When shopping in my local Anthro, I always make sure to head over to the section where they keep all of the online orders. This is what I call return heaven. All of the cute pieces that are either online only and not sold in stores, or items that aren't carried in any of my nearby stores. I love it. It's such a unique mix of fun dresses and blouses.
On this particular occasion I was sans tiny, crazy humans. You know I took my damn time and tried everything on. Funny thing was, I saw this dress and didn't think I would like it, but the bottom hem is what caught my eye. I love the hell out of a full and flouncy dress. Side-note, this is not completely sheer or see through, unless wearing black underwear and taking a photo in the sunlight. AKA, don't be like me.
Frame sweater (TTS, sleeves are not overwhelming, super cute fit, very soft and flattering!) \\ Denim \\ Sam Edelman suede boots (TTS) Very comfortable and great quality! $149 now, $224 after sale
It's here! Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale is a kick ass deal where we get all brand new Fall product at a discount. So, when Fall hits and you see all of these beautiful pieces, you'll kick yourself in the ass for not saving money ahead of time. I use the Anniversary sale to purchase high quality designer pieces that I would otherwise not have been able to purchase full price.
Currently, this is Early Access. You may purchase from the sale if you have a preexisting debit card or credit card. You may sign up for a Credit card now to enter the sale. Open access to the public begins on 7/21 and that is also when items will be restocked.
Anyways, I decided that I would pull garments that can all be easily mixed and matched with each other. More bang for your buck, baby! Aside from great designer deals, there are many below $100 steals.
We had such an incredible weekend stay-cation at the Waldorf Astoria, Boca Raton Resort. Our first night, we got in a little late because Chris was not able to get off work. That didn't slow us down one bit. We arrived to a stunning lobby, and the entrance to the resort is just as beautiful with the palm tree lined drive up to the 'boca pink' resort. I mean come on, how many resorts can pull off pink like this? Not many, I'll go ahead and tell you that.
Entering the lobby, you immediately feel comfortable and at-home. Chris did a little research and found some fun history about the resort. The architecture is breathtaking, and we have Addison Mizner to thank for that. The high standard of service dates back to the very beginning when the resort was originally The Cloister Inn.
Walking into our room, there was a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers, which immediately reminded us of what we read about the entity Apports who is thought to mysteriously bring guests fresh flowers to their room. Addisons spirit is said to keep away unpleasant spirits that would scare the guests. [[We felt nothing but comfort and welcoming vibes here, regardless of your belief in spirits.]]
Where to eat:
We had breakfast in Palm Court each morning and the buffet was filled with delicious food, and an egg making station that created killer omelets, fresh and made to order. You can dine at any of the restaurants on property for lunch, but we chose to eat at the poolside cabana. As for dinner, I can't even tell you how incredible Lucca was! We ended up eating there every night. It was THAT good. Nothing is previously frozen, so it is all cooked fresh and can easily be tailored to your liking. The flavors were out of this world. I'm not even kidding! Just the caprese salad alone was mouth watering. (I got it both nights!! ha ha!)
If you like sushi, try Morimoto. Serendipity is right across from Morimoto, and was such a fun experience for a sweet tooth craving. I had never actually tried the famous frozen hot chocolate. Madelyn can agree it didn't disappoint.
I have family members that regularly enjoy the resort and my aunt loves the Monkey Bar. Since we had the kids, we decided not to interrupt any of the adults relaxing. Although the entire resort is totally family friendly and makes everyone feel welcome. We just like to be extra respectful of other guests!
Activities:
Okay, there is so much to do here. The resort itself has a pool and surf simulator on property. There was live music every night we were there, and a lot of nightlife. You can view the full list of amenities and activities here.
We took the water taxi over to the Beach Club, and spent our first full day poolside. If you really want that relaxation, rent a pool cabana. I thought it was one of the coolest experiences we have had to be able to play in the pool, relax on our private chairs, walk down to the beach, and then be able to come back into the cabana and cool off. There is a restroom and shower, TV, and furniture to relax and enjoy the food.
The particular pool we were at was so perfect for families, because it was a walk-in design similar to the shore of the beach.
We loved the guacamole, chicken fingers, fish tacos and ladies... the Froze' is a must. You can't taste the alcohol, and it's not too sweet. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. ha ha!
Our last morning, we spent at the pool on property at the resort, which overlooks the intracoastal waterway with all of the beautiful yachts.
Unwind and relax at the Spa -
You can experience the ritual bath, facials, massages, and plenty more to choose from. The spa has its very own relaxing pool area where you can also have lunch.
Nearby destinations -
A quick drive down the street and you'll arrive at Mizner Park. This is where we have gone for plenty of pictures in the past. There are a lot of great shops and restaurants. I love Kendra Scott, Sugarboo & Co, Janie & Jack, Lord & Taylor, and Elegant Child children's boutique is also right down the street.
There are beautiful stores inside the Boca Resort incase you do not want to venture off grounds. I popped into the cutest children's boutique, and found many stores for myself including Michelle Farmer.
I hope I haven't overwhelmed you all with this post, we just had such an amazing time here that I felt I really needed to do a recap post. Especially because so many of you were writing me on Instagram for more info about our stay. This post is not sponsored, but our trip to the Boca Resort was. All thoughts and opinions are always my own and very honest. In the past, I have mentioned a terrible experience at a hotel in New York, so please trust that I am always real with you!
Thank you so much for reading and following along. I hope you all have a fun and safe holiday!!
Can you believe I'm sitting at my desk, ALL ALONE? Yep, the kids are happily enjoying a snack, and quietly doing so. I decided to get them outside early right after a big breakfast in hopes to wear Kai out. A cheap blow up pool, sandbox, water table, and plasma cars did him in real nice. He's been so great this morning. Praise Jesus, some of y'all are prayer warriors I tell you.
Yesterday's Insta-story was just what I needed. Sometimes I hold it all in for so long, and what really needs to happen is for me to let it out. Truly, I had no idea I would receive the response I did. Totally blew me away! I have so many messages from all of you that I can't scroll down far enough to get to the very beginning. Really, I can't thank all of you enough for reaching out. From the amazing advice I got, to the moms that are going through the same exact thing. It's helpful knowing you're not alone.
I'm not the kind of mom that pretends her children are perfect, flawless and better than everyone else's child. I acknowledge their weakness and strengths. If something is wrong, I'm going to fix it and get help. I may show the sweet photos of them, because truly who wants to see a photo of a child throwing a tantrum? Honestly, I don't think grabbing my phone would be my first reaction to that anyways. Regardless, I'm saying that I'm a real person behind my blog filled with pretty photos. We have a real life with real struggles that a lot of other people go through.
I actually met such a cool, down to earth mom at Madelyn's ballet class last week. We were talking and I mentioned how Madelyn is in the 3:00 class instead of 4:00 pm because her skill level is not like others her age. The look she gave me, like "did you really just say that?" was the kind of look that we perhaps bonded on. If that makes sense? I'm totally cool with being straight up with everything in my life. No judgement here. I mean, truly who has time for that? I sure as hell don't.
I'm blessed beyond belief that I get to pay our bills from this blog, but that doesn't mean what I say or do here is a sham or just a ploy to make money. I have always and will always only share what I truly believe in. Maybe that's why I get so bummed out when I have a sponsored Instagram post that totally flops and my engagement is really low. It's like as soon as someone sees is sponsored, they scroll right past it. When a brands recognizes my hard work and wants to partner with me, thats similar to getting praise or a raise at a "typical" job. Just because I don't work in an office, and instead I create content here for a living, doesn't mean as a blogger I do not deserve opportunities and recognition for hard work.
I guess I wanted you all as my readers, my friends, to understand me a little more. That your support wether I'm asking for parenting advice, just talking and ranting about everyday life, or a sponsored campaign I worked on with a brand, means SO much to me.
I originally started working on this post yesterday, but then Kai decided to not only waltz up and knock my coffee over while giving me the evil eye, spilling a fresh cup all over the desk, but he also turned the power cord off and shut down the computer. Ah, the lovely moments of being a stay at home mom, am I right?
Well, let's talk about those lovely moments, and what my life is really like being a stay at home mom. You see photos, you make an assumption, you judge, you wonder. I get it! It's human nature.
It started out like any typical day. We go downstairs and I get the kids their breakfast, and then proceed to make coffee and eat whatever I can before they start begging for that too. For the next hour I race around the house jumping from getting myself dressed and ready, to getting both kids ready, packing the diaper bag, turning off lights.. you know, cleaning up the mess from breakfast and what was left behind from the night before. Madelyn can't find her shoes, and Kai can't fit his chubby ass feet into his anymore. I guess we are adding that to the to-do list today.
I buckle Kai in, and next is Madelyn. Open the garage door and we are finally off. Wait, I left my purse with my wallet inside. Let's try that again. This time we make it to our destination. Pretzels thrown all over the car. I decided Starbucks drive-thru would be a better decision than walking with a hot coffee through Target. I chug my latte like a champ, then notice a creepy van circling the empty parking lot, and a man staring us down. My anxiety could be playing tricks on me, but I won't chance it and we decide to stay in the car until the van leaves.
We're in, and Kai has already houdinied out of the cart seat belt, and is now standing like fucking Mufasa on Pride Rock. Madelyn has decided to stand now, too and keeps flailing over whenever I turn the cart. (Terrible mother!) I have already gone from each side of the store, twice. I can't think straight and have totally forgotten the bread crumbs for dinner. Fuck it, were already in line. It's so quiet and empty, but the employees are half asleep and the line is barely moving.
Then, out of the darkness comes a red shirted hero coming to save me. The whole store heard us, but it was one woman who decided to do something about it. She waves and directs me over to an empty line she was opening up just for me. I'm turning into the line and Mario Andretti comes flying in to cut me off, I gave the look that I could kill her with my snickers bar, but the lovely employee stepped in to rescue me, yet again. Andretti finally backs off and returns to her motor scooter cart to pace up and down the aisles again.
At this point, Kai has gotten so loud that my face is bright red, and I'm sweating profusely to the point that you can see the sweat from my fingers on the counter. To which Madelyn replies "Mommy, why are you wet there? Why are your fingers in water?" Cute, Maddy. Real cute.
I keep telling myself that It's almost over, we'll bolt out that door in just a few seconds. The card reader is taking years off my life, and Kai is now climbing out of the cart. I mean, he's dangling half in, half out... head first. I get my wet ass receipt and crumple it in my purse, and toss Kai back in.
We made it to the car and Kai is arching his back, refusing to let me strap him into his car seat. I think the whole store has followed us out to watch from the sidelines at this point. They've got fucking snacks and whatnot. I black out and trow all of the groceries into the back seat with the kids, wrestle Kai into his seat and jump in. The next thing I know we've got Chic Fil A and are almost home. Dear Jesus, what just happened? I must have kicked into survival mode at some point.
We're home, and I'm ready for a nap. Except it's only 3:30 and Chris doesn't get home until 7:30.
You see, the days are long, and exhausting. Sometimes it seems as if time has stopped, but life keeps moving. Watching the clock as the hours drag by, waiting for 7:30 to get here so Chris can be home to save me, heck save us. Then there are days that are the complete opposite and it flies by, and were laughing and having fun. Running errands just the three of us, and everything is finally going smoothly. No tantrums, no nap-resisting. Just happy and peaceful babies. Those are the days that make all of the hard ones worth it.
