24th of July

We get an extra dose of Summer Celebration here in Utah with the 24th of July Pioneer Days. Nothing says Summer like small town parades. They have quickly become a favorite of Maggie's. She gives her undivided attention and an extra special applause to the fire engines and the high school marching band. 

I would give all the sour patch watermelons in the world to have her sit this still at home. 

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to snap a photo of the Jazzy Couch!

After the Parade we headed over the park for fun and games, and some Giddy Up time. She was a little unsure at first but she warmed up pretty quick. I can't get enough of her squinty little nose when she really smiles. 

We opted out of joining the rest of the family for fireworks, since Maggie goes to bed so early. When I heard them all going off I decided to wake her up and let her experience them. Living on the side of a mountain has its perks. We had a view of the entire valley, and about 50 different fireworks displays. She loved the fireworks, but she was more fascinated by the stars. For someone who goes to bed before the sun goes down, she hasn't had many opportunities to see them. 

I love to have someone remind me of the little things. 

Geez these Summer sunsets never get old. Too bad it takes a bunch of forest fires to make them so beautiful. 

Happy Weekend. 

Red White and Blue

Do you ever find yourself living by a motto during times of life that might be difficult, hectic, depressing, etc? Lately I have found myself pondering our life situations, and continually found myself saying "Just Be Happy". No matter how hard or how busy things got, we truly have so much to Be Happy about. Since I have been out of School for the Summer, I have been surrounding myself with the things that make me especially Happy. Time with family, splashing at the pool, and my favorite Decorating.

When we first bought our house, it was our plan to be here for 5-6 years. Well we just passed our 5 year mark and are realizing that we will be here for longer than planned....Life, Right?!

Anyway, for that reason I really have been wanting to change up a few things and really put our stamp on this house and make it what I have wanted all along. Because we have an open floor plan, we just have the living/family room and in case you didn't know, one year olds have a LOT of toys. I was running out of ideas and places to store the things that get used on a daily basis. I decided to make a trip to our local HomeGoods in Salt Lake and found the perfect tufted storage bench, along with many, many other things. I should probably add that to the list of stores I should be banned from. Everything else just kind of fell into place. 

After finding my ottoman, I hit up Hobby Lobby and found these fun accessories, to liven up our space a bit. I spray painted a couple of existing items I had, and added in my 4th of July decor and presto. I am loving the Anthropologie inspired metal "W". It's a great piece that you can see right from the front door. 

I was growing tired of my old 4th of July wreath I had made when we first moved in. I wanted something smaller and simpler. That's my life right now, trying to simplify everything. Kids require you to do that sometimes. I hit my keyboard running, searching Pinterest for Ideas and found this felt project. Extremely time consuming, but easy and, OH SO PERFECT on my front door. 

 I still love my Americana Bunting that I made a few years back. All the Fabrics I found at Hobby Lobby. Sewed them into double sided rectangular pieces, they gathered them into the bunting and sewed them onto a a long piece of fabric to hang them from. 

I seriously get so many compliments on it. 

Again simplicity is key for me. Simple patriotic scrapbook paper, cut into triangles with pinking shears (I didn't even measure the triangles to make sure they were the same size, I just eyeballed them), then I ran them through my sewing machine to stitch them together. 

If you haven't taken advantage of the free patriotic printable I posted, you can download it here. 

I love the 4th of July. So many things in my life have happened in July, got engaged, got married, blessed Maggie, got my gallbladder out. It really is a tie between this and Christmas for my favorite Holiday. 

So I hope you enjoyed a little tour of my Red, White and Blue decor. I am so excited for upcoming posts, so keep checking back and PLEASE FOLLOW ME if you aren't already. Followers mean giveaways and giveaways mean free stuff for you! 

Happy Weekend, I hope you are all enjoying your Summer. 

XO: Kelli

This is not a HomeGoods or Hobby Lobby sponsored post. All opinions expressed are my own. 

Friday Freebie

I have fallen in love with Subway art to decorate with for the Holidays. It's so easy and I can just store them all in the same frame all year and just rotate them around. It makes for a lot less clutter. I saw this 4th of July printable floating around on Pinterest, so I decided to make my own and share it with all of you. 

Click Here to download it (11x14)

Here is a little throwback of my Mag-Pie last year on the 4th of July. She was exactly 2 months old and starting to get her little rolls. Holy Smokes time flies!

Happy Friday Everyone. Enjoy the first official Summer Weekend of 2014

-Kelli

Patriotic Summer

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14

My favorite time is year is fast approaching and that means it's time to bring on those Red, White and Blue fashions. Starting the first weekend in June, Utah Valley is flooded with City Festivals, Carnivals, Parades and Fireworks, all the way to the beginning of August. 4th of July Fashions are my absolute favorite for Myself and for Kids. Take a peek at some of these fun pieces I have found to help show your Patriotism this summer as you celebrate in style. 

XO

Kelli

Holiday Weekend

Swimsuit: Baby Gap (no longer available) Similar: Here

Happy Memorial Day. 

We kept things low key. 

Popsicles with the Cousins on Sunday, and the official opening of our splash pads on Monday. 

Maggie was so thrilled. She has learned what swimming suits mean. So when I asked which of her half a dozen swim suits she wanted to wear, she started shaking and giggling with excitement. 

SUMMER IS HERE!