Sweet Surprises

Don't you just love little gifts. From out of the blue? Like they've fallen from the sky? Come on, you know you do!! And I do too!!

You see, I just love to get mail!! With all my heart. :) Lizzie, Audrey, and I have a little routine. Every day, just after Sesame Street, we head outside. And wait for the mailman. Yes, we love mail that much!! My parents and in-laws are amazing, and send our kids little cards and trinkets all the time. Just because. :) For me, well, it's a fun thing that my cousin and I do. Especially now, that she lives 1000s of miles away.

We wait for the mail. And gleefully go through it. It's been such a long time, since our mail, actually has been put in our mailbox. My cousin not only send me letters, and little treats, she sends things to my kiddos too!

But today was extra special!! I found a package on our doorstep. Can you tell, I wasn't expecting it? Because I had taken Lizzie and Audrey to the library. When we got home, the last thing I expected, was a package. A package from ModCloth. With this beauty!!



Yes, my cousin knows me well! What a beautiful gift to receive!! Just in time, for Spring. Thank you Lola!! You truly are the best cousin, anyone could ask for! I just can't wait, to go on a date with my hubs. I have something extra cute to wear. :) ~Maggie

Love Mom :)

My Mom is pretty amazing! She's got to be, the coolest Mom ever! And the Best Grandma!! My Mom did a great job, of getting me hooked on shopping. And my love of all things vintage. :) I've been thrifting, since I was a wee one!

My Mom also knows, that I love to wear dresses! I was most definitely a "dress girl" when I was young. For a few years there, I fell out of love with dresses. That's when they became "special occasion" only items. I was in middle school, or high school. Thank goodness, I fell back in love!! And my Mom noticed. :)

Every once in a while, my Mom surprises me with a new dress. Usually some gem, that she's found while thrifting. She's even begun this, with my girls. Recently, she picked up the cutest dresses, on a thrifting trip. Today, she surprised me with this beauty!



I hadn't even seen this dress yet. I don't know where I've been! But I've gotten my Mom hooked on ModCloth too! And from what my Dad tells me, my Mom is now spending a lot of time on ModCloth's website. :)

Don't you just love this dress? It's the perfect color of green. And that daisy detail, is just lovely! I can't wait to wear my new dress. The best part is, my Mom wrapped it so beautifully. Wrote me the most heartfelt note. And left it on our doorstop. She must have come over, really early in the morning. It was the best way to start my day! Thank you Mom! I love you too! ~Maggie

Oh Dove!!

Dove you're killing me!! Every Easter, I look forward to your delicious truffle eggs. Every year!! I'm the lady that's buying 10 packs. Hoarding them away. Traveling across town. Just for these delicious little chocolate eggs. I can't find my favorite Easter candy anywhere!! And I've searched. The entire Easter sections at stores, just depress me. Where are my eggs? Dove can you help a girl out? ~Maggie

I Bow You One!!

I am, and always will be, a big fan of high heels! But we need to be realistic around these parts. I chase after 4 kiddos, every day!! High heels, just aren't going to do it. Not when we're running through puddles, collecting bugs, or crawling on the grass.

I had a few more gift cards to spend. And I'm trying to get ready for warmer weather. It's that weird part of the year. We're between seasons. Some days, we're bundled up in sweaters, and winter coats. The next, we're running around in shorts and sandals.

Well, I went poking around ModCloth again. And I found these beauties! I just adore these colorful bows. A little bit of fun. That I just bought. :)



My hubs thinks I'm nuts. I get up early, to make him breakfast. And get our kids up, ready, and fed, before school. But here I am, buying shoes. Yawning. And wishing I could go back to bed. At least for another 20 minutes! ~Maggie

Happy Love Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! In our house, we call it "Love Day!!" Jake, Bri, and I spent lots of time getting their Valentine's in order. I'd never seen 2 more excited kiddos, than this morning. They had their special treats in 1 hand, as they got on the bus. Handing the bus driver, a special little treat!! They really do, have an amazing bus driver. :)

It was a traditional love day in our home. Breakfast in mommy and daddy's bed. Little treats for our 4 sweets!! I'm so glad they enjoyed their little gifts. Daddy bought everyone a little something. And Mommy made everyone a little something.

Tonight, it's a fun night with our kiddos. An inside picnic. With all our kiddos' favorite food. Yup, pizza is on the menu!! So are cupcakes. Or as Jake and Bri remember, "Cuppy Cakes." See Lola, you made some very special memories with my kiddos!!

My hubs and I, are waiting until this weekend to celebrate. We're going out on a little date night, Friday night!! :) Yes, Mommy and Daddy have been looking forward to this. Love is definitely in the air. At least in our home. And we hope, that all of you, have a very Happy Valentine's Day!! ~Maggie

I Heart Heels

I have a problem. I enjoy ModCloth a little too much! Just ask my hubs. :) Literally, 3 or 4 times a week, I go to their website, and drool over their clothes, shoes, and accessories. It usually happens late at night. After the kiddos go to bed. When my hubs and I, are getting ready or a sweet snack. And some TV time. Here are 3 pairs of shoes, that I'm eyeing right now!



These Cinnamon Scones Heels, are perfection! A great neutral shoe. That could be paired with so many great outfits! Oh the possibilities!!



How about the Petunia Heel? This would be a fun and dressy shoe, to add to my closet! I love the shape of the heel!! The cutouts are wonderful. :)



My favorite pair has to be these Raise Your High-Gloss Heels! Oh my goodness!! I'd honestly LOVE to wear these. I might just have to pull out my last few gift cards, from Christmas. :) I could picture these with a nice, ladylike black dress. A fun white dress in the Summer. A pencil skirt would be lovely too! Yes, I have to buy these shoes! ~Maggie

It's Still Christmas Around Here!!

I don't know about you, but around here, it's still Christmas!! Our decorations are still up. :) I'm going with the thought process, is the church still has Christmas decorations up, so do we. Doesn't that sound logical? Well, it's just a nice way, to keep such fun and happy decorations up!!

I also have a few gift cards, to spend. Some of my friends and family, know all about my love of ModCloth. And gifted me, some gift cards. I've had trouble, trying to figure out what to buy! I have so many favorites! But tonight, I bit the bullet. And ordered this gorgeous number!



What do you think? I honestly, couldn't decide. For days, I've sat at the computer, trying to make a choice. I feel like my kiddos, when they're standing in the toy aisle! :) But I thought this dress, would work right now, and well into Spring. Perfect for Fall too! It's a nice dress, that can be worn, for a large part of the year! Oh, I can't wait for it to get here. Let's not even begin, to talk about the gift cards, that I still need to spend. :) ~Maggie

Early Christmas for Mommy!!

My hubs completely surprised me! He knows that he can't go wrong, with a gift from ModCloth. My hubs also knows, that my whole "I'm going to sew my Christmas dress" idea, is just not happening! I ran out of time. And my pretty green dress, is still laying in pieces, on my desk.

Today our kiddos spent a few hours with my parents. So we could wrap their presents. :) And help Santa a bit, with some assembly. While our kiddos were with my parents today, my hubs told me, I needed to open one of my Christmas presents. Guess what I got?!? A new dress!



Yes, I now have a Christmas dress. It was one of my favorites. Something that I had hoped to buy in the Spring. It's definitely a "warmer weather" dress. But I'm thinking, some tights, and my favorite shoes, will make this the perfect Christmas outfit! I have to have, the sweetest husband in the world! ~Maggie

My Aunt and Empanaditas

Recently, my cousin and I, have been remembering our aunt. She past away, just over 8 years ago. My cousin, was definitely closer to her, than I was. She just spent more time with our aunt. But so many of us, were close to our aunt.

At this time of year, I especially remember, and miss my aunt. She was the best cook ever! Making us tons and tons of food. Yummy food! You never went to her house, and didn't eat. That was just not going to happen.

Unfortunately, many of us, never cooked with her. Lots of the recipes, were just lost. She suffered from a debilitating stroke. Then they found cancer. And she past away, just 5 months after her initial illness. From the day of her stroke, until her death, she couldn't speak. Or do much for herself.

I always regret, not learning more from my aunt. I tell you, she was amazing! A self taught, amazing seamstress. A cook, that no one comes close to. Just an amazing woman!! At this time of year, I especially miss her empanaditas. No one that I know, knows how to make them. Lola and I, have been remembering all the ingredients. I know that she plays with various recipes. Trying to nail the one, from our childhood.

Recently, I took to chatting up a neighbor of ours. And she shared her family's recipe. Not the same savory ones, that I grew up eating. But a delicious recipe nonetheless!! With apricots, nuts and various other goodies. YUM!!

While Jake and my hubs were out shopping this weekend, the girls and I took to baking. :) And let me tell you, we baked!! Some mighty delicious fried desserts. I wanted my girls to enjoy this. And to start a new family tradition. It was a great afternoon!!

Like all little girls, my daughters enjoy playing "make believe" with their kitchen set. Since I've started on this crafty adventure, I've tried to "grow" their supply of play food. And I wanted to find something to make my girls, to remember this day. That when I found this adorable pattern!!



I'm nearly done with 6 of these cuties!! 2 for each of my daughters. I'm positive that they're going to love them! And I know, every time I see them, I'm going to remember our special day in the kitchen. Yes, it took longer than I had planned. But it was so much fun, creating new memories with my daughters. And remembering my aunt. ~Maggie

Entire Reason I Learned How to Sew

Little projects like this, are the entire reason, that I learned how to sew. No stinking lie! I wanted to be able to create special things, for my kiddos. Now if I just had a ton of time. And a good fabric stash. I know my daughters would love to play, with something like this! ~Maggie