// Linden Turned TWO (!!) in Florida







And just like that I have a TWO YEAR OLD! Two! I feel like that spunky little mullet-headed boy was just born yesterday. We celebrated with a whole lot of sand and salt water, then feasted on donuts from City Donut in Orange Beach. It was low key and perfect! I swear that baby bear of mine has grown so much in the past few months! He's officially off of the paci (!!!), he can count to 10 on his own, and every day he surprises me with more complex sentences or words. (Yesterday he said "I promise" when I asked him if that was a deal! Haha) His tantrums are EPIC, but luckily few and far between. His manners are incredibly adorable and his face brings me SO much joy.

Currently he stands 36 inches tall and he weighs 32 pounds! He's a chunky little bear.

xo KB

PS; Did you like the little diaper I painted on Linden in one of the above photos? Ha! He was in his birthday suit, naturally (look how empty the beach was!), but we're trying to keep it PG over here!

// Things I Love Thursday v.264

this stunning cat ♥ 
♥ this pretty makeup haul ♥ 
♥ these fun day-of-the-week pencils ♥ 
♥ this! rupi says everything best ♥ 
these cozy cats ♥ 
♥ this hilarious gif ♥ 
these flowers!!! ♥ 
♥ this is such brilliant advertising ♥ 
♥ this view! ♥ 




// "Let me remind you f**kers who I am." This is a hilarious (and so true!) parody written by "Hillary Clinton" Obviously there is some very very strong language in this one!



// I will not date you if you hate the bands that I love and I'm not sorry. Just sayin'! I need someone who can hang with my love for old pop punk (New Found Glory's Stick and Stones and Brand New FOREVER!)


// Before And After: Dog Haircuts - OMG THEY ARE SO CUTE!!!!




What are you loving this week?

xo KB

// Book Club: What We're Reading on Vacation


This vacation has been the vacation of BOOKS! Since we're traveling by RV, we have a lot of lazy time to do a whole lot of nothing. Linden is usually shouting "Einsteins!" and reaching for my phone or iPad, so I wanted to bring along a few books to tide us over. Zenni Optical invited me to share what we have been reading, so it was kind of perfect timing. So far these are the four we have devoured while being in Florida! Toby brought a few more with him, but he's been mostly reading the Liz Climo comic book to Linden non-stop. Now that Toby is a pretty proficient reader, he loves to read to all of us. When it comes time for his bedtime book (yep, still rockin' our routine at 7.5!), he prefers to read to us in his bed. I love this little tradition because I feel like it helps give Toby some substance to his Summer days. Even if it's just a comic book or a Highlights magazine, I love seeing Toby be independent and really utilize his reading skills. 

If you haven't heard of Liz Climo, look her up! She's awesome! Her adorable animal comics are so sweet and full of empathy, kindness, friendship, and lighthearted life lessons. I made sure to pre-order  The Little World of Liz Climo before it was released because I just feel in love with her work. It seriously will put a smile on your face, I promise. (She's on Tumblr, too!)

Bear on a Bike is a STAPLE in our house. And by staple I mean we read it at least three times a day, everyday. I scored this book in a Citrus Lane box I ordered for Linden when he was around 6 months old. We all have this entire book memorized and I can recite it at the drop of a hat. (That may or may not be a challenge. Just sayin!) It's gotten to the point where Linden can sit with the book and recite most of the pages out loud on his own. "Bear on bike, happy can be! Where going Bear? Wait for me!" is usually how it sounds haha!

The other 2 books are mine, and ones that I've started half a dozen times or so. I finally read them cover to cover in one sitting each. That's one benefit to long distance rides I guess! The books I've read so far are Carry On, Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton, and Don't Worry, It Gets Worse by Alida Nugent. Both were SO GOOD! SO SO GOOD! I actually have a review post started for each one, so I'll save the run down for that, but if you are looking for some fun new reading material, pick up these! I promise you won't be disappointed!


I currently have WiFi (which is very very rare when we're in Perdido Key), so I'm downloading a couple new audiobooks for the rest of the trip. I intended on bringing Fat Girl Walking but I couldn't find my copy of it, so I'm opting to listen to the audiobook version instead. I had a whole stack of books packed, but opted to leave several at home because I thought "I probably won't have time to read these..." Pfft! I've been powering through and I'm feeling motivated to finish a few more before we get home on Sunday!

Zenni Optical encourages families to enjoy their favorite books whether it's around the campfire, at the beach or pool, in the car for a family road trip, or creating and staring in their very own play based on their favorite books. Zenni offers both prescription and non-prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses so families can see and experience the best of summer (and their books!) The boys and I each have a pair of snazzy sunglasses headed our way from Zenni, and I can't wait to show them off. My boys are going to look PRECIOUS!

If you have any suggestions for great audiobooks to download, or hard copies to pick up at the bookstore, please let me know! I'd love to add some new titles to my collection! Now we're headed back to the beach! Happy reading!

xo KB



This post was sponsored on behalf of Zenni Optical via One2One Network. 
All opinions are mine, of course!

// Things I Love Thursday v.263


♥ this is oddly appealing ♥

this is a snake wearing a unicorn hat... ♥

♥ this pretty fruit! ♥

this adorable photo ♥

♥ these! ♥

this gorgeous lavender landscape ♥

♥ this ♥

this place! ♥

♥ this is terrifyingly hilarious ♥














// A little boy lost his favorite stuffed elephant on a trip, but his parents told him he was traveling the world. Internet steps in and blows it out of the water. AWESOME! (There's even the original jpg so you can create your own masterpiece!)


What are you loving this week?

xo KB

snap: kaelahbee

// This Ish Is Bananas!

This post brought to you by Famous Footwear. The content and opinions expressed below are that of This Charming Life.




And when I say "this ish" do you know what I mean? I mean taking two kids on a 10-day RV vacation to the beach and Disneyworld. That's my life right now, y'all! BANANAS! We're leaving out tomorrow and heading south! I have a lot of feelings about this trip. Good and bad ones. On one hand I'm so excited to share with Linden all of the places his brother and I have grown to love so much over the past few years. On the other hand I'm sad that this will be our first trip down there as a smaller family. Linden won't get to experience Florida with Mike, or with us as a foursome. I'm a little apprehensive about juggling both kids solo (though I won't be alone - my parents are amazing and will be such a great help, I know it). My anxiety about the whole thing won't slow us down though! We are READY! I can't wait to take a million photos and videos and make some pretty incredible memories with my boys. Especially since Toby starts second grade in seventeen days!!! Seventeen, y'all! Summer has flown by for us, and now we're thinking about supply lists, back to school shopping, and homework. Yikes! MORE SUMMER PLEASE!

This is pretty much what I live in these days. An oversized dress, some slides, and sunglasses. Something simple and no-fuss, that I can live in, you know? I love that this dress slides right on over just about anything, and still looks pretty cute. It's the perfect waterpark/beach dress, and it transitions pretty easily to a casual day dress. And these shoes, y'all! These slides are so comfortable and CUTE! I scored them from Famous Footwear the other day on major sale! They're definitely going to be my go-to sandals for Florida because I can wear them for hours without a bit of discomfort. They definitely make me feel cute and put together (but still casual), but I can also take off in a mad dash after either one of my kids without them falling off haha! You mamas know what I'm talking about. (Full disclosure: I went after these babies (Women's Nike Air Max Sequent Running Shoe)! but they weren't in stock when I dropped by the store. Definitely ordering them for the gym though!)  Of course I had to add my new favorite bag, too. I swiped this adorable banana recently and I can't get enough of it. It puts such a smile on my face because it's so silly and fun. And how sweet are the tassel charms on my bag?!

So here it is, folks. This is where I'm at these days. I'm trying so hard to "do it all" and be everything I can be and more for these boys. I want to try and make this transition as easy as possible. Even though we're months and months in by now, it still feels fresh on occasion. But I get to see their faces light up in just a couple of days. This is going to be the BEST. WEEK. EVER! I'm sure of it. Right now it's just B-A-N-A-N-A-S. (Yes, I absolutely hope you have Gwen stuck in your head now. You're welcome!)

xo KB

PS; Do you have any shoes that make you feel like you can take on the world? I just really love me a good pair of shoes! (Feel free to share your favorite picks from Famous Footwear below or on Instagram!)


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// Things I Love Thursday v.262

♥ this looks dreamy! ♥
♥ this dress from zuhair murad - couture fall '16 ♥
♥ this wise advice ♥
♥ if these sunnies were real, i'd wear them ♥
♥ these pretty colors! ♥
♥ this poster ♥
♥ this might be handy! ♥
♥ can this be my soundtrack for summer? haha ♥
♥ this made me snort-laugh ♥





// Speaking of Kardashians, I am dying over this!












What are you loving this week?

xo KB

snap: kaelahbee

// Disneyworld Dreaming








We're gearing up to head to Disneyworld next weekend (!!!) and I'm ecstatic, terrified, and really really unsure of how it's all going to go haha It'll be me, the boys, and my parents... in an RV... for like, 10 days. Toby is a pro at it by now, but man, Linden! I'm so nervous, y'all! But I can't wait to see their eyes light up and to see them decked out in their personalized ears. 

Do y'all have any tips or anything for navigating Disney with a 2 year old and 7 year old? I can't remember which parks we're going to, but I need to do a little research I guess. I can't wait to be on the beach, too! I'm basically taking July off from most "work" things - enjoying the last few weeks of Toby's summer vacation. August 1st starts a new schedule for all of us as Toby starts second grade, Linden goes to the sitter regularly again (a couple times a week), and I dive into a pretty rigid work schedule. I think it'll be a good thing though. It'll be nice to be back on a routine of sorts.

I have a lot of projects whirling up in my head, and my hands are antsy to do things around the house. I've been having to stop myself from starting a new project almost every day because I'm so bad about abandoning it halfway to start something else. (I'm working on it!) 

xo KB