Yellow Blossom Maxi Dress

Good morning and happy Monday friends! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend with friends and family. It's been three weeks now since having baby Olivia (birth story coming soon) and I am still recovering from my c-section and trying to adjust to my new schedule. Being a Mommy is the best thing ever and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Life is good!

During the summertime, there is nothing that I love more than maxi dresses. They are easy to wear, light weight, breathable, and there are so many different colors and prints to choose from. I'm not going to lie, a pretty good portion of my closet is filled with maxi dresses.

I love this fun yellow printed maxi dress. It's bright, flowy, and I love the ruffled detail around the neckline.

 Dress: Sassy Sweet Modesty // Watch: Goodwill // Earrings: Target // Sunglasses: Betsey Johnson

Camping With Your Dog

Camping season is finally here again. As campsites open for the season and you start to get your gear out of storage, you may be thinking about taking your dog with you on your camping trip this year. If you are inexperienced when it comes to camping with a dog, this guide is for you! You will find tips on how to prepare for the trip, etiquette tips, safety tips to help keep you and your dog safe, and tips for building great memories together.

Preparation

Consider first what your dog can handle and if camping would be more stressful than fun for you (and them!). If you have a hyper, disobedient, or whiny puppy and you are still learning discipline together, camping may not be the best time to test your progress. If your dog is well behaved and a little more mature, here are some other things to make sure they know before taking them camping:

• Teach them commands such as “leave it”, “whoa”, “come”, and “down” to make them drop something they may pick up in their mouths (think snakes and other dangerous animals), to keep them out of harm, and to keep them from bothering others.
• Make sure they are good at staying with you or staying where they are told to stay.
• Help them become accustomed to staying in a tent.

Where to Go

There are many beautiful places around the country to go camping, but not all of them welcome your furry friend with open arms. Before you leave for your trip, double check that your destination allows for dogs. Many dog friendly campgrounds have guidelines for how your pet should be restrained and how long a leash can be. Be prepared to follow all of these regulations.

If your dog is young, be careful of taking them somewhere that may require physical exertion beyond their current ability. Walking long distances or letting a dog carry any additional weight should be avoided until they are full grown, so consider the terrain. In preparation for a hike into a campsite, take your dog on increasingly longer walks to help them get physically fit for the adventure.

What to Pack

Just as you will need supplies to survive out in the wilderness, your dog is going to need supplies too. Here is a list to get you started:

• Clean water supply (if this is not available at the campsite)
• Food
• Food and water dishes
• Bedding. Bring extra blankets if necessary to ensure your dog will be warm enough at night. If you can, have them sleep in the tent with you to keep them safe and so you can keep each other warm.
• Toys
• Leash and collar/harness/carrier
• Copy of dog’s health and vaccination records, especially if crossing state lines
• Doggy poop bags
• Small shovel
• Dog’s medications
• Doggy first aid kit (complete with vet approved pain relievers, gloves, tweezers, and a tick key)
• Life jacket, if you will be on the water

Etiquette

As you will likely share camping space with other humans (and possibly their dogs, too), here are some good manners to remember:

When you come across another hiker while hiking, step off the path and control your dog to let the hiker pass at a distance.

Bury or carry out all dog poop so others do not accidentally step in it.

Keep your dog and yourself as quiet as possible, so as to not disturb other campers and wildlife. The last thing anyone wants when they are trying to enjoy the tranquility of nature is to be kept up at night by someone’s dog barking and their owner yelling at them.

Possible Dangers

Your dog will encounter new dangers on your camping trip. Here are some specific dangers to watch for when camping:

• Fleas and Ticks: Check your dog regularly for fleas and ticks and be ready to remove any you may find. Never touch them with your bare hands, as some may carry diseases like Lyme Disease. When you return home, give your dog a good scrub down with a sulfate free flea and tick wash such as this one.  
• Bad Water: Do not allow your dog to drink any standing water as it likely has collected chemicals or bacteria that could hurt your dog.
• Cooking Hazards: Keep your dog away from the campfire and cooking utensils to prevent them from getting burned or injured.
• Heat Exhaustion: Especially in the warmer weather and with the increased physical activity, keep an eye on your dog’s mood and energy level. Watch for heat exhaustion and keep your dog well hydrated and in the shade as much as possible.
• Abandonment: Do not leave your dog confined in the car (especially in hot weather) or tied to a stationary object. Always, always, always supervise your dog.
• Aggression: Do not bring an aggressive dog, a barker, or a wanderer into the wilderness. This will only cause issues for yourself and other campers.

Camping trips are often most enjoyable when you bring along your canine friend. As you prepare for your camping trip, remember the tips above and get ready for a memory making adventure.

Double Blessing

We are so happy to announce that this precious little girl that we have been fostering since April of last year is finally part of our forever family!! Her court date was on June 8th at 3 p.m. and then just 4 hours later baby Olivia made her debut into this world also. Two wonderful blessings in just one day!! It will definitely be a day that we will never forget. The miracles of God are nothing short of amazing! He is so good! Our hearts are so overwhelmed with gratitude and love. We love this little family of ours more than anything. ❤ {birth story to follow soon}

Enjoy a Cup of Cofee with Terra Coffee

I am personally not a coffee drinker, but I have friends who love Terra Coffee. Founded by Carlo Granito, Terra Coffee offers an array of coffee blends and different teas at affordable prices. They also offer coffee equipment such as espresso machines, coffee makers, and grinders.

In addition to their website, you can also visit there blog HERE

Organizing Your Closet For Summer

With the onset of warmer weather comes the green light to wear your summer attire. Flowing dresses, bright colors, broad brimmed sun hats, shorts and sandals are just the beginning. Summertime offers an entire new wardrobe of possibilities for your look, giving you a chance to let your personality shine without having to cover it up with a big coat. As you prepare your closet for the summer, this is also a great time to take inventory and do a little organizing. Keep these suggestions in mind as you go through all of your clothes and accessories this season.

Step 1: Remove Everything (Yes, everything!)

The best way to do a thorough organizing job is to remove everything from your closet and start fresh. This will allow you the opportunity to analyze every article of clothing or accessory you own. We often forget about items we have not worn in a long time or that have simply been hiding out behind other pieces. This is also a great time to clean your closet before replacing anything. Wipe everything down, replace shelf paper (or add it) and vacuum it out, using an attachment to reach the small spaces. Now you are ready to organize.

Step 2: Get Rid of Winter Items

Winter clothes can take up quite a bit of space, so separate your winter clothing out from everything else. You can then choose to either store all of it away or take the time to sort it now and remove pieces you never wear or that no longer fit.

Since you won’t need your winter coats for a few months, take them to the dry cleaners and then put them away for the summer. You can also use this opportunity to get them waterproofed again so they will be ready for next winter.

You are going to need some storage space, so put your winter clothes away in bins, drawers, or unused closets. Look for spaces that are currently unused (such as under the bed) where you can store these warmer clothing items.

Step 3: Sort the Remaining Items

Now that you are left solely with summer clothing and accessories, it is now time to sort these into categories: keep, maybe keep, discard. The “keep” you can place back into the closet and the “maybe keep” items get to have a second look. Since it is summertime now, you can be a little more lenient on these items if you have a new look you want to try or had just forgotten about the item. Try this trick to make sure you actually end up wearing these items: First, you can put the “maybe keep” clothes in with the hangers facing the wrong direction. Once you wear the clothes, put them back facing the correct direction. If you make it to fall and have hangers still facing the wrong way, you went the whole summer without wearing that clothing item and can give it away with little to no regret.

The “discard” needs to leave you. From clothing swaps with friends, to donating, to hosting a garage sale, there are many ways you can give these items another chance with someone else. If you choose to have a garage sale, you might even consider teaming up with friends or neighbors to get more traffic, as suggested in these awesome tips.

Step 4: Put the Items Back in an Organized Manner

Once you have completed the sorting, you can put your clothes and accessories back in their rightful place. Hanging clothes should be limited to blouses, pants, and dresses. T-shirts can be folded and put on shelves or in drawers to give you more space. If you do not have a system already in place for how to organize your clothes, here are two main ways to approach this:

• Like with Like: Organize your clothing by keeping all items that are the same together. For example, all short sleeved tops together, all casual dresses together, etc.
• By Color: Some enjoy organizing their clothes by color. This might be helpful on days when you are going for a certain look and just need that missing piece that matches your incomplete ensemble.

You can even go as far as making sure all of your hangers are the same color to add even more fluidity to your closet.

Step 5: Find a Home for Accessories

Finally, it is time to put accessories in their own place as well. Hats can be hung from pegs on the backs of doors or on walls, to save on closet space. Belts, ties, and scarves can also be hung vertically.

Bags come in handy during the summer as you go to picnics, beach parties, or weekend getaways. But they also take up a lot of room. Try storing smaller bags within larger bags to save on space.

Buy shoe organizers to make sure the floor of your closet stays free from clutter. There are organizers that hang over doors, can be hooked onto the clothing rod, or even add shelves above the floor. Keep baskets for inexpensive, rubber sandals you wear often.

These tips can be tweaked to fit your personal organization style and reused for other seasons. Come fall, you will be ready to tackle your closet once again, as you have become an organization master!

Happy Father's Day {2015}

 
Happy Father's Day! Today I want to wish a very Happy Father's Day to two very special men in my life. My Dad. It's been almost a year since he passed away. I feel so blessed to have a Dad like him. He was loving, caring and always knew how to make me smile. There is not a day that goes by that I don't miss him dearly. My Husband. Seriously...how did I get so lucky? He makes me so happy. He is such a HUGE blessing in my life and I thank God for him every day. He is loving, caring, funny, supportive, and I love that always thinks of others before himself. I am also grateful for the wonderful Father he is to Kaelyn and Olivia. He is the perfect example of everything a Father should be. I couldn't have asked for more!