Simple Dinner Ideas + Recipes

Last week I asked my Instagram friends to send me one or more simple dinner ideas because we all struggle with coming up with good meals day in and day out, and you all delivered! Thank you so much to everyone who contributed, this will be a great resource for all of us! I’ll get us started with two of my go-to’s, they are truly simple and taste great.

Taking a Break from Instagram

Hi Friends,

As some of you have noticed I have been MIA from Instagram as of late. I wasn’t going to make some big deal out of it, I just planned to quietly drop off for a bit. However I have gotten several messages from the sweetest of friends making sure I’m okay so I felt I should address it. I guess when you go from posting every few hours to not at all people do notice. 

Life Lately

Typical me *comes up with huge, unrealistic expectations for myself* *fails miserable at achieving them*. I knew blogging daily or close to it wouldn't last long, it's been over a month since my last general life happenings post, but it is what it is! Life is absolutely crazy lately and by the time both girls are in bed the only energy I have left goes towards tucking myself into bed. 

Lessons From My Dad

May 5th, October 1st, October 18th, November 28th, December 5th

The worst days of my life. We’ve passed the one year mark, even two years, for most of these, but today is the worst one. The day we lost my dad. I have pages and pages of sadness written out. Trying to explain how I feel, how grief feels, trying to make others understand. But no matter how sad my story is and no matter how well I explain what grief is like, until you experience it you won’t know. So I changed my mind on what I want to say on this one year anniversary of the worst day of my life, I want to tell you about my Dad.

Pool Day Essentials for Under $100

Today's blog post is sponsored by Bealls Outlet. As always all opinions are my own! Thank you for supporting the brands that support Sugar Spice and Sparkle.

Summer is here (well almost) but here in Florida it certainly feels like it! Being a born and raised Florida girl, summer is of course my favorite time of year. The beach is my favorite but a day spent by the pool is a close second for me.

5 Disney Cruise Line Secrets You Haven't Heard Before

Before our recent cruise on the Disney Magic I did a lot of research! Mostly watching YouTube videos about the ship and Disney Cruise Line in general (even though I'd been on the Magic before as well as the Dream and Wonder). A popular video title was along the lines of DCL Secrets or Things You Don't Know about the Magic. But when I watched them they were 99% things I knew, felt were common knowledge, and were all about the same things.

So I decided to make my own post in the category about things I genuinely haven't seen in other posts or videos and that are not common knowledge in my opinion. Now of course I'm sure someone, somewhere, has shared these things before, but I just haven't seem them!

Disney Cruise Disney Magic | Embark and Day at Sea

Last week we were lucky enough to be on a 5-night Disney Cruise! We sailed on the Disney Magic had the absolute best week ever. This was our first real vacation with Avery and it couldn't have been any better. I'm so excited to share all the details with you as well as some upcoming posts with tips & tricks about Disney Cruise Line and about cruising with a baby. Get ready for picture overload! 

How To Keep A Clean Car As A Mom (+ Giveaway!)

Today's post is sponsored by Mister Car Wash. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Sugar Spice and Sparkle!

To be completely transparent when a car wash company first contacted me to work together I wasn't sure that it would be the right fit for my blog. But after some thought and research I realized how great of a match we really are! Keep reading and I think you'll feel the same way! Read til the end for a giveaway!

Should You Be A Working Mom Or Stay Home With Your Kids?

Spoiler alert: Only you can answer that question. But what I can help with is sharing my thoughts and the realities of the options, having experienced both and also being a self-proclaimed giver of un-biased opinions.

#SparkleSelfLove - A Month of Self-Care and Love

February is known as the month of love because of, of course, Valentine's Day. I personally love this holiday because its an extra excuse to go out to a nice dinner or treat ourselves to a date night. And who doesn't love celebrating love?

This year I wanted to step it up a notch too though and make February the month of self-love and self-care. And I want all my friends (i.e. YOU!) to join me!

My 2019 Word of the Year

I've never had a word of the year before, but I think I like the concept! We'll see after having to stick with it for a full year :P

It was actually harder to think of one than I thought it would be. I didn't just want to pick something willy nilly, it had to be something that was applicable through many facets of life, would work for 365 days (not just the current season), and I wanted it to help me reach my goals. Keep reading to see where I landed!

Meant To Be - A Decade Together [Our Love Story]

Ten. Years.

Sometimes if baffles me that I'm old enough to have done anything for 10 years straight. It's flown by and then again we've done so much.

It worked out for us that our wedding day and dating anniversary fell on the same day, so today marks three years married, but ten together.

Book Club - Girl, Wash Your Face

A little over a year ago I was in a book club with several of my co-workers.  I'm not a huge book worm but I decided to join for the community more than the reading.  I'm so glad I did because it was a wonderful place to share and connect with women who are now my good friends.

I tell you all that because even though our little group no longer meets, 2 of the girls from it recommended Girl, Wash Your Face.  Which is why I decided to pick it up despite the fact that I don't typically read.  I should clarify - don't typically read books, I'm more of a blog/article reader and actually read all the time in that sense.

How To Stay On Budget This Holiday Season

Today's post is a little different and on a topic that is really important to me and I hope to share more around in the future! Like it or not, money is an important part of our lives, in fact it's a critical element. And when you think about how little we're actually taught about money and how to handle our own, it is concerning.

With the craziest weeks of shopping upon us, I thought it would be a good idea to pop in with a little reminder to not get sucked in to the materialistic world we live in, especially on social media!

Dreams Don't Work Unless You Do - Life Update

I've started this post at least three times now and I think I finally know what I want to say!

I always like to keep my posts conversational, we are friends after all! I hope you think of my blog like you're catching up with an old friend, that is my ultimate goal.  I wanted to write today's post to share some big news with you, because it feels weird to me to just go on as if nothing has changed (don't worry - it's good news!).

A Week Without Instagram - What I Learned

If you're following along on Instagram (which of course you are, right?!) then you know that last week I #snapped.

Okay that is a bit dramatic!  But I did decide to do something I don't think I've ever done before which is delete Instagram from my phone for a whole week.

Our Weekend At Aventura: Universal Orlando Hotel Review

Today I'm excited to share with you about our stay at Universal Orlando's Aventura Hotel!  We spent the weekend there a few weeks ago, which you probably saw if you follow along on Instagram.  This blog post will have more details about the hotel and my thoughts on everything we experienced.

2 night stay at Aventura Hotel courtesy of Universal.  All opinions are my own.

All About Podcasts!

My newest obsession is listening to podcasts on my commute.  I know I'm probably late to the podcast game, but I also know there are still a lot of people out there not taking advantage of this free entertainment!  It seems like every time I turn around someone is starting a new podcast, so I decided to share my favorite shows, and a few specific episodes that have stood out for me.  When I polled y'all on Instagram to see how much interest there would be, one of my friends suggested I also share your favorite shows!  So that list will be at the end, by category.

Get to Know Me - Q&A

Hello my friend!  It has been a hot sec since I've formally introduced myself!  I know there are some new faces around here and whenever I 'meet' someone new on the internet I like to get to know a little about them, so I wanted to do the same for you.

I asked what you wanted to know about me on Instagram so I'll be answering those questions and more here, you can also visit my About page (I just updated it!) for more info about the blog and my goals.  I'm going to break up the questions into categories to help share my story in a more organized way ;)

26 thoughts on my 26th birthday

Well, well, well... June 19th we meet again!  How in the world has another year gone by?  This is my 4th birthday post here on Sugar Spice and Sparkle, click here to read the last three!

If this is your first year here - welcome!  Each year on (or right around) my birthday, I write a post with essentially random thoughts so that I can look back and see where my head was at at each age.  It's really fun to do and something I would highly recommend even if you don't blog - get out a journal and write yearly.  My husband and I also write to each other each year on our anniversary.  I'm a very sentimental person and if you follow me on Instagram you know how much I reminisce!