comin' at ya with another red hot sale! this one is the macy's black friday in july sale + includes a ton of free people items at a steal of a price (hint, hint, everyone's favorite bra is included!) along with some must have beauty items + a quality shoe selection (marc fisher, steve madden, sam edelman, + more!). here are some of my favorites - you can click on any of the items to be taken directly to

next week brings us two of my favorite holidays, my birthday + the 4th of july so i wanted to share some 4th of July outfit ideas with you today!




1. light blue sweater tank - this is a pink lily boutique find + the color is absolutely darling! at just $34 this is a great 4th of july find!


2. coral + blue romper - this is another pink lily boutique find + is absolutely gorgeous in color + perfect for the 4th of july!


3. belted wide leg jumpsuit - this beauty is an amazon find, is less than $30 + available on amazon prime!


4. red dress - this dress is stunning + a perfect find for a 4th of july bbq!


5. navy stars tank - this tank is navy with little white stars - how perfect would this be for the 4th?!


6. dotted strappy cami - another perfect cami + loft is having a major sale!


7. star strappy cami - the same cami above, but in white with little blue stars!


8. red + blue floral top - this top would look absolutely beautiful against white shorts for the 4th of july!


9. ruffle sleeve tank - this gorgeous find is under $15 + the red, white + blue stripes are perfect for the 4th!


let me know what you think of these finds for the 4th of july + i'd love to hear what you have planned for the day!

i love amazon as much as the next girl so i'm going to be sharing monthly picks with you! please comment on this post to let me know if there is anything you've been eyeing that you'd like me to try to share with you as well!



1. summer dress - this dress is so cute, under $25 + comes in 12 colors! this is so versatile + can be worn to a summer wedding or with sandals for a more casual look. i would recommend going with your normal size because of the drawstring and the adjustable straps!


2. white canvas sneakers - these are so on trend. if you've been considering grabbing a pair you may want to snag this pair! they are under $30 + have almost 5 stars on amazon out of 280 reviews!


3. kimono/beach cover-up - this beautiful kimono is almost 5 stars with close to 500 reviews, which is incredible! it is under $25 + is absolutely gorgeous in person. i'm currently waiting for mine to come in, but am excited to share the beautiful colors with you once it's here because pictures absolutely do not do this justice.


4. circle buckle belt - another piece that is very on trend, very high quality, + extremely affordable. this belt is a designer look-a-like without being considered a dupe. it is under $20 + has close to 5 star reviews on amazon


5. knot front cami - how many times in one post can i say "on trend" ? but, seriously, this cami is so cute, comes in a ton of colors, is under $20, + very highly rated. definitely a must-have piece for summer!


6. pearl hair clips - this trend is super popular this season + here you can get a pack of 8 for under $10. i feel like this is a great way to try them out!


7. 90 degree leggings - i love lululemon as much as the next girl, but those are definitely a splurge for me. i was very happy to find this pair for under $30! there are close to 6k reviews on these on amazon + they have a 4 star rating!


8. oversized sunglasses - these sunglasses are a dupe for the beautiful pair by karen walker at a fraction of the price! if you love those, but don't love the $200 price tag, you can grab these for under $15!


9. maxi dress - if you buy anything from this post, let it be this dress. this dress is so popular + trust me when i tell you that there is a reason why! it is the most comfortable dress i own + comes in a ton of colors. they even have a long sleeve version! i recommend going with your normal size for a bit of a looser fit or you can size down for it to be a little more fitted at the top.


10. studded flip flops - these are absolutely darling + are a steal! they are a dupe for a very expensive designer version +  they come in many colors + they are under $20.


11. paper bag pants - another very highly rated item that is super affordable + on trend! these pants are under $30 + have 4.5 stars out of 600 reviews!


12. acrylic drop hoop earrings - these are so cute + very lightweight! again, they are very on trend + they are under $10 + come in a bunch of colors!

happy summer! every year in may and june we have what southern californians lovingly refer to as may gray + june gloom, where we hardly get any sun during the day, but then the gray skies will burn off + the sun will make an appearance in the mid to late afternoon. all that to say, i'm glad it's finally summer, but it certainly doesn't feel like here yet.

i would by no means consider myself a morning person. i have always been more of a night owl + in the mornings would always procrastinate getting out of bed, only to have to throw myself together + out the door to make it to my first meeting of the day on time. 

over the past few months, i have started a new routine + have noticed that those first 10 minutes after waking up are really the most influential. they actually set the tone of your entire day + i've learned the importance of being intentional with my routine + making sure my mind + body are happy from the start. 

• no snooze. this one was the hardest for me to give up. even if i couldn't go back to sleep, i loved to just lay there on my phone + scroll through email + social media. now, i choose a time to wake up + tell myself that the snooze button isn't even an option. it took a little getting used to, but now i look forward to jumping out of bed in the morning to get on with the rest of my routine. 
• stretch. i've always been a nighttime stretcher + i definitely still stretch at night, but have incorporated a morning stretch as well. stretching first thing in the morning has several health benefits. including muscle + joint flexibility, stress relief + improved circulation. 
• water + light. i always prepare my lemon water the night before. doing this helps to eliminate any day of excuses. right after i have a quick stretch, i head to the sunroom to soak up some of the daylight that comes through the windows, while i drink my first 18 ounces of water. about 60 percent of our body is water + after sleeping for 7 to 8 hours without water, your parched body is basically begging to be replenished!
• breakfast. i've never been a breakfast person, but breakfast helps to kick start your metabolism, helping you burn calories through the day.  i do tend to keep things simple at breakfast, because if you think about it, you are actually breaking your fast + don't want to shock your body with anything high in sugar. a healthy, well balanced breakfast is key. 
• music. music makes me feel good + charges me up in the morning. it depends on the day, but i will put on whatever i am in the mood for that morning while i get ready. getting ready always comes immediately after breakfast + always with music!
• read. i read for both pleasure + personal development. my morning reading is always for personal development. i find that when i read something positive + encouraging, i feel better prepared for my day. i may even be reading something that morning that helps me to better tackle my day. 
• morning pages. this is just a brain dump of everything i'm thinking about. this could be personal thoughts, things i have to do that day, feelings that i'm having. anything. i just want to get it out of my head + onto paper so that I can focus on tackling the things that matter.
  
• phone. you'll notice that up until this point in the routine, nothing mentioned pulling out my phone. now that i've had my stretch, my sunlight, water, breakfast, gotten ready + learned something new, it's okay to pull out my phone to check emails and/or social media. 

i have noticed such a difference in my productivity since implementing this routine. i'd love to learn some things that help you get your day started, drop me a comment + let me know what helps you set your day up for success!

since we are all new here, i'm going to take a moment to catch you up.  my husband + i got married in november of 2013 on the most beautiful day.  we decided then that we weren't really going to try to get pregnant, but that we weren't going to prevent it either.  fast forward to 2016 + there was still no baby on the horizon.  that was when we decided to take matters into our own hands + start actually trying to get pregnant. 

i did it all, temping, charting, symptom tracking, you name it + still nothing.  about a year later is when i began to allow this to become part of my identity. i felt like something must be wrong with me + i decided to go get tested in the spring of 2018 + all came back "normal."  the thing is, i'm in my mid thirties + trying to get pregnant, so the doctor said it's "normal" for a "woman my age" to not get pregnant right away.  but, i wasn't expecting to get pregnant "right away," we had been not preventing for 5 years + trying for 2.  enter self-doubt, anger with my body, anger with god + i started to question whether being a mother was really something that god had planned out for me or if this was just a pipe dream that i should give up on.  a great friend of mine reminded me that the enemy wouldn't work so hard to attack something that god wasn't going to have victory over + in that moment, the trajectory of this journey changed. 

we decided to try iui to see if that could be the extra push we needed to make it happen.  lab test after lab test, procedure after procedure + we were finally ready to try it in the fall of 2018.  our first procedure failed + then our second procedure was cancelled because my body responded too well to the clomid and produced too many eggs.  that last round of clomid really messed with my body + after talking with my husband, we agreed to take a time out, a pause from the treatments + to reconvene in the first part of 2019. 

here we are, in the first part of 2019 + we still don't know where we are heading, but i've learned a lot along the way. 

• pregnancy announcements don't have to be hard. it's okay to feel sad, but try to remember that you don't know that woman's journey to become pregnant.  and remember to keep seeking god + trusting him to give you the desires of your heart, but only if those are his desires too.  we so often can view a 'yes' to someone else as a 'no' to ourselves.  as if our god is so finite that he can only grant one miracle at a time.
• i can't control everything. i'm a control freak. there, i said it. in life, i've always been able to get what i wanted by 'playing my cards right' or working really hard. but this was different, no matter what i did or didn't do, nothing seemed to help towards getting me pregnant. i gave up processed foods, i gave up wine, i started taking multi-vitamins. nothing mattered. i felt helpless + completely out of control.  the reality is, i am not in control + the sooner i can realize that, the easier of a time i will have. honestly, i know that i shouldn't want something that isn't part of god's perfect will for my life anyway + i need to learn to trust his timing better.
• how strong my husband is. through all the ups + downs of these appointments, hormones, injections, painful procedures, my husband has literally seen me at my worst + still loved me with his best.   
• it's okay to take a break.  it doesn't mean we've given up or that we think this can't happen.  we are back in the place where we aren't preventing + at first that was really hard for me because i felt like i'd given up on my dream to become a mother.  but, i'm practicing trusting god more + trusting in his perfect timing + his perfect plan.  

the prenatals i like are by rainbowlite + they are linked below.