d.i.y//neon flower pots

what you need
+ terra cotta flower pots {super cheap at walmart}
+ painters tape
+ neon spray paint 
+ primer spray paint {not pictured} 

step one//prep your work space by placing newspaper on ground {be sure to tape them down so the wind doesnt blow them onto the pots}. then tape your desired design on the pots. 

step two//spray a coat of primer paint on pots and let dry for half an hour. you may want to add an extra coat of primer too.

step three//spray a light coat of your neon paint on pots. let dry half an hour. repeat one more time. after its all dry you peel off the tape and ta da its done! so cute right? and soo easy!

&& lastly you plant some pretty flowers! 

this was probably the easiest thing ever, and now that i have neon paint i want to spray everything and anything with it. haha. its my new fave! if you do this d.i.y let me know. i would love to see what designs you come up with!! 

happy crafting, loves! 

snapshots from our weekend

this weekend was so warm and amazing. saturday we were going to go on a hike but, dan went to help our brother in law doing some yard work stuff. so i stayed home and made some flower pots {diy to come soon!} and planted flowers. i also did some house cleaning since we had jase + rachel coming over for some bbq hamburgers. they were so dang good {good job daniel!} after dinner we played our favorite game LIFE. so much fun! thanks for a fun night guys! ps. lets seriously go camping soon!

man, this weekend was the best. if it could be 75 degrees all year i would be happy! maybe not because i do love me some fall weather. anyways, did you guys have a fun weekend?

happy monday, loves! 

bits + pieces from this week

soaking up some vitmain d....finally//coral + mustard. ps this skirt was from simple addiction  the most comfy skirt ever!

chocolate chip oatmeal cookies....hubby said they were the best cookies I have ever made//sunday drives with the windows down

selfie...ugh i just said selfie//neon is my new favorite

smoothie drinking + lesson reading on sunday//fro yo date with my hubby hubs

there you have some instas from lately. i promise i will take my real camera out this weekned since we have some exciting plans! {pinky promise!}

happy friday, guys!!!

spring trends im lovin'

via polyvore

maybe it's because my clothes fit better or because the spring trends this year are right up my alley but, i am loving getting dressed these days. i love putting together outfits that make me feel good. don't you? 

above are a few outfits you would totally see me rocking these days in some form. im all about polka dots, stripes, neon, denim, and statement necklaces. they are the best! how cute are all these pieces and they can easily be mixed and matched! loved that. which is your fave? 

ps. i need those sparkle sandals so bad. like real bad.  

talking about love...

i've been thinking about love lately. like, how there are many different forms of love. you can love your spouse, family, friends, an item, a place, hobby, etc. love is one of my favorite things. love is also universal. love is something we all feel in different ways. 

via

i love this quote from emma so much. so true, we all love different things and that is okay. below is a few things that i love: 

my membership in the church//i am a member of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. having the church in my life has blessed it in so many ways. i am so grateful for my knowledge of the gospel. 

daniel//i love that guy so much, it's not even funny. i am so glad we get to spend an eternity together. 

my parents//i am a child of divorced parents. it happened when i was a little so i don't really remember it any other way. both my parents are re-married and i am blessed to have 4 parents who have taught me to be the type of person i want to be. 

friends//growing up i always had more than one best friend, i have many friends. i believe in surrounding yourself with good people who help you be better. i love each and every one of my friends that i have made through out my life. i love my friends all equally. so, thank you to my friends for being the best! i love you. 

blogging//it may seem rather silly to say i love blogging. but, i do. blogging has really helped me be less shy and really open up. i have also grown a lot as a person through this blog. it has also introduced me into so many wonderful friends. {see above}

maxi skirts//okay, this is one time i truly love. i mean you can't go wrong with a maxi. 

myself//this is something that isn't always true but, is something i strive to love everyday. being happy and loving yourself is so important. especially us girls. we are always so hard on ourselves, that it's good for us to work on this every single day. 

books//i love loosing myself in a good book. there is something magical about reading. i love transforming myself into a different time, place or situation. i love reading so much. 

chapstick//i cannot live without it. faves include-burts bees and baby lips.

family//i have a large family. that happens when you have 4 parents but, i wouldn't trade it any other way. i love it. some of my best friends of my cousins from my dads side. i love families and love that we can be together forever. 

green smoothies//this is something that is a new found love. i drink one everyday {when we have groceries. haha} so yummy and healthy! 

children//children is something i have always loved. i love when a child smiles at me or when they give me a hug. i work with little children on sunday at church. it is hard but, i really do love it. it's so fun watching them learn and grow. 

see i told you can love anything. trust me i could list more but, i'd rather not make this nove....haha. some of serious and some are silly but, i love them all. so, if you were to write a list of a few things you love. what would you add? 

a giveaway for you

the other day this little blog hit 400 followers. something i still am confused about {haha} but, thank you to all you amazing readers for reading this blog of mine. i love this corner of the interents and am so glad you do as well! so, i am giving away one $15 target gift card. i mean who wouldn't want a target gift card. target is only the best store ever invented. 

here are a few items i am eyeing at my target, that are not groceries or other boring items. these colored skinnies in island margarita, these cute flats, and these sheets in yellow floral to go with our new comforter {which is from target!}

okay, now for the part you all want to know. how can you win this gift card? giveaway will end this friday. winner will be announced in this post and emailed. they will have 2 days to claim their prize or i will choose a new winner. good luck!! 

{open to US readers only!}

a Rafflecopter giveaway


ps. are you or someone you know getting married?? i just listed my wedding dress on ksl again. i really want to see it go to someone else to make their special day. click here to see the ad.

bits + pieces

+ last friday we went to the lego exhibit in park city. it was so dang cool. {thanks for coming with us jase and rachel} and after we ate at the amazing devanzas. have you gone? well you need to! 

+ before the blogger party we had some time to kill so we headed to ikea and i finally got a new shower curtain. i love it so much. 

+ we had literally not gone grocery shopping in over a week and a half. so, i ordered jimmy johns. {don't worry we went on wens. yay for having yumy food again}

+ that leads in to my next bit. this whole insanity has been so dang hard but, we are seeing results. i am loosing inches and it is AMAZING! 

+ on tuesday i went to the dr because my ear has been clogged again. plus, i have been off balance and been super tired all the time. oh and according to the nurse i had a fever too. well the dr said my ears are both clogged and he can't see my ear drum to tell if it's burst. he gave me some amoxicillin. i pray it works so i don't have to go see an E.N.T. {if only mark sloan wasn't dead and was real...haha!} the doctor gave me orders to rest which means NO INSANITY until im done with my medicine. UGHHHHHHHH is right. i am so mad about it. i am still gonna try to do something, like yoga maybe. 

+ that pretty girl up there belongs to my bff jen. they came to visit me the other day. she loved me. so happy the whole time. 

+ guys, there's this show on netflix called dance academy. it's about these aussies who are in a dance school in you guessd it......australia. its pretty cheesy but, i love it. so good. have you seen it? can't stop watching. 

happy friday guys, hope you all have a happy weekend! 

what i'm pinning

one: i love this look so much. messy hair, bow, and chambray. i could live in this outfit! 

two: how cute is this diy mouse pad? 

three: the simple art above the bed is my fave. i must re-create this in our room. 

four: mixing patterns is always a good thing in my book. can i have this outfit please? 

there you have four of my fave pins of late. what are you pinning these days? leave me your pinterest link below and i will pin with you!

&& the girls won

we have resorted to using my old dell laptop until who knows when....yay for blogging again! so, last week we hung out with some of our favorite friends the merkley's. {we have a lof of favorite friends!} we just love that kyle, stacy, maddison and still in the belly baby girl live here in utah now. {ppsssttt...dont ever leave guys!} && how cute is stacy when she is preggers. well she is always cute! 

we went mini golfing and the girls totes beat the guys! haha. it was so much fun, we even worked up an appetite for some ice cream afterwards. mmm. we love when we get to see them and it is always full of laughs! 

thanks for the fun evening guys, we love you!  

it's a blogger thing...

this saturday, alacia, kim and i hosted a little blogger favorites party in draper. it was my first time attending a blogger meet up and i was beyond excited. it was so much fun to finally meet the girls i spend hours talking to. i love that utah is the blogger capital {basically!}

we each brought 3 of our favorite items and did a little raffle type thing and we all ended up with 3 fun items! i got a sweet cd from hailey, lipstick from gentri {pssstt the husband LOVES it}, and a cute bow from amy. it was a blast. we had fro yo and just chatted for a few hours. i feel so blessed to have these awesome ladies in my life. blogging is the best and i love the friendships i have made! 

the ladies who attended: 

hailey from something devine 

gentri from gentri lee 

kirsten from k&r

alacia from hoodwinked 

kim from life as bird 

rachel from mr. jp & me 

elise from hunters of happiness 

amy from harris inc. 

marsa from the daylee journal  

&& me

if you don't follow these blogs you should. they are awesome. && to those who couldn't make it....we missed you all!! 

thanks for the fun afternoon ladies, let's do it again soon!! 

xoxo

Do you miss me?!

Our macbook is on the fritz so blogging will be sparse. Im posting this from my phone, which is weird. I couldn't leave ya hanging any longer....

So, I just want to share this amazing quote with you guys. How amazing was this talk last weekend??

Happy Friday, loves. You can still stay up to date with abcde via FB, Insatgram and Twitter. {Which can be found over to the left!}
xoxo

according to my phone

 did some re organizing in the closet....out with the sweaters and in with the maxis//insanity is going well. starting to see results {cardio recovery is my fave!}

i love me some fluffy clouds//rachel and i at her surprise party

husband made conference morning waffles mmm//conference was amazing and i found much needed peace

dan fell asleep during conference, so did i..haha//mad men is back and i am so happy!!

there you have some instas from lately. i really should take my real camera out more often. bad blogger, right here.

did you guys have a good weekend? did you watch conference? what was your  favorite talk?? i LOVED L. Whitney Clayton's talk and Henry B. Eyring's So good.  

happy rainy monday!

guest post//love me, dani marie

Hi Girls! I am Dani from Love Me, Dani Marie! I am so very excited to be guest posting at ABCDE the blog! I am 23 years old and love to feel good in the clothes I wear! I am married to an amazing guy that puts up with all my craziness! I also am a registered nurse and have the most amazing job taking my cute disabled brother to school. Thats me and my husband Zach below...

I absolutely love reading Eryka's blog! I love how personable she is and how genuine her blog is! I was so glad the day I found her blog! It is a blog I read everyday, and always makes me think and definitely brings a smile to my face!

Love Me, Dani Marie is where I love to post outfits that are functional, still fashionable, and trendy. I also love to post tutorials about fun home improvement projects, cute crafts that I am currently working on, hair, or makeup! I love to blog, and meet new friends just like Eryka!

I am so excited to talk to you girls about my favorite Spring 2013 trends! So many of these trends can be mixed and matched! I love finding pieces that I can wear so many different ways! Don't you!? These are some of the trends that I am/have incorporated into my wardrobe.

1. Liquid leggings! I absolutely love the look these can give to an outfit! They are so fun and super duper comfortable! They add a little rocker edge to any outfit! If you haven't purchased a pair of liquid leggings its a must! You can find them here! 

2. Denim Vests, I love that you can throw these over absolutely anything and it just adds to the outfit! Vests can add another layer and texture to any outfit. There are so many cute vests out there! Colors, patterns, really anything! I purchased this one at Forever 21. I highly recommend buying a denim vest! Once you buy one you will fall in love just like I did! I have to stop myself from wearing it every day!

3. Metallic Pants. These are my new favorite love. They add a pop to any outfit without any effort! I was nervous to wear these at first, but now I can't get enough of them!! The pair I have on is no longer listed, but I just bought a blush pink pair at Bohme! They are darling!

4. Maxi Skirts, probably the most comfortable thing in my closet! You can dress them down with a graphic t, or dress them up with a cardigan! I am loving the maxi skirts here and here. 

5. Lace I love the girlyness that these add to an outfit. They are so fun, I love the texture that it adds to an outfit and just the girly edge.

6. POLKA DOTS! Polka dots just add a bunch of fun to an outfit. They are just like happiness! And colored jeans + polka dots = perfection! There are darling polka dot pants here and here!! 

7. Top knots probably my favorite trend! I love the fact that they are darling and my hair is out of my face! I love you can add a cute headband or a bow in the back for another cute different look of the top knot!

8. Peplum tops! A fabulous piece to cover up your tummy area if you aren't so proud of it like I am! I love the girly look it gives. They are just a fun piece and who doesn't love a little ruffle at the bottom of a shirt! I just bought this peplum top and am so excited to wear it! 

9. Neons and color blocking, I love the brightness and cheerfulness that neons bring to an outfit! They just make my day brighter and put a smile on my face! I am loving the neon tops here!

What are some of your favorite trends that you are excited to wear this spring!?

Thanks so much for letting me post Eryka!

Make sure you head over to Love Me, Dani Marie to see Eryka's post! 

You can find me in many places!

Blog /\/\/\ Facebook /\/\/\ Twitter /\/\/\ Instagram /\/\/\ Pinterest

Hope to see you visiting soon and would love to make new friends!

XOXO

dani

a happy list

photo via

blossoms

sunshine

conference weekend 

baseball games 

cuddles with my love 

new phones 

snapchat with kay 

mint nail polish 

family

seeing results already from insanity 

the gospel 

good hair days 

blogging friends

what's on your april happy list?? 

some bits from the weekend + a thank you

follow via instagram @erykaann

above are some photos from our easter weekend. it was a fun one with lots of time spent with my love bug. got new phones, baseball game, had a little cheat on the diet and had a hot dog {so worth it!}, beautiful easter sunday, and a good day in nursery {i love each and everyone of those precious children. they are so sweet!}

i really want to talk about the response to this post. 

i was overcome with tears of love. i appreciate those of you who opened up about your struggles too. it helped me really remember we are never alone. i love each and everyone of you. thank you so much for all the love and support you have shown us. 

blogging always has a funny way of showing me how grateful i really am for this part of my life. i am so thankful for all my blogging friends. you guys, sure know how to make a girl feel loved. i truly believe that you all have been placed in my life for a reason and i am so glad you have been. again, thank you for all the texts, emails, comments, and messages. i love you all! && that is not an april fools joke!

xoxo