© 2014 sarahfortune.

HELLO
Mom to Iris. Wife to Todd. Our little family lives at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Fayetteville, Arkansas. We love it here and I love sharing little bits of our life.

© 2014 sarahfortune.
+

Category : Life

Life

Almost time…

We are getting sooooo close! Christmas is just around the corner and I am about as prepared as I was six months ago. Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but it sure seems that way currently. My to-do list is long and the days are short, but I’m soaking up the holiday cheer (and drinking it too) whenever I can. Looking at our tree makes me feel a lot better about the State of Christmas over at the Gill household. I mean, just look at that thing – that’s a lot of presents under there! Just like every other year, it appears I’ve gone a little overboard in the gift department for Iris. I guess that’s one of the perks of being an only child. The older Iris gets the more fun it gets to surprise her – I get going and just can’t stop. Iris hasn’t even really asked for anything in particular, but she definitely has a lot of items on her list (and the list keeps changing daily). Just what will Saint Nick bring? We’ll just have to wait and see…

Life

December?!

How are we here already? I know it’s only the very first week, but I already feel so behind for Christmas. Somehow our tree is up and decorated, but that’s about as far as we’ve gotten. Gifts? No clue what to get anyone. Lights on the house? Hopefully that will happen before January. And wrapping presents once we have them? Who knows when that will happen.

Everything will come together, as it always does. In the meantime I’m burning my favorite holiday candle (that smells even better than our fresh Christmas tree) and listening to Kacey Musgrave‘s new Christmas album on repeat. The track with Leon Bridges? It’s my new favorite Christmas song!

Thankfully we’re spending Christmas home again this year. We’ve traveled so much lately (most recently at Thanksgiving), so being in Fayetteville is going to feel good. Till then, we’ll be over here going crazy because of the holidays!

Food, Life, Sponsored

My #GroceryHero Moment

I never knew what busy was until I became a mom. My days are planned out, utilizing every minute from sun up, to sun down. Because I work full-time, my errands and to-do lists are accomplished on my lunch hour and on the weekends. For our family groceries, at least once a week I run to Walmart instead of eating lunch, quickly picking out everything on my list, separating out the cold goods so that I can toss them in my office fridge. At the end of the day, I put the groceries back into my car, zoom off to pick up Iris from school, and then finally get the chance to put everything away that evening. Of course I usually end up having to take another trip to the store on the weekend, with Iris in tow, for things that I may have forgotten. Throw the busy holiday season on top of that, and my time is pretty much overspent.

But recently, everything changed when I tried Walmart’s Online Grocery Pickup for the first time in preparation for an early Thanksgiving meal with friends. I downloaded the app to my phone so that throughout the week I could add items to my list as I decided on certain recipes. Finalizing my shopping cart in my pajamas from my bed, I scheduled my pick-up time for a time that worked with my crazy schedule.

Once it got close to the window of time I selected, I received a notification that my order was ready. I clicked “Check In” on the app, buckled Iris into her car-seat, and we were on our way.

Pulling into the Walmart Neighborhood Market near my house in Fayetteville, I saw plenty of orange “Pickup” signs directing me where to go. With clearly marked spaces for #GroceryHeros like me, I zipped into a spot and popped my trunk. If you’ve ever taken a child to the grocery store, you know this is where I did a little happy dance in my car. Getting all of my groceries without having to get Iris (or myself) out of the car felt like I had just won the lottery – especially since this entire service is free and comes with the guarantee that only the freshest items are selected for each order. After just a few minutes, we were headed back home with a trunk full of goodies for our holiday meal and with extra time at home with those that we love.

Want to be a #groceryhero too? Check out Walmart’s online grocery ordering here!

Stores Offering Online Grocery in the Northwest Arkansas area:
Walmart Pickup
3701 SE Dodson Rd.
Bentonville, AR 72712

Walmart Neighborhood Market
1703 E. Central Ave.
Bentonville, AR 72712

Walmart Neighborhood Market
1400 N Walton Blvd.
Bentonville, AR 72712

Walmart Neighborhood Market
205 N Main St.
Bentonville, AR 72712

Walmart Neighborhood Market
808 W. Walnut St.
Rogers, AR 72756

Walmart Supercenter
4208 Pleasant Crossing Blvd.
Rogers, AR 72758

Walmart Neighborhood Market
4900 Jennifer Terrace
Springdale, AR 72762

Walmart Neighborhood Market
2690 E. Citizens Dr.
Fayetteville, AR 72703

Walmart Supercenter
2875 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Fayetteville, AR 72704

Walmart Neighborhood Market
660 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Fayetteville, AR 72701

This is a sponsored post, but all opinions are my own.

Life, Travel

Colorado Springs

I just woke up in my own bed after most of the week away. I’m not sure if it was a blessing or a curse to be traveling so far away from home on election day, but at least where went was absolutely, naturally gorgeous. I attended a conference for work in Colorado Springs at the Broadmoor. The property was stunning, the views were even better. On the last night my friend Laura even drove down from Boulder to keep me company.


Being my last work trip of the year, I feel like I’m now home and able to look towards the holidays! Even though that means more travel – This year we’re doing something a little more unique for Thanksgiving and skipping town. After having a Thanksgiving dinner with my mom, we’re headed for St. Louis and then Chicago for a few days to explore. We’ll only be in St. Louis for one night, but if you have any suggestions for Chicago, please send them my way!