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My Sweet Boy Turns One (and an Out of Office Notice)


Hello, friends! I know it's been awhile since I've actually checked in with a full-blown post. You see, life is crazy busy these days. Working full-time and trying to be a great mom, wife, daughter and friend takes it out of me. It is rare that I actually sit down with the laptop at home.

Today, I'm here to share an update on our life. Our little boy has surpassed his one-year milestone and is now fifteen months. I cannot believe how fast they grow. He is like his own little man now. He's walking (sometimes even trying to run) and babbling in his own language like crazy.



He's smart and silly and steals our heart daily.

A "Wild One" First Birthday Party



I'm finally back with photos from my sweet boy's first birthday. We celebrated this milestone with a "Wild One" theme. I really wanted to incorporate his teepee from Land of Nod, and frankly, I was always a Pocahontas fan, so I figured this was a good manly spin-off.
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If you've browsed Pinterest or Etsy lately, you know there is inspiration galore out there for the "Wild One" theme. Even though this is super popular, I was okay with it. For this party, I decided to house most of the decor in our sunroom, removing our regular dining table and setting up a collection of folding tables to display the food buffet. I think the best item I purchased was a wooden panel from Home Depot. It was a whopping $18 and created a great backdrop for the main display.


Trying out a long-lasting lip color + a giveaway


My dear friend, past colleague and fellow cheer judge/competition roomie Shannon recently started selling LipSense. She learned of it from another cheer judge, and I've also heard of it from one of my past cheerleaders. It seems like the cheer world has fully embraced this brand of lipstick, which I feel like came out of no where like the LuluRoe craze. And I guess for good reason as it claims to last up to 18 hours.

Shannon asked me if I would like to try out LipSense lip color and share some thoughts. She sent me a full collection that included the Apple Cider lip color, gloss and a "ooops" remover stick. This brand claims to be waterproof, kiss-proof, smear-proof, and budge-proof.

The Best of Unicorn Party Inspiration

Hey there! Remember me. Yeah, I know it's been a few weeks (okay, a month) since my last post, but all for a good reason. My baby boy turned one and I've been in party planning mode.  We hosted a two-day celebration last weekend with a family party on Saturday and a friends party on Sunday. With a March birthday, overflow to the outdoor patio area is not an option, so it made it difficult to fit all party guests into our house at one time. That's why we split the celebration in two. We basically threw the same party two days in a row, with different guests each day. We had a "Wild One" theme, which was so much fun to execute. Photos on that party to come!

Since I've had party planning on the brain, I've been thinking about how much fun a unicorn party would be for a little girl. With so many fabulous cakes and goodies out there, this theme would be easy to execute. In fact, I came across the cutest cake toppers, favor bags and unicorn horn party hats at Home Goods recently. They were so cute that I called my best friend and asked her if she would like me to buy them for her daughter's birthday later this year. The unicorn party was a "yes" for her, so I figured it was also a good reason to pull all of the amazing inspiration I've seen together in a blog post, so here it goes...

Invitations

(PS-Isn't the name "Willow" adorable for a little girl. I love it!)

Refreshments

How I make money and save money when shopping


Through the years, I've learned of some super savvy ways to save money and make money while shopping. Regardless if you're an avid online shopper or prefer to pick your goods in person, I have some great news for you: You can get paid to shop! Yes, that's right. Let me tell you how good it feels to make money when you're spending money. Additionally, I recently discovered the easiest way to curate the best coupon codes available when shopping online with almost zero effort, so you can get the max discount floating around on the internet.

Making money and saving money while you shop is only a few clicks away. These rebate/savings platforms require very minimum effort on your part, so they become a no-brainer. Here's what you need to know to get started:

Ebates 

When I first saw commercials for Ebates on TV, I couldn't decide if this company was a scam. After reading about it from several reliable sources, I signed up a year or so ago and have not regretted my decision. This site basically gives you a rebate (a percentage of your purchase as cash back) for online and some in-store in purchases. (See the examples below. )

Every quarter, you get a direct deposit or check from the company for your cash back total. Sometimes, mine is $8. Sometimes its $28. Regardless, it's money I didn't have before and barely had to do anything to get it.

It's very easy to use. After you set up an account, just got to ebates.com every time you are getting ready to make a purchase online and type in the name of the store. Ebates will then tell you the current cash back percentage being offered at that store. Then you select "Shop Now." The "Shop Now" button takes you to the store's website, and from there, Ebates records your purchase amount and then credits your Ebates account for the cash back.

Ebates also notifies you via email about store sales that might be of interest to you based on your past purchases.

It's as easy as that. This only takes a few seconds each time you make a purchase. If you shop online, there's no reason why you shouldn't take advantage of this cash back program.


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