SEQUINS & SANDCASTLES

Monday, October 30, 2017

HOLIDAY CARDS WITH MINTED

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’tis the season for holiday cards! I know, it’s not even Halloween yet but if you haven’t already, it’s time to start thinking about holiday cards. Sending and receiving holiday cards is one of my favorite holiday traditions and photo cards are always the best. I love everything about them from choosing just the right outfits, planning the photo session to choosing which cards to send. Minted has been my go to for cards for years and this year is no different. I’ve already favorited 40 cards! They are all so good it’s going to be hard to choose just one!

Minted offers a wide variety of cards making it easy to find something that suits the style of card you like to send. I like sending a flat card with one large photo and maybe something on the back. I’ve done both a plain back and a photo back depending on the card and year. I love both the simple and fancy fonts and the foiled cards are gorgeous. It’s nice that you can change the color of the font on most cards in order to coordinate with your photo. Here are a few of my current favorites.

This foiled card is gorgeous and available here.

I love the script on this one, it’s available here.

I love the pretty script and the oversized Merry on this card. It’s available here.

I love the very simple Merry Christmas wish on this one. You can find it here.

This was our card last year. It is available here.

My favorite thing about ordering holiday cards from Minted might just be that in addition to the gorgeous cards; the envelopes match the cards AND they will address them for you free of charge. Game changer for sure. Simply upload your address book to Minted.com and you can choose to have the envelopes addressed for you. I uploaded my address book last year after hand addressing them for the last time. It’s such a great service and time saver this time of year!

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Friday, October 20, 2017

FRIDAY FAVORITES

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Happy Friday friends! This week has flown by, the whole month has really. We’ve got family coming into town tomorrow which means I’ve got lots of cleaning to finish today but wanted to share a few current favorites.

Part of Dylan’s homework is to read for at least 15 minutes every night. We have added some fun Halloween books to our line up over the last couple of weeks. A few favorites are: Room on the Broom, How to Make Friends With a Ghost and Vampirina Ballerina for Lexi since she likes to read with us.

Speaking of Halloween, have you seen Re-Play Recycled’s Halloween collection? We love everything we have from Re-Play Recycled. Lexi likes choosing just the right color for every meal and I love that they release fun sets for every holiday and that they are made from recycled milk jugs. You can use this referral link to save 10% on your first Re-Play Recycled order. They are also offering free shipping on the Halloween collection for the rest of the month.

I was in Target yesterday and picked up these fun placemats for the kids for Thanksgiving.

If you’re more than ready for Christmas like I am, #hurryupdecember, check out June Park’s new holiday sets. I love the Emerald set for Lexi. The peplum tops are super cute as a set with the matching pants or with skinny jeans. It was one of my favorite outfits for Lexi last year and I can’t wait for it to cool down enough to wear again.

Figuring out what’s for dinner is always stressful around here and now with Dylan’s sports three nights a week, we also need fast and easy. I came across this recipe on Pinterest a few weeks ago and everyone really likes it. It’s a fun twist on pizza and super easy and quick to put together. I also came across these Rice Krispie Treats. How cute are they for Halloween?

That’s all I’ve got today. I have to get to cleaning. Have a great weekend.

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Monday, October 2, 2017

LIFE LATELY AND HALLOWEEN PAJAMAS

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Happy October! It’s been non-stop activities since the kids have been back in school, which means I’ve had little time to blog. I can’t believe it’s October already, but I’m ready for some cooler temps. We’ve actually had a taste of less than 95 degree weather this past week and I’m ready for more!

Dylan is still ice skating. He’s moved up another level and skates with a stick and basically full hockey equipment now. He looks so cute out there on the ice. I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to call a hockey player cute, but he’s my kid and he’s six, so…..cute it is. He’s also playing flag football and scored the first touchdown in their first game. He’s sports obsessed these days and it’s so fun to watch him learn new sports and play on a team. He LOVES being part of a team. He has skating or football practice three nights a week, which makes our evenings more hectic than ever before.

Lexi is back in dance class. She’s doing tap and jazz this year and it’s pretty much the cutest thing ever. She participates for the whole class now, which is a huge improvement over last year. Apparently the recital was the turning point for her. She cannot wait to get back on stage. She wants to do gymnastics too, if I can find a time to squeeze it in, we will add that to our craziness.

Since it’s October, it’s the beginning of holiday season which means it’s time for festive pajamas! I LOVE a good holiday pajama and it’s not lost on me that my kids are quickly aging out of the festive pj age, especially Dylan. I am going to eat up this last year (or two if I’m lucky) with everything I’ve got!

Surprisingly, they love matching their pajamas right now. Lexi always wants to match Dylan but lately he’s been a willing participant and is excited to match too! Spoiler alert, this won’t last long but I will help them match for as long as it does. These skeleton pajamas are perfect for them for this month, which is probably the last time he will fit in toddler pajamas. Someone send Kleenex.

kitty | boo | candy | skeleton

Dylan’s nightly homework includes at least 15 minutes of reading. I’ve been going through our collection of books and pulling out all of the baby books that they’ve outgrown and am on the hunt for new, fun picture books. I’ve picked up a couple of Halloween books and am on the hunt for more, if you’ve got a favorite, leave us a comment so we can check it out.

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Monday, September 18, 2017

TEA COLLECTION SALE

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Happy Monday Friends! Fall officially starts Friday and to celebrate Tea Collection is having a 3 day sale. It runs today 9/18/17, through Wednesday 9/20/17. Use code LAYERUP at checkout to save 25% off select styles.

Tea Collection dresses are always a favorite for Lexi. They have so many cute dresses for fall and winter. Here are three current favorites that are on sale! The cat dress is perfect for Halloween but since it doesn’t scream Halloween it’s perfect all fall and winter long. I love the navy dress. It’s perfect alone and can be paired with so many different tights or leggings for a new look each time it’s worn. The polka dot dress is fun for fall and would be super cute in fall photos or for a trip to the pumpkin patch! I love how cute Tea Collection dresses are, Lexi loves that they are super comfortable. It’s a win-win which is a must since she now is VERY opinionated on what she wears each day.

They have so many cute pieces on sale! A few of my other favorites are these sweaters. The red one is a must have for all of those Christmasy outfits in December. I love this skirt and these pants too! It’s not secret that I love stripes for Dylan. These striped tees and joggers would make the best comfy clothes for Dylan.

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Monday, September 18, 2017

WISH LIST: FALL FOR BOYS

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Over the years, Dylan’s wardrobe has evolved into the perfect capsule-like wardrobe and I love it. It happened naturally and before I even knew what a capsule wardrobe was. I love that his closet is so perfectly him and has only what he needs and will wear and that I can grab just about anything and it all goes together perfectly. I wish my own closet was a perfect capsule too. I need to work on that! But today, I thought I’d share a few of things I’m currently loving for Dylan for fall.henley | jersey polo | hoodie | striped shirt | shoes | Friday tee

Dylan pretty much wore these super soft jeans every day last fall and winter, I anticipate he will do the same this year too. Henley’s are my favorite for him. I love them alone or under a hoodie for extra warmth. I showed him all of these shirts and asked what he thought and he said he liked everything I picked; which I am currently eating up since I know this won’t last much longer. He loves the Friday tee and excitedly said he would wear it on, wait for it…Friday’s. That’s the plan buddy. I love six year olds. I picked up the hoodie during the Nordstrom Anniversary sale and it’s seriously so soft inside; I know he will love it. A couple of collared shirts for a little nicer outfit and a pair of sneakers that go with any of the shirts and jeans makes for the perfect fall wardrobe for Dylan. Now all we need is some cooler weather.

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