Monday Must Haves + Link Up!

Happy Monday!

Hope your week is off to a great start!

On Mondays, I love stopping by each week over at Lauren's for her Must Haves to see what she has picked out during her weekly window shopping 'trip'. Today,  I have the pleasure of co-hosting a round of Monday Must Haves with the lovely Lauren and I am happy to show you a few things that have been on both me and miss baby Grace's wishlists. 

(All links are next to the number in the list below)

1. (joy/love) I have been eyeing a few prints from this lovely shop, Naptime Diaries. Love how they take scriptures to the next level and incorporate them into pretty prints to add to your home.

2. (straw hat) Baby Grace needs a straw hat. You should see her squint every time we go out in the sun. Which is sadly not enough, we finally got weather in the 70's this past weekend. Sunglasses will be a staple along with this straw hat to keep some shade on her. 

3. (white strap bow sandals) These sandals go great with pretty much all things summer for Baby Grace. Everything she owns has bright prints, whites, and summery pink hues. Plus her little toes would just be adorable in these.

4. (star baby romper) This is definitely a Baby Grace must have. I could totally see her sporting this entire outfit *puts in shopping cart*. Perfect for a family day out. 

5. (floral textured fit & flare skater dress) Ok, needless to say this is gorg. I was actually debating using a dress like this for my reception dress just because its super fun and goes with the colors of the wedding. Its super flirty and fun for summer. ADORE.

6. (Flower Headband) I've wanted to try this trend for awhile, but love how the brown is super subtle and would be super subtle against my skin tone and hair color. I think I could pull it off, maybe...

7. (Tie Dye Maxi w/ Slits) This screams hippie, summer, beach to me. I would totally rock it with a tee shirt with a cool saying on it. Or I could see it with a plain tank, walking around a summer fair pushing the stroller eating icecream.. Okay, this is how I always envision my summers from now on. But this skirt would just make that vision so much more perfect.

8. (Pharell Style Hat ;) Okay, so many people gave Pharell grief for wearing that, let's call it, "Happy Hat." And now people are sporting it. I often want to try out hats, but I have a big head. (Don't act like you didn't notice) I often only get hats halfway on this dome so I can't buy them online, but if I had a mini-head, I'd totally buy this hat. 

Link-Up Rules:

1.  Follow the Host-The Style Record
2. Follow the Co-Host- I'm Perfectly Human

3. Visit a couple of the blogs that have linked up as well - That's what we're linking up for anyways, right?!

-        4. Provide a link to the Monday Must Haves Link up (http://www.thestylerecord.com) in your post or add the button below to your blog. 

<a href="http://www.thestylerecord.com/search/label/Monday%20Must%20Haves"><img src=" http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/lar6363/NewButton_zps6062b703.png"/></a><br/>

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Floral Print + 5 Ways To Keep Happy

Happy Friday!

TGIF. 

Hope the week is winding down for you. One thing that has definitely changed for me since having my baby girl is my schedule. Weekends used to be more relaxing. Now they are spent running all the errands I couldn't do during the week. When I get a free day, I sulk in it. But through it all, I gotta remain happy!

Ok, so by now you are either still feeling happy when you hear Pharrell's song, here, or you are completely over it. Either way, it has a good message and tends to instantly get me in a better mood. Which brings me to today's five on friday,

 5 ways to keep happy!

one. Think Happy. 

Sounds easy enough, right? Stay positive. Think on good things, not bad things. The saying goes when life gives you lemons, make lemonade! It's not what you are going through, its how you go through it. Choose joy and happiness - it really is a choice. Some days it will feel extremely hard to rise above and stay positive, but in the long run you will be a much happier person. Sure if something goes wrong you may cry or pout about it - you may have to give yourself a few minutes to let a scream out; and then pick yourself back up and keep trekkin'! I honestly cannot remember the last time being sad, feeling sorry for myself, or being mad made me feel any better. 

And it definitely never changed the situation. 

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

-Phillipians 4:8

two. Don't forget of where God brought you from.

 Often times if I feel I am lacking, or I could be better - God reminds me of where He brought me from. What He brought me out of (remember this post?) and how I am doing a great job in my life. Sometimes we have to quit being so hard on ourselves and take a second and pat ourselves on the back. You might not be where you think you should be, but you are not where you started. If you are in a place where you feel you have hit rock bottom; there's no way to go but up, right? You can do this. 

Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

-Deuteronomy 6:12

three. Do for others. 

This is one of my favorites, because so often we are caught up in ourselves and our problems that we can miss how blessed we truly are. Hey, I've been there wallowing in self pity because I just wanted to cry about things that may not have been going my way. Get out and be a help! Maybe you make dinner for a friend, or offer a ride to a co-worker. It could be joining a volunteer group or babysitting for a family member. Whatever it is give of yourself and it will make you feel so much better. There's also the giving principle and it will come back to you :)

 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

-Luke 6:38

four. Bask in life's precious moments. 

I talked about this earlier this week, here. Its refreshing to just take it all in. Getting a really good cup of coffee or tea; and how the warmth hits your throat. For me it was eating spicy food last night, and how it hurts so good! LOL. Having family together for a Sunday dinner, sharing a laugh with a friend or co-worker. These are the important parts of life not those mundane routines, matters, and things we get so involved in. Enjoy these moments. 

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

five. Make time to do something you love. 

Whether that is blogging, reading, praying, exercise, watching a good movie, listening to music, playing with your daughter, getting your nails done, doing your makeup, so on and so forth. Making time for yourself helps you stay sane, helps you balance, and usually makes you happy. Sometimes my happiest moments are running on the treadmill listening to upbeat dance mixes! I feel motivated, I feel like I'm on top of the world. Or listening to Beckah Shae (love her) and painting my nails. Or just chatting it up with God and knowing He's probably laughing at me :)

A joyful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

-Proverbs 17:22

Whatever you are doing or going through, 

Choose Happiness. 

Flower print blouse - gift

Tan pleated shorts - Forever 21

Brown/Gold skinny belt - Rebecca Minkoff

Brown Strap Peep-toe Wedges - Vince Camuto

Brown/Gold Bracelet - Charming Charlies

Gold Necklace - Thrifted

Hope you have a happy, fun-filled, relaxing, memory-making weekend ahead of you!

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linking up  5 on Friday, Style Sessions , Trend Spin, I feel pretty, What I Wore, Tucker Up, Your Whims Weds,  , Three for Thursday, Fav Fashion Friday, Look what I got, Tre Chic, Working Girl Working Style,, *All about you, , Weekend Wind Down, Weekend Blog Hop, Stylish Saturday,  Her & Nicole, Hump Day,  Stylish Tuesdays, Transatlantic Blonde, Fashion Informant, What I wore to work, Stylin in St Louis,Sunday Style , WWIW,  friendship friday

10 things I'm loving right now...

  Happy Hump Day!

 Hope this week is going fabulous for you all! 

First, do not miss your chance to enter for your chance to win $55 to Sephora - click here!

I'm excited for the upcoming weekend to come so that I can get out of the house a bit. As much as I love my baby girl, being cooped up in the winter can give a gal cabin fever!

To help me get over the hump, I think a positive list about things I am loving in my life right now will help me stay in the right frame of mind :)

One. Thrifting Scores - This chambray midi skirt is a thrift find that I adore. What I like most about it is that it had the original tags on it still, going for $35 and I got it for $5. Love when that happens.

Two. Mornings with the baby - she is the most alert early in the morning. Its the time when I act like a complete clown and humor her with all the funny faces in my arsenal. I've come up with some pretty good ones, and voices. Oh the voices.

Three. Caffeine - I have been on caffeine overload lately and loving it. I have never loved it so much as I love it right now. Its almost sick. I thought I understood when people said they couldn't go without it. Now, I completely get it. I've got an itch. Another cherry Pepsi, please.

Four. Bible study - This maternity leave has allowed me to be able to dive deeper into my notes from sermons and God's word. The mysteries and wisdom I am gaining is priceless. Can't wait to share more with you all.

Five. my Iphone photo gallery - Baby. Wedding Planning. Quotes. Pretty much what my iPhone camera consists of. How many of you have screenshots from Instagram filling up your precious storage space?? *raises hand in humiliation*... Not only that, but I have caught almost every face that my baby girl has made. From her frowns and spaz crying attacks, to her puzzled and happy faces. It all  lives in my photo gallery - just in case I forget what she looks like... >_<

Six. Family Time - Over the past year I have been growing so close with my family. This past weekend, me, my mom, my sisters, and my niece all got together for breakfast. It was really beautiful and fun being able to just hang with the ladies of the family. We are going to be meeting each month to help each other work on personal goals, encourage each other, and continue to strengthen our bond. I found myself laughing about the moments we had later on that day.
Man, I love those women! 

Seven. Moments with A - Yes, moments. Now that we've got a little girl on our hand the moments that we have during the day when she's napping or at night when she's finally sleeping, are priceless. Those are the times we talk about grown up things or just laugh at something the baby did during the day. Or just sneak in a passionate kiss. I love those moments.

Eight. Dressing Up - Ok, I have always loved dressing up. Always. I like getting pretty and putting on makeup and going somewhere fun. However, nowadays I am not always so lucky. So the weekends where I can get out and about for an hour or so - I long for it. Getting out of my PJ's and just feeling like a woman again. 

Nine. Slumming it - Yes, the polar opposite of #8. We all like to lounge around in yoga pants and a tank, or is that just me? Either way, I like to be 'sweatpants, hair-tied, chillin' with no makeup on.' #nodrake

Ten. The Christ - well, of course I have to give God the glory. I am so happy that I have been given this time to really enjoy where I am at in life. I am happy for peace on a daily basis with a newborn. And God's strength. When I am at my wits end, He gives me strength to endure. I am happy for a healthy, happy baby girl. I am happy for a partner to grow with. I am happy for a supportive and helpful family to stand behind me. I am happy for a flexible job.
** I am happy for readers like you :) **

Striped Shirt - H&M

Chambray Midi Skirt - Goodwil

Black Booties - Shopreflection.com similar here

Black Gold Crossbody Purse - Goodwill

Yellow/Gold Bangle - Goodwill

I challenge you to make a list of good things in your life right now. It helps to not focus on the bad. It was hard at first, but as I started to think I began to realize I had a lot of great things to be happy about :)

Hope you have a great day!

linking up:

Funday Monday, Creative Monday, Monday Bloom, Style Sessions , Trend Spin, I feel pretty, What I Wore, Tucker Up, Your Whims Weds,  Totally Posted Tuesday,, Three for Thursday, Fav Fashion Friday, Look what I got, Tre Chic, Working Girl Working Style,, *All about you, Simply Lulu Style, Weekend Wind Down, Weekend Blog Hop, Stylish Saturday