Family – BOLD BEAUTIFUL LIFE

Welcoming a baby…

December 21, 20167 Comments

We finally hit the halfway mark in this pregnancy and I’m a little shocked at how fast it is going! Finding out the gender is definitely one of my favorite parts. Not just because of the gender, but also because the ultrasound is so special to see. I love seeing how everything is forming, down to the chambers in the heart. Listening to that sweet little heart beat while it pumps away is the most comforting thing. I crave that, as I have mourned the absence of it with many of my close friends and family. My heart always goes out to them.

Thankfully everything is looking great so far, and I couldn’t love this sweet babe any more! M and V have been casting their votes on gender for months, and it has been pretty split. That’s how Brian and I have felt also. We will take what we get and be so happy about it! So far all three of my pregnancies have been very different from each other so it’s hard to predict based on that. Doesn’t stop us from speculating though 🙂

Ok, enough lollygagging! Come end of April we are so excited to welcome a baby….

GIRL!

Yes, a house full of girls! I actually wrote about some of my feelings on being a “girl maker” not too long ago. If you want to read it go HERE

We decided for this reveal to just fully embrace the PINK! Even Brian haha! He grew up the only boy with four sisters so he is destined to be surrounded by girls forever. He is an amazing dad and the girls already battle for his lap space and attention, so I’m not sure how he will fit another one in there. I have faith he will figure it out 🙂 Just look how he juggles everything now!

P.S. He’s such a good sport for letting me dye his hair pink haha what a guy!

My talented friend Corrie Butler took these for us and she made it so fun! She just let us be our goofy selves and captured our chaos perfectly. She is wonderful!

We are so excited, and feel very blessed to have another sweet girl joining our family. I also feel so blessed to have your love and support! I have been humbled by your kind words. I’m just feeling grateful these days! Thank you for everything. XO

Girl Maker

August 8, 2016August 18, 20175 Comments

Being a “girl maker,” or mom of girls, is one of my favorite parts of my life. No doubt, I would love boys too, but so far I’ve been dealt the girl card, and I’m pretty happy about it!

There are SO many things I have learned from raising my babes so far, and it’s clear to me everyday that I have so much more to learn. I’m ok with that, though! There are some important things I want my girls to glean. Being kind and compassionate, including to yourself, is a big one!

I loved this GIRL MAKER tee from Revol Roots because it connected to my heart. It is made of the most comfortable material and I love how simple it is! I wear it all the time!

I’m going to get real here. I’ve had to learn a few things the hard way, and as a result, my parenting style has changed quite a bit these last couple years. I used to parent a lot out of fear. Mainly fear that I wouldn’t teach them something they needed to know, or that they would grow up lacking some major component of life I hadn’t given them. I put so much unnecessary stress into my life everyday, even though my intentions were pure. My stress, of course, was not helping my children to be carefree, happy, and confident like I wanted them to be. Haha like I had been stressing to teach them to be! Thankfully, I hit my knees in prayer and was guided to some books that helped me come to a pretty clear realization…The only way for me to truly teach them, is for me to be what I want them to be. It was daunting and overwhelming at first. I was in a place where I knew I had a lot to work on, in many ways. Being kind to myself was not even something I was comfortable with. Looking back on it now, it’s hard to wrap my head around the daily thoughts and conversations I allowed to roll around in my brain, and even vocalize to myself. No wonder I was feeling inadequate as a wife, mother, homemaker, daughter, sister, friend, etc. Sadly, I was telling myself I was inadequate in almost every way with the hope that it would somehow motivate me to do better. Hence the fear of not raising my girls “right.”

It has taken daily prayer, and intentional action every single day for the last couple years, but I’m finally in a place where I am kind to myself. I’m not perfect by any means, and I catch myself slipping all the time. All it takes, though, is one look in my daughter’s eyes to bring me back. (Or my sweet husband not letting us leave until I appologize to myslef for the self-depreciating comment I made 🙂 ) The best and most effective way to teach, in my opinion, is by example. I feel like one of the greatest gifts I, as a mother, can give my daughters is to embody the things I am trying to teach them. At first it seemed selfish to me to put so much effort in my improvement, but it has made such a difference!

Our home has become so much more relaxed and encouraging, the more confident I become in my imperfection. I want my girls to know how beautiful and special they are, be confident, and the rest will come! I love being a GIRL MAKER!

Have a wonderful week! XO

Photos by Stayc Smart

Extend Your Summer Nights

August 5, 2016August 5, 20161 Comment

I’m still in denial a bit that school is starting in a couple weeks and that summer is coming to an end 😦 My summer loving heart never wants it to leave! We have been trying to make the most of every day. If you are like us, you may also be clinging to summer, and wanting a way to extend your summer nights!

The girls and I have spent a lot of nights this summer watching their dad play lacrosse on his summer league. We are usually using my phone to take pictures, dance to music, chat with grandparents, etc while we “watch” 🙂 By some crazy miracle (they lost most of the games this season) they actually make it to the playoffs and clawed their way to a victory last night! If you hurry, you can catch my cute husband’s championship victory dance on my Instagram story haha (@savanahpoulsen)

Since we use my phone all day (mainly for our dance parties) and now we also use it all night, my battery just cant keep up! I’m so grateful for my portable charger from MOXYO 🙂 It carries a full charge on it and has saved us many times! By saved us, I mean made it possible for Myla to take more selfies because you know those are GOLD haha

Documenting our fun times together is something that is super important to me. It’s nice to know I have my MOXYO charger to help! This cute case is also from MOXYO and I love it. It is sleek and since my phone is gigantic, it’s great to have a case that doesn’t add any bulk!

View More: http://staycsmartphotography.pass.us/boldbeautifullife

Thank you to MOXYO for the awesome case and charger! Thank you to Stayc Smart for the photos! My scalloped top is the same one from the Scalloped Details post 🙂

Hope you are enjoying your summer! I’d love to hear your favorite activities and how you extend your summer nights! XO

Scalloped Details

July 28, 2016September 4, 20171 Comment

There is nothing better than hanging with my girls! I love their cute little personalities and getting to spend every day with them. I also love wearing things that make it easy to be comfortable to play around with them! Enter, this top!

Nothing beats a top that is functional and darling! Little details really make a big difference in my opinion. The scallops on this top from Brick + Main are my favorite! The sleeves and length are also perfection.

My sweet Myla has so much energy and her silliness is contagious! I just love joking around with her. If only I could bottle her up haha!

I learn all my crazy faces from her! Give them a shot, a good silly face can totally brighten your day 🙂

Photos by Stayc Smart Photography follow her HERE she is the best!

Hope you have an amazing week! Head to Brick + Main for the cutest clothes. I seriously love them all! XO

Little Besties

July 11, 2016September 4, 2017Leave a comment

One of my motherhood dreams has always been for my kids to be good friends. It melts my heart to see it happening with these two babes! I worried a little bit when I was pregnant with Viv. They are five years apart and I thought it might make it hard for them to become good friends, but I was totally wrong! They are the most darling little friends and want to be together all the time. I love it!

Most days Myla begs to get Viv dressed and pick out her clothes. I let her for the most part, but sometimes the outfits get a little crazy haha! I love having things like this cute poppy jumper from Little Cottonwood that make it easy and look adorable. PS it is on sale 😉

I tried to play with Viv a bit, but she was NOT having it haha! She just wanted her sister, or to be doing her own thing. Unless I bribed her with a fruit snack haha. She still had a bit of a scowl, though. See pic below 🙂

My flowy white top is from Cozy Threads Boutique, and I am loving it. I can’t get enough of tops that are comfortable and easy, while still looking good! Check out their site and use code COZY25 for 25% off your purchase!

Hope you have an amazing week! I’m hoping to get some deep cleaning done, and possibly even some reorganizing if I’m feeling extra ambitious haha!

XO Savanah

Family Hike with Cariloha

April 25, 2016September 4, 20172 Comments

Growing up, I remember dreading any time I had to go on a hike. Ha I don’t really know why, I was probably just being lazy. It always ended up being worth it to go! Well, fast forward to now and I love hiking. Not sure when the switch happened, but I’m glad it did. Thankfully, my girls also love it! Even though they are small, that is one of their favorite family activities.

When I got these new pieces from Cariloha’s Bamboo Fit collection, we thought it would be fun to shoot them at one of our favorite family hiking spots. It is so beautiful there, and of course, the girls were excited to go!

The pants, tank, and hoodie that I’m wearing are all made from bamboo! I remember going into a Cariloha store at one of our cruise ports in the Caribean. Everything in the store is so soft! That is how these pieces are as well. I wear this hoodie every chance I get. It is very lightweight, so it has been perfect for the spring!

These pants are also very soft, but honestly, a little thin for me. I ended up wearing some little shorts under them and it worked great. They do have a neat cooling effect that has made them really comfortable to run and hike in, especially in the afternoon heat! Cariloha has lots of options for clothing for the whole family, as well as bedding, bath, and more. All of it is incredibly soft!

I have taken a yoga class up here one time, and I feel like it is such an empowering place to practice. All the beauty around helps me feel grounded, and grateful.

Myla and I tried to do a pose together haha but we ended up just laughing instead!

We had so much fun on our family hike. I’m grateful for my cute monkeys, and our fun adventures! Enjoy your week, hope it’s an amazing one XO

Family Pictures, Lavender, and Heat

October 12, 2015January 17, 20162 Comments

Oh my! My poor family. I love getting family pictures done, so I do it often. My husband is very patient with me and is usually a good sport about it (for the first half at least) Myla lives to pose for a camera, so we are golden there, and Vivian is just sweet and whatever happens, happens. No way she was going to give me a big smile, though. Not happening. My good friend Johanna takes our pictures, and has for years, so we always come up with some cool place we want to try next. She came up with the idea of this beautiful lavender field. I loved it so we planned it all out. Well, turns out there is a small window of time that the lavender is in bloom, so we had to take our pics in July. It was so hot. Like SO hot. 109 degrees. We had to take a break in the middle of pictures to go sit in the air conditioned car. Haha my poor family, WE WILL TAKE PICTURES! They are sweet, less sweet in 109 degrees and dripping from sweat, but still sweet and I love them.

Photos by Johanna Hallenberger

A Fourth of July Treat

July 3, 2015Leave a comment

Happy almost 4th of July! I love treats. All kinds, really. I love to make them even more than I like to eat them, so I decided for this post to share a quick dessert idea with you. It feels like it is a million degrees outside, so I wanted something light and refreshing. This is what I came up with! Start with angel food cake. I usually make mine from a box, but if you are feeling extra ambitious, go for scratch. Or just buy one! While cake is baking, whisk together instant vanilla pudding with 1 1/2 cup cold milk. Refrigerate to let it set. When the cake is cool, cut it into small cubes and layer in the bottom of a dish. Add blueberries and strawberries on top of cake. I like my blueberries a little sweeter, so I sprinkled them with sugar before layering them in the dish. Combine equal parts cool whip with pudding until smooth. Spoon on top and garnish with a berry!

Hope you have a wonderful holiday and don’t burn anyone with your sparklers!

Don’t mind us, just sitting in the park, eating our treats haha

Photos by BreAna Thomas Photography

For Those Beachy Days

June 23, 2015June 25, 2015Leave a comment

We love spending time at the lake! Of course, a Hawaiian beach would be my first choice, but we don’t have those in Idaho. So a lake it is! My hair takes a long time to dry, so I usually try to avoid getting it wet. Turns out that is impossible when you practice AcroYoga with your husband on a paddle board haha. Yeah I got drenched. In salt water, my hair gets a lot of texture and I can usually coax a little wave out of it, but without that salt, I just get the flat wet dog look. Sounds amazing, right? No. Thankfully, I have a hair product from the KMS Hair Play line called sea salt spray. It brings the salty beach texture right to you. I spray this on my hair as it dries and it helps me get more texture and movement into my limp locks. One tip I’ll tell you that I do is avoid brushing your hair with anything, including your fingers. It feels uncomfortable sometimes, like you have giant knots all over your head, but it looks way better I promise. The exception to this is if you have a lot of natural texture already built in (lucky) and brushing your hair out doesn’t cause it to flatten out. Spray it in, scrunch a lot, and don’t run your fingers through it. Once it is mostly dry, I like to spray in some wax to add even more texture. My favorite spray wax, going on five years now, is flip it over by Sexy Hair. I also use this after I curl my hair to add separation. Just like the name says, flip your head over and lightly spray it over your hair, then scrunch again. Don’t use too much or you will be a sticky mess and might as well head back into the lake to start over ha

Enjoy!

Swimsuit coverup from Nordstrom Rack

Photos by the amazing and beautiful BreAna Thomas

Preschool Graduation

June 18, 20152 Comments

I’m always surprised at how fast time flies. You’d think I could come to expect it by now, but it still catches me off guard. My little Myla has now officially graduated from preschool and is heading to Kindergarten next year! Crazy. Part of me feels like she has been a teenager her whole life, and the other part still wants to carry her around on my hip everywhere I go. She is charming, witty, intelligent, adorable, etc… I really could go on forever. I’m a fan. So grateful to have this little babe in my life!

She asked me to make her “a b c” cookies for her last day as VIP so we came up with these. Her requests are getting more and more labor intensive, haha, but she is worth it, right…?