February Favorites Link Up

I decided to jump on board with Kelli @ A Deeper Joy and share with you some of my favorites from the month of February. If I can be perfectly honest, some of these items I've been meaning to share with you for a whiiiiile now, I just haven't gotten around to posting about them until now.

FYI: None of these links are affiliate links, however, the Advocare link will take you to our personal distributor page.

Health & Beauty : SYS Skincare Line from Advocare. 

Advocare SYS Skincare Line

Sometime around the middle of last summer, Advocare released it's own line of skincare products. Jordan and I are big Advocare fans for their supplements (I drink a Spark every day!), so I was really intrigued by the SYS skincare line. I waited several months and got some feedback from friends who were using it before I finally took the plunge and ordered a few of the products.

Totally worth it! I use the cleanser and serum every time I wash my face and I can tell a big difference in the overall appearance of my skin. (I would probably have even better results if I was more diligent in my skincare routine) Most notably, my skin tone has completely evened out. Where I used to be red around my nose and cheeks, now those areas are significantly more even.

Baby: Little Green Pouch.

Little Green Pouch

A friend told me about these reusable food pouches and how much she loved using them for her little girl. Considering I made all of Isaac's baby food, I thought this would be perfect to have for Ian when it comes time for him to start with solids. Wait no... scratch that... they are perfect NOW for Isaac to eat from! We were spending $$$$ on applesauce and yogurt pouches, which he eats on a daily basis. Now, I can make applesauce (with whatever variety of apple happens to be on sale), or buy the large tubs of yogurt, fill these bad boys up, and hand them over for an easy breakfast or snack. They're dishwasher and freezer safe too. Easy Easy Easy... and a money saver.

Food: This Recipe

Baked Ravioli

I made this last night for the fam (ok, so that should technically make it a March favorite...) and it was well received by all members! Isaac even asked for seconds! I used leftover spaghetti sauce instead of jarred marinara and added lots of extra cheese between the layers of sauce and pasta. It's a lasagna rip off, but it was SUPER easy. I think it took me maybe 5 minutes to put it together and then it just hangs out in the oven for like 45 minutes. I also made it a little more portion-friendly in a 9x9" pan instead of the 9x13 the recipe calls for and it turned out just fine.

I imagine this could have TONS of different applications as well, with different sauces, different filled pastas, and even adding layers of vegetables or chicken. I have a feeling this will become a regular in the rotation, especially when I have homemade sauce that needs to be used.

Midweek Confessions 10/9

-I bought a new pair of work shoes recently. My old pair was both stinky stinky stinky and had a hole in the toe. Considering I frequently christen my shoes with amniotic fluid, I wasn't willing to pay a lot of money on them. Thanks to RueLaLa for offering me up some adorable tennies for less than $50. I've worn them for a week now and um, well, while they are ridiculouslycomfortable, they already stink like dirty feet. It's no wonder my coworkers put Odor Eaters in my locker. More than a subtle hint.

-I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies for our MNF meet-up and went out on a cra-ay-ay-azy limb and put not one... or two... but THREE different kinds of chocolate chips in the mix. And I may have already eaten nearly a dozen by myself.

-My husband begged me to play on his fantasy football team this season and like a dutiful wife, I may have reluctantly agreed. Well check out who is on the top of the pack after week #5:

• Standings
 
• Schedule
 
• Playoffs
 
• All Time

Rank	Team	W-L-T	Pts For	Pts Agnst	Streak	Waiver	Moves
1	Hello Nurse	4-1-0	1063.92	887.58	W-2	2	4
2	FiredUp	3-2-0	1010.25	879.93	W-2	3	-
3	Blue Knights	3-2-0	912.43	854.73	W-1	5	10
4	X-men	2-3-0	948.04	984.66	W-1	1	10
5	Minister of Defense	2-3-0	947.71	889.33	L-2	7	4
6	saintspone	2-3-0	911.75	1021.32	L-1	4	5
7	MinerNiners	2-3-0	895.75	1026.16	L-1	8	5
8	sgt. slaughter	2-3-0	884.56	1030.70	L-2	6	13

Last standings update: Wed Oct 09 03:51am EDT

(I'm Hello Nurse) (that means I'm in first place) BOOOYA. My husband would tell you that this fantasy football thing has turned me into a maniac. I don't just want to win. I want to obliterate the competition. My grand plan is that if I can absolutely dominate, that he won't ask me to play again next year. This week I play my husband... and I plan to stomp his face in.

Midweek Confessions

It's been a while since I participated in E's midweek confessions, but I've got a real doozy for you this week. Let's spill the beans...

I think i'm over Pioneer Woman.

Go & retrieve your smelling salts, put your head between your knees and take some nice deep breaths. This one might be bigger than the "I don't like Downton Abbey confession." I know it's a total shocker. I used to be such a fan, but times they are a'changin. Nothing catastrophic or Earth-shattering has occurred to drive me away from her blog, it's just been a gradual overall decrease in interest.

I remember reading her blog back in like 2007 with only about a few thousand other people. I was a hipster like that. Back in those days, her confessions were Black Heels to Tractor Wheels (be still my heart),  her recipes were of cinnamon rolls (be still my thighs), and her giveaways were actually win-able.

Nowadays she has a show on food network, a half dozen cookbooks, and a whole team of extra writers to fill her site with content. I find myself wondering when she has time for her family. I dont really connect with her confessions anymore. The most recent recipe posted is for jalapeño quesadillas, which, (I'm sorry because this is going to sound ugly) is no culinary mystery. A recent giveaway garnered over 50,000 entries. I might have a better shot at winning the Pick 3 than winning a Le Creuset courtesy of PW.

All in all, I think the Pioneer Woman has gotten so big that she's no longer relatable to me. I certainly wish her all the best. I'll always treasure my autographed cookbook. Her cinnamon rolls, chicken spaghetti, and apple dumplings will forever be at the forefront of my recipe repertoire... even if her link is no longer in my bookmarks.

The Nursery

It isn't a surprise to me that I haven't featured Isaac's nursery on the blog yet. It's always been in the corners of my brain as a "must-do" blog post. But then, somehow the last 8 months have snuck by because, I've either been waiting on an element for the room, or the carpet isn't vacuumed into perfect carpet triangles, or the room has been occupied by a sleeping baby. Fast forward to today and you can see that I'm still waiting on random items to complete the look of the room and there are no carpet triangles. Regardless, I'm proud to show off my little guy's domain.

A typical morning: playing with toys on the floor. 

Our baby's gender was a surprise at delivery, but that didn't keep me from having a boy's room. I wasn't happy settling on a gender neutral room, so we simply decorated in phases. Prior to the delivery, we picked out furniture, girl bedding, boy bedding and a paint color that would compliment either bedding. The room was painted and the furniture was put up before my due date. Later, we ordered the bedding and remaining room items after we learned our kiddo was indeed a little boy. Since then, the room has come together piece by piece into a space that is both equal parts serene and playful. I wanted something that was sweet but boyish, fun, not too old looking and not too "themed." I'm really pleased with the way things came together despite having an essentially empty, blue room to start with. It hopefully serves as an example that things don't have to be completely in order prior to baby -- besides, he didn't sleep in his room until he was almost 7 weeks old, which gave us plenty of time to tie bumpers and hang curtains.

The Details: Wall Color: Raindrop by Sherwin Williams. Bedding, Pillow, Quilt: Pottery Barn Kids. Crib, Changing Table, Dresser: JC Penney. Glider: Hayneedle. Wall Art: Handmade by Laura. Curtains: Land of nod. Books: Varied. Wall Frames: HomeGoods. Book holder: Gift from a friend (modeled after this). Framed Print: Etsy (frame from Hobby Lobby). Basket: World Market. Blankets: Homemade gifts. Table frame: Mud-pie. Decal: Etsy. Mirror: Kirklands (then spray painted). Letters: Etsy. Baskets: Target. Lamp: Marshall's. 

Link

Blog Button Battle: Round 1

Today marks the start of the Blog Button Battle! I'm in the first round running and pitted against 9 other blogs in a fight to see whose button is the cutest! Take a minute to look through the choices (ahem, and pay particularly close attention to the great looking Blog-O-Hollic button!!!) and put a vote in.

Welcome to Round 1 of the Blog Button Design Battle. This week's participants include:

April from Hearts on Guard
Ashley from Wannabe Green
Kelly from The No Drama Mama
Chels from Red Velvet Rooster
Kayla from Kouponing Kayla
Joanne from Creative Mess
***Hollie from Blog-o-hollic***
Krystal from My Life of Travels and Adventures
Rebecca from Caravan Sonnet
Sara from You.And.Me.Are.We

Vote for your favorite and most eye-catching button by clicking on the thumbnail below. Make sure you're voting solely on eye appeal. You can only vote once, so make it count.


Check back next week for Round 2. If you're interested in participating in Season 2 of the Blog Button Design Battle, make sure you subscribe to Peacoats & Plaid for updates.

Show Me Some Love!

First thing tomorrow morning, I'll be participating in Peacoats & Plaid's Blog Button Design Battle!

It's Round #1, so Blog-O-Hollic's button (look over there >>>) will be pitted against 9 other blog buttons to see which one is cutest and most eye catching. There will be several rounds and in the end, there will be 4 overall winners. Of course, I think my button is pretty fantastic, so I'll be voting for myself.... and YOU have the opportunity to vote also!

First thing tomorrow morning, check back here for your chance to vote for the greatest, most fabulous blog button on the interwebz! (ahem. right here)

H54F

Another week has already flown by, can you believe it?! Here's my week's recap, High Five 4 Friday style:

1. This chocolate is quite possibly my very favorite chocolate ever. I've put away 2 bars since Valentine's day and I seriously think that there is some type of ridiculously addictive illegal substance in this chocolate. Once I open the Willy Wonka-esque gold foil wrapper, it absolutely disappears. Nom Nom Nom Nom. 

2. I've seen this face more often than usual this week. I don't see or feel teeth and he's not showing any symptoms of being sick, so I'm assuming his clingy, fragile, poor-napping, thumb-sucking, fussy demeanor is just a little phase. His spot of choice has been in my arms (or Jordan's), so I've enjoyed the cuddles, learned how to do lots of new things one-handed, and built up some major arm muscles. He's deceptively heavy. We'll see HOW heavy on Monday!

3. I've spent a lot of time this week organizing something big and exciting for the ol' blog next month! Too bad I'm going to be a punk and keep it under wraps for just a bit longer. 

4. Toms were on Zulily!!!!  Toms were on Zulily!!!! Was I the only person who totally took advantage of this? cough-Iordered4pairs-cough. Three of those four were for Isaac (including the pair above!) and the fourth pair were actually for Jordan. 

5. Some jerk hit our car in the parking lot. And didn't leave a note. Boooooo.

MWC

It's that time again. If ever it seemed like I've got it all together, let me show you that I certainly do not. 

What are your midweek confessions? 

-I let my kid watch TV. Sorry American Academy of Pediatrics and your recommendation for no TV until 2 years of age... more like 2 months of age. I'm not saying I park him in front of the TV for the majority of the day, but I'm not above using 30 minutes from his entire day watching a BabyFaith video. I've also taken to showing him Veggie Tales silly songs (thanks Youtube) during tummy time to hopefully prevent tummy-related meltdowns (not always successful).

-It's only Wednesday and so far this week I've made our bed twice, cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed a majority of the house. I consider this a major victory, especially since it'd been a ridiculously long time since I've cleaned our bathroom. Like, so long ago that I couldn't even remember the last time it was done. Gross.

-I'm not "giving up" anything for Lent.

-I'd love to do some new and different things with my blog, but honestly have no idea about graphic design and HTML. Seriously-- not the first thing. I admit to being technology/digital language illiterate. I've been so flattered by emails from folks wanting to advertise and have had to tell them I just have no clue how to go about setting all that up. I'd love to change up my header and look of everything, but don't really want to be tethered to a graphic designer. Aint nobody got time for that. Or money for that. I shamelessly pulled the MC graphic from E's blog. I'd love to know how to put those little graphics together. Anyone else with me on this?

-I don't think I'll ever be into yard work or gardening. My only motivation to keep the front yard somewhat tidy is the fact that I don't want to be "that house." I cringe at the thought of weeding and planting in our beds, but it needs to be done soon.

Midweek Confessions

I'm gonna drop a big bomb on you guys this week. Oh boy, I can see the hate mail now. I guess I should say goodbye to being a widely known and influential blogger slash eventual best selling writer. Maybe my aspirations of being a close, personal blogger friend of Ree Drummond are a little far fetched. Regardless, it's time once again for midweek confessions. So here goes nothing...

I dont get Downton Abbey.

I just dont.

What in the world is so great about it?! I watched one painfully dull episode, which means I gave it a fair chance. Just like I gave Twilight a fair chance by watching the first movie, which was awful. But before I lose even more fans by confessing my absolute disinterest in all things Twilight, lets get back to my original confession. Downton Abbey just doesnt appeal to me at all. My facebook feed blows up over some Downton Abbey plot twist on whatever night it airs, but I just cant jump on board. Unless of course I'm having problems sleeping and need something to help me doze off (A cure for your insomnia, Erika?). When the new season started I even saw grown men look legitimately excited about the show. I keep wondering if I'm missing something, but then I remember that I just dont like it. 

To be fair, I'm not a fan of English period drama movies either. Jane Austen does not float my boat. Mr Darcy poo poo Shmarcy. Accents, corsets, flat affects, and dreary English countryside is not my cup of Earl Grey tea. I think these movies are equally as dry and boring as Downton Abbey. The BBC is at the bottom of my most-watched channels list. These days, HGTV is at the top of that list in case you were wondering. 

Am I the only person who thinks Downton Abbey is a total snooze-fest?