September Blog Challenge!

You guys, I have been majorly slacking on my blogging lately. With good reason, I must say, as we have some exciting things happening that, while I am not quite at liberty to share yet, I will soon. No, not pregnant. Exciting things still though, nonetheless. Regardless of being so busy we feel like we can barely stop to take a breath, when I saw this blog challenge I decided to hop on board, because honestly, one of the areas of blogging I struggle most with is generating a schedule. I have lots of random ideas floating around in my head, and often intend to sit down to write, only to having a clingy one year old crying at my leg, or banging on the keyboard, or a husband asking me to watch a movie with him. First world problems, am I right? Usually when my blogging gets neglected, it is because family and life is happening, and those things always take priority! Still, this challenge is a great way to help me look out to the future, and keep on top of my blogging a bit more. And, as always, it is super fun for bloggers to open up a bit more and teach readers a bit more about our lives behind the scenes!

The Blog-tember Daily Prompts:

Tuesday, Sept. 1: Introduce yourself however you like! Pics, vlog, collage, your choice :)
Wednesday, Sept. 2: Describe your ideal day. Where would you go and what would you do?
Thursday, Sept. 3: Create a collage or inspiration/mood board that describes your blog.
Friday, Sept. 4: What are you passionate about?
Saturday, Sept. 5: Put your iTunes/music player on shuffle and share the first 10 songs that play.
Sunday, Sept. 6: Share your style. What fashion trends do you love, frequent, or avoid?
Monday, Sept. 7: Tell us about your blog name. Where did it come from?
Tuesday, Sept. 8: Tell us about your favorite season. Why is it your favorite and what does it say about you?
Wednesday, Sept. 9: Write a letter to sixteen-year-old you. Any advice or funny stories?
Thursday, Sept. 10: 10 items off your bucket list. If you haven't made one, now's a good time to start!
Friday, Sept. 11: It's a Friday night and you decide to stay in. What do you do?
Saturday, Sept. 12: What are you up to currently? I have examples here and here.
Sunday, Sept. 13: Create a collage or inspiration/mood board for this season in your life.
Monday, Sept. 14: The 5 books that have impacted your life the most.
Tuesday, Sept. 15: What's in your bag? Pick up your purse and peruse its contents, then share with us!
Wednesday, Sept. 16: The real you vs. the online you. Are they the same or different?
Thursday, Sept. 17: Just for fun, your latest obsession. What can you not get enough of these days?
Friday, Sept. 18: Record a VLOG! It can be about anything you'd like!
Saturday, Sept. 19: Tell us about one of the best days of your life.
Sunday, Sept. 20: It's guilty pleasure time! Shows, books, songs, foods, whatever it may be.
Monday, Sept. 21: A favorite quote/expression and how it has impacted you.
Tuesday, Sept. 22: Get creative! Sketch, paint, dance, play music, whatever then give us a glimpse.
Wednesday, Sept. 23: Grab a guest post. Recruit a friend or fellow blogger to share on your space for the day.
Thursday, Sept. 24: Shout out five of your favorite bloggers. Who are your regular reads?
Friday, Sept. 25: Three songs you are connecting with right now.
Saturday, Sept. 26: What's on your to-reading list, and what have you recently read? 
Sunday, Sept. 27: What's on your wish list? Be sure to include links so we can shop too ;)
Monday, Sept. 28: A day in the life. Take us through it with you.
Tuesday, Sept. 29: Write your own list of 10 blog topics to inspire us next month.
Wednesday, Sept. 30: A farewell coffee date. Take some time to breath, sip a warm drink, and share with your new blogging buddies. If you'd like a prompt: how did the Blog-tember Challenge go for you? Any surprises? What was your favorite prompt, or what would you like to see included next time?

Obviously, day one is easy. I could talk about myself all day (ha ha) To cover the basics, though:

I'm Mackensey :-)

1. I am a mama to the sweetest one year old boy, and wife of two years to my husband. 
2. I work in community health as a program specialist for a childhood obesity collaborative.
3. I will have my MBA degree as of December 17th (but who's counting down , right?) I am driven and eager to grow and excel in my career.
4. I am tall. 6 feet tall. And everyone likes to point it out. I have finally learned to just embrace it and enjoy the view and fresh air up here ;-)
5. My life revolves around my family, my career, and my faith. And a lot of coffee.
If you follow me on instagram, you will basically find a lot of this:

 

When I am not obsessing over my child and buying him an obnoxious amount of seasonal/festive baby pajamas, you will find me doing this:

 

Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. I love me some coffee. My husband and bank account may say otherwise, but coffee makes me happy, and so do baby pajamas. So, if either of those things appeal to you, I suggest you follow me on instagram @mackenseys

Follow along with me throughout this challenge, and hashtag# your posts on instagram with #blogtemberchallenge so others can see what you are up to! 

 

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First Birthday Party-Recap

Here I am finally writing this post, and only three weeks later..if someone can explain how life gets away from me so quickly, that would be great! We threw Jackson's first birthday party the weekend before his actual birthday, and it turned out great! I had been thinking over the past few months on what kind of birthday party I wanted to throw him, and at the top of my list was small and casual. Not a ton of people, not a huge commotion, but I definitely still wanted to pull together a theme and some fun ideas. Those of you who know me also know that 'themey' rooms, clothing, parties, and anything else is not my cup of tea (note: anything with sayings or characters on it that my child owns were not purchased by me). I know that one day I will have a little boy who looks at me with stars in his eyes asking for a Ninja Turtles or super hero birthday party, and I will happily oblige. But, until then, I am having fun coming up with themes for my little man that are detailed with his mama's taste!

For his birthday party, I don't even know in particular what I would call his theme, as I pulled in a couple of ideas from different areas.  50's, rock and roll. A little bit of classic diner. Summer barbeque. Ultimately, I suppose the theme wrapped up was just the 50's in a nutshell. We had old records for decorations, microphone cupcakes, barbecue chicken sandwiches, and pop 'rocks' and 'rock' candy (get it, wink wink). And, of course, classic coke and some red Jone's Soda for some extra flair.

 The birthday boy and grandpa

 Jax and grandma

 Homemade record banner

 Microphone cupcakes

 Little man and his godparents

 Lots (as in way too much) of sugar

 Help opening presents from cousin Logan

 Baby's first ride

 Practicing for his driver's test

 Logan loves helping him out, just holding his water for him.

One of the best parts of him digging into the cake was how completely nonchalant he was about the whole thing. He just took a handful, shoved it in his mouth, and looked at everyone as if he was thinking "what, I do this all the time". He crashed for a long nap after we cleaned up and headed home, and so did mom and dad.

The day was just great and our little man was spoiled and loved up on. We are so blessed to have the family that we do and little boy that we get to watch grow up. Let them be little, and let them eat cake!

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Friday Favorites

Happy Friday everyone! I worked a few long days this week and am rocking my Fridat not at the office. Can I get an amen!? I am totally stoked that fall is on the horizon and am feeling all sorts of motivated lately. Like all Friday's, I am linking up with these lovely ladies today.

 

Five on Friday // Oh Hey Friday! // Friday Favorites // Friday Favorites

1. Fall scented candles

I got the following image in an email and my heart literally skipped a beat.

I am so ridiculously excited to start lighting up my fall candles. It is finally getting cooler at night where I don't feel like a hypocrite running the air conditioning all the while lighting candles...bring on the pumpkin, apples, and spice that are fall! 

2. Cooler temps

Speaking of fall weather, we had a major cold front come through this week and we have been rocking some 60 degree weather in Minnesota. Despite some gloomy rain, I couldn't love it more. Sweaters and boots for life, am I right? It's back up into the 80's this weekend, but I am going to enjoy our final warm days before my favorite season officially sets in.

3. This vest

I have been seeing this baby all over blog-land and am thinking I might pull the plug and actually buy it. What are everyone else's thoughts? Is it worth the purchase? 

4. Pencil skirts. Working ladies, does any outfit make you look and feel more pulled together than a good pencil skirt? They are my favorite when I have to dress to impress and leave me office for meetings ;-) I just picked up this one at target and am seriously continually impressed by the quality of their skirts; my favorite black one has held up for years from there! 

5. Just loving the cuteness of my little man. Photo dump time, you have been warned. 

Have a great weekend, everybody!

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