I feel like I just wrote Tripp’s birth story just last week but low and behold the little boy that made me a mommy has turned 3. I absolutely love planning parties and have found with each year they are more and more fun to plan! With that being said, check out what I put together for Tripp’s Third birthday party below!
Visiting the Fire Station
First of all, this was the first party we hosted that was not at our house. Tripp loves firetrucks so I reached out to our local fire department for a tour and they were happy to oblige. They allowed us to hang in the different types of firetrucks, press buttons and see their bunks. It was actually a ton of fun and really educational to see everything that goes into a successful forestation!
After a great time at the Fire Department we headed to our favorite pizza joint Mama’s pizza… it’s a favorite here in Fort Worth if you have never been go now!
Pizza time
For party favors I made this little sign and purchased these little Dalmatians! PS Here is a free download of the puppy sign. I edited so it can be used universally!
For decor I just did simple balloons and this big fire truck; it was a HUGE hit! This was the most fun birthday and it was seriously so simple to plan. Most importantly Tripp had a blast!
Here is to year three! Can’t wait to see my little guy grow.
What is the best birthday you have thrown or attended?
The other day we went to our second McDonalds event. We decided to venture to a location close to where my brother lives in Dallas because we thought it would be fun to see a new [to us] McDonald’s. This latest event is called Coffee with Cops.
What is Coffee with Cops?
Coffee with Cops is a partnership between the Dallas Police Department and McDonald’s of North Texas to boost officer and community relations by providing residents with the opportunity to interact with Police Officers working in their neighborhood.The partnership began in 2013 and has continued to evolve over the past seven years. Officers of all levels – including Sergeants, Deputy Chiefs and Neighborhood Patrol Officers – will sit down with residents to answer questions, discuss public safety and build relationships with those they serve.
Community is key
It was so fun to see so many officers from all different levels talking to all different walks of life. All of the officers were so kind to answer all kinds of questions and I mean they took a picture with this crazy fool. Plus, who doesn’t love McDonald’s breakfast on a Saturday.
Tripp seriously had so much fun and tt was the icing on the cake when we arrived and saw that this McDonald’s had a playground. Coffee with Cops was so refreshing and fun. It was so cool to hear community updates and see hear the behind the scenes stories!
Stay tuned to see what McDonald’s events I end up at next.
I am so excited to be partnering with McDonald’s and to get the opportunity to attend some of the wonderful community events that they put together.
Last week my family headed to McDonald’s for our first Lunch Bunch event! We had such a fabulous time with the staff and other families! Check out what Lunch Bunch is all about below!
What is McDonald’s Lunch Bunch?
Lunch Bunch is a time where you can gather with friends and network of parents to learn more about McDonald’s and its commitment to education, food and giving back in local communities. These events happen quarterly!
The fun family vibes filled the air and we loved getting to chat with the other families there and the staff was phenomenal.
Fun for the kids
Lunch Bunch isn’t just for parents. Tripp had so much fun with crafts, balloons and faceprinting. Of course he loved getting to munch on food and play in the play area. McDonald’s is just the perfect family lunch environment.
We have a bit of a shark obsession if you can’t tell! The face painter was SO amazing with Tripp he wasn’t sure how he felt about it but wanted to do it [toddler life right?]. After a few tears and the artist demonstrating the brush and letting him pick colors she created the masterpiece on his face. I was blown away by her patience, understanding and kindness towards us.
Don’t you worry Annabelle didn’t get left out… She enjoyed a few little French fries as a treat for behaving so well!
We had a blast getting to celebrate teachers, spend time with our family, and munch on yummy food. Thank you so much to McDonalds for having us and we can’t wait for the next event.
I will be at several McDonald’s events this year so make sure to follow me on Instagram so you know when you can join! Next up, I will be in Dallas for Coffee with Cops! Stay tuned for a recap!
As a teen, young adult and even sometimes as a women in my early thirties I have had breakouts. However, when I was younger I had painful cystic acne that left me with scarring on my face. These scars have really bothered me as I have gotten older. My makeup tends to “set” in them and make them look worse then they are and I hate how it makes my skin appear in photographs.
Here is the scarring in the sun from an Instagram story I did: I started to use vitamin c oil to try to help with the scaring about a month ago but it didn’t help much:
It wasn’t until about 6 months ago that I even really found out about microneedling when my dermatologist mentioned it to me and said that I would be a good candidate. I went and researched it, watched videos and talked to my husband about the procedure.
What is microneedling?
You might be asking what microneedling is exactly? Here is the specific type that Kalos performed on me.
The specific type of microneedling I did is called SkinPen. It encourages your skin to heal itself by making a series of microscopic openings in the skin. While harmless, your skin interprets these tiny punctures as injuries and activates the natural process of collagen production. The result is a renewed layer of skin that is smoother, healthier, and unblemished.
Results after SkinPen treatment depend on your age, skin condition, lifestyle, and other factors. Patients often experience noticeable results about 1 or 2 weeks after their procedures. Improvements continue over the following weeks and as you continue your treatment series. In general, we recommend a 3-treatment series initially, with elective follow-up SkinPen treatments every 3 or 4 months to help maintain your results. SkinPen results will typically appear more quickly when treating fine lines and discoloration, and a greater number of treatments are required for optimal results with scar treatment.
Why Kalos?
While I was thinking about the procedure I connected with Kalos Medical Spa at Kirby Plastic Surgery Center and when they wanted to partner together I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to try it out!
I want to first say how amazing the team at Kalos was when working with me. I am currently breastfeeding so we had to make adjustments to my treatment plan to ensure nothing would cross into the breastmilk. What does that mean?! For the microneedling process I was not able to use the topical numbing agent. It honestly was not as painful as I had anticipated. BUT if you can get the numbing agent they are typically able to use a higher strength for the microneedling. Also, they increase the “strength” with each treatment process because your skin cannot just automatically take on the highest setting.
I absolutely loved my experience at Kalos. They are extremely friendly, knowledgeable and professional. Their facility is top notch and the staff made me feel so comfortable throughout the whole process.
These are my results after one session:
Before:
Immediately after:
A day after:
Now with make up on:
I can’t wait to show you all the progress in my skin over my treatment plan! What treatments are you interested in hearing more about?
XOXO Gabbing Ginger
*Please know that while I am in partnership with Kalos Medical Spa at Kirby Plastic Surgery all opinions are my own and any medical information has been reviewed for accuracy.
I asked over on Instagram what you wanted to see and Teacher thank you gifts won!
Yall know I love a good thank you & I with the end of the school year is coming up quickly I wanted to share some of my favorite teacher gift ideas. Some I have created others I have found on Pinterest!
If yall dont know my Mother in Law was a teacher her entire career so I always run gift ideas by her. Her advice to me is to give something I would want to receive and try to limit the candy unless it is soemthing super cute and thoughtful. Also, she reminded me to remember most will write thank you notes so make sure it is valued at more than a stamp + the time and supplies it takes them to write the note.
Anyways… my personal favorite gifts to do are gift cards on cute print outs. Canva makes making these so easy. I have attached a couple I have made before that you can keep on hand and all you have to do is stick a gift card on it! So easy and cute. And when I polled several teacher friends they ALL said gift cards were one of their favorite gifts to recieve!
Here are some of the canva gift card print out’s I have done. For any of these make sure to do a test print on regular paper. I usually print 2 per page for the gift card thank you’s and 6 per page for the round “note” cards.
As a busy mom I am always on the hunt for healthy on the go snacks that can also be a little treat. Lucky for me, Jamba Juice has introduced the perfect flavor for a little “bliss-full” treat.
The Pomegranate Antioxidant Smoothie and Positively Pomegranate Bowl are perfect complements of “bliss” for the daily stresses of life. Jamba Juice is helping bring balance and wellness to the spring with these new products featuring Vitamin C, potassium and protein.
No matter where you are headed or what is on your to-do list you can find your center and find balance in your busy day with these yummy flavors! I love that packed full of flavor and nutrients but taste amazing too!
I absolutely loved the pomegranate antioxidant smoothie. It was so flavorful and hit that sweet spot that I needed for a little pick me up! The best part is is that I didn’t feel guilty since I know how packed full of nutrients it is. I don’t know about you but a guilt free treat is a win in my book! And PS if you can’t tell Tripp loved it too! He was trying to steal it from me the whole time!
Since International Day of Happiness falls this month I thought what a perfect time to bring a little Happiness to someone else and giveaway a treat that brings me such happiness!
Hey Y’all! I am doing a series on Instagram where I help answer questions about blogging/ being an influencer. If you missed it I created a super handy calendar/planner that helps you plan content and payments. This time, I am covering Brand pitches….
The biggest question
It is one of the biggest questions I have been asked is how to pitch to brands. So, I made a super handy sample document that you can edit to work for each brand you reach out to!
My biggest advice is don’t be afraid to ask. Be aware of your worth, and also the worst thing is a brand can say no. I promise you most bloggers you know have been told no! The ones who you love and adore even! Just remember the right things will come and don’t forget to stay true to your brand!
To end, I really hope this helps and if you have questions please head over to my Instagram Highlights and ask away!
OR comment below what your biggest blogger/influencer questions are!?
A few weeks ago I polled on my instastories [See video of rugs below] about the runners in my kitchen. You see we have a pretty large kitchen and the space between the island and the range is oddly large. We had two runners and every time I saw the space I just couldn’t kick the feeling that it needed on rug over two.
After measuring the space I realized we needed a rug that was just under 5’x7′ to fill the space. I also knew that with children, pets & oh yeah it is our cooking space… that it needed to be super durable and easy to clean.
Hit the jackpot with this rug
One of my favorite rugs in our whole house is in Annabelle’s nursery and I remembered that I was so excited that it was washable. Lorena Canals rugs are seriously a game changer for mom’s and families with pets! So I went and checked out their website and found this beautiful rug and GUESS WHAT?! It was the perfect size that I needed, so I knew it was meant to be!
I was so excited to work with this company again and I LOVE how the rug looks in our kitchen. I know right now the trends tend to be neutrals but I love a little color and this blue pulls in the colors from our other rooms (we have an open concept kitchen, breakfast nook and living room.
Final Thoughts
What do you all think about how the bigger rug looks versus the two small runners?
Lorena Canals seriously has amazing pieces (not just rugs). Make sure you check out all of the amazing decor pieces you could add to your house! Thank you to them for working with me again! I can’t say enough about how great their products are!
Y’all know I love a good calendar or planner! I asked a week or so ago over on my Instagram stories if a downloadable calendar for bloggers/influencers would be helpful and SO many of my wonderful instafamily said they needed one!
With that being said I tried to incorporate the things that planners tend to miss out on that influencers need! Basically, the campaign and payment tracking! This has helped me so much over the last few months to stay organized and on top of my campaigns with brands and my payments.
Please feel free to download this and share! Also, if you have any features you feel should be added or something that should be changed let me know! I call this my beta edition so I am happy to adjust it along the way to help others!
The fabulous ladies of #trendingacrosstypes are back in action with a fun styling of booties! The white bootie trend is here and we couldn’t miss out on style some looks with them for y’all!
When we picked these white booties [PS y’all know I have a thing for a good fall bootie] I knew I wanted a bold pop of color to pair with them. On to the the internet I went to find a fun color block sweater. Nordstrom had the answer with this super cute one and I really loved the colors.
The sweater is lightweight and with the pinks I knew would transition well into spring [just like the white booties]. What I didn’t realize was that it was a cropped fit… was my postpartum body ready for this? I actually sent Monica a super awkward video of me wearing it because I felt so unsure. I love how it felt and the colors but on body I didn’t know if I could pull it off.
Monica reassured me I looked good and to just rock some high waisted jeans! So I swallowed my fear and decided to go for it because THIS is what this group is about; rocking trends for ALL ages and body types. #styleforanyage
So here I am sporting the crop with a bit of a front tuck and you know what?! I’m so glad I did it because I love the colors and how the whole look came together! I can’t wait to style these pieces throughout winter and early spring! So stay tuned on my IG and see where these looks pop up or follow me on Liketoknow.it!
Make sure to check out Laura and Monica to see how they styled their booties! AND stay tuned for several more exciting collabs we have over the next few months!
Have you rocked the fall white bootie trend? Do you love it? What are your favorite ways to style booties? Check out everything from my outfit linked below:
