Friday Links and Loves

TGIF! Although that phrase has a little bit more meaning during the school year, we are all always excited about the weekend! More time with Daddy, fun plans with friends, and perhaps best of all, since it IS summer, there aren't many chores to be done this weekend because I've been home all week to do them!  (Remind me, when school starts back, that it takes working ALL. DAY. and ALL. WEEK. to stay caught up on laundry, dishes, cleaning, and keeping things organized and put away.  THIS is why I am never "caught up" during the school year, leading to frustration for this OCD, attempting-not-to-be-a-perfectionist Mama!)

Here are a few of the things I've been inspired by or fallen in love with this week:

LINKS:

The Decorating Truths You Won't See on HGTV by The Nester.  I have been reading her book for a couple of months now and I'm totally inspired by her mantra, "It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect to Be Beautiful." That's #idhtbptbb if you're a hash-tagger, but it takes me forever to figure it out each time I try to use it!  I love this quote from her post:

"Decorating is not an Olympic sport. There’s no big hurry and no prize for “finishing” first.  ENJOY the process...Me, and Lysa TerKeurst and Joanna Gains and Alison and you? We are all in this together. Living it out, creating a home, letting it change and grow and serve our family. Amen."

Speaking of Joanna Gaines, (who, by the way, must clearly be more my BFF than The Nester's since I know that there is an "e" in her last name and Myquillin doesn't.  Win.) she is both a link AND a love this week.  I am loving her new show, Fixer Upper, on HGTV.  She and her husband Chip are real, love each other, and aren't shy about sharing their faith.  It doesn't hurt that she is my age, has 4 children under the age of 8, and has impeccable decorating taste, so I can totally identify (HA!).  I have started following her blog and this post made me laugh, cry, and shout Amen.  All of my workin' mommy friends need to read it.  I'm so thankful that my God is THE gap-filler.

LOVES:

This necklace from Lisa Leonard Designs.  My friend Anna and I love this hymn.

31 Bits.  Another jewelry company with a heart and a purpose.  Love their stuff!

Editor's note:  I am not sure why I keep posting links to necklaces.  I *rarely* wear them, especially in summer in Alabama, because I feel like they choke me.  I think it is all the fault of The Pleated Poppy and her What I Wore Wednesday series, where she demonstrates her uncanny ability to rock a t-shirt and holey jeans and make it look fashionable with a big chunky necklace.  Maybe someday I will possess this talent...or copy an outfit of hers exactly.  If you notice, kindly pretend you don't.

Mrs. Meyer's Countertop Spray.  I love this stuff--it makes the kitchen smell so fresh and clean.  It's on my grocery list for the week.

My Erin Condren Life Planner.  Yes, even in summer I am STILL using my planner faithfully, and I love it.  She just came out with beautiful new designs and 18-month planners that are perfect for the new school year.  If you are interested, use my link to shop and we'll both be happy!

That's it!  Have a great weekend...and if you have time, take a minute to let me know what YOU are loving these days!

Friday Links and Loves

Inspired by my friend Courtney, here are my Friday links and loves for this week:

Links:

I am that Mom. I'm not a military mom, but this post is real mommyhood and it cracks me up every time I read it.  But my favorite is the line at the end..."And above all I believe that moms should stop judging other moms. It's exhausting."  Word.

This adoption video.  Watch it once, watch it twice, cry every time.  Magic.

The Collect app.  This one is a link and a love.  I have been using this app since early February to record a caption for one photo each day.  You simply decide on the style of the card that you want, set up your albums, and then create!  It even reminds you each day around 6pm to "collect" a photo for the day.  At the end of the month, you export your cards to your photo album, upload, and order.  Super simple!  At the end of March, I uploaded my photos to Persnickety Prints, placed my order, and a few days later my 3x4 photo cards arrived.  Yesterday, my Handbook album from Studio Calico finally arrived, along with my page protectors, and I took about 10 minutes to put it all together.

I am IN. LOVE.  This scrapbooker doesn't have time for much scrapbooking these days, and although I miss sitting down with lots of fun stuff and creating, this works for ME...where I am...right now.  It is definitely something I can see myself keeping up with, and I love knowing that this album is ready right now for my kiddos to look through.  Win.

Loves:

Noonday Collection.  I love their mission, I love their heart, I love their blog, I love their sense of style.  And I specifically love these earrings (perfect for tshirts and comfy clothes in the summer!):

And this necklace:

And this necklace:

And doggone it, even this necklace:

Ambassador opportunity, perhaps?

Seven by Jen Hatmaker.  Because God has been messing me up about this topic for a while (yes, even after I just posted over $200 worth of jewelry loves!  I posted, not purchased!  He has His work cut out for Him with this child, I'm afraid!).

Sevenly.  Because who couldn't use a cute t-shirt that just so happens to help out a different cause each week?  

Starbucks K-cups.  There are only two weeks of school left, and these babies are going to get me through.

Ok...so I'm not sure I did this right, because I'm thinking that the lines between my links and loves are very blurry, but I hope you have fun with it anyway!