My Favorite Summer Looks // Both from Vestique

Today makes me laugh a bit.  I'm taking the role of a fashion blogger for a day and while, yes, I look totally awkward - these outfits are adorable ya'll and I had to share!  I've talked about Vestique some before and since then they have only grown!  They have five stores currently on top of their online boutique and a sixth store coming soon to Charleston, SC!  The owners went to college with me and are the absolute sweetest so I truly love watching them succeed and follow their passions.  These two outfits below were in my latest order from Vestique and I'm pretty sure they will be in constant rotation all summer long.  I mean the patterns?!?  And the prices!  In love on all accounts...  I'm also sharing my new favorite purse that I scored from GroopDealz (if yall haven't heard of them you have to go check them out HERE!).

Look 1:

Romper: not available anymore but similar here, here and here and i kinda need this one as well

Bracelet/Cuff: old but similar here, here and here

Shoes: old from Target but similar here

Shoes: old Lilly Pulitzer but this season version here

Look 2:

Palazzo Pants: here

Top: old Lilly Pulitzer but similar here and here

Shoes: old Lilly Pulitzer but this season version here

Purse:  Snagged via GroopDealz here

Vestique

shop  //  blog

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Life Lately ** AKA 1,000 pictures of my baby lately!

Life lately has been fun.  The weather has been amazing here and I can't seem to keep my family indoors.  Which is perfect if ya ask me.  And the blooms around these parts?!  Just stunning.  So, thanks to my IPhone, here are some photos of life lately with the lopatkas.

Brunch with some besties!

auntie kris and auntie ashe

G and aunt kris acting cray

trying to get G to focus for a pic with aunt mere and me

the girls

and then some more life stuff.....

i love a good magnolia tree yall

G is loving my new monogrammed Iphone!  thanks to GroopDealz!!

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Keri from Living in this Season: Making Baby Food!

Y'all I am so excited to introduce one of my newest and most favorite blog friends - Keri from Living in This Season!  She's here to talk about making some baby food - so enjoy!

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Hello! I am so excited to be sharing today and hope to encourage you all. My life is currently filled with lots of lists and preparation as I am expecting baby number 3 at the end of the month! With a 5 year old and 2 year old boys I am now trying to remember all my baby knowledge and prepare for... a little girl! I am still in shock over this as I was convinced we would have all boys but I am extremely excited as well. Blogging is my little corner of my world where I can share my heart, things I am passionate about, struggling with, or just having fun with. At Living In This Season, I hope to encourage others, no matter what the season of life we are in, to live currently in that season.... embracing the moments.   

Thinking of babies and all things baby has made me think about things I want to do differently and things that worked and I want to do again. One thing that worked was making my own baby food. I know, I know I have lost some of you know.... making baby food, who has time for that?! Trust me I thought the same thing. With my oldest son, I did not tackle making my own baby food. The thought of it seemed overwhelming (although honestly looking back what a perfect time to tackle this when I have only one child!)... Then I was given this book when I was pregnant with my 2nd: Cooking Light First Foods.

 

 I have loved this book! It really was helpful and took all the fear out of making your own baby food. There is information on the different stages of baby food, food safety, storing, etc. And bonus: I realized I could use what I already had: blender, ice cube trays, and freezer bags. My tips for making your own baby food: - Don't let it overwhelm you! You do not have to go crazy and make batches and batches of baby food to freeze. In the beginning I would make up maybe a batch of peas and sweet potatoes on a Sunday for the week. But a lot of the time, I would just blend the veggie/fruit we were eating for dinner. - Keep it simple. You do not need to go out and buy a fancy machine... blender works fine. Ice cube trays work perfectly for freezing. Freezer bags work great for storage. If you are going out, I found small glass or plastic containers with kids work to tote the food around in. - Go local. In the summer I would get a lot of our produce from the farmer's market. It was pretty easy using some of this to blend up for baby food. I am really hoping this year to have success with our garden to be able to use some of that for this baby (this is very optimistic thinking because I do NOT have a greenthumb). - Give yourself Grace. Yes, I loved making my own baby food and it ended up working for me... but remember it is not the end of the world if your child eats store bought baby food. My oldest ate it and is fine! So please do not read this and feel bad if you do use store baby food. Or if you try this out and think, this just is not for me, that is okay. Accept the stage you are in and what you want to take on and what you want to set aside. Yes, I love tackling baby food... cloth diapers though, are another story. :) - Make it fun! It can be insanely messy feeding a little one... but relax and enjoy it! Can't you just tell in my son's face his pure excitement (joking he looks a little amused maybe)...

So I encourage my fellow mamas of babies.. maybe you have always wondered about making your own baby food... try it out! Even better, grab a friend who has a child near your child's age, and tackle this new adventure together. With this book and Pinterest at your fingertips there is plenty of help for you to tackle this baby food making. I promise it is way easier than I ever imagined!

You can Follow Keri Here:

Blog  //  Facebook  //  Instagram  //  Pinterest

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Bicentennial Park and Farmer's Market, Nashville Part 2!

And now the rest of the pictures from our lovely afternoon at Bicentennial Park and Farmer's Market in Nashville!

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Bicentennial Park and Farmer's Market, Nashville Part 1

While visiting Nashville, we decided to spend an afternoon walking over to Bicentennial Park and Farmer's Market.  We had lunch and frolicked, so thankful for the amazing weather!  And yall, I fell in love.  I loved the open area where folk picnicked, caught some rays and walked.  And the farmer's market was so cute!  And delicious looking!  I love a good farmer's market ya know? Too bad I carried on my luggage and couldn't exactly bring back a bunch of tomato.  Oh well, maybe next time..

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