Be.You.Tiful Link Party #9 and some new hosts!

It's time to party!!! Thanks for stopping by to link up your AWESOMENESS!!  If you noticed there's been a lot of changes to the link party over it's short life. 

 Maybe I Will | Chic California | The Happy Gal | Fry Sauce & Grits

First, the look of this party has changed.  It's a lot cleaner and more simple feeling.  Also, we've had to say farewell to some of our original members and now we have some great new ones.  I want to introduce to you Adrienne from Chic California and Jenny from The Happy Gal!  These two women are powerful, fierce, inspirational, stylish, and have amazing blogs. 

Chic California is a place where Adrienne shares her interior design, diy, and home decor ideas from her very stylish and California home.  Her home is amazing, beautiful, comfortable, and effortless.  She likes to describe her style as: sunshine, sand, chic, shabby, outdoorsy, and a little bit of surfer all rolled into one. She makes creating a beautiful home doable on every budget.  Adrienne is a mother of two and a husband to one and lives in the Bay Area of California  

Jenny is the woman behind The Happy Gal.  After struggling with body image and an eating disorder, she realized that she needed to change her life if she was every going to be healthy, happy, and live life again.  She started The Happy Gal to share her struggles, her triumphs, the tips and tricks she's learned along the way.  She's immersed herself in professional organization, healthy living including exercise, and nutrition, and most importantly, raising a family.  

If you are new to the link party, don't stress, we got ya covered!! Read what this link up is all about below….

We are the lost bloggers...the octagons trying to fit in a square hole! There are so many amazing link parties out there for the crafters and the chefs...but where do we belong? What if you do more than that? Well then,

THIS LINK UP IS FOR YOU!

We want to see what inspires you! So we have come together to bring a link party that is all about sharing those inspirational posts that we each search for daily! We, as lifestyle bloggers want to bring those posts together! We want to be inspired by your beautifully designed playroom, your incredible organizational talents, your amazing weight loss journey, or even your beautifully styled outfits and make up tutorials! Maybe you've experienced hard things and are willing to share what helped you through. These are the kinds of posts we have been anxiously trying to find a place for among linky parties, and finally, here it is!

Link up your inspirational posts below and your links will automatically be added to all three blogs, and you'll have a chance each week of being featured on ALL 4! It's as easy as that! We can't wait to see what you've done this week!

Maybe I Will | Almond Joy Protein Shake |

Chic California | Duck Egg Blue Hutch Makeover |

The Happy Gal | Tips for Healthy Eating Out | 

Fry Sauce & Grits | Tips to Finding the Perfect Nursing Bra |

We love the creativity and inspirational posts from last week's link up, and would love for you to click and pin on each of our featured posts below

Maybe I Will's favorites! 

Healthy Food Happy Life | 10 Ways to Achieve Goals that Will Change Your Life |

Sublime Reflection | Tracking Your Fitness Progress |

Fry Sauce & Grit's favorites!

A Beautiful Little Life | Home Decor Spring Trends- PINK! |

Kelsey Lenay | Tips to Getting the Most out of your Makeup |

Before We Get Started HERE are the rules!  

Party Rules

-Link to a specific lifestyle post from your blog, not your homepage - think design, beauty, fashion, health and anything that really inspires you.

-Link back to the Be.YOU.tiful link party with a text link.

-Don't add links to promote giveaways, Etsy shops or other link parties.

-Don't show up and not socialize! Visit and comment on at least 3 other links in the party, share, pin etc!  It spreads good karma.

-Don't link ideas you've linked before.

By linking up, you're giving permission to us to feature your projects and recipes on our social media and blogs with a link back to you. Proper credit & links will always be given. 

This party starts Thursday night @ 7pm MST & ends Sunday @ midnight. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Be.You.Tiful Link Party #8

It's Time to Party!!! Thanks for stopping by to link up your AWESOMENESS!!

If you are new to the link party, don't stress, we got ya covered!! Read what this link up is all about below….

We are the lost bloggers...the octagons trying to fit in a square hole! There are so many amazing link parties out there for the crafters and the chefs...but where do we belong? What if you do more than that? Well then,

THIS LINK UP IS FOR YOU!

We want to see what inspires you! So we have come together to bring a link party that is all about sharing those inspirational posts that we each search for daily! We, as lifestyle bloggers want to bring those posts together! We want to be inspired by your beautifully designed playroom, your incredible organizational talents, your amazing weight loss journey, or even your beautifully styled outfits and make up tutorials! Maybe you've experienced hard things and are willing to share what helped you through. These are the kinds of posts we have been anxiously trying to find a place for among linky parties, and finally, here it is!

Link up your inspirational posts below and your links will automatically be added to all three blogs, and you'll have a chance each week of being featured on ALL 3! It's as easy as that! We can't wait to see what you've done this week!

Fry Sauce & Grits | Maybe I Will 

Fry Sauce and Grits | Retro Resurrection Chairs |

Maybe I Will | Flavored Waters |

We love the creativity and inspirational posts from last week's link up, and would love for you to click and pin on each of our featured posts below

Fry Sauce and Grits Favorites! 

Delineate Your Dwelling | Talk Nerdy To Me | 

Bigger Than The Three of US  |Mr. Darcy Printable |

Maybe I Will's Favorites!

Dirty Laundry | Coconut Milk Pudding 3 Ways |

Delineate Your Dwelling | February Front Door|

Before We Get Started HERE are the rules!  

Party Rules

-Link to a specific lifestyle post from your blog, not your home page - think design, beauty, fashion, health and anything that really inspires you.

-Link back to the Be.YOU.tiful link party with a text link.

-Don't add links to promote giveaways, Etsy shops or other link parties.

-Don't show up and not socialize! Visit and comment on at least 2 other links in the party, share, pin etc!  It spreads good karma.

-Don't link ideas you've linked before.

By linking up, you’re giving permission to us to feature your projects and recipes on our social media and blogs with a link back to you. Proper credit & links will always be given. 

This party starts Thursday night @ 7pm MST & ends Sunday @ midnight. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Be.You.Tiful Link Party #7

If you are new to the link party, don't stress, we got ya covered!! Read what this link up is all about below….

We are the lost bloggers...the octagons trying to fit in a square hole! There are so many amazing link parties out there for the crafters and the chefs...but where do we belong? What if you do more than that? Well then,

THIS LINK UP IS FOR YOU!

We want to see what inspires you! So we have come together to bring a link party that is all about sharing those inspirational posts that we each search for daily! We, as lifestyle bloggers want to bring those posts together! We want to be inspired by your beautifully designed playroom, your incredible organizational talents, your amazing weight loss journey, or even your beautifully styled outfits and make up tutorials! Maybe you've experienced hard things and are willing to share what helped you through. These are the kinds of posts we have been anxiously trying to find a place for among linky parties, and finally, here it is!

Link up your inspirational posts below and your links will automatically be added to all three blogs, and you'll have a chance each week of being featured on ALL 3! It's as easy as that! We can't wait to see what you've done this week!

Fry Sauce & Grits | Maybe I Will | My Mommy Style

Fry Sauce and Grits | Must Have Drugstore Beauty Products |

Maybe I Will | Blender Oatmeal Pancakes |

My Mommy Style | Jean Shirt and Graphic Tee Look |

We love the creativity and inspirational posts from last week's link up, and would love for you to click and pin on each of our featured posts below

Fry Sauce and Grits Favorites! 

Coconut's Head Survival Guide | A Red Head Beauty Survival Guide | 

Life. Love. Larson | DIY Brass Urchin |

Maybe I Will's Favorites!

Run Style Run | Live the Little Things |

Hello Little Home | How to Develop a Consistent Exercise Routine |

 My Mommy Style's Favorites!

No Diets Allowed | 9 Ways to Get Intimacy Back in Your Marriage |

The Scents of Oranges | Fresh Spring Rolls |

Before We Get Started HERE are the rules!  

Party Rules

-Link to a specific lifestyle post from your blog, not your home page - think design, beauty, fashion, health and anything that really inspires you.

-Link back to the Be.YOU.tiful link party with a text link.

-Don't add links to promote giveaways, Etsy shops or other link parties.

-Don't show up and not socialize! Visit and comment on at least 2 other links in the party, share, pin etc!  It spreads good karma.

-Don't link ideas you've linked before.

By linking up, you’re giving permission to us to feature your projects and recipes on our social media and blogs with a link back to you. Proper credit & links will always be given. 

This party starts Thursday night @ 7pm MST & ends Sunday @ midnight. 

An InLinkz Link-up

A Natural and Feminine Valentine's Date Night Look

I am a member of the Collective Bias Social Fabric Community.  This shop has been compensated as a part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.  All opinions are 100% mine.  #WalgreensBeauty #CollectiveBias

This year I decided that I would take Valentine's Day by the reigns and plan something fun.  McKay's parents are planning on staying with us this weekend and will be watching Amelia as we go to this antique and vintage show and spend some quality time together.  What a hot Valentine's Day date night idea, huh?  I want to make sure I look natural beautiful when we go on our date this weekend.  Wearing sweats everyday when you work at home can become your daily uniform  I'm was really excited when Walgreens who has partnered with Collective Bias asked me to participate in their Walgreens Beauty Date Night Looks!  They asked me to go to Walgreens and pick out some of my favorite beauty products to put together my look for our Valentine's Day date night.

Time is precious to me because I don't have much of time.  Before I was a mom I could take up to a hour and a half to get ready.  Ain't nobody got time for that now!  The quicker I can get ready, the better.  Lately, I've really embraced the whole concept of less is really more when it comes to beauty.  I actually feel prettier when I choose to focus on certain parts of my body, like my hair, lips, and eyes instead of putting on an entire face of makeup.

You don't have to spend a lot of money to look and feel beautiful.    Walgreens is practically in every town in America, and I was so excited I didn't have to drive far away to get to my local Walgreens.  This is really handy when you don't have much time, like I do.  I was so surprised by how many products and brands they carry.  Walgreens is seriously one of the best beauty destinations because they have so many options!  You can tell by the look on Amelia's face, she felt a little overwhelmed with all of the selection, like I did.

Here are my Walgreens beauty picks for my hot Valentine's Date to the antique and vintage show this weekend:

1. Suave Keratin Infusion Dry Shampoo $3.14
I love this dry shampoo so much!  It's cheap, effective, smells good, and does a great job of soaking up the greasiness of my hair in between washes. My hair is short and lays and works better when it's a little dirty.  I can get by not washing my hair up to four days because of this stuff.  It saves me a lot of time from not having to wash my hair.  It's a god send to women!

2. Sally Hansen Salon Effects Polish Strips in Glitz Blitz $10.49
This last weekend I attended the Build Your Blog Conference and wanted to so something fun with my nails, but didn't want to spend $30 for gel nails.  I picked up these Salon Effects and they were really easy to apply, surprisingly!  No wet polish, no foul odor, and it took less than 15 minutes to apply!  All you do is a little prep, stick the sheets to your nail, file the excess off, and you're done! I have never had so many compliments on my nails before than I did at the conference.  All of my friends were saying how cute and nice they looked.  On the box it says on the polish lasts up to 10 days.

3. Maybelline Baby Lips Dr. Rescue in Berry Soft $3.99
I LOVE lipstick.  But sometimes when you're busy or on the go, you don't have time to sit in front of a mirror and apply lipstick and make sure it looks perfect.  Plus, I like to talk with my hands and I always feel like I'm smudging my lipstick all over my face.  I've heard so many great things about Baby Lips so I thought I'd give it a try.  Well, I'm in love.  I got it in the Berry Soft color because it's more of a spring color and loved how it gave me color in a nice and easy swipe.

4. Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express in Glam Black $7.49
I've been buying drugstore mascara for a while now and have tried every brand.  I keep going back to the Maybelline brand because I truly feel like their formula is the best out there.  My biggest pet peeve about cheap mascara is when it flakes off by the end of the night.  It's so annoying.  I used this during the conference this weekend and by the time I got back to my hotel I had been wearing it for over 16 hours and didn't see one flake on my face!  I like the Colossal Volum' because of the nice thick brush, I really feel like it shapes and lifts the lashes to make them look fuller.

NOTE: I'm not a fashion blogger, but deep down inside I secretly want to be one really bad, but I don't feel comfortable taking pictures of myself.  It's not my thing.  It took me a lot of courage to have my mom take these pictures and post them on here.  I feel like I look so goofy, and obviously I've never been great at taking pictures or posing, so please brace yourself.  Here's my more natural and feminine Valentine's Day hot date night look!  What do you think?

Haha, it was so bright outside, I had to squint!

Thanks to Collective Bias and Walgreens for supporting Fry Sauce and Grits!

Be.You.Tiful Link Party #6

If you are new to the link party, don't stress, we got ya covered!! Read what this link up is all about below….

We are the lost bloggers...the octagons trying to fit in a square hole! There are so many amazing link parties out there for the crafters and the chefs...but where do we belong? What if you do more than that? Well then,

THIS LINK UP IS FOR YOU!

We want to see what inspires you! So we have come together to bring a link party that is all about sharing those inspirational posts that we each search for daily! We, as lifestyle bloggers want to bring those posts together! We want to be inspired by your beautifully designed playroom, your incredible organizational talents, your amazing weight loss journey, or even your beautifully styled outfits and make up tutorials! Maybe you've experienced hard things and are willing to share what helped you through. These are the kinds of posts we have been anxiously trying to find a place for among linky parties, and finally, here it is!

Link up your inspirational posts below and your links will automatically be added to all three blogs, and you'll have a chance each week of being featured on ALL 3! It's as easy as that! We can't wait to see what you've done this week!

Fry Sauce & Grits|Maybe I Will|My Mommy Style

Check Out These Awesome Posts From Your Hosts! 

7 Tips To Beautiful Family Pictures

Coastal Inspired Entry Way

Be a Hero

We love the creativity and inspirational posts from last week's link up, and would love for you to click and pin on each of our featured posts below

Fry Sauce and Grits Favorites! 

Life In Velvet |Ampersand Valentines Artwork|

The Elephant of Surprise | Mod Painted Pots|

Maybe I Will's Favorites 

The Happy Gal |10 Ways to Show Love to Yourself|

Tone-and-Tighten |Ab Shredding Workout| 

My Mommy Style's Favorites 

Homey Oh My |DIY Valentines Cards|

Prototype Mama |20 DIY Beauty Recipes|

Before We Get Started HERE are the Rules Yo... 

Party Rules

-Link to a specific lifestyle post from your blog, not your home page - think design, beauty, fashion, health and anything that really inspires you.

-Link back to the Be.YOU.tiful link party with a text link

-Don't add links to promote giveaways, Etsy shops or other link parties

-Don't show up and not socialize! Visit and comment on at least 2 other links in the party, share, pin etc! 

It spreads good karma!

-Don't link ideas you've linked before

By linking up, you’re giving permission to us to feature your projects and recipes on our social media and blogs with a link back to you. Proper credit & links will always be given. 

This party starts Thursday night @ 7pm MST & ends Sunday @ midnight 

Blogging Mental Breakdown

Hey everyone.  I've been MIA this week and haven't posted any new content for quite some time.  Well, I'm going to throw this out there because I feel like a lot of women and bloggers go through this and I'm coming to terms with it.

For several months now I've been maintaining the blog by myself due to Melanie having her first baby, Caitlin working, going to school full time, and planning a wedding.  Pretty much they've been really busy and haven't been able to contribute to the blog much.  On top of trying to maintain the blog by myself  I was trying to juggle my three callings in church, being a mother and taking care of a very busy 18 month old, trying to be a good wife and find time to spend with my husband and make him feel wanted and important, trying to keep the house clean, make dinner every night, keeping up with the laundry, loving and walking my neglected dog, maintaining friendships, trying to eat well and workout,  work part time for my friends the Six Sisters' Stuff and getting geared up for their upcoming Build Your Blog Conference, and try to launch my bra consultation business.  For me, this was too much.  Add on top of that, I've been going through this stage of feeling really insecure about myself, my work, my blog, and my self worth. For months I've been comparing myself to everyone and everything, thinking my life was dumb, not fabulous, and just plain boring.  I became sad and depressed when I heard of other people's successes and was feeling very jealous and envious because I wasn't feeling that successful in anything I did.  I've been feeling this way for months.

Last weekend I've been storing up these feelings of failure, envy, stress and the feeling that I should be more on top of things and organized and be able to do more in my day.  I had a breakdown.  McKay found me curled up downstairs in the laundry room folding laundry sobbing and tears streaming down my face.  He felt bad because he was leaving me for the weekend to go on an over night scout camp with the young men in our neighborhood.  I told him all of my frustrations, my insecurities, and my woes. McKay told me that my blog was creating me into a monster and was destroying me, and the sad truth was he was 100% right.

I'm the kind of personality when I decide I want something or wants to start a new hobby, I put my whole heart into it and a lot of times go to the extreme and I don't give up until I get what I want.  This is how my attitude has been for my blog.  I wanted it to be successful and to have loyal followers who love me for being me and to swoon over my content and to establish a name for myself.  Well, this is still my dream, but I have realized that I was putting my blog before my husband, my baby, my family, my friends, my passions and hobbies, and my duties as a wife and mother and all of this was making my life so unbalanced.

Since that teary weekend, I've decided that I need a break. No blogging.  No social media.  No nothing.  Since this declaration I've felt so much better and happier since I've decided to do this.  I've started to do things that I never had time for like sewing, doing some interior projects, actually playing with Amelia, taking naps, sleeping in, and not being on the freakin' computer 24/7.

I'm planning on going to the Build Your Blog Conference this weekend and I'm so excited to get away for two days and meet and mingle with very inspirational women, to have fun, let my hair down, and to learn.

I'm planning on taking some more time off after the conference.  I don't know when I'll start posting again regularly.  It could be in a week or two, or month.  I don't know and don't care at this point. I do know I'll be back when I feel it's time.  Thanks for being supportive of me and my passions. Thank you for your sweet comments.  Thank you for reminding me why I blog is to help, inspire, and uplift others.