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so…what’s the plan?
So, what’s the plan? The four words I have come to loathe more than any other, and the fastest way to earn an immediate no from me. I’m tired of making all the plans. I’m tired of organizing everything. I’m tired of always being the go-to for planning all the things in life. Every holiday,…
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halloween gift basket ideas
Spooky and Scary With goblins and ghosts running rampant over the next week, it’s obvious that Halloween is in the air. Halloween parties, Trunk or Treat events, fall festivals, and pumpkin patches galore…and So. Much. Sugary. Candy. I adore Halloween, but I don’t adore the abundance of Halloween candy that comes with it. Our kids…
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national pancake day giveaway
Happy National Pancake Day! Every weekday morning, while my husband is off taking our middle schooler and our high schooler to their respective schools, I’m at home with our nine-year-old twins inhaling my first cup of coffee and wondering why these kids have such abundant energy at such an ungodly hour. All right, so 7:30…
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self-care
Self-Care. The concept brings to mind images of spa days, champagne flutes and fully white robes, facials, massages, and quiet. Lovely as all of those are, and as much as I do enjoy a quality spa day with all of the above, this is not the kind of self-care I want to talk about today.…
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dear husband,
Dear Husband and Children, I love you. I picked you. My sweet husband, I chose to spend my life with you when I was 18 years old, and I chose to have these babies with you because I never doubted you are the most amazing husband and father imaginable. From day one, you made it…
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Chicken Piccata
Regret If I have one regret in life, it’s that I never thought to ask my grandmother for her recipe books prior to her death. Though, in my defense, she reunited with my grandfather in Heaven two weeks shy of the second anniversary of her 100th birthday (forever the inside joke we share), and I…
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Amazon Summer Fashion Must-Haves Under $40
Summer The season of doing all the things, doing nothing, and making a lot of last second plans. It’s also the season in which I find myself ordering last-minute outfits I need on my doorstep…yesterday. That means ordering from Amazon because nothing else will get here fast enough. Let’s be honest, it’s not like we…
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Style At Almost 40
Forty It’s on the horizon…three months away. I’m not nervous about aging. I enjoy it. Total transparency? I look great – I don’t look 40 at all, and I rather enjoy when people are shocked when they learn how old I am. So, of course, I don’t mind aging! One thing that I didn’t expect,…
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Grief
Grief It’s such a complex emotion, and it’s one no two people handle in the same manner. I’m not even convinced the same person handles grief in the same manner on different occasions. When I lost my grandmother last year, my grief was profound. It also turns out that it’s prolonged. Even after almost a…
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anxiety.
I struggle with anxiety. I think I have struggled with it my entire life, but I didn’t know I struggled with it until a few years ago. I thought I was obsessive-compulsive (how many people do you know who get out of their car and immediately vacuum the car after every drive and how many…
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moments.
Moments There are moments in life that are just a little more special than others, and spring break 2022 was one filled with moments. We may travel often, but we rarely travel as just a family of six. We often have our friends and their kids with us. We have our extended family with us.…
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simplicity.
Simplicity Maybe it’s because in six months I celebrate my last birthday in my 30s. Maybe it’s because I live such a busy life between four kids, a husband, my business, home, travel, and everyone’s activities that I crave something the simple. Maybe I miss my grandmother so much that I find myself channeling her…
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favorite florida family hotels
Traveling with kids. My husband and I travel often, and we take the kids with us on 90% of our trips. We have four kids (and we’ve had four kids for 8 years now, so I will go say we are pretty good at knowing how to travel well as a family of six). I…
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priorities
Priorities “That one simple word holds the key to either chaos or calm,” is a quote I came across on social media recently, and it resonated strongly. I don’t deal well with chaos – though it’s easy to assume that my life might closely resemble that being the mother of four kids, wife, and business…
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for my kids.
There are no experts when it pertains to parenting, but there are many who have been there, done that, and who certainly have plenty to say about it. Being parents is the most fun my husband and I have ever had, but it’s also challenging. Oddly enough, it’s not been challenging in the way ‘everyone’…
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love.
Love It’s such a lovely thing to be in love. To love someone so much who loves you back. To be blessed with a forever kind of love is a beautiful thing, and it is always my hope that those who have it don’t take it for granted. Because February is the month of love…
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thirty-nine.
39. Tomorrow, the man I love turns 39. For eight entire months, I’ll be married to an older man, and I certainly won’t let him forget how fortunate he is to have a young wife. And, after my own birthday later this year, I won’t mention his young wife again until he turns 40. It’s…
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choices.
Choices. Everyone has choices. Everyone makes decisions. Some are good, some are bad, some are boring, some are exciting; some are not the choices we want to make so much as those we need to make for the greater good. Let’s take a moment to flashback to this past weekend. My husband and I made…
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patience
Perspective. Patience. One thing I have an abundance of, and one thing I would adore having an ounce of. If you know me in real life, you know my patience level is below sea level. It’s below the grandest depths of the deepest oceans in the world’s most remote areas where life may or may…
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no introductions necessary
Happy Thursday! Or, as I like to call today, happy day the kids go back to school after 16 days of Christmas break. If you’re wondering what I’m doing this morning, just know I’ll be hitting snooze too many times, showering, dragging myself into the office in my robe with a mug of hot coffee…
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twenty twenty one
Five years – January 2017 is when I launched my blog. Six months – June 2021 is the last time I published a blog post. Why? Because I was uninspired. I spent most of 2021 uninspired. It was a weird year, and it wasn’t one I cared much for while simultaneously feeling as if it’s…
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Monday Motivation: Learning to Master Self-Discipline
Through self-discipline comes freedom Aristotle When you take a moment to let that sink in, it really hits hard because it’s about so much more than the usual things that come to mind. When you ask someone about self-discipline, they often joke that they have no self-control (um, yeah, I said that last night as…
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Life Update
Happy Wednesday, loves! It’s been three long, lovely months since my last post, and it was a much-needed break for me and my creative mind. The truth is that sometimes I feel relatively uninspired, and I don’t have much to say. If you want to dig further down to the root of that truth –…
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“She Makes It Look So Easy…”
Happy Wednesday! Being a parent is hard work, y’all. Hard work. I can’t think of one thing – other than the actual loving them part – that is effortless and easy. My husband and I have been doing this parenting thing now for over 12 years, and we still don’t have a clue what we…
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It’s Okay to Make Mistakes
Happy Wednesday! We all make mistakes, and it’s okay to make the wrong decision. We all do it. We make mistakes, we do the wrong thing, we wish we could change our minds. The great news, thankfully, is that most situations allow us to do just that; change our minds. We did it, and we…
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Bye, Negativity
Happy Wednesday, loves! How many negative thoughts have you had this morning? Hazard a guess. I’ve probably had dozens already, and it’s first thing in the morning. Honestly, it’s so hard not to find negative thoughts creeping in these days. Any day, really, but these days it’s almost impossible not to feel negative more often…
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What is Confidence?
Confidence is not “They will like me,” Confidence is “I’ll be fine if they don’t,” – Pinterest I’m sure someone more important or interesting said that, but it’s all over Pinterest without a direct attribute to the person who said it, so…(if you know to whom this belongs, please shoot me a quick email so…
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Quick Tips When You’re In A Funk
Happy Friday, loves! Do you ever find yourself in a total funk? It’s like a weird place where you’re present in life, but you feel almost as if you’re looking at your life unfolding before you from up above; almost like a dream, if I’m putting it into a tangible concept. You can’t put your…
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A Big Announcement Following a Difficult Decision
Happy Friday, loves! This is one of those days that’s just so sweet. Who doesn’t love a Friday? I make sure I have all my deadlines met prior to Fridays so that I can sleep a little late, linger a little longer over my morning cup (cups…who am I trying to kid?) of coffee, and…
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Gratitude Prompts Days 15 to 31 (oops)
Sooo…I’m behind with my gratitude posts for the month. Honestly, I cannot believe I allowed two weeks to go by without a post! No excuses. I dropped the ball there, and today I’m catching up in a big way (with the remainder of the month). Can we just talk about how great I did the…
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Gratitude Prompts: Days 12, 13, and 14
I know, I know…I missed a few days of gratitude this week, didn’t I? Oops! Well, let’s be honest. I’m not perfect, and sometimes things slip through the cracks, and this was just one of those weeks…and it hasn’t even reached crazy capacity just yet! I can’t wait to share more with you guys next…
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Gratitude Prompt Days 9, 10, and 11
I love when I get to go into a long weekend worth of gratitude…though I wish I had the time to do them all one day at a time! No, that’s not true. I love that I don’t worry about things on the weekend. I focus on having fun, making memories, and living my best…
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Gratitude Prompt Day 7: Personality Traits
How’s everyone doing with their gratitude prompts? It’s hard to keep up with all that needs to be done each day. Some, in my opinion, require a little more thought and a little more time – there’s more to say. Others, still, are quick and easy. This is one of those for you. What’s one…
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Gratitude Prompt Day 6: My Proudest Accomplishments
As I sit here writing this, it’s still the weekend and it’s early. I have my coffee in my office where I’m watching my husband water the flowers around our front porch. Our hibiscus is growing vibrant pink flowers that make me smile every time I see them. Our gardenia is overflowing with fragrant white…
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Gratitude Prompt Day One: What I’m Most Grateful for In My Life
Happy first day of May! And, happy first day of our 31 days of gratitude journaling! I’ve been working on this for a month now. I began working on it when we were somewhere in the first few weeks of our quarantine, and I wanted to get it just right. (Fun fact: I use social…
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Mediterranean Couscous: Simple but Flavorful 30-minute Recipe
Happy Thursday! Hands in the air if you’re doing a lot more cooking than usual? You can’t see my hand, but it’s in the air. Typically, my husband cooks or we go out. I cook very rarely because I’m just not good in the kitchen unless I’m baking. I don’t know what it is, but…
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Learning to Appreciate the Simple Life
Day 31 of social distancing. It’s hard to believe it was only 32 days ago that our sweet twins turned 6 and we were waking up in one of our favorite hotels in Miami. We caught the sunrise over the ocean from our balcony before the babes woke up and made their way into our…
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Distance Learning Week One: Helping Four Kids Relearn Learning
Happy Friday, and happy end of the first week of distance learning. For most of us, anyway. We just began distance learning in Florida this week. This week marked the end of the kids’ 3rd week out of school since the state cancelled schools. It also marks the week that President Trump announced that the…
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10 Quotes and Verses to Help You When You Feel Out of Control
Day 12 Honestly, I have no idea what day we are on quarantine-wise. The official timeline for us was on March 16, so we are just sitting here 12 days in and really trying to make the most of a horrible situation. Family walks. Long runs. Lots of power yoga at home. Lots of FaceTime…
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Blessings in Disguise Amid A Global Pandemic: Find the Good
Day 5 Today marks the fifth day we’ve been in the midst of our social distancing operation. No school, no cheer practice, no gym. Those are the big changes during the week. Otherwise, not much has changed. My husband and I both work from home and always have, so we aren’t adjusting to any new…
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Talking to Your Kids About COVID-19
I won’t start with my typical Happy Tuesday because I’m aware this is not a happy time for most. In fact, it’s a terrifying time for many. For those who are susceptible to COVID-19 – or the Corona Virus – such as the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. For parents who fear the…
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Intentional Living: Making 2020 A More Intentional Year
Happy Tuesday, loves! Today marks the first day back to school for the kiddos after a two-week Christmas break, and I’m all mixed feelings and sad about it. On one hand, it’s so nice to get back to our really amazing routine, which includes no one coming into our office all day long asking for…
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2020 Goals
Happy New Year! It’s 2020 – the only 20/20 I’ve had in my life since I was like 9 and began wearing glasses. Some say it’s the year of clarity because of that, but I like to think everyday is a day of clarity if you open yourself up to it and really make the…
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2019: The Best Worst Year
Quality. The degree of excellence of something. It’s a simple word. Not even a fancy one. Regardless, it’s the word I am focusing on in my life in 2020. It’s the word I want to embody the year we’re about to live. I want to look back a year from now, and I want to…
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Important Questions to Ask Before the New Year
Happy Friday, loves! This year has flown by, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. December is one of the busiest months of my life in every nook and cranny. It’s Christmas, which brings with it a month of events that are some of our very favorite of the year. It means shopping and planning…
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Friday Favorites
Happy Friday, loves! Look at me sliding in here on the last day of the week with a quick post because I made you a promise last week to be here at least once a week the rest of the year. Well, I didn’t fail this week, so go me! This week has flown by!…
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Life Lately
Happy Friday, Loves! It’s been too long, and I know that. This year is one that has gotten entirely away from me, and I’m almost positive it’s my own fault. Unfortunately, my blog is my creative outlet – and it has nothing to do with my business, so it’s been pushed to the backburner more…
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A Beautiful Smile Made Simple with Smile Brilliant
Growing older is exciting, and I should know. I just turned 36, and I’ve never felt more confident, happier, or more beautiful in my life. Growing older doesn’t scare me, but that’s because my grandmother – who is as beautiful as ever even after a century of living – taught me that there are two…
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36 Things I’ve Learned to Celebrate Turning 36
Thirty-six. I woke up Monday morning after a late night of fun with my husband and some friends, dining at my favorite restaurant in the world (Il Tinello) in my favorite hotel room at the Omni Berkshire in NYC. Room service had already delivered my coffee, my husband had gifts waiting for me, and it…
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Change Your Perspective, Change Your Outlook, Change Your Life
I’m tired. There. I said it. I have over-committed myself this year. I have taken on too many things. I have gone above and beyond the degree of what I’m comfortable doing. While I’m happy to go outside my comfort zone, I’m not so happy to admit that I’ve put myself in a situation in…
Tiffany Raiford 