Archives for June 2015

June 29, 2015

Weekend Fun + A Roadtrip

What a busy weekend we had! We left last Thursday afternoon with Brandon’s little brother to drive to Cincinnati to visit Brandon’s dad, stepmom, and little sisters and brother to celebrate his dad’s birthday!

Thankfully Jude did AWESOME in the car and only got upset a few times. He slept the majority of the way and then I put an episode of Sesame Street on the iPad and he actually watched it! This was the first time he’s ever shown any interest in watching something, probably because he was strapped down and couldn’t get away

We got in late Thursday night and went straight to bed, but were up bright and early Friday morning for lots of playtime!

Brandon's little brother and Jude — Brandon’s little brother and Jude

The weather was hit and miss with rain, but that didn’t stop us from playing outside! Friday afternoon we made lemonade popsicles!

We decided to not grill out on Friday night because it was supposed to rain, but of course it didn’t. And then of course it did rain on Saturday when we did grill!

Saturday the girls went shopping for flowers.

While the boys played with cars!

This guy had lots of fun pulling a mini wagon around.

And there’s no better way to get ready for dinner than to make more popsicles!

Saturday night we grilled and ate outside, but we didn’t let the rain didn’t spoil our fun!We woke up early Sunday morning and had breakfast and then drove into the city to visit Findlay Market.

It reminded me a lot of Soulard Market! There was so much fresh produce as well as little shops and booths. We grabbed lunch and I had an AMAZING crepe with egg, cheese, and ham!

And had to snap a family photo!

The MLB All-Star Game is in Cincinnati this year so they have these mustaches all over town. It made me miss all the mini Arches that were in STL when we hosted the All-Star Game!

And no trip would be complete if we didn’t visit a brewery! We checked out Rhinegeist Brewery and tap room and it was amazing!

Their space was so fun because the tap room and physical brewery are literally in the same room. They have lots of big tables, corn hole boards, and TVs. I would love to go back and spend more time there and try more of their beer!

And now it’s Monday and I’m doing a lot of this with the little guy…

We are taking it easy getting back into our regular routine! I hope you all had a fun weekend!

And don’t forget, this Wednesday is when we are linking up for the #StarSpangledKids party! I can’t wait to see everyone in their red, white, and blue gear!

#StarSpangledKids | Ellie And Addie

June 26, 2015

Friday Favorites + A Link Up Announcement!

Happy Friday Friends! I’m so excited because today I get to share the fun announcement I’ve been hinting at! So let’s get to it and start my favorites!

One.
I’m so excited about this I can hardly contain myself. A few weeks ago I emailed my dear blogger friend Sara with a crazy idea and she said let’s do it! So here it is, you are all invited to our STAR SPANGLED KIDS party!

The Fourth of July is one of my FAVORITE holidays and I thought it would be so fun to have a little link up on all our blogs and of course Instagram sharing pictures of our littles in their fun All-American gear! And I could not be happier to have all of these awesome mama bloggers hosting with me!

Sara from Running from the Law
Kristy from Seven Graces
Erin from Hello Erin
Vanessa from Sunflower State of Mind
Natalie from East Coast Chic

So go snap some pictures of your littles and then share them on your blog anytime between July 1 and July 7 and head back here to link up. Don’t forget to share our graphic in your post and link back to us! And most importantly :) don’t forget to share your pictures on Instagram with the tag #StarSpangledKids

Two.
I’ve been doing some late night crafting and I wanted to show you the card I made for BTR for Father’s Day using my Cricut Explore. It was a free cut in Cricut Design Space and I thought it was so cute! I think double sided card stock might have made it pop a little more.

I also just bought this circle monogram font and I will pretty much be monogramming EVERYTHING I own from here on out. #notsorry

Three.
Jude and I went to story time in the park on Wednesday and then played on the playground for a bit after. I just love this shot of him in the swing.

Four.
I shared this on Instagram earlier this week, but wanted to share here also. Beauty Brands is having their liter sale and you better believe I stocked up on shampoo and conditioner! I also grabbed this hair mask since I was almost out of the one I was currently using. Has anyone ever used this brand before?

Five.
I haven’t gone to yoga or barre in a while so I bought a big class package from my studio because they were having a summer special. I have 20 classes I have to go to before the end of August! I went to my first yoga class yesterday and I really forgot how much I love it.

Okay friends, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Don’t forget to come back next week for the STAR SPANGLED KIDS party! I can’t wait to see all of your littles!

And as always, I’m linking up with all the lovely ladies listed on my linkup page! And don’t forget to like Ellie And Addie on Facebook or follow me on Instagram!

June 22, 2015

Father’s Day Weekend Fun

What a weekend!! For the first time in quite a while we actually relaxed and did nothing. And it was amazing!!

Friday night we hung out at home and I helped BTR stage a beer photo for his Instagram. We always have fun trying new brews!

Saturday we did a few things around the house and then I ran out to Old Navy to pick up this dress.

And as a bonus flip flops were only $1, so I totally grabbed two new pairs! Side note: I have now bought four black maxi dresses in a two day period. I want to wear one to our dinner in Chicago, but I cannot decide which one I like best! Once I decide the other three are going back.

Saturday afternoon BTR installed his newest woodworking project, which was an addition to the swingset. We joked when we got it that it needed cup holders, so he made one for his beer and a lower one for Jude’s water bottle. I love it!!

We woke up bright and early Sunday morning for church with my dad and then we went out for breakfast. When we got home I could not wait to give BTR his gift. I totally out did myself and will probably never do this good again!

I got him the bottle cap map I featured on my Father’s Day gift guide and then also got him some of his favorite beers all the way from California! They aren’t distributed around here so I had a friend secretly ship them to me. BTR was so surprised!

Jude took an extra long nap that afternoon so we relaxed on the couch and did nothing. It was amazing.

When Jude woke up we ran to the grocery store to get some pork steaks for dinner and fruit for popsicles!

I made popsicles with fresh raspberries and pineapple juice and they were so tasty and so pretty! I can’t wait to try more popsicles with fruit in them! Side note: I really want to use a hashtag on Instagram for all my popsicle photos. I was just going to use #rotzpopsicles but BTR thought #popitlikeitsrotz was funnier, which it obviously is. Thoughts?

And we also let Jude try his first popsicle. He was hesitant at first and really just wanted to hold it. But eventually he figured out how to lick it and really liked it!

That evening we put Jude to bed and BTR got out another part of his Father’s Day gift, a new book. It’s called “Goodnight Brew” and it’s a parody of “Good Night Moon” but about brewing beer. It’s so funny! I bought it at a local craft beer store, but I later found it on Amazon.

*Also linking up with Liz, Stephanie, and Courtney for the Summer Reading Challenge! We read a few other books, but this was a new one and also the only one I took a picture of! :) I’ll try and snap a few more photos for the next link up on July 9th!

Then we grilled our favorite summer dinner, pork steaks, corn on the cob, and fresh tomatoes from the garden, it was delicious! We don’t have many red tomatoes yet, but I can’t wait to make some fresh salsa and maybe trying canning some as well later this summer!

I hope you all had a wonderful Father’s Day and a fun weekend! Make sure to check back later this week for a really fun announcement, I promise you won’t want to miss it! :)

June 19, 2015

Friday Favorites

Hey everyone! I’m so excited it’s Friday, aren’t you?

One.
It’s been raining like crazy this week so we went to the Magic House yesterday because we just could not stay inside any longer. We don’t always make it to the third floor of the Magic House but this trip we did. So I just had to hold Jude and try the static ball. And with his crazy hair it turned out hilarious. I think it’s time to schedule his first hair cut!

Two.
BTR and I are always discussing our Instagram feeds, and likes, and who we each follow. I always give him a hard time (jokingly!!) if he doesn’t like one of my photos right away, especially if it is a photo of Jude. So every once in a while he goes through and unlikes and then re-likes a LOT of my photos at once just to annoy me. Then when I open my app I get an alert like this and can’t stop laughing.

Three.
One of my favorite MOPS moms just had her baby girl, so me and another favorite MOPS mom made dinner to take over to her and to meet the baby! It’s amazing how quickly you forget how small babies are! She was absolutely precious!

Four.
I’m so excited to give BTR his Father’s Day gifts. He already knows about one of the gifts (he picked it plus I featured it on my gift guide), but I have a couple of surprises up my sleeve!

Five.
Last night someone posted this link on Facebook, so I hopped over and read it. And oh. my. goodness. It just hit so close to home about being a mama. Here’s one of my favorite parts, but you definitely need to go read the whole thing!

So when I get to the end of the day…the day that I’ll never get to have with you again…I go over the details, the highs and the lows, and I wonder if you felt loved the whole day. Once you’re in bed, sleeping soundly, I almost completely forget how hard the day was for me.

Six.
I’ve got a couple of really fun and exciting announcements coming up in the next few weeks that I can’t wait to share with you! So make sure you come back to hear all about them!

Happy Friday friends! I hope you have a wonderful weekend! And as always, I’m linking up with all the lovely ladies listed on my linkup page! And don’t forget to like Ellie And Addie on Facebook or follow me on Instagram!

June 17, 2015

Currently…

Pinning – as many popsicle recipes as I can! I’m so obsessed with my new Quick Pop Maker and I want to make as many fun popsicles as possible this summer! Send me your favorite recipe stat! Or check out my Pinterest board here.

Driving – all around town! I’ve talked about how my Junior Service Club has events to raise money, but we also go out into the community and do service projects. One of them is delivering Meals on Wheels to seniors in our community. Someone in our club does this every single Monday, and this week I was signed up to do it! BTR and Jude tagged along with me and we had lots of fun. I can’t wait till it’s my turn to deliver again!

Laughing – at what this Milwaukee man did to his roof.

Watching – Odd Mom Out. I’ve watched the first two episodes so far and I thought it was pretty funny! I have another one waiting in my DVR for when I find a free moment (so basically never).

Also watching – Orange Is The New Black, Season 3. BTR and I love this show and it’s just as funny as previous seasons!

Reading – The Antelope in the Living Room by Melanie Shankle. I loved the first book I read written by her (Sparkly Green Earrings) and so far this one is just as good! Also, linking up with Narci for her Carpool Book Club! I love seeing what everyone else is reading so I can add them to my Goodreads list!

Inspired – by Shay’s newest watercolor she posted on Instagram. I had the pleasure of attending Making Things Happen with this girl a few years ago and I love following along on her adventures! Plus she has hedgehogs, so you should be following her for that reason alone.

Brushing – my hair, on repeat. I finally drank the kool aid and ordered a Wet Brush because they were on super sale on Amazon one day. And yes I’m now a fan and would totally recommend it! Mine says Pro but I have no idea if that means it is different or not.

Reviewing – my Target Beauty Box purchases. I was pleasantly surprised with the contents of the men’s and women’s beauty boxes! I ordered the men’s one because I knew the razor inside was the one BTR already used and he could use a new one, so that itself was a deal. The rest of his stuff will probably get thrown in a travel bag for vacations this summer.

The women’s box had a pretty pink nail polish, nail polish remover pads (perfect for travel), a red lipstick, some eye cream, and a dry shampoo. I’m excited to try a new dry shampoo because I still haven’t found one I love and I’ve tried like four different kinds so far.

Obsessing – over these tiny wet feet footprints on our front porch. So sweet.

Staring – out the window and hoping the birds come! I finally cleaned and filled our hummingbird feeder that hangs off our deck. Now to buy some bird seed for the other feeders in the yard!

Happy Wednesday friends!

June 15, 2015

Weekend Fun

Hey Friends! I hope you are having a FABULOUS Monday so far! Here’s what we did this weekend!

Friday night we hung out at home and made one my favorite dinners and I will be sharing that recipe on the blog very soon! Before and after dinner we just played in the yard. Our flowers are finally starting to bloom and our zucchinis are getting wild and crazy! We plant them in their own box since they get so big. And then you can also see our hops are growing pretty high. Our neighbors probably think we are crazy. :)

Saturday morning we woke up and got donuts and checked out a few more yard sales, but didn’t find anything fun this week. It was so hot Saturday afternoon we jumped in the pool for a bit and then came home and I had some awesome mail waiting for me! First was my Target Beauty Boxes (details coming soon) and the second was my order from one of my favorite bloggers, Leah, and her shop at Shop Simply Made With Love. I ordered a monogrammed baseball cap and coffee sleeve and they are both PERFECT! I would definitely recommend Leah for all your monogram and embroidery needs!

After dinner Saturday I decided to try out another popsicle recipe, cold brew coffee! It almost looks like chocolate. I’m trying to come up with a fun hashtag to use on all my popsicle posts on Instagram…

Sunday was early for church and then I had a Starbucks gold reward so I grabbed a (big) coffee because I couldn’t wait to use my new coffee sleeve!

We went to our friend’s house to swim on Sunday and it was sunny for a bit, but then the rain came in so we just hung out on their patio and ate bbq! It was so fun just chatting and playing with the kiddos.

Sunday night BTR and I caught up on old episodes of Game of Thrones and then watched the season finale! #Spoiler, but why do they have to kill everyone?!?!?

As usual we have another busy week! I hope you all had a relaxing weekend!