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We Love Thimblepress

Sarah Fortune
April 24, 2016
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About two Christmases ago I bought nearly half of my holiday gifts from Thimblepress. I had been a fan for a while, but when they had a booth at The Little Craft Show, I kind of went crazy because I loved it all. So when they recently reached out and asked if they could send us a box of goodies, I was beyond excited. Iris has total heart-eyes for the Push-Pop Confetti and Donut Love Print which we had a bit of fun with in her playhouse this afternoon.

Donuts, fun, and pretty messes. What more could a girl ask for?

Life, Photos, Travel

TRAVEL LOVE: Heber Springs, AR

Sarah Fortune
April 19, 2016
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This past weekend Iris, Todd, and I took the three-hour journey over to Heber Springs. Todd’s dad and stepmom recently bought and renovated a home there on the river and it is just heaven. Nestled right next to the water, with a boat and a dock I truly didn’t want to leave. Iris ran up and down the little bridge to the dock (making me nervous, of course), baked cookies with Nana, and went for rides in Poppy’s John Deere trailer. I’m already dreaming and scheming about when we can go back.

Life, Photos

Goodbye to 2015

Sarah Fortune
December 31, 2015
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Exactly one year ago I made my New Year’s resolution to get back to blogging at least once a week. And guess what? It’s the first and only resolution that I’ve actually kept – and I’m sure glad I did. Looking back, I have no major complaints about the last twelve months. In fact, 2015 has been pretty wonderful to me and my family. Even the downs had turn arounds. Here’s a look back at my favorite moments of 2015 and here’s to hoping 2016 is just as great, if not better.

+ We went on some pretty amazing trips. For work I went to Tucson, Dallas, and Detroit (where I even popped over to Canada for the first time). And we took family vacations to St. Louis, Rosemary Beach, Kansas City, Silver Dollar City, and a weekend of camping. I’m hoping 2016 takes us on even more travel adventures.

+ Todd built Iris quite the playhouse.

+ He also built a front yard swing!

+ We swam (a lot).

+ The support of my dad was pretty spectacular.

+ We went VIRAL thanks to Iris’ CVS birthday party.

+ On Halloween, Iris dressed up as Iris Apfel.

+ And someone else dressed up as IRIS GILL!

+ Iris had her first dance recital.

+ We ate a lot of donuts.

+ We hung out with new friends.

+ And with old ones.

+ Todd stayed busy running two companies (if you are in NWA and are looking to buy/sell real estate – Flyer Homes is where it’s at).

+ Let’s not forget that this year, Iris got bangs.

+ AND fed a goat.

… See how can I complain? What a year.

Life, Photos, Travel

Christmas & Memphis

Sarah Fortune
December 31, 2015
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Things were pretty hectic leading up to Christmas, but it was all well worth it. We celebrated Todd’s birthday on the 23rd, had Christmas with both sides of our family, and then Iris and I went with my mom to Memphis for the last couple of days. Now I’m home and, as Iris would say, I just want to get myself settled. Here are a few photos from the last week.

Christmas!

This was our third year in a row to host at our home. While it was a little smaller this year, it was special and sweet. Among many other things, Iris got her big-girl bike with training wheels, about a million Shopkins, and of course a chocolate bunny. I’ll share what I got a little later!

Roadtrip to Memphis

Iris and I jumped in the car with my mom for a last-minute road trip to my hometown of Memphis. It was a short visit, but we got to see lots of friends and family that I miss so much. We ate food from some of the restaurants I miss most and even explored the pyramid downtown (Iris calls it a “pyra-mint”), which was recently turned into a huge Bass Pro Shop. It was… interesting! We also tried Airbnb for the very first time. While there were definitely a few quirks that wouldn’t happen with a hotel, overall we had a great experience and would totally do it again.

Hope your holidays were just as swell!

Local Love, Photos

LOCAL LOVE: Fayetteville Holiday Square

Sarah Fortune
December 20, 2015
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I’m excited to start a new blog series called Local Love. I wanted a little spot to dedicate to my love of our city. Whether you live in Northwest Arkansas or perhaps have never heard of it, I’m happy to show you around through the eyes of myself and my little family.

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I’ll never forget my very first time experiencing the holiday magic on the town square. I had just moved to Fayetteville with Todd from my hometown of Memphis a few months earlier. He had tried to tell me about how the square was always coated with lights around Christmas, but there was no way to grasp how remarkable it really is without experiencing it for yourself.

We bundled up and ventured downtown for the annual lighting of the square. The town mayor, along with the crowd, counted down and then every tree and building glowed with the flip of a switch. I looked around and made the comment that it looked like a scene out of Gilmore Girls. Fast-forward ten years and the square around the holidays is still one of my most favorite things about Fayetteville. Instead of feeling like Stars Hollow, I’m now fortunate enough to say that it just feels like home.

Over our time here the square has just gotten better. With lots of cute stores, restaurants, coffee/tea shops, and boutique dessert spots to explore, it’s always my first stop when I need to pick out a gift or just want to grab a local beer. I love that the square evolves with the seasons. In spring, the town collectively counts down to the Farmers Market, in summer it’s all about First Thursday, and in fall the square is picture perfect for a stroll on Razorback game days. But now you can see for yourself why winter is when I love it most of all.