Tips for Moving Cross Country

Hindsight is always 20/20. As we get ready to make our second cross country move (kind of). I thought I'd share some of the do's, do not's, and the unexpected of a big move. At least from our experience.

One of the biggest mistakes we made the first time around was moving ourselves. You guys, so many things broke. So. Many. things. A lot of my favorite pieces of furniture were now unusable. The antique sewing machine my grandma gave me, done. My favorite entry table that was so perfect for storage. done. Legs on tables and chairs were now wobbly, despite our best efforts to preserve them. Things shifted, things broke, other things were stained. It was a devastating blow in a new unfamiliar place. We remained positive, but decided next time we moved, we would sell everything, and move nothing.

As we get ready for our second move we now realize that is a little bit unrealistic (clothes, memorabilia, etc.) However, we are taking this opportunity to get rid of what we don't like or want anymore, and start over of sorts. We have been married for 14 years and a lot of our things are worn, outdated, hand me downs, or are just flat out overdue for replacement. This time, however, the company is paying for relocation services, with professional movers and insurance. I wish someone had told me YOU NEED THESE if you're moving across the country. If the company doesn't offer it, I would highly suggest you try to negotiate it. It's a small price for them to pay for you uprooting your entire family and moving across the country. Starting over in a new foreign place, with a moving truck full of broken and unusable stuff, is really no way to start over, if you can help it.

What are your best moving tips?! I'd love to hear them in the comments. 

Calhoun Boys

This Fall we did a photo shoot for the boys! I recently made them their own instagram account @threecalhounboys. We've been having fun building a brand reppin portfolio. If you're new to brand reppin you can check out my post on Fly Little Guy about it! And, last, but not least, here are a few of my favorites from the photo shoot!

Recipe: Black Beans & Roasted Corn Succotash

We kind of have this thing for trying out new cheese burger recipes. I know what you're thinking...different cheese burger recipes?! But, we've been doing the no bun (low carb) thing for a while and so we try to find new ways to dress it up and make it yummy. It started with grilling onions and bell peppers and then lead to green chilies with monetary jack cheese. Then that somehow morphed into this weekends variation with pepper jack cheese, and black bean succotash!

I'm not even exaggerating when I say it is one of the best things I ever ate. The flavor of the succotash was so tasty, and it made so much, that I declared I was going to have it on my salad with avocado and tomato with the next days lunch. And, I did! It was even better than I imagined. So good there's not even a need for dressing! Say what?!?!

So, after a few requests, and with hubby's permission (it is his creation after all) I thought I'd share it on the blog! 

Recipe:

2 corn on the cob roasted
1 red chile (piquillo or similar) roasted with skin removed
1/2 red onion diced
1/2 lime juiced
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
1 can seasoned black beans (drained)
1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
salt to taste

Broil corn and chile top rack on a tin foil lined baking sheet (for easy clean up) aprox 15 minutes turning 2-3 times each until both are roasted and light-medium brown in color on all sides. While corn and chile roast dice red onion, cilantro, and drain beans. When corn and chile are done, and cool enough to handle, peel top layer of skin from chile (it's too tough to eat) and dice. Then cut corn from cob, add all ingredients to bowl and combine. Let chill 4-6 hours or even overnight. The longer the flavors marry together the better!

For Salad:

1 cup baby spring mix
1 avocado
1 vine ripe tomato
Succotash recipe above

Dice avocado and tomato into bite sized pieces lay over bed of baby spring mix, then cover with succotash  (recipe above).

The Calhoun Boys on Instagram

My favorite time of the year is here! SUMMER! One of the things I love most about Summer is dressing up in Red, White, & Blue! Especially the boys! We've done it for as long as I can remember. You can also follow these cute boys, and their fashion on Instagram @threecalhounboys. They're lucky enough to get to rep a few brands, and even have a few modeling gigs (outside of what they already do for their Mama on Fly Little Guy), check it out!

My Baby Turned Six

I really didn't want him to do that. Why does six seem so much older than five?!?! It's like all the traces of him ever being a baby are gone. Well, except, he still has all his baby teeth. I am secretly pleased about this. He, however, is not. He wants money from the tooth fairy, and I want him to keep his baby teeth forever. Okay, not really. But, I am honestly really struggling with him getting older. Like, really, really. I did however try my best to ensure birthday fun was had! I made these super cute treats for him to take to school!

So, if I'm being really honest. These types of things don't happen much around here anymore. It took me over four hours to put all of them together. That is a lot of time, and quite frankly, I wanted mother of the year for it. But, I digress. The children's five minutes of happiness (which if you multiply that times 28 children makes 140 minutes of happiness :) was totally worth it!

We invited the neighborhood kids over for cupcakes after school! As excited as he was he got a little shy when we started singing. I sure do super duper love him!

Lastly, I just wanted to share this picture his daddy took of him before the kindergarten music concert. It is such a joy to see your children do things they love, and this boy loves to "be on stage and sing." His face on stage was absolutely priceless. We always joke that they put the cute Calhoun boys front and center (even if it is just for logistics you guys can let us have this one, right? :).

 

Happy Hump Day!

 

Featured in Cincinnati Magazine

My very own Fly Little Guy was in Cincinnati Magazine!!! We are very proud of, and excited for Jace! He's the one in the middle wearing red and blue!

He actually shot this back in February so we've been waiting patiently for it to come out!

Jace isn't super into sports like his brother. Though he's pretty athletic, it's just not his thing. So, we wanted to find an outlet for Jace, something he would enjoy, but would also have to put in hard work and dedication. We asked him if modeling was something he'd be interested in and he said yes. I talked to a client friend whose children model/act and researched talent agencies based on her advice. I was really nervous, but we found a pretty good fit quickly. We were very excited when they brought him onto Heyman Talent Agency. I tried my best to explain that it could be hard and sometimes grueling hours and he would have to be on his best behavior, not always an easy task for a little boy with ADHD. He said he understood, and, much to my dismay, he was very well behaved. It was as if he was in his element. Perhaps it's all the years he's spent practicing with his mom. Here are a few behind the scenes photos I took with my phone.

 

Fly Little Guy: Boys Style Blog

I'm super excited to announce my newest project! Fly Little Guy is a blog dedicated to boy's styling! The idea was born from this post, and I've put so much love and care into its creation! I couldn't be more proud, and I'm super excited for all the things in store! There's new content posted Monday-Friday with everything from fashion inspiration, styling tips, and even giveaways! You can often catch one of the Calhoun Boys modeling! Here are a few examples done by yours truly!

Please come on over for a visit! Also, don't forget to follow Fly Little Guy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest! I want to say thank you SO much to all my friends, family, and clients who have already shown their love and support! It really means the world to me!

What Are You Wearing Wednesday: Issue III Boys Are Fun to Dress Too

Last week someone asked us "who styles" your boys?! It's a question I get often. "Who picks out their clothes, who does their hair? They always look so cute and stylish!" For the record I style my whole family! Even the biggest Calhoun. And, honestly, I feel like there's so many people who do it WAY better than me. My point is, dressing boys isn't boring (at least not anymore). Boys can be stylish and fun to dress too! I love clothes shopping for them! I've even created a board on Pinterest for pinspiration! Here are a few outfits I put together just this week!

Top: Target Pants: T.J. Maxx Shoes: Hand me downs from his brother a.k.a. I can't remember :)

Top: Target (both thermal pj's & t-shirt) Pants & Beanie: Left over pieces from a Halloween costume Shoes: Kohl's 

Layering is SO fun, and a super cute way to make boys look stylish. It's obviously easier to do in the winter! And, keep in mind, we already had these pieces. I'll bet you already have several pieces in the closet that are just dying to be put together to make a super cute outfit?!?! If you do, you have to share them with us!

To see past issues of What Are You Wearing Wednesday click here!

Snow Play

Last week I Facebooked that instead of working I spent the day playing in the snow, and, now I have the pictures to prove it! I'd also like to state for the record that it is -2 (-23 with wind chill) out today. So, I'm cozied up on my couch by the fireplace blogging!

Behind our neighbors house is a hill perfect for sledding!

Snow ball fight!

And a little snowball taste test. I thought it tasted like dirt...

A few headshots!

And, pics of our friends!



After sledding, we built a snowman! These were all taken with my iPhone and posted to instagram! What? You don't follow me on instagram?!?! Gasp...get on over there and hit that follow button (wink)!

And, lastly, the best part of playing in the snow, warming up by the fire! And, there was hot chocolate with marshmallows to boot!

 Oh, and, don't forget to like us on facebook too!





Mason, OH Children's Photography

We finally got around to doing my oldest son's back-to-school photo shoot, only a month after school started (wink). It was SO hard to narrow it down to five, but I think I did it! Here he is in all his cute, 10 year old, glory.

Is it just me, or does he look super old in the first one? The next one is my favorite!

 Sun flare to boot!

We had to get one in front of the water, and, one with the jersey and football of course!

To see my other two babies and their back-to-school photo shoots you can click here and here!