Joined Bloglovin

Just signed up on Bloglovin.

Head on over there to follow my blog!!

Follow me on Bloglovin

Give A Girl A Blog {Giveaway}

Give A Girl A Blog Giveaway!!
Enter a chance to win this AWESOME Fugi Instax Camera!!
Head on over to www.kelliewinnell.com.au
to find out how to enter to win her August Giveaway!

I'm Hoppin' Like Crazy Today...

Joined another Blog Hop through A Night Owl Blog! Head on over and link up and find more IG bloggers to follow!! Have fun!!

Hippity Hoppin...Blog Hoppin that is!

  Joined my FIRST blog hop today!! So cool!!

Such a great way to find more Bloggies to follow!!

You should join!!! 

{Product Review} Original Sprout Tahitian Collection

Original Sprout Tahitian Collection

As a licensed cosmetologist of 6 years, finding the perfect product can be a daunting task. There are so many to choose from, and knowing what which one is perfect for your hair type can make you want to pull your hair out!

I got the opportunity to do a review for the company  Original Sprout. They carry a wonderful  line of bathing and hair products. Originally geared towards baby and children, but most recently launching a new line for the Mommies (& Daddies). I have been a FAITHFUL Original Sprout user for the last 3 years. I use their baby line on both of my kids and SWEAR by every product! What makes this line great and different from others, it's a CLEAN product, which means it doesn't contain those nasty ingredients that we are always trying to avoid (but still seem to be in EVERYTHING!) It is especially great for those who have allergies to many things (It's Gluten Free, Dairy and Soy Free, No Oils or other irritants that may cause concern)

OK, so lets get down to the knitty-gritty! 

To get the FULL use out of this product, I enlisted the help of my Mother. Her hair type is completely different than mine, which I thought would make great for the review (2 different hair types are better than one, right!?) She has very thick, highlighted, curly hair, that frizzes at the just the thought of humidity! (It's probably frizzing right now, as we are talking about it!) And I have wavy, medium, color treated hair. We both used it for a week in place of our regular products.

I have to say from my side, I am in love with this product! It smells great, and doesn't have that lingering perfumey smell that most tend to have and leave you with a headache. The shampoo makes your hair feel smooth after rinsing, in my experience most leave your hair feeling some what dry and aching for you to slather the conditioner on. And the conditioner is just AWESOME! I leave it on for about 5 minutes then rinse in cool water to seal in the moisture. My hair has never felt better! For me it dries soft and smooth with minimal frizzing. I feel like I can get away without using any post shower smoothing gels. 

My mom  had just about the same feelings as I did. Although, hers still had the frizzing issue (just one of those things she has to deal with). She loved the smell and feel of her hair afterwards. 

I also used on my kids as well since it is such a CLEAN product. Loved that it kept my daughters hair manageable and soft in between baths and hair brushing.

Overall I think that if you choose to go with this product, you will not be disappointed! It is a little on the pricier side, but in my honest opinion it is well worth the extra dollars! 

You can order directly from their website 

Tahitian Collection by Original Sprout

If you are local to the San Luis Obispo area, check out Kahuna Kids in Paso Robles, Ca. They carry the full Original Sprout line and can answer any questions you might have about it while you're there, cause they are awesome like that!!

Oh Monday...

Totally just self diagnosed myself with a {case of the Monday's}

Just can't seem to get motivated to do really anything. Although I got in my daily vacuum, I find myself sitting here wondering where the heck my energy is. 

IT'S 4:30!!! 

So much for all that coffee. 

I guess I better get my butt in gear and get dinner made for the family. Luckily it's spaghetti, so I can basically

cook it with my eyes closed.

{SIGHS}

Looking forward to an eventful Tuesday!!

{RECIPE} Yummy Pancakes

Wanted to make pancakes for breakfast, but I had run out of sugar!! YIKES!!

Now what?... 

Decided to do a little experimenting, and a lot of praying that what ever I whipped up would be edible!

To my surprise, my NEW pancakes actually turned out great. I even got the Hubby's approval (so you know they are good!)

Cinnamon Delight Pancakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup flour

3 tbsp Homemade Brown Sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

3 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 cup milk (I used Almond Milk)

3 tbsp butter (melted)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

In a medium bowl, mix all your dry ingredients together. Add your milk, egg, vanilla and melted butter and mix until you have no more lumps. On a greased pan set to medium heat, spoon out about 1/4 cup at a time. Cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Makes about 12 pancakes

We enjoyed ours with some sweet Agave Syrup!

I will definitely be making these again!!

ENJOY

I 

{Weekend iPhone Photo Rewind}

Hope you all had a FABULOUS weekend!! 

We had some gorgeous weather here in California, warm but nice!

Had a busy FUN Saturday and Sunday!

Spent Saturday cleaning and organizing (not super fun, but was glad to get it done).

Did my Grandmas hair Sunday morning, she was happy to see the kiddos.

Then we were off to my Mom's place, I took pictures for her of my other Grandma's gorgeous gardens. A little quiet time to myself while I captured the blooming flowers and busy little bees.

 

We also had a little BBQ with my Hubby's parents. Elk Burgers from an Elk the Hubs Uncle shot up in Oregon. 

Surprisingly, it was pretty AMAZING, no gamey taste at all. 

The kids had fun jumping all over Grandma and Grandpa, and also got to play in their new sandbox!

(I also got a new bubble gun from Michael's, it was 80% off, spent $.75 on it!! 

And got them these cute litte rakes and bug catches, they were like $.80 a piece!)

My weekend would not be complete with out a trip to Starbucks and Target. 

I ordered my new FAVORITE drink, Trenta Cool Lime Refresher with Lemonade. Kinda OBSESSED with it. And because I ordered a Refresher and I have a GOLD card, I got a FREE Strawberry Lemonade Refresher, it was YUMMY!!

Headed to Target to get my usually purchases; Almond Milk, Soda, Snackies...

Picked up some new makeup too!! My friend had suggested the Physicians Formula Bronzer, Vegas Strip. LOVE it!! I also got a Kabuki Brush by ELF. For $3, it's a very nice brush! And I also grabbed a few ELF eye shadows. You buy an empty palette, $1. Choose 4 different eye shadow shades, $1 ea. I have never used the line before, but for being so inexpensive, it held up great!

{DIY} Elastic Dispenser

Ok, this is kind of a no brainer. 

I have been trying FOREVER to find a way to organize my elastic I use to make my headbands, but also functional at the same time. 

I figured this might help someone who was in the same predicament as me. 

PREDICAMENT SOLVED!

Plus, who doesn't LOVE using mason jars... 

(If you don't, then this isn't for you then and you are missing out on the mason jar GREATNESS!)

Materials:

Mason Jars (I used the small 6 oz jars)

Heavy Duty Puncher

Sandpaper

So basically, you're going to punch a hole....See I told you, NO BRAINER!

I punched it a few times just to make the hole a tad bigger.

Then sand the top and bottom, to remove any sharp pokies.

I then wound the elastic around my hand, placed in jar and BOOM! 

Kinda cute Right!?

I am thinking I should paint the tops or add some fun paper to SASS it up a little.

*If you are looking for Skinny Elastic, check out Bitsy Bands. They have TONS of fun colors and 

different styles of elastic. Plus they are reasonably priced and ship fast!*

{THANKFUL Thursday} AMAZING Pediatricians!

Today Lil Man had his 16 month Well Check visit. 

Weighed in at 23 lbs and is 31 1/2 inches long!!

Can't believe how much he has grown since he was born, kind crazy to think that about a year and a half 

ago he was this tiny 7 lb little squirt! GEEZ time sure does fly!

I have to say, I got so lucky in choosing our pediatrician for our kids. Well, it was actually pretty easy, I was one of his first patients when he started almost 26 years ago. (Oh Dear, I am aging...)

I continued to see him until I was about 18... Guess it would be time to find a regular doctor...

So when it came time to find the PERFECT doctor to see my children, it was kind of a no brainer! 

He is the most down to earth man and so easy going. The kids LOVE him!

He always makes sure that his little patients are well taken care of and thoroughly answers any CRAZY MOM questions I may have. Always assures me that I am a great Mom and raising BEAUTIFUL children (well, I think so too...)

I love that he supports my option to spread out vaccinations and never makes me feel like anything that I am doing as a parent is wrong.

And all of the girls in the office are amazing as well! 

I am so THANKFUL that my little ones are blessed with such an exceptional Pediatrician!!

Fun Filled Weekend!

What a great weekend we had!! Laramie went and spent some time at GiGi's house. They went shopping and swimming for hours! And Laramie made a new little friend, my mom's puppy Reagan (Laramie was not happy to leave her.)

While Laramie was soaking up some sun with GiGi, Gunnar and I enjoyed some time together as well.

We had to do some grocery shopping and make a TARGET run (poor me right!) LOL I had to bribe him with a toy to make it through the entire shopping trip, but we made it out in one piece!

Made a much needed stop by STARBUCKS (tried their Lime Refresher for the first time...LOVE IT!) And I wouldn't be a true STARBUCKS addict if I didn't get 2, YES 2 drinks! Love my Black Tea Lemonade!! To avoid traffic and to let the little guy sleep I took a country back road home, and enjoyed the lovely scenery.  I also grabbed the kids these little JUICE bottles, they were too cute to say no to. Wood and Buzz are some top notch guys in our house right now!

While putting my mound of groceries away, I SKYPED with lil miss and listened to her silly jibberish (I completely missed it too much!) Although she couldn't sit still enough for me to see her entire cute face!

To top the weekend off, I took Laramie to her FIRST concert at the Mid State Fair! Well, I guess it would really be her second, I went and saw KISS when I was about 6 months pregnant with her (she liked that concert too).

Although The Fresh Beat Band almost didn't happen! I went to grab our tickets to put in my purse and I could not find them! I searched and searched and searched!! Ripped my house apart several times and even went through the trash! (That was a dirty job!) But could not find them ANY WHERE! I had almost given up on going, when I decided to call the Fair to see about getting them reprinted, sure enough the AWESOME lady on the phone said they would have them at Will Call for me!! 

THANK YOU SWEET BABY JESUS! 

( I am convinced I will find them at some point, in the most obvious place too)

 We made it to the concert!! She was screaming with EXCITEMENT when they came out on stage!! It was the cutest moment!!

After she had a complete meltdown after only being there for about 10 minutes, she calmed down enough and get her groove on!! She was running up and down the aisle, even stopping for this family and dancing for them!

 And we made it through the concert! She sang songs and danced her little heart out!

We attempted an Ice Cream cone, but that didn't go over well, so we switched to Kettle Corn. That was a complete HIT! 

(Of course the Fair wouldn't be complete with out a Cinnamon Roll, 

Corn Dog, Smoothies and Carbonated Yummyness!)

On our way home she didn't even make it 5 minutes, and she was OUT! 

The day was a SUCCESS!!!

To top it all off, I came home to a clean house courtesy of my AMAZING Hubs! 

Fun weekend indeed!!

{Thankful Thursday} Gorgeous California Sunset

So I thought it would be fun to start a "WEEKLY" post. Might add more in the future, but decided to start with {THANKFUL THURSDAY}. Every Thursday I will have a post dedicated to "Things" I am Thankful for. So here is the First of MANY....

{Gorgeous Sunsets}

So we have been having so CRAZY weather here on the Central Coast in California. We are mid-July, and we would normally be having 110 degree SUMMER days, we are having WINDY and somewhat Rainy days. Not complaining, the heat can sometimes be a little much. 

Last night, after I had put the little ones to bed, I poured myself a nice glass of wine (Middle Sister Bubble White Wine, it's AMAZING) and plopped down on the couch to catch up on my new Netflix addiction (White Collar, also AMAZING). Out of the corner of my eye, I caught this orange glow illuminating the sky. WOW! So of course, I grabbed my phone (of course so I could post on Instagram) and ran outside and snapped a few pictures and returned to some Neal Caffery Goodness! (I am not joking, White Collar is AMAZING). 

Within 5 minutes, this orange glow had turned into the most beautiful BLAZING PINK sunset. The sky was on FIRE! I decided to grab the CAMERA this time and I am so glad I did. 

Looking up at this {Gorgeous Sunset}, so serene with amazingly VIVID colors painted across the sky. 

I am so THANKFUL that I get to enjoy moments like this. To be able to walk out my front door and have the sky erase any stress or worries from the day was just breathtaking!

{DIY} Rubber Stamps

I am kind of in love with this post!!! 1. I have a new stamp obsession & 2. Well, I have a MUSTACHE STAMP!!! This is a fun and easy little project to do! And the out come is well, FABULOUS!

{Materials}

Erasers (Perfect time with Back-to-School stuff out now)

Pen

Xacto Knife

Stencil of your Choice (If you are doing letters, make sure you have your image

flipped so it reads right when you go to stamp)

Ink & Paper

 Let's get started!

Trace your image on to your stamp and begin to trim away everything that is out side you line. Your image needs to be raised. (If that makes sense).

After you have trimmed, you now have a STAMP! {I trimmed up all the edges to make it look a little nicer}

I was IN LOVE with just the MUSTACHE! But why stop there.....

Ok, so now you're IN LOVE too! I knew it!!

 I kind of want to stamp everything now!!

Enjoy!

{Kiddie Activities} Makeshift Sandbox

Last weekend my husband's family got together for their First Family Reunion. Family from all over and all ages! I was asked to help out with the kids games and activites. We did some visor decorating and Minute to Win It. 

I thought that we should probably have something to keep the little ones entertained through out the entire reunion, while not decorating visors or beating the clock. 

What you will need:

Under-Bed Storage Container ($8 at Target)

1 50lb bag of sandbox sand ($5 at Lowes)

Fun sand toys (I raided the $1 section at Target and grabbed a few buckets)

I doubled it up knowing there were going to be a few little guys, so there was enough space of everyone.

It was a hit!  Hours of FUN for about $20. 

I brought it all home afterwards and let my kiddos have some fun yesterday.

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!!

There's some CONGRATULATIONS in order for 5 LUCKY ladies!!!

Kala W.

Lindsey L.

Jessica L.

Michelle S. 

&

Paulina "Austenland"

I have sent you all an email with your code and redeem instructions!

Hope you enjoy your new BUBBLEFRAME app!

Thank you to the AWESOME folks at BubbleFrame!!! 

I Have A Little Something For 5 Lucky Followers!

The other day I was asked by the creators of the BubbleFrame app if I wanted to be one of their testers. Which basically means that anytime they have a new feature, I get to test it out before it becomes available to the public. COOL RIGHT! If you follow me on Instagram then you know that I tend to use this app often! I love all thy fun patterns and fun features they have. They adding FONT soon (available to the public in about 2-3 weeks). BubbleFrame is a fun way to spice up your picture layout and they always turn out CUTE!!

Well the AWESOME folks at BubbleFrame sent me 5 promo codes to give away! 

So I thought I would try a little raffle...

{You have until tomorrow to enter}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*These codes will only work for those who have not purchased the app yet, so if you happen to win and you already own the app you can pass it along to someone*

Thank you for participating in my little giveaway!! This will be the first of many I hope.

And a BIG thanks to BubbleFrame!!

It's a Family Affair!

It's a beautiful Saturday here in Cali. Perfect day for a Family Reunion!!

My husbands family is coming together for their FIRST family reunion! Family traveling from all over, I believe a few from Canada and 1 from Germany! 

They are all gathering together at a cute little house, built in 1892, located in the downtown area of Paso Robles, California, known as Emily's House. 

I can't wait! I will be helping out with the kids activities and games today. Have a few fun things that I will share with you soon. 

Looking forward to this fun filled day!

Stay tuned for a follow up post!

ETSY...Here I come!

After long thought....

I have decided to make myself an etsy shop to sell all my little goodies I make!!

Hoping to get this up and going over the next few weeks with the help of my sister! (Thanks in Advance)

So stay tuned for the GRAND OPENING!!!

I can't wait for this to all finally come together!!

Heidi

{DIY} Skinny Jeans

Okay, so I have to admit, I am a little late on this SKINNY JEANS craze. I only just bought my first pair about a month ago...

I guess its because I am super picky about how jeans fit and how the material feels!!

Lucky for me I found an awesome pair of black ones at Target and fell in love! 

(CONFESSION: I loved them so much, I actually bought myself a second pair...in the same color. 

Don't Judge Me!)

And since I haven't lost all that darn baby weight that continues to follow me around, I am not going to fork out a lot of money on a nice pair that I really want just yet.

So why not just revive an old pair of jeans I have laying around. It's a WIN/WIN for me, no money spent and I already know how they fit, so no stress there! 

(And another plus, the jeans I am using I didn't pay a penny for!! YAY for hand me downs!!)

 Enough of me rambling, lets get down to business.

{Items Needed}

Jeans needing a "Skinny Update", mine were bootcut

Scissors

Pen (I used a disappearing fabric pen)

measuring tape

Sewing Machine

Seam Ripper (Just keep it handy in case you miss measure, 

like I did 3 times....)

Try your jeans on, inside out, and pinch the jeans around your ankle where you would like them to fit to make your new inseam.

I did the same up the knee area too where they started to flare out, that way the snug in the knee and aren't baggy. I marked both areas with my pen and also measured to make sure both points on each leg were the same distance from the old inseam. **Keep in mind that when you sew you are going to loose at least a 1/4 to a half inch of room, so measure accordingly. I did not do this and when I went to try my jeans on I could not get my feet threw the new hole. Luckily I tried them on before I cut off the extra fabric. And that is where your seam ripper will come in handy. **

I connected the knee mark and the ankle mark I made to create my new inseam line. Now time to sew!

Now just sew the new seam line. 

*As you can tell from the picture, I had to adjust the opening area for not allowing that extra 1/4 in*

After you have tried them on to double check their fit and you are sure that is how you are going to want them, cut off the extra fabric. A about 1/4 from the new seam.

Then as close to the edge as you can, your going to want to run a zig-zag stitch down to help keep the edges from fraying.

And TA-DAA!! You now have a pair of Skinny Jeans! 

Even though I had to redo the seam like 3 times, after its all said and done it was pretty simple. Just a little time and patience.

Now enjoy those "New" Jeans!!

Heidi Toevs Photography

I am finally getting my photography blog all set up!! 

I made a "Button" for it too!! I am on a roll!

 I am in the process of getting it all up to date with all my recent stuff and figure out how to link both this blog and my photography blog together...

Hope you enjoy it!

Heidi Toevs Photography

Fourth of July...2012

July 4, 1776... The day our beautiful country declared it's Independence!

And here we are, 236 years later...still Independent. Although it hasn't been the easiest... 

We've fought battles, witnessed disasters, and experienced tragedies.

But we still stand as One United Country.

A country that I am so proud to call HOME!

I am PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!!

Every year, My AMAZING friends Karen & Stephen, put on a fabulous BBQ. They invite all their friends and family to celebrate the Fourth of July and also to show their Gratitude to our awesome Veterans & Active Service Men & Women. (Their son is currently serving in the Marines).

 There are fun games, GIANT water slides and kiddie pools, an abundance of ICE cold refreshments and the yummiest food (all homemade might I add). And ending the day by taking drive down the road, all the Polaris' decked out in their Red White & Blue parked on top of a vacant lot, watching the lights explode in the Sky! Oohs and Aahs!!

 And  remembering why we are all here... To remember those who have lost their lives, those who have fought for our Freedom, and all that continue fight so that we can sit on top of this hill and feel so safe and loved surrounded by family and friends.

This year to add to the fun festivities of the day, I offered up doing a Vintage Red White & Blue Themed Photo Booth. It took many {DIY} projects and a few thrifty purchases, but I think that it came together better than I could have imagined!!

I took some burlap, some white lace that I dyed with Tea and stapled them to 2in x 1in x 6ft piece of wood and hung it up on to a shed. Hung up my Fabric Fourth of July Banner. Made some of those fun Tissue Balls (definitely need to perfect making those). And set up a fun vintage chair that I found on Craigslist. I was pretty proud of myself for pulling this together!

Now it was time to get this show started!! Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and even got a little silly and dressed up with the photo props that I made and bought (I purchased a bunch of Fourth of July items from Michael's when they had everything at 50% off!)

I definitely want to do this again and try out different themes and find more funky photo props to add to the silliness!!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures that were taken, hope you enjoy!!

This little guy was my BIGGEST FAN!! You will see why as you continue...

I actually took a picture!! This is one of my AWESOME Friends Jen!!

This was one of my favorite pictures of the day...

If you would like to see more of these fun pictures, check out my photography page on
 Facebook, Heidi Toevs Photography.
I will also try to get these up on my photography blog soon too,
Heidi Toevs Photography.

Thanks!!