5 Mani/Pedi combos for Spring

Spring is here, which means that it's time to have fun with nail color!  While it's totally fine to be matchy-matchy with your nails, it's more exciting to make them complimentary instead.  Kayla, from My Kind of Yellow, and I have put together 5 spring mani/pedi combos for you...(and have a fun surprise for you at the end!) 

Blanc/Go Ginza

White nails are IT this spring, and a pretty purple is just the right color to pair with it.

Mint Candy Apple/Fiji

Kinda preppy.....the neutral color for the pedicure lets the nails do the talking!  

Pink Works/Knockout Pout

Pink!!!  Oh how I love pink nails for the spring.  

Be sure to go check out Kayla's post today for the other 2 Mani/Pedi combos!  (they're good ones! and she's fantastic!)

Now, for our surprise.... Kayla and I want you to try out some new nail polish, so we're giving one lucky reader a $20 gift card to Target!  (You can get a mani/pedi color set...or anything you want, really!) :)

Just use the Rafflecopter below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway will end this Saturday, April 5, and the winner will be announced via email.

Happy Monday!

Last Things

The last....

Thing that made me smile:  This picture of Walker.  He goes to the very front of the rug at the library every week, takes off his shoes and socks, and settles in for story time.  Love him so much.

Show I got in to:  The boys were napping and I had an hour to fold laundry last week... none of my shows were new, so I decided to check Once Upon A Time out on Netflix.  Ya'll!!! I'm almost done with the first season...ahhh!  It's so weird and cheesy, but I love fairy tales, and love the attention they pay to detail on this show.  I'm hooked.

Time I was pretty impressed:  I judged a high school talent show last week, and this group right here needs to coordinate their outfits, get a cool background setting, and get a video made ASAP. They were fantastic.

Time I was not impressed: I took a ballet barre class this week. Maybe it was because it was a sort of knock off class that my gym puts on (called barre body), or maybe it was the teacher who acted like she hated being there and hated us, or maybe it was because she had us leaning on AND over the barre while doing an arabesque (ahhhh?!?!?!?! insert every ugly face emoji right here), but that class was not a good one, and I was not ok with it.

Product that I really loved:  EOS raspberry shaving cream.  My sister called to tell me about it, and she was right, it really does make your legs silky smooth.

Happy Friday! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!
Linking up with Lauren.

Regular Life

^I wish I noticed the straps being twisted before the pictures...ahh!

Shoes: Vestique, Jeans: Old Navy, Sweater: Old Navy, Necklace: Cousin Couture

Pictures edited by the fab, Kayla!

I'm enjoying regular life again after last week being kind of crazy.  (It was tons of fun...just busy!) I've finally been able to do my laundry and vacuum my floors.  Yay!  All of the cleaning, though, has made me want to completely redo my house.  I'll probably just rearrange furniture, but I'm ready for some kind of change.

I'm also really excited about these shoes! When I saw them on Vestique's FB page, I super stalked them for days trying to find a pair in my size.  I do love a great, sassy pair of shoes, and am ready to get lots of wear out of these!

What are you looking forward to wearing this Spring?!

Linking up with Shanna and The Pleated Poppy

NC Blogger Buzz: Spring Session

What a wonderful evening we had last Friday night at the Spring Session of our NC Blogger Buzz!  Angela, from Head to Toe Chic, and I co-host a mini-blogging conference twice a year, and have such a great time doing it.  The NC Blogger Buzz is intended to create a wonderful community for NC bloggers, and to provide an atmosphere of learning and growth.  

Sara, from Sara Logan Photography, (remember this amazing shoot?!) photographed our evening, and I can't get over how much I love these pictures. I love photographers who capture real emotion, and she most certainly does!

^Nicole, manager of Bevello (definition of fabulous!)

Bevello in Cameron Village was our host for the evening, and it could not have been more perfect.  The shop and the ladies of Bevello are so beautiful and wonderful, and treated us so well that night. 

We mingled and ate yummy treats from Bevello, and food from one of our sponsors PDQ, and ummm.....still thinking about those delicious chicken tenders!  

We then heard from our amazing speakers Molly from Still being Molly and Emily from Life with Emily.  They. were. fantastic.  Molly spoke about working with brands and sponsors,  Emily spoke about branding your blog, and then they hosted a Q&A session.

In between speakers we separated into smaller groups, and discussed all things blog (so much fun and helpful to do with other bloggers, of course!), and got to know each other much better.

^^ :)

Pink Owl Photography provided a photo booth for us.  We posed as groups along with a blogging tip from each group.  (We'll be sharing all of these blogging tips on our FB page soon!)

We had fantastic sponsors for our Spring Session.  You'll definitely have to check them all out!

Photography: Sara Logan Photography

Venue:  Bevello

Notepads:  Pixelimpress

                  Honizukle Press

                  Carly Reed Designs

New Blog Design and Do Small things with Great Love printables: With Good Heart

Jewelry:  Kluster Jewelry

Dinner:  PDQ

Giveaway Earrings: The SolTree

Pens: Peachy Keen

                  

Nail Polish: Pretty Please

^co-hosts with the speakers

^Angela and I

^^The fabulous lady behind the camera...Sara!!

Our next conference will be in the Fall.  Be sure to like us on Facebook so you can stay up to date with events! We'll also be doing a summer social activity in-between conferences.  We'll give you details on that very soon!

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

Spring Fashion Series

Dress: Old Navy, Shoes: Similar

Well, it definitely doesn't feel like Spring outside, school was cancelled yesterday for ice, but it will officially BE Spring tomorrow!  It's also very apparent that it's freezing cold outside by my pasty legs and frizzy, rained-on hair.  Aack! (And the bruises are pretty much permanent from teaching dance (just talk to one of my students), and from playing horse with the boys  all. the. time..they love it.)

I'm really excited to wear this dress in many ways this season; with a belt, with a jean jacket, or with a scarf....tons of possibilities!

Here are 8 ladies who are sharing their spring outfits with you today for my Spring Fashion Series! (And I put them in categories to help you when you're out shopping or searching through your own wardrobe!)

Ashley/Monika

I do love a chambray shirt.  Versatile, casual or dressy, and so super cute.  These ladies are rockin it!

Chelsea/Rebecca

Aren't both of these patterns fantastic?  A bold pattern is a great way to make a statement, and gives you such a great,fun focus piece.  

Marie/Jordyn

Yes, yes, yes to a denim jacket.  It's the perfect way to "complete" an outfit.

Maria/Sybil 

There's something about a colorful shoe and/or a patterned shoe that I just love.  Both are great ways to spice up an outfit and make it unique.

I hope you now have some ideas to help you enjoy your wardrobe this season!  Make sure to go visit these ladies for more outfit inspiration. (They are all amazing!)

If you would like to be part of my Summer Fashion Series, please send me an email (ashanderson10@gmail.com) with the Subject Line: Summer Series.  You don't have to send me the picture now, just an email.  You can definitely participate in the Summer Series even if you were featured in this one or previous ones.  And no, you don't have to be a blogger to participate!

See the last Fashion Series here.

PS.  Make sure you enter to win a beautiful, personalized stationary set.

Linking up with Shanna and The Pleated Poppy

Just Peachy (plus a special treat for you!)

I saw this dress the other day and fell in love with it immediately. Isn't it so unique and fun?  I hardly ever wear the color peach, but decided it's so beautiful, and that I need to get some of it in my closet.  Here are a few peachy items that I really like. Some are pinky peach, and others more orangey peach...but they're all now officially on my wish list.

Dress, Shoes, Bathing Suit, Pants, Earrings

I'm so excited to introduce you to Heather from Girl by the Seashore today.  She's a NC gal, and I just adore her. We actually trained at the same ballet school (she's a fantastic dancer!), and we have so many things in common. Heather is also the mother of 2 boys (twin boys!), and they are just as cute as they can be.  I love that she takes a picture of each of them once a week to share...great way to watch the boys grow.  Heather writes beautifully, and her personality really shines through her writing.  You'll love her and her blog!

Heather designs beautiful stationary and invitations, (she's so talented!), and is giving one lucky reader a personalized stationary set of their very own.  (You choose the color and pattern!)

Just use the Rafflecopter below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway will be open until this Sunday, March 23, and the winner will be notified via email.

Comments turned off so you can go show Heather some love!

4 years

Top Picture: Cat Watson Photography, Bottom Picture: Hoverstad Photography

I blinked, and Charlie became a 4 year old.  Every year, during the week of March 14, I get so emotional thinking about the day that my sweet boy was born.  

Something happened the other day that explains Charlie's personality so well.  Walker was extra tired while eating lunch, and was having a hard time understanding why he had to eat his turkey sandwich before he got his goldfish.  He was being dramatic, and started crying, and I asked Walker if he wanted me to help him eat his lunch.  He gave me a sharp, "No!", and continued to cry.  Charlie touched Walker's shoulder and said, "Do you want me to help you, baby?", and after Walker said yes, he fed Walker his entire lunch.  

Charlie is a peacemaker, a lover, a book worm, a dancer, and will do great, great things in this world.

Here's a little birthday video.

When I told Noel what song I was using, he said "that's way too dramatic for a birthday video." But after I showed him, and turned around to see what he thought, I caught him with tears in his eyes. :)

Happy Birthday to the sweetest 4 year old that ever was.

3 ways to wear oxfords

Sara, from Sara Logan Photography, and I have been working on a few fun projects together lately.  (She's amazing!! Be sure to like her FB page for beautiful pictures and other fun things.) When we met in downtown Apex to work on this one, Sara said, "I have those shoes! but never know what to wear with them!"  I bought these oxfords for myself for Valentine's Day, and here are 3 of my favorite ways to wear them.

Oxfords: TJMaxx (but exact pair here), Sweater: Old Navy (exact), Let me know if you want to know where anything else is from!

^Don't let the color of the oxfords dictate what color your outfit should be.  The outfit doesn't have to "match" your shoes, just compliment them!

^Oxfords with a skirt is a nice spin-off of a regular pair of flats with a skirt.

^I snatched this turtleneck off the Target Clearance rack for $2, and knew that I would get so much wear out of it.  (I was right!), and think that the oxfords make a classic outfit a little snazzier.

Sara was SO much fun to work with.  She gave me great ideas, was willing to try anything and everything, and made me feel so comfortable in front of the camera.  If you are in the Raleigh area (or anywhere in NC), be sure to book her for your next family, maternity, newborn, headshot, anything(!) session.  You'll be so glad you did.  

Hope you're having a wonderful day!!

Linking up with Shanna and The Pleated Poppy

Killer Leg Workout

The weather rocked my world today, and we had the most wonderful day enjoying it.  My boys were in bed by 7pm sharp because they were exhausted from spending the whole day at the park, eating yummy food (outside!!), and taking lots of walks.

With the weather getting nicer, it's more fun to exercise outside...so here's a leg work out I've been doing lately.  (I've been doing this with my students, and it really is killer!)  The pictures are numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4...so I do the entire exercise in the sequence of 1,2,3,4 then 4,3,2,1...it's great...you'll love it! 

^(16) lunges straight up, straight down

^Lunge back, tap in, lunge back, tap in (8 times)

^Lunge back, Knee up, Lunge back, knee up (8 times)

^Lunge back, knee up with jump, lunge back, knee up with jump (8 times)

And yes...you're going to need to make that face when you jump. ;)

And that's that!  Looks easy, but like I said...do it in the sequence of 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3,2,1 on both legs and you'll feel the burn in a matter of seconds. 

Happy Lunging! :)