Magnolia Mamas

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Power of Breath Luncheon 2019

Last Friday we attended and participated in the Power of Breath Fashion Luncheon. It was such a fun event and we were so glad we were able to give a small part of us to such an amazing cause.

There is so much prep and planning for this special event, so when we saw it finally brought to life we were so impressed! The ladies of Findlay Rowe and Melissa (the powerhouse behind the Lung Force) definitely know how to put on a great party.

Aside from gracious hosts, the words they shared along with other guest speakers were powerful, touching, and inspiring. We left feeling like we had made 100 new best friends, and completely in awe being surrounded by such powerful and strong women.

Here's a quick little recap of the event. We already can't wait until next year!

THE POWER OF BREATH FASHION LUNCHEON

| Denim Jacket | Black Maxi Dress | Navy Jumpsuit |

When you first arrived to the event you could have your picture taken, do a little shopping, and take part in the auction. We were all about the shopping and the auction. Especially when we saw this...

A wine wall!

There was a ton of great pop-up shops set up from local boutiques and businesses. From sunglasses to purses to jewelry galore!

We might have left with an item or two.

Because we were guests of Findlay Rowe we were able to mix and mingle a little bit and take in a small part of the speakers before we had to go upstairs to get ready for the fashion show.

Team Findlay Rowe! We're all dressed and ready to walk the catwalk!We love supporting one of our favorite boutiques and these sweet ladies.

| Dress, shirt, and jewelry from here | Clutch |

We also both ended up purchasing and taking home our runway outfits because they were gorgeous!

We've haven't seen the professional photos from the event yet, so just imagine what Gisele Bündchen looks like walking down the runway. Then take it down about five notches, and you have the Magnolia Mamas Super Models.

After we walked, we were able to sit and eat a delicious lunch and listen to a few more speakers and the 2019 Honoree Deborah Spector. It was interesting to hear her speak as a lung cancer survivor and what life is like now for her.

Shortly after, the event wrapped up, we officially retired from our super model careers, and we walked back into our mom lives a little more grateful.

If you are interested in learning more about the Power of Breach Luncheon and the amazing things the Lung Force is doing in the Atlanta area visit here.

Come spend the day with us on:

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

How To Clean White Baseball Pants

Baseball season is back! My little guy had his first game last weekend and they totally rocked it. The team won in a big way and he was excited to get the game ball!

With baseball season back in full swing comes the constant cleaning of white baseball pants because he loves do do things like this...

And this..

And even if he isn't playing in a game he somehow ends up dirty!

I love him to look nice and clean before he gets started though and love the look of white pants. However, because he plays hard he always ends up with stains.

I used to just wash the pants with a regular load because I had no idea there was even a possibility of getting them clean again. Then a friend of mine with older boys who play baseball told me how she cleaned her boys' pants and I have stuck with that method ever since.

I have seen lots of different suggestions for getting white baseball pants clean, but this is how I do it in three easy steps!

STEP 1

First up I fill a large bowl or buckets with hot water and 1/2 cup of this White Brite by OUT. I purchase it at my local grocery store, but it is also available online HERE.

Then I put the pants in and soak them overnight. You can do it for a shorter amount of time, but I like to let it sit for longer.

Most of my friends use Iron Out by the same brand. I am convinced it is probably the same stuff just packaged differently.

When I take the pants out from soaking sometimes they are clean, but if he has stains that are really set in like from where he was sliding or something it will look like this.

STEP 2

Next I use what I consider to be the best stain removal product ever! Fels-Naptha is an old school bar soap and it is like a miracle worker. It's around $1 at most stores and lasts a really long time.

One time last summer the kids were playing a pick-up game after their real game had finished so he was already dirty, but then I look over and he's taken off both his shoes and his hat to use as a base. I was so mad and didn't even know where to begin with this.

But Fels-Naptha to the rescue. It gets anything clean! It takes a bit of elbow grease, but I scrub the stubborn stains on the pants with the Fels-Naptha and then they are ready for the last step.

STEP 3

For the final step I just throw the pants in with some towels and wash on hot water. I wouldn't wash with anything colored because of using the White Brite. I'm always amazed because when they come out they look BRAND NEW.

Edited to add: My fellow baseball mom told me last week that she was out of Iron Out and needed her boy's pants clean so she grated a bar of Fels-Naptha with an old cheese grater and soaked her pants with a cup of that and hot water. She said they came out looking brand new! It's a much cheaper option if you don't want to use the other product!

Do you have a trick for cleaning baseball pants? If so, please share!

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Book Club: March

Happy March friends! We are about to dig into our stock pile of beach reads and live vicariously through the characters lives because we are so ready for spring (and summer!). Today is frigid cold (for the south) and rainy. Again. We're pretty sure we've only seen the sun 2.49 days this winter. We are sooooooo over it. So come on March - we're counting on you and all your spring sunshine glory!

Today is Book Club day and we have some great reads to share with you!

WHAT WE READ...

CARRIE BETH

First up was The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty.

This is a book I started, but didn't finish originally. The first half of the book had to many unconnected characters and I lost interest pretty quickly. But then I decided to start listening again and as soon as I did things started to make sense. All of those random characters weren't so random anymore and the connections started making sense. It's about a wife who seemly has the perfect life and learns a dark, horrible secret her husband has been keeping since she has known him. Should she tell someone? Continue to keep it a secret? It will destroy her family if she tells, but in the end the truth comes out and her family exercise a horrible tragedy anyway. I love this one after I got back into and definitely recommend it!

Next up was An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.

This book was selected as a book club pick by some of my friends in real life and sadly I can't make it to the book club night, but I wanted to "read" along anyway. This was gripped me from the beginning and kept me interested the entire time! A young woman enters an anonymous study for a professor and ends up becoming sucked in and connected to the therapist in so many ways. The study on morality and ethics begins to take over her life and she starts questioning her role in all of it. This is a psychological thriller and kept me listening from start to finish!

My last book for this month was The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald.

This book was one that grabbed my attention from the get to and kept it the entire time. The title sets the scene...a girl falls in a horrible accident and the entire story flip flops between the girl's point of view in the past leading up to the fall and her mother's point of view present day trying to figure out what happened the night of the fall. The mother learns things about her teenage daughter she never saw coming and the story takes a lot of twists and turns I never saw coming. I would defiantly recommend this one! It has a sad, but happy ending.

JEN

I was able to sneak in two books this month. I was derailed from my Audible kick I've been on lately, but it was actually really nice to sit down and read an actual book in physical form. Both books I read were good in different ways.

First up was Ghosted by Rosie Walsh. I'll be honest, parts of this book were slow to me or kind of choppy. It goes back and forth between present day and the past (but only by a few months). After awhile I grew to appreciate it, and really wanted to figure out how it was going to end. And the last few chapters are the "aha" moment and I was shocked!

Sarah meets Eddie on a walk in her home town. She takes a month off every June to go home to England and visit with family on the anniversary of her sisters death. Instantly she and Eddie connect and over the next week they don't leave each others side. Eddie has vacation plans he made before he met her and Sarah arranges to pick him from the airport upon his arrival back. Only he never shows. And she never hears from him again. Everyone tells her that he's a jerk and to forget him, but she knows something is wrong. She can't let it go, and what she uncovers about Eddie is life changing.

Y'all...I couldn't stop thinking about it. And there's a huge twist to it that I wasn't expecting. It was a good read and if you can stick it out for the first few chapters the end is kind of worth it.

The second book was I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella. I always adore Kinsella books. From the moment I read her Shopaholic series I was in love. She always has funny easy reads with a little real life message mixed in. If I had to describe I Owe You One in one word it would be cute. The story follows a girl name Fixie. She is known for her need to fix things, and sometimes this backfires on her. The plot is full of fun little twists and turns - her family shop is in jeopardy when her brother and sister both suddenly want input on how its run, her longtime crush comes back into town and finally seems to have his sights on Fixie, and she and a stranger begin a fun game of "I Owe You" after she saves his laptop from danger. The book is super cute and at the end of the day just makes you smile. Pack this one in your Spring Break beach bags and enjoy!

WHAT'S UP NEXT...

CARRIE BETH

I'm going to start off this month with This is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

I always like the Reese Witherspoon book club picks and this one has tons of great reviews so I'm giving it a whirl!

JEN

Next up for me is My One and Only by Kristan Higgins. I've really enjoyed her books, and grabbed this one when I saw it thinking it was a new one. It's actually an older novel of hers that has been re-released. I'm excited to dig in because typically her novels make me laugh out loud. Stay tuned for the verdict.

What have you been reading lately?

Anything we need to add to our reading lists this month?

BOOK CLUB 2019

| January | February |

Follow along with us on Goodreads!

HAPPY READING!

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Friday, March 1, 2019

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! Getting back into a groove after a week long break from school is always tough so this week has felt really long. So happy the weekend is here! It's been a while since we've shared a Friday Favorites so that's exactly what I'm doing today!

Linking up with some of our favorite bloggers for Friday Favorites to share some of my recent favorites.

I found my favorite bag for spring and summer. This clutch is AMAZING!!! As soon as I walked into Findlay Rowe earlier this week I spotted this beauty and knew it was coming home with me.

When I checked the price and saw it was under $30 I loved it even more. Jen loved it, too, and got the blue version. There is also a black and white one!

I just feel like this clutch is going to take me all through spring and summer.

It is such a fun pop of color and it's a really great size! Usually I have a hard time fitting everything I need in a clutch, but this one has plenty of room for all my things!

clutch//jacket//white jeans//top//shoes

I found my favorite shoes for spring and summer, too!

I had originally bought this more expensive pair from Nordstrom and had high hopes for them. I read lots of reviews and everyone said they were comfortable, but they did not feel great to me. And for the price I wanted to just love them. I took them back and continued my hunt for the perfect wedges. Jen texted me telling me she saw a great dupe at Target so I went to check them out and loved them. They were so much more comfortable, looked just like the original ones and were less than half the price! They come in several colors online and mine are actually called blush although they look more like a nude color to me. They are sold out in some of the colors/sizes online, but hoping they restock, because they are so good! If your size isn't online you might want to check your local store!

Size tip: I went up 1/2 a size.

When we were at the Super Bowl we had an opportunity to design our own running shoes. WHAT?!? I didn't even know that was a thing. Apparently it is though and with Nike ID you can personalize tons of different shoes. I got to pick the color of each part, the logo on the tongue, color of the laces and Nike logo...all of it!

It was so much fun and my shoes arrived this week! I decided to go with something I would never have purchased for myself in the store. I loved the red because I felt like it would be fun for summer with cheering for the Braves and for summer baseball or 4th of July and then fun for the fall for cheering on the Dawgs. You can also add text to it so I put my initials!

Fit tip: I think these run small and wish I would have gone up 1/2 to 1 full size.

I think I've shared this Moroccan Oil root boost before. It's one of my very favorite hair products to help give me some added volume. I just spray it on my roots before blow drying and it does the trick! I order mine from Amazon recently got the volume shampoo and conditioner from them, too. I love all three of these products and for someone like me with very thin and fine hair, it really does help give me some extra volume!

Spring sports start this weekend and I'm pumped!

It's my favorite time of year! I just love watching my kids do what they love. It might sound crazy, but I love spending Saturdays running from one game to the next so I'm happy that is what I'll be doing this weekend.

Lastly wanted to share some of my favorite Beauty Counter products that I've been using for a while and loving.

I got this lipgloss set before Christmas and since then I have worn one of them every single day! I love them because they don't feel super goopy and the color stays on for a long time. Some of the colors look super dark or bright, but they are really pretty on and I love them all.

Some are good for fall and winter others are good for spring and summer and this one set give me all these colors!

I also have been using this facial oil under my moisturizer for a few months and love the way it feels. I use it every night and feel like makes my skin feel so silky and soft.

The other thing I have used for years and just pulled out with the start of spring sports this weekend is this stick sunscreen. My kids love it because it doesn't turn their faces white and I love it because a quick swipe keeps their sweet faces protected from the sun. Plus, it's small enough to just keep in my purse so I always have it with me!

Jen's new favorite Beauty Counter product is this overnight peel. She swears by it and has had so many people commenting on her skin lately, which does look amazing. I'm thinking this is going to be the next thing on my order!

I hope everyone has a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend!!! See you back here next week!