Monthly Q&A -- Kicking off July!

Melanie and I thought it would be fun to have a monthly Q&A on the last monday of each month. We LOVE reading the Q&A's about our favorite bloggers, hopefully y'all will enjoy too. When you are done reading mine, don't forget to go check out Melanie's Q&A HERE. Some months may have somewhat of a theme and some months may be completely random. That being said, this month's Q&A theme is summer...here we go!

1. What is your go-to summer outfit? 

Y'all will probably think I'm super boring, but honestly you'll pretty much always find me in a pair of my favorite J.Crew shorts and target long & lean tank top. I'm so not exaggerating when I say that I have a drawer full of these tank tops. I'm a layer-er (not a word, but it works) so I couldn't tell you the last time I was only wearing one shirt. I'm wearing one of these tanks under any top pretty much 98% of the time.

I totally have 5 pairs of these shorts and am planning on buying more...they are the perfect length and come in so many adorable colors.

You can find the shorts HERE and the tank tops HERE.

2. What is your go-to lunch?

Gah...I really wish I could sound totally healthy here and say something like...ok I don't even know what I would put to make myself sound healthy. Honestly, I'm either on the go a lot in the summer or working at the daycare. That being said, my "go-to lunch" on the go would be Chic Fil A. I recently fell in love with their Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap so that's a new favorite. And of course just their basic chicken sandwich...and sweet tea of course. If I'm taking my lunch with me to work and I've been to Costco recently, I'll make a sandwich with a Hawaiian sweet roll and Costco's chicken salad...cranberries, celery, chicken, and pecans mmmmm. If you have a Costco nearby, go grab you some!!! 

3. What is your go-to outfit for the kids?

I recently did a post over shopping for the kids and I covered my favorites for Sawyer and Jansen. You can check it out HERE!

4. What is your favorite summer memory?

Oh...I have such a hard time choosing just one (I do that with many "favorite" questions) Most of my summer memories that really stick with me are from my childhood and those memories take place at Wet N' Wild (this was before Hurricane Harbor came to town), Disney World, and my parent's pool. Summers in Texas have always been and will always be HOT HOT HOT. Waterparks and pools are a must!!!

5. What is your favorite summer hangout?

Okay, I have three...I told you that I have a hard time choosing just ONE favorite. I think I should have an indoor favorite, and outdoor favorite, and a kid friendly favorite. My parent's pool is by far my favorite outdoor summer hangout...it's been that way for the past 20 years :) Northpark has to be my favorite indoor summer hangout...this is really a favorite hangout all year long BUT I get to frequent my favorite shopping site much more often in the summer. Hellloooo brunch at Breadwinner's! Unfortunately Dusty doesn't share my love of Northpark (then again, what guy does?) as much as I do so Melanie or my mom are usually my shopping buddies :) And lastly...my favorite summer hangout with the kiddos is our community park. Sawyer LOVES the park and splash pad and wants to go ALL the time. We had a play date with sweet Juliette on Friday and will be back again countless times this summer.

6. What is your favorite summer recipe?

I'm going to have to go with my mom's grape salad...I could eat the whole batch, but the grapes are really about the only healthy thing in this recipe. This recipe doesn't call for any "cooking" so it's super simple and so yummy!

1 8 oz. cream cheese
1 jar marshmallow creme
2 lbs. grapes
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Place cream cheese in a bowl and let soften on the counter for 30 minutes. Then beat in jar of marshmallow creme until creamy. Add about 2 lbs. seedless grapes (red or green) and 1/2 cup chopped pecans and store gently.
Will keep in the refrigerator for several days.

7. What is your favorite summer drink?
Anything cold....seriously, like fill the cup up to the brim with ice and then pour over pretty much any beverage. I really don't drink many cokes...I'll crave a DP every now and then, but I'm trying my hardest to resist. I really try my best to only drink water BUT if I just have to have something other than that, you'll see me drinking iced coffee, sweet tea, or Fruit Water.

This helps curb that carbonation craving I'll have every so often. It comes in five flavors but strawberry kiwi and orange mango are my favorite :)

9. Best vacation destination?

I'm going to make my father proud on this one and say Disney World. For two reasons...#1: It really is the most magical place on Earth and #2: I haven't been to many other places haha. Seriously...I've lost count on how many times I've been to Disney World. That's the only place that my Dad really wanted to go on vacation when I was growing up...who am I kidding? That's the only place my Dad still wants to go on vacation. In fact, we've been on family vacations to Disney World twice in the past 4 years. I've been to Disney World as a kid, as a teenager, as a newlywed, and as a 6 month pregnant mommy of a 14 month old. There is something to do no matter what age you are or what stage of life you are in.  I can't wait to go back! I said I wouldn't go back until Jansen was 4 and Sawyer was 5...I'm not sure I can wait that long though!

10. What is my go-to play date location/idea?

I really enjoy taking Sawyer and Jansen to our community park. Sawyer loves to play on the playground and run around the trails. The splash pad is always a hit as well! This is really our first summer to plan play-dates so I've got a list of places I'd like to visit. That list includes the Perot Museum, Klyde Warren Park (we've been, but we want to go back), the Museum of the American Railroad, along with a few more. 

I'm so excited that Melanie and I are hosting a week long instagram challenge/giveaway that starts today! We are giving away this gorgeous Lia Sophia necklace. 

All you have to do is post a picture each day (today is a selfie to introduce yourself) with the hashtag #landmgiveaway in instagram to enter in the giveaway. Melanie and I have participated in these types of challenges before and they are a lot of fun!!! It's fun to take a peek into someone else's life and see how creative other's are. I know I love seeing everyone else's pictures. We'll enter all the participants names and draw out a winner at the end of the week. We hope you're in! 

Don't forget to go visit Melanie's blog HERE to read her Monthly Q&A and see her explanation of our instagram challenge/giveaway (her explanation is probably better than mine).