My Word for 2014: THRIVE

Happy New Year friends! 

A new year always brings a new slate. The anticipation of new things to come. When the year comes to an end naturally it has me thinking and reflecting on the new year. Last year my word was PEACE, 2012 was a year of changes for our family and I was looking for peace and calmness in all areas of our life. I also was looking forward to building a home in our new house. As I look back on 2013 I see how we did just that. 

But 2013 was also a hard year for me emotionally. I became a mom of two little ones. I had a baby that only recently after his one year birthday began sleeping through the night. It was a hard year for me personally dealing with friendships. I've struggled to find priority in what to share in this space, and how to make sense of major transitions in my life.

I've spent a lot of time in prayer just me and the Lord figuring out who I am in the face of all of this transition. What kind of mom am I to be? Where do I go in this new season of life? Who does God want me to be in this new season? 

As I started to work things through in prayer + in my quiet time I started to see just where God has me in this season. He began to bring a new freshness in my perspective that changed my heart. 

This year I want to Thrive.

I want to thrive in being a mother. For much of this past year I have felt like just take it one day at a time, when I don't know what to do. Being a mom is tough work. When I left my full time job outside the home to stay at home with my kiddos I had no idea how hard that would be for me when all I ever wanted to do was be at home. But after working two and a half years outside the home it was more of a transition for me than I realized it would be. At times I've felt like a failure, other times I felt like mom of the year. Most of 2013 I felt like I was floundering and only doing the bare minimum in getting things done. It may not have always seemed that way on the outside but on the inside that's where I was at. 

When I get overwhelmed or unsure I tend to retreat inward. I tend to get very introspective and not really tell anyone else what's going on, or what I'm feeling until I know what to do with those feelings or make sense of them. I started flooding my life and filling my life with things that didn't matter instead of taking a look at the feelings and things that did. I felt like at times I was barely scraping the bottom.

I want to thrive and not just survive in being the best wife I can be. In figuring out what commitments I need to let go of in order to thrive in other areas of my life. I've always been good at seeing what takes up my time and what I need to let go of. That is not always an easy process but throughout much of 2013 I filtered through a lot of things. I find myself now needing to simplify and make some decisions and ultimately let some things so to free myself and make room for other new things. 

I have new ideas on where I want to take my business + this blog and I can't wait to share them. Taking comfort in God's peace and assurance during this time. I hope to re focus this year and what my life looks like now in this current season. Here's a few verses I'm repeating to myself and keeping on my mind. 

They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on the river bank. Isaiah 44:4 NLT

But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God. I will always trust in God's unfailing love. Psalms 52:8 NLT

Do you have a word for 2014? If so, I'd love to hear about it. Leave it in the comments below or leave the link to your post where you talk about it. I'd love to read your stories. 

Dr. OZ 3 Day Cleanse + Tips for Success.

Happy Monday friends!! How was your weekend?

Remember when I told you in my New Year + New Goals post about wanting to do a cleanse this year? Well, we did it! My husband and I completed the Dr OZ 3 Day Detox Cleanse last week. 

I had never done a cleanse before, and I've wanted to do one for a while now but wanted to wait until I was done breast feeding as they are not advised if you're breast feeding. I choose the Dr OZ 3 Day Detox Cleanse for a few reasons. One being that it was only 3 days, and as a first timer I wanted something easy and not to long. 

Secondly, he gives you a grocery list and you just buy the stuff and follow the instructions. So easy. And most of the items I already had in my pantry so it was even easier for me. 

A few reasons Dr OZ gives to detox are: constipation, persistent headaches or muscle aches, food allergies, stubborn weight loss. You can read more about Detox Made Safe and Simple here.

Over Christmas I was a little to over indulgent and had way to much sugar, and I wanted to clean out my system and get rid of all the junk and toxins. A cleanse was a great way to do this. I wanted to share some thoughts on my experience and some tips for success if you choose to do this cleanse as well. 

First you'll need to download and print off the grocery shopping list and go shopping. You can print it off here. My husband and I did this cleanse together. I shopped for the both of us at my local Sprouts, but you can find any of these things in the natural section of your grocery store. I spent $85 for the both of us for the 3 Day Detox Cleanse. 

Tip #1: Prep all your fruits and veggies the night before.
This cleanse takes a bit of planning, you'll want to have everything ready to go in order to make your drinks each day. The last thing you want to do is wake up before you go to work and wash and chop veggies. If you do that most likely you will not want to make your cleanse drinks and not do it. The night before I washed, chopped and bagged all my fruits and veggies ready to portion out them the next day for my drinks. Doing this will make it a lot more easy and convenient. 

Tip #2: Eat something light the night before.
Do not gorge yourself on a heavy meal the night before your cleanse. The point is to be cleaning your system so don't over indulge on sugar and heavy stuff. 

Tip #3: Drink lots of water.
In the plan he tells you to drink lots of water, I echo this as well. You should aim to drink half your body weight in ounces of water a day anyway. Water is your friend and essential in flushing out your system. 

The cleanse actually went better than I thought, I honestly thought that I would be very hungry and just have to "push" through it. However, I was not hungry at all during the cleanse. I felt full and not hungry at all during the 3 days. I will tell you by the end for Day 2, I was craving variety in my meals and even caught myself drooling over a food commercial but not out of hunger just out of wanting a variety.

I did have a headache that lasted 2 days because of lack of sugar and caffeine. Which I expected since that's one of the reasons I wanted to do the cleanse in the first place it didn't surprise me that my body was having a reaction the way it was. 

I slept better each night, and found that my body rested better and I was able to calm my mind each night. Which usually I lay awake all the time when I go to sleep thinking about things, but during the cleanse I felt a calmness and was able to quiet myself and rest. 

Also, you might be curious about weight loss during the cleanse. Although it was not my intention to use the cleanse as a weight loss tool I did however loose weight during the cleanse, over the course of 3 days I lost 4 pounds. I also want to add that I also did my normal workout routine during this time in addition to being on the cleanse.

I had a great experience with the Dr OZ 3 Day Detox Cleanse it was a great way to re set my body, clean out the junk and start fresh. If you're looking to do a cleanse and ease into it like I was I would recommend this as well for you. 

Have you done a cleanse? If so which one? I'd love to hear about your experiences, leave them in the comments below.

Zane's Winter ONEderland First Birthday

We celebrated Zane's first birthday while we were in Iowa with family. We were so excited to celebrate his big FIRST birthday with a Winter "ONE derland" party! It was the perfect theme considering he was born just a few days before Christmas and we were going to be in Iowa knee deep in snow. 

This is gonna be a little picture overload post, get excited! Here's peek inside his party. I went with the colors red, blue and white. I saw these printables in the TomKat Studios shop and knew they'd be perfect for his party. 

I designed the invitation myself. I love the way it turned out, and I love the winter theme. 

I filled theses Kraft boxes with fun favors for the kiddos and added these thank you tags from The TomKat Studio with ribbon. They turned out really cute and the kids loved them. 

Dessert tables are my favorite! I loved putting together some simple things for his table. Lots of sweet treats and homemade sweets for this table. Everything was really simple, just the way I like it. My sister made these cute pretzel rods for the party. 

I filled red + white stripe baking cups with different cookies and placed them on the table. 

This cake, man let me tell you about this cake! It's the best cake I've ever had in my life, and it was made by the same woman who made our wedding cake almost 7 years ago! She's wonderful and if you live in Central Iowa you must have Andrea Rouse make your cake! 

I showed her the printables and the invite and she came up with this wonderful design. I usually don't love cake, but hers is the very best. I added some toppers to decorate the top of the cake.

I filled bags with Carmel corn (also from The Tomkat Studio) and put those on the dessert table as well. 

I've been taking monthly photos of Zane, just like I did with Ava and we had those hung up at the party so everyone could see his monthly growth progression. I love adding personal touches like this to the party. 

Our Family.

Happy Birthday Zane!

I wanted to do a fun craft with the kids, give them something to do and also something fun they could take home. I decided to make North Pole ornaments. I mixed silver glitter in some Epsom salts to use as the "snow." 

The kids filled the ornaments, and then we added a red stripe straw to act as the North Pole. They had a lot of fun with them, and everyone enjoyed it. 

They actually turned out really pretty it was such a fun craft to do with the kids who came to his party. 

Zane's smash cake.

He really went for it and it was the cutest thing. At one point though he was on total sensory overload, as well as sugar I think. But it was so fun to watch him eat his first cake. 

BIG thanks to everyone who came to his party and shared this special day with our family. 

If you're looking for party sources they are listed below;

baking cups, blue stripe bags, red stripe straws, printables: TomKat Studio
Kraft boxes: Pick Your Plum
Cake: Cakes by Andrea

Zane's Nursery

I'm excited to finally share with you Zane's completed nursery! His room has been completed for the most part for a few months. There were just some finishing touches I wanted to add before I showed it to everyone. When we found out that we were having a boy I knew somehow I wanted to encorporate my Husband's love for the Oklahoma Sooners into our baby's room decor. 

However, I didn't want it to be all football themed in every corner. I dreamed up a mood board of reds, creams and neutral colored walls with hints of red and football. See the original mood board here. 

I love how it turned out, I can't wait to take you on a tour! Let's go!

This is the view from the doorway. When we moved into our new home and finally got furniture in, the room ended up being to small to add the dresser I wanted. Instead we used the furniture that was in Ava's nursery. Someday we'll add the dresser when there's no longer a need for the changing table. 

curtains & rug: Ikea
white furniture: Graco Lauren Edition Babies R Us
Paint color: Natural Linen by Glidden

Above Zane's closet is a banner that was made by a friend and hung at my baby shower. I brought it home that day knew that I wanted to use it in his room. I decided to hang it above the closet, I love that it was handmade by a friend and is something personal in the nursery decor. 

The crib skirt and the quilt are two of my faves of the whole room. They really are huge focal points and add so much to this room. The fabric was one of the first things I picked out for the room, I knew I wanted something red and you can't go wrong with chevron. The quilt was a gift from a former co worker who made this for me. I came into work one day to find it on my desk, it's such a beautiful piece to have in his room and a wonderful reminder of a great friendship. 

The glider and ottoman are just on the opposite wall. I made the pillow with some of the leftover fabric I had on hand. 

glider: Babies R US
pillow: made by me
red chevron fabric: www.fabric.com
crib skirt: made by me
quilt: gift

This little shelf is one of my faves in the room. Above it sits one of Zane's newborn photos that I took. One the shelf I placed a few of my Husband's personal football items. The mini helmet is my husband's that he's had forever that was just sitting in a box of personal items. It now sits on the shelf and had a permanent home. 

shelf: Lowes

Sock monkey: gift

newborn photo: taken by me

I wanted to display some of the children's books we have, since Ava we've accumulated a ton of books. I wanted to display a few of them and create a little toy nook in the corner of the room. Ava was a little hesitant to "give" her brother some of "her" books but it was a good lesson in sharing. ;)

The shelves are just photo ledges from Ikea that we already had, they make great shelves for displaying books. 

shelves: Ikea
red toy bin: DownEast Home

I shared with you already the gallery wall I put together for the room, I love how this came together. Below it sits the changing table and the canvas bins I re did. They hold all sorts of baby things in each bin. I love the idea of numbered bins, my interpretation of the numbers on a football field. 

hamper: Babies R Us

changing pad: Babies R Us

canvas bins: Target, hand painted by me

Just a few more details of the room. The big "Z" was a paper mache letter from JoAnn's that I spray painted red and hung on the wall. 

I had so much fun creating this nursery for our sweet little boy. I love seeing him in his room, and I love creating rooms for our little ones. I love everything about this room, but if I had to pick a favorite thing it would probably have to be the gallery wall. It was so fun collecting all those elements. Thank you for letting me take you on a little tour today. 

Ava's Pink & Gold Third Birthday

Today I'm excited to share with you Ava's 3rd Birthday Party. It was featured a couple weeks ago on Pizzazzerie, you can see the feature here, but I wanted to share it here as well with my readers. 

I start all my parties by dreaming up a theme and picking out the perfect invites. For me invites set the tone of any party. I found these great invites by Design on Paper on Etsy. We worked together to design this invite based on some of the other designs I saw from her site. 

Pink is Ava's favorite color, and the sparkly touches of silver and gold were the perfect touch to add to this party. 

I love putting together dessert tables for my parties, they are so fun and a great focal point for any party. 

I put together this dessert table made up of cupcakes {made by me}, cake pops and cookies. Along with some fun touches. I made the tissue paper tassels myself, {tutorial here}. 

These glass bottles have been such a great investment, actually they are Starbucks frap bottles that I cleaned, washed and saved for occasions such as this. Add some fun stripey straws and you have instant fun drinks for your parties. I got the straws from The TomKat Studio shop.

Simple Princess Pink Punch {equal parts pink lemonade + sprite} make a great drink for any party. Everyone loves it, and it's so simple to make. All the light pink plates and napkins are from the Dollar Tree, and the gold dot napkins are from Target.

Since we just moved a few months prior most of our guests have never been to our house, I thought it would be fun signify to our guests that "the party is here." So I bought a giant 36'' pink balloon from The TomKat Studio and placed it outside on our porch. I also made an additional strand of tassels to wrap around the balloon for something fun. 

Oh, how I love a good cake pop! Don't you?! My friend Heather is a local baker here in Phoenix and she makes the best desserts. She made these awesome cake pops and tied golden bows on them and they were a perfect addition to our dessert table. If you live in Phoenix please message me if you'd like to work with Heather.

I made the cupcakes myself, and placed them inside white & pink stripe baking cups from The TomKat Studio, and topped them with gold and silver flags from Target.

I whipped up a simple centerpiece for the table with these gold glitter jars, {tutorial here} and placed pink roses and babies breath inside. The flowers are from a local shop here in Phoenix called Blooming Mill.

{My Birthday Girl!}

I kept the food pretty simple since the party was taking place after lunch and a couple hours before dinner. I made chicken salad sandwiches, fruit salad, and a veggie tray to go along with our dessert table.

This year I wanted to do something a little different and special for the party. I love using local people to help with my parties so when I came across Melissa's work with cookies I knew I wanted her to do something for Ava's party. Melissa makes the most amazing cookies you've ever seen, they are little works of art. I almost didn't want to eat them, but I'm so glad that I did because not only are they pretty they are delish! Visit Melissa's website here, she ships all over the US.

photography + styling: worley house

ava's skirt: zulily

ava's shirt: old navy

baking cups + straws + balloon: The TomKat Studio

cookies: The Baked Equation

flags + gold dot napkins: Target

pink paper plates + pink napkins: Dollar Tree

*contains an affiliate link