Gift Guide 2021 | Low Toxic Life Gifts That Matter

As we enter the full blown holiday season you will see influencers and brands going absolutely nuts to try and convince you why you need this Amazon sweater or more Tula skin care. Let me drop this truth bomb for you: you don’t need any of it. I understand that gifts can be just for fun and enjoyment, but the consumerism of this season has gotten completely out of control. This may be a controversial take but this year more than ever my family and I will be focusing on the reason for the season - the birth of Jesus Christ! Since culturally we do exchange gifts, I thought why not give gifts that could actually improve and enrich the recipients’ lives? 

Operation Christmas Child Fundraiser 2021

I am so excited that we are heading into the holiday season! After the last two holiday seasons being really hard and just not the best, I have a lot of hope for this year! One thing I have been wanting to focus on is giving back. Even during uncertain times we are so blessed and as Avery is getting older and able to understand more and more I want to show her how important and wonderful it is to give to others.

Mom + Baby Must Haves | Fall 2021

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.

Something that has become a real problem for families is the vast number of products available today. For ourselves, for our kids, for our homes, there are now a seemingly endless number of products on the market, all of course claiming to be the best for you. I love partnering with BabbleBoxx because it gives me the chance to test out and review a number of brands and products, and share my honest opinions with you. I hope you enjoy learning more about the brands below!

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. 

9 Month Old Baby Schedule

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx on behalf of Triple Paste.

As a huge fan of reading other babies’ schedules I figured it was about time I share one of ours! I shared Avery’s schedule a few times when she was little and maybe I should share her current schedule as a toddler - let me know your thoughts on that! But today we’re going to talk about Georgia’s current routine. She just turned 9 months old and has had this schedule for about a month now.

Scared To Start A Blog? Here’s How To Overcome and Get Started!

Congratulations! You are interested in starting a blog and that is really exciting! I know there can be a lot of fear and doubt surrounding getting started on your blogging journey. As someone who has been blogging for nearly a decade (since 2012), I can tell you that putting in the hard work and sticking with it really is worth off it and pays off - both monetarily and in other ways! 

Latest and Greatest Toddler Products for 2021

This post is sponsored by Babble Boxx. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Sugar Spice and Sparkle!

As a mom we are constantly inundated with new and different products for our kids. It seems like every day there are new items on the market and it can be overwhelming! I partnered with Babble Boxx to test and review several new toddler products and share my thoughts on them with you. Hopefully this is helpful and you're able to find at least one new thing for your family from a fellow mama.

Luxury Spa Day At Home

These days a full on spa day probably isn't in the cards, or at least not in the way it used to be. If you're missing that luxury self care experience, don't worry because you can still have it! And from the comfort of your own home too! 

The best way to have a spa day at home is to have spa quality products to use. Today I'm sharing some of the newest products from ELEMIS, the #1 luxury British skincare brand. Thank you to ELEMIS for sending me these items to experience and review, as always all opinions are 100% my own! This post contains affiliate links.

2021 Word of the Year

Two years ago I chose a word of the year, and though its meaning ended up taking a different shape than what I'd planned for it, that word ended up carrying me through two of the hardest years of my life. 

Since I ended up relying heavily on my word of the year through many different stages of life I decided it was time to pick another word for 2021. I may be a couple weeks late but it took me this long to figure out exactly what I needed my word of the year to be and what exactly it was going to mean to me. 

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. 

Is a Cricut Joy a Good Holiday Gift?

 This post is in partnership with Cricut, all opinions are 100% my own. Contains affiliate links.

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.

Gift Guide - Small Businesses

I’m excited to be sharing my first gift guide of 2020 with you! It seems very fitting that this would be for small businesses! I think it’s important to support small businesses year-round but especially during the holidays. Typically we are all guilty of turning to Amazon because it’s quick and easy and usually the price is right. But aren’t there so many times you wish you could find the perfectly fitting, unique gift for someone? Small businesses are great for that! The easiest way to find a small business to support is to search for what you’re looking for on Etsy.

Cricut Joy Holiday Gift Idea - Girl Dad Shirt

Can you believe it’s already time to really get going on holiday shopping? Where did this year go?! I’m excited to be partnering with Cricut on this blog post to bring you a gift idea for the Girl Dad in your life.

Why I Went Dairy Free + My Favorite Dairy Free Finds

If you’ve been following me on Instagram stories then you know I have been dairy free for quite a few months now. We pretty quickly realized that Georgia was having some issues (mucus in her poop, sorry TMI  but I get questions about it!) and that cutting out dairy was the solution. 

If you think your baby may have a dairy intolerance I definitely recommend working with your pediatrician to figure it out. Dairy is tricky and can take 3+ weeks to fully get out of your system so it’s not something you can easily try and see if it helps. 

To My 2020 Baby

To My 2020 Baby,

This year is one for the history books. It will be one that everyone remembers but I’m afraid they won’t be looking back with fondness. 2020 is the year that everyone wants to end, the year that everyone wants to forget. 

Pumpkin Carving, Teething?, and Mom Guilt

Well Georgia didn’t go to bed until after 9 last night so writing a blog post just wasn’t in the cards after that. Yesterday was a great day though so I still want to have a post for it, so here we are! 

In the morning Brian watched both girls while I had some kid-free time with my momma. We’ve been able to do this a few times and it is so wonderful! I enjoy the break and even though I see my mom nearly every day we always have the girls so we can’t really talk, so the quality time just us is so special. 

The Pumpkin Patch Saga

About a month into fall we finally made it to a pumpkin patch! It was only 85 degrees and blindingly sunny but we did our best to imagine what fall might feel like if we actually had a fall here in Florida.

So today was quite the adventure. Brian took the day off work and we were going to go to a local farm that has a pumpkin patch, sunflower fields, and other fall activities. We’ve been planning this for over a week now but of course I had to go and mess it up. You have to buy tickets to the farm, which I completely forgot about until Brian reminded me last night at about 11PM and at that point they were sold out for today. 

A Surprise for Avery

Oh today was a good day! It was just me and my girls all day and they were both just so good and Avery was extra sweet. My heart feels so full tonight! 

I started the day in the same outfit I’ve worn for the last two but decided since I had some sponsored insta stories to share I should probably change - ha! Avery happened to be wearing her Castle Home T so I surprised her by changing into mine. It’s so cute how little things like that get kids so excited!