What I Wore

Hello! How are you today? 

I have some super cute pieces to share this week and they are all from groopdealz.com! Have you shopped from groopdealz.com yet? 

Check out these sales happening now - but only for a short time!

Tunic Shirt Dress - 7 Colours

Knotiebib Color Pop Necklace 

Allison Leggings Tunic - 3 Colours

 Darling Ruffle Trench Coats - 4 Colours

 Cozy Long Hoodie Sweatshirts - 4 Colours

Classic Pearl Twist Statement Necklace

Plaid Fleece Lined Leggings (I LOVE these!!!)

In My Pocket Striped Tee

Designer Herringbone Puffer Vest 

 I have ordered several things from groopdealz.com and have had a great experience each time! I'd love to know what you have ordered or would like to order from them.

Have a great Wednesday!

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy.

Blessings and love. xo

{Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. All this means is that when you purchase through my links, there is no additional cost to you, and I make a small commission! Thank you!}

Weekly Menu Plan {27 October}

Hello, friends! How's life going for you? What is everyone doing for Halloween, if that's a "holiday" that you take part in? We have finally come up with our costumes, so photos will be coming soon. Maya is especially excited about getting to wear her costume to ballet class!

Here's our plan for this week:

Monday - It's Emma's night to cook, and she is treating us to Chinese take-out!

Tuesday - Ava wanted in on the cooking for our family this week, so she will be making Macaroni and Cheese! 

Wednesday - Ben is going to make Shrimp and Grits, salad, green beans

Thursday - Thai Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce (this is one of our favourites!)

Friday - Enchiladas, Spanish Rice, Chip and Guac

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Snack-y Supper

I'm linking up with Laura and the ladies over at Menu Plan Monday! Hop on over.

Blessings and love. xo

Disney On Ice Presents Frozen

(Photo credit: Feld Entertainment)

All three of my girls (ages 18, 9 and 8) and I attended the opening night of Disney On Ice presents Frozen last night at the Patriot Center! We had never been to a Disney On Ice production and weren't sure exactly what to expect, other than the obvious skating. Mickey Mouse and his best girl Minnie came out to host the show, along with several Disney princesses and their beaus. We were also treated to several other very familiar faces from Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Lion King! And then came the main event.

We had hoped that the actors would be lip-syncing the songs and dialogue from the movie, and that's exactly what happened. We are HUGE fans of the movie, so we were happy to see that the production followed the movie, with only a few exceptions. The On Ice version is condensed a little, but overall, it was the same beautiful story of love winning in the end. And this story truly is magical on ice. 

The audience ooh-ed and ah-ed over the costumes, the skating (Kristoff had some especially impressive skills), the lights and special effects and sang along with the beloved songs. "In Summer", Olaf's song, is my personal favourite, but we also thoroughly enjoyed "Do You Want To Build A Snowman", "For The First Time In Forever" and, of course, "Let It Go". And it snowed in the Patriot Center! 

Here are some of our favourite scenes:

If my girls had been younger, there were two scenes that may have been a little frightening to them . . . the wolves and the snow monster. But because my girls are older, they thought these parts were pretty cool. The snow monster, especially, was quite impressive, growing larger and larger before our eyes!

The only negative aspect for us had nothing to do with the show itself. It was the traffic getting onto the George Mason University campus. What a nightmare! And although we left early to try to avoid the congestion, it wasn't early enough. We sat for so long on Braddock Road that we finally took a left at the light on Ox Road and then a right on Mason Pond. Thank goodness we did. We were literally running from the parking lot into the arena, but we were in our seats just before the show started. My oldest daughter noticed people still coming in at 7:40 p.m. Such a shame for them to have missed almost the entire first half. So for anyone going to the Patriot Center, arrive early!!! There are plenty of food vendors and trinkets to look at or purchase while you wait for the show to begin.

I asked my girls to share their favourite part of the night:
18 year old - "My favourite parts were the special effects, like when Anna was frozen and when Olaf had his own personal flurry. I also loved Elsa and Anna's last dance."
9 year old - "I cannot choose just one thing. I liked every little bit of it! I especially liked the snow monster."
8 year old - "I liked Olaf, and I liked Elsa's and Anna's last dance!"

Disney On Ice presents Frozen will be at the Patriot Center through Monday, October 27. More shows have been added, due to high demand! Then the show moves on to the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore.  

For showtimes or to buy your tickets, go to Disney On Ice. 

Disclaimer: I am a Feld Family Ambassador, and in exchange for my time and efforts in attending shows and reporting my opinion on this website, as well as keeping you advised of the latest discount offers, Feld Entertainment provided me with complimentary tickets to Feld shows and opportunities to attend private Feld pre-show events.  Even though I receive these benefits, I always give an opinion that is 100% mine.

What I Wore

Good morning and happy Wednesday! How is your week going? 

I am excited to share this week's fashion finds for you, especially since they include lots of plaid! But first, I actually have a picture of my own to share with you. 

Striped dress - Target

Leopard scarf - Amazon - Similar: 

2013 Fashion Long Leopard Print Shawl Scarf Wrap Stole 

Boots - Steve Madden

These cute things are on groopdealz.com right now (Hurry! Some of these deals end today!):

Plaid Pocket Tunic 

Classic Jeggings - 9 Colours

The Perfect Peacoat

Adorable Plaid Infinity Scarves

Striped Hoodie Sweater

And on zulily.com right now . . .

I am looking for some plaid for my wardrobe and some of these are excellent options. Do you have a favourite plaid piece? I'd love for you to tell me about it in the comments.

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy!

Blessings and love. xo

Weekly Menu Plan {20 October}

Hello friends! I am running late with my menu plan yet again. I have been up to my eyeballs in washing, sorting and tagging children's clothing for our local consignment sale. I have never participated before and am looking forward to it - not only to making a little money for the holidays, but also to finding a few things that the kids need for winter. 

Here is what we're planning to eat this week:

Monday - Emma made one of our favourite pasts dishes - Dani Johnson's Penne-Pinching Pasta

Tuesday - Chicken and Dressing, salad, green peas

Wednesday - TBD by Ben

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Baked Potato Bar, Caesar Salad

Saturday - Healthy Mexican Casserole, Spanish Rice

Sunday - Snack-y supper

Have a great week! 

Blessings and love. xo

The Hardest Peace {Review and Giveaway}

FlyBy Promotions recently gave me the opportunity to review The Hardest Peace by Kara Tippetts. I was not familiar with Kara, so I went over to her blog to find out more about her. If you've followed her blog for long, you can imagine that I teared up while reading some of what has gone on in her life in the past year. I truly hate cancer and wasn't sure, at first, if I wanted to read this book or not. It's been 25 years since my Dad died from a brain tumor. Did I really want to re-live those experiences and some of that pain, which I was sure would happen? I said yes to the book anyway, because, well, I like reading other peoples' stories. And I knew that if Kara had been able to write a book about her experience and share how she had experienced God's grace in the difficult places in her life, I could possibly benefit. 

About the book:

Kara Tippetts knows the ordinary days of mothering four kids, the joy of watching her children grow…and the devastating reality of stage-IV cancer. 

In The Hardest Peace, Kara invites readers to see the grace of the everyday in all seasons of life and to live well even when the living is hard. This book is an invitation to join her in moving away from fear and control and toward peace and grace. Just as the thousands of people who read her blog know, Tippetts explores the hardest questions of life with rare beauty and honesty. Most of all, she draws them back to the God who is present, in the ordinary and the suffering, and shapes every life into the best story of all.

My thoughts:
I appreciate Kara's openness about difficulties in her family of origin and in the way she grew up. Those had to be painful to expose and write about. I could relate to her stories of hurt in a former church. I could also relate to her writings about her marriage. One of my favourite parts of the book is when she tells how she and her husband, Jason, learned to "fight with kindness". This is fantastic advice and so needed in our day. When we learn how much the Father loves us, we cannot help but extend it to our spouse, children, extended family, neighbors, everyone. Marriage is so much sweeter and deeper with loads of kindness.

Reading about how Kara is preparing to die and trying to prepare her children, especially, was piercing and heartbreaking. Even though I've been through it, as a 20 year old "child" who lost her father, I cannot imagine having to walk through it with my own children. She seems to be doing a phenomenal job of loving them and getting them ready for her to "fly away".

I do recommend this book, because it's one sister's story of hard and knowing Jesus is there with her. It's heartbreaking and sweet and poignant all at once.

{I have to add that I think my theology differs from Kara's, and I cannot just recommend this book without mentioning it. I hate cancer, and Kara calls cancer "a gift". I think cancer is from the evil one, while Kara seems to believe that God sent this to her to teach her something. I believe that sickness, disease, etc., come from our fallen state and from hell (John 10:10 and 1 Peter 5:8). Our Father is a loving, compassionate God and He does not, and would not send us horrible, abusive things. His heart is for us to be healed. That is one of the incredible bonuses of Jesus' death on the cross. Not only do we get to bask in the salvation and rescue He provided for us through His death, but also we get to experience Him as our Healer. He paid for our sins and took all of our infirmities on Himself (Isaiah 53 and Matthew 8). I always go back to what Bill Johnson says in When Heaven Invades Earth - basically that if we treated our own children like some Christians say God treats us (gives them cancer, leukemia, Ebola or whatever), people would turn us in to the authorities. Our God is so gloriously wonderful and pure in His love toward us, that He would never do something that would actual contradict His purpose of sending Jesus to earth.}

I pray blessings over Kara and her beautiful family as they walk through this journey. 

About Kara:

Kara Tippetts and her husband, Jason, have four children and are planting a church in Colorado Springs, CO. Cancer is only part of Kara’s story. Her real fight is to truly live while facing a crushing reality. She blogs at mundanefaithfulness.com.

Kara’s Blog: mundanefaithfulness.com

Follow her on Instagram: http://instagram.com/tippetts

Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mother_to_many

Giveaway:

Fly Promotions has generously provided one copy of The Hardest Peace for one of my readers. Simply leave a comment telling me if you had known of Kara Tippetts before now or share your story of learning God's peace in your hard places. Please include your email address so that I have a way to contact you if you win. Winner chosen by random.org. Giveaway open to residents of the US and Canada, age 18 or older. Giveaway ends November 1 at 11:59pm ET. 

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

What I Wore

Good afternoon, lovely friends! How are you today? 

It has been pouring buckets of rain here today, and guess what came in my daily Amazon.com email this morning? Rain boots! Ha! Perfect timing, although I still haven't found the perfect pair. 

Here are some options . . .




And then there are these. Ahem. I think I may have found them.

What do you think? Do you have a pair of Wellies that you love? I'd love to know where you purchased them. 

And because our temps are falling today, after the storms have passed through, let's stay on the keeping-warm-in-the-cooler-weather path . . .

I love this Pleated Tie Waist Pea Coat from groopdealz.com . . . 

I recently purchased this adorable Cable Knit Beanie (with affiliate credit) for when it really gets cold! Isn't it so cute?! It comes in 6 colours.

Check out this Pencil Skirt from toadorn.com:

And on zulily.com right now:

Don't miss these deals! 

Hop on over to the linkup at The Pleated Poppy for more fashion inspiration!

Disclaimer: This link contains my affiliate links, which means that when you purchase through my links, I make a small commission. There is no additional cost to you. Thank you!!!