Family + Friends, Real Life, Self Improvement

Joy is Essential

Keeley McKay Photography For years we were “doing” life, not LIVING life. We’d wake up, chase the things that we thought brought us joy, would go to bed... exhausted, feeling like the day was a blur. A few years ago we faced some of the hardest situations that left us angry, scared, stuck, uncertain, powerless, desperate and so many other “opposite of joy” feelings. As I mentioned in my "We Moved. To Montana" post last month, I felt like life...

Family + Friends, Real Life, Self Improvement

We Moved. To Montana.

Where do I even begin? Let me channel my inner Sophia... "Picture it. Montana. May, 2020." It was a pretty big surprise to our family and friends a couple of months ago when we told them we were leaving "home" and I think an even bigger surprise to others when I announced one morning on Instagram and Facebook that we packed up everything and moved that very morning. I think people thought...

Family + Friends, Real Life, Self Improvement

A Letter to My Friends: I’m Sorry I’ve Gone Missing

This post has been sitting in my drafts since July of 2017 and I never published it because it didn't feel right. I couldn't explain why at the time, why I didn't put it out for the world to see... but looking back now, in 2020, I totally get it. It wasn't the right time because I wasn't the same person back then as I am now and it would have been published for the wrong reasons. It was written with a whole different mindset than...

Family + Friends, Kids, Real Life, Stitch Fix, Style

Stitch Fix for Kids Unboxing – July 2018 Review: 1st Box for my Boys

Stitch Fix for Kids Unboxing - July 2018 Review: 1st Box for my Boys... So I thought they'd like this, but it turns out that they love it! My little guys are always game for creating videos for YouTube! Stitch Fix for Kids Well who knew when I posted my very first Stitch Fix review, that I'd be doing one for my boys a few years later. They are killing me with their antics and typical boy behavior in their first Stitch Fix Kids unboxing video review. So on July 11th, (just yesterday... or at least at the time of writing this post)...

Family + Friends, Real Life

Cattle Workin’ Day

You know, I call this blog a "Life+Style," blog, and perhaps it's so I can write just about anything that I want. One day it may be recipes, fashion, or ahem... a quick story about a random Sunday of working on my parents farm. Now when I sit down to write a blog post like this, there is a large part of me that says Jessica, they don't give a rip about pictures of your family working cattle on the farm. And then lo and behold I'll do a reader survey and you all will tell me that you love the personal...

Family + Friends, Real Life

Our Scrapbook: A Little More About Us

Let me start by saying, that I have a super hard time, talking about myself in this way. But I've been asked to share a little bit more about who I am, and how in the world I've ended up where I am today. Plus... I do love digging in, reading more about others that I follow, so I can totally understand why some may be interested in a timeline of "my story." It's kind of fun to get to know someone a little better, when you follow them through life, on almost a daily basis. It began as kids... I fell in love with...

Family + Friends, Real Life

Monday Night Football

Disclaimer: I can't tell you ANYTHING about sports. However... I played volleyball up until my junior year of high school, and I think that the coach of the St. Louis Cardinals {Mike Matheny}, is a little slice of heaven to look at. ;) But although I can't even tell you what "yards," means in football, or even what that yellow pole thing is... at the end of a football field... I DO know that my nephew plays football, and I love him. So I scooped my littles up one Monday night, and headed to a nearby town to watch some: Monday Night Football At...

DIY & Crafts, Family + Friends, Gift Ideas, Real Life

Winery Tour Survival Kit, Favors & Friends Day Out!

Winery Tour Survival Kit, Favors & Friends Day Out: Perfect for a bachelorette party, girls night out, or any event where a group's getting together for some winery fun! It's rare when a large group of us can get together for a girls night out. Make it a "couples night out," and it gets even more rare. Where we live, (in Southeast Missouri) we are known for having an abundant supply of wineries at our fingertips. So when we all get together, we know a winery tour, MUST be on the agenda. Winery Tour Survival Kit and Favors The minute I knew all...

Family + Friends, Real Life

Day on the Dozer

My husband practically grew up on a piece of equipment, sitting on his dads lap as they developed commercial and residential property in our home town. Having boys, I knew one day we would be able to re-create those special memories my husband has of him and his father, back upteen years ago. {If you missed the story of how my husband's father tragically left this earth in such a short time, I pushed through and told you the details a while back in my post, "An Afternoon of Bonding."} "Daddy," had told me before he headed out the door this...

Family + Friends, Father's Day, Holiday, Real Life, Review

An Afternoon of Bonding: How to Spoil Dad this Father’s Day

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone, promise! #TheGiftOfClean #CollectiveBias I thought the day would never come that my husband would take our kiddos out on his own. {Not because he ever said that, but because if felt like for YEARS, I was stranded at home with babies, while my husband went to work, ran last minute quick errands, because it was just too much work to load up a baby and hit the road, and go with him.} Now... the boys are getting older, and they're able to just slip their...

Family + Friends, Real Life, Review

On the Farm with Paw Paw

My boys love... I mean... LUUUUV... hanging out with their paw paw. Hanging out with their paw paw means there are TONS of fun things in store. You see, "Paw Paw," lives (and operates) a beef farm, and a short trip to see him, usually includes seeing big, four-legged creatures that say "moo," a tractor ride, and a "wade," in the spring. So the other day, we set out on an adventure and headed to Paw-Paw's with a surprise in store for him. A Coke....

Family + Friends, Real Life, Travel

Our Boca Grande, Florida Vacation

I kept it kinda quiet, but my stud muffin of a husband and I, hit the road {or air, rather}, last week, and went to Boca Grande Florida on vacation, for a friends wedding! It was ABSOLUTELY beautiful there, and I wanted to share it with you, in case you're planning a destination wedding, searching for a honeymoon destination, or just looking for your next hot new vacation spot. Sometimes it's a little easier to pick a place, when you "know," someone who has been there. Boca Grande, Florida We unfortunately left the kiddos at home on this trip, because we were...

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