Sofía Vergara New Fall Jeans

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

This post was sponsored by Walmart and contains affiliate links (I will receive a percentage of commission if you make a purchase through one of my links.) 

These are my  favorite inexpensive jeans, by Sofía Vergara – A bunch of new styles are now available in  Sofía's line here, available exclusively at Walmart!! More of my pics of her other similar styles  here and  here. (If you like a frayed hem,  this style gets nicely frayed after a few cycles through the wash. I also picked up these new  grey wash ones.) Sofía's line is designed to work well for women with various body types. I've found all her jeans fit true to size (if in doubt go up though, I like a tight legging-fit, but I realize not everyone does.) 


This pretty top is also by Sofía, it's soft, comfy and runs a little bit (nice and long in the sleeves and body - which is great for those of us who are tall and like a longer sleeve.) It comes in yellow and black too! Boots are here (in the color shown and also black) and run true to size.


You can also shop this look by clicking the little pics below! Follow me on Instagram, and come join us in the Sample Sale Mom facebook group for discussion and great shopping deals on clothing, beauty items, housewares and kids' stuff! (Currently over 100,000 members!)


Victoria Emerson new Fall stock!

Monday, October 28, 2019


This post was sponsored by Victoria Emerson and contains affiliate links (I will receive a percentage of commission if you make a purchase through one of my links.) 

Victoria Emerson has gorgeous new jewelry styles in stock - see them here! My favorite are the Boho cuff styles. Pictured above, the Mendoza (in grey or white/silver) shown with my Free People Ottoman Tunic (in the "mink" color). Lots of new bracelets in warm and cool tones to match any outfit!

Also, check out the double-wrap bracelets here and pretty signature wrap bracelet options too!


Pictured above, the Medoza in two colors, the Fall multi-color blue/silver, the Attica (currently on sale!) and leopard leather wrap bracelet  (still currently sold out, but others here.)

You can shop some of my Victoria Emerson favorites using the little pics below! Also, if you don't already, follow me on  Instagram, and come join us in the  Sample Sale Mom facebook group for discussion and great shopping deals on clothing, (heavy on the boys' stuff!) beauty items, housewares and all sorts of other kids' stuff! We currently have over 100,000 members!

Drew Barrymore's Flower Kids Line

Friday, October 25, 2019


This post was sponsored by Walmart and contains affiliate links (I will receive a percentage of commission if you make a purchase through one of my links.) 

Drew Barrymore has a really cute new line for kids' rooms - bedding, artwork, storage and more! (She also has a regular home line with amazing-looking furniture, see it here.) For Chase's room we picked the sunny alligator bedding set, stuffed alligator, (or, he has named ours, "Mrs. Crockingsworth") and Lab Equipment artwork.


Other bedding sets and framed artwork (I like the science-y ones) available too! The bedding sets have lovely packaging and the comforter is thick and warm.

Here's the Lab Equipment artwork that Chase picked out! Now he'll know what an Erlenmyer Flask is.


If you need pretty, coordinated shelves/storage, check these out also. I'm considering the storage alligator or shelf alligator to match!


You can shop Chase's bedroom look by using the little pics below!

Follow me on Instagram, and come join us in the Sample Sale Mom facebook group for discussion and great shopping deals on clothing, (heavy on the boys' stuff!) beauty items, housewares and all sorts of other kids' stuff! We currently have over 100,000 members!


Victoria Emerson Columbus Day Weekend BOGO!!!

Friday, October 11, 2019


This post was sponsored by Victoria Emerson and contains affiliate links (I will receive a percentage of commission if you make a purchase through one of my links.) 

Victoria Emerson is having an amazing promo on this holiday weekend - Buy one get one free site-wide! Buy yourself a bracelet and give one as a gift!!! My favorite are the Boho cuff styles. Shown above I'm wearing the Vigo bracelet, goes really nicely with Lilly Pulitzer if you have a vacation coming up! (More Lilly here, and more shell-cuff bracelet options here.)


See the  double-wrap bracelets here. I love the  leopard leather bracelet for a little bit of animal print! 


Lots of pretty signature wrap bracelet options too. Including the neutral toned one I'm wearing, here. These are adjustable so they can fit any sized wrist!

You can shop some of my Victoria Emerson favorites using the little pics below! Also, if you don't already, follow me on  Instagram, and come join us in the  Sample Sale Mom facebook group for discussion and great shopping deals on clothing, (heavy on the boys' stuff!) beauty items, housewares and all sorts of other kids' stuff! We currently have over 100,000 members!

October finds from Carter's (up to size 14!!!)

Tuesday, October 8, 2019


This post was sponsored by Carter's and contains affiliate links (I will receive a percentage of commission if you make a purchase through one of my links.) 

Carter's isn't just for little kids... they make kids clothes up to size 14!!! Yes! Plus you can combine in one cart with OshKosh (also sizes up to 14) to hit the $35+ threshold and get free shipping!

My kids are really (really) into super heroes right now. They're obsessed with their hero fightning video game and we're on our way through every hero movie made in the past decade. So I was excited to find these sequin-flip super hero tees for them, in Batman and Superman. The sequins flip really well/easily so they'd be great for little kids too. Do go up if you're between sizes at all, I'd say they run just a bit small. They have Elsa from Frozen too!


Here are the reverse side of the flips. We paired them with Everyday Pull-on Pants (khaki) and 5-pocket skinny jeans. Note, they don't actually run that skinny - fine for normally-proportioned kids. We also like the Pull-on Denim Pants. (Those come in toddler sizes too.)


I asked the boys to pick out a jacket and Chase immediately said he loved this Varsity style. It's nicely lined, perfect for Fall. Available in baby, toddler and big kid sizes so you could do a match with multiple boys! (Chase is a tall 10 year old and is wearing sz 12 here.)


Alex is wearing this  Sherpa zip-front sweatshirt with a soft lining. The smaller boys sizes have hoods too. 


If you have younger kids, definitely do not miss the sale  fleece Halloween footies (so cute!) - Some  only $17 at post time here. 

Follow me on  Instagram, and come join us in the  Sample Sale Mom facebook group for discussion and great shopping deals on clothing, (heavy on the boys' stuff!) beauty items, housewares and all sorts of other kids' stuff! We currently have over 100,000 members!


Update on Matt (October)

Thursday, October 3, 2019


If you haven't already, you can read my post about Matt's diagnosis with Hodgkin's Lymphoma here. My follow up post from August is here.

I wanted this to be a happy 'we're-in-the-home-stretch' update but unfortunately it's not. It's not too bad either, things are headed in the right direction. Just more slowly than we would prefer. Matt's latest PET scan still shows a little bit of activity in the outer rim of the tumor. We had been hoping the tumor would be completely 'dead' (inactive) by this point. It has shrunk to approximately 2.8 cm in width, from its original 9 cm size.

Matt has now completed nine chemo treatments of the total twelve. (He's had one more treatment done since this latest scan.) Due to the fact that the tumor is still a little bit active and still at 2.8 cm, Matt's doctor thinks he will likely need radiation to completely eradicate the tumor after he finishes chemo.

Radiation will probably be every week day, five days a week, for six weeks. We think he will need to begin some time in early December and continue into January of 2020. This means he likely won't be able to return to work until the new year either. And radiation has some worrisome long term side effects... It's still possible he won't need radiation, but it is most likely he will.

Over the past six weeks since I returned from my trip to Yellowstone with the kids, we've dealt with some other hassles too. Our dog, Felix, developed a bad abscess on his head and had to have major surgery and two follow up procedures. He needed a lot of after-care, but fortunately he and Matt got to be 'recovery buddies', hanging out on the couch together. Felix was in his cone of shame for about three weeks and has a huge scar, but now he's feeling a lot better.


Matt doesn't really feel like posing for photos these days, so here's a pic of Felix. Isn't he the cutest? It's hard to tell from the pic, but Felix had his head shaved for his operation. Matt is so funny, he joked that Felix was the only one who shaved his head in solidarity with him. (Yes, he asked the boys if they wanted to shave their heads. They said absolutely not.)

Matt is generally feeling okay, just tired, but the chemo seems to have a cumulative effect, and each time is a little bit harder than the last. His fingertips are numb all the time, he gets headaches, and there are occasional days where he needs to sleep almost all day. So, now we have to wait and see how the next scans look in another couple of months once Matt is finished with chemo. Cancer involves a lot of waiting.

If you are a member of my facebook group and are one of the many people who have sent a nice message or sent me good deals and products to post, thank you so much! Please keep sending those! 
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