Guest Post: A Texan Odyssey

Good morning, friends! It's hubby's and my 5th anniversary week (actual day- Friday) and I've lined up some lovely guest posters to handle the week while I pack and get out of town! Today's featured blogger is Valerie of A Texan Odyssey and she's here to talk to you a little about healthy crowd pleasing food and realistic momma style! Double whammy, say whaaat? 

Hi everyone! I'm Valerie from A Texan Odyssey. Those cuties you see with me are my husband Ryan, and my 14 month old son, Sean. I am very blessed to have them! I love my boys!

I've been following Kimberly's blog since I first started reading blogs earlier this year and I've had so much fun getting to know her and linking up to her Project Self as well! (I started my blog to track my progress towards my pre-baby weight and then it evolved to include fashion as well!) I love her style and am so motivated by her weight loss journey and inspired by her spiritual walk too. She pretty much rocks! For my guest post today I'm excited to be sharing a healthy and tasty meal with you all and a little bit about my style as a mom too! (It's a work in progress!)

Turkey Swiss Mushroom Burger and Sweet Potato Fries

This meal is very easy for a busy mom to make for her family and it's a lot healthier than picking up its fast food counterpart. Also, turkey is better for you than beef and the sandwich thins are only 100 calories each! Plus you can't go wrong with baked sweet potato fries! Yum!

What you'll need for the burgers:

• Package of ground turkey
• Whole wheat sandwich thins
• 1/2 an onion
• 1 egg
• Package of sliced mushrooms
• Swiss cheese slices
• Salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder
• Condiments 
• Greens and tomato (optional)
• Olive oil

What you'll need for the fries:

• 1 sweet potato for every 2 people 
• Olive oil
• Spices (I used garlic, onion and oregano)
• Sea salt
• A Ziploc bag

(Modified from this recipe)

Now before I get into the directions, let me say that this meal is all about what you have time for and what you like. If you're pressed for time, you can substitute the ground turkey, onion, and egg for ready-to-cook turkey patties that you can find at any grocery store. If you don't like mushrooms, leave them out. The burgers will still be delicious! You can adapt this recipe to fit your needs!

• First chop up your sweet potatoes into wedges or thin slices. (Thinner = Crispier) 
• Toss the fries in a Ziploc bag with seasoning of your choice and some olive oil.
• Arrange on a baking tray and sprinkle with sea salt.
• Bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.

• After your fries have been baking for a while you can start sauteing your mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil over medium heat. 
• Season with salt and pepper.  
• Stir occasionally. They'll be ready by the time your burgers are done cooking.

• For the burgers, chop up most of half an onion, leaving a few rings intact for topping your burger with.
• Next, combine the ground turkey, chopped onion, egg and spices.
• Form your burgers and cook on the stove top (with some olive oil if you don't have a non-stick pan) for about 6 minutes per side over medium heat. Add your Swiss cheese slices to the top when they only have a minute or two of cooking left to melt the cheese.
• Prepare your sandwich thins to your preference while the burgers are cooking, lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard, etc. When the burgers are ready, top them with the mushrooms and add some fries to your plate.
• Finally, scarf your meal down and try to force yourself to only eat one burger. They're that good!

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Alrighty, now for a look at my comfy mom style! Since I live in hot hot hot Texas I gravitate towards simple, cool outfits. I definitely like to keep it casual and being able to run around after my son is a priority.

During the week when I'm rushing out the door to run errands, taking Sean to the playground, or just visiting family, my go-to look is usually shorts (or jeans) and a top with cute sandals. I know it's not fashion forward or haute couture but it's comfy and practical, and I'm fine with that.

On weekends however, I try to have a little more fun with style.

  Whether I'm going to church or out on a date with my husband, I know I'm not going to have a toddler crawling all over me so I can pull out my white jeans or some heels, or even feather earrings! It's all about dressing for the occasion and feeling confident in what you're wearing!

I also really love items of clothing that are versatile because you get more bang for your buck. (Which is always good in my book!) Take this maxi dress for example, tie on a shirt or layer a tee and vest over it and you've made it look completely different! 

I still have a LOT to learn when it comes to fashion and what works well as a new mom, but I'm enjoying the process of learning and growing and I'm happy I have blogger friends like Kimberly to emulate! You all are welcome to come visit me over at A Texan Odyssey, even if it's just to see more of these guys! Except the pirate, he won't be making any more appearances. Take care and God bless!

A big thanks goes out to Valerie for stepping in while we're away. You all have GOT to visit A Texan Odyssey and give my sweet friend some love. She's truly talented, beautiful, and inspiring and I'm glad to call her my friend!!!

Don't forget to check out this month's new project, Old to New in October!

Guest Post: The Frugalista Diaries

Good morning, friends! It's hubby's and my 5th anniversary week (actual day- Friday) and I've lined up some lovely guest posters to handle the week while I pack and get out of town! Today's featured blogger is Megan of The Frugalista Diaries and she's here to talk to you a little about the five minute face that most of us busy mommies have to embrace!


The Frugalista Diaries 5 Minute Make Up Routine


I spend enough time standing in my closet, racking my brain on what to wear, so my make up routine needs to be quick, simple, and of course, put together- not resembling that of a clown. I wish I had all the time in the world to sit around in front of the mirror putting make up on, but since becoming a mom of two, 2 and under, it gives me about oh, say 5 minutes.


1. I start with a fresh face. I normally don't wash my face in the morning, so I just throw on a nice amount of moisturizer which serves as my 'primer' so make up just glides on. Then I sponge on a little compact make up in my troublesome areas or wherever redness occurs.

2. Next, I dab some concealer under my eyes and blend. If I'm fighting a pimple, I dabe and blend on that as well.

3. After the concealer dries, I sweep my cheekbones and temples with a little bronzer.

4. Eyes usually follow and I tend to go with the winged eyes. I slowly line my top lid and add a little wing at the end to 'open up my eyes.'

5. Add mascara to the top lashes- I rarely do bottom lash mascara because it's been known to age and enhance dark under eye circles.

6. Then I sweep my entire face with a mineral make up to set the rest.

7. I'm a fan of bold lips, so I often throw on a little color, such as this bold pink.

8. And, Voila!

A big thanks to my IRL girlfriend, Megan, from The Frugalista Diaries! She's beautiful without make up but I'm so glad she could share her five minute face with us, because I still don't have it down! And... crap. I use mascara all over the place. Probably including my under eye circles. Oopsie! Head over and visit Megan to see gorgeous outfits of the day, splurge vs. steal posts, and lots of coupon and discount codes! You might even get lucky enough to catch a glimpse of her sweet little ones every once in a while!
Please take a minute to check out the October refashion collaboration I'm doing with Required 2 Be Inspired called Old to New in October!

Guest Post - Law Mama Liz

Good morning, friends! It's hubby's and my 5th anniversary week (actual day- Friday) and I've lined up some lovely guest posters to handle the week while I pack and get out of town! Today's featured blogger is Liz of Law Mama Liz and she's here to talk to you a little about kid-friend home decor!

Hi Little Bit Readers! My name is Liz and I blog about mama style and life with an almost two year old over at Law Mama Liz.

I'm really into reading home decor and DIY blogs (anyone else obsessed with Young House Love and Apartment Therapy? No? Just me?), but a lot of the time I don't see houses and decor ideas that are especially toddler friendly. So I thought I'd write about the evolution of our living room from a completely adult space to something that is very kid friendly but also has room for the adult things too (get ready for a photo heavy post!).

When we first moved into to our house (almost three years), we didn't have a TV in the main living room, and the cats quickly took over the couches. I couldn't figure how where to place everything, but I really liked the idea of making a "conversation space" -- hello, I watch way too much HGTV for my own good.

Here's what it looked like initially:

I'd hit up Ikea and gotten a bit creative with the mantel, but we were still working with the tiny dining table from our itty-bitty duplex and I hadn't figured out how to use the space yet.

And then after watching far too much HGTV I decided to paint the fireplace wall brown. It took so many coats to get coverage (seriously, primer was invented for a reason), but the hard work paid off with a big impact.

Then something big happened that changed the way I looked at decor and home functionality: I got pregnant! We didn't do very much to change the space while I was pregnant other than create a "library" corner to the living room.

No, the big changes happened when Zeke started to get mobile and baby-proofing became something that was imminently important. And seriously, this kid went from laying on the floor playing with toys to turbo crawling all around the house in a week. I swear it was so fast!

So we needed more play space, and fast. The first thing I did was to move the coffee table in front of the fireplace to block access and to reallocate the shelving for his stuff.

Then we realized that we needed more space, and I finally gave up on having the big tan couch in the middle of the space. Once that was out of the way, it was AMAZING how much more open the space was.

So with that very long preamble, here is the finished current space (it's definitely still evolving and far from done).

As soon as Zeke started crawling, we decided to have a shoe free house. There's nothing like spending all day on the floor to help you realize how dirty shoes are. Now that we've gotten into the habit, we aren't looking back. I usually don't push the rule when we have people over, and entirely give up when we have parties, but I figure the main people tracking in dirt are us, so if we keep our shoes off we're doing our bit to keep our floors cleaner!

Having a designated spot for all the junk I carry around on outings has helped a lot with the clutter, and we keep the keys up high so Zeke doesn't set off our car alarms (of course, Jerm never manages to get his keys into the bowl and spends many mornings searching high and low for them. Is my husband the only guy that does that?).

Then, the biggest change help for making our living room kid friendly was to open it up and ensure that there's lots of room for playing. Now normally, this area is littered with toys, but I thought I'd clean it up before I put pictures of my living room up on the interwebs.

Having a place for the toys to go has made it much easier for Zeke to learn about cleaning up and it makes it much faster for me to clean up in the evenings after he goes to bed. I'm still on the look out for a good toy chest to fit in the space, but for now this system is working well! The toys are easy for Zeke to access, and easy for him to put away also. 

A few months ago, we added the chair rail and chalkboard paint. We had a clear spot for the rail (there was a line where the chairs had bumped the wall repeated), and we thought chalkboard paint would be a fun thing to try. Zeke loves it, but sometimes this happens:

Um. Yeah. We're working on that (and for the most part he stays on the chalkboard part).

So there you have it! A tour of my evolving, kid friendly space. It's definitely been an adjustment redesigning the space so that it's both stylish and toddler proof, but I think we've reached a happy medium! What do you think? How has your home changed to accommodate kids?

Thank you so much, Liz!

Prim & Prismatic - A Working Mom's Closet

Happy Labor Day, lovely friends! I hope all of you are enjoying the rest of your three-day weekend. While I have the morning off, it looks as though I'll be working this afternoon. As much as I'd rather be finishing up my sewing projects and trying to finally get some things uploaded into my {still} work-in-progress Etsy shop, I need the money even more. Enough about ME, though. Know why? One of my dearest blogger friends has agreed to be featured in September's Prim & Prismatic post and I couldn't be happier to show her off!

Prim & PRISMATIC

Style Bloggers and Their Use of Color

9.5.11 - A Working Mom's Closet

Melissa is one of the sweetest and most genuine people I've connected with during my time in the blogosphere. I'm so blessed to call her my real friend, even though we haven't met IRL, yet. Melissa is a mother of one little girl, "The Princess," she works full time, has helped me realize how important it is to let God back into my life, and blogs over at the sweet little internet corner, A Working Mom's Closet. Be sure to stop by and give my friend some love!

Do you think you're bold when choosing colors to wear? If so, what makes you so attracted to colors and why are you comfortable in them? If not, why?

I think I can be bold sometimes. Turquoise and orange was a fun one that I hadn't seen on anyone else but I decided to try it one day. I have definitely become bolder in my choices since writing a style blog. I've actually combined black and brown! Granted, that doesn't sound like a bold combination but mixing neutrals was a crazy idea to me until a few months ago. I used to only wear neutrals with one color too, but I've discovered that it's become unusual for me to wear less than two colors. I typically have to accent with some other color. What's difficult for me is not wearing any color. An all neutral outfit scares me a little. 

If you could choose to put a bright, flashy pice in your wardrobe, would you choose an accessory or basic staple? 

I'd choose a basic staple, definitely. I love color, it's a happy thing, it can be combined with all neutrals and other colors and it brightens the mood. Why limit that to just an accessory?

What is your favorite boldly colored wardrobe item in your closet?

My belts, I think. I have them in red, pink, yellow, orange, turquoise... lots of colors. And I belt pretty much every outfit, so it stands to reason that I would have lots of boldly colored belts. 

Do you incorporate bright colors in other aspects of your life (ie: decorating, art, gardening, etc.)?

Well... I don't garden. As far as decorating, I haven't had many opportunities to decorate they way I'd like, so I can't really say. I think if I had the space to do whatever I wanted, and money were no object, I would probably choose brighter colors. With art, I tend to use photographs of family more than any other type of art.

Fill in the blanks:

- If I could only choose one color to wear for the rest of my life, it would be some shade of...

Yellow? Maybe? Yellow seems to go with almost every other color, so it could be combined with lots. Unless I couldn't wear any other color at all. In which case I'd probably choose teal or purple, because I like those.

- Most people think my personal style is...

Put-together. I wouldn't say trendy because I don't necessarily follow all the trends.

- If I had to wear hot pink or kelly green, I'd definitely pick...

Um... I'd probably wear them together. That sounds like a fun combo!

- The craziest color combo I've ever rocked is...

Probably the teal and orange. And I loved it!

Thank you SO much to Melissa for participating in Prim & Prismatic this month! I loved seeing your outfits and reading about your love and use of color! Everyone, make sure to go check her out at A Working Mom's Closet!

Woven Camellia

When I found out my friend from high school and college, as well as sorority (it's a lot easier to describe it that way) sister, Nikki, opened an etsy shop, I knew I had to find out what she was making! Woven Camellia is a beautiful collection of feather, fabric, and knit accessories, all handmade by Nikki. Her talents have wowed me since the opening of her shop and I absolutely can't wait to support her as she moves forward with this business! Nikki donated a gorgeous silk flower hair pin to my giveaway winner and it is STUNNING! Here's what Nikki had to say!


"Hello everyone! I'm Nikki from Woven Camellia. I'm a gal with too many hobbies and way too little time in the day! I opened a brand new shop on Etsy this past spring, and it's been an exhilarating journey so far. Right now, my shop focuses on fun hair accessories for going out or every day wear, but I'm looking to expand my line to include hand knitted accessories for the fall. One thing you should know about me is that I'm painfully camera shy, so instead of a picture of me, please enjoy these photos of lovely ladies wearing some of my hair clips."

Nikki, your work is incredible and I'm so proud of you! Thank you, again, for donating to my giveaway. I know Tara will love her beautiful hair pin!

think pretty thoughts

In keeping with thanking my lovely giveaway donors, next up is the sweet, sexy, and super strong blogger behind think pretty thoughts, Katy. Katy donated a skype session with a beginner diet and exercise plan, tailored for the winner's wants, needs, and goals. She did the same for me a while back and her advice has really helped me kickstart my new lifestyle. Katy is not only chock full of awesome information, but her writing style is addicting. She'll become your best friend in the matter of two sentences and you'll definitely be going back for more! Wait 'til you see how gorgeous she is, too! Here's what Katy had to say!


"Hi, I'm Katy! My blog is called think pretty thoughts. How would I describe myself? Basically, a lady in the kitchen, but a freak in the gym.  I post outfits, workouts, and nutrition tips and advice. I've been known to become best friends with readers. Come hang out!"

It's kind of hard to take all the pretty, right? NO. You think she's drop dead gorgeous, now? Wait 'til you get a taste of that personality. Total package? Lucky Charlie. 

Thanks, again, Katy!

A Blonde Ambition

Remember how last week, I featured Meredith, because she's amazing and donated to my giveaway? Today, I'm featuring the lovely Leslie of A Blonde Ambition! She's a wonderful blog friend who has helped me completely re-look at the way I view personal style. Leslie put together a beautiful online personal style portfolio for me last year and donated the same type of e-Style session to our giveaway winner! When I asked Leslie to tell us a little about herself, here's what she had to say!

"Hi y'all! I'm Leslie and I'm the blonde behind A Blonde Ambition! I'm southern, newly engaged and well-caffeinated. I started my blog in July 2009 as a way to catalog all of my random thoughts and ideas and along the way have met some pretty incredible people. My blog is all about, well, pretty much darn near everything. On any given day, you could find fashion tips, home decor, event planning advice or random personal photos...it's a delightful mish-mash, really. Come on over and say hey!"

Leslie's blog is bright, inviting, sweet, and inspirational. Please give her a visit, stick around, and make yourself at home with all of her southern charm! Thank you, girl! 

Yours, Mine & Ours

Today, I'm starting a short series of features not only to thank my friends for donating to my 400 Followers Giveaway, but to showcase some of my very favorite bloggers! The ladies featured in the following days have made such a difference in my blogging "career" and have really showed me the community aspect of this little world we call the blogosphere. 


First, I introduce to to the prettiest, sweetest, most talented, and super quirky (in an excellent way!) Meredith of yours, mine & ours. Meredith was sweet enough to donate one of her beautiful, handmade flower necklaces! And here she is:


Hi! I'm Meredith over at yours, mine & ours and I blog freepiled, modest fashion. I take my own pictures, hang out with my little boy all day, and have a hubby in law school. Holla!

Isn't she gorgeous? 

So hop on over to yours, mine & ours and spend some time with Meredith, her adorable baby B, and all of her amazing outfits!

Thanks, again, girl for your amazing donation! You are too sweet!