This one time... at a blog conference

I made the mistake of saying I was feeling a little bored. I was feeling like I didn't have direction, losing a little bit of passion and feeling just a smidge lost.
Then I voiced those feelings out loud.
Well God delivered. I am now brimming with ideas and super excited (that passion is back!) about so many different things! I can't wait to share them all with you but want to make sure I do it all in the right way.
What I do want to share with you today is a little bit about my journey to Elevate.

photo creds all to the amazing Chrissy at Let Me See You Sparkle

Something on my Brave list this year was to attend a blog conference. Specifically Elevate. I had wanted to go last year but chickened out, then spent the whole day stalking the pictures then regretting not going. So this year it wasn't going to happen! The day of I had set alarm for ticket sales, as I was about to buy I started to get nervous. I was going to talk myself out of it until I saw this amazing community between bloggers that had already gone and people just buying tickets. Everyone was encouraging "newbies" to do it- we wouldn't be disappointed! They were right.

I got there a little early and sat in my car for a minute. I was beyond nervous, shaking, and having to really calm myself down. But why? I was gonna be brave this year dangit. I had to pull up those big girl chonies and do it.
The atmosphere of the day was all fun. Tons of laughter and a lot of hugging. It's funny how bloggers act- to the outside world I'm sure it's super odd. I mean really- who hugs people you've never met. But I know we feel like we've all met each other. We share such intimate parts of our lives with anyone who wants to read it, why wouldn't it feel like we were all besties.

Only a few of the lovely ladies I got to meet! I regret not going up to more people and asking for a
selfie! Because I should have. Next time

The conference was at Newport Dunes with the beach as our backyard, everything was set up beautifully and you could feel the buzz going through the air. Jen & Summer really know how to put on a good day. But my favorite part of it all. The people you get to meet.

Let's talk speakers- 

Desiree from The 36th Avenue won me over with her super fun quirky personality. Best take away- don't be afraid to be you.

Chrissy from Let Me See You Sparkle has the best smile (and heart!) loved hearing from her about the best way to photograph for your blog. Plus she got us to take a selfie, which I may do more often!

Fellow first timer Amy- we have hit it off, if you can't tell by our #ussie

Some pro-tips from Cara, Ashley and Alissa was all I needed to know I'm ready to kick-start this blog again. (Plus total fan moment- who doesn't love Little Miss Momma?!)

Last but certainly not least- Lisa Leonard. For reals, I flipped when I found out she would be speaking. What stuck out most was-Be You. Be Brave. I love her heart and they way she speaks to me (because duh- everything she said hit home for me!). I have a personal connection with her jewelry- a story I will tell soon. So when I met her I couldn't not share how much of a fan I was. She introduced herself to me twice, so by now I'm sure we are BFFs. 

Some bad cell phone pics but too exciting not to share.

Minute to Win it winners.. #Boom.

Sign by Salty Bison.. Speaks to my soul (and for reals is all over the place screaming at me!)

I learned a lot. I grew a lot. I was brave. And I met some really awesome women who I hope to get to know much better in the future. All in all, it was a great day.. Counting down till next year!

Do Life Together

Have you ever sat and watched your friends and family do life together? I know I've been talking about community a lot lately but I have been feeling so blessed by so many people in our life right now. We went to the beach yesterday (yes- so did everyone else) and I had a moment of just gratefulness. Firstly because it was Memorial Day and how lucky are we that we live in such an amazing country surrounded by so many people that sacrificed for us.

So we're at the beach and I'm loving it- I'm surrounded by fun people, my kids are having a great time and my husband is off from work. I was at peace. I watched my kinds play with their friends, I watched the joy on their faces and heard the laughter all around. I didn't care about the sand or the mess, I didn't care that my little one was definitely chowing down on sand while eating his watermelon. None of that mattered, none of the usual mom stress was there. The moment that solidified my happy was when my husband decided to get the dads into the water. This was not the guy I knew a couple years ago. I know how hard it is for guys to make friends, especially once we are older and not in a school setting. My husband was not someone who had a big group of friends, he's definitely the introvert type. I think he's ok with that too, but I saw something in him yesterday.

My husband is different, he's changed for the good. He is comfortable in who he is and he's enjoying time with guys who are in the same place as he is. There's friendship forming there, I may be the extrovert between the two of us, but he's making solid relationships and he's making them on his own. It made me sit and be thankful for our "village". It's what we have, a small village that cares about one another. It goes beyond moms hanging out on playdates. We care about each other's families and we care about being inclusive. All of us- together, doing life.

If you haven't heard of wee Kind yet I highly recommend checking it out. It's a movement, a way to empower Purposeful Acts of Kindness. Change the world. wee Kind style.

More on that later...

A Beautiful Mess: Embrace Your Story

I have a lot of really amazing women in my life. There's a group that I'm a part of that helps me through motherhood. Because let's face it- motherhood is flippin hard sometimes. It's a hot mess that can tear you apart if you let it. But MOPS is helping change that.

Mothers of Pre-Schoolers.

We are a group of moms in the same season. A sometimes hard season that we may struggle through. We have a place where you can be with other moms that get it. They get the highs and the lows. They enjoy the laughter and the tears. They know where you are in life because they are there too. We gather together and enjoy a few hours child free to be poured into. Have brunch with friends and listen to speakers, craft it up, relax.. we get to just breathe. Because sometimes life can be so hectic and you're being pulled into so many different directions.. sometimes you forget to just breathe.
I'm grateful for this season that God has me in. Besides loving the two little boy that He gave me I also get to enjoy sharing life with these wonderful, talented, beautiful moms. We enjoyed our last group of the spring session today. A Pamper Yourself day, because each of us deserved it.

Amazing pictures from Kirenia Photography, yet another super talented mom.

I encourage you to find a place, a group of people that you can open up to. Share life with other people, make relationships and create deep friendships. Be real and authentic so that whatever you may be going through can reach someone else as well. Do life together ladies- be brave together, be strong together, celebrate one another! Embrace your story. 

DIY Painted Ombre Mason Jars

I've been collecting random jars in hopes that an idea for them would spark some day. Enter an empty grey shelf in our grey and yellow Kitchen.

What you need:

Jars of different sizes (or hey- all the same size!)
I used a large mason jar, a spaghetti jar, a pickle jar and a small mason jar.

1 color of paint in different shades

I had 3 different shades of yellow in my paint supplies and used the white to lighten up one of the yellows. 

This was an easy project, it just took a little bit of time to wait for the paint to swirl all the way around the jars. 

After the first jar I found it was a lot easier to pour a good amount of paint in the jar. I was trying to be a little frugal with what paint I had but trying to get that amount to cover the whole jar was too much of a struggle. 

After having all your jars filled with paint and completely covered (remember this takes a little while!) turn them over onto something you don't mind getting paint all over. I used a sheet of drawing paper and folded it in half. So that the jars don't stick to the paper you have to move them every so often. 

Because the paint is in the inside you can't put water in them- since this paint is water based it would be washed away. I chose to do the paint on the inside instead of the outside because once that jar gets scratched on the outside your paint is ruined. Learned from experience.

Now do I leave them empty or put pretty fake flowers in them?

The possibilities are endless!

Can we talk about my happy place? #mommylovestarget

I have a (not so secret) secret to share- I'm addicted to Target. I confess that I love going and wandering the aisles. I've even mastered the art of handing the kids an Icee and having a solid hour to roam.
It's a problem that I fully admit to. A problem I do not want to fix.

I was at a women's retreat recently and had my bag packed full of goodies. Without realizing it most of what I wore that weekend was from the good ole red place. When I would get asked where I got something it turned into a little joke in our room- of course! Target! I loved sharing my finds with other people and I wanted to continue to do it after leaving the retreat.

Find all info on these items on IG

Enter @mommylovestarget! You can find me sharing away on Instagram and if you use the #mommylovestarget hashtag we all get to share with each other. This is not something I'm looking to make money off of- simply a fun way to share with other ladies the fun things and good deals that we find! I will do a monthly roundup of my top picks (mine or others) here and we can ooh and ahh- or run to our nearest store- to pick up a must have item!

Happy Shopping!