Good Things Come to Those That Hustle

Tomorrow starts a crazy busy week for me, like insane.  So in honor of my fab hustle I framed this little gem for my desk. Just for work I have five meetings in three days. Great for business, not so good for my eating and sleeping habits. Plus I have two doctors appointments, a play date for BK, S has big project at work and will likely be pulling a 70 hour work week, a family beach day, the Cox cable guy is coming so we will finally have reliable internet and a Pure Barre workshop. Needless to say I am needing to micromanage about every second of this week, so I treated myself to a super fun little planner. I'm super excited about it, and really isnt it adorable?

Since we knew that our week was going to be pretty wild we wanted to really enjoy our weekend. And that we did. There was a long family walk and along the way BK fell asleep in her little car.

There was a girl's night out for me on Friday. Though we aren't sharing any photos from that night for plausible deniability. There was a date night for the hubs and I, which included the movies + shopping + fantastic sushi + too many drinks with friends we havent seen in far too long + possibly getting kicked out asked very nicely to leave an establishment due to dancing on tables.

And at the end of it all we got home and someone woke up to eat some cheesy fiesta potatoes with mama and dada before an amazing snuggle session. 

Now I have to straighten the house because I know I wont be doing much of it the next few days, cook some yummy salmon for dinner, and relax with a good book while the baby finishes her nap. 

How do y'all survive and unwind from a super busy week? 

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These Are My Confessions

It's time to play a little catch-up, so I thought I would it of the confessional variety. It's always a little more fun that way.

-My husband comes home on Sunday. I plan on sending BK to the babysitter for a few solid hours on Monday night and locking S in the bedroom. It's been a long three weeks.

-I started reading Bared to You. {See above confession}

-We started researching preschools for BK. Very exciting and emotional time for mama

-BK loves festivals, especially the music, and is already dressing the part. Check out that flower headband. Coachella 2022 watch out!

-I have been stealing BK's headbands on the regular lately. It is wayy to hot to have my five pounds of hair down, and at least I accessorize my doodoo bun/topknot. 

 -Busch Gardens is BK's new favorite place on Earth. I mean look at that face.

 -Her beauty still stuns me on a daily basis. {Not so "new" news, I know}

 -Sassy Sunshine is rather bossy to all the other kids on the playground. Especially when they are bigger, and faster than her (i.e. most of them). She doesnt understand why she can't keep up and they wont stay with her.

-We had a few sleepovers with our best pals, and these girls are just the cutest, sweetest things ever. Vivi is a year older than BK and calls her "my baby", and the way BK says Genevieve is just about the cutest thing in the world. I am so blessed to have friends like these.

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Catching Up

This week has been filled with anniversaries, perfect temperatures, beach days, and lots of use of our grill so please pardon the silence that occurred on this little blog o' mine. Starting next week I have a really awesome "blog flow" setup that I'm going to start using, and I think that it will help give my blog a good consistency and give me a little more organization for regular posts {Shout out Meagan for the inspiring ideas. So be excited for next week! My new sponsor spots will finally be up too.

Here are some fabulous posts that I almost missed out on during my sebatacle:

-The recipe for this amazing Grilled Mac N Cheese that I am totally making on my diet cheat day next week
-Katy is fundraising for a second trip to Africa, and she reflected back on her last trip
-I got to learn a little more about this super funny lady
-And today is the last day to enter the Carmex give away here. I know I always have bad chapped lips in the summer

And now for some Friday Letters

 

 

Dear Hubs- I can't believe it's already been two years of wedded bliss! I love you so much. Lets renew our vows soon k?

Dear BK- Walking?!? Really? How are you so grown? You consume so much of my heart I cant even stand it.

Dear warm weather- Thank you so much for finally showing up! Please stick around

Dear allergies- Booo you whore

Dear Salt- I am super excited for you to open! I cant wait to attend Friends and Family night tonight. So excited for my friend Ashley and her husband on this new venture!

Dear Lauran- Lets get to planning on that fab dinner party!

Dear Ashley- I just love you so much! We didnt get to talk much this week and I miss you. Can't wait to finally hang out this summer. 

 

I Can't Believe

I'm super excited to link up with the fabulous Robin for this week's...


First off, I can't believe  that it is already April? How are we four months into the year?!? I feel like 2013 just started.

I can't believe that I actually went through with my spray tan. I was beyond nervous. But Y'all I have to preach the fabulous ways of the Versa tan. I mean check out this "unnatural" glow I have working for me. Plus it was SOO easy.

I can't believe that mine and S's two year wedding anniversary is next Tuesday! Where has all the time gone. And can we go back to Mexico asap?

I can't believe that I am surrounded by so many talented people. My husband and baby are both on teh genius level. My bff Kay is the best writer and oh so stylish. My bff Lauren just got back from the most amazing trip has the best heart. My other bff Brea is uber talented in the photography department. My brother and sister are the cutest musical duo ever. And I could go on and on from cakes to more photography and more photography. Now if only I could find my nichè within the event planning world or someone who would give me a chance. Or better yet, lets make this writing passion of mine a full time gig!

I can't believe that I still havent been to the gym. BOOO me!

And finally, I can't believe that I am actually considering tackling a garage sale this weekend! I need to spring clean though!

Hot dog hot dog hot diggity dog

This is just a life dump post, it's confessions, and stories, and about as put together as our life has been for the past week and a half. So I think it's only fair that I link up with the beautiful Mrs. Shanna for Random Wednesdays.

I feel like I could sleep for a week. Actually, I could go comatose for a week and that would be even better. But the last visitor has left, and our house has returned to some semblance of normalcy. Which really means yes the presents are unwrapped - no the presents aren't put away or even fully put together. The guest room is still full of stuff that needs to go back down to the playroom. My laundry that needs to be folded is on the rocker in the nursery. And the garbage man is going to hate his pick up at our house on Thursday. But, you know, we're getting there.

It was all worth it, oh man was it worth it. Brooklyn had the time of her life, mama actually got to enjoy a party for once, and it was exactly as I hoped it would turn out for her. I cant wait to get the pictures back and give y'all a full party run down.

Spring is gradually starting to make an appearance. I wont lie, I would prefer to bulrush spring and hold it captive so that it has to corroborate. Unfortunately life doesnt work that way. 

I was so focused on BK's birthday that forgot Easter was a mere two weeks later. Now I'm scrambling to find and book a hotel in DC, so we can kill two birds with one stone by going to the Cherry Blossom Festival and attending Easter Mass at the National Cathedral. Any suggestions lovely readers? I know a lot of yall live close to the NoVa area. 

Brooklyn Grace got like 4 of the same toy. Here's to hoping for good customer service reps when I attempt to exchange them.

All the girl scout cookies in our house are gone. I have to say, it's ok. They were delicious while they lasted but it's time to get svelte, and cookies are not my friend. 

My lifelong best friend is heading out on an amazing trip Thursday. She's first going to Bali and then Thailand. She'll be gone two weeks, I know she will live a dream of hers. I'm so excited {also a bit nervous I wont lie}. But will you please keep her and her traveling companion in your prayers if you think of it? 

Also, my old trusty Ford Explorer is in the land of not quite dead and not quite living. Thank the good Lord above that my husband has been able to fix most big issues, but needless to say we're on the hunt for a new car for me. We're thinking an SUV still, but one that has 3rd row seating. Do you have a car with 3rd row seating? Do you love it? 

okok, I'm done rambling. Dont forget to enter the Vino2go giveaway too! Only 2 days left. 

It's 5 o'clock somewhere

Today has been a bad day. It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Brooklyn is experimenting with the terrible twos at age one. She's an over achiever like that. Needless to say, mama needs a drink. So how lucky am I that The Product Farm sent me this fabulous cup to sip my mommy juice?!?

Dont you just love the color? This cup is super amazing, and I couldnt be more excited about this snazzy little device. 

It holds hot and cold beverages. 

So for those of you still feeling the effects of winter, you can have some spiked cider.

It fits in standard cup holders. 

Plus, it has a lid that opens and closes to prevents spills. So necessary for summer. 

They also sent me this wine caddy. How fantastic is this for summer? It holds your bottle and two glasses. It's very sturdy too. I foresee lots of picnics with this in my future. 

And The Product Farm was gracious enough to give away a Vino2Go cup to one of you beautiful readers! I just love this vino2go giveaway! Good Luck!

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Weekend Wrap Up

Hey y'all! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend, I know ours was simply fabulous. I'm actually joining the Weekend Wrap Up for the first time! Woo hoo

Friday we got a new back door installed, woo hoo for home improvement. Then the baby and i ran some errands and did some shopping. Friday night we met back up with daddy and had a super delicious dinner out. It was a wonderful end to our day! Especially the creme brûlée lol.

Saturday morning I woke up early and had to run one billion errands. Then we headed to BK's bestie's first birthday party. We had so much fun celebrating Miss L turning one! Bk just laughed the whole time!

After the party BK and I got in the car and hit the road. We came up to the mountain for a little bonding and r&r before the big birthday. She did great on the 3.25 trip, and we grabbed some dinner to go. We got settled in the cabin, ate our pasta, and then hopped in the jacuzzi tub. It was devine and we both slept hard. Today we woke up to beautiful views and took our time getting our day started. We went to the little mountain market and made lunch, we took two naps, and we built lots of blocks. Then the Gigi got in town! We went to dinner & checked out the waterpark for tomorrow. Bk squealed when she saw it, I cannot wait to get her in there. Then we came home to the cabin for another jacuzzi bath and some play time before bed.

It was the perfect weekend, And I plan on making the rest of the week perfect as well!

A few things:
-Daisymae is home! We are so happy to have our sweet puppy back. She was taken care of by the sweetest family too. God was watching out for her. Thank you all so, so very much for your words of love and encouragement! You have no idea how much they meant to me.

-I am five people away from 500 readers! I could not be more excited and humbled. I am so thankful for y'all and the relationships I've come to form through the blogging world. As soon as I reach 500 I'm going to be doing a huge giveaway. Would y'all be interested in participating? Its going to be good, I promise. Please email me {brooklynstateofmindblog at gmail dot com} if you want to talk details

-In honor of BK's birthday all ad spots are 25% off using code Brooklyn. Snatch them up while you can. I plan on changing my sponsor spots around a bit this spring.

-BK turns one in three days! How is that possible? I brought lots of crafts with me to work on. There will be nothing but fun and focus on BK on Thursday so I'm trying to get my duties out of the way.

How was your weekend? Do you have any big plans this week? What would you like to see in the giveaway? {people who host can enter too}

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One week

One week. Seven days. 168 hours. It's truly not very long when you think about it. Usually I find myself wishing weeks away, looking forward to a big event or the next season. However for the past year I've wished all my time would slow down. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that there would be a time that I would benefit from time slowing down, or even pausing. Not pausing forever, but pausing for a moment. The special ones, the ones that deserve to be relived. Motherhood changes everything though. Now I stall all my time, instead of wish it away. This week in particular I wish would pause. Just be one long week of perfection. Where my baby is still a tiny baby, because really and truly that is all that I want. For my baby to remain my baby.

How has a year even passed. How am I one week out from my baby girl turning one years old? I honestly dont even have the words yet.

Today was a beautiful day. We laughed and sang, we danced, we snuggled, and were goofy. It was a perfect day for me. It ended with my tiny girl in footie pajamas snuggling me in bed. I wouldnt change anything about today. I loved it, I embraced it.

The problem, is that at the end of this week I will have a toddler. My baby girl will turn o.n.e. And honestly I don't know how thats possible. I know I just need to enjoy these last few days, and trust me, I will. Theres no doubt there.

In the end, I just want to do right by her. She won't remember this time. She'll remember what I said about this time, how I documented this time, what we did with this time. So I make a vow, that the next week will be nothing short of fabulous. Your last week as a baby will be wonderful, even with mommy's tears.

I love you so much Brooklyn Grace. I can't wait to see what next year has in store for you.

 

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Dance Party Friday

Do you ever just feel relieved by the time Friday rolls around? Like I can finally turn my brain off. woo hoo. So today is probably going to be a bit of a brain dump.

*It's finally the weekend and we have a busy one ahead of us. Tonight the inlaws come into town. We have dinner plans tonight, and I plan on making my margarita dreams of yesterday come to life. Plans to clean our horribly dirty garage tomorrow {is that sweet of them or what}. Then tomorrow night we're cooking a super yummy feast of prime rib. #nomnomnom

*Have I mentioned that we have a very b.i.g birthday coming up? I am in full on party planning mode. I think it's safe to say that I'm even worse than with our wedding. Does that make me momzilla? I've started to work with the amazing Kristen of Little Laws Prints to design the invites. This is the proof she sent me. I mean really I die of the cuteness.

 

*I read all of the Beautiful Creatures books this past fall and I am sososo excited for this movie to come out in a few weeks. I might get a babysitter and go see the movie as a little Valentine's Day present to myself.

 

 

*Yesterday we got some snow flurries. So of course I bundled BK up and took her outside for some pictures. I'm a first time mom, I have to document these things people. This is my cute little snow bunny.

  

Then she tipped over.
 

Too.many.clothes. haha.

 

*Lets hope some actual snow accumulates today. For the sake of BK's photo opportunities.

 

*Lastly, I leave you with some tunes. Every Friday BK and I start the day with some dancing and this was our first song of the morning. 

 



What songs are you dancing to today?

Extreme couponing

Do you coupon? Today was my first ever experience using a coupon, and they practically fell into my lap. True story. Apparently I am a VIP at Target because they sent me this trusty book of coupons in the mail.

 

I was super excited as I really have no understanding of extreme couponing. I mean where do you get your coupons? Do they work at all stores? How do you "double up" on coupons? Am I even using correct coupon lingo?

Really and truly I would love to learn more. Anyone care to share their tips and tricks? I'm promise I'm a good student!

Shameless reminder to please vote for me! I'm slipping a smidgen in the polls

 

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Friday Letters

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Dear BK- You were really trying to give mommy a heart attack yesterday. I know you have a sassy and daring streak in you {I wont lie you get it from me} lets take things a little easier today please. My heart can only handle so many tumbles.

 

Dear Justin Timberlake- I dont really like your new song. There I said it. Maybe it'll grow on me, but probably not. So lets work on getting some good music out. Thanks!

Dear hubs- I love you. That is all.

Dear "Back That Azz Up" Pandora Station- You are amazefest USA as my girl Erin would say. I dont remember who posted about this station {if it was you please stand up so that I can give you all kinds of kuddos and virtual high fives, but y'all most definitely need to check it out!

Dear Lizzie- S and I really need a date night, please come babysit.

Dear cold weather- Go away I hate you. You didnt deliver with your promise of snow, once again, so you have no reason to be here.

Dear bloggy friends- Yall are the very best! I'm really hoping to reach 500 readers by March and I promise to spoil you with fabulous goods! Also, thank you so much for voting for me (every day until January 30th) and I promise to stop bugging yall about it soon.

Dear polka dot skinny jeans- I'm coming to buy you today. Please dont make me look like a street walker past my prime, I'm trying to step up my fashion game not find a post on Harry Hines Blvd. 

'][;ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp ~ Thats from BK. Dont worry I havent started drinking, yet.

Happy weekend y'all!

Ramblings of the rainy day variety

Another rainy, yuck day here in Virginia. So today im rambling.

-They were calling for snow, but we haven't actually had snow in two years. Last year we got "snow days" though, because in the South snow is a big deal and we close everything at the first mention of the word. I never complained though. But today when I was actually excited for BK's first snow we get nothing. I don't know why I'm surprised.

-Last week it was in the 70's. I'm totally ready for summer. Especially after our trip to Jamaica, and my friend Nicholl over at The Chiffon Diary posted a picture of her outfit today and it included a swimsuit. I'm officially jealous.

-tonight the Vampire Diaries comes back on. Wine & the Salvatore brothers is my idea of a perfect night.

-50 Cent was on the show Katie today. I really love him. Is he not the most lovable gangster ever? Though technically I guess he is a reformed gangster.

-I really want some pizza. Like bad.

-I have a goal of getting to 500 followers by Brooklyn's birthday in March. Then I'm going to have a huge extravaganza giveaway. Wanna help me reach my goal?

-Also, have you voted for me yet today? It really means the world to just be nominated, but if I won I'd die. You can vote once a day until January 30th. Thank you so much for your support.

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