week in pictures #instafriday

This has been quite the week, guys! Alea got sick Monday night. During dinner she told me her tummy hurt, so I figured she had to go #2. I got her on the potty and when nothing happened, brought her back to the dinner table to have her try and eat again. That's what the little bit she had to eat... came right back up. Poor baby girl. She was just miserable, but a little after her bed time she was bouncing off the walls, acting like the Alea Lou we're used to. I was still a little nervous, but thankfully she woke up as cheerful as ever on Tuesday morning.

Thank goodness, because I spent Tuesday preparing us for my first day of school on Wednesday. Which went seamlessly. Alea loved her new babysitter (which I totally expected) and is doing really great over there. No accidents, she's napping, and eating great. I couldn't ask for more!

This week I've also been keeping busy filling orders for my shop & sending out pretty little headbands. Isn't that rainbow one to die for? And I certainly don't mind getting an adorable owl hat in the mail from Sweet December Hats for miss Alea. Look for a review soon!

It's really truly been a great week. I'm feeling so, so blessed & overjoyed. How was your week?

the diabetes rap

Before our discussion of diabetes today, we were shown this video and it's too hilarious not to share! I honestly haven't laughed that hard in a long time! It may just be nursing humor, but if you're in need of a good laugh, I'd definitely watch this if I were you.

Happy Thursday!

back to school jitters

Today I go back to school. Today I continue to work towards my dream of becoming a nurse. But I'm not having the easiest time with it all. I'm sad to have to leave my baby girl 3 days a week again. I'm sad that I'm going to be stressed beyond belief and that it's likely going to affect my family as well. I'm sad that my house is going to completely fall apart and I'll be lucky if I get the laundry done each week.









But I'm happy. I'm happy because I have the opportunity to work towards my dreams. I'm happy because I have a wonderful baby sitter that I know will take care of Alea as if she was her own daughter. And I'm so thankful that I can work towards a degree that will completely change my family's life & lifestyle. 3 more semesters to go, guys.

I can do this.

meet Karly from Three in Three

Lately I've been featuring a lot of awesome ladies, that also happen to be my friends. Like the kind of friends I text with, vox with, email back and forth with and truly love. Karly from Three in Three is no exception to that, at all. This girl is blunt, hilarious, and a total sweetheart. She's always a text message away and I've had a great time getting to know her this past year.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------A word from Karly:
I prefer margaritas and sitting in the shade to pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. But when I'm not making a mockery of cheesy lyrics, I can usually be found getting my daily exercise in the form of chasing my three girls around the house. Between rounds you'll see me working on orders for my shop, making food, eating said food and writing for my blog. Somewhere in there is hubs time and sleep, but you'll have to look very hard to find it! I wouldn't have it any other way.

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Karly also has an adorable design shop where she sells these gorgeous prints. My favorite happens to be this one and this one, too!

Karly's favorite reads:
1. IROCKSOWHAT
2. Royal Daughter Designs
3. The Shine Project
-----------------------------------------------------------------------Now don't be shy! Go show Karly lots & lots of love!

we have an orange kitchen: world market

You may not know this, but we have an orange kitchen. When we bought our house, I couldn't get over my love of beige, in every possible shade. I wanted neutral, ordinary, and something that would go with everything. Cory had other plans, however. Like he wooed me and made me fall in love with him, he also made fall in love with burnt orange. The perfect autumn orange. That burst of color we slathered all over our kitchen walls has become my sanctuary & a little reminder that sometimes it's okay to break out of your comfort zone and try a little something new.

In this bright & cheerful kitchen however, are some very drab and very used dishware, pots & pans, and kitchen utensils. We've been so blessed to be handed down all of these items from family members, but they're quite depressing to look at amongst the sea of orange and bright colors. So now, I'm looking for some fun new additions and replacements for our favorite space from World Market.

1. chive double-handled soup crocks
2. salt & pepper set
3. gilded garden napkins
4. fall-colored silicone spoons
5. amber collection dinnerware
6. aqua tea kettle

Aren't these wonderful? I'm loving all the bright, but subdued fall colors. The tea kettle is a must have for those brisk fall days where nothing sounds better than a hot cup of tea. That soup kettle is an absolute must for Cory's fabulous chicken tortilla soup that I've been dying for lately & don't even get me started on those mustard yellow dishes. Oh and those salt and pepper shakers? Yeah, we just really need new ones. But what better place to look than World Market, right?

Speaking of World Market, they're have this fabulous sweepstakes going on right now:
This sweepstakes runs from August 18th to September 21st. You can also share this sweepstakes with up to 5 of your Facebook friends to gain up to 5 additional bonus entries. Enter daily to better your chances of winning!

You can also follow World Market here: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, & Google+.

This post is part of a social shopper marketing campaign with Pollinate Media Group, but all opinions stated above are my own.

Oh hey Friday & an ANNOUNCEMENT!

I am honestly SHOCKED that it's Friday already. And a little sad that my last full week of summer vacation is coming to a close. Okay, very sad. But it's been a great week, so I can't be too upset. We ventured to Osseo, WI for Cory's baseball tournament & had a blast... even though they lost their first game. I made sure to wear flip-flops in our out-dated hotel room, but Cory & Alea had a great time in the jacuzzi tub we had in our room. A sign next to the tub clearly stated the use of bubble bath was not allowed, so of course Cory, being the rebel he is, had to create as many bubbles as he could. Alea can't attend a baseball game without a ring pop or two. It's like her version of cracker jacks or something. I got horribly burnt because I refuse to admit that I'm fair skinned #whitegirlproblems. (Yes, I just used a hashtag in my blog post, what of it.) Alea also broke a record and took three baths in one day at the hotel, mainly out of boredom but also because ring pops are messy and seem to attract every speck of dirt in a 10 mile radius.

I've been making headbands you guys. Like lots of headbands. If you follow me on twitter or instagram (@_sunnysprinkles) you know this because I've completed bombarded your feeds with pictures of fabric, cute packaging & the latest headband colors I've been working on. Sorry I'm not sorry. I'm just really excited about this new endeavor and so excited to share it with all of you.

Announcement Time:
Yesterday I officially opened up my shop. You should probably check it out & let me know what you think! I'm really proud of myself. I secretly made a new years resolution to open up my own shop, but never thought that it would actually become a reality. And it has! So thankful to each and everyone of you who has already bought a headband from me and encouraged me to take this next step. Thank you so much!

Alea and I also crossed one thing off our summer bucket list yesterday and had ice cream-- not for dinner-- but for lunch! It was such a special treat & I loved spending that special time with her on a little date to DQ before I have to go back to school next Wednesday! And you see that book she's looking at above? I got her a little "back-to-school" present & she is just loving it. It's the Crayola ABC's Dry Erase book & Alea drew a little r, a big N, and a little t all by herself yesterday! I'm so proud!

Also, I'm still accepting September sponsors. I even added an in-post ad option for maximum exposure and an XL ad space. I'd be so happy to have you. Check out my rates here.

How was your week? What are your weekend plans?

One more thing, there's a great giveaway going on over at here from Messy Dirty Hair that I'd love to win!

& this giveaway too over here at Making Sense of Cents!

Feature: Rellas Bellas

Today's feature is a very, very exciting one for me. It's for a really sweet friend of mine who I talk to almost everyday via Voxer and hangout weekly with via Google Hangout. She's a spit-fire of a gal and will tell you exactly what's on her mind, and she's one of those friends who will totally let ya vent when you need to! And her blog and shop have the cutest slogan of all: spunk, sass & a hint of class. Yeah, I kind of love it.

A word from Jen:

I love coffee, cupcakes and accessories. I am a proud navy wife and mama to the cutest weiner dog fur baby.

Every day when I get dressed I don’t feel like I can leave the house until I accessorize. Some people can’t leave the house without make-up, for me is jewelry. An outfit isn’t complete until I’ve added the final touches. Some days I like to match my jewelry to my outfit while others days I like it to be a bold contrast to what I am wearing. Some days the juxtaposition of the sparkly necklaces with the casual tee just makes me giddy.

I also love to add elements of the unexpected.

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Jen's favorite reads:
1. A Beautiful Mess
2. Sandy a la Mode
3. Sew Caroline

My favorite from her shop:

& because Jen's so sweet, she's offering each one of you a 15% off your order from her shop.
Just use the code: sunnysprinkles15 Told ya she was a sweetie!

Now go show Jen lots & lots of love!