stella & dot is off the ground!

since getting all set up to be a stella & dot stylist, i have had lots of thoughts of 'this is the greatest thing ever!'... 'what have i gotten myself into?'... 'can i really do this?'... 'gosh this jewelry is seriously amazing!'.

it's been a whirlwind, but i have officially had my first styling session and an open house, so it's safe to say that we are off the ground! i've got a handful of parties on the books and i'm optimistic of what's to come! thought i'd share a little bit of my setup!!

i am slowly building up my display, so i did my best with what i have!

how seriously gorgeous is this necklace??? the jolie is one of my favs! and i love it next to the script!

dakota necklace draped over a cake plate and some fab stackable rings.

ob. sessed. with this bag. literally! the print, the surplus of pockets. amazing!

since grant had to jump ship with holden for the day, i had no photographer! ha! here's my selfie with my display!

thanks so much to everyone that came out to support me, check out s&d and i look forward to spreading the stella & dot name throughout lafayette!!

h54f

hey hey! it's friday! i have been sick w some sort of bug for the last 36 hrs, so I'm hoping today will turn out to be better than yesterday! grant & i are shooting a wedding tomorrow, so here's to hoping i'm 100% by then! i am linking up w lauren to bring you my top 5 highlights of the week!

5. i love grabbing lunch w a friend! it doesn't sound like it should be as dear to me, but it is! it's just good to catch up and really talk, y'know?? plus, it gets h & i out of the house and gives us a reason to eat out! i didn't snap a pic of my fiend, julie, and i, but i snapped this pic of me in the car. i was channeling my inner hippie or something... 

4. as i've said before, i don't tend to cook well. it's not that i can't cook anything, but my success list is kind of slim and i'm not quick to try something way out of the box! i had a coupon a few weeks back for a pack of the 'fresh takes' by kraft. similar concept to 'shake & bake'. i did the southwestern three cheese one and it was great! grant even liked it! this particular one was maybe a littttle spicier than we prefer, but good nonetheless! and easy!!! :)

3. since i registered w stella & dot, I've received several different shipments! and let me tell you... those days are good days!! i am so excited to start styling and showing off this amazing product! did you miss something? check out this post! 

2. a couple nights ago, some sweet friends of ours joined us for a hillsong concert! i think this was our 4th concert! we are longtime fans of theirs and when i saw a groupon for half off, we jumped on it!!

-rockin my new stella & dot 'jolie' necklace! ob. sessed!-

-strolling through downtown indy-

-what better way to end the night than cheesecake factory??-

1. top of my list this week is father's day! i have been blessed w a great dad, father-in-law and daddy for holden. it wa great to celebrate these men in my life! we went to church and then had brunch at this ballroom place. it was delicious! then, we all took naps. it was a beautiful thing!! 

-broke out my new $12 target dress! target win!!-

hope y'all had a great week!!!

lock love wednesday!

hi friends!! today, i'm linking up with christy at tala hair life blog to bring you lock love wednesday! i can honestly say that i am purposefully not doing LLW every week because i know that's too much of a commitment! so, my goal is maybe once or twice a month! it is a fun little thing to do and keeps me from letting my hair be an afterthought!

like everyone, i'm really into braids right now. i went through a big phase a couple years ago where i braided the heck out of my bangs. like everyday. you know what I'm talking about?! bangs in a french braid and then the rest of the hair down, curled, pony tail, etc! lately, though, i'm liking putting the braid in other areas (like middle of head as opposed to right up front). it's more subtle, but still adds interest!

here i kinda twisted my bangs back and did a small french braid just behind my twisted bangs. i then pinned my hair half up to ensure good volume & stuck in a clear pony tail holder. got lots of compliments and it only took a couple more min than a regular pony!

my other go-to style these days is soft curls. i use my cheap conair curling iron! to get this look, i pin the top half up in a clip or something and then curl the bottom section (typically split the top and bottom in 4 sections each). super easy, but way prettier than my usual straight & boring look!

isn't it fun to be intentional about doing your hair? for me, it helps keep me out of the frumpy, stay-at-home mom rut!! 

my new job!!!!

i prayed and prayed and prayed for my sweet holden long before he was ever here. and half of those prayers, if not more, were for me to have the privilege to stay home with him. i have always wanted to be a stay-at-home mama for as long as i can remember. since he was born, i have been able to stay home and have loved it.

recently, i've kind of wanted to start doing a little something for me. you know... something to call my own. grant & i work together to photograph weddings for our business, grant thompson photography. however, over the past several months, we both are being led away from the wedding photography industry. so, since i won't be assisting him as much in the future, i thought it'd be fun to do a little something of my own on the side. 

i've heard the name stella & dot a few different times over the last few years, shopped around on their website a bit and that was kind of it. but, within the last couple weeks, i really felt like the lord opened my eyes to look into becoming a stella & dot stylist. i read a ton of info on their website, watched lots of videos and just knew this was the right thing for me!!

so... as of last week, i am officially a stella & dot stylist! and i. can't. wait. to get started!!!! the jewelry is seriously so on point w the latest trends and half of the entire line is under $50! it's a great company and, most importantly, will allow me to still stay home w holden and have a flexible schedule. 

i have nightmares of becoming the friend that everyone avoids because you're afraid i'll push my sales pitch on you. but... i don't foresee that being a problem because stella & dot just speaks for itself! trust me!!! i mean, how great is that scarf?? :)

my first shipment of products will arrive today and i'm having a hard time not watching the door waiting for the ups truck! fab jewelry has been a fun hobby of mine for years now, so it only makes sense that i can now style others and make a little bit of money along the way! 

you can always purchase a great new statement necklace or handbag on my website, but let's be honest... it's way more fun to get things for free!! 

i'm currently booking parties for the next few months and looking for hostesses that are excited to have a reason to get their girls together, play around w some fun jewelry and get some free stuff along the way! these parties are not like your typical jewelry party where someone stands up and uses a flip chart to tell you the history of blah blah blah and then pressures you to have your own party! no history, no flip chart, no pressure! promise! the rewards are amazing and who wouldn't want a reason to have some girls over for some chips & salsa?? low key is the name of my game! haha! 

i'm so excited about this new venture and hope you'll jump on the bandwagon w me! if you live near indiana and want to host a party, drop me a line and we will make it happen! or if you might be interested in doing what i'm doing,iI'd love to get you connected! this company is to die for and i feel blessed that god opened this door for me!!

h54f!

some weeks are jam packed and some aren't. this week, i'd say, was the perfect balance! i was busy mon, tues AND wed night, so grant was on holden duty and i got some much-needed time with girls outside my house! ptl! today, my dear mil has offered to take holden for a few hours, so we'll see where the day takes me! as usual, i'm linking up w lauren to bring you my high 5 for friday (aka the top highlights of my week)!!

5. a couple months ago, i ordered a bunch of instagram pics. mainly, i just wanted some of the pics to have since i use my iphone WAY more than any other camera. well, they were all sitting in a box just waaaaaiting for some lovin. i had seen of people hanging the prints in a heart shape, so i just decided randomly to make it happen! i absolutely love it, BUT... i think our walls are just a liiiittle bit too glossy and the scotch tape isn't holding too well. i'll need to come up w a different solution if i want to keep them up there!

4. the weather here has been so summery lately. slightly too hot for my taste, but still a dream considered to florida! since it's been nice out, i've made a point to get outside w holden at least once a day. some days it's a walk, others it's some time in the backyard playing in the sand & water table. we got together w a friend on monday, too, and the boys had a blast together!

3. now that we have our bedroom furniture (finally!), i am in full mode of redoing everything! unfortunately, i'm realizing the budget is going to take a major hit if i do everything all right away. i am over our random red curtains, though, so i'm in the business of lightening things up! it's hard to pick something that i'll like all year round. right now, all stores have bright and springy curtains, which i love, but will i like that in december next to christmas decorations, y'know?? i'm currently leaning towards the yellow with turquoise accents of some sorts! i'll keep ya posted!!

2. my hub and i had a little ice cream date earlier this week at our fav, pink walrus. i've written about our obsession before, so it's nothing new! love this man and love ice cream!

1. it would so not be right if i put any other moment of the week above booking flights for my bff's wedding!!!! she's getting hitched in fl in oct and we are pumped about making a trip down for the nuptials (obviously), but also just to reconnect w all our florida fam!! it shall be 10 days of bliss if i have anything to say about it!! :) oh, and we just so happened to get our flights for $99 each way because i saw a schnazzy little ad on facebook advertising a sale. guess all those ads aren't a waste of time afterall!

link up w lauren & i to share your fav moments of the week!! happy weekend, friends!

my day-to-day makeup routine!

i've had a lot of people ask me recently what makeup products i use and i've actually been stopped in target twice to find out what kind of mascara i use. so... i thought it'd be fun to show off my pretty regular day-to-day makeup routine!

so, first things first, my fav products:

from left to right- garnier fructise bb cream, bare minerals powder in fairly light, ulta blush in afternoon delight, bare minerals eyelid primer, urban decay naked2 eyeshadows, lancôme hypnose drama mascara in excessive black & nars lipstick in vesuvio.

on the days that i go for a really basic look (i.e. i may not even leave the house), i'll opt for just some bb cream and mascara. the bb cream has replaced my usual oil of olay moisturizer because it has a moisturizing component. but, most of the time, i try to stick to a few more products! my entire makeup routine takes prob 5-8 min depending on how many times little man interrupts me! :)

on the days that i have evening plans or am wanting to look a little more put together, i wear the above products. i don't always wear lipstick, but it's become much more usual here lately. love how it brightens up the face so quickly!!

i cannot reccomend the naked2 eyeshadow palette enough! the main colors i use are ydk for lid, busted for crease, half baked for inner eye & busted or blackout for lower liner. i have recently started using busted as my eyebrow color, too, and i prefer the look 100 times more than the pencil i was using!

being a stay-at-home mama, it's easy to get lazy with how i dress or do my hair. how do you look 'polished' day-to-day without spending a lot of time?

note: i have absolutely no formal training with makeup application and i would be the LAST person on earth to say that i know what i'm doing! i'm just a girl that likes to play around with makeup & happen to love professional products! :)

getting out of a mommy funk.

i wish that i didn't ever have 'those days' as a mom. i wish i was always excited to see holden after a nap that should have been longer. that i never got frustrated (like today & yesterday) when all my dearest lil buddy wants to eat are crackers. but, the fact of the matter is, i am not a perfect mom. i sure try to keep it together, but right now my house looks like toys r us threw up all over it and it's 1pm and i haven't made it to the shower yet. and if i'm being honest... that's more normal than i wish to admit sometimes.

i haven't ever done this before and i'm not quite sure why. BUT, when holden started acting like a crazy this morning at 930am and seemed ready for a nap... i was desperate. he's 19 mos, only takes one nap and he usually goes down between noon and two. so, when he was acting tired an hour after he woke up, i decided to try something new.

grant & i are big spotify fans, so i opened my app and just searched 'kids worship' and clicked on the first album: great worship songs for kids 5'. perfect. i put it on and i wish i could explain how quickly not only MY mood got, but holden's, too! you'd think a crazy switch got flipped. i was singing along

and he thought that was funny (hey, i never claimed to be a good singer! ha). we've typically had the tv on the mornings flipping back and forth from the today show and sprout. i hope to incorporate more kids worship into our day to day! 

i highly recommend throwing on some worship music in times of mommy desperation! i do think holden liked the children's voices more than just regular adults and it wasn't at all annoying as i thought it probably would be! let me know if you've found a 'mommy funk' remedy that i should try! we are all in this together!

h54f!!

hey y'all! it's friday (woop woop) and i am excited for the weekend! this week has straight up flown by. and, to be honest, it's been a bit of a hard week. just one of those weeks... i'll spare you the emotional details of my life, but even amidst what has been a somewhat down week, god still blesses and i am alive to tell about said blessings! today, i'm linking up with lauren to bring you the top 5 highlights of my week!

5. speaking of hard weeks... don't you just love it when god speaks in the midst of a challenge? i sure do. and he spoke so clearly to me yesterday through my brand new devotional. like i literally hadn't even got it out of the shipping box. i pulled it out and the day's devotional was 100% for me. so, for that reason alone, i highly recommend 'jesus calling' by sarah young. check it out!!

4. hillsong has been one of grant & i's favorite band for awhile now. we saw them in concert several times while we lived in florida and always enjoyed the show (well... except for that one time i went at like 8 mos pregnant w ridiculously swollen feet...). we just bought tickets (1/2 off on groupon!!!!) to see them in a couple weeks & i'm already excited! it's a date night with our really good friends AND it's gonna be a great concert! win-win!!

3. i've been a major slacker with keeping my nails looking fresh. probably has something to do with a crazy toddler and laziness. it just takes time and energy. after running with a little guy all day, my energy is slim in the evening. yesterday, i decided to take a chunk of nap time to git r done. this is 'mint candy apple' by essie. shoes & nails too much??? hahaha!

2. this happens to be my 50th post and i noticed the other day that this little blog of mine has had 2,500 page views! say what???? when i saw that, i could barely believe it. i don't pay too much attention to these numbers cause i don't want the pressure and want to enjoy this online diary. i write for me, but i'd be lying if i didn't say that i write for you, too. i honestly don't know who a lot of those 2500 views would have been, so say hello next time you stop by, k?? :) here's to many more...

1. a friend of mine just listed their house for sale and her boys were outgrowing a lot of outdoor toys that she reallllly didn't want to move to their next house. she casually asked if holden would like their police car cozy coupe or a sand & water table. i couldn't say yes quick enough!!! i finally got around to setting up the table in our backyard last night and holden seriously had such a blast with it! hopefully, this will provide hours of entertainment this summer!

did you have a good week? or maybe not the best week in the world (like me)?! link up with lauren & i and find your top 5 moments!!

my very first lock love wednesday!

my dear friend, christy, over at tala hair life blog does a cute little thing called LOCK LOVE WEDNESDAY each week. since christy is a hairstylist, she uses LLW as a weekly challenge to get creative w her locks. cute, huh?? so... i thought I'd give it a try, but i kind of failed miserably. i mean, let's face it... i'm a stay at home mama and my days consist of playing with cars, going to the park and keeping the house. my hair is not a top priority, to say the least!

i did manage to do somethin a little funky with my hair a couple times, but forgot to take a pic twice. classic! 

here is my do for Sunday church. i just did two small braids and wrapped them up and over from ear to ear. got lots of compliments! i didn't get a pic of the back, but it was just pinned half up. 

is it easy to get creative w your hair?? where do you find inspiration to keep it fresh?? 

mine.

now that holden is just shy of 19 months old, i am quickly realizing just how rotten he is. it's not his fault... and he is no different than any other toddler. he was born into a world full of sin and knows no different at this point. besides his toddler tantrums and orneryness, he brings such joy to my life. but... there is still such a sinful nature under it all.

this sinful nature has become so clear to me lately as holden's favorite word has gone from 'doggy' and 'mama' to 'MINE'. everything is his. it's the whole toddler mindset of 'what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine'. 

and it's scary. it's scary that if i, as his mother, don't guide him in the correct way, he may never lose the selfish, 'everything is mine' mindset. that's a lot of pressure in case you were wondering!

as a 26 year old mom and wife, i find it ridiculous how i still find myself falling into a selfish rut. not in the selfish way of 'that's mine' per se, but more so in the mode of 'i don't feel like it' or 'i don't have time for that'. i'm sure i'm not alone in this, but it's an embarrassing rut to acknowledge you've fallen into. and it's honestly a hard rut to get out of.

a quote i heard one time is 'if you want to find out how selfish you are, get married. if you want to really find out how selfish you are, have a baby.' not gonna lie... i always thought this referred to the fact that once you have a baby, this little person will take a lot of time, energy & freedom. and it probably is referring to that, but it must also refer to the fact that, when you least expect it, your almost-19 month son is going to show you how selfish he is and then you'll realize your own selfishness. oy. 

so... now that i'm painfully aware of this rut and selfishness that has taken a firm root in my heart, i have to do something about it. i just ordered a new bible study that i can't wait to start. 'unglued' by lysa terkeurst seems like it'll be such a good tool to help pluck me out of this unexpected rut. because, really, emotions that i don't control seem to be the root of this selfishness. i'll let ya know how the study goes...