OUR WEEKEND // FOUR

This post is going to be short because we honestly didn't do anything this weekend. I wanted to get out and do things with Sophia but she decided not to nap at all this so both days were rough. I'm STILL exhausted from this past weekend.

One thing that I enjoyed this weekend is the two blog hops I co-hosted. I love joining blog hops & finding new blogs to read. I even found another blogger from my state! I haven't found many bloggers from WV so if you are a blogger reading this and from WV let me know!

Hopefully this weekend Sophia decides to nap so we can head out and find something fun to do! Have a great week everyone!

GFC COLLECTIVE BLOG HOP

<a href="http://www.peacoatsandplaid.blogspot.com/search/label/gfc%20collective" target="”_blank”"><img src="http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a268/bre916/BLOG/newhopbutton150_zps0ae6c5c9.jpg"/></a>

Welcome to the weekly "GFC Collective" party :) This is a link up for bloggers who want to gain followers and meet some awesome new bloggy buddies. I have met some pretty neat people by following them with GFC. It's so easy to keep up to date with all of my fav blogs :)

Not sure if this is the blog hop for you? Listen to what other bloggers have to say...

"Im dropping by to let you know that I love being a part of your blog hop!  I have been meeting really nice bloggers.  Bloggers who are actually friendly and want to connect! 

Im putting the blog hop button on my side bar, like, permanently!  Everyone should know about it. 

Just thought I'd share with you. 

Thank you."

-Vickie, Oh Abby Day

"Just to let you know, your blog hop is the best I've participated in for gaining new friends!!! I couldn't believe the results!! Thank you!"

- Danavee, This Vintage Grove

Has the GFC Collective done wonders for your following? Let me know, shoot me an email at peacoatsnplaid(at)gmail(dot)com

Bre @ Peacoats and Plaid

Autumn @ The Busy Bee

Heidi @ Antlers & Roses

and our lovely co-hosts for the week

Josephine @ Letters to Sophia

Melissa @ In Her Boots

...want to co-host? Email Bre at peacoatsnplaid(at)gmail(dot)com

FRIENDS

Sophia has two best friends. Their names are Kynlee and Chloe.

The three of them have been going to daycare since they were babies
and they spend almost everyday together.

Some mornings on my way to work I think about how much I don't want to drop Sophia off. I think about how amazing it would be to just stay at home with her all day. Just me and my girl.

But then I think about the friendships Sophia has made at just the age of two and how happy she is to be with her friends everyday. She talks about them when we come home in the evening and even when she wakes up.

They giggle together and hold hands. They mimic each other & play with dolls. They dance and sing.
They are little girls.

These little girls make it easier for me to be away from Sophia while I'm work.
They bring so much happiness to Sophia and I am thankful for that.

Have a good weekend everyone!

GYB BLOG HOP

THIS WEEK'S HOSTS & LOVELY CO-HOSTS!

Julie from This Gal Cooks (HOST) Paula from Call Me PMc (HOST) Esther from Esther Norine Designs (CO-HOST) Evelyn from My Turn For Us (Co-HOST) Josephine from Letters to Sophia (Co-HOST) Carrie from Frugal Foodie Mama (CO-HOST)

WHEN YOU LINK UP TO THIS PARTY:

• Follow your hosts and co-hosts
• Visit and follow other bloggers
• Comment to let them know that you stopped by and how you followed (Email, GFC, Facebook, Bloglovin, etc)
• Invite them to visit your blog (be sure to leave your blog web address - too many times have i seen bloggers comment and request a visit to their blog without leaving their blog web address)
• Communicate with them about what you like on their blog. Let them know you are interested in their blog. USE THEIR NAME! A simple "I'm so and so stopping by. I followed you please follow me." just isn't going to interest someone into visiting your blog. Sure, you can request a visit to your blog or a follow along but engage in some type of conversation first.
• Grab a button and promote the party(you can get the button on This Gal Cooks right here.)

Email Julie from This Gal Cooks at thisgalcooks@gmail.com

CURRENTLY

I've been reading "Currently" posts from other bloggers & have always wanted to do one. Well, Randalin at Harvesting Kale has a Currently Link Up that I am going hopefully link up with each week! 

THIS WEEKS THEMES:

WATCHING, INSTAGRAMMING, TASTING, LISTENING, LEARNING

S O P H I A  I S  C U R R E N T L Y .... 

WATCHING: She should be asleep since its almost 10PM but has been fighting her sleep lately so right now we are watching Hannah Montana. It's funny because Sophia loves watching shows that aren't cartoons and she's so into them. We spend most of our evenings watching Good Luck Charlie 

and Jesse. I feel like toddlers should be watching and interested in cartoon/toddler shows.

TASTING: She is currently not eating but we just had dinner at my parents restaurant and Sophia had a bite of mine and Gary's meal. She ended her night with a sippy cup of milk. 

LISTENING: Sophia LOVES music and always wants me to play a song/video on my phone for her. This evening she listened to "Calling All The Monsters" on repeat. She heard this song around 

Halloween time on Disney and she's loved it ever since. 

LEARNING: Sophia learns so much each day at daycare. Every evening I pick her up I hear a new word from her. She just recently learned about the Andy Griffith Show. My dad brought her over to the restaurant and had the episode where Opey kills a bird and has to take care of it's babies. Well, it's all Sophia talks about and she will grab the remote and ask me where Opey is. 

I  A M   C U R R E N T L Y  ....

WATCHING: The same Hannah Montanna movie as Sophia is. Speaking of Miley Cyrus, I'm pretty jealous of her fiance. Oh and I'm currently watching the snow falling outside.  

INSTAGRAMMING: I have recently started taking a daily picture of Sophia each day and I have enjoyed doing it so far. Check it out and follow us -- josephineking.

TASTING: Last thing I ate was a philly cheese steak from my parents restaurant. It was delicious. I'm pretty sure I have had dinner every evening at my parents restaurant. I need to stop being lazy and just start cooking at home.

LISTENING TO: The weather has been in the single digits at night here so we have our regular heat on but I've also put a floor heater on so I am currently listening to the noise it's making. It's kind of relaxing and it's been perfect at putting me and Sophia to sleep. 

NEXT WEEKS THEMES: 

LOVING, WISHING, CRAVING, MISSING, WORRYING 

DEER

Here in West Virginia you are going to see this sign everywhere. Hitting a deer has been one of my biggest fears ever since I started driving on my own. I have come VERY close to hitting one numerous times but somehow got lucky because someone hitting a deer happens a lot. I know that sounds crazy but they are just everywhere.

Well, poor Gary {and our car} hit a deer on his way to work this morning. He's fine but the car isn't. He drives an hour to and from work each day on an interstate that is the worst when it comes to deer. This is the same interstate that I drove on every weekend when I'd come home from college. I drove so careful on it and tried to avoid driving at night as much as possible. You can't even get cell phone service for a long time on this interstate if that tells you anything. My doctor even advised me not to travel on it after I hit 30+ weeks pregnant because he didn't want me going into labor alone without any help. 

Unfortunately, Gary HAS to drive it everyday and I just knew that it would happen. I wasn't hoping it would happen but when your driving on an interstate like that here in WV, it's going to happen ... if that makes sense. 

Gary has been living in WV for almost five years so I think he did pretty good going that long without hitting one. Never hitting one would have been great but it happens.

I was terrified when he called me at work. First thing I asked was if he was ok. Then I asked about the deer before asking about the car. I've always liked deer for some reason and I get so sad when this happens. I wish they were smarter.

The car is going to need some work but it still runs. I'm just so glad Gary is ok. I know this post is everywhere but I wanted to get on here and document our first time and hopefully last time of one of us hitting a deer.

RIP Deer.  

OUR WEEKEND // THREE

The weather was cold this weekend but the sun made it just right for a few minutes to play outside. Sophia got to play with her sandbox. I can't wait for it to be warm again so we can spend all our time outside in our backyard. I love just sitting in the grass watching Sophia play.

Sophia also loves oranges. She will honestly eat anything. I bought hummus this weekend and she's already eaten it all.

We didn't do too much this weekend. Just hung out at the house. I stayed in yoga pants and a t-shirt all weekend which means we barely left the house. We ate breakfast at my parents and I went to the grocery store. That's it. I love when my weekends are like this. 

Sophia was a little sick Friday night but was perfectly fine the rest of the weekend. I'm thinking she may have eaten something that upset her stomach. Besides the times we played outside or left the house, we just played and watched TV. Very relaxing which is always what I need after a long week of work.

Hope everyone has a great week! 

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WELLS FARGO COMMUNITY

I graduated college almost two years ago and honestly ... I miss it. While I was in school I couldn't wait to just be done but now that I've had a little bit of a break I want to go back.

One main reason why I want to go back is that I'm obviously not using my degree. I have a degree in Broadcast Journalism and before Sophia that' what I wanted to do but everything changed when I became a mom. I actually can't even see myself doing that now. So I plan on getting another degree & hopefully I can start in the Fall.

Planning to go back to school can be very overwhelming and at most times confusing. I know I've already been to school but thankfully my parents took care of everything for me. Now it's my turn & I didn't know where to begin.  Luckily I was introduced to the Wells Fargo Community.

The Wells Fargo Community is an online forum dedicated to help you understand your education planning. You can use this forum to get your questions answered & also provide helpful information to others. What's nice about this forum is the questions are from and answered by college students, parents, guidance counselors and financial advisors which provides a variety of prospectives.

As soon as I learned about the Wells Fargo Community I signed up and started participating in the discussions. I enjoyed sharing my own experiences with others and I have learned a lot of helpful information that will make things easier during my college planning.

 Hopefully this forum is still here in 16+ years when it's time for Gary and I to start planning and saving for Sophia's education because I'm sure I'll have more questions. But if you are preparing for college, in college, done with college or in my case, planning on going back I suggest checking out the Wells Fargo Community. The community is free and you don't need to be a Wells Fargo customer or member to browse and learn from the discussions. If you want to post your own questions or answers then you'll need to sign up which is super easy.

For more information about the Wells Fargo Community, please visit Wells Fargo Community's site. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own. #WFCommunity #spon

OUR WEEKEND // TWO

My weekend starts as soon as I get off work so I'll be including Friday evening to Our Weekend posts. Here's our weekend ...

FRIDAY I woke up SO sick. I couldn't even function & I felt like my head was going to explode. I attempted to get ready but ended up laying back in bed. I eventually called work and told them there was no way I was coming in. Luckily, Gary was off work so he watched Sophia while I slept until noon! I have not slept that long in such a long time. I felt better when I woke up. I think that I was just exhausted and needed rest... and that's exactly what I got.

After I got up and dressed, we headed to my parents restaurant and had an early dinner. After dinner we came home and played outside for a little bit. The weather was so nice and the sky was so pretty.

The rest of the evening we just hung out at the house. Sophia passed out in just her diapers so I captured some pictures of her sleeping. I love sleeping baby/toddler pictures.

SATURDAY we woke up to warm weather. Gary works on the weekends now so it was just me and Sophia. We got dressed and decided to get lunch at my parents restaurant. I'm pretty sure we eat there daily. After our lunch we walked over to the elementary school playground across the street. I always enjoy bringing Sophia there because it's the same playground I played on in elementary school. Sophia had such a good time and I took A LOT of pictures. I will be posting the rest of the playground pic in another post this week.

The rest of the evening we relaxed and just laid around. I did stay up late to watch the Miss America pageant. I love watching it every year. Sophia stayed up too and watched it with me. After one of the girls did their tap dance routine, Sophia got down on the floor and started "tap dancing" too. It was so cute. We may have a future tap dancer OR Miss America.

SUNDAY we woke up to some more warm weather. We played around and eventually got dressed. Well Sophia got dressed. I stayed in an oversized tee and leggings. Sundays are usually spent cleaning so it's my cleaning outfit. Sophia on the other hand looked so adorable. I ordered a dress from Baby Gap a while ago and it's just been hanging in Sophia's closet. I thought it looked kind of big but when I put it on Sophia it looked perfect. I love it so much. We didn't even leave to go anywhere today but Sophia did play outside for a little bit before it rained.

I just love it! I'll def. be putting this dress on Sophia so much more and I plan on taking lots of pictures of her in it. I got her all dressed up to play in rocks and ride her tricycle.

We didn't do anything else the rest of the evening. Watched lots of Good Luck Charlie and ate popsicles. Oh and danced to "Holla at the DJ" by Coco Jones. Yes, I watch Disney alllll day. Not gonna lie though, I love Good Luck Charlie AND Holla at the DJ.

How was your weekend? 

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WANNA SPONSOR SWAP?

Happy Saturday everyone! Here in WV the weather is going to {hopefully} reach almost 70 degrees! I am so excited. I have been so sick with cold/sinuses that I plan on spending lots of time outside for some fresh air. Hopefully there's warmer weather today where you are!

I wanted to get on here real quick to share that I messed around with my blog layout again & put a sponsors section back up. I sponsor swapped for a couple of months last year and really enjoyed so I want to get back into it again.

If you want to sponsor swap with us please head over to my Sponsor page.

Have a good weekend everyone!

AND the MEGA GIVEAWAY is still open .. if you  haven't entered you should .. lots of prizes!

❤ ❤ ❤

OUR WEEKEND // ONE

Sometime last year I started to post every Monday about our weekends. It lasted for a while but then life happened & I got extrememly busy and had myself a very long blogging break.

 

Now that I'm back {hopefully}, I want to start it back up again because it was nice being able to look back on how we spent our weekends. During the week we really don't do anything exciting after work just dinner, hang out/play & then bed time so the weekends are when we actually get out of the house and try to do something fun/exciting. Some weekends we may not even leave the house but I'm sure I'll have pictures to share because it's when I take the most pictures too.

 

Hopefully at the end of the year I will have 52 OUR WEEKEND posts.

 

So I hope you all enjoy reading about our weekend! And if you already post about weekends weekly let me know!

 

_______________________________________________

The very first Our Weekend of the 2013! We didn't do a whole lot this weekends. Most of it was spent putting away Christmas decorations and cleaning. I feel like most of my weekends are spent cleaning. I need to hire a cleaning lady so I can actually enjoy my weekends!

 

You know what's sad? I will sit here trying to think of everything that happened this weekend & it's difficult for me to even remember Friday night. I'm still very young but if I'm forgetting this easy I can't imagine what it'll be like when I'm older!

 

FRIDAY evening after work I picked Sophia up at daycare and we headed to my nail appointment. Sophia got to pick a color and get her nails painted too. I decided to just go with the same one she had so we could match! I love watching Sophia be girly. She really is growing into such a lil girl.

 

SATURDAY was spent laying around and playing with Sophia. My friend Stephanie was in town from Charlotte so we spent Saturday evening with her. We had dinner at her house, went to get frozen yogurt & ended
the evening with watching The Words while Sophia played with her mom and her favorite dog Zeke.

SUNDAY was my cleaning day so that's exactly what I did.. the whole day. I left the house to get groceries but that was it. Sophia played all day and did not take a nap. She has been skipping her nap a lot lately. Does anybody else's two year old skip their naps?

 

So that was our weekend recap. Not a lot going on but atleast the house is clean!

How was your weekend?

Also , I am part of the Mega Giveaway that Peacoats & Plaid is hosting.
 CLICK HERE to enter!!
There are a lot of prizes for THREE lucky winners!

Have a good day everyone!

MEGA GIVEAWAY!

Welcome to the biggest giveaway of 2013! 

All of the incredibly generous ladies below have contributed

over $1200 in prizes that 3 unbelievably lucky ducks will win!

The fine print:

*Must be a follower of Peacoats & Plaid via GFC or RSS to win

*Winners of each prize pack will be verified

*You can enter all prize packs

*Sponsors, you are able to enter whatever prize pack you are not contributing to

Prize Pack Un:

$15 Chelsea Cecelia Etsy shop credit from The Big, Beautiful, and Broke Blog
$10 value 2 months "Just Browsing" ad space from Tales of a 20 Something
$10 Amazon gift card AND $10 value large ad space from Wannabe Green
$20 value 2 months "Venti" ad space from Swell & Stylish
$10 value featured ad space from Discover.Create.Live.
$10 value VIP ad space from Girl Booklet
$15 value Ooh Baby Designs infinity scarf from Oh That Emily
$10 Nordstrom gift card AND $5 Starbucks gift card AND $5 value ad space from The Pretty Pinhead
$20 value Stella and Dot swallow stud earrings from The Casual Stay at Home

$12 value ad space from By the Porchlight
$10 value set of 8 customized wine bottle tags from Making Life Whimsical
$5 value top position large ad space from The Burghal Girl
$30 value 3 months medium ad space AND $10 Target gift card from Lulu & Sweet Pea
$10 Etsy gift card AND $10 value ad space from Champagne & Cardigans

$10 value ad space, guest post, and g+ or skype chat from Bold Butter Baby
$65 value Estee Lauder advanced night repair eye cream and 2 spa products from My Fashion Forward Blog
$15 value "Sweetly Sassy" ad space from Glossy Blonde
$10 value 200 x 200 ad space from Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
$12 value Buying Erica pair of hair bows and MUA nail polish from Being Erica
$20 value 2 months medium ad space from A.k.a. Chymecindy
$70 value prize pack including: $10 Target gift card AND $10 Starbucks gift card AND Caress prize pack AND 2 months of ad space from The Mustache Diaries
$20 value 2 months medium ad space from Satisfaction Through Christ
$13 value Starbucks gift card AND ad space from Newborn Mama

Full terms and conditions

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize Pack Deux:

$8 value chevron mug hug from Chevron Stitches
$16 value medium ad space from Whispering Sweet Nothings
$10 Paypal cash from The Dreamy Meadow
$20 value 2 months large ad space from Antlers & Roses
$12 value digital portrait from What Peggy Said
$5 value set of 5 hair ties from Lovely Life of Leah
$10 value large ad space from Come What May
$90 value 3 months extra large ad space from Rolled Up Pretty
$10 value custom blog signature from Yours Truly

$8 value medium ad space from Wifessionals
$10 Starbucks gift card from This Vintage Grove
$10 value 2 months ad space from A Humble Bumble
$5 value ad space AND $10 Lush gift card from Spunky Real Deals
$6 value ad space from The Eclectic Grab Bag
$10 value ad space AND $10 Starbucks gift card from Ashley Brooke
$10 value ad space from The Domestic Geek
$10 Starbucks gift card from Letters to Sophia
$25 The Sepia Puppy Etsy shop credit from The Sepia Puppy

$15 value large ad space from Diary of a Brown Eyed Girl
$15 Bath & Body Works gift card from Provocative Manners
$6 value large ad space from Happy Pretty Blog
$15 Paypal cash AND $8 value ad space from Lara's Vintage
$30 value clutch purse AND $15 Etsy shop credit from Kitty & Buck
$10 value medium ad space from We Took the Road Less Traveled
$12 value J Crew hot pink planner from Sunny with a Chance of Sprinkles
$20 Amazon gift card from Oh So Amelia
$10 Target gift card AND $10 Target photo gift card from Whatcha Makin' Now?

Full terms and conditions

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Prize Pack Trois:

$20 featured ad space & partnership from The Charming Blog
$5 Target gift card from Helene in Between
$8 value "Wedge" ad space from Lipgloss & Crayons
$5 Starbucks gift card from Southern Sunflowers & Coffee Beans
$30 value personal online styling session with 4 outfits from Because of Jackie
$15 value large ad space from Comma with a K
$10 Starbucks gift card from The Chiffon Diary
$15 value small ad space from Sugar & Dots
$25 value silver bracelet from NYC boutique from Sparkles & Shoes

$12 value 200 x 200 ad space from Living in Yellow
$25 value custom reclaimed wood sign from Home with the Urick's
$50 value bottom post ad space from Messy Dirty Hair

$10 Starbucks gift card from La La Lists
$12 value "Hot Mess" ad space from A Beautiful Mess
$6 value 200 x 200 ad space from Nugget on a Budget
$25 value custom state embroidery hoop art from Ten Feet Off Beale

$7 value ad space from For Lauren and Lauren
$20 value infinity scarf from Gypsy Bee Handmade
$10 Starbucks gift card from A Day in a Joyful Life
$10 value ad space from Fortune Favors the Brave
$35 value set of 5 bracelets from Sensational Creations
$12 value ad space from My Crafty Crazy Life
$45 value eiffel tower necklace from The Anna Delores Blog
$25 value Valentine's themed wreath from Finding Michelina
$23 value set of soaps and ad space from You Are the Roots

Full terms and conditions

a Rafflecopter giveaway

NEW YEAR'S EVE & DAY

Hope everyone had a good NYE & New Years Day! I had to work NYE but after work I ended up spending the evening with Sophia. We watched TV and took a quick nap until it was time to get ready for the night. We decided to head over to one of our neighbor's house to grab some food. After that we met my parents at a lil party at one of our favorite restaurants. The music was real loud and Sophia was getting tired so we didn't stay too long. We made it home just in time to watch the ball drop.

Sophia was my New Year's kiss. I ran her around the room to kiss Gary and Butch and she thought it was so funny. She asked me to do it again so we played out the ball dropping again .. and again. After all the kisses Sophia and I eventually passed out.

We were very lazy on New Years Day. I didn't have to work so I had all these plans to clean and organize/take down Christmas decorations. I didn't get to any of it. Instead Sophia and I laid around the WHOLE DAY in our pajamas watching TV. It was very relaxing and I needed it. Hopefully the rest of the year can feel more relaxed than last year.

How'd you spend your New Year's? 

❤ ❤ ❤

OUR YEAR 2012 - PART 2

Read Part 1 here.

J U N E

We found a house and moved in & Sophia took the cutest pictures with a friend at daycare. I took pictures for one of my favorite couples.  We stopped blogging for a couple of weeks because we were enjoying our summer.

J U L Y

We were still busy enjoying summer this month so not a lot was documented. I did two sponsor posts for Dove and shared my embarrassing beauty disasters solved & some shaving tips. Sophia played around in her ruffled polka dot bikini. Sophia sang the rest of the ABC's and we said goodbye to July.

A U G U S T

Sophia spent many evenings outside on her slide. My friend Heather gave birth to Layla & Sophia played chase with her daddy. Sophia played in her sandbox & Sophia dressed up as a lady bug. I did a sponsored post for GlassesUSA.

S E P T E M B E R

We went to VA Beach and said good bye to summer. Sophia played in puddles after it rained. The weather started to get colder and Sophia fell in love with blue ice cream. 

O C T O B E R

We took our first trip to the pumpkin patch. We played in the leaves and Sophia turned TWO. Sophia also dressed up as a little Indian for Halloween. 

N O V E M B E R

We visited with my great grandma. I got bangs and shared one of Sophia's cute outfits. Sophia looked pretty in her plaid dress & Sophia turned 25 months! We celebrated Thanksgiving in VA Beach where Sophia had fun playing with her cousins. 

D E C E M B E R

We had a play date with Camille and Blessing where they got to play chess. I did a sponsored post for Macy's Heart of Haiti and shared about the stars in my life. We had a great Christmas and I posted about how hard it is to take pictures with a toddler. We ended the year with a day playing in the snow. 

We have a great year. I can't wait to see what 2013 has for us.

❤ ❤ ❤