{ Styled By Tori Spelling Giveaway #ToriStyle }

Today I'm sharing two of my favorite things...jewelry and a giveaway!

My friends over at Styled by Tori Spelling sent me a ridiculously fun box full of their jewelry pieces and I've been having so much fun putting looks together!

Here are all of the goodies right after I opened the box...

Landon said "Its like you robbed a bank Mom!" Silly boy...more like I robbed a jewelry store!

It was SO hard to choose just a few to share with you, but I narrowed it down to three great necklace looks. I decided to show you how to dress up a plain top in three different ways.

First up...this turquoise beauty!

I really love how it pops against my white top. And this one was SO simple to put together. Just two connector rings and a chain on both ends made this stunning necklace!

My second look really makes a statement. I love the multiple layers on this necklace...

The faceted "jewels" are my favorite part. And this one was made with two connector rings and a chain as well. So simple!

And last but I think this one is my favorite...this gorgeous pendant...

Instead of using the Styled by Tori Spelling components with this, I grabbed a simple silver chain I already owned and threaded it through the attached ring...

The colors in this one make me so HAPPY!

Isn't it fun how a simple statement necklace can change up the look of a basic top?

And now its your turn to win your very own selection of Styled by Tori Spelling goodness! Enter via the Rafflecopter below for a prize package valued at $50-$75!

And be sure to check out the new Styled by Tori Spelling line, sold exclusively at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores! 

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

{bringing home baby: royal vs. reality}

So I'm not one to follow the royal family stuff that closely, but I was a tad bit excited about the arrival of the royal baby, and even had the live feed from their hospital streaming on my monitor at work. {I can multi-task, people!}

We knew that Princess Kate would look stunning when she made her first appearance, but since I've gone through this taking the baby {or in my case, babies} home from the hospital thing, it really took me back to our first moments outside those safe walls with nurses and room service. 

Speaking of room service...our hospital had the BEST beef manhattans. We didn't know how good we had it those two days. And the little cups of ice cream. I could go on.

Anyway...I thought it would be fun to do a little side-by-side comparison of our hospital exit vs. the royal one. 

I'm totally fine with making fun of myself. 

So here we go...

I'm cracking myself up over here. 

The fact that she is wearing heels AND stockings {or I guess her legs could be that flawless?!} blows my mind. I was still waddling with my mesh undies and super-sized maxi-pad {sorry for the TMI} and just hoped to make it to the car without leaking. 

Seriously. 

Now I know I didn't have a glam squad in my room doing my hair and make-up but I'm still blown away by this. 

Kudos to Kate, and I hope that she was able to throw on some sweatpants when she got back to the palace. And maybe eat a beef manhattan.

{may insta-life album}

I wasn't sure if I was going to finish May's insta-life album or not {I've been a little busy doodling}, but I pulled it off, and before the end of June! Yay!

Buying some new supplies helped...I picked up this cute paper pad from Lawn Fawn, and found some great clearance deals at Michael's last weekend. Have you seen their Recollections collection? CUTE stuff.

So here it is...this is most definitely my favorite cover so far...

Now let's see if I can get June's album done before the end of July. {fingers crossed}

I haven't even ordered pictures yet! Eeeek!

Do you scrapbook your Instagram photos? 

{hello friday...and a thank you}

You know what I love most about life? 

How unexpected it is. How each day holds the promise and allure of something exciting. 

There are new possibilities around every corner.

This week has been one of those that has surprised me and blown me away in the best way possible. I started out on Monday in a pretty crappy mental state. I was feeling very anxious over lots of things and when that anxiety takes over my self-esteem plummets into a huge old black hole. 

And then something amazing happened. My friend Andrea asked me to create a doodle of her home. I hadn't ever thought about drawing people's homes but right away the idea excited me. I shared a little sneak peek for her on my Instagram...

And the response I received was overwhelming and totally unexpected.

I just wanted to show her a little peek at her doodle, and before I knew it I had orders coming in from other friends and strangers for doodles of their homes. Talk about a total lifting of my spirits. 

Black hole be gone! :)

Here is how her final doodle turned out...

{and you can order one here in my shop}

So I'm sitting here on Friday with a full heart {just about overflowing, really} and a gigantic amount of excitement over this unexpected venture. 

To say that I'm thankful for my circle of social media friends is a HUGE understatement. 

I love each.and.every. one of you!

Linking up with...

Wild & Precious
Lauren Elizabeth

{hello monday}

So I had planned on doing my "hello friday" post as usual but life was just too busy, so I'm saying hello to Monday instead!

Our weekend was one big rollercoaster, filled with lots of fun moments that were equalled with frustrating ones. Can I be honest and say that so far age 5 is REALLY challenging me?

Like "I haven't lost my cool this much since they were infants" challenging?

Boy are they ever asserting their independence these days. I know some of that is good and healthy, but saying no to us at just about every request is enough to turn even more of my hair gray, and I have enough of that stuff for my age! We've been doing a lot more time outs and taking away treats/privileges than we are use to with the boys lately and it isn't any fun. 

If you have gone through this stage with your kiddos, do you have any advice to offer? I'm really not handling it as well as I would like to be. 

But enough of that debbie downer-ness...here are some highlights from our past week...


Those smiles and giggles up there {click to watch the video} are how they have been getting away with so much lately.

We took a little day trip to a mall that is about an hour away {and just happens to have a train the boys can ride}...

$12 well spent...although I don't know how much longer Dan and I will be able to fit with them all in the same car! It was quite a squeeze!

I found some great new sandals and flats on clearance at Target and DSW...

And the sandals are such a perfect match to this TJ Maxx dress I'm wearing today...

And they are SO comfy!

I also did some more doodling of course...

And finished these pendants so I could get them in the shop...

Did you know you can get a free printable of your choice with any purchase today? {wink} Just enter the printable you would like in the notes to seller at check-out!

Hope you're having a wonderful Monday friends!

Linking up with...

Wild & Precious
Lauren Elizabeth

{new product in the shop}

Happy Monday friends! I hope your week is off to a good start!

I'm super excited to announce this morning that I've added some pendants to the shop...

Each one is hand-drawn and colored by me using a mix of watercolor and marker. The one-of-a-kind images are glued to a glass cabochon and placed in either a silver or antique bronze bezel setting. Each pendant also includes an 18" coordinating chain.

And today I'm offering a free printable with any purchase from the shop!

Thanks so much for supporting my creative ventures friends!