Friday, July 31, 2015

BLOMPS Take The Beach

This summer, we were lucky enough to get to have two amazing weeks at the beach: first, with my hub's "side" of the family, and last week, with my "side." 

They were two weeks I'll always remember, and it will be hard to ever top them! So much laughter and memory-making that filled every inch of my heart.

I wrote previously about our first beach trip of the summer. Now, for the second: 

The search began many a month ago for the perfect house that would house all 21 one of us--14 adults and 7 children--and after lots of looking, we found it! We traveled to North Myrtle Beach and stayed in an 8-bedroom, 7-bathroom house right on the water. It offered plenty of space for our crazy crew and even had an elevator that REALLY helped with transporting the millions of bags and suitcases and highchairs and toys and beach bins into our happy (temporary) home. 




As soon as we arrived, we all quickly unpacked and immediately headed out to the beach. Just like our first beach trip of the summer to Edisto, we were blessed with absolutely gorgeous weather all week, and we took full advantage--staying on the beach from sun up to sun down some days!


And now, my top 10 favorite memories from our 2015 BLOMPS Beach Trip, in no particular order (side note: figured out what BLOMPS stands for yet? I get asked all the time... :))  :

Fishing: My kiddos are so blessed to have so many amazing aunts and uncles. And Uncle Ronald is no exception. He is so great with all the kids and loves spending time with them. This year, he brought a couple fishing rods and fished in the mornings, and often at night, too! Banks was his biggest fan and spent HOURS fishing alongside him, reeling in fish (and baby sharks!) left and right. It was just the sweetest thing. <3




Sunrise walk. One morning, my two earliest risers, my sons, greeted me just as the sun was coming up. So, I hopped out of bed and we spent the wee hours on the beach, just the three of us, watching the sun come up as the boys jumped and splashed and ran and laughed down the beach. It was a morning I will never forget.


Babygate. The year of 2014 brought four new additions to the BLOMPS family, with each cousin being born three months apart! It was so fun to see all four babies together again, playing on the beach and checking each other out. I have no doubt many more memories will be made amongst these four, as well as with their new (boy!) cousin, who is set to arrive in just a couple of weeks, making the tally and even four boys and four girls!




BFF bonding. It is no secret that my sisters are my very best friends. We are also so lucky to have spouses who also consider each other BFFs as well as cousins who do, too. It was such a special week getting to hang out with some many people we love so much, with the closest of friends of all ages. 





Lu Crew. Of course, one of my favorite parts of any vacation is getting to soak up time with my little family o' five, which we managed to sneak in, too, amongst all the crazy shenanigans of the week.







Putt Putt. One morning, the whole 21-person family divided up for some non-beach activities, with some folks heading to lunch, others heading to the pier, and yet others heading out for a little Putt Putt. We were the latter group and had a ball (no pun intended)! :)





Beach surprises. Our last night, we surprised the three oldest cousins with glow sticks and sparklers, letting them stay up until after the sun went down. It was so fun! Then, us grown-ups stayed on the beach for one last night of night fishing and chatting. Loved it!



 



Bam and Digs and their biggest fans. I've said before that I feel so blessed to have four amazing parents, my hub's and my own, who just so happen to be the most amazing grandparents to our littles. While managing a week at the beach is no easy feat with so many littles in tow, it sure is easier, and so much more fun, when you have such amazing grandparents by your side. We sure do love our Bammy and Digby and Nana and Pop!




Girls walk. As per usual, the guys spent one morning playing 18 holes on the golf course; so, another morning, we girls took a nice, leisurely stroll down the beach to the pier. It was an awesome way to start the day!



Dinner out on the town. We sibs headed down to "Broadway at the Beach" for dinner and drinks one evening while Bammy and Digby hung back with the littles and enjoyed a really fun (and tasty!) meal while laughing all the way through.





And with that, our summer beach trips come to a close. Until next year, BLOMPS!




Wednesday, July 29, 2015

You Guys! You Guys! You Guys!

Finally, after many, many months of lots of blood, sweat, tears, and countless hours of hard work, my most favorite place to shop for children and mommas, PEEKAWHOO, has finally launched their absolutely adorable new website. 

Yippee!!! Yahoo!!!! Hooray!!!

Why am I so very, super duper excited about this? Because Y'ALL. I can offer YOU, my dear family, friends, readers, followers, and internet buddies alike, a huge, and I mean HUGE, discount

Before we talk numbers, let's talk products. And by products, I mean all the overwhelmingly adorable items available for gifting others (or spoiling yourself!).  

As you'll see on the new and improved website, the gifts are broken down into three categories: For Baby; For Toddler; and For Her. 

Let me take a minute and show you a few of the things I am OBSESSED with (and that may or may not be showing up on my doorstep very soon!) from each category: 


For Baby

Can we PLEASE talk about this adorable bib, burp cloth, and hooded towel set by 3 Marthas. I actually gifted this exact set to my sister-in-law when throwing her baby shower recently. And while the products are beautiful in the photo, I can assure you that the quality is unmatched. And how sweet is this as a gift set?! As with most items, there are various color and monogram options that you can totally customize and personalize FOR NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE.  

Gift Sets | 3 Marthas

And ohmydearLord, this monogrammed bow swaddle is seriously one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I love it so much it makes me want to have another baby just so I can use it in the newborn photos (hey photographers out there--this would be an AWESOME prop for your shoots!). I cannot wait to gift this to as many soon-to-be momma friends as possible! Just absolutely beautiful!  

Monogrammed Baby Gifts | Personalized Swaddle with Bow

But also, there are Wubbanubs (a MUST HAVE for any baby!) not to mention the teethers and rattles and swaddles and month-by-month stickers and baby scrubs (!!!) and so much more! If you are expecting, or know someone who is, you MUST check out all the amazing baby items! 

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For Toddler

Another favorite? Zubels! Ohmygoodness, y'all, these sweet little friends are so soft and snuggly and hugely popular, and would make a PERFECT big sibling gift (or baby gift, too!). Just so precious. I want them all!

Zubels | Knit Giraffe

I am also in love with the Gretchen Scott tunics. They are offered in a variety of prints and just scream summer adorableness for your fashionable toddler. I wish they had them in my size!

Personalized Gifts | Gretchen Scott Tunics

The sweet toddler lunch totes, bookbags, and duffles are also definite favorites. Seersucker is such a classic look for boys or girls and is only that much cuter with your little one's monogram or name embroidered on. And the fact that you can mix and match?! Cuteness overload! And there is much more! Take a peek (awhoo...see what I did there). :) 

Personalized Gifts | Mint Lunchbox

For Her

Sometimes, a momma needs to spoil herself (or spoil another deserving momma). Can we talk about how infatuated I am with the canvas weekender bag? To me, it screams girlfriend weekend away and it needs to be in my closet as soon as possible. Yours, too?

Personalized Gifts | Monogrammed Weekender

And while there are many other "For Her" items to covet, I just love this sweet Lucy Darling art print, available in three sweet colors and perfect as a cool addition to any spot in your home need of that final touch.

personalized gifts

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Also, let's not forget about the ever-popular, always adorable personalized Jellycat Bunnies. Y'all know how much I adore these softer than soft friends. 

Monogrammed Jellycat Bunny | Jellycat
 
One more super cool new feature: if you are really busy, Peekawhoo makes it even easier for you by offering suggestions for favorite gift sets as well as a Custom Concierge. Can you believe that?! They will gladly choose an absolutely adorable and personalized gift for the oh-so-loved baby/toddler/momma in your life while helping you save your time and energy for other items on your mile-long to-do list. :) 

Personalized Gifts | $75 Gift Set

 Personalized Gifts | $100 Gift Set

So. 

Job #1: Visit the newly updated, awesome Peekawhoo site and peruse to your heart's content. 

Job #2: Attempt to select which of the adorable items you just have to have. Yes, I know this will be hard (cuteness overload!!!), but go ahead and select your favorites and throw them in that online shopping cart. 

Job #3. Save yourself some serious moolah. 

Say wha?

That's right. For ONE WEEK ONLY, you, my people, get to save 20% OFF YOUR ENTIRE order simply by using the code LAUNCHLL at checkout. This is a BIG deal because 20% off is almost never offered by Peekawhoo!!! 

So. Stop what you're doing (i.e., reading this post), head on over to Peekawhoo, and shop to your heart's content. Because my code LAUNCHLL works for just one week only and because this kind of a discount is so very rarely offered, go ahead and brainstorm for birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, baby shower gifts, and just because gifts, and then shop, shop, shop away, dear friends! Let me know what you think!

Baby Gifts | Zutano and Zubels

Happy Shopping!