Back to School: Favorite Places To Shop For Boys

What probably should have been a “Favorite Things Friday” post is obviously taking place on a Sunday because I can’t seem to stick to my schedule and also because I’ve procrastinated buying the boys their back to school stuff and we didn’t go until yesterday. With that being said, I’ll keep this short and to the point! I’ve received a few Instagram messages lately asking where my favorite places to shop for my boys are, or where I’ve gotten specific shirts and pieces. Well, I’m not one for keeping secrets, especially when it comes to shopping or where I found a good deal.

A very short back story: When I first found out that Marek was a boy, I was so excited. I could FINALLY look for baby clothes at the stores. To my disappointment, when I got to the stores I would find only a tiny back corner section for boys clothing whilst the entire front and center section of the store was jam-packed with girls clothing.

Since it’s a little more difficult (in my opinion) to shop for little boys, here are some of my FAVORITE PLACES to shop for my boys. Most of these places run sales FREQUENTLY. You don’t have to be rich to dress your kid nice, trust me I’m a bargain shopper from way back (shout out to my mom, Mary!).

Nordstrom Rack- Four words- NAME BRANDS FOR CHEAP. We found almost all of our name brand stuff for the boys there. Vans, Under Armour, Nike, Urban Republic, etc. All found there, all for a very cheap price.

DSW– The best place for shoes in my opinion, although this time around we didn’t have too much luck since the one in Grand Rapids was pretty well picked through. Apparently they start school next week so they had all of the last minute parents and guardians scooping up all of the good steals. Among our shoes this year are Nautica tennis shoes which I will link HERE, Sperry’s for our dressy days which I will link HERE, Vans Classic Checker Slip-On’s which I will link HERE, and Nike tennis shoes which I will link HERE.

The very beginning of our haul- not pictured- a million shirts and many more pants, and backpacks.

Old Navy– Old Navy is a staple for the graphic t-shirts. Especially if your kids are anything like mine and obsessed with Mario, Yoshi, Sonic, Batman, Captain America, Spiderman, etc.

Coat- Urban Republic- Nordstrom Rack. Shirt- Old Navy. Shoes- Nordstrom Rack.

The Children’s Place & Abercrombie Kids- I do all of this shopping online because I know the kids sizes and what fits them best. When they run sales, they run SALES- so get it while it lasts! The sizes seem to sell out fast. BTW- These two stores are my FAVORITE places to get jeans/pants. They don’t wear out fast and they’re not made cheaply.

So as you can see, back to school shopping doesn’t have to break your bank. Almost everything I bought for them was half off or more, you just have to put in the effort and know where to look! Not that there is anything wrong with hand-me-downs, or second hand stores such as Goodwill, but why have used clothes when you can buy brand new ones for similar prices???

I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday, and is preparing to have a wonderful week!

Until next time,

//

Em.

“Soft Launch” of J&M Co.- A New Adventure

Happy Friday Y’all! So I know I’ve been promising exciting stuff coming up, and it feels like it’s taken forever… I also promise that I have good reasoning for being so inconsistent with my posts lately, so here it is- I’ve been working on a little side project and I’m so happy to announce the “soft launch” of J&M Co. Designs! I’ve been working on various different creations for months now, and after lots of practice and learning new techniques I’m excited to finally be able to offer personalized apparel, clothing, glassware, etc under our new “business name”!

Logo courtsey of Alyson Fink Designs!

The name obviously comes from my boys names, Jayce and Marek, “J&M”. Wow, super original, I know… *Que eye roll* but I think it’s cute.

With that being said I’ve been waiting to get our official logo finished up by Alyson Fink Designs, as well as waiting to launch our business Facebook page, and Instagram page. (If anyone is looking for any kind of logo work, or designs in general, I HIGHLY suggest checking out Alyson Fink Designs. You WILL NOT be disappointed). Moving on, there is potential for us to eventually set up an Etsy page, but with us working to get on our feet we figured we would start with these two for now and see how this all goes. With still working a full time job in Human Resources and Accounting, it’s been a juggling game trying to find the best balance and routine.

So on to the good stuff- what does J&M Co. offer? Good, I’m glad you asked!

We offer various different things such as apparel, drink ware, kitchen and bathroom accessories, and home decor. We’ve been busy making baby onesies, t-shirts for both adults and children of all sizes, coasters, personalized wine glasses (both with stems and stemless), custom cups, koozies, etc. The list is ENDLESS. I will include some photos below of some of the things we have been working on lately.

Custom Coasters

Custom Traverse City Wine Glasses (Rose Gold)

Custom “Bring Home” Baby Onesies

Sippy Cups/Snack Cups are the perfect little gift set idea!

More Michigan Wine Glasses- I can’t get enough!

 

So there you have it, just a few of the MANY projects we’ve worked on. If you have any custom requests or inquiries, please feel free to message me on our Facebook page or email me at jandmco.2@gmail.com and I will get back with you! Also feel free to spread the word, we love to be busy. Mostly- I’m just excited that the fun I’ve been having with my crafting has turned into something that others can enjoy as well. I’ll include links to our Instagram page, as well as our Facebook page below. I would love some feedback on suggestions, as well as any kind of constructive criticism.

J&M Co. Instagram

J&M Co. Facebook

Also, if you’ve bought anything from us previously, please feel free to share around and let us know by using our hashtag #jandmconorthernmich

We are also excited to announce that we can ship anywhere in the United States, and shipping costs will vary depending on location.

As always, thank you to all of our family, friends, and strangers alike for the constant support. We couldn’t do it without you!

Until next time,

//

Em.

 

 

2018- A Recap

WOW. What a year, y’all! This was BY FAR the busiest year I’ve ever experienced. It was full of laughter, friends, family, and wonderful times. With all of these were of course a few tears and low points as well. Since we are more of a “glass half full” family, we will focus on our high points and accomplishments this year.

Marek turned 4 (and is about to turn 5). WHERE DID MY BABY GO!? We enjoyed his batman themed birthday party.

Brian turned 30. Oh sorry! He turned 29, again…

Jayce turned 6. He requested this awesome camping themed birthday party and I couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out.

Couples shower. This one was slightly rowdy but we had a fun time.

Bachelorette/Bachelor weekend. Yet another rowdy weekend…

Year round classes. There are no photos of this due to the fact that I would have been crying the entire time. I was planning all of these parties and fun weekends while working full time, being a mom, and going to school. It was extremely overwhelming but looking back I’m happy I finished the classes that I did.

First day of Pre-school and 1st grade!

Wedding. (Photos all by Sarah Papes Photography)

Honeymoon in Nashville.

Our triplet nieces turned 3!

and then we had Thanksgiving which we hosted at our house for the first year ever, and 4 Christmas celebrations to make it to.

There was SO MUCH going on this year that this year I really look forward to not doing much of anything except hanging out and relaxing on the weekends. Aside from the boys birthday parties we aren’t planning on any obligations other than trying to teach me how to water ski on the lake.

So cheers to a wonderful (and relaxing) 2019!

//

Em

Wedding Post! The perfect songs for our first dances

One of the biggest “stressers” that I had while planning our wedding was the first dance with each other, and the dances with B’s mom and my dad. Since we were engaged for a year and a half we had LOTS OF TIME to change our minds and weigh our options. For the longest time Brian and I had decided on this song by Drake White, but then something just didn’t feel right about it. In the end we decided on the song that I kept coming back to- With You I Am, by Cody Johnson. And now I can’t stop crying for 3 minutes and 41 seconds whenever I listen to it.

Sarah Papes Photography catching all of my favorite moments from my favorite day ever.

Sarah Papes Photography

Now for the daddy-daughter dance it was even more difficult. My dad is a horse of a different color if you will. (Did you catch my Wizard of Oz reference? No? Okay. Moving on).

I tried every song in the book. I researched father/daughter wedding dance songs and gave my dad every option I could possibly find or think of:

I loved her first, Stealing Cinderella, Butterfly Kisses, My Girl, Daddy’s Little Girl, etc. The list went on for MONTHS, I kid you not. Every time I would play or suggest a song he would either make a face, or tell me “that song sucks”. Then it hit me: When Marek was a baby I used to play Johnny Cash’s 2002 cover album, specifically the cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” to put him to sleep. HOW PERFECT. Dad loves Johnny Cash. Then after thinking over the lyrics to that song, there hasn’t been a better one that crossed my way.

Next time you get a second to listen to that song, really listen to and understand the lyrics. The reason this song really speaks to the relationship that my dad and I have requires a slight backstory. In high school I really gave my parents a run for their money. I got caught up with the wrong crowd, rebelled at all cost, and dated all the wrong people just to spite them. My dad really fought hard to get me on the straight and narrow, and even through my unexpected pregnancy with Marek at age 18, they did quite literally lay themselves over my troubled waters to get me to where I am today.

Our dance was one of the most emotional 4 minutes of my entire life. We laughed, cried, and then eventually just sang along with the song to avoid crying in front of almost 200 of our closest family and friends.

Sarah Papes Photography

The mother son song was actually more difficult than the daddy daughter- if you can actually believe that or not. Brian’s brother was married in December of 2010 and his brother and mom danced to the “Simple Man” cover by Shinedown. Other than that, there aren’t really many mother son songs. If there are any musicians out there reading this, we are requesting a better selection. Take that as an assignment of some sort. In the end, they decided upon “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran. The dance was beautiful, the song was beautiful, and our photographer captured the entire moment so beautifully.

Tell me those don’t just tug your heart strings!

At the end of the night, I was so happy with how those dances turned out. I’m even happier knowing that our photographer Sarah Papes Photography did a BOMB job capturing not just the photo, but also the raw emotion in these precious moments.

My best advice to anyone picking out songs for their first dances, you ask? Make sure that the songs mean something to you. Even if it’s a song that doesn’t make sense to everyone else, use it. Nobody has to understand the meaning except the two of you, whether it be your husband/wife, mom or dad. You won’t regret picking the one that means the most.

Thanks for reading, and happy Thursday!

//

Em

Good shoes take you to good places (down the aisle)

Let’s talk wedding footwear for a moment. Although they are hidden by your gown most of the night, they are still a crucial part of your wedding day look. Now, anyone that knows me knows that I am like my mother and also my late grandma Marge. We love heels! As one of the most influential designers in high-end footwear once said, “The higher the better. It’s more about an attitude. High heels empower women in a way.” – Christian Louboutin

So of course I took that to heart, and although I wish I was about to write about my beautiful pair of Louboutin’s for my wedding day, the $1,295.00 pair that stole my heart were just not in the budget. (They were in fact about $1,095.00 over budget for wedding shoes I might add, HA!)

I DID however splurge a little more than anticipated and bought some GORGEOUS Badgley Mischka’s that were much more in my budget.

Now I will be completely honest, they are not the most comfortable shoes in the world but how could I pass these up!? They are everything I wanted to complete my fairy tale look and I am so stoked. I’ve worn them around the house, and I of course had to go stand in them for over an hour while I was fitted for my dress alterations and since then they’ve broken in a little bit better making them more comfortable.

See?! I’ve been wearing them at home (peep my cute jammie pants)

 

Thankfully they are much more broken in since this first day I had them on.

SO IN LOVE WITH THEM.

Are these the most practical wedding shoes? No. Thankfully my reception is indoors so I won’t have to worry about the grass, etc. Since the wedding ceremony itself is outdoors however, I did order these on amazon:

$10, and great (and somewhat comical) reviews! Almost 5 stars!

So I am waiting for these to get here so I can try them out in my own yard. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Next week I’ll be back with some updates on the preparation for my themed bachelorette party with some sneak peaks of my dress for that!

Until next time,

//

Emma