: It's FRIDAY! :

Hey Lovlies! I'm here hanging out still in our PJ's as it's our last official day of Spring break and we're revelling in the fact that we don't have to get up and go anywhere. Plus there are huge piles of laundry that just don't stop that need to be attended to.

Randomness this morning, but have you seen the new target commercial? I just love it, every time I see it, it puts a smile on my face...here is the one I'm talking about:

Here's a quick question for you...I need a new vacuum, don't have $400 - $500 to spend on a new Dyson so I'm asking my blog readers, do you have a favorite vacuum or do you swear by using a Dyson? Is it worth the money?

I have had my vacuum for 4 years and use it at least once every 2 days, this past week it's given up the suction a bit and so I figure I better look into getting an new one so any advice is welcomed!

Have a great weekend lovelies, My main man has to work tomorrow so I'll be running the Saturday show at our house solo - here's to hoping this sunshine stays cause I could sure use good weather to wear my littlest boys out ;)

{XoXo}

: Spring Style :

This morning along with 30 other random deals that come to my inbox each morning {don't want to miss out on a cheap dinner out or massage you know!} I had an email come from Old Navy telling me all about their current sale item which happens to be dresses for Spring.

If you you know me in real life, even just in passing, you know I live in dresses & skirts, it's rare that you'll see me in jeans or pants, I just prefer dresses..and not cause they are more girlie ;) - it just seems easier to me, not quite sure why!

So this email got me thinking about my style and what I will wear around town this Spring and to church {leaning more towards Easter Sunday wear} -- I've been trying for weeks to get my boys Easter outfits ready but haven't taken a moment to think about mine, so here are the two boards I put together

Spring Style by shawnalad featuring a flutter sleeve dress

Click here for a link to my this board on my Polyvore

Church Spring Style by shawnalad featuring beaded jewelry

Click here for a link to this board on my Polyvore

We're pretty classic dressers around here, not trendy or cool, but classic. We're fine with that, I see others who are super cute and trendy and love the way they look, but for me {& typically my boys} dressing classically suits us best and comes most naturally.

What is your dressing style? Do you have a style? I'd love to hear what your "go-to" items are and what you'll be looking to wear this Spring.

Happy Thursday All!
{XoXo}

: What I LOVE Wednesday {fly by post} :

This is going to be a "fly by post" because realistically life is too busy today to be sitting on the computer..but I figured since it was a pancake making morning that I could take a few minutes to be inspired by what I'm loving and finish my morning coffee...so here goes nothing ;)

I've been looking for throw pillows, if you've read my blog for a while you know how much I love a nice pillow. You also know how cheap I am -- well look at these babies, Overstock has them for a set for $45 -- $22.50 per pillow is not bad {including the insert} -- I was quite tickled when I saw these...hmmmmm, we'll see -- it's bad enough that I'm cheap but indecisive too!

I bought me some new kitchen soap the other day, I saw this one @ Fred Meyers and it was on sale for 20% off so I could no longer resist it! I see the Watkins display every time I enter the grocery store and this is my first product from them. I love the Aloe & Green tea scent as it's not sweet smelling and it just smells fresh - Thank you Watkins, for $3 that was a treat and a deal!
I often find any excuse to by myself a potted little spot of Spring and this year I found them on sale for $1.29 - such a deal for a 2 week long centerpiece that we get to see grow and bloom {Cole was quite taken with the growth process} -- this time instead of the glass vase I put it in a ceramic pot I had in a neutral colour with fake moss rocks around it..the moss rocks are actually just Styrofoam covered with a mossy substance which is also fake. But I liked the look of it and have enjoyed having it on our coffee table to welcome Spring.

I love the way my kids can't sit still to take a photo, I mean really!?!? {sense the sarcasm?} Just one photo, I took about 12 to get to this one and gave up. This is them with their Nana on Sunday.
Loving the hope of new with the coming of Spring, planting our new garden bed and planning what we want to *ahem* attempt to grow this Summer is super fun, I find our seeds at the dollar tree for 4/$1 - a steal of a deal, can't wait to try our hand at some more herbs and try to grow peas, never grown peas so hoping that they turn out! I'm sad that all the work I put into our last homes gardens we don't get to enjoy this year, this was the best time of year in that house, Cherry blossom trees & the earth blooming with life and growth. Oh well, it's fun to plan a new garden with new hope!
Loved this quick and easy meal I made for Mr. L the other night when I was heading out with some girlfriends. Soup from Trader Joes {SO good!} and the mix is from a trade show -- instant focaccia bread. It was a dreary Winter day so the meal for Mr. L hit the spot and it smelled SO good as I was heading out the door.
And last but not least we LOVE these pancakes from Bob's Red Mill. Super healthy and easy to make, not expensive either. I would much rather my family eat these over the white white white pancakes. I have never heard a complaint from feeding them these either. In fact they all rave as to how great they are...try them, you might just not go back! It's a beautiful sunny day here in Vancouver and I'm off to finish a cake, get ready and hit the town for a dinner party. Then tomorrow I die. Kidding. But I think I might just hibernate for a day or two - I'm a little tired from all this hoopla!

Ps. If you're a local gal and have been to the new Canadian Dollar Tree, just be warned, it may look like they have the same stuff and the do, kinda. The price on most items is $1.25 and they don't have the selection of items that the USA Dollar Tree has. That being said it is one of the most un-junky, well organized dollar stores you will ever enter. But for my Canadian dollar store purchases I will still be hitting up Dollarama -- just my $0.02 ;)

Have a wonderful day Lovelies!

{XoXo}

: Where have I been? :

Okay, maybe you haven't missed me as much as I've missed posting. But it's been a crazy few days {okay, week!} and I'm still in the thick of it.

I've been up to my woo-hoo in cake making, this is just one of the special orders I had for this past weekend, I'm currently working on cake no. 3 in the past 5 days.
I got lost in our closet for a full 8 hours - it was a horrendous mess and I was so sick of it not being organized {only due to me being lazy and not putting things back in their appropriate spots} -- but now that it's organized and one jumbo bag of clothes is off to good will, I feel that I'll be able to keep up the new found organization.
We celebrated the first day of Spring break with a stop at Tim Hortons for a sprinkle doughnut for the boys..after Tims we drove to Starbucks for a coffee for me..I'm SO not a Tim Hortons coffee girl. Give me my Starbucks!
I've been working on a rather in depth surprise project that is finally completed today -- I'll be thankful to deliver this surprise and carry on with life ;)
Had an absolutely fabulous night out with Tawn @ Lady Antebellum last night, such a great show, can't even express it! We sat down for one song out of their whole play list. It was a BLAST!
Because I missed writing about this last week, here is last weeks "52 weeks of blessing"
This one was a hum-dinger last week -- God had specifically been asking me to do something and I was basically lazy {& a little stubborn} and didn't listen. What He had asked me to do was not difficult or expensive, I was just being a brat. So then He puts it on my heart to do something that costs more and is more out of my way then what He was asking me to do before, but this time I did it and it was good to be obedient to His prompting. I have to say lovelies, this was probably my most difficult one to do thus far.

Anyway, I have a friend who was going away on a 6 hour flight so I picked her up a few items for her flight: a magazine, some snacks & sugar free sweets and delivered it to her house the day before she left on vacation.There ya go, that's what I've been up to -- we also hosted 2 dinner parties over the weekend, went to church and attended another birthday in the City. Mix all that into everyday life and no school for the kids, makes for one busy Mama...but I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Have a lovely Tuesday everyone, I hope to be back with 'What I love Wednesday' tomorrow. But if I'm not, don't fear, I'm probably just cooked into one of my cakes or something, sure to rise to the top again ;)

{XoXo}