Things I’m Loving This Week

By: Emily Heaston

Old Navy Active Wear

Dear Fast and Free Tight,

I’m seeing someone else.

Love,

Emily

…But seriously, I spent $20 on these bottoms vs. $128 for what I typically wear to the gym & the matching bra is every bit as cute too — and you know I like the matchy bra & scrunchies! Not from Old Navy, but I also got so many compliments on my tank when I wore it to work out and afterwards when I was running a bunch of errands!

EllandEmm

Have you checked out EllandEmm yet? They have such fun designs combined with your favorite cotton tees & sweatshirts — a perfect blend of cute & comfortable. I also love the 90’s nostalgia! I shared my Troop Beverly Hills tee on our Instagram in May & was so excited that my Vogue lightweight sweatshirt arrived this week. I’ll take a picture in it to post soon, but it’s 110 degrees here and I. JUST. CAN’T. The Vogue striped sweatshirt was sold out when I found it, but I signed up for an email alert & purchased when it was restocked. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t have to wait too long for it to be restocked or for shipping. If you find something you love, you can use code TAKE104U for 10% off your order.

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is Coming!

Cardholders Shop First! I’m truly not one to encourage friends to open up credit card accounts. I mean we’re not freshman in college & no one is giving us free tshirts for new accounts anymore amirite? BUT…this is one exception because you really can stock up on so many great items during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale’s Cardholder Early Access. This year, Nordstrom cardmembers shop Early Access seven days early, July 12—18! Some items will sell out during the Early Access portion of the sale, so non-cardholders risk having to wait for Black Friday to catch these sale prices again. Cardholders can also choose their own double-points day, so if you plan on shopping the Anniversary Sale, it pays to get organized ahead of time and really take advantage of those Nordy rewards.

I’ve had a Nordstrom card for several years to take advantage of Cardholder Early Access during this sale and I don’t think it’s any accident that the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale takes place over my birthday! The Nordstrom Sale preview came in the mail the other day, and I put together some links to my favorite items. If you click the hearts near the items you like, you’ll have an easier time finding them when the sale begins! Most of my favorites come in lots of color options, but it’s only allowing me to show you certain images/colors while the sale is in preview mode–I’ll continue to update this post as the sale gets closer, so check back!! The links below might also look like an item is Sold Out, but that means Nordstrom hasn’t made it available for sale on their site just yet. There is so much more to come, but let’s start here:

Lakebound Looks

My personal wish list before we head to Clear Lake!

Final Fave For Now!

My oldest girlfriend is putting the finishing touches on a new lake home at that other Iowa lake this month so I got her a fun doormat as a housewarming gift!

Check back this week for an in-depth Nordstrom Sale guide! We’ll have exclusive links to sale items that you can favorite so you’re ready to shop on Day One!

Emily’s Weekend Recap from WDM!

By: Emily Heaston

June is zipping by so quickly with the kids’ summer programs and lots of trips to the pool!

This week, my girlfriends and I celebrated our beautiful friend Michelle’s birthday with dinner and dessert at one of our favorite locally owned restaurants, Table 128, and another local fave, Trostel’s Dish, for a nightcap. Love these girls!

The next day, the girls and I got a good workout in at Lifetime, then had a pool date all day with allllllllll the kiddos! It was my favorite day of this summer so far! The kids all kept each other so busy and we enjoyed the beautiful weather with mimosas and plenty of good poolside snacks! I think we all felt like we were on vacation-mode for the day!

The kids and I have been spending a lot of time in the sun, so I restocked my favorite sunscreen for our beach bag. I keep Sun Bum shampoo and conditioner in our kids’ bathroom and in our beach bag and try to get them to rinse the chlorine off their hair shortly after swimming. Pro tip: apply conditioner to kids’ hair before playing in the pool, so their hair absorbs the conditioner and NOT the pool chemicals that end up making their silky hair turn crunchy or green. Sun Bum just smells like summer! I also added the Sun Bum Sunscreen Coconut Lip Balm to my Target store pick-up order this week and can’t wait to try it!

After a busy week of swimming and activities, we had a few cloudy hours and decided to make a little pillow and blanket fort for some downtime with movies and popcorn! We also put new batteries in our old friends, Violet and Scout, that the kids have had since they were babies. Teddy and Cate have been taking them everywhere again now–so cute!

On Saturday night, Tim and I had a surprise birthday party for his friend (and boss) Brent! My mom offered to have Clare, Cate and Teddy over for a slumber party at her house. She always makes even the smallest get together feel special and the kids were so excited. Mom always makes every detail so pretty.

After dropping the kids off, Tim and I headed over to the party and we had a blast! Brent was completely surprised and Esther had tons of delicious food and desserts for the celebration! I didn’t get a picture with the birthday boy, but lucky for Tim, I did have him take a picture of what I wore. Our husbands are all really enjoying their new jobs as photographers so we can share our outfits with you guys!

On Sunday, Tim and I enjoyed a relaxing Father’s Day morning by sleeping in and drinking our coffee before it got cold! Then we went to pick up the kiddos from Nanny’s house. They had made Daddy lots of homemade cards and wrapped his presents themselves!

We also discovered a little family of cardinals living in our playset!

…and we got in a couple of hours at the pool!

That evening, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa’s to celebrate all of the great Heaston dads. My mother-in-law and niece had baked lots of homemade desserts and we brought over one of Tim’s favorites, a key lime pie! My mother-in-law, Ramona, is from Puerto Rico and she had made coquito using a recipe from one of her favorite cookbooks!

I’m thankful for a happy and sunny summer weekend with special girlfriends, healthy family, and a day dedicated to the best husband and daddy I know!

Thank you so much for joining us here on ClearLakeCousins.com. We are having so much fun doing this together and we’re learning so much along the way. Make sure to check out our new Shop page–we’ll be updating it as we find cute new items for ourselves and our kids. As Annie said, “I always feel like I need to save my cute outfits and this is giving me permission to wear my cute stuff on normal days!” We all agreed! So thanks for giving us an excuse to get a little more fancied up than usual!

Stay tuned for more fun to come! Xoxo, Emily

Shopping for Tim’s 35th Birthday!

By: Emily Heaston

The girls and I hit up Jordan Creek Mall yesterday to birthday shop for Daddy.  The only item on Tim’s wish list was a new yoga mat for sculpt classes at PowerLife Yoga.  Tim was a board member for the Des Moines Music Coalition for many years starting in 2007 and he helped start our local music festival, 80-35, so I know he’d love this tee from Chaser (also here for little boys). I also can’t handle how cute this Chaser tee would be for Daddy’s little partner in crime, Teddy.  I love the look of this comfy garment-dyed cotton sweatshirt from KJP, and since Tim has never rowed Crew it seems timely in light of the Aunt Becky scandal!  While I absolutely love my apple watch, I can’t convince Tim to get on board.  This watch from KJP looks right up his alley.  The birthday boy has a sweet tooth, so I need to get a special dessert ordered!  What are your favorite birthday treats?  Cheers to 35, Timmy!!