Our Family Visit to The Pioneer Woman Mercantile


Six(ish) months ago, our family took our second annual road trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
We made the trip from the Toronto area, which is about a  22 hour drive with stops.
This time around, we couldn't leave Oklahoma without making the 45ish minute drive to Pawhuska, Oklahoma home of Food Network Star,  Ree Drumond. 
You most likely know her as The Pioneer Woman.



Ree opened The Pioneer Woman Mercantile, a shop, bakery and restaurant a few years back, that brings in guests from all over the United States.
Don't be surprised to see lines around the block to eat her famous food.
When we arrived, around 11am on a weekday, the parking lot was nearly full.
I'm pretty sure we were the only vehicle who made the long drive from Canada though.

The Mercantile is 25,000 square feet and consists of two levels.
On the lower level you will find the food and retail store, continue up to the second level and you will find the bakery and beautiful seating areas. 
Oh, and if you visit the bathrooms and you're a home decor lover like me, you will leave wanting to reno all your bathrooms they are that beautiful.



We didn't want to wait in line for the food downstairs with the kids, so we opted to try the bakery upstairs for some sweets and caffeine.
A sweet friend of mine from Tulsa told me that I couldn't visit without trying "The Spicy Cowgirl", a drink made with espresso, chocolate and cayenne.
It was just as delicious (and spicy) as she said! 



We had heard that it's not unusual to see Ree and her husband, Lad at the store but unfortunately for us, they weren't there when we were visiting.
She did however like my photo about our visit on Instagram afterwards and you bet I had a total fan girl moment.





There's also plenty of cute photo opportunities around the town that we took advantage of.
It kinda felt like we were on the set of a mid western movie, the ones my grandpa used to watch when I was a little girl.

 

 We definitely plan on visiting the store again when we visit Oklahoma next but this time, we are also going to add in a lodge tour.

Share:
No comments

TransformEd Creative Studio Space



I shared about our morning at the incredible Reggio Emelia inspired creative studio space on  Instagram last week but I was so inspired by the experience that I had to share about it here as well.

The creator of this magical space is the incredible Joanne Babalis.

Joanne is a former Kindergarten teacher, wife, mother, artist, photographer and is currently completing her PHD at York University.

 She created this beautiful space in her home and offers workshops for educators, parents & children.





 The Reggio Emelia approach encourages children to be the leader in their learning and Joannes studio space is set up in a way that there are learning opportunities in every corner.

The girls were immediately drawn to the table in the centre of the studio that held a variety of art tools from watercolours to pencil crayons and pastels while Luca was drawn to the sensory bins set up in the learning space.






Joanne also offers photography packages when you visit her studio.
All the photos in this post were taken by her.


This beautiful photo backdrop is actually part of the studio play space and the children are encouraged to play and explore while being photographed. 


If you would love to check out the space for yourself click HERE for more info.
You can also find her on Instagram HERE.

Share:
1 comment

American Eagle Black Friday Try On


Happy Thanksgiving to all my American Friends. 

While we celebrated well over a month ago, I love seeing all of my US friends posting about their holiday gatherings.

Earlier this week, I went to American Eagle with my friend Val of Thrifty Like a Mother and did a little try on!

They have their Black Friday Sale on right now and everything is 40% off!

I'm linking a few of my faves for you below.



I am obsessed with this plaid sherpa coat I found!
Val and I also loved these fun knitted beanies.


This purple mock neck sweater caught my eye as soon as I walked into the store!
I had to pair it with this fun neon hat.



I love this white and black plaid button up.
I'm also wearing my favourite jeans ever from AE's curvy line.


I'm a sucker for camo but I was nervous to try this shirt because of it's cropped length.
It actually fell perfectly with these high waisted jeans though! Win! 


I'm also linking some of my faves that I didn't get a chance to try on in store.

Share:
No comments

Old Navy PRE Black Friday Sales

I popped into Old Navy today to check out their Pre Black Friday sales!
All their sweaters, jeans & outerwear are 50% off and they have other various sales throughout the store!


I was immediately drawn to this Fair Isle Sweater and matching beanie.
The sweater is regular $49.99 on for $24.99 !!!
I've linked the sweater and beanie below with some matching items for the little and big men in your lives as well! 






I couldn't resist trying on this Hot Pink sweater.
 I'm just a little obsessed with hot pink.
This edited photo doesn't do the colour justice but you can see it's true brightness in the sweater linked below.
This one is also on sale for $24.99!
I also linked a little girls sweater that would look super cute in family photos! 


You guys know I've been obsessed with this plaid coat I got a couple weeks ago.
I saw the pink plaid and HAD to try it on as well.
ALL the coats I'm linking below are on sale for $37.99 !!!!
START THE CAR!!!








Share:
No comments

My Favourite FabFitFun Box Yet........The Winter Box!


* This post contains affiliates *


The FabFitFun Winter box is here and its my favourite yet!
For those of you who don't know what FabFitFun is, it is a quarterly subscription box of goodies!

The cost is only $49.99 {I also have a $10 off code for you, keep reading} and contains well over $200 worth of prodcuts!

The Rebecca Minkoff hat and arm warmers alone is valued at $70.00.

This time around, I didn't customize my box so everything that arrived was a surprise and I was beyond thrilled! 

Look at all these goodies! 


Get your own FabFitFun Winter box HERE and use code SANTABABY to get $10 OFF your box!
This would also make such a nice surprise gift for family or friends that have birthdays coming up!
Who doesn't love getting a box of goodies delivered to their door? 




Share:
No comments

Gift Guide for Teachers 2019

.
I shared these Rifle Paper Co. notebooks I scored at Dollarama last week on Instagram and received a huge response!
I thought they would make the perfect gift for teachers alongside a Starbucks Gift Card.
For those of you who weren't able to score these adorable notebooks, I've put together this Gift Guide for Teachers.

1. The Making of a Teacher - The Making of a Teacher is a beautiful guided journal that uncovers experiences, knowledge and insights from your teaching journey. 
 2. Peppermint Lip Conditioner - This Peppermint Lip Conditioner is a must have to keep lips moisturized during the cold winter months! 
3. Starbucks Gift Card - Does this even need an explanation? I have yet to meet a teacher who doesn't enjoy coffee.
4. Rifle Paper Co Notebooks - These are the Rifle Paper Co notebooks I picked up in the dollar store. They are quite a bit more costly than the ones I found in the dollar store, so check your Dollarama first! 
5. Amazon Gift Card - This makes the perfect gift for any teacher! They can pick up school supplies or a little something for themselves! 
6. French Press - Again, teachers = coffee.
7. Felt Tip Pens - Nothing better than a set of nice pens to mark their students work.
8. Anthropologie Monogram Mug - Because they'll need a cute mug to drink their coffee in! 
Share:
No comments

The Best Stocking Stuffers for Littles 2019


I was an early riser as a kid (as are my kids now, sorry mom and dad - I get it now haha ) and the rule on Christmas morning was that we couldn't open presents until our parents were awake but stockings were fair game, as long as we opened them quietly.
So, each Christmas morning, I'd wake up way too early, go to my brothers room and wake him up too so we could sneak downstairs quietly to open our stockings. 

This is still one of my absolute favourite memories of my childhood. 

I might even go as far as to say that I preferred my stockings to my actual presents.
They were small but filled with all my favourite things: CDs, Candy,  Makeup, Jewellery, Gift Cards, little gadgets. 

Good things really do come in small packages.

I've put together a few different Stocking Stuffer Guides because they really are my favourite part of Christmas.

This week we will focus on the littles but in the coming weeks I will branch out to adults and more niched stocking guides such as Stocking Stuffers for the music lover, Stocking Stuffers for the Foodie, Stocking Stuffers for the Gamer etc.

First up is Stocking Stuffers for babies 0 - 2




Stocking Stuffers for Littles Ages 3-5



Stocking Stuffers for Littles ages 6-8

Share:
No comments

My Favorite Leopard Skirts



I've been getting so many questions about these two leopard skirts that I've had on repeat lately.
Unfortunately, I can't find the exact skirts to link so I've made a round up of some of my favorite leopard skirts for you in this post!
I love that you can wear a leopard skirt dressed up or dressed down!

>
Share:
1 comment

15 FREE Ways to Spread Kindness


Yesterday was World Kindness Day. I totally missed it but this morning I felt a nudge to share about it in my stories on Instagram. I witnessed a negative encounter this morning. This was actually one of several not so nice encounters I've witnessed lately. I take on others emotions and I find it really hard to see others being unkind. It's easy for me to witness these kind of situations and take on the emotions and get in a negative mindset where I start to wonder if there is any good left in the world. I have to be very intentional about channelling these emotions into something positive. I think it's also so important to note that we never know what is going on in someone's life but one thing I know for sure is that hurtful words and hate will never solve anything.
So today, I encourage you to spread kindness.
Share:
No comments

The Ultimate Gift Guide for Men 2019






 XBOX | Moisturiser | Cards Against Humanity | Slippers | Ray Ban |

Men can be the trickiest people on our Christmas lists to buy for. 
What do you get for the guy that already has everything? 
I've put together The Ultimate Gift Guide for the men in your life.
Any man on your list from your Brother, Uncle, Dad or Husband will surely have a smile on their face after opening one of the gifts above.

Happy Shopping!





Share:
No comments

The Ultimate VSCO Girl Gift Guide

** This post contains affiliate links **

Happy November 1st! 

Y'all, I woke up to a foot of snow outside my doorstep which can only mean one thing.
CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS!

My kids have been counting down since September and now that there's snow on the ground it's going to be all things Christmas around here.

Christmas music, Christmas crafts, Christmas decor and MORE!

This year, I will also be bringing back Gift Guides here on the blog!

I'm starting TODAY with the Ultimate VSCO Girl Gift Guide because I'm a true believer of starting your Christmas shopping early to avoid the last minute stress!



So, what is a VSCO Girl you may ask? 
If you have a tween in your house, like I do, you probably already know ALL about it.
But for those of you who don't, let me fill you in. 

A VSCO Girl is basically a term for a preppy, beach-inspired aesthetic made popular by social media apps like TIK TOK.

I'm actually kind of a huge fan of this aesthetic because it promotes a more natural, minimal makeup, laid back look for young girls.

Urban Dictionary describes a VSCO girl as "a girl that wears oversized t-shirts or sweatshirts with nike shrts. Has Vans, Crocs, Birks and wears a shell necklace. She also wears tube tops and jean shorts. She always has a hydro flask. She can't leave home without a scrunchie and her favorite car is a jeep". 


1. INSTAX Camera | 2. VSCO Girl Stickers | 3. AIRPODS | 4. Birkenstocks | 5. VANS | 6. Spiral Hair Ties | 7. Hydro Flask | 8. Shell Necklace | 9. FJALLRAVEN Backpack | 10. CROCS | 11. Carmex | 12. Facial Spray |


If you want to make the young girls in your life, between the ages of 9 and 18, happy this Christmas, especially if she's on TIK TOK, you're going to want to refer to this gift guide while doing your holiday shopping.

I basically just put my 10 year old daughter's Christmas list into a collage above haha she also asked for some oversized t-shirts, hoodies and scrunchies.

The Hydro Flask is the number one on her Christmas list haha It's like the number one VSCO Girl essential.




Share:
2 comments

Fall Style 2019


 *This post may contain affiliate links*


I treated myself to a few new Fall pieces this season that I had to share with ya'll because the price points are SO good. 



I had been wearing the same faux leather jacket from Guess for the last 6ish years but a few months back it ripped and I had to throw it out.
I'd been on the hunt for the perfect faux leather jacket under $100 but wasn't having much luck.
The ones I found were either too short, too long, not fitted enough etc.
I finally found the perfect faux leather jacket at Dynamite and it was under $80! Score!

I also tried American Eagle's curvy line for the first time. I'm a pear shape and have a small waist but am quite curvy in the bottom. I ordered these black ripped jeans in a size 8 (I'm usually between size 8 - 10 ) and absolutely love how they fit my curves!!


I also treated myself to a few new pieces from American Eagle, like these new moto style boots, oversized cardigan and these super fun leopard high waisted jeans!  
I've linked the pieces below with the exception of the Rolling Stone tee, I couldn't find the exact one so I linked a couple others at really great price points.




Share:
No comments

EASY Scarecrow Makeup Tutorial




Y'all know I'm all about simple and easy makeup!

I don't have the patience or the skills to do super detailed Halloween makeup.

That doesn't mean I don't want to have fun with makeup this Halloween though!

I thought it would be fun to show you all how achieve fun Halloween makeup looks with little time

 and minimal products!

I'll be sharing a look every Monday until Halloween!

First up:

THE SCARECROW


 



     STEP ONE: ROSY CHEEKS & NOSE 
Use a blush brush to make pink circles on the apples of your cheek and tip of your nose.
I used the B Squared Brush and Hollywood Lip + Cheek.

STEP TWO: PINK LIPS
Apply a bright pink lipstick to your lips.
I used Pink Grapefruit Lip + Cheek.

STEP THREE: DETAILING
Spray the end of a small lip brush with setting spray and dip it into a dark brown eye shadow.
I used the multi tasker brush, stay spray & cole shadow.
Draw two lines on either side of your mouth using the lip brush.
Finish it off by adding vertical tick marks along both lines.
Draw a triangle on your nose and draw tick marks around the triangle to create a patch. 


Share:
4 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
© Kelsey Diane | All rights reserved.
Blog Layout Created by pipdig