Mingle Monday Link-Up!

What an awesome weekend!!
I crafted my little heart out to get ready to co-host a baby shower on Saturday! We had a blast and my first diaper cake turned out really cute. Sunday was a nice day or rest, getting in a good workout, and going to visit our best friend in Lawrence for a little family style dinner.

How was your weekend? Did you have a good time?
So, I am pumped that you stopped by to do a little mingling! I also have a BIG project that I need your help with, so be sure to read all the way to the very end!!

      
HOW TO MINGLE
 ** Only 3 easy rules - that's all I ask! **

1) Link-up your blog below.
2) You must share a link to Mingle Monday on your post or the Mingle Monday photo.
  3) Answer the weekly question in the comments section below and have FUN!   ** What's your guilty pleasure? **




____________________________________________________________________________________________

** BIG ANNOUNCEMENT **

I feel very honored to be a part of the blog community, and very blessed that my little blog has grown since the day of my first post. I want this blog to focus on paying it forward, so I have decided to re-do my sponsorship platform.

As of right now 100% of advertisement sponsorship proceeds will go to my charity of choice, the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge. There are dozens and dozens of Hope Lodges across the country that give cancer patients a free place to stay while out of town for cancer treatment. 

With just $10, you can get a month long ad and know that it is going to help real cancer patients and their families. And for $25 you get a prime ad spot AND an awesome "HOPE" tshirt to be mailed to you ASAP as my thanks to you!

This is your day to give back and also get some great exposure in return, so please help me raise money for this awesome organization by becoming a sponsor HERE!

A BIG thank you to these awesome gals for lending a hand. Please go visit them and say hello!

Rachel @ Rachel Rewritten

Rebekah @ Blue Giraffes and Concrete Jungles

Elizabeth @ All Kinds of Things

Holly @ Faith, Hope & Baseball

Thanks for giving to such an awesome cause with BIG hearts!

My Top Home Must Have + A Giveaway!

Do you know that feeling when you walk into a friend's home and it just smells fresh, clean, and and deliciously inviting? It's one of the first impressions I get of someone's humble abode, and having a lovely scent greeting you at the door always makes me think their house is extra clean.

Isn't it weird how that works?
When a house smells so incredible, it instantly makes me want to whip our 1970's bungalow into shape STAT. Same with my Jeep, my office, etc. - I can go on forever!!

Well, I was introduced to my absolute favorite house product about 4 years ago and I am completely addicted. We entertain weekly, so to have our friends and family say our place smells so good makes me happy!

So, in case you want in on the world's best kept secret, you need to check Scentsy out!

It's an awesome company that makes the cutest ceramic warmers and delicious fragrances to go in them. What I love about them is that it's safe to turn on my warmer, which is powered by a lightbulb, and leave it on all day long while I'm at work. It isn't hot to the touch, so I feel comfortable having Bella Beast or friends' littles around.

I love walking in to a house that smells like lime margaritas or have my friends enjoy my car smelling like a luscious tropical beach. They have every scent under the sun and I just ordered a ton of springtime scents!

Here are a few of my absolute faves right now...

Warmer - Chevron (duh!)

Plug-in - Crinkle // Daisies (this one is in my kitchen!)

Scents:

- Honeymoon Hideaway (it literally smells like our coconut, tropical Antigua vacation!)
- Beach
- Sparkling Citrus Pear
- Thunderstorm
- Jet, Set, Go
- Coconut Lemongrass


So anyway, I wanted to share my favorite product with all of you, so I've set-up a little online party for all of my favorite blog friends here. And to sweeten the deal, I am going to do a little giveaway of my favorite things!

If you make a purchase (no minimum and my favorite things starts at $2-3!), I am going to give someone 4 of my favorite Scentsy products! To enter, please check out the party (under "Megan Evans") and enter to win on the rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wishing you a SCENTsational day!
Good luck!

The Things I Learned Our First Year Married

If you would've told me 5 years ago that I would meet the man of my dreams, share 3+ years of dating adventures with him, have the best wedding celebration, and a year later be celebrating a fantastic first year...

I would never have believed you. 
It seemed impossible.
I didn't know that God could have such lavish plans for me.

{via}

Like many of you, my young 20's housed a handful of heartbreaks that left me damaged, confused, and distrusting. I finally had enough of the nonsense, pushed through the tears, and I strived to focus on myself. My career. My life. My dreams. Becoming who I was meant to be.

I told God I was completely sick of dating and refused to waste my time until the right one came along. The line was drawn and my feet were planted firmly in the sand.

I grew so much in those 4-5 months after swearing off boys... and then I met Adam. It was the most unexpected, inconvenient time. That wasn't supposed to happen when I was focusing on repairing myself, and I wanted so badly not to like him.

To not feel my knees buckle when he smiled his cute half grin. 
To not melt when he held the door for me... every. single. time. 
To not fist pump in public when I realized true gentlemen actually exist. 

But I couldn't ignore him... and boy did I fall hard.
And five years of blessings later, here I am, married to this ridiculously gorgeous man who makes me waffles, gives great forehead kisses, and constantly tells me I'm beautiful inside and out.

Our marriage is one insane whirlwind of joy that I wouldn't trade for anything, on good days and on tough days. Our forever story began with "I Do" on March 9th, 2013, and what a day full of humility, grace, and excitement.

{via}

I know it's only been a year since that magical day, but boy have we come a long way. Who knew there was so much you could learn in just 365 days of being roommates. 

This past year, I've learned...

+ being selfish doesn't work in a marriage, and dying to myself and my needs is a work in progress.

+ that when a Pinterest crockpot meal completely flops, hubs will extend grace in the form of drying tears and a Chipotle run as we discuss how bad our house smells.

+ that king size beds are the shiz.

+ that sometimes the best thing for us is to say no to obligations, and enjoy a quiet evening at home binge watching Homeland and Breaking Bad while curled up in our jammers.

+ that nothing is more fun than finding love notes by my toothbrush, and what's even more fun is hiding one in your car to be found months later.

+ that some days you may have to ask for forgiveness 3 times before noon.

+ that I am really great at starting laundry, and even better at letting it sit wrinkled in a laundry basket until I feel like folding it 2 weeks later.

+ communication, communication, communication.

+ that there is nobody in the world I would rather adventure with hand in hand.

{via}

So thankful that God knows the desires of my heart, and even among struggle and heartbreak had an even more incredible plan for me than I could have imagined for myself.

It's insane to think of how much we've grown individually and together this past year, and you know what's even crazier? Trying to imagine the many blessings and wild happenings to come in the next 50 years.

Bring on the rocking chairs and old man suspenders!
All in due time, my friends, we have so much fun to be had before then.


Bud, 
There is nobody I'd rather adventure with than you.
You have my heart now and always. xo




PS - Don't miss out on the WEEK-LONG "Mingle Monday" link-up! Get some exposure for your blog HERE!

Mingle Monday Link-Up + Big Announcement

Holy smokes, what a whirlwind of a weekend!
In case you missed the scoop, hubs turned 30 on Friday, and I threw a big party to celebrate on Saturday!

We had tons of friends and family in town - all of his absolute favorites - and we party hardied all weekend! I'm so glad it went over well and Adam felt loved. All in all, a great weekend!

So, I am pumped that you stopped by to do a little mingling! I also have a BIG announcement that I need your help with, so be sure to read all the way to the very end!!

      
HOW TO MINGLE
 ** Only 3 easy rules - that's all I ask! **

1) Link-up your blog below.
2) You must share a link to Mingle Monday on your post or the Mingle Monday photo.
  3) Answer the weekly question in the comments section below and have FUN!   ** What was the best part of your weekend? **





____________________________________________________________________________________________

** BIG ANNOUNCEMENT **

I feel very honored to be a part of the blog community, and very blessed that my little blog has grown since the day of my first post. I want this blog to focus on paying it forward, so I have decided to re-do my sponsorship platform.

As of right now 100% of advertisement sponsorship proceeds will go to my charity of choice, the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge. There are dozens and dozens of Hope Lodges across the country that give cancer patients a free place to stay while out of town for cancer treatment. 

With just $10, you can get a month long ad and know that it is going to help real cancer patients and their families. And for $25 you get a prime ad spot AND an awesome "HOPE" tshirt to be mailed to you ASAP as my thanks to you!

This is your day to give back and also get some great exposure in return, so please help me raise money for this awesome organization by becoming a sponsor HERE!

Your generosity makes the world go round - thank you!

Dirty 30 + Birthday Wishes

If you came over to the the Haskins House this morning, you would smell scents of maple syrup, smoky sausage, and blown out birthday candles wafting through the air as the two of us lounge around in our jammers.

Today is a very special day as Hubbers turns 30.
When I asked him how he wanted to spend the day, he simply said "together and relaxing". What a perfect way to celebrate.

So we've had our waffles (the best way to celebrate anything), and we're playing the day by ear. We may take Bella Beast for a walk or check off a restaurant from our ever growing wishlist. The beauty is we don't know what the day holds, but it's going to be fun.

On Saturday, I have planned a big bash at a cool new German restaurant that is rustic, manly, and has an extensive craft/import beer list for family and friends to celebrate Adam. I am thrilled how everything has come together and it will be so laid back and fun.

We are looking forward to seeing many close friends that we haven't seen in quite some time! It should be a fun, intimate, relaxing weekend celebrating this amazing man that we all know and love so deeply.

{I can't get enough of that little baby afro and diaper booty!}

Dear Hubs,

I am so thankful for you today and everyday. That sassy red hair has livened up the party for three decades now, and I can't wait to celebrate you. May you feel as deeply loved and cared for as you make everyone around you feel on a daily basis. I hope your birthday weekend is filled with Beast kisses, plaid, tasty brewskis, ample Mexican food, March Madness marathon watching, and an ample amount of sour patch kids.

Love you, sweets!

.:::.:::.:::.:::.:::.

In case you missed it this week...

+ week long link up party

+ our disney trip in photos

Have a lovely weekend, fun ones!

{Anniversary Trip} 7 Days of Disney

This post has been a long time coming ever since we got back from our 1st anniversary trip the second week of March. So needless to say this is going to be a major mega post with an insane amount of photos.

We had the best vacation ever and it was so nice to finally be in the same state as each other for more than a week! 

The first day was a blur of excitement, adventure and fun as we hopped on our plane, made it to Sheraton Vistana Villas where we were staying, and made the impromptu choice to head straight to Magic Kingdom.

The weather was absolutely beautiful and much different than our snowy KC weather...

Our little suite was perfect and we felt right at home. And that bed was to-die-for - so fluffy!!

Here we are on the ferry to Magic Kingdom - so excited to start our big kid adventure.

The famous Dole Whip lived up to our wildest dreams. Definitely get the pineapple soft serve and not vanilla!

A blurry photo of the Magic Kingdom close to midnight or so - we stayed so late the first night!

And I found the perfect bow... that LIGHTS UP!

Here I am getting KILLED by Adam at the Buzz Lightyear ride... womp womp...

Our next day, we decided to sleep in a bit and then head to Epcot for a fun day or trying cultural food and seeing the sights! We got lucky and went on the first day of the Flower and Garden Festival, so there were many statues made entirely of plants!

We had lots of fun in Norway waving to Elsa and Anna from Disney's frozen, being angry vikings, and loving the delicious "School Bread" filled pastry. YUM!

I had to include this blurry photo because it cracks me up! On the Spaceship Earth ride it take your photo and then transposes your face onto a synopsis of your life in the future. Apparently we're going to be excellent scuba divers!

Excuse the crazy look on my face, but anytime a cast member saw our anniversary button, people said congratulations, sang to us, and gave us special treats - crazy surprise!

The best pizza ever at Via Napoli in the Italy area of Epcot! So good, we ate there twice.

Animal Kingdom was a favorite as we got up close and personal with animals on a safari, went to awesome Broadway quality shows, and rode some crazy rides. 

I know you can't see it, before the Kali River Rapids ride, Adam's shirt was a very light gray. They weren't kidding when the sign said "You WILL get wet!".

For your enjoyment I have included our photos from these thrilling rides so that you may simply get a good belly laugh at our expressions! Adam's face was priceless of the dino ride and I am still laughing weeks later...

One of our favorite days was our time over at Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure. We had an insanely good time in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and I am dying to go back again! There attention to detail is unreal (more to come on that). And in case you were wondering... I had two frozen butterbeers - omg yum! 

Universal was one of our favorite parks. They had faster paced rides focused for older kids/adults and the Harry Potter ride through Hogwarts is insane. We also rode the roller coaster that is Tri-Wizard tournament themed and had a million loops and corkscrews 4 times before deciding we looked like we had consumed to many adult beverages and tried to walk afterwards. I was so dizzy I was staggering off the roller coaster - haha!

I saved Adam from getting eaten by a dino...

(you're welcome.)

We had too much fun paying a few cents to spray rafts with water guns while they were going along the water ride path. I mean we were belly laughing at people's reactions to getting even more drenched... slightly sadistic or just plain fun? Don't worry, karma rolled around when we were on it too! :)

We celebrated our anniversary at Jiko, which is at the Animal Kingdom Resort and it was great! They gave us special treatment with our fancy dessert, which was such a fun surprise!

And finally, one of our favorite things to do was relax on the boardwalk by Disney's Boardwalk Inn. The sunshine felt so great and we could've stayed out there for hours talking and joking. That man is too fun! :)

And last but not least, we visited the Orlando brewery that makes my favorite Wild Blueberry Ale. It was so good that I bought a 12 pk of it to smuggle back in my suitcase since we can't get it here in KC! Yum yum yum!

All in all, it was such a wonderful trip with my love. Quality time together was amazing as we experienced the true magic of Disney, rode way too many rides at Universal, and soaked in the Florida sunshine!

Stay tuned, I will be sharing our top Disney tips, food, and rides with you soon!