a holiday fave

check it out.  we're over at nineteen 93 today guesting about one of my favourite holiday things.  baking ... and then of course eating.   click here to see the post and get the recipe.  happy merry merry!

we're on vacation! guest post by: Gillian

Happy day all.  I'm excited about today's guest post-er.  We have the lovely Gillian from Building Bumps.  So kick back and enjoy her super summery post.  ;)

Hey Guys!  I'm Gillian from over at Building Bumps!  

I'm totally stoked to be hanging out here on MJ's blog while the lucky girl is on vacation : )

Summer vacations are the absolute best.

There's something about summertime that always makes me nostalgic,

being completely free to fly for two whole months is a feeling that's just so hard to put into words!

Even now, though perhaps not free as i was when a child, these two months have a 

particular magic about them.

I love the sparkling bright days and the fun they bring,

and all the beautiful things the warm sun grows.

One of my favorite things about summer is the food. 

Mind you, that's sorta my favorite thing about every season, but whatevs.

Let's be honest, summer has a bit of an edge on the other seasons.  Everything's fresh, bright and vibrant.

When was the last time you wanted to eat something brown?

(okay okay, i'll give you gravy. and chocolate. hmm. you know what i meant though)

But the best thing about summer?

Being outside. At the beach. Searching for treasures in the sun.

And summer has the best sunsets. Hands down. 

Then there's ice cream and popsicles, flip flops, floppy hats and hot dogs.

Campfires, smores and satellite searching.  And that coconut smell that lingers on sun-kissed skin.

Mmmmmm.... Summer magic.

Me?  I'm a full time stay at home mom, a part time photog, and a lover of all things artsy.  

I'm diet coke and chocolate, gypsy skirts and flip flops, glue sticks and paint brushes;  

rainy days, slobbery dogs and anything with caramel.  

My little family is the air i breathe, and i dream all of my dreams for them : }

Hope to see you around!

Thanks so much for having me MJ!

we're on vacation! guest post by: melissa

Happy Summer Vacation to us!   I'm so happy to have the lovely Melissa from knit purl baby guest post for you today. So while we are most likely sitting on the beach right now, soaking in the sun and building sand castles, kick back and enjoy.  

__

Hey everyone! I’m so happy to be filling the void while MJ is out with her lovely family enjoying some summer fun. Normally I blog over at knit purl baby but I’m super stoked to be here today!

Speaking of summer fun, I thought I’d use my time here today to express how much better this summer is than last summer.

My son, JC, was born last summer. Technically, that fact alone should make last summer, the best summer ever. And it does. But, it really wasn’t that much fun.

When he was born six and a half weeks early, it really changed the ballgame. While I think it is somewhat normal to become a borderline shut-in after you have a baby, I may have taken it to another level last summer.

JC spent the first seventeen days of his life at the hospital. Which meant we spent the first seventeen days of his life at the hospital. It was the worst. I was stuck at home recovering from a c-section, waiting anxiously for my fiancé to get home so we could go visit our little baby for as long as we could. 

When he finally did come home, I was too afraid to take him anywhere. Our little guy pretty much just slept all day long. He'd wake up, eat and go back to sleep. I knew sleeping meant that his body was working hard to catch up so I didn't dare disturb him. I literally kept the blinds closed all day to try to recreate the darkness of the womb. I'm weird like that. Throw in that I was exclusively breastfeeding and not-so-fond of nursing in public; I was a nervous wreck anytime we actually did venture out of the house. I don't even want to talk about the first time I had to unfold the stroller by myself. Eeesh.

It really took a long while for me to feel comfortable taking him out in the world. Especially by myself. And by the time I did feel comfortable, it was way too icky outside to do anything fun.

Needless to say, I couldn’t wait for the warm summer days to come again. I am normally not a fan of the heat but I knew I would have so much fun taking JC everywhere. And that is what we have spent this summer doing.

We have crossed so many items off our unofficial summer bucket list. Going on a mini-road trip. Introducing JC to the ocean. Swimming. Ice cream safari (all-you-can-eat ice cream… AT THE ZOO). Lunch time picnic dates with dad. Playing at the park. Going on bike rides. Trip to San Francisco. Aquarium. The fiance and I even found time to enjoy some grown up festivities at the state fair. It was kind of a date. Crazyness!

And we still have at least two more fairs to attend, tons more picnic dates and swimming to do before the summer is over. I’m so happy to have such a different experience with JC this year. Last year, I was so scared to bring my little teeny baby anywhere and now we are any and every where. I only look forward to all the fun my baby man will bring. Here’s to an awesome summer and rest of the year!

be our guest

Be our Guest Post-er that is.  With our second family vacation coming up soon (18 days to be exact) I would like to extend an invitation to all those that follow us, and all those that don't, to guest post on our blog.  There are a ton of fabulous mama's with some pretty fabulous blogs so I thought I'd throw the invite out to the bloggy world and see what happened.  I have space for nine guest spots and the theme of said posts would be anything summer related.  Posts need to be sent by July 27th and will run from July 30 ~ August 7.  So come on over and play, we'd love to have you!

Interested?  Send me an email:  livinmjsdream@gmail.com


How's about a Tuesday vote?

our first guest

So here is our first guest post!  I was super happy when Ashley said she's help a girl out while on vacation.  Make sure you definitely check out her sweet blog.  She's got an adorable little peanut...Peyton.  She ridiculously cute.  Also she's got a sweet handmade Etsy shop with all sorts of fun stuff.   Read on dear friends...read on.


Howdy Do Livin' The Dream readers! Im Ashley stopping by from over at The Peanut Gallery. First let me say a big thank you to MJ for asking me to do a guest post for her while she is making us all jealous that she is on vacation right now. I'm regretting not forcing her to bring me along in exchange for this post!

Well any who on to the main show shall we?

I asked my fiance for advice on what to blog about since I was drawing a blank and he said how about being healthy? This coming from him was a shock. I have been talking about this particular subject a lot on my own blog and I thought I could come over yonder and throw my two cents in here as well!

My health journey has taken a new turn for the better recently and that is not only living a healthy lifestyle for myself but including my family as well.
Up until recently my mom and I were the only ones working out around here and eating healthy but as of late our practices seem to be rubbing off on the other (male) members of the household. So here are a few tips for getting your whole family involved in your healthy living habits

1. Do the grocery shopping~ For the most part I do the shopping around here and that means what I buy, you eat. If I don't stalk up on ho hos and twinkies then they aren't gonna eat them. It's that simple.

2. Make pre made meals in big batches~ Everyone here is on a totally different schedule and we don't always get to eat our meals together. If you make pre made meals for the week you know your family is eating a healthy homemade meal even if you aren't there to enjoy it with them.

3. Work out together~ Find what you have in common with the members of your household and work with that. My brother and I enjoy hiking so we tend to take that approach when looking for a work out. And as of 3 days ago I have gotten my brother AND Mikey to come on my nightly runs with me. This is HUGE people I haven't seen Mikey work out a day in his life since I met him 3 years ago. My dad is even starting to do some low impact exercises and for him I think its been over 22 years!

4. Rub off on each other in a good way~ When you see everyone you are living with making healthy decisions it will motivate them to do the same. Trust me I live in a house of bumpkins but it is even starting to work for us which means it really can work for everyone. Just commit and encourage and you will start to see progress!

For those of you with kiddos what better way to get them to live healthy then to learn from you? Practice what you preach and get everyone involved!

Thanks again to MJ for having me over to guest blog I hope you have a wonderful vacation and I will leave you with some pictures of my latest hike!

xxAshley