Sharing Saturday!!

I do so love a great beard! Love journeying through life with this one! 

While I had all intentions of posting yesterday for 5 on Friday, in typical Melanie fashion the day got away from me. So I am dubbing this Sharing Saturday. Sharing 5 things I am loving lately and sharing a few of those things in a happy little giveaway to share that love with you! Here goes: 

1.) Disney Flower and Garden

Our passes are almost expired and I think I may cry for a long time, but before that we will be going big with one last hoorah... and a lot of watermelon salad!! This stuff is my jam!! Seriously, if you have passes, the ability to make it to Epcot or are planning your yearly visit during Flower and Garden, you can NOT miss the watermelon salad. I love this amazing little blend! I waited all year long to get this again and it did not disappoint! If I could eat it everyday, I would. I have tried watermelon salad other places and Epcot's is by far my favorite!

2.) Snavely Vegetables and Garden!

We have a theme going on! Garden! Garden! And more garden!! This weekend, after being at the beach with a girlfriend, I came home to my our very own garden. I was beside myself!! I have been wanting one for so long and while Babe has too, I think he thought my enthusiasm for a garden was a lot like my enthusiasm for other things. I can quickly jump on an idea, but then quickly lose appeal for it. I have wanted a garden (and bees) for oh, going on about 4 years now! He was shocked, and I think I may have even surprised myself, with how much I am loving it. I basically cried the night I saw it. And within a few days it was already sprouting!! YAY!!!! First stop garden, second stop honey bees!! We are growing cucs, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots and watermelon; basically growing tacos, with a happy sweet treat!! Only one week in and it is already sprouting!!

3.) Clean Sweep!

I never thought I would say this, but "I have been loving cleaning." I have been purging my way through the house. A friend started a challenge to get rid of 40 things a day, for 40 days, for Lent. At first I said, "No way! Uh uh, not gonna happen." Next thing you know I had gotten rid of 240 thing in a period of 1 hour (in order to catch up) and I was hooked. It has recently gotten a little more challenging now that I am getting past the definite throw-outs, but I am excited to keep going and to learn what simplifying looks like (more on that later), as of right now it looks like 3 trash bags to pitch and two to donate! 

4.) Snuggly Beards!

Babe has kept his beard around (per my request)! Yay! Who enjoys shaving anyways?! And you just can't beat a man with a beard, at least in my opinion. However, Babe is very low maintenance. He just keeps it trimmed and typically doesn't listen when I talk about things like beard upkeep. But when I got the opportunity to try a beard care kit I couldn't turn it down and he obliged to try it out for a while! His beard is so snuggly! I love it. Smooth Viking is a wonderful company that offers 100% natural beard care options. While Babe's beard isn't long enough to use the beard balm he has been using the oil (Beard Oil - 100% Natural) which he says has made his beard less itchy and also much softer. It makes snuggling during movie night so much better. I also love that they are an Orlando based company. When I first partnered with them I didn't know that this was the case. I found out when I received the products and read the address. I love supporting local businesses and will definitely be using Smooth Viking in the future. If you love beard snuggling as much as I do you should totally give them a try!

5.) Tea Time!

I was recently given some Organic Dandelion Root Tea to try. I love tea! And while I am not typically a floral tea lover, I couldn't pass up a taste test. I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this tea from Kiss Me Organics. It has a subtle floral taste and dash of cinnamon, it blended nicely with my honey (I add honey to everything I drink) and a little sugar. It was delightful! The fact that is organic was great too. It's the perfect treat for an afternoon pick me up and being naturally caffeine free it didn't keep me up until all hours of the night.

*This post is sponsored by Smooth Viking and Kiss Me Organics and because they were so great to share some of their wonderfulness with me I thought I would share some with you! Here's a little treat for one lucky tea-drinking, beard-snuggling winner! (Beard Conditioner - 100% Natural Beard , Beard Balm - 100% Natural, Organic Dandelion Root Tea)

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Words for Wednesday: Adulting

I found this quote not too long ago and while times aren't that dark today I know there is someone somewhere who could use a push, a reminder, to keep chugging along. Whenever I read this, on a dark day or a brighter one, I am reminded about why I love it so much. It is short and simple and to the point. You have made it, you have made it through hard things and while you will face them again, you also know that you have the strength to make it through. You have done it before! So hold tight and be strong, there is light to look forward to. 

And just in case you are more of a "I need humor more than a dose of reminders in order to keep my head up today" kind of person, then I hope you enjoy this little ditty that has kept me smiling for the past week or so... 

And with that I am off to Disney, because that is where I take myself when I am just plain done and over the "adulting" thing for the day!! Seriously, why didn't the grown-ups warn us better about this whole thing?! 

Words for Wednesday: Ash Wednesday

Today I find myself exponentially grateful for God's outstanding grace. I am thankful that love is shaped like a cross, like a Man with outstretched arms, who died because of love. Because of His love for us; for broken, sinful people. He came to Earth to make sure we got to live forever with Him and He came because of a love that would save the world from itself. I pray that in this time, I will pull closer to Him and to that love. I prat that I can better learn to love like Jesus did and that I can embrace this Lenten season with an open heart, one that can better see and fully live the miracle of Jesus' life. This year for Lent I am not giving up something that I will, most likely, fail at. Instead, I want to pick up intentionality. Intentionally spending time in God's word, learning more about Him and His heart. Maybe that means I am ultimately giving up time I would be spending doing something else, but I want this season to be about growing closer to the meaning of a love that looks like a Cross.