Author: lissa612@yahoo.com

Swim Lessons with Goldfish Swim School St. Charles

 

Happy Friday!!  We started swim lessons at Goldfish Swim School St. Charles about 3 months ago. It’s crazy, we are around water ALL the time. My parents live on a lake( I grew up there), so we have always had a life jacket rule. Anytime any kids are over they have to wear life jackets wether they are on the boat or just swimming, etc. What I didn’t really think about was what would happen if they took their life jackets off. Truthfully, it didn’t cross my mind because my kids had never actually taken theirs off before and it seemed we as parents had full control. Well this past February we were in Florida, about to be done at the pool and Max made the decision to take his life jacket off. Because you know, toddlers are the bosses amiright?!  Well he walked into the pool, fell, and sunk to the bottom within seconds. I was literally right there but had I turned my head for 5 seconds that could have ended differently. Truth be told, because my kids always wear life jackets I honestly don’t think Max realized that he couldn’t “float.”  At any rate, both kids were signed up for swim lessons upon returning home and there was no question it would be with Goldfish Swim School St. Charles!  We had attended a third birthday party there and saw how adorable and fun it was!!!!  

 

Emme is 2, so she started out in the Mini 2 class where she had to have a parent with her. She loved this because she had one of our undivided attention for 30 mins!  She was in this class for about 2 months and or 8 sessions. We asked if they thought she was ready to move up(simply because she is so independent) and they agreed. So she is a couple of weeks into her mini 3 class and is LOVING it. I couldn’t believe how great she did her first class, goggles and all!  

Max will be 4 in a couple of weeks and started in the Junior 1 class. It has been fun to watch his progression and even simply his maturity of going to class alone!  Every week he gets more brave and confident with the water.

A couple things, each class is 30 mins long and meets once a week.  If you have to miss a session you are able to make it up. This is such an awesome rule as a lot of places don’t offer this. Goldfish also has family swim times a few days a week. The kids especially love this!  There are changing rooms, an awesome blow drying station, diapers(which we often need because I always seem to forget one), and Maxwell’s favorite:  the swimsuit drying machine!!!

 

Below are some pics of the kids celebrating National Water Safety Month at home in our bath tub!

Good Luck on your swim journey!

 

XOXO,

Lissa, Max, & Emme

***Goldfish Swim School has provided me with the experience of swim lessons, all opinions are my own***

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

 

I have always been one to love celebrating my birthday, I know some people hate getting older. I for one, think life truly gets better and better with age!  Plus, I like a good party!  However, I will admit saying I’m 38, 3-8, sounds really Freaking old!!!  I’m closer to 40 than 30, and can hardly wear heels anymore 🤣. But, You are only as old as you make yourself and I feel more like 25 so whatever 🤣🤣🤣.

It’s so crazy how quickly a year goes by and how much can change. Last year I was starting a new job(working part time from home), and here I am a year later,  I just left my job and am SO excited to spend the summer with my kiddos!  I am constantly reminded how precious life is and how quickly it can be taken. Trying to soak up every second of it!

A special thanks to Patricia Anderson Photography for these AMAZING photos.  They seriously turned out so great and it was a super fun photoshoot!  A good photographer is not always easy to come by and she is the REAL deal!!!

On to the GOOD stuff!!!  Starting today, Sunday, June 9th, 2019, for SEVEN days straight I will be doing one giveaway a day!!!!  Every day at 8am I will post a new giveaway that only runs until midnight CST that night.  The next morning I will announce the winner of the giveaway with the new Giveaway dets for the day!!!  I’m seriously SO excited to do this and hope you are too!!!!

 

GOOD LUCK!!!!

 

XOXO,

Lissa

***This photoshoot was gifted to me by Patricia Anderson Photography, all opinions are my own***

How to wear A cotton dress 3 ways!

I love a short week but this week seems to have drug on forever and it’s only Thursday!!!  I need to just relax and enjoy it because we have a busy weekend ahead of us.  I was recently gifted this super adorable dress from Ensemble Boutique and decided it would be fun to show a few different ways to wear it!  There are seriously a million ways to wear this and any other t-shirt dress, for example, with heels!  Which apparently weren’t on my radar today!

Can you guess my favorite way?!?!
Ok, I will just tell you!  For some reason, I naturally default to this look.  I guess the dressier of the three.  The funny part is I don’t get dressed up as often anymore but I suppose they are all pretty casual really.  I also loved adding black to this dress because I normally would wear my tan Tory Burch Miller Sandals.  This outfit is perfect for a lunch or dinner out!  You can snag this dress or anything else from their site at Ensemble for 15 % off with code: Alissa 15, shop the rest of my look here.

This second look has two options!  You can wear the baseball hat or not, I would probably wear the hat depending on what kind of hair day I have had.  Love the concept of sneakers with a dress too.  Shop my look here.

Look #3 is SO perfect for Spring in Chicago because we have definitely needed a jacket lately!

Shop my look here.

Shop this super adorable Dress RIGHT HERE!!!  Use code: Alissa15 for 15% off anything on the entire site!  A couple things to note about this dress, it has POCKETS!!!  And I am wearing a L!

Happy ALMOST my Birthday Month!!!

XOXO,

Lissa

***This dress was gifted from Ensemble Boutique, all other links are Affiliate Links which means I may make a small percentage off the purchase of these items.***

Target Memorial Day Weekend Try On Haul

Happy Tuesday!  Emme and I did an impromptu Target Try On Haul this morning.  Mainly because it’s raining and we had an hour to kill before Max finished school!  I love shopping for Red, White, & Blue outfits for Memorial Day Weekend because you can use these outfits for Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day!  It makes the most sense to buy it all now and who doesn’t love being a little patriotic?!?  For reference, I’m in a Medium in everything shown except for the chambray jumpsuit.  I’m wearing a Large.

Shop all of the items HERE

Cheers to a fun, safe, and possibly no rain Weekend!

XOXO,

Lissa

You can shop this whole look HERE

***All links are Affiliate Links which means I may make a small percentage off the purchase of these items.***

Invitations with Basic Invite

I LOVE throwing parties and or gatherings and I also LOVE sending a proper paper invitation.  There is nothing better than getting an actual paper invite in the mail, amiiright?!?!?  Often times they have a picture of the person being celebrated or honored and then it gets hung on your fridge or wall.  I get SO many emails these days that when I get another invitation emailed to me, it often times gets thrown into the mix of spam…….Not to mention, when you spend all this money making the party so darn cute, you best make sure you have an invite to match!

That’s why I partnered with Basic Invite to order Maxwell’s invites for his 4th Birthday, he helped me pick them out.  Of course they are Dinosaur themed.  I am not kidding when I say that he was so excited about them!!!  You would have thought I bought him a dinosaur toy.  To him it means his birthday is near, but to me it means I get to start the other decor and party details!!  Since I can’t reveal his invites just yet, below are a couple favorites of mine for Birthdays!  And how amazing that you can order the Thank You cards too.

Other than being able to order the thank you cards, The best part of using Basic Invite was all of these options:

Almost Unlimited Colors – Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers almost unlimited color options with instant previews online. Once you select a design you can change the color of each element on the card to over 180 different color options so you can make sure the card is exactly how you want it down to the littlest detail. For example, on Maxwell’s Dinosaur invites we changed the shade of blue on the Tyrannosaurus Rex!

Custom Samples – Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers the ability to order a printed sample of their actual invitation so they can see exactly how it will print as well as the paper quality before they ever have to place their final order.  I have actually never seen this on an invite site before and think it is actually the BEST feature!

Over 40 Different Colors of Envelopes – Basic Invite is just as colorful with our envelopes as we are with our invitations. Customers can choose from over 40 different colors when it comes to their envelopes so that they can make their invitation stand out even before it is opened. All of the envelopes are peel and seal so the envelopes can be quickly and securely closed.  This is simply amazing to me.  I hate the taste of licking an envelope!

Address Capturing Service – Basic Invite offers an address capturing service that allows customers to simply share a link on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other form of social media to request their friends and family’s addresses which will be stored in the customer’s account and can then be selected during the design process. Basic Invite offers recipient address printing at no cost on all card orders.  Ah-mazing!!!

Foil – Foil cards are available in gold, silver, and rose gold. Customers can choose flat or raised foil on all of Basic Invite’s foil designs.

Guess what?!?!  I’ve got a discount code for you!!!  15% off with code: 15FF51 

And just in time for ALL the graduation parties coming up!!!  You’ve got to check out all of the options!!!  I’ve shared a few of my favorites below too!

Templates of Graduation Invitations

Graduation Photo Invitations Templates

Custom Made Graduation Invitations

I mean, I can’t with this one above!  The then and now is too perfect:).

Basic Invite also does business cards!  This will likely be my next purchase, how cool are these clear ones?

XOXO,

Lissa

Find Basic Invite on Social Media:

Facebook

Pinterest

Instagram

Twitter

***This blog post was sponsored by Basic Invite, all opinions are my own***

Soma Intimates

I hate shopping for undergarments……even before kids. It just seems so annoying to me to have to pay for something that you can’t even see!!  Also, having always had a larger chest you don’t really get to wear the fun and cute stuff.  You always leave with a true, “over the shoulder boulder holder!”  lol.  I recently went into Soma Intimates and left with the perfect bra, panties, and PJ’s!!!  But also wanted to share some of my favorite items I tried on!!!

First up, this super cute and perfect t shirt!  I love the length because it made it SO easy to tie!  You can shop all of the items I am sharing here.

Can we talk about how amazing their basics are?!?!  This white tank and long sleeve tee are reversible.  Basically they are a scoop neck and a v neck!  I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of the other side!  How practical is that?  Shop both tops here.

ALL of these PJ’s are part of what is called their cool nights collection.  Basically the fabric is MAGICAL and keeps you cool and or warm just when you need it:)!!!  I bought this pair and I can attest that it is TRUE!

I love all of the details, prints, and color palettes they offer in this collection!

Trust me when I say you NEED to get a pair of these!!!

If you are local to me, you can head over to Soma at the Geneva Commons to get a discount!  Tell them you saw my IG and or blog and you will get 15% off!

XOXO,

Lissa

***This post was sponsored by Soma Intimates but all images and opinions are my own***

My first month of Orange Theory Fitness

I am so excited to recap my first month with OTF because it already feels like I have been there forever and am loving it!!!!  I can see where people become addicted.  I truthfully haven’t really run in years and today, a month into working out here I ran over 1 mile without walking.  If that doesn’t tell you anything I don’t know what will!  Btw, don’t let this scare you. You absolutely never have to run, there is always the option to walk!

I drove past this Orange Theory for 3 years (seriously though, it is right down the street from my house).  It opened right when we moved here, I was super excited to try it out and then just never did for various reasons.  Thank goodness I FINALLY did!!!  I actually went to my first class on Valentine’s Day!  It was just random timing of when I began.  I was obviously a little nervous to go there, I always am when starting a new fitness venture.  You just never know what to expect.  What I loved the most about Orange Theory upon walking in my first day was that they have you come in early so they can talk to you about your goals, the heart rate monitor, and what to expect during class.  I recently tried out a different studio that didn’t do this and not even joking didn’t know there was a bathroom there for at least two weeks.  So this makes you feel extra important and immediately comfortable in a new setting.

Now onto classes!  When you walk into the studio each time, you will grab either a treadmill or rower card, or you can choose floor.  These are the 3 rotations and whichever card you pick is where you will begin.  You then wait outside the studio room and approximately 2 mins before each class begins, the coach (instructor), talks to everyone before you go in together.  This is kind of a pump you up, let you know what’s happening in class today kind of talk!  Some classes concentrate more on strength, more on endurance, etc.  Did you know that no two Orange Theory classes are ever the same?!?!?  That is one of the many reasons it is SO good for your body.  You will never get used to the same workout routine and become stagnant.

Then, you just listen to the coach and keep on moving!!!  The goal is to stay in the Orange Zone, it’s where you burn the most calories and earn ALL the Splats!!

This is the scoreboard you can look at during your workout, and now it even shows on your personal treadmill!  Also, this is the report you get sent to your email upon completion!

If I can do it, so can YOU!!!!  A few other things I am LOVING about OTF Geneva specifically is:

The community

These cute quotes that change weekly

They have hair ties incase you forget(which I definitely have)

Monthly Businesses so each month OTF partners with a restaurant/business and OTF members get a discount all month long!

Charity Partners-Last year OTF gave millions of dollars to Augies Quest to help find a cure for ALS and are hoping to do it again this year!

Have I intrigued you yet?!?!?!  Would it help if I told you my clothes are fitting SO much better?  Oh, and I can run up the stairs to chase my 2 toddlers and I don’t even run out of breath!!  lol.  Click here to get STARTED today!  What are you waiting for?!?!  Your first class is always free.  Be the best you, you can be :).

XOXO,

Lissa

***This blog post is sponsored by Orange Theory Fitness Geneva, all opinions are my own***

Athleisure with Athleta

It’s no secret that Athleta is one of my FAVORITE stores!  I’ve done multiple blog posts featuring them before because the quality and service are hard to find elsewhere.  You can read them here and here.  Oh, and if you want some Athleta shopping tips, read this one!  So, the real reason I had to head into Athleta this past weekend and why I am hosting my event tomorrow night is drumroll…….It’s Friends & Family Time!!!!  Woo hoo!!!  So what does this mean for you?!?!  Almost everything in the store is 20% off, of course there are some exclusions but even sale is included!  Say what?  I know, it’s crazy talk really.  Below are some of my favorite items I tried on the other day!  Seriously I wanted it all!!!  Also, did you know that Athleta carries dresses and jeans?  Not just active?!?!?!

Shop this Look

Athleta Jeans are the BEST!  I feel like I’m wearing a pair of leggings when I have them on.  I am in a 12 pants, Medium top and bomber.

Shop this Look

This floral top is actually the same as the red top above but look how cute it is with the matching shorts.  Looks like a romper right?!?!  Except you can go to the bathroom while wearing it!!!  lol.  And love the pop of color these pants give.  I am in Medium top, shorts, pants, and L sweatshirt.

Shop this Look

I am obsessed with these light camo pants.  They are a 7/8 length which I love because it’s more of an ankle length.  This book bag is packable which is SO great for traveling, and love the matching sports bra(I was in a L, definitely needed a bigger size but wanted you to see it)!  I am in Medium everything except the bra.

Shop this Look

Do you ever look at a picture and wish you did something different? I really wish I would have pretended to sit on that bike seat!  ha.  I mean wouldn’t that have been perfect?!?!  These pants literally feel like butter on….BEST workout pants EVER!!!  They don’t move when you workout and obviously have super cute prints!  I have a few pairs of the solid black.  I am wearing a Medium in all of these items.

Shop this Look

I LOVE this look so much because it can be worn almost anywhere.  Change your shoes and it completely changes the outfit on this one.  Also, it’s incredibly comfy.  But real talk, this bomber….YOU NEED IT!!!!  It comes in an Olive Black shade too.  You will wear it on repeat and will not regret this purchase!  lol.  I am in a Medium dress and bomber.

Shop this Look

How cute is this romper?!?!  Note that it does have an open back.  It’s very flattering with this busy print and oh so comfy!  This is another one that can be worn to the park or a fancy dinner!

Friends & Family officially starts today!!!!  If you have a gap brand card of any kind.  If not, let the shopping commence tomorrow, Thursday 3/7-Monday 3/11.  Comment below with your email if you want a coupon code!  I will send it right over.

XOXO,

Lissa

***This blog post was sponsored by Athleta Naperville, all opinions are my own.  All links are Affiliate Links which means I may make a percentage of the sale.***

Valentine’s Dinner with Fresh Thyme

Dusko and I love to go out for dinner. Although date nights are few and far between these days we enjoy trying new restaurants!  However, for Valentine’s Day even before having kids we actually preferred to stay in and cook together!    We have just always felt that restaurants get so busy and it’s nice to enjoy the evening at home.  So when I got to tour the new Fresh Thyme grocery store that opened in Geneva, I knew I was on the hunt for what we could have for Valentine’s Dinner!  Truthfully, there are SO many options. From their self serve salad bar, fresh made bread(which you can slice there on your own: so fun btw), the meat & fish selection, smoothie bar, the entire center of the store is produce(basically a produce museum 🍎), so many pasta options (even chickpea), their amazing wine and beer selection(don’t worry, they have my favorite Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc), and fresh flowers!!!

 

But, I stopped in my tracks because they have Fresh Made Sushi EVERYDAY!  We LOVE sushi and don’t have it very often. Also, guess what?!?  It’s half off on Thursday’s and Valentine’s Day happens to be on a Thursday. So I was dying to try it and how cool that I could tell all of you to go grab some!  Btw, it did not disappoint ❤️.

I grabbed some fresh tulips for my table, because they were only $3.99, eek!!!  Best deal in town gentlemen!

And of course a bottle of red sangria because, well duh!  It’s the holiday of hearts, red, and pink 💕💕💕💕.  Speaking of hearts, I snagged a heart shaped CHEESECAKE, Dusko died and went to heaven. It’s his favorite dessert, and I was happy it was heart shaped!  And in case you forgot to buy a gift?!?  Fresh Thyme also sells cards, so many fun skincare products, water bottles, and even some hats and or accessories.

It’s basically a one stop shop and I’m so excited to know I can do all of my shopping at one place. No more going to two stores to complete my list of organic vs. better deals.  Here are a few pics of our Early Valentine’s Dinner!!!!

Now stop reading this and get to Fresh Thyme!  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did, Happy Valentine’s Day!

XOXO,

Lissa

Btw: How cute is this reusable tote bag you can snag too?!?

***This blog post was sponsored by Fresh Thyme, all opinions are my own***

Chocolate PB Smoothie

Just over here making smoothies!  Seriously the kids would eat smoothies every day, I’m more of a pizza girl myself 🤣🤣🤣   For real though this smoothie is delicious!  All we did was add the ingredients pictured below with ice and wa-la!

Recipe:

approx measurements for 2 smoothies

1 banana

2 tbls PB2

2 scoops Orgain Protein

2 tbls prana organic cacao

2 tbls prana chia seeds

1 cup ice

blend until desired consistency

add a cute straw and enjoy 😊!

Whats your favorite smoothie recipe?!?  Would LOVE to know, drop one in the comments below!

Have a Great Week!

xoxo,

Lissa

 

***All links are affiliate links which means I may make a percentage of the sale.***

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