Uncategorized – Page 19

My First Niece

February 23, 2015

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed the most adorable baby girl blowing up your feed. That would be my adorable new niece! My first niece. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law decided to keep the gender a surprise, but she really felt like she was having a boy the entire pregnancy. I felt like it was a girl, and I am thrilled that it is! Our little girls will be just over 2 months apart and I know they will be best little buddies. I’m so happy they will have each other.

Meet beautiful baby Kena:

Isn’t she perfect? I mean, those cheeks!

How was your weekend? Did anything exciting happen in your life?

30 Week Pregnancy Update + Giveaway

February 20, 2015

How Far Along: 30 weeks…as in 3/4 of the way there! I. Can’t. Believe. It.

Size of Baby: 3 lbs. She will be gaining half a pound a week from here on!

Gender: Our baby girl!

Movement: All the time. She is getting so strong and is constantly jabbing me in the ribs. It isn’t always pleasant, but I love feeling her moving.

Sleep: Not so great. Hello pregnancy insomnia.

Workouts: This week, I only walked 4 miles and did cardio one other day, but I did do my TIU routines every day. Definitely did a lot more strength than cardio, but it has been way too cold to walk outside, y’all.

Maternity Clothes: Mostly leggings, although my jeans have been nice to have this week because…brr.

Symptoms: I’ve had horrible Braxton Hicks this week. I think I over did it a couple of days with the exercising/cleaning/organizing/moving furniture around. Yeah, I learned my lesson. I haven’t had them the last couple of days, thank goodness.

Cravings/Aversions: Just sweets every now and then. My cravings haven’t been all that strong this time around, and for that I’m very thankful.

Missing Most: Sleep. Pregnancy insomnia hit me hard this week. It’s not been pleasant.

Nursery: I have officially washed all of baby girl’s clothes, and organized her closet. I just have a few more decorations to order and put together and we will be all set. As far as Hampton’s room, it is all ready to go minus the crib. Once it comes in, we will go ahead and move him into his new big boy room so that he can get used to it before baby arrives! 🙂

And now onto the giveaway!

#LuckOfTheIrishGiveaway

“May your pockets be heavy….”

with MONEY

*CASH PRIZE of $1,500!

ENTER TO WIN!

*Three winners of $500 each

A HUGE thank you to the 84 amazing blogger friends of

A Peek Into My Paradise for giving YOU

the chance to “make your pockets heavy”

Please be sure and thank the team of amazing bloggers who joined me to offer this phenomenal cash prize! I encourage you to hop over and take a peek into their paradise!

May good luck pursue you each day and night! Happy St. Patricks Day from all of us to you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway is open worldwide to participants with a verified PayPal account.

Three entries will be drawn for $500 PayPal Cash to each of the three winners.

All entries will be verified. In the event an entry can not be verified participant chooses to forfeit that entry and another winner will be chosen.

Winner has 48 hours to respond to the winning email.

Giveaway will run from February 20, 12AM PDT Time to March 17, 11:59PM SDT.

Any taxes or fees associated with the winnings of this contest are the sole responsibility of the winner according to their county, state and/or country laws.

CASH prize is in US Dollars and will not be converted to any foreign currency.

Void where prohibited by law.

How To Start A Blog

February 19, 2015

Decide what you want to write about. This is pretty important. Do you want to be a fashion blogger, lifestyle blogger, food blogger, craft blogger? I would say mine is a lifestyle blog. I like to share about my life as a mother as well as my fashion, recipes, book reviews, etc. It’s important to know what type of blogger you want to be so that you can have a clear vision of the topics you will write about.

Blogger vs. WordPress is and has been the biggest controversial topic amongst bloggers. Everyone has their opinion. I am on Blogger. I love it and haven’t really wanted to change because it is so easy to work with. A lot of bloggers will preach WordPress all the way, but I have been very happy with Blogger as well. The decision is ultimately yours. Do your research on both and make the decision based on what you want for your blog.

Picking a name for your blog is the next step. This is huge. My blog started out as Southern, Sunflowers and Coffee Beans, because those are two of my favorite things that also describe me. I am a southern girl who loves the outdoors and I’m always hyped up on coffee. I changed my blog name to Logan Can last year because I wanted a simpler, shorter and clearer name for my blog. Put a lot of thought into your name because it will definitely become your identity in blogland. Also, be conscious of social media handles. Make sure the handles are available for your blog before you begin.

Blog Design is also very important. You want your blog to be organized and look professional while also describing your personality. You might want to splurge and hire a designer to do this for you. It will be much easier and quicker than you trying to do it yourself. Most designers are very easy to work with and can help you creatively design your blog to fit your personality.

Write. And write some more. I try to write every day. Some days I just don’t have time, but I at least try to jot down my ideas or an outline for a post. Always write about things that matter to you, current events that are important to you. Use holidays to your advantage to write holiday themed posts, or posts about your favorite shows or music/movie awards. Whatever the topic, make sure you’re always writing.

Write down every idea you have. I know this kind of goes along with my previous point, but I wanted to emphasize it. However insignificant, you will always wish you had written down your thoughts or ideas when you are having a bloggy brain fart – which happens OFTEN. Start writing blog posts immediately. Blog about anything and everything you want to, after all, it is your space.

Good luck on your new blogging adventure! Was this post helpful? What other tips would you add to this list?

15 Books You Should Read In 2015

February 17, 2015

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

The Prodigal Son by Danielle Steel

The Marrying Type by Laura Chapman

Three Amazing Things About You by Jill Mansell

Girl Before a Mirror by Liza Palmer

In The Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

Summer Secrets by Jane Green

Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

The Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Lizzy and Jane by Katherine Reay

Emma by Jane Austen

Most of these come out this year, however, I threw in one of my favorite classics, because I firmly believe everyone should read at least one classic ever year. I also included a couple that came out last year that I still haven’t read.

What are you currently reading? What is on your list this year?

Valentine’s Day 2015

February 16, 2015

My mom called me late Thursday afternoon and offered to keep Hampton for us so that we could go out on a date on Valentine’s day. We normally stay in to keep from fighting the crowds, but this year, we decided to take her up on the offer and go to dinner – just the two of us. It was so nice, but despite going to dinner at 4:45, we still had to wait an hour and a half at the restaurant. It was an adventure being in an extremely crowded room with high-schoolers debating 50 Shades of Grey on one side and grumpy old men on the other, but we still managed to have a great time, a much needed break from mommy duty and an awesome meal. It was a huge blessing for us to spend quality time together.

Of course, before we went on our date, we had to get a couple of family pics. My funny little Valentine would not look at the camera at all. He was too intrigued watching his Pops trim the shrubs. haha

All of my heart in one picture.

What did you do this Valentine’s Day? Did you get out in the craziness?

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my giveaway! It ends Thursday!

Five On Friday

February 13, 2015

ONE.
I will be 29 weeks pregnant tomorrow! Nuts! Where is the time going? I finally started organizing this week and we are getting ready to have a huge garage sale in 2 weeks to help us get rid of some of our clutter before baby girl arrives. I have finally started ordering decor for her nursery and Hampton’s big boy room, so I am getting really excited to start decorating and pulling everything together. As far as me? I’m feeling okay. I’m definitely starting to feel larger and have been more uncomfortable, but that is just all part of it! I’m mostly just really excited to meet this sweet baby.

TWO.
Did you check out my Valentine’s Day inspired outfit? You must! Pink Blush sells this in maternity but it can easily be worn as non-maternity. It will definitely be a staple piece for me this spring and summer.

THREE.
You must enter to win this giveaway on my blog! There are only 5 days left to enter, so what are you waiting for?

FOUR.
Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day! My mom offered to watch Hamp for us so we can go on a much needed date! I’m so excited I don’t even mind fighting crowds! We have plans to eat an early hibachi dinner! My favorite! What are your plans tomorrow? Are you doing anything romantic?

FIVE.
One of my best friends just moved back to our hometown after being away for several years. To say I’m excited would be an understatement. I have missed her so much and am so thankful for her friendship and the fact that I can see her more often! In honor of her arrival I’m sharing a Flashback Friday picture of us our freshman year of college. Yes, I had terribly dyed hair. You’re welcome. I feel very blessed this week. 🙂

P.S. Check out My Romantic Valentine’s Day Ideas!

I hope you have a lovely Valentine’s Day and weekend!

Linking up here!

Romantic Valentines Day Ideas

February 12, 2015

I gave you 15 Valentine’s Date Ideas a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to share a few Romantic Valentine’s Day ideas with you in case you are in the mood for something a little nicer this year. As for me, I’ll be spending the day with my husband and 15 month old. For those of you not wrestling a toddler…

-Candle lit dinner for two at home or at your favorite restaurant.

-Make a palette by the fire and drink hot cocoa (tea or coffee).

-Get dressed up and go to the theater for a show.

-Go for a long walk around the town.

-Put together a romantic scavenger hunt of all of your favorite places to go together.

-Stay at a nice hotel for a night and order room service. Chocolate covered strawberries, please!

What is your idea of a romantic Valentine’s Day?

Darling Oh Deer

February 10, 2015

Head wraps c/o: Darling Oh Deer

If you weren’t already aware from this post, I have a slight obsession with Gilmore Girls, so this onesie was a must for our baby girl. I actually asked the shop to personalize this one to say Lorelai and Luke instead of Cory and Topanga, and it has seemed to really take off for her shop which is really exciting! Until this past week, I had not bought our little girl anything pink. What? Crazy. Needless to say, I was really excited when these head wraps came in from Darling Oh Deer. Are they not perfect? This pink one is reversible with black polka dots on one side and solid pink on the other. I have a feeling she will get a lot of wear out of it.

Of course I had to get her a buffalo plaid head wrap for next fall/winter. I mean, she is my daughter. She must have plaid. I also picked her up one of my favorite childhood books this week. Madeline is a classic and is set in my favorite city in the world. Win/win in my book!

These goodies are making me really excited for her arrival. While we are still far from ready as far as her nursery and preparations, we are getting so much closer to playing endless dress up. I. Can’t. Wait. Less than 12 weeks and counting, little one.

Weekend Update

February 9, 2015

This weekend was equally crazy, scary, exciting, fun and about a million other emotions. At my doctor appointment on Thursday, we found out that when our insurance policy changed, so did the amount of money we will owe the hospital after baby. Let’s just say that number grew by an extra zero. So there was that. Even better? We had just purchased brand new furniture the day before and it was literally being delivered to our house while I was at the doctor. To say that news stressed me out is an understatement.

We are absolutely thrilled about our new couch and chairs. It is so exciting and terrifying to make a big purchase like that, but I’m so thankful we did and our house finally feels like it is coming together a bit more. I even caught Hampton enjoying his bible stories book on one of our new chairs. As soon as he spotted me with the camera, he began showing off. haha He is a mess.

Friday and Saturday, Hampton stayed with his grandparents while Ryan and I attended a marriage conference. It was such a blessing to gather with other Christians and refocus our marriage on God and putting Him in the middle of our relationship. We learned a lot about how to deal with conflict and decisions which was really interesting and definitely encouraged us.

All in all it was a great weekend. New furniture, working on our love, and a baby-free night! While I did miss Hampton terribly, it was so nice to have a night off. We haven’t had that in a very long time.

How was your weekend?

Heart Healthy Snacks

February 6, 2015

Thank you to General Mills for supporting today’s post and giveaway.

The month of February is Heart Health Month. Appropriate enough, right? We celebrate love and all things heart, so why not heart health as well? I’ve mentioned before that I have been trying to gain a healthy amount of weight during this pregnancy as opposed to my last. I have applied a few tips that I have learned through the years to keep my weight down, energy up and keeping my heart pumping strong. I’m so excited to introduce you to some of my latest favorite heart healthy snacks from General Mills!

Walking has been HUGE for me this time around. I ran for the first half of my pregnancy but had to stop because it became really uncomfortable. Walking has been a great alternative to keep me moving and raise my heartbeat to a safe level.

Heart healthy snacks such as Gluten Free Chex Granola, Cherrios Ancient Grains and Nature Valley Nut Crisp Bars have been wonderful choices to keep me full throughout the day but not compromising my diet. The Nature Valley Bars are so easy to take with me when I am on the go. They have bailed me out of blood sugar crashes and they taste great! I mean, anything with dark chocolate that contains healthy fats and nutrients that support my heart are definitely a good idea in my book. Be sure to get your coupon to buy 2 boxes of bars for $5 at Publix! This deal only lasts through the 11th, so hurry!

My tone it up workouts have also kept me energized and feeling strong. Most of them work so many muscle groups at the same time that it makes the workouts cardio as well as strength training.

Giveaway time! Stop by here, here and here and tell me what you think of these new products from General Mills in a comment or enter in the rafflecopter! I will announce the winner of $15 paypal cash on February 20th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also, don’t forget to print your coupons!

I want to encourage you to get your heart healthy this month! How do you keep your heart pumping?