost a month for you to pick your favorites and GET IT DONE.  You can see all designs HERE.

3.  My New Water Bottle

I like COLD water, if I could make a water slurpee to take to Crossfit I would be thrilled.  Mr. G brought home this water bottle from Target last week and I am IN LOVE.  The top unscrews and you can either fill it with ice or do what I do and fill it 1/3 full at night and put it in the freezer and then top it off with cold water and I have FREEZING water during my workout.

4.  Fun Jeggings

I need to log A LOT more Crossfit WOD's before the word jeggings and my name are used in the same sentence, but Mini K is a big fan of jeggings, NOT leggings.  Target has some super cute ones that we picked up to pair with her Crewcuts tunics.

5.  Unexpected Finds

I walked into a boutique in Georgetown today as they were putting a shipment on the floor and spotted this table.  I had them put the bubble wrap right back on and brought it home.  Give me the weekend to add some books and an antique crystal lamp and my reading nook in the living room will be done.  I have been searching for a table like this and am happy that I can cross it off the list and now I am just on the hunt for an antique barley chest.

That's my 5.  I hope you have had a great week and please let me know if you posted a Friday FIVE!

Never Forget

This day always make me count my blessings and give thanks to the men and women in the military, and their families who go to work every single day knowing that freedom is NOT free.

I love that so many schools are teaching kids that today we remember those who were killed by helping others through service projects big and small.  

A post about anything but being thankful today just doesn't seem right.  Mini K saw the flag on the Pentagon first this morning and then as we drove by Arlington National Cemetery I heard her tell Baby C that is where heroes go to rest.  9-11 was and still is a day where so many Americans became heroes, they answered a call to action they never thought would come.

God Bless you and your family today and always!

Have You Met Ellie?

Ellie had another name...it was PV Body, but she changed it.  "She" is still amazeballs and I think all of my friends need to know her.

I will confess I have a slight addiction to Lululemon and have been known to wear it even if I am not going/coming from Crossfit or a run, but there are only so many pairs of $100 yoga pants I can "need" before I cut myself off.  That is when I met Ellie.  Remember I said she had another name?  Well we go way back.  Think of her as a cousin to Julep Maven or Citrus Lane, but she is the cooler cousin because:

1.  You get to choose your box EVERY SINGLE MONTH

2.  If you spend too much quality time with her and need to take a break, there are no hard feeling and you can visit a month or two later

Ellie is $49.95 a month and you can pick ANY 2 pieces in the collections to arrive at your doorstep!  From tops to pants to capris to jackets and they are all AMAZING.  The quality is great and so are the prices.  You can join HERE.

My current favorites are the Copacabana Tank.  It is cut slightly longer so I don't worry about it riding up during pull-ups.

My other go-to have been the Queen of Everything legging.  I swear I think these magically "hide" 10lbs.  The do NOT stretch out and the detail at the ankles is just plain fun.

So I wanted everyone to meet Ellie, I won't be mad if you become friends.