Five on Friday - Favorites + a Link-Up Announcement

Well, this week has been worlds better than last week, you guys.  Never mind that I am battling yet another cold and we are still having trouble with Olivia’s sleeping habits… I’m just thankful that my babies are healthy and Brian is back and things haven’t been quite as hectic.  We have a pretty low-key weekend on deck, and I’m excited about that as well.

O N E – A New Toy

Have you guys seen the new letter board craze?!  It’s so strange to me that these dinosaurs are making a comeback, but I have to say – I love them so much!  I couldn’t get my hands on one fast enough!  And believe me, when I started looking for one right after Christmas they were impossible to find, so good luck if you’re searching for one, too.  I ordered mine from Shop General Goods on Etsy, and after three long weeks of waiting, mine arrived this week.  I’m completely obsessed and I already have so many ideas for it!  I’ll be overgramming it, I’m sure… I even gave it its own hashtag.  Lol.  #ObsessedMuch

T W O – A New Bag

Remember how I talked about these shoes last week at Target?  Well, Target’s handbag selection is on point for spring right now as well.  I have been using the same bag for a couple of years now and it is starting to show signs of wear and tear, (not to mention the fact that I’m now needing something slightly larger) so I have been keeping my eyes open for something new.  In case you guys weren’t readers when I first started my blog, I did a post documenting my quest to find the perfect gold handbag back in 2015, and I mentioned in that post that I’m extremely picky about bags.  I have a lot of requirements when looking for one, and I was thrilled when I found the absolute perfect one at Target.  And it’s soooo pretty.

I like to keep all of my things for my purse in smaller bags so I don’t have anything loose in there.  I currently have a planner, a little bag to hold my pens for my planner, a wallet, a cosmetic bag, a coupon wallet, and a bag that holds miscellaneous stuff such as medicine (I’m pretty much a walking pharmacy), my inhaler, Band-Aids (you can never have too many of those when you have littles!), hand wipes, hand lotion, and a plethora of other items.  I also like to have enough room to have the option of carrying my gold S'well bottle with me as well, so bottom line, I need something roomy.  This bag is big enough to hold everything comfortably, but it’s also not too big.  I don’t like carrying anything the size of a tote, so it was nice to find something that was in between a handbag and a tote. 

It has two small inner pockets, one large inner zipper pocket, and not one, but two outer zipper pockets… perfect for storing items that I might need at a moment’s notice, like my phone or keys.  The very best part, though?  The whole bag zips closed!  I’ve found that most larger bags tend to have button enclosures (and then you have to worry about everything falling out when your kid knocks if off of the booth at a restaurant – never happened, by the way.  Lol.), so I was pleased to see that this one zips closed.  Can I get an amen!

The quality of the bag is excellent and it comes in brown, black, and blue so you have your choice of color.  And for this price?  Yes, please.

Have I sold you yet?  

If not, there's also this one, this one, and this one.  More reasons to keep on loving Target!

T H R E E – More Pictures from the Ball

We went to a ball on Saturday and they hired a professional photographer to take pictures at the event.  The photos are now available, so I thought that I would share just a few more with you…

F O U R – Olivia’s Birthday Shirt

The time has come to plan for Olivia’s third birthday!  HOW?! 

We don’t throw a huge party every year for the kids (only for their first!), but we do always still try to make birthdays extra special.  We usually pick a theme (Jacob’s were – ABCs, cars, construction, superheroes, and Star Wars and Olivia’s were pink and gold and Frozen) and then we run with it.  I always have a birthday shirt and matching cakes made for them, and then I do a matching chalkboard update for their current age.  B and I always take their actual birthdays off from work and keep them out of school so they can be an only child for the entire day, and then we do small celebrations with each of our families on the weekends prior to or following their big day. 

This year we are going to go with Belle from Beauty and the Beast since she is Olivia’s favorite right now.  I am hopefully going to order her birthday shirt today, and I’m loving each of these below from Etsy.  If I choose the one with pink, I will probably have them change the pink fabric to red.  Which shirt do you ladies like better?  I’m torn! 

F I V E – New Link-Up Announcement

And finally, one of my goals for this year was to either host or co-host a link-up, and I’m so excited to announce that it is coming true sooner than later!  Lizzie from This Happy Life, Sierra from Beautifully Candid, Danielle from Sparkles and Lattes, Emily from A Little Bit of Emily, and I have teamed up to bring you the Girl Chat link-up!  We will be posting on the second Thursday of every month and we hope that you will join us!  The list of prompts is below, so go ahead and schedule these dates in your blog planner!

Happy weekend, everyone!  

*Linking up with A Liz Adventures and Carolina Charm for Five on Friday, A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites,  September Farm and The Farmer's Wife for Oh Hey, Friday, Meet @ the Barre for Friday Favorites, and Cup of Tea for High Five for Friday.

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