Mini Life Update

Hello Monday & Welcome Spring!

It is a beautiful day today here in central Ohio!

This week kicks off our new and even crazier schedule, but we are excited for it!

X is playing 3 sports (total of 4 teams) this spring!

We are nuts, I know!

He has been going to soccer lessons all winter and has had team practice on Friday nights, but this week things really kick off.

Mondays and Thursdays we have soccer team practice.

Tuesdays and Fridays he has soccer lessons/practice.

Wednesdays he has football practice and then goes to soccer lessons.

And then his travel soccer team starts games this weekend!

Football games start in a few weeks on Sunday afternoons, and he is playing in a mini soccer league for the club where he takes lessons.

I mentioned 3 sports...baseball should be starting sometime around the end of April and is pretty much every day of the week.

I feel like Dory right now...

I realize after typing Life Update as the title, our lives basically revolve around X these days.

Mic and I are still busy handling our actual business each day, and still trying to find mirrors and sconces for the bathrooms 🙍

Please tell me it isn't just us that our lives revolve around our child's life!

And that is all I got for today!

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

XOXO ~ Vanessa

Friday Favorites 3/18/21

Sometimes the week just gets away from you and you don't post your Friday Favorites until the day is just about over 🤦🏻‍♀️

Linking up with Andrea & Erika once again.

I was looking through photos the other day and came across all of X's soccer pics, so I put them all together in a little collage.

Oh my goodness, I just love this not so little guy!

Can't wait for the spring season to start next weekend!

I came across this image and it is exactly how I feel about our home!

I think my house was "that" house when I was a kid and that makes me feel so good.

I pray that we can do the same for X's friends :)

This is not a favorite, but I had to share.

Homework is the worst!

I love this guy, but boy do we butt heads sometimes.

Homework is always one of those times!

The weather was so nice earlier in the week, so X and Mic took advantage of it and got outside for a bit.

I'm just going to leave this right here...

I decided to have some fun with my nails this week in honor of St. Patrick's Day!

Pot of gold at the end of the rainbow 🌈

Speaking of St. Patrick's Day...this guy jumped out of his comfort zone on Wednesday and participated in the 3rd Grade spelling bee!

While he didn't bring home the big trophy, we are so proud of him and how well he did :)

Of course we wore green on one of my favorite holidays, but I had to wear camo to cheer on my guy!

Good hair days and sunshine call for car selfies :)

And I couldn't agree with this one more...

So many good songs that I listen to while I am cleaning/making dinner that I used to request back in the day! 😂

And I'm calling it a week on that note!

Have a great weekend friends!

XOXO ~ Vanessa

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wishing you all a wonderful and safe St. Patrick's Day!

Don't forget to wear some green!

And if you are still looking for something to eat/drink today, check out this post, my St. Patrick's Day Pinterest board, or my Irish/Scottish Recipe board :)

Cheers my friends!

💚☘🤍 ~ Vanessa

Friday Favorites | 3/12/21

It's Friday 🙌🙌

Linking up with Andrea & Erika for another week of Friday Favorites!

X and I both got much needed haircuts last Thursday night, and he enjoyed his favorite part of the visit...getting his hair washed and his head massaged 😂

We showed up at school drop off the other morning to see the cups X and a classmate put in the fence to spell "Be Kind" have slowly started going away.

On this particular day all that was left was "King" 👑

This has been a favorite lately.

I don't drink very much, but my go-to right now is Sunkist and Vodka :)

X played his last indoor soccer game of the season on Saturday afternoon.

It was crazy intense!!!

We should have won during the regular game time, but unfortunately one of our kiddos bumped the ball into our goal on accident.

Making it tied 1-1 at the end.

Because this was a tournament they had to have a winner.

The boys played a 5 minute overtime before having to move on to a shootout.

And what a shootout it was!

X was picked as one of the 5 kids to participate in the shootout.

He was the 4th to go on his team and scored a goal!!

The place was going nuts!

Honestly, you would have thought we were about to win the Super Bowl or something.

His coach even picked X up and was spinning him around!

 After our last kid shot and missed the other team had one player left.

She ended up scoring on a toe-ball kick.

Here is where things got interesting.

Each team must have went through their entire roster 3 times before it was over.

Meaning 30+ shots were attempted from each team!

Crazy!

Unfortunately, that same girl kicked the winning goal.

Our goalie stopped the ball, but he slightly bobbled it and it went in.

#dangtoeballkick

While it was a loss, it sure didn't feel that way!

And it is still crazy how exciting it was!

Another favorite this week....a quiet/clean house ;)

You moms know what I am talking about!

It is slowly starting to feel more like spring around here!

That sunshine was definitely a favorite!

On the blog this week I reintroduced myself to you longtime readers, and shared a little about myself for the newbies too!

And I started a new series called 3 Things Thursday!

This time was all about one of my favorite holidays coming up!

And that my friends is it for the week!

More soccer and football practices for X this weekend,

more playing taxi driver for me ;)

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

XOXO ~ Vanessa

3 Things Thursday | St. Patrick's Day

Hello & Welcome Back!

Today I decided to do something new...3 Things Thursday!

With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, I decided to kick things off by sharing 3 of my favorite recipes to make for your family or co-workers to celebrate.

1. Shepherd's Pie

I make this every year for St. Patrick's Day and just add some green food coloring to the mashed potatoes for some extra festive flare ☘

This recipe is super similar to how I make it.

It is delicious!

And it is one of they only foods/meals I am happy to have leftovers of as well!

2. Mint Chocolate Bark

Anytime I make bark for a holiday it is a crowd pleaser!

This one is perfect to celebrate St. Patrick's Day!

The mint Oreo cookies make it so good! 💚

3. Key Lime Cooler

You can add green food coloring to just about any food or drink you want to have and make it festive.

This drink is always so yummy though, and the added food coloring really makes it come alive.

I came across this Key Lime Cooler as a shot years ago, but immediately made it into a cocktail instead.

It is delicious!!!

You start making this one now and will continue on through the summer!

Here is what you need (makes 2 cocktails):

3 oz. Licor 43
A few splashes Vodka (about a 1/4 oz.)
1 oz. Rose's sweetened lime juice
2 oz. milk or cream (add more if you like it creamier)

Pour ingredients into mixing cup filled with ice.
Shake and strain into glass.
It is seriously that simple!
Sometimes I add crushed graham crackers to the rim of the glass or just sprinkle on top.

And that is all for today!

Let me know if you try out any of the recipes mentioned above.

Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

If so, what are your favorite recipes to make?

XOXO ~ Vanessa

Let Me RE-Introduce Myself

Hey Hey!

How are you?

I know I have had some new readers over the last few months, so I thought this would be a great time to reintroduce myself.

I'm Vanessa, or V for short :)

I am currently 42 years old, and live in Central Ohio.

I have been with my husband for 20 years this April, and married for 14 years this past October.

X is our 9 year old son who is my whole world!

From soccer, to football, to baseball and more.

I love watching him do it all!

I'm originally from a small town about 30 minutes (or about 26 miles) west of Cleveland, Ohio right along Lake Erie.

In Ohio, we speak distance in minutes instead of miles ;)

We also say things like Pop, You Guys, and Tennis Shoes.

We recently just moved back into our home after tearing down 90% of it and rebuilding from the ground up!

Why leave 10%?

It was my husband's childhood home, so he wanted a little something from the original house.

Don't worry, there are plans to remodel that space very soon!

My home style is a combination of Rustic, Modern and Industrial.

Mic would love to add some medieval vibes in there too ;)

You can read and see more about it all here.

As far as my clothing style goes...I am a jeans and graphic tee girl!

I choose jeans over leggings any day/time of the week!

And I have more graphic tees than I can count!

I love wearing hats too.

I have a pretty good collection of all sorts of colors, teams, graphics - but I tend to stick with a baseball style.

I also love to wear tennis shoes (sneakers) or combat boots with everything.

I actually used to rock combat boots with my cheerleading warm-ups back in high school.

I am not a fan of shopping, so my purchases are definitely thought out.

And I'm a lover of quantity when it comes to clothes.

I need all the options!

I love to bake from scratch whenever I have the chance.

I don't mind cooking either.

I love all kinds of music (especially live music), but my heart really skips a beat when I hear country or hair band music.

Dancing and karaoke are some of my favorite things to do!

Speaking of favorite things to do.....I love going to sporting events!

Especially football games!

I am a diehard Cleveland Browns fan!

But I love to go to high school or pee wee games too.

Really, I'm down for just about any sport.

I like to share my favorite affordable fashion and home finds, our home building and renovating process, recipes, and more!

And that's the me behind the V in X-tremely V!

Anything else you want to know...just ask!

XOXO ~ Vanessa

Friday Favorites 3/5/21

Hello Friday!

Linking up with Andrea & Erika for another week of Favorites :)

I placed my new soap bottles and tray from The Polished Jar on my kitchen counter and I love them!

They are available in multiple options for the bottles and pumps, but the matte black bottle and pumps look perfect in our kitchen :)

All my new throw pillow covers arrived and they make me so happy!

I love the texture that the faux leather and white detailed covers bring to the couch.

And those plaid ones match perfectly with my bins I have in the room as well!

Sometimes you see things on Facebook or Instagram and you feel like they are speaking right to you!

This was one of those things...

It's Dr. Suess week at school and I love themed days that go along with that!

Monday was crazy/mismatched sock day...

Tuesday was wear green day...

Wednesday was backwards/inside out/mismatched clothes day...

Thursday was hat day...

And today is pajama/comfy clothes day!

Earlier this week on the blog I shared some Unpopular Opinions about music.

Head here to check it out!

And I founds the cutest and most festive things at Target for St. Patrick's Day!

From tees to accessories, I got you covered!

I grabbed this hat (not online) in the dollar section for $3!

Perfect for St. Patrick's Day or any day really :)

And one more house update before I go.

Our new stools from Poly & Bark arrived!

Eek! I absolutely love them!

And now I can't wait for that back wall to get the black brick backsplash and range hood!

They will really pop then!

And that is it for this week!

We have a weekend full of soccer and just added a football practice to our schedule!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

XOXO ~ Vanessa