BrandBacker Member

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Empties [No.8]

Some of the links below are affiliate links. Thank you for using these in support of Southern & Style at no additional cost to you!
It feels like it has been so long since I've shared an Empties post over here on the blog, but I'm so glad to finally give y'all my mini-reviews on these products & get them out of my sight!
If you've never read a post like this before, basically I collected all the products I've used up over the past few months (beauty products and also soaps/candles) and then before I toss them all I share whether they were good or bad, etc. so that if you were planning on picking them up you can make an informed decision about them!
This soap is so, so good y'all! It smells bright and citrus but also has notes of almost a bergamot scent too. It's almost a little masculine which I really like. Definitely one of my favorite soaps & I also really like the blue bottle-it's really pretty on a counter!
I have to admit, I only bought this soap from B&BW because it was on major sale & I needed some hand soaps for the end of Summer. It doesn't smell that great, too much strawberry for my tastes and I hated the label. It did the job of getting our hands clean though.
This is one of my favorite Summer scents; it's a fresh and clean scent that reminds me of a warm towel down on the boat dock. I don't love the label on this one, but the scent made it worth the buy.
I absolutely loved this scent of hand soap & more than that, I absolutely loved the label on this hand soap! I think the black pumps look a little nicer & the label itself was very clean and just fits in with my style. I will definitely repurchase this scent in the future.
I really enjoy almond scented things so this hand soap was no different. It's an excellent in-between season soap and the label is another really beautiful one that fits with the aesthetic of my home.
I picked this up on a whim from Sephora & honestly I really, really enjoyed it.
It has the best scent/taste, just like lemon bars! I have to say, it's probably good for my lips during any time of year other than Winter. It just wasn't hydrating enough to keep them from getting chapped in this dry and cold weather we've been having.
Fresh Sugar Lip Caramel
This was my first foray into Fresh lip products, from a Sephora Play! box. It smells/tastes so, so yummy. I loved it so much. It isn't quite as moisturizing as I need right now, but I definitely will repurchase when my lips aren't so desperate.
Aquaphor Immediate Relief Lip Repair
I have had some severely chapped lips lately with the cooler, dry Winter weather and my EOS balms just weren't cutting it. I went through an entire container of this Aquaphor and it really worked miracles on my lips. Now I keep one of these by my chair in the living room, in my truck, etc. because I really need them on hand always.
This is just one of my all-time favorite B&BW candles, it's slightly sweet and a little smokey-just like toasting a marshmallow over a campfire! 
I've had this candle for a long time & just needed to finish burning it.
It honestly burned really well, all the way to the bottom. However you can see that from the top of the candle it was really sooty and the scent wasn't that strong. They do come packaged really beautifully though!
I love the smell of this body wash for Charlie, but he couldn't use it for a long time because he was sensitive. When he was finally able to use it, I just wanted to drink it in! It has the most soothing lavender scent that I just love. I try to stick to more natural things for him, but he does have a couple more bottles from his baby shower I'll be using for sure.
Heck, I'd buy this to use for myself it smells so good!
When Charlie was born he had very sensitive skin & we stuck to fragrance free products for all of his bathing needs. Aveeno Baby is really one of the only brands that makes most of their items fragrance free and I absolutely love that!
This wash has colloidal oatmeal in it, so it's soothing to the baby's skin in case they get irritated.
I'm a big fan of gifting Aveeno Baby products to new moms, too because they are perfect for newborn babies.
Charlie has to have a true baby shampoo because of his long and thick hair. I like that this one is soap & fragrance free, hypoallergenic, as well as tear-free.
He's currently using another brand, but I would definitely buy this one for him again. I've also purchased it for baby shower gifts because it's so gentle!
I picked up this shampoo because I wanted something volumizing without leaving buildup on my hair. I wouldn't say it added much volume, but I also wouldn't say that it left buildup, so I guess that's good. It does smell good, so that's a plus.
I absolutely love B&BW shower gels. They smell amazing, they last forever, and you can typically find them on super sale during their semi-annual sales.
I've had this one for the longest time because you just have to use the smallest amount.
I love this scent & wish they would bring back this entire "southern" line. It was my favorite!
I really, really enjoyed this deodorant and the fact that it went on clear and didn't leave behind any residue. I changed a few years ago to only spray deodorants and don't want to ever go back because they are so much easier to apply!
After I used up the Radha Retinol, I was looking forward to pulling this out of the cabinet and trying it out too. Unfortunately, you have to be careful with retinol products (& any skincare products, really) because they will turn bad and you have to watch the expiration date. This one unfortunately expired before I got a chance to use it.
I really, really enjoyed this retinol moisturizer. I used it morning & night and really felt helped keep my skin bright & hydrated. I love using a retinol and will probably repurchase this one because it's an awesome price! Note, the packaging has changed since I bought this one-but I like the new packaging even more!
I loved this scent as a soap & I loved it as a wallflower, too. It's just a warm, yet fresh scent that smells great any time of year.
This was the wallflower I used during the end of October in November. It's a warm, cinnamon-y apple scent that wasn't too overpowering. I enjoyed this one a lot!
This is a good in-between seasons wallflower because it just smells clean, truly like fresh laundry.
I need to pick up more of this scent!
I want to preface this review by telling you that this lotion smells amazing, so if that's what you're going after then this could be for you!
However, since purchasing a lot of moisturizers that I need to go through, I've learned what is the best for my skin & after I use these up I'm going to focus on better quality moisturizers instead of just ones that smell really nice.
In the Winter, my skin is just too dry to only count on this kind of lotion to work.
This is probably a slightly better lotion than the Hempz because at least it doesn't contain any fragrance, however it still is mostly water and doesn't fully hydrate my skin.
I did enjoy having this on hand during the Summer for days after I had gotten bug bites because it was soothing for those, however.
I've got so, so many perfume samples that I'm trying to use the ones that are cluttering my drawer up before I purchase or use up another full size spray or perfume.
This particular one smells so good. 
It's very warm & feminine at the same time and honestly is perfect for this time of year going into Spring.
This perfume/cologne/whatever it is smells so heavenly. This is my all-time favorite out of these four that I used up. It smells so citrus-y, but warm and cozy at the same time. I wish I could buy this right now!
Okay, so I was pretty excited to have a sample of Twilly after hearing one of my favorite YouTubers talk about loving it so much. However, I don't think for me that it lived up to the Hermes hype.
It's a warm, floral scent that I think for me smells good, but is a little more mature than I'm ready to lean at the moment. This would be a good pick for the 40 and up crowd, which makes sense because Hermes is a high-end brand that is mostly catered to the ladies who can afford that!
This wasn't my all-time favorite perfume I've used lately. It smells very floral & fruity, but in a way that just wasn't pleasing to my nose. In as much as Twilly was mature, this one felt very young to me. I'm definitely somewhere in the middle!
After we came back from vacation I had some travel sized products to use up and this was one of them that didn't have enough left for a full trip.
This shampoo smells amazing, I would buy it for that fact alone.
This is definitely a shampoo I would purchase after I run out of my current one!
I had this as a gift-with-purchase and stuck it in the shower to test it out. But y'all, I don't like this product at all. That's hard for me to say because I love Clinique products, but not this one.
I've heard that foaming cleansers aren't good for your skin because they dry them out and this one lived up to that. It also made my skin feel "squeaky" clean which I don't like.
This was a very strong & sweet scent from B&BW. It was a gift from someone, so I didn't pick it out-but it wasn't bad. I had a little bit of a cold a month ago and so I kept this on hand to use after blowing my nose or whatever, in hopes of keeping the other people in my house healthy-guess it worked because no on else got sick!
When I say this is the best smelling hand sanitizer that I've ever used, I'm not kidding!
This was a gift from one of my students & I kept it in Charlie's bag. I was so sad to see it go because I haven't been able to find it in store lately. If you see this, grab it! 
I LOVE this product so much!
If you want to buy a product that will 100% make a difference in your skin, this is the one I recommend.
Every time I feel like I have dark spots, acne scarring, texture, etc. pop up this is the product I pull out of the closet and use.
It only takes a few times for me to see a major difference.
I will say, you need to be careful & test it out to see how your skin will react (as you should do with all new skincare), but since this is an acid peel this is very important.
It works so well for me though with 0 irritation.
Neutrogena Cleansing Wipes
If you've been around here for very long, you know it's not an empties post if there isn't at least one of these packs in it. However, I'm really trying to do better about using up the cleansers that I have and until I use up my current micellar water I'm not going to purchase anymore of these. I do miss them from time to time though, when I just want something easy and fast to take my makeup off with!
I am such a sucker for the sheet mask aisle at Ulta!
But I do really like the Tony Moly masks, they usually have a good amount of serum on them and they fit well. This one was supposed to be soothing so I wore it after having a bout with dry skin and I really felt like it did hydrate and soothe my skin. It was also really relaxing!
This was the birthday gift from Ulta last year & y'all-I'm obsessed and wish it wasn't so darn expensive! I tend to save my nicest face masks for when I have an event or such and this was used the day of our family pictures that we put on our Christmas card.
I really think it plumped my skin & really hydrated it. I would highly recommend this if you want to treat yourself or someone you love!
So I really wanted to love this lip mask because I love the under eye masks below.
However, I think I tried it at the wrong time (when my lips were really, really chapped) because it burned my lips. I would give it one more chance to see how my lips reacted when they were not chapped.
Sometimes Bath & Body Works sends out the free product coupon and if I'm by the store when I have one, I typically try to go cash it in. These little masks are some of my favorites to pick up because I love a good under eye mask, I felt like this one was really soothing and just hydrated my under eye area a little bit. Did it do anything Earth shattering? No, but it did feel really relaxing and nice!
I was so stoked to receive this in a Sephora Play! box, but honestly it fell a little flat for me.
I didn't see the hype and have other foundations that I like better, even some from the drugstore seem to work better or just as good as this one.
I was sent this from Influenster to try & I'm glad they sent it to me because otherwise I probably wouldn't have picked it up. I loved the packaging-very different & eye catching.
The wand itself was pretty good as well as the formula of the mascara.
It was a good basic, everyday mascara although nothing I couldn't live without.
If you're just wanting something to darken lashes & separate them, this could be a good match for you.
This is one of my all-time favorite concealers and I've actually heard that it's a dupe for the Tarte ShapeTape that everyone raves about!
It only costs $7 at Ulta (& you can use coupons on it!) and it only takes a little bit so it lasts forever. Totally will repurchase!
Wander Glowtion Lotion Illuminator
This was a Sephora Play! box find that I was impressed with, for what it was.
This is a lotion you can wear on your own or under makeup, it's supposed to give a nice subtle glow & highlight. It worked really beautifully, especially for days when I didn't want to wear any other makeup. There are a few other products I'm testing out now that I think I like more, but this one is really nice, too!
Benefit The Pore-Fessional Primer
I found this in a Sephora Play! box, too and fell in love with it. I only use this primer on my t-zone (just the areas where I have very pronounced pores) and it does it's job there. I love how it just blurs my pores so that makeup doesn't sink in and I feel like I get less oily on days when I wear this primer, too. I purchased it in the full-size!
This was a sample in one of my Sephora Play! boxes that I really truly enjoyed. It felt so nice and hydrating on my skin and smelled so clean and fresh. I would definitely purchase this full-size after I clear out my moisturizer stash.
I was really excited to try out a sample of this Drunk Elephant product in one of my Sephora Play! boxes, however I wasn't blown away. It was good, don't get me wrong, but I didn't love it enough to justify the price. I think the Belif cream is even better for a slightly better price.
This was another Sephora Play! find & I was so excited to test out another Algenist product because I love their Liquid Collagen, however this just didn't live up to the hype for me.
When I tried Liquid Collagen, it only took a small sample for me to see a huge difference. I used this whole little tub and really saw no difference at all.
L'Oreal Ever Fresh Micro-Exfoliating Scrub
I picked this up at Ulta over a year ago now & finally used it up.
I've had some issues with buildup from shampoos & hair products and wanted something to really detox and scrub my scalp when I was having that feeling.
However, I don't think this product helped all that much. It smells amazing, but maybe my hair is just too thick or something, but it just doesn't scrub my scalp well enough for me to repurchase.

Whew, that was a marathon of reviews!
I hope y'all enjoyed this and found something useful from it...if you've tried any of these products, let me know what your thoughts are below.

Until next time. . .
xoxo,

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Toddler Amazon Finds

Some of the links below are affiliate links.
Thank you for using these in support of Southern & Style at no additional cost to you!
Since becoming a mom, I have also become a huge Amazon advocate-it's the best for finding things you never even knew you needed!
I thought I would round up some of my latest Amazon purchases for Charlie that I've made over the last few months.

Some might think it's a bit too early for Charlie to have a pillow, but he's been sleeping with a blanket & a tiger stuffed animal for quite some time and he had gotten to the point where he was making a pillow with his tiger, so I felt bad and purchased him a little pillow for his crib.
He's been getting better about learning to use it and although this particular pillow came with two white cases, I also picked up two navy cases to have more to switch out & to match his bedding.
I bought this for Charlie a few months ago at Target & recently found it even cheaper on Amazon-only $5! This has been & still is one of his favorite toys, he plays with it every single day without fail. It's great for hand-eye-coordination, plus you can use it to teach colors, etc.
If you spend any time outside at all with your little kiddos, you need to snag these mittens.
Mittens are so much easier to get on toddlers because you don't have to worry about individual fingers going into glove fingers. It's also great to have multiple pairs on hand in case you lose one or need to wash them.
I learned that I needed these clips the hard way, by losing Charlie's first pair of mittens.
When I went back, I ordered the three pack of mittens & this two pack of clips. They attach to the mitten on one end and I just clip the other end somewhere on his sleeve.
That way, even if he takes the mitten off it still stays attached to him and we can easily find it to put it back on.
These will save you so much money in lost mittens!
Right before I sat down to work on this post, Charlie and I were actually in the floor playing with these! There are SO many opportunities for learning with these cups plus they are super inexpensive at only $4-they were a no brainer for his stocking this year!
First of all, there's the obvious-he can learn to stack all of the cups together or on top of each other.
There are also numbers on the bottom of each cup, tiny shapes cut out of the bottom of each cup, and all the different colors. We've been working on orange & yellow today!
These are the first sippy cup we ever used with Charlie because I didn't want to start the bad habits of the traditional sippy cups.
I will say, these do leak some but after a few months of having him I've learned lots of tricks to help with leaking!
They're inexpensive, easy to wash, and both I and Charlie love that he can get every last drop out of his cup with the weighted straw.
This was one of the Christmas gifts we got Charlie this year. I love buying him Melissa & Doug toys because they're wooden & really durable. This one has different shaped holes for the different blocks and you can also dump all the blocks out of the back after you've put them all in.
He plays with the blocks, truck, and the toy people in the front so overall it's a great toy that makes for many different avenues of play.
I wanted to include a couple of my Amazon book buys for Charlie on this list. He has tons of books from many different places, but Amazon is always a quick go-to to find any book you want.
This book is one of his favorite night-time books and we've probably read it over 1,000 times at this point, but it's just a really cute book!
We are definitely Auburn fans (that is Chris' alma mater and we both love visiting there since we live so close by!) and so any time I get a chance, I grab a new Auburn book for Charlie.
This one is another Christmas gift & it is just the sweetest book. I think it would be the perfect gift for a baby shower of an Auburn loving couple as well.
It has a place in the back to write down Auburn memories so I need to write down Charlie's first trip to the Plains, his first Aubie Claus visit, his first Homecoming, his first Tiger Walk, etc. before I forget!
Ah, this is the classic book that started the "Goodnight" book obsession.
We picked our first copy of this book up at the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention last year as a souvenir for Charlie from our trip.
We wrote a special message in that book & wanted it to be more of a keepsake, but when we saw how much he loved it and wanted it read to him every night we ended up picking up another copy.
It costs less than $7 so it was worth it to have a second one on hand for him to read every night!

These are the most recent toddler finds from Amazon that I have to share with y'all, although I'm sure there are tons more I could think of if I had the time. I might even come back & share another one of these posts if y'all enjoy this one!
If you have any Amazon suggestions or favorites from your toddler, please leave them in a comment below-I am always looking for new things on there.

Until next time. . .
xoxo, 

Saturday, January 18, 2020

January 2020 Goals

I haven't shared a goals post in a lonnnnng time, y'all.
In fact, the last time I shared a goals post was the September back in 2018 right before Charlie was born!
It's still hard to accomplish tasks that are too lofty, since I do have a 16-month old running around destroying something while I'm putting something else together, but I'm going to see if I can make a go with the last few weeks we have left in January!

Finish Tax Prep
Chris & I are really trying to be ahead of the ballgame with our taxes this year & we've already made a big dent in tax prep, I just want to finish up my part so we can take them to our accountant hopefully in February.

Organize some of the boxes in our garage
I'm not going to lie-one side of our garage is a complete mess of boxes.
And in the current state, I can't use anything in any of those boxes because they're so cluttered!
I want to get the things out of cardboard boxes and into storage tubs and move what can be moved into a closet inside the house and neatly store everything else in the garage.

Research & make a list of what I'd like to plant for Spring
Chris & I have talked a bit about having a vegetable garden this Spring, something that we haven't done in about 5 years. The way his family used to do it, it's a big job, but I'm hoping since it'll be mostly me doing the work that Chris will make sure it's really downsized to my level.
I also want to think about the plants I'm going to do around our house this year, because I'd love to add some more edible plants & some flowering bushes to the yard.
I'm also dying to do a big patch of Zinnas because I think they're beautiful and I love them as cut flowers in the house as well.

Let me know below what one of your big goals for the month of January would be, I would love to know!

Until next time. . .
xoxo, 

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Ten on Tuesday [No.64]

Some of the links below are affiliate links. Thank you for using these in support of Southern & Style at no additional cost to you!
Okay, the holiday season officially kicked my butt!
I haven't posted a Ten on Tuesday since November and I've just been off of my game with both Instagram and the blog.
I did manage to share a Year in Review last week and have been feeling the itch to write and share in this corner of the internet. I fight the comparison game so much, I want to share I just feel like nothing I have to say is as worthy as what others have to say-but I'm going to fight that feeling, y'all!

ONE
 This holiday season was one of the sweetest, mostly because it was Charlie's first year to actually be able to participate in the festivities-and everything sure was festive!
 From the moment we first put up the tree to Charlie toddling in on Christmas morning to check out his tractor and other gifts, this Christmas season is one that I will never forget.
TWO
Every year, Garden & Gun has their Annual Made in the South Awards and y'all know I'm all about locally made products and supporting small businesses.
I think gifting items like these is such a win too because a lot of these smaller companies really put so much thought into the details of their items...and what a better gift for a Southerner than a Southern made product, right?
I think my two personal favorites are the beautifully hand crafted duck call (do I hunt? nope, but I would display the heck out of that call!) and the stunning custom-made camp knives with map details inlaid in the handles-they are completely beautiful!
THREE
One big change around these parts? Charlie's big boy haircut!
He had gotten a little trim a while back, but this was his first salon visit where he was really trimmed up and it totally changed the way he looked-he looks so grown up and handsome now!
FOUR
I'm a massive sweet potato fan, even more so when those sweet potatoes are in pie form.
I ran across this sweet potato pie recipe from James Beard Foundation medal and Birmingham pastry chef, Dolester Miles and I want to make it ASAP because it sounds so, so yummy and pretty simple too.
FIVE
 This has been the season for charcuterie at our home and I'm not mad about it at all!
We made Christmas cookies & candies one afternoon with my sisters and mom and then of course we had our families Christmas on a separate occasion and so they both called for the finest of spreads.
Some of my personal favorites are homemade pickled okra, boursin herbed cheese, and not pictured-it was on a separate plate-room temp cream cheese with blueberry jalapeño jelly spread on top...the best!
SIX
I've been pouring over house plans and different articles on architecture and trends because I'm getting so excited about potentially starting our journey to building a house soon.
Southern Living is basically my home-bible and I had to check out what they think the top 8 home trends will be this year.
Personally, out of these I'm all-in for leaving the all-white kitchens behind (I can't keep that clean!), I love the look of a wooden range hood, and I definitely want a formal dining area in our future home for entertaining!
SEVEN
 We have been truly blessed with a rather mild Winter so far & I'm crossing my fingers that this holds true throughout the rest of January and into February & March, too!
Charlie has loved spending time outside and checking the cows is at the top of his list.
Also, I just realized he's wearing the same shirt in both of these pictures 😂 He has a closet full of clothes and ends up wearing the exact same thing whenever I take his picture🙈
But to be fair, these simple tees come in a lot of fun colors and prints and are very inexpensive!
We have a great little park close to the shopping center we go to pretty frequently and the weather was so nice that my sister & I took Charlie for the first time the other day. He had so much fun swinging and playing on the slides. I just adore watching this sweet boy have a good time!
EIGHT
I'm not super crazy about the Royals but I have been interested in hearing about Meghan and Harry leaving the fold. Something I didn't consider? Them potentially losing their titles! This article shares more info.
NINE
Last Friday I got a wild hair and decided to do a date-night meal at home for Chris & I to enjoy after Charlie went to bed.
Most nights, we try to eat as a family but I wanted to really get to just sit back and enjoy this meal with Chris so we fed Charlie, bathed him, got him in the bed and finally got to chow down!
I made homemade cheese grits (so, so good y'all!), sautéed mushrooms, red peppers, and onions, diced and cooked Conecuh hickory sausage, and I homemade turnip greens. We topped the greens with some of my homemade pepper sauce and it was amazing!
I'm not going to lie, turnip greens at home have always intimidated me but these were so easy to prepare and I ended up only having to cook them for around an hour for them to be delicious-but I bet they'd be even better if they had simmered all day.
I will definitely be doing this again soon!
TEN
I don't always share who I'm following, but I probably should because if you like me-you might like them too!
In 2019, I started an Instagram account for our farm @RockinUFarm and have had so much fun having a dedicated spot to share our farm photos (because there are SO many taken on a daily basis!) and I've also really enjoyed finding new farm wives and moms (and FarmHers!) to follow along with.
One of my favorites, who's account is pictured above is Taylor from @BarnOfBlooms. She's actually pretty local to me, which I didn't know 🙈 but she's got beautifully curated, but real photos. She has a real farm story and I absolutely have loved watching her journey.

I am so grateful to be able to start another year of blogging and sharing with you all, friends!
Until next time. . .
xoxo, 

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

2019 In Review + Most Popular Posts

Happy 2020, y'all!
I honestly still haven't gotten used to saying or writing 2020 & it doesn't feel like 2019 was last year yet 😂
I'm a little behind on posting here; I lacked a Christmas home tour (which I'm honestly sad about, but this was a crazy season in our lives) and barely made it through with my gift guides by the skin of my teeth.
I didn't want to let the new year slip by me without a recap of 2019 and also sharing the years most popular posts with you all...so let's jump in!
Christopher & I kicked off 2019 with a bang by heading to New Orleans to attend the American Farm  Bureau Federation's conference where we were competing in the Achievement Award. We placed in the Top Ten nationally and were so excited to represent the state of Alabama so well! 
We also had so much fun taking Charlie to the aquarium in Atlanta for the first time with some of our sweet friends. He was such a little guy then & had so much fun taking in the whole experience.
In February, Charlie and I spent a lot of time at the farm watching Chris and his Papa work.
He has always loved the farm!
We also got to attend the Alabama Cattleman's Convention Tradeshow and we had so much fun talking to friends, checking out all the new technology, and even adding some toys to our Christmas list.
At the end of February, Charlie took his first trip to Mount Cheaha (the highest point in the state of Alabama). I love sharing my love of the outdoors and adventure with my boys!
The first weekend of March brought Charlie's first trip to the Alabama Young Farmer's Conference.
Chris & I have been going to this conference since before we were married, so it was so fun to bring Charlie to his first conference. It'll be so fun to watch him grow up with the Federation!
In March, this blue eyed guy was trying to crawl around and showing off his ability to sit up all by himself.

In April, we took Charlie out to one of our favorite local restaurants and he sat in a high chair by himself for the first time! This was the restaurant that we took him out to for the first time period, so to have another milestone there was sort of fun!
April also brought Charlie's first Easter and he was just so sweet, although I have to admit that I cannot wait for his second everything now because his second Christmas was so fun!
April also kicked off our season in the hayfields and Charlie's first experience with cutting, baling, and wrapping hay. He was so intent and just took it all in-this year he'll be knee deep in it!
We kicked off May with a trip to the state capital to receive resolutions from the House and Senate honoring our time and efforts spent as Outstanding Young Farm Family. We also had an audience with the Governor and many other notable figures while in Montgomery. We left there feeling even more grateful, proud, and overall just fired up to continue advocating for agriculture!
My first Mother's Day was so, so sweet and it included a Mother's Day lunch with both of our mom's and Chris' grandmother. I love spending holidays with both of our families!
Charlie also got to take his first trip to the lake & "drive" the boat for the first time in May!
We love spending time on the water during the summertime so this was just another sweet experience I was so grateful to share with Charlie!
We don't have a pool at our house, but thankfully my parents have one and Forrest & I took Charlie for his first swim at the end of May. He's such a water baby!
He enjoyed the big pool so much, we grabbed a plastic pool for our patio and Charlie loved playing in it all Summer long!
The Fourth of July was spent dockside at the lake hanging out with our friends, watching fireworks, and snuggling up to his mom.
Charlie and Forrest also had a mini photo shoot at Auburn on one of our trips there for Forrest.
They are such sweet brothers and I will forever treasure these moments and pictures.
On a whim one Sunday afternoon, Chris and I drove up to Mount Cheaha again walked out onto Bald Rock (you should definitely google it if you want to see some pretty views!)
I snapped this shot of Charlie & Forrest and it actually became a magazine cover this past month!
July is also the month that we celebrate Forrest's birthday (his Gotcha-Day from the shelter) and it wouldn't have been complete without a birthday hat pic!
On July 29, Miss Minnie Pearl the calf came into our lives-the cutest thing ever!
Her Mom was an older cow in our herd and she was unable to care for Minnie, so I became her adopted mom and raised her for several months until she was able to join the other calves out in the pasture. I still make a point to see Minnie each time I'm out in the pasture and to give her some scratches!
August brought a trip to Chattanooga for the Alabama Farmer's Federation's Commodity Conference.
We once again were so excited to bring Charlie and he loved the experience, especially the farm tour we went on (evidence below-"driving" the truck at the winery we toured!)

We also checked out the aquarium in Chattanooga and Charlie had so much fun!
We had our second annual County Cattleman's Rodeo and it was Charlie's first rodeo ever!
We had a lot of fun attending both nights and it's one of my most favorite small town traditions.
We finished August out with a baby shower for my oldest sister Trystan and her newest blessing, Miss Cleo! It was such a fun shower to throw (which I need to share on the blog 😂 Maybe one day!)
We kicked off September with some fun on the farm, hanging out with Daddy while he was cleaning up fence lines and creek banks at the farm with the excavator.

More fun was had in September with the baby pool-it got a little bit smaller when Charlie had to share with Forrest!
One of the most fun things we did this month this year was taking Charlie to Auburn's homecoming!
We went to the Ag-Roundup tailgate and then brought him down to Tiger Walk and the pep rally and y'all-I had literal tears seeing him experience Auburn and game-day for the first time, it was just so sweet seeing how much he enjoyed it.
On September 13th, 2019 Charles Levi turned ONE!
We had a fiesta and it was so fun!
In October, we snuck away for a little getaway to Grayton Beach with some of our sweet friends. I hope this is something we can do each year because it was just the best!
Of course, we couldn't let October sneak by without having some Halloween fun!
Charlie dressed up as a cow and visited some family and went to a local trunk-or-treat on Halloween night.
In November we went to see Aubie Claus and you can see how that went...😂
We were much happier when we put up our tree and sat by it with our own personal Aubie!
At the end of November, we went to some friends house to watch our Tigers win the Iron Bowl and my boy looked so grown up in his jersey, jeans, and boots!
December kicked off breeding season with our cattle herd and Charlie was doing his part, checking out the girls and making sure they were all doing okay!
Chris and I also had the opportunity to steal away down to Montgomery for a few hours to attend the Young Farmer's meetings at the Alabama Farmer's Federation's Annual Meeting.
We also snuck in some time to take some quick family pictures for our Christmas cards; they turned out so beautifully!
December also brought a chance to take Charlie to see Christmas lights for the first time!
We tried out the whole Santa thing and he loved seeing Santa's train set.
Christmas mornings brought all the most fun things; tractors, new chairs, trucks, and the sweetest Christmas pjs!
Doesn't everyone celebrate the day after Christmas by hanging out in cotton seed?!
Also the looks on these cows faces is too funny!

It was a wonderful, wonderful year & we were so blessed to spend it loving each other and loving Charlie. I can't wait to see what happens in 2020, but I have a feeling it's only going to get sweeter!

Now let's dig into the most popular posts of 2019. . .
Ten on Tuesday [No.58]
I always think it's so funny and interesting when y'all really, really enjoy a Ten on Tuesday post as the most popular but this one was much needed. I shared a lot about our trip to the capital, a lot of my summer porch garden, and more.
Top Ten Recent Amazon Purchases
This was one of my favorite posts of the year as well, because 2019 is the year where I more fully embraced using Amazon.
I still love all of these things, but especially the wireless charger and my mop because they are used daily!
What I Packed in my Hospital Bag
If you're expecting-read this and if you know someone who is-share it with them!
I wrote all about the things that were in my bag and then all the things I wish I had ditched or brought with me.
What Charlie Received for Christmas
This was such a great roundup of gift ideas for anyone that has a baby at Christmastime because he didn't really "want" anything because he was too little-so instead we focused on things that would serve him well for the next few months. We still use the booster seat & he adored that play piece until he absolutely outgrew it!
Grayton Beach Getaway
Y'all loved our beach trip almost as much as we did!
This post was a labor of love because I was trying to remember to take the pics but also trying to be present, I just knew I wanted to share this piece of paradise with you all and also Charlie's first beach trip!
Charlie's First Fiesta
I no joke spent months planning this party and so I was so thankful that y'all enjoyed this post!
So many of the things I used were from Amazon, so be sure to check that out if you're in need of fiesta items.
Charlie's First Easter Basket
I had so much fun putting together Charlie's first Easter basket and I hope someone out there found this post helpful. I'll most definitely be doing another one of these this year for an older little boy!
73 Questions with Jordyn
I just think it's SO sweet how many people interacted with me on this post and shared their answers to some of my questions, too! If you're new around here and would like to get to know me a little bit better, this post is a good one to start with!
What's Up Wednesday [8.28.19]
This was a fun "catch-up" post where I shared some recipes I had been cooking, my summer uniform, and my favorite book!
And last but not least, one of Charlie's monthly posts made the cut & I adored this one because I feel like six months is when his little personality started coming out big time!

Y'all 2019 was a huge year around here-such a time of growth for our family!
2020 is going to be jam-packed with fun, learning, and excitement and I can't wait to experience it all and then share it with y'all!

Until next time. . .
xoxo,
09 10