Category Archives: Family

Scarf Series: Knitted With Love Edition

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Scarf Series: Knitted With Love Edition

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! This is a special edition of my Scarf Series, because the one that I’m discussing today is one of a kind. My newest scarf was handmade by my mom! Despite my mom having no artistic talent in regards to drawing or painting, her creativity shines through in a different manner. She is an expert in her craft of bread baking and always uses the phrase “kneaded with love” so Knitted With Love only seemed like an appropriate title for this post. Take a look:

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Literally no one in my family even knew that my mom knows how to knit until last month when she had a stay in the hospital. The lovely JANE decided that she would like to spend some of her time there knitting, so we took a trip to the absolutely darling Harps & Thistles Yarn Emporium to pick out some materials for her to work with.

At first, I was ambivalent about my mom making me a scarf, because I already have so many and my sister specifically said that she wanted one, so I wanted my mom to focus on that, instead. But then, my mom and I laid eyes on the gorgeous mustard yellow tweed yarn that you can see above. It was the perfect shabby chic, collegiate cool palette and my prior sentiments of “you don’t have to make me a scarf if you don’t want to” instantly turned to “can you PLEASE make me a scarf?!”.

While my mom was away, it was always so exciting to get a text or hear her say on video chat that she was working on my scarf. And when she finally returned home, which was amazing in itself, it was made even more special to see the fruits of her labor for her two girls with a rose pink and mustard yellow scarf. It hasn’t been cold enough in Ohio to wear scarves, any more (Which is great!), but I did get to wear my home made scarf one time and I loved every minute of it. I can’t wait to get more use of it next winter!!

What is your favorite craft to do? Did someone teach you how or were you self taught? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

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Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Hello! Today is a special day, because it is my beautiful, amazing, wonderful mother’s birthday. Saying that my mom is my best friend is a severe understatement. I don’t know what is better than a best friend, but that’s what she is. She is my confidant, my TJMaxx partner in crime, and my viewing buddy for Ellen DeGeneres, The Voice, and America’s Next Top Model.

Although my mom and I love being women on the go, I love being able to just hang out and enjoy our lunch or dinner together when one of us isn’t working. It’s such a treat to sit down and chat while sharing a meal or one of her to die for grilled cheeses on her homemade bread. YUM.

Through simple pleasures and sweet surprises, my mom brings so much joy to my life. I literally can’t look at her without smiling. Every day, my mom teaches me something new about physical and emotional fortitude, kindness, and just taking life one step at a time. Through both good days and bad, JANE radiates positivity wherever she goes, and I think that anyone can take a page out of that book.

To the best mom and friend in the world, we raise our Margarita glasses to you!

Happy Birthday, Mom! ❤

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(And shout out to the man in the blue shirt on the far right who has no relation whatsoever to my family. Best photobomb ever.)

Who else is celebrating a birthday soon? What is one of your best birthday memories? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Movie Memories: The Devil Wears Prada

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Movie Memories: The Devil Wears Prada

Hellooo! One of my all time favorite chick flicks is easily The Devil Wears Prada. Starring Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, and designer clothing – this movie never gets old. In fact, I have this condition where I have to watch TDWP every time it’s on TV – which is fairly frequently!

Last week, my mom and I were able to snuggle up and watch The Devil Wears Prada together and it brought back such a happy memory. When this movie first came out, my mom, sister, grandma, and I all went to see an afternoon showing at the theaters together. It was such a fun day with just us gals and I can remember so vividly laughing in the theater and discussing which outfits we wanted as we walked out with the credits rolling.

Every time I see even snippets of The Devil Wears Prada, my mind always goes back to that day and the joy of spending time together at a matinee. As my mom and I watched the movie a few days ago and had the same conversations of “I want that, that, and that” that we have every time, it was impossible not to think of us four girls walking arm and arm out of the theater and gabbing about the exact same thing.

My grandma has since passed away, but she will always be one of the most well dressed women that I have ever known. Of course, who wouldn’t want to emulate the style of post make over Andy and Emily in The Devil Wears Prada? But, if I can channel my grandma’s classic fashion sense in my daily looks, I think that I’ll be doing just fine!

Which movies bring back happy memories for you? What is one of your must watch movies whenever it airs on TV? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Featured Image By: UVMBored

Party Inspo For The Best Birthday Bash!

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Party Inspo For The Best Birthday Bash!

One of the best things that you can do in any year is to plan a party. Let’s face it, it may be a stressful time during the organization process, but the actual party always comes off beautifully, and your kids end up so happy, so the stressful bit is worth it! If you’re a standard Pinterest parent, then you’ll already have the app downloaded with several boards full of ideas for your next event.

Planning a party has a lot of different components, but the main thing to start with is the theme. You can’t hope to build the right party if you don’t have the right theme. Discuss with the birthday child what they would like, but if you have been told to surprise them, then you’ll need a little help. Check out our amazing party inspo below, then click on over to Pinterest to start building the right board. Don’t worry, all of these options work for both a birthday boy and a birthday girl!

Magic:

Who doesn’t love a magic party?! Think about it, you could hire in a magician to entertain the children, offer fancy dress options for magical beings, and you could even serve a cake like this, where a bunny is popping out of a top hat. Make sure that you include glitter pots in the party bags, along with fuzzy bunny ears, and a wand of their very own.

One important aspect that should not be overlooked is the magician’s stage. It should have a dramatic impact and their magic show should stand out. Consider getting a rainbow balloon arch over a small platform, to make it feel like a real magic show. Another consideration is to plan the party with the magician to discuss how to make it as interactive as possible; this way, all the kids will be super excited and feel included in the festivities.

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I want him at my next party!

Art:

An artsy party is a craft lovers dream. It can be a messy theme, but it’s one that is going to entertain kids for ages and they won’t forget it. Make this one a summer party, and you could pin large pieces of cardboard to the washing line and get the kids to flick paint on them in neon colors. Make biscuit palettes with icing paint to finish the look.

Sports:

Having a sports mad child makes for a very easy party theme. You can get USA baseball bats here as a birthday gift, and when it comes to the party treats, why not specify a baseball theme with baseball cake pops? Gift bags will also be easy peasy, as you can make them personalized to the sport of choice.

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Yum!

Circus:

You can go as big as you like with a circus theme; so if you’ve got the cash, you can definitely pull out all of the fun fair stops. You could go a little more moderate by hiring a clown or balloon animal maker and you could serve up hot dogs, popcorn, and cotton candy during the party, with an amazing circus tent cake to blow everyone away.

Your birthday party theme is going to be individual for your child, but you can really go all out with the effort that you put into it. Make sure that you give plenty of notice to your guests so that they can be there to enjoy the day. Party planning is so much fun, and it’s time to begin!

Featured Image By: Flickr

Accessory Story: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, And Something Blue Edition

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Accessory Story: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, And Something Blue Edition

Howdy! Does anyone have an accessory that they wear every day? Maybe it’s your favorite bracelet, the earrings that you never take out, or the anklet that’s too difficult to bother taking off. I actually have four bracelets that I wear every day, compliments of my beloved mom and the beautiful Kate of Ankhor You.

Back in October, you might remember that I spent some time in New York City for the first annual Bloggers Conference between me and Kate. Once I was there, it was fabulous. But, I’ll tell ya what, getting there was a bit of a struggle. I had never traveled alone before and, needless to say, I was freaking the fuck out lol. But, in true mom fashion, my darling JANE always knew just what to say and do to calm me down. She let me pick out one of her pieces of jewelry so it was like she was with me on the trip. It was

SO SWEET

And I ended up selecting the following bracelet set from my mom:

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By the time I arrived home from my NYC extravaganza, I was too attached to the bracelets to give them back and asked my mom if I could keep them. Obviously, she said yes, because I have been wearing them every day since my trip. The bracelets are kind of falling apart now and beads are falling off. But, I plan on wearing them until every single bead is gone. ❤

These bracelets are old, blue, and technically borrowed – so what’s the new one? This here Alex and Ani bracelet from the beautiful Kate, of course:

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This gorgeous Harry Potter themed bracelet was a Christmas surprise from Kate, and I have been wearing it every day since it arrived in the mail. This is my first Alex And Ani bracelet and it couldn’t be more perfect. The theme, the sentiment behind it, the element of surprise from a package in the mail from NYC. I get emotional just thinking about it!!! :*)

When these bracelets combine, I have something old, new, borrowed, and blue and my day wouldn’t feel complete without having them on my wrist. So special thanks to my mom and my darling Kate for gifting me with something that makes me smile every day. I LOVE YOU!!! ❤

Do you own anything that fits the old, new, borrowed, and blue guidelines? Do you have a piece of jewelry that you wear daily or don’t take off? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Accessory Story: Surprise Pick Me Up Edition

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Accessory Story: Surprise Pick Me Up Edition

Hiiiiiiii! My mom is my best friend, partner in crime, and shopping buddy. Our excursions to the shops has given my mom expert knowledge into Lil Red’s fashion sense, and she now seems to know my personal style like the back of her hand. My mom is also an amazing surprise giver and always seems to know when her daughter needs a little pick me up. After a seriously lackluster and downright shitty afternoon, my beloved mom returned home from Target with these gorgeous earrings for little old moi:

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When it comes to earrings, I made the lifestyle choice years ago to only wear dangly ones, because they are extra fun with short hair. I also deeply enjoy loud gold jewelry, but never really buy any for myself because I’m not the biggest accessorizer in the world. I love these earrings that my mom picked out for me, but I don’t know if I would have bought them for myself – which is probably exactly why she chose them!

It doesn’t take much to make me happy. A kind word always will do – but a lovely new pair of earrings definitely helps the cause! Thanks to a sweet surprise, my mom took away the not so stellar parts of my day and replaced it with something good and kind. She really is the best!

I LOVE YOU, MOM!!!! ❤

What is the easiest way for someone to cheer you up? How do you like to surprise a loved one? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Top Gift Ideas For The Whole Family

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Top Gift Ideas For The Whole Family

If you want to find a gift that the whole family can enjoy, then you are not alone. Every single year, people try and find gifts for a group of people rather than buying gifts for them individually and this can cause real problems. This is especially the case if the family members in question don’t share many common interests. Thankfully, there are plenty of ideas out there for you to choose from and you’d be surprised at how easy it is to find something that matches your family perfectly!

Family Mugs: A lot of people feel a relentless sense of anger when they find someone else using their mug. We all have a favorite mug, one that we use to get us through those cold winter nights and even those long nights after work. If you want to put an end to those mug-wars then why not consider buying a family mug set? You could personalize each one with the name of the person and even a cartoon picture of them, as well. You can also create one for any guests that come to your home, so there will be no more arguing or bloodshed when the time to make coffee approaches.

Customized gifts like a coffee mug, wine glasses, or tumblers are always sure to please. It’s a useful gift with that little bit extra! You can extend custom options to anything that you please as your selection is vast. Custom Fridge Magnets are perfect to organize the fridge art of kiddos and grandchildren and could be customized with their picture. A dufflebag for the gym could be embroidered with the initials of your giftee. No matter which route you go, it will be a thoughtful gift that they will love!

Ice Cream Machine: An ice-cream machine is a must-have in the summer months. The best thing about having an ice-cream machine is that they are very easy to use and they are also good for the kids to use, as well. All you have to do is add the mixture to the machine and turn it on. The machine will then chill the ice-cream over time and when it’s ready, you can scoop it right out of the machine. This is way better when compared to making it yourself because you don’t have to worry about putting it in the freezer or even blending it properly. You can then add your own flavors if you’re feeling adventurous!

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YUM.

Family Bucket List: We all have things that we want to do before we kick the bucket, so a family bucket list is really fitting if you know that everyone has a mental list of what they want to do. It’s actually possible for you to buy kits that give you the chance to do this, and each one comes with a container and a list of slips for you to write what you want to do on there. Everyone can see the list going down as feats are accomplished, and it’s ideal for those who have adventurous family members!

Games Consoles: A gaming console is a brilliant way for you to get the whole family involved. You can buy quiz games and you can also buy family-fun games as well. If you have a family of console-lovers or even mobile app gamers, then games such as Final Fantasy 15 are great for this. You can even buy in-game extras and this can include currency and so much more, so it’s ideal if you want to give them a head-start.

Family Charades: Charades is quite possibly the game that causes the most arguments in a family. It is incredibly fast-paced and it is also very fun. When you do play charades, you will be given something to act out. It could be a movie, an actor, or anything else. You can get the kids involved with this and it is a great way for you to make sure that everyone is included. These sets don’t cost much, either, so if you want to have something that the kids can play then this is a good option for you.

Sweets Basket: Who doesn’t like sweets? Sweets baskets are the easiest way for you to get something for everyone without breaking the bank. They show that you thought about the recipients and you can put tags on the individual sweets, too. On top of this, you can add extra goodies to the gift basket. This could be a mug or it could be a selection of coffee. You can make something for each family member or you can make a joint one. Either way, this is ultimately the easiest way for you to appeal to everyone and you can do the whole thing yourself with bows, ribbon and more!

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 YUM again!

Finding the whole family a gift is relatively easy and there are plenty of ideas above to get you started. Happy holidays!

Protecting Your Nearest And Dearest From The Pitfalls Of Ageing

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Protecting Your Nearest And Dearest From The Pitfalls Of Ageing

When we were young and vulnerable, our adult loved ones cared for us, fed us, and clothed us, and it is the way of life that we look after them as they proceed through the aging process. However, caring for an ageing relative can be something riddled with pitfalls and difficulties. To find out more about these and how to avoid them, read on:

Declining Health: Declining health is the most obvious pitfall that you want to protect your ageing loved ones from. So what can you actually do to help them stay in tip-top condition in their twilight years? It’s going to take a partnership between the both of you for the best results.

First, you will need them to take as much responsibility for their health as possible by eating well, exercising sensibly, and keeping up with medical appointments. You can help by being there to support and educate, if necessary, when they need it.

Something else that you can do to have a more direct role in helping is to look at websites like medicalert.systems with them. This is where you can get some information on medical alarms. These can really assist in keeping your loved ones safe if they have a medical emergency and you are not able to be there immediately to help.

Declining Mental State: Unfortunately, it’s not just physical health that can decline during your nearest and dearest’s twilight years. It’s also their mental health. This can be in terms of things like Alzheimer’s and dementia, which you can find out more about at webmd.com. As well as more general mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, which are sometimes brought on by isolated living conditions and going through the aging process.

Remember, as their physical health declines and people around them are passing away or moving into sheltered accommodation it can be very easy for your older relatives to become more isolated in their own home.  Seeing fewer people as time goes on can make it more likely that they will struggle with mental health issues as discussed at onlinelibrary.wiley.

To help in this situation, you can provide a regular schedule of contact for your ageing relatives, so they know that they will get to go out and see people that are important to them at least once a week. You can also encourage them to get involved in community programs, which will help to minimize isolation and allow them to make new friends.

Dementia isn’t quite such as easy of an issue to deal with, though. The best course of action here is to seek medical assessment and get some specialist help as soon as possible. As a residential setting may be the safest option.

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Those Seeking To Take Advantage: Sadly, there are those in the world that seek to take advantage of the frailties of your loved ones as they age. This means that protecting them is a vital part of helping them to work through the pitfalls of ageing.

Help them keep up to date with the latest scam techniques, such as the ones mentioned on itv.com, both in the real world and online. Do be sure to do it in a sensible way that doesn’t scare them and feed into the isolation that is mentioned above. Offer too, to be around whenever they have consultations for work on the home done or a sale’s pitch so that you can help protect them against unscrupulous salespeople or con artists.

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Pixabay Image

Aging can be a sad and difficult process, but the above tips can help ease some of those hardships to make it all around more enjoyable for you and your loved one.

Featured Image By: Pixabay

#blessed

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#blessed

Hi everyone and happy Thursday! This post is about to be TMI so if reading about female hygiene problems grosses you out, then feel free to tune in with a new addition of If The Shoe Fits tomorrow! I won’t be offended, I promise.

Okay, so the other night I was so excited because I had on my brand new Calvin Klein sleep pants. If you forget what they look like, here they are:

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They’re cute, right? Really, really white, right? The type of pants that you wouldn’t want Aunt Flo visiting you in, right? Well, of course, that’s what happened. The sequence of events went like this:

  1. I changed into my pajama pants.
  2. I made it a point to announce to everyone in my home how happy I was about said pajama pants.
  3. Promptly did a little twirl to show off.
  4. Sat down to watch TV after realizing that no one cared.
  5. BOOM. Started my period. -___-

After realizing that a really unfortunate “accident” happened on my brand new white jammies, I didn’t know what to do. My mom wasn’t home, so I couldn’t tell her and hear her sage advice. And my dad gets upset whenever I ask him to shave the back of my neck compliments of my short hair, so I knew he wouldn’t be of any help. But, boy was I wrong.

The thing about my dad, is that he HATES 1) Talking about bodily functions and 2) When I use the washing machine. The few times that I’ve tried to do laundry, I royally messed it up and after those unfortunate incidents, my dad doesn’t want me anywhere near an expensive piece of technology. With this knowledge, can you imagine approaching my father with a period related laundry problem? Yeah, yikes.

So, instead of using the washing machine without asking, I casually changed my pants, applied stain remover to the problem area, and asked my dad, “Do you know how to get stains out of white clothes?”. Of course, my dad had to ask, “Well, what kind of stain is it?”. I literally didn’t know what to say. Honestly, I think I would have preferred to tell him that I peed my pants. ANYTHING but my period. I shuffled my feet for at least five seconds and finally said, “It’s blood, if you really have to know”.

And what did my dad do? If you’re thinking that his head exploded from the sheer shock that his adult daughter was menstruating, then you’ll be surprised to know that he calmly replied with, “Okay, did you put stain remover on it?”. He then proceeded to ask me what material the pants were made out of and then GOOGLED “how to remove blood stains from cotton clothes”. Like, what?

My dad then walked me through, step by step, how to use the washing machine and how to remove the stain according to Google. How to presoak the pants, that I should put more stain remover on after the soak, which setting I should wash it on next, how to dry it without the pants shrinking. Every step in the dance of removing a period stain from white pants, my dad covered in detail.

And guess what? It worked! Thanks to my dad helping me and keeping a level head, the stain out of my WHITE pajama bottoms was gone. I was shocked, but after it happened, I don’t know why I thought that he would have reacted any differently. I think my dad saw that I really just needed help and taken care of. I’ve had a rough few weeks and instead of telling me to figure my woman problems out myself, he taught me how to handle it.

My dad faced his fears of 1) Me being within a foot of the washing machine and 2) Me talking about my body problems because he saw his daughter in distress. I don’t know, this just really showed me the man that my dad is so clearly and it was special to me. I put him in an awkward situation and he handled it in the way that I so desperately needed. I love my parents so much, but I’m genuinely happy that my mom wasn’t home so that my dad and I could tackle this #periodproblem together.

I feel so #blessed about my Aunt Flo scenario, but I think I’ll be waiting until after my period is done to wear my new sleep pants again! Has anyone ever had an awkward moment with their parents that brought you closer together? How do you beat the period blues? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Monday Update: Sweet Surprises Edition

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Monday Update: Sweet Surprises Edition

Hello everyone and happy Monday! I hope that all of you had a fabulous weekend and are beginning your week feeling refreshed and ready to go. So, as most of you have gathered by now, I am far from a religious person. This is ironic, considering I spent my years up until high school attending school and church in a Roman Catholic setting. But from as young as five years old, I knew that religion just wasn’t something that I was interested in.

Despite these feelings (which is not what this post is about), I do have a deep appreciation of the beauty of churches as well as religious imagery. Specifically, rosaries. I can remember being really young and loving to wear rosaries and to this day have a special drawing towards them. This has led me to beginning my collection of rosary style jewelry, a la Bono, my U2 front man celebrity crush.

In my collection, I actually have a beautiful black rosary that was blessed by Pope Francis, which was gifted to me by my brother. But the other two in my arsenal are from my beloved mama, who knows my style all too well thanks to hundreds of shopping trips throughout the ages.

My mom knows exactly how to make someone feel special. Whether it be through her kind words, lending an ear to listen to your problems, or picking out a treat just for you when she’s out shopping – my mom does it all. I can’t tell you the amount of times that she’s come home from trips to Target or the grocery store with a box of hair dye for me or a new shade of nail polish for my sister and, of course, a new makeup or polish shade to treat herself with, too.

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Ever since I was little, I can remember mom coming home with her shopping to tell me or one of my siblings that she has a “surprise” in the bag for one of us. As a child, I lived for that. And as a twenty-three year old adult, I still do. Knowing that someone picked something out special for you is a delight that I treasure so deeply. Finding out that someone saw a piece of jewelry or a color that reminded them of you so much as to purchase it for them is a marvel that never gets old to me. Kindness is something that I value beyond all other qualities and, to me, this exudes such divine kindness and generosity.

This past weekend was really rough for yours truly. My mom knew this and saved an afternoon of us running errands last Sunday to tell me that she has a “surprise” for me, which she had been carrying around in her purse. She waited until we were done with our shopping and in the car to leave for home to gift me with the most gorgeous necklace that I’ve ever seen:

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I literally gasped out loud when I opened the small black box that my mom presented me with and saw this amazing rosary necklace sitting inside of it. This Louisa L brand necklace was made in Italy and on the back of the charm with the Blessed Mother features the Italian “Ruega Por Nosotros” or “Pray for us”.

My new rosary necklace has everything that I love – the color, the style, and the thought behind it, which made this the most wonderful gift to receive. My mom had gotten this present days before my unfortunate weekend, but waited until a “rainy day” to give it to me. I am so happy that she did, because it left me feeling infinitely better and so loved. Thank you, mom!! I LOVE YOU! ❤

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Sweet Surprises Edition! What is something that makes you feel better when you’re feeling down? What is the best “just because” present that you have ever received? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah