Tomorrow is the first official day of October and we will be celebrating by wearing festive outfits all month. I scooped up some items for Blair and chose a few below that I thought would be cute on your little gremlins!

{hat} {moccs} {witch shirt} {bows} {cat shirt} {cat pjs} {bag} {pants} {rain boots}

{onesie} {cozy pants} {hat} {moccs} {bag} {plaid shirt} {jacket} {boo pjs} {pants} {shoes}

shirt: gap
pants: carter's
pumpkins: target

Happy shopping! Can't wait to see your littles' attire. :)

Hi babes! Hope you had a great weekend. I hosted a couple clothing parties because my Aunt sells CAbi and they were a success! We had a ton of fun and I'm already looking forward to the spring line. :)

Other than that we loafed around at home. And by loafed I mean M cleaned up the garage and I entertained B. Here's our Sunday...

love my new exercise pants!

a trip to the craft store involved her insistence on wearing her princes dress

my berry isagenics drink i drank for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. :( trying out a cleanse for fertility. at this point I've got nothing to lose and worst comes to worst I lose a few before my bff's wedding!

this girl and her love of sorting and lack of smiling

Have a great Monday...tomorrow I'm showing off Blair's Halloween fashion. :)

Medical
Not pregnant... again. Sigh. Story of my life. Took a pregnancy test on Monday even through my cycle isn't supposed to start till Saturday and got a positive. Took one again on Tuesday and got a negative. I'm not sure if I'm having chemical pregnancies or if the HCG shot is still lingering in my system. Which, according to that drug's half life I had less than 1% in my system when I tested on Monday. So it shouldn't be that. Either way there's no bun in this oven.


Emotional
I didn't cry about it. This is becoming my new norm, unfortunately. It's what I expect even though I know that's a bad attitude to have. I guess the most difficult part is getting that glimmer of hope with the positive test. I think I've learned my lesson not to test early anymore. That would save me some grief. Live and learn. So I'm trying to just keep living my life without thinking about "what if."

Spiritual
I heard a sermon this week that really threw me for a loop. It was challenging which I appreciate and caused me to examine my heart and motives. My notes are scattered but what she said was motivating for me to move on from my pity party, "God uses the circumstances in your life to move you to be more Christ-like. He cares more about growing you than your comfort and is committed to your spiritual growth. Treasure the Lord above all else. Suffer for Him. God refines His people through brokenness and times of waiting. He breaks you so you rely on Him and not yourself. He doesn't want you to wallow in your trials, despise them, or hurry them along your own way. Let him mold and make you so you can be a servant for His kingdom. Being in the waiting room is God's design for your life right now. God let's you sit in there so your will can align with His. Don't resist Him. God is preparing a testimony of deliverance for you that will bring Him glory." Oy. Talk about a punch to the gut. This waiting is all part of my story and apparently it's not over yet. I keep wanting to skip chapters and write The End but unfortunately there's no Cliff's Notes version available. Dang it.

So I'm marching on and trying to think about others more than myself. And trying not to hate the girl at my gym who said they are going to start trying this month. Because in my mind that was one more person who is bound to get prego before me. Horrible of me to think, I know. But I'm being honest with you because just maybe you have those same thoughts? And I want you to know you're not the only one. But I also want you to know I'm trying really hard to not be such a grinch. And truly the only way that is ever going to happen is by God's grace.

I hope you lovely readers have a nice weekend. You know what to pray for. :)

And just for fun this is a conversation I had with Blair last night while cuddling with her in her bed...

B: Mommy who bought you that ring?
N: Daddy
B: Mommy who bought you that shirt?
N: I did
B: (pushing on my chest) Mommy who bought your chest?
N: These were free. God put them there.

Insert crying laughing face here. Kids say the darnedest things!

Summer meet Fall, Fall meet Summer. This little drink is the best of both worlds if you ask me... a pumpkin pie frappie. I used this recipe here and enjoyed a cool afternoon treat yesterday during nap time.

The only thing I would change is swapping out the ground coffee for actual coffee (to take away the grainy-ness). I also added a little cinnamon on top.

      Ingredients

• 2 cups milk of choice (480g)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp instant coffee granules (decaf or regular)
• scant 1/16 tsp salt
• stevia extract to taste, or 3 tbsp sugar (or other sweetener of choice)
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (120g)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)

Mix the ingredients together in 1 or 2 shallow plastic containers. Freeze. (You could also use an ice cube tray.) Once frozen, pop the blocks out of the containers. Thaw until just soft enough for your blender to be able to handle it, and blend until desired slushiness is reached. Add extra sweetener if needed, but do NOT add ice! It will dilute the flavor. Pour into two glasses and enjoy. Note: the flavor and texture will obviously vary depending on your choice of milk. I’m sure many types of milk will yield a good result, but I’ve only tried the recipe with flax milk.

I recently ordered some "school" gear for B from Pottery Barn Kids ( I had gift cards!) and am pretty smitten with it. She thinks she is quite the big girl. Don't tell her she's not going to pre-school till next year.

Can't wait for the rest of the items to show up!

Happy Wednesday!

My Six Must Haves

This is a post inspired by Man Crates

Recently Man Crates asked me to come up with a list of my daily essentials. The above items came to mind quickly and if you spend any amount of time with me you know I'm obsessed with all these products.

1. Baby Lips chapstick: the perfect amount of color for my lips without looking overdone

2. Rainbows high arch support flip flops: i have high arches and these always feel amazing

3. Nalgene water bottle: i'm always toting around my water especially since i gave up soda this year

4. Sunglasses: especially awesome for those less than beautiful days. instant polish.

5. Nail polish: i have a strong love for nail polish and LOVE doing my own nails

6. Calendars: if i don't write it down i won't remember it. and for some reason i don't love my iphone calendar so write it down i must!

So what is your must have list? Any items that we share? 

By the way, you need to check out Man Crates. They are a new company 

that ships awesome gifts for men in custom wooden crates! They help eliminate the hassle of buying gifts for that guy in your life! Currently they have an NFL crate that I'm pretty sure my fantasy football lovin' husband would adore.

If Instagram hasn't already said enough about my weekend in Palm Springs I'm here to tell you we had fun, fun, and more fun! One of my best friends is getting married in three weeks and we celebrated her with some sun and tasty food. We rented a beautiful home in Palm Springs and spent the weekend lounging by the pool with cold drinks in hand.

The decor was SUPER fun in my humble opinion and I had a blast incorporating the neon + neutral theme. My friend, Di, did an awesome job on the swag bags too. 

soon to be!

if you like pina coladas!

we each had our own floating 'mingo drink holder and personalized cups!

jump if you love the bride. high five if you're extra cool ;)

we also each got personalized sunnies with our names and the wedding hashtag

post brunch at The Parker hotel

best looking bell hops around ;)

a little private a.m. yoga sesh

undies for the bride

we loved you palm springs!

I have to tell you Blair was beyond thrilled to find out she now owns 50 pineapple sippy cups, 14 floating 'mingo cup holders, a donut raft, and a swan raft (thanks Mandy!). She can't stop asking about my "sticker" (which is really a temporary arm cuff tattoo) and I have a feeling we will be purchasing some sooner rather than later. Enjoy your Monday, lovies! 

PS a big FAT thank you to M and his mom for taking care of B while I was away. Always so nice to know she's in the best hands.

I've been trying to make a fall recipe once a week and this week's turned out to be pumpkin pancakes. This is what I made last week.The pancakes were very tasty and Blair gobbled up three in no time.

I found the recipe here and below I listed the ingredients and instructions. Happy cooking!

Ingredients

1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch salt, optional and to taste
1 large egg
3/4 cup Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 to 2 tablespoons molasses ( left this out)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
maple syrup for serving, or your favorite topping (try Vanilla Maple Syrup or Ginger Molasses Maple Syrup)

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine the first 9 dry ingredients (through optional salt); set aside.
2. In a glass measuring cup or small bowl, whisk to combine all remaining wet ingredients (except maple syrup for serving).
3. Pour wet mixture over dry, and stir gently until just combined; don't overmix. Batter should be fairly thick; resist the urge to thin it out. However, if yours needs a splash of milk so that it's a scoop-able consistency, or extra flour if it's too thin, tweak as necessary.
4. Preheat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Using a 1/4-cup measure or  large cookie scoop, scoop batter onto warm skillet. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until small bubbles form on the surface and pancakes are set enough to flip. I cook covered for better results, but cook the way you normally cook your pancakes.
6. Carefully flip over and cook for about 2 to 3 more minutes, or until done and cooked through.
7. Tip - If cooking in batches (my skillet only comfortably holds 3 or 4 pancakes at a time), place cooked pancakes on a baking sheet and place in a preheated 200F oven to keep warm until while frying the remaining pancakes.
8. Repeat the frying process with the remaining batter, wiping out the skillet with a paper towel in between batches or as needed. Add more cooking spray to wiped skillet before starting next batch.
9. Pancakes are best warm and fresh, but will keep airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months and can be gently reheated in the micro or toaster. Serve with maple syrup or your favorite topping.

{This blog post is sponsored by Gymboree. All opinions are my own!}

I mentioned last week how adorable the new Eric Carle line is at Gymboree. Yesterday B wanted to wear her "brown bear, brown bear" shirt and man did she look grrrrrrrreat in it. See what I did there? ;) The shirt is actually from the boys collection because we wanted the brown bear one. I still think she rocks it.

this is what i get when i say "smile"

even the grocery stores are trying to make fall happen!

I also printed out the matching/memory game from their website so we could play together. She really loves it! I used card stock so the cards were nice and firm. Go and print some out for your little...they're free! :)

We plan on entering the photo contest to win an awesome Eric Carle gift basket too. Enter the hashtag #whatdoyousee and post on Instagram to win!

Is there anything cuter than best friends? Maybe best friends who also happen to have matching dresses. :)

These two crack me up! You would think they were in a photo booth with all their different expressions. Thanks, Taylar, for snapping these while I was at the doctor last week.