Swimsuit faves for girls

Homeschool for the newbie

We are homeschooling… not the zoom, we have to because schools are closed homeschool… but the MOM is the TEACHER kind. My philosophy with eduction is that life skills are where it’s at. Granted I can firmly say this because it’s MY perspective. So many others find so much value in traditional schooling, thrive and build incredible careers off of their hard work in school. I come from a line of not that kind. I come from entrepreneurs and therefore I’ve found my most absorbed lessons are from experiences outside of the textbook. Absolutely nothing wrong with either kind of learning. As the girls made their way through an incredible school which we loved I felt so secure in knowing that they were being taught at an accelerated level as well as bolstered in our families beliefs. With junior high coming for Capri in the next year, we had given lots of thought to homeschooling for 7th and 8th grade. With the uncertainty of the pandemic and schools reopening, we decided to pull the trigger and start homeschooling a year earlier than planned.

After gathering loads and loads of opinions and ideas from my trusted homeschool mommy friends we cherry picked what thought would be the best fit for us. We wanted to keep our curriculum faith based and independent from a charter school to keep it as flexible as possible. We chose The Good and the Beautiful for our core subjects of Language Arts, History and Science and an online option for Math called Teaching Textbooks. Our biggest goal was to keep as computer free as possible and give the girls loads of options to learn outside of just a book lesson. They both tested out of their previous school two grades ahead which brought Capri to an 8th grade level and Peyton to a 6th grade spot. Capri isn’t as quick of a learner as Peyton so we decided to start both of them at 6th grade.

The girls chose to start Marine Biology for their Science which I was thrilled about! So many fun options for adventures. For History we started with US history ( 1 lesson a week) which was been so beyond interesting for me too! I feel like I’m learning so much! As we got situated we have added on Creative Writing and Typing.

Our days have been really smooth, so much so that I was worried we were doing it right. We would finish up our lessons and reading in a couple hours time. I would require the girls to get ready for the day ( dressed, hair done, and teeth brushed) , rooms cleaned and one chore done before they could play. They would take an online paint class, jump in our jacuzzi, play games or in the yard before they got ready for dance. They dance for roughly 3-4 hours a night so I never felt to worried about their PE.

We would create fun little projects to bring in a Life Skills lesson. My favorite has been “Iron Chef”. Each girl was given a main ingredient that we had a bit of at the house or in the garden. They had to find a recipe that sounded good to them. They were to make their shopping list of ingredients within a budget. We would head to the store and price out each item to make sure they picked out items and quantities that fit in their budget. They would be completely in charge of executing their recipe while the other sis set the table and prepped things for dinner. We have had Ultimate burgers, BBQ ribs, Breaded Italian cod sticks, Zucchini lasagna and double decker brownies. I love the lesson of using what you have in the pantry to create meals that sound good. It teaches them to work with a budget and follow instructions with their recipes. We take notes on what we really liked about how the finished product came out and what we would change next time. We do this lesson about once a month.

Both of them spent a couple months in a musical theater class during the day, twice a week. This was great because it eased me in to having a couple days kidless. They made a handful of new friends and learned all sorts of new things. My favorite was the emphasis on public speaking and confidence building on stage. They took voice, singing and music. They have joined in Outschool classes in a couple different book clubs and creative writing and a Barnyard class to learn new things on a farm.

Harry Potter Birthday party: Capri turns 12

Our girl turned 12 Hogwarts style in January. Capri and 10 of her besties gathered for a Hogwarts dining hall formal dinner, potion and wand making, endless trolly cart candy and Harry Potter movie marathon.

To create some drama we decked out the table with layers on layers of metallic, iron and velvet red. Build the table we layered a black table cloth with a velvet red runner. Loads and loads of candles are the key. We started our centerpieces with black iron candelabras with long white candle sticks, chunky high low candles and tea lights were tucked in with antlers and pheasant feathers. We added dark elements for texture like wooden carved boxes, lanterns, and owls. To set the table, we pulled out our fine china. We topped the metallic china with gold flatware and gold chargers. More is more when it comes to this table.

We covered our home’s artwork with the Hogwarts house banners and added a large iron candelabra in the corner to create drippy candle drama.

Dimmed down the lights and added the Harry Potter soundtrack and the mood was perfect!

Our menu was made up of true Hogwarts recipes including, chicken drumsticks, mashed potatoes, salad, glazed carrots, rolls and roast beef. Our dinner wouldn’t be complete without Butter Beer.

We created Olivander’s with constellation style back drops layered on a black table cloth. We added elements of large leather trunks, broom stick, loads and loads of candles, caldrons and a gorgeous Hedwig water color painting from Lady Lou Designs. The girls created potions that sparkled and exploded. We used chopsticks to create wands. By hot glueing veins and knobs on the sticks the girls created their own custom wand designs. After the glue dried they added jewels and paint.

As the girls tucked in for their movie marathon, we passed around our trolly cart goodies.

Patriotic outfits for summer: SALE picks

Striped knotted tank, Straw sun hat, Red ruffled sleeve dress, Blue ruffle one piece swimsuit, Red tie waist dress, Striped tie waist button down tank, USA cropped tee, White button down swim coverup, Linen striped button down blouse, Side button sailor inspired cropped pants, Hight waisted denim shorts, Ray ban sunglasses, Navy blue starred one piece swimsuit, Button down tie waist seersucker dress, Woven tote, White one piece swimsuit, Navy blue gingham maxi dress, Red striped straw slide

Backyard retreat essentials: SALE picks

We are living in our backyard these days! We spent a couple years making it exactly what we wanted. Our goal was a coastal backyard retreat that we could fill with our favorite friends or relax just us four in. With Memorial Day being this weekend, I gathered up all of my favorite coastal inspired outdoor pieces that are on major sale!

Umbrella, Striped lumbar pillow, Chair swing, Teak outdoor sofa, Striped lawn chair, Ratan pitcher and drinking glasses, Picnic tote, Blue whale platter, Outdoor string lights, Striped outdoor pillow, Wooden whale serving spoons, Glass water dispenser, Oversized outdoor chair

Tie Dye fun

This past week we broke out our tie dye kit for a fun project! We used white sweat suits as our base but really you could use whatever you want to dye. With tie dye patterns being a major trend of the moment we thought it would be fun to create our own.

Here is our first disclaimer of many…make sure your piece of clothing you are dying is already washed. We skipped this step and found that the dye rolled off the material. Second, make sure to wear the plastic gloves! The girls did and came out with clean hands for the most part. I got to excited and got my hands right in there. Let’s just say a week and half later my cuticles are still dyed. Lastly, we aimed to make a cool swirl design but with the color rolling off we ended up with more of a random fun design. It still turned out super cool which goes to show that you can’t really screw this thing up! We washed ours after a day of drying and the color did bleed into the white parts but still looked great!

Step 1: Read all your kits instructions and decide on what design you want to try. This kit was great because it literally had everything we needed in it. We just added our white sweater.

Step 2: Pinch the center of the sweater and start rolling until you make a spiral.

Step 3: Using rubber bands section off the rolled sweater to divide into about 6 sections. This will help you control your color choices and also keep the sweater tight. Next decide on colors you want to use. Lay all supplies out on a plastic tarp and put your gloves on.

Step 4: Choose your section and colors and have at it. It’s okay if the colors bleed a bit. We used pink, yellow and teal and ended up with some orange and greens in there with the bleeding and it made it even better!

Step 5: Once all your die is on and you are happy with it, you can leave all coiled up to dry or unroll to see your design and dry flat.

Ta da!!!!!

Best stay at home beauty picks

I’m sure like most of you, the wheels are slowly coming off the tracks in the beauty department. I’ve always been pretty low key when it comes to my beauty routine but I’ve been keeping a couple of my favorite products in major rotation.

Self tanning ( don’t forget the mit! The mit makes it streak free every time!) is seriously one of my serious mood boosters. When in doubt self tan!!

I’ve rounded up my favorites to keep you looking fresh while we all stay at home. Faves to boost eye lash growth serum for lush lashes and fave mascara, most used resurfacing face masks and vitamin C serums, exfoliators, hair products I swear by for salon free hair lightening, body scrubs and best SPF and low maintenance makeup for those who are still working from home and want to stay fresh.

Bunny inspired Easter table

This year’s Easter table is all things sweet bunny, garden vibes! It makes me so happy!

I like to start building my tables capes around one piece. I came across these absolutely adorable bunny dinner plates and checked chargers. I like mixing and matching the colors to keep it feeling more effortless. I layered the blush on blush and the green with the blue, but you could mix and match however you like. I also love these floral chargers mixed in too. We tied in lots of different colors and textures to make it fun. We even kept our fur throws on a couple chairs to keep it cozy and fluffy like a bunny!

Spring tables are so fun because you can mix and mingle lots of cheery colors. I started by laying down a yellow and white striped runner as my base. I loved this water color vessel to hold flowers or as I’m using as an ice bucket for our fave rose’. This added a punch of blue and tied in our blue chargers. I stacked a cute shingled bird house on a cake plate for some height. Sweet elements like wooden wheel barrows ( found in dollar bin) to hold rolls or fresh citrus make for cute lower decor and a happy little lemon branch in clear vase brings in airy height in the corner. I like to make sure I have lots of high and lows layers to the table to make it full but not to boring to the eye.

Next I pulled some springy floral silk napkins and tucked them into burlap bunny napkin rings . I feel like the bold colors in the napkin worked with the plates to bring in some richness and help everything pop a bit more. I added my favorite gold silverware to make a little fancy. Tying in the bright blue in the ice bucket and blue charger again, I used these blue straw drinking glasses.

Stay at home activities for kids

We have been working on some fun projects this week that have really helped make our days fun and light. I’ve compiled a list of all the activities we have been doing to keep us busy and learning! These options are great for boys and girls of all ages to get the wiggles out and some fun learning options for keeping our new homeschool life fresh.

Car wash- a little sunshine, water fight and possibility of payment for the job worked magic)

Online dance classes for excercise ( our dance studio does lots but we also LOVE Go Noodle- all ages)

Cooking class- pick a recipe from our favorite cook books( our faves are Giada at Home for weeknight dinners, Magnolia Table for breakfast treats and easy lunch ideas, What’s Gaby Cooking for delish everything especially easy snacks and our newest favorite Gather at Home) and make it or subscribe to the Food Network for endless options. I’ve also been teaching them my favorite family recipes.

Scrapbook-we printed a bunch off of instagram and our personal file and the girls kept busy for hours making and decorating pages for their scrapbooks

Imagineering in a box- Disney has this incredible program that kids can learn all the ins and outs behind the scenes of how to be an Imagineer at Disney. They learn how to build lands, characters and theme parks. Disney has also been rolling out fun illustrating classes on Instagram for those who love visiting Animator’s studio at Disneyland.

Virtual field trip- live tours and feed from Zoos, national parks, planetariums, volcano sites, landmarks around the world and tons of amazing museums

Draw So Cute- step by step instructions on how to create the cutest characters and doodles- great for all ages

Painting classes with Timree- Timree is the all time cutest and we love taking her summer workshops! She is offering live stream classes for all age levels.

Build a massive fort- ours has been up for a week now and the girls sleep in it every night. Granted we had to donate our dining chairs and all our blankets to the design but it’s pretty impressive.

Plant your garden- our garden has been on my wish list for years and now is the perfect time to get even a small one started. You can try herbs in small pots, strawberries and tomatoes in medium sized vessels or even go all out with box planters. We had a great time getting our starter seeds going. We loved seeing all the different types of seeds and then every day watching to see if any sprouts have popped through the soil.

J.Crew Sale perfect for Spring Break

Cute Workout clothes to get you to the gym

In the name of this year’s word “fun” I’m really working on getting workouts in that are fun for me and not just torturous. I’ve been doing dance aerobics, rooftop yoga, piloxing and taking walks around the neighborhood with a good podcast. I don’t like to workout necessarily but a cute workout outfit sure does make the whole thing much more fun! Here’s what I’ve been adding to my cute workout clothes options!

I’ve linked all the pictured below and have added a couple more super cute options in the slider that is shoppable also.

Leopard crop, Blue cropped tank, White knotted crop, Grey long sleeved top, White Nike sweater, Baby blue leggings, White sports bra, Blush pink windbreaker, Black mesh sports bra, Pink leggings, Black Nike running shoes, Lavender marble top, Black quilted jacket, Grey and white marble leggings, Blush Nike running shoes, Black leopard leggings, Grey Nike cropped sweater, Black tie front leggings, Burgundy leggings, White star print tank, White Cloudstratus running shoes, Teal cropped top and pants, Grey snakeskin print sports bra

Tween movie list perfect for any sleepover

How we are avoiding kids devices

Any parents with me on how big of a struggle it is to keep our kids off the tech? Now we have ZERO judgements on parents that choose to allow phones and iPads for their little ones. We are all trying to make the best choices for our babes. Who the heck knows what the best options are anyway right?! With that said, we have chosen to keep phones and iPads out of our house with the kids. Now, it has come up plenty of times on when they will be getting their own devices but so far we haven’t been getting to much push back. I sense that it will be coming on pretty thick with Capri soon since most if not all of her friends have phones. Here is how we are tackling the conversation of explaining why we choose to hold off on devices for them.

A handful of years ago, we were working on the lesson of how our facial expressions can really be inviting with a smile or can be off putting without one. Totally different topic obviously but I’m going somewhere with this. It led us to really studying the faces around us. We looked at billboards, our friends and kids while we were out and about. I asked both of the girls randomly who they thought looked happy, nice or even most beautiful amongst the people we observed. Every single time it was the person with a big smile on his or her face. Someone who wasn’t smiling didn’t look approachable or happy. This excercise quickly turned to observing people on their phones. Adults and kids. The overwhelming consensus was that no one looked happy or like they were having fun while they were on their phones. The most fun looked like it was being had by the kids and parents chatting at the restaurant, the kids at the park playing, the arts and crafts projects, even our friends at birthday parties.

Our hope with this lesson was that it taught the girls to make this decision based off their own observations and not just our rules dictating to them what they can and can’t do. Either way our rules weren’t going to change but it at least helped support our rules by making the girls a part of the choice.

Tween beauty products Capri is loving

Capri is in the full swing of all things tween! That awkward age of stinky armpits, braces, zits….we all remember it. How do we handle the changes without getting to overboard? Don’t worry mama, I think I have figured out some stuff and products to share. I asked Capri what her favorite beauty products were and here is her list. We are working on getting ahead of all that fun stuff by working on creating some easy and age appropriate habits in our beauty regime. Here are some of the products we are adding to the mix that she is all excited about.

COOLA Classic Face Sunscreen

this plant based formula is non-greasy and SPF 50

Ursa Major Essential Face Wipe

These face wipes are perfect for late dance nights or when we have been a little extra sweaty. I even snuck some and they take of makeup like a champ. These are great at keeping those pesky little zits from popping up. Love that they are individually packaged to throw in a dance bag or overnight bag.

Tweet Tweet Meow Deodorant

Grapefruit is our fave scent

Baking soda Free Sensitive skin deodorant that keeps fresh all day

Made with Certified Organic, Vegan, Cruelty Free, & Fair Trade Ingredients in the US

Aluminum free, Paraben free, Sulfate free and Plastic free packaging

Conair Hot Rollers

I don’t who you are if you did have a hot roller moment at some point in your life. I’m a little to nervous about her frying her hair off with a wand or burning herself so hot rollers were the perfect happy medium. She can get her hair curly with no risk of burning herself.

Braids, Buns , Ponies and Pigtails styling book

50 different hairstyles with simple tutorials . This books is really cute and all the styles are done on girls. Such a fun gift too with bobby-pins and scrunchies.

Disney Cruise 2019

We embarked on our 6th annual Disney cruise girl’s trip this year ( see our 2018 recap here) ! It’s such a treat to sneak away with Nana and the girls for the week. Disney cruising is our absolute favorite way to cruise. It just never disappoints. The food is amazing, the staff is beyond fun and friendly, and the whole ship exudes pure Disney magic. Our itinerary consisted of 4 day cruise visiting Atlantis and Castaway Cay leaving from Florida on the Disney Dream. On our 2018 trip we met the sweetest family from Ohio and the girls became inseparable. They talked all year on the phone and FaceTime and sent letters back and forth. Us moms plotted and they jumped on our same trip for 2019 and gave the kids the biggest surprise! They were beside themselves! Talk about the tightest hugs and endless squealing! Pure magic! We feel like we have made lifelong friends with them and it all started with this trip!

We get ourselves all decked out in our cute Disney gear to embark the ship. They have a super cool model of the ship right at check in which is our favorite spot to get a quick snap of the four of us before the cruise starts.

As you enter the ship, they really roll out the red carpet for each family and announce your arrival like royalty! We always get such a kick out of that. At this point the girls know their besties are the ship and are in a mad dash to find them! The Bonvoyage party is one of our favorite events on the ship. It’s a super fun dance party complete with Mickey and Minnie and confetti cannons as the horn blasts. We are off!

Since we are regulars on this trip we have our favorite activities pretty dialed in. Each year, we decide on a special event that the girls will do that year. We have done Royal Tea Party, swimming with Dolphins at Atlantis and this year we decided to revisit Bippity Boppity Boutique.

Bippity on the ships is the most precious! The “fairy god mothers” are in full character and it really is everything little girl special. Even 10 year old Capri was super into the whole thing. They picked out special dresses, shoes and accessories and then plopped down for beautifying. They get the works! Nails, hair styles of choice and makeup. It’s the cutest thing ever! They leave feeling so fancy and ready for dinner. Nana and I were having a field day with Capri’s red hair!

Our first dinner of the trip was at Animator’s Palette which is so fun! The walls are full of sketches and screens that come to life with Crush and the gang from Finding Nemo. Crush interacts with the tables and cracks us all up as we eat. After dinner we grabbed our popcorn and snuggled in for the first show of the trip. These shows are so incredible! Broadway worthy hands down!

We woke up in Nassau on day two. We have explored Nassau in the past and visited Atlantis for the dolphins but this year stuck around the ship and took full advantage of the short water slide lines. The girls partied with their friends all morning!

Mom and I snuck away for a martini tasting! Yes please!!! I’m a fruity martini sort of gal but actually found out I like a dirty martini. We learned so much about the different types of martinis and ingredients that make each one unique. I wish I had taken more detailed notes because the class was fantastic!

That night after a full day of pool and sun, the girls got back in their princess costumes ( obviously) and we met our friends at the Silent Disco. This party was hilarious! You get your synced up headphones and hit the dance floor. You can change to the same channel as your friends or groove to your own music. We danced our booties off! When you take your headphones off it’s literally silent and everyone is still dancing! So funny!

Our favorite day has arrived! We are off to adventure on Disney’s private island Castaway Cay. We absolutely love our Cataway days. We snorkeled to find the hidden treasure and golden Mickey, Nana and Capri rode bikes around the whole island, we gobbled down at the beach bbq, rode the shipwreck waterslide and played on the sunken ropes course.

There are just a million things to do and we have the best time! I’m putting together a video recap of our super fun day! Stay tuned for that and my discovery of the golden Mickey!

After we were full of sand and sun we made our way back to the ship for another amazing dinner, show and Mickey’s Pirate party! You guys!!! Pirate party is the best! The kids danced with Mickey while we waited for the fireworks. Yep! Fireworks off the ship! We have seen the show many times but it never ever disappoints! It’s set to music and is incredible!

Our first official day at sea and the ship is jam packed full of activities! Because the Dream is a pretty good size ship this day can feel a little bit busy. With that said, we found lounge chairs easily and had no issues. Just more swimmers and people out an about.

The kids decided that they were hard core into a ship wide scavenger hunt which they learned from the adorable “You Tube Family”. Some of the finds were things like Cast members from 5 different countries ( my fave- again Disney cast members are the cutest and always up for this fun stuff) smash an ice cream cone on your forehead, and take a pic on a stage, etc. The kids broke up into teams and scoured the ship for their finds. So fun!

Mom and I snuck away fro a liquor and chocolate tasting which was hosted in Pop Champagne bar and was the absolute cutest pink confection ever! With bubbles everywhere we were giddy! We again learned so much about the pairings of different liquors and chocolates. My most favorite was learning that champagne is actually a pallet cleanser. Into it!

Our last day was just the saddest! We had to say goodbye to our bestie! A few tears shed as the girls squeezed eachother! We had the BEST time! We couldn’t believe how fast it went this year so we booked a 7 day for next year! We can’t wait! Til next year Mickey!

Christmas Tea Party

The girls hosted their first annual BFF Christmas tea party at nana’s house. It was all things little girl sweetness! They created the menu, helped nana design the table scape, decided on games and picked out adorable party favors. They invited each 3 friends and the dress code was holiday festive. Which of course meant that Peyton needed her crown!

The little ladies snacked on fancy chocolate covered strawberries and easy finger foods like grapes, crackers, cheese and chicken nuggets while they sipped their tea aka hot apple cider. Nana brought out the fine Christmas china to make the table extra special.

After tea, the girls personalized their aprons for cookie decorating. We made sure to add the date to the aprons so as we continue the tradition they have one from each year. How fun will it be for them all when they are in high school have their aprons from all the years past?

We couldn’t love this little bunch of beauties more! They are all sweet, fun and always up for a girly good time! Big thanks to the best nana for helping make the day so magical!

Gifts for Guys

Best of Black Friday

J.Crew Factory

Serena and Lily

J.Crew

Old Navy

Crate and Barrel 20%-30% off

Nordstrom

Sephora

Target

Gifts for Tweens

Gifts for Girls