Blissful Bits of Life Lately Vol. 7

It always seems like when April hits its full-on go time around here! There’s a short window between the holidays and Spring Break where everyone is focused on recharging and recommitting to their priorities. But then March rolls around and bam! Spring Break and then you are pushed right into April where allll the things hit – Spring sports practices, games, Easter, Mother’s Day, end-of-the-school-year activities, Spring programs, field trips, etc. The list goes on forever. Suddenly your weeknights are busy and your weekends are even busier! After a nice long getaway to Arizona, I’m back from a blog break where we were getting settled into our new Spring routine. Which is just basically preparing me for a crazy Summer with 3 kiddos! Sometimes you have to sit and reflect in order to pull the joy out of all the chaos. So today, I thought it would be fitting to share some blissful bits of life lately.

[*Affiliate links are used in this post.]

We spent 9 fabulous days in Phoenix visiting my parents over the boys’ Spring Break where the only thing on our agenda was to enjoy the sunshine! It was W’s first plane ride and he did so good! I’ve traveled with each of the boys as babies, but have to admit, I was a little nervous about traveling with THREE kids.

Newsflash, we [and all the passengers around us] survived!! Maybe I’ll write a post on some tips for traveling with kids.

Would that be helpful?

As far as my personal travel tips, I have a few of those to share as well! You may remember these travel cubes from my Spring Break Favorites post, but they have been an absolute game-changer since first traveling with them to the Better Homes & Gardens Stylemaker Event in New York City last September [you can read about my first trip to the BHG Stylemaker Event here]. They work great for quick weekend trips, too. I’ve conformed to rolling my clothes and by using the travel cubes to separate like things, it makes reaching for specific items a breeze. No more rummaging through your entire suitcase to find your pajamas at the end of a looong day!

I also used this travel toiletries set and it was so nice to have all of my beauty and skincare essentials in small bottles. I did not miss lugging all of my full-sized products with me one bit! This set even comes with little labels for each of the bottles and get this…a funnel, too! Totally worth it!

I rotate between this striped getaway bag and this camo bag for my carry-on bag. They are also great options for weekend trips, day trips or even everyday bags. Especially the camo one. I often use it for a laptop and / or diaper bag.

I’m suddenly coming up with more post ideas, so I’ll make a note to work on a travel essentials guide for you, too. I know the travel cubes and travel toiletries set will def be on the list!

We arrived in Phoenix late on a Thursday night and spent the next day just hanging out. That night though, I was tasked with getting my mom over to her friend’s house where 20+ of her girlfriends and family members were waiting to surprise her for her upcoming 60th birthday! If you ever want to really surprise someone, have the party a couple weeks early. They will have no clue its coming!! 

And really though…has 60 ever looked so good?!

BLACK KEYHOLE TOP | WRAP BRACELET | STAR LAYERING NECKLACE | ARC ENGRAVABLE NECKLACE | COIN NECKLACE

The host made sure to have the cutest pineapple party touches – these pineapple plates, napkins and gold rimmed glasses! And all the gold? Even better! My mom and I absolutely share a similar style and a common love of pineapples if you couldn’t already tell. 🙂

Her friend even had a flower arrangement made and requested the florist to use a pineapple as the vase. I didn’t get a picture, but it was darling!

I might have to make one of those myself this Summer, especially after how much I loved putting together my Pineapple, palm leaves and leopard print tablescape last Summer and that Pineapple Ice Mold wine chiller was another favorite entertaining idea!

Not only was it W’s first plane ride, but it was also his first swim! We sort of dipped his toes in the water last Summer as a newborn, but this was his pool debut with all the gear including this baby sun hat. When we weren’t holding him, we used this baby float with a sun shade and little octopus toy and he absolutely loved it. The lobster float version is adorable too.

We spent the days in the sun and the nights on the patio grilling. Since we had 8 nights there, we were able to plan a couple of adult nights out, too!

My aunts live there and we borrow their sitters every now and then which works out perfectly. One night my mom and I came down to leave the house and we both looked like this…

I mean… great minds! We’ve had these animal print sandals since last year, but I found this similar leopard print pair and this pair, too. Both are excellent choices!! I might even snag that second pair myself. The spots on this pair are even smaller than the ones on my current ones and since I wore the heck out of mine last year, I wouldn’t feel too bad about sneaking a similar pair into my closet. You know me… leopard is a neutral so they go with everything!

I obviously won’t go into every tiny detail, but our trip was rounded out with a trip to the water park…

a spa day…

[If you’re ever in the Phoenix area, Aji Spa at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, AZ is fabulous.]

tons of pool time…

HAT | STUDDED SUNGLASSES | HIGH-WAISTED BLACK SWIM BOTTOMS

[they are the BEST bottoms that cover all the things while chasing littles + I can always mix and match my tops with these basic black bottoms!!]

a family party at my aunt’s [with the most delicious poolside margaritas], mani/pedi’s with my mom, golf cart rides with the littles, girl’s night out with my mom and aunts and plenty of lounging as a family.

Since we got home on Sunday night, we were thrown right back into reality. 40 degree temperatures will do that to you. After a week of getting into our groove, we tackled a few house projects over the weekend, including new outdoor light fixtures [I’ll be sharing them on Instagram later this week] and a closet purge. I filled 1 Thredup bag and 3 garbage bags for Goodwill.

It felt SO amazing to get that done! It really does feel freeing. I also have some items to list on Poshmark, so stop over if you ever want to virtually shop my closet 😉

In other news, I’m gearing up to [finally] tackle the rest of the laundry room makeover so stay tuned for that. And since I’m sitting out of the Spring One Room Challenge, I am going to be revisiting some of the nursery details in case you want to know even more about all the things in the room I created for our third little guy last year!

Have a great week and I’ll be back soon! As always, thanks for stopping by.

Catch up on all of the Blissful Bits of Life Lately posts:

• Blissful Bits of Life Lately Vol. 6
• Blissful Bits of Life Lately Vol. 5
• Blissful Bits of Life Lately Vol. 4
• Blissful Bits of Life Lately Vol. 3
• Blissful Bits of Life Lately Vol. 2
• Blissful Bits of Life Lately Vol. 1