Day Trip to Newport Beach, CA

After we spent two days at Disneyland we knew we wanted to spend the rest of our vacation at the beach! I was born in California and raised there some of my childhood. I have fond memories of these exact beaches with my family. Collecting sea shells, playing in the sand and swimming in the ocean. Memories I wanted to recreate for my own family. 

Newport Beach was just a quick 25 minute drive from our hotel in Anaheim. We packed a lunch, drinks and snacks and headed there for the day. 

I love this cute little beach town. One day I'd love to rent a beach home and just stay for the week. 

We had a beautiful day there, and look forward to going back again this Summer! What are your favorite beach activities to do?

Patio Makeover with Pier 1 Imports

This post is sponsored by Pier 1 Imports, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

As you know we recently just moved into a new house, and one of the things that really drew us to this home was the awesome backyard. This backyard was made for entertaining, this is something that we do quite often and we wanted a space where we could do just that. Plus, when you live in Arizona and the weather is nice pretty much year round you want to take advantage of your outdoor space and make it a place where you want to be. 

To give our backyard space a refresh I've teamed up with Pier 1 Imports and their #SummerofEntertaining to make the most of my outdoor space! We started with a pretty basic patio, all that we had already was a patio table we purchased last spring. Other than that, there wasn't any decor, or furniture to make this space pretty. A shopping trip to Pier 1 Imports changed that; for this patio refresh I went with an "Americana" theme, which is pretty fitting for me since I love all things red, white and blue! Have I ever told you once when I was single in my apartment that I had a red, white and blue bathroom? Another story for another day. Moving on. Here's a quick before shot of our patio:

When you think of Americana you might just be thinking "4th of July" and while although that is true it's more of a feeling we're going for here with reds, whites and blues with the mix of galvanized metal pieces added in, and a little hint of stars and stripes. 

The plan for this patio was to add some additional seating for lounging and socializing besides just the table seating we have. I wanted the seating to be fun and comfortable. We also wanted to tie in lighting, I love how simple lighting can transform a space. To do this we're adding twinkle lights above the table, and adding plenty of lanterns and candles to the table and patio. 

And now for the beautiful after;

I really love this seating area, I can already picture many nights sitting out here with my husband after we put the kiddos to sleep. 

Setting a pretty table was easy with the red place mats and acrylic drinking glasses. I added a simple centerpiece of galvanized lanterns and a citronella candle for some added lighting. 

I also really love these battery operated indoor/outdoor candles. As you know we live in Arizona and candles melt within five seconds of you being outside without even lighting them. These are a perfect option for us Arizona people. They also come with a remote so you can set a timer for how long you want them to be "lit." Perfect for me because I too often forget about my candles. 

Our backyard is in perfect shape just in time for all those Summer parties and gatherings I'm already planning. 

Find what speaks to you. See our Outdoor Living collection in stores or at pier1.com/outdoorliving.

Teacher Appreciation Gifts

This was Ava's first year in school, I love her teachers she had this year for Pre-K. They set the bar high for all future teachers. All teachers give so much to their students and the families, I love that there's Teacher Appreciation Week set aside to give them all the love they deserve. Truthfully I think we should do this year round for our teachers, but it's nice that there's a week set aside for them. 

I whipped up a set of mason jar tumblers to give to her teachers this year. These are super simple and I've been making them for a while whenever I need a quick gift. I used this tutorial for the lids.

I added some Starbucks Via packets to the inside of the jars. You could also add Crystal Light packets or something similar. I also had Ava write each of her teachers a personal thank you to add to each gift. 

The colorful straws are from World Market. I just love how bright and fun they are! Put them in a gift bag and you're set to go! These would also make adorable end of the year gifts for your teachers too!

What are some of your favorite things to give the teachers in your life?

J U N E Goals.

Hello June! You're gonna be good! School is out and Ava is done till the Fall. Which we're super excited to spend this Summer together before she officially begins school full time this Fall as a kindergartener. It's so crazy to think that she'll be starting that season soon. 

This month we have Ava's dance recital, a friend's wedding and some family coming into town. Plus, I'm excited to start working on making our house a home! So let's get to this month's goals:

01// Whole30 Round 2! - I'm doing another round of Whole30 this month. This time with my husband and my mom! So fun to have them doing it with me this time. I think there's great accountability in this as well. Things are always easier with a friend.

02// Do the 30 Day Shred - I have been working out 3x per week for a while now, but with the jump start of Whole30 this month I want to also challenge myself to work out every day for 30 days straight! 

03// Paint the House - Our whole house needs to be painted! I hope to get it all done this month so I can start working on other things.

04// Weekend Getaway w/ Orion - We've been wanting to get away just the two of us for a while. We haven't been on a trip just the two of us for 6 years! That's nut and awful on our part. This month we're gonna make it happen.

05// Pay off Debt - We've been slowly plugging away this year at paying off our debts. This month we hope to pay off our car and some medical debt. 

What are your goals for the month? Tell me in the comments below, let's encourage one another to tackle JUNE like crazy! 

What's In My Make-up Bag & My Favorite Beauty Youtubers!

Last April I shared my Everyday Make-up Routine here, since then I've switched things up and added a few new things to my rotation so I thought it would be fun to do a fun 'What's in my Make-up Bag' video for you guys! Highlighting some of the products I'm currently loving. 

Also I wanted to share with you my fave Youtube beauty vloggers! I learn so much from these ladies and get great reccs from them I wanted to pass them along in case you're into soaking up beauty videos as well! 

Let's get to it; here's what's inside my make-up bag! 

A few beauty YouTubers I love; Beauty Broadcast, Make Up By Tiffany D, and Whippy Cake. What are some of your fave beauty vloggers? Leave them in the comments below I'm always looking for suggestions. 

Shop My Make-Up Bag Spring 2015 by andreaworley featuring Maybelline