{hello friday}

Hello to beautiful Indiana countryside...

Hello to a new to us coffee table {for $6 at Goodwill!}

Hello to celebrating this guy...

And my hubby of course who hates having his photo taken...but this one is too cute not to share...

That sure feels like a lifetime ago!

Hello to new art for the boys' room!

Hello to this clingy guy...

Hello to 5-year old surprises in my purse...

Hello to a creative mind...

And hello to Instagram video! Say what?! My first one didn't load correctly but it was too cute not to share so here it is...

What are you saying hello to today?

Linking up with...

Wild & Precious Life Lately

{daily doodle}

Have you ever been pulled in a direction that was surprising, or that you wouldn't have thought would attract you?

Have you given up on a dream or a hobby because you felt like you had outgrown it, or others weren't supportive of it? Maybe one person, one time, gave you negative feedback and that was all you needed to fold it up and put it in your pocket, or maybe wad it up and throw it in the trash?

Today I want to encourage you to be open to where you feel your soul and spirit are being pulled. 

Don't think about anything but what makes you happy. 

Don't worry about what other people will think, how they will react, or if they will judge you.

Because YOUR happiness isn't THEIR happiness. 

YOUR dreams are YOURS my dear friends.

So if doodling in a chevron printed notebook with colored sharpies makes your heart happy {that would be me if you weren't sure}...

DO. IT.

NOW.

OK? 

Are you doing it? What are you waiting for?

{L&B Style}

These boys...

I love how different they are.

I love how they will still sometimes pose for cute outfit photos for me. 

I love their imaginations.

In case you're wondering...they are a monkey and a zombie. Duh. ;)

Ben's outfit >>> Kohl's top // Target shorts and shoes
Landon's outfit >>> Target top, shorts and flops

Linking up with...

{L&B's big boy room}

Sorry for the crickets around here friends...but I'm back today with a fun post to start the week!

Yesterday while shopping at my home away from home, Hobby Lobby, I stumbled upon this ADORABLE map canvas and picked it up for the boys' bedroom...

SO cute, right?!

I've been wanting to make over their room and turn it into a big boy room for awhile now and this artwork is the perfect jumping off point. Not to mention the fact that they are still sleeping in toddler beds, so we need to upgrade them to twin beds stat!

Here is a fun little plan I put together with the map art as my inspiration...

The bunk bed, bed tent, rug, lamp and bedding are all from IKEA...convenient, huh? {wink} And I really love the idea of painting a whole wall in their room with chalkboard paint, like my friend Erin did in her sweet son's room. I discovered that you can get colored chalkboard paint so we'll see...could be really fun to use something other than black. And of course I also have some fun DIY artwork ideas swirling around in my head.

I'm not sure how quickly this will come together, but I'm hoping we can do it over the summer, in time for the boys to start kindergarten. I can just picture them sleeping in the bunkbed together under the tent. {sigh}

I found some great ideas on Pinterest too...I might have to buy a big map to include somewhere based on how awesome these rooms are!

Source: boysbedroomideas.org via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: gallery.apartmenttherapy.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Source: easyliving.co.uk via Mandy on Pinterest

And how cute is the map garland?!

Source: etsy.com via Mandy on Pinterest

The boys' room has never been fully decorated since we moved to this house, so I'm really excited about them having a finished space. Stay tuned friends! And if you see any cute ideas to add to my pile please send them my way!

{daily doodle}

Having fun with a pen, words, and color.

{luxuriously soft with white cloud}

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of White Cloud for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Yep friends, you read that title correctly.

Today we're talking about toilet paper. I joked on my Instagram that my blogging life had been fulfilled when a package of free tp showed up on my doorstep. Seriously...this blogger job has all sort of perks. {wink}

The nice folks at White Cloud sent me a package of their new Luxuriously Soft toilet paper to try, and I must admit it is pretty awesome. They asked me to do a little video review so here we go {no worries...I did NOT do this video in the bathroom}...




What do you think? TP commercials in my future? I thought so. ;)

Oh, and if you want to try out this new product from White Cloud, be sure to head on over to Walmart, where it is sold exclusively! Where else can you get a premium quality product without the premium price?

You can also find their products here: Find White Cloud products near you, Like White Cloud on Facebook and Follow White Cloud on Twitter. And make sure you grab this $1.00 off coupon!

Happy TP shopping friends!

{enjoy}

Thinking a bit today about things I enjoy...

Colorful office supplies.
Clouds.
Reading to my boys.
Writing with my favorite pen.
Drinking coffee.
Holding my favorite mug.
Running my hands through the boys' hair.
Looking at pretty images online.
Listening to nature.
Rock collecting.
Coloring.
Decorating.
Scrapbooking.
Taking pictures.
Cutting images out of magazines.
Art journaling.
Eating.
Singing in the car.
Petting my cats.
Movie night.
Trips to Target.
Trips to Hobby Lobby.
Texting with friends.
Making gifts.
Giving gifts.
Owls.
Squirrels.
Orla Kiely.
IKEA.
Doodling.
Being sensitive.
Wearing dresses over leggings.

This is a really fun exercise and also a great practice in gratitude. 

What do you enjoy?

{sunday morning}

Love starting the morning with these faces.

Happy Sunday friends!

{hello friday}

Hello Friday! So happy to see you. {smile}

Hello my big 5 year old boys who rocked their annual check-up...

I know...this it total blackmail material for when they are 15 and have their girlfriend over. 

Hello to a new phone that I'm loooving...

And a new cover on its way to me...an owl of course...

Hello to cleaning out my closet...

You can check out what I'm selling over at @thisgirls_closet!

Hello to enjoying nature...

We have two squirrels that have become "pets" of sorts...the boys named them Bob and Jerry. We've been feeding them all sorts of random snacks. The winners so far have been slider buns, pretzels and apple peels. I kinda sorta love that the boys enjoy the squirrels since I have a bit of an obsession with them. :)

What are you saying hello to today?

Linking up with...

{our boys are five}

Its 12:45 am and I just finished making a super-sized volcano out of posterboard and construction paper for the boys' birthday party tomorrow. Last night was spent cutting dinosaur parts out of paper plates.

These are the really fun parts of motherhood for me. Crafting is of course my passion, but when I can use it to make happy memories for my boys...well...that is the best thing ever.

They had a fun birthday on Thursday. It was their last day of preschool as well so it was a big day. Dan and I took dinosaur cupcakes to their class and took them out for lunch after class {they, of course, chose happy meals.}

Our boys are five.