Hello, December

Well hello there, friends. I've been quiet since the big announcement, huh? I actually wrote a Quick Lit post for November, but the internet ate it. Twice. I'll just do it in December, because I've barely read anything the past couple weeks! 

So what have I been up to? Well, our wonderful little puppies have become total Houdinis and keep escaping from the back yard. The weekend before last I went chasing after Winchester (Remington came to me like a good puppy!) and ended up falling face first onto a concrete driveway. Thankfully all the damage was superficial - I didn't break anything, and baby girl Robbins and I are totally fine now. (Except for a bruised knee, sore teeth, and some scrapes and cuts that are still healing). But it looked pretty nasty when it happened. Here's my edited picture I shared on social media - I still don't to show you the pictures I took straight on. Not pretty!

This past week I celebrated Thanksgiving with my family, watched OU dominate in the Bedlam game, and came back home just in time to spend Sunday with no power thanks to the ice storm. It was a great weekend; I got to go through boxes that my mom saved from when I was a baby, and I ended up with lots of things for our little girl to wear/play with. Plus I got in some orders from ThredUp, including this precious coat for our little girl to wear next winter! (Complete with matching hat and muff! Don't worry, she also has camo and pink John Deere boots so she won't be too precious :) ) 

I also got a little carried away over Black Friday weekend. I am not a Black Friday shopper - the idea of battling crowds sounds absolutely awful to me. But saving money by staying up a little late to order online? Totally cool with that! I took advantage of some amazing deals at some cloth diaper online stores, and fell down the rabbit hole of cloth diapering. There's a full series of posts on that coming soon, I promise. But seriously, how cute are these diapers? I ordered two each of the ones on the upper right and lower left (2 different sizes so when she outgrows the small one we can move to the bigger one). Can anyone guess why I chose those two? ;)

And somehow it's December already! I turn 30 this weekend and I'm still trying to decide what I want to do to celebrate. I've already accepted that lots of things on my 30 before 30 list aren't going to be done - and that's ok. 

I'll be back later this week to talk about the big 30! Until then, stay warm friends!

Previously on Mrs Robbins Sparkles...

Raise a Hand for Teachers

 Hey guys! Stopping by for a Thursday post to tell you about a new program thredUP.com is offering. In case you forgot, thredUp is pretty much my go-to clothing site these days - I just got four pairs of designer jeans (7 for all Mankind!) for under $100. And they have partnered with AdoptAClassroom.org to recognize and thank teachers for their hard work and the positive impact they make each day on children’s lives.

I know quite a few teachers, and I'm painfully aware of how much of their own money they spend on their classroom and their kids. According to AdoptAClassroom.org, teachers spend an average of $500 of their own money each year to equip their classrooms, and an astonishing 70% of teachers have even purchased apparel items like jackets, socks, and shoes for their students.

That's why thredUP is introducing this new program - they know how hard teachers work, and they want to help! Three teachers will win $2,500 for classroom supplies as well as $500 credit to thredUP. 50 runner-up winners will receive $100 credit to thredUP. 

Want to nominate someone? You have until August 23rd, and winners will be announced on Tuesday, September 8th. Once you've nominated your favorite teacher, you can vote daily. So get started today!

Previously on Mrs Robbins Sparkles...

Birkenstocks in Vegas

Many moons ago I read a blog post the Hollywood Housewife wrote about her Birkenstocks. Now the wonderful HH is not someone that struck me as a Birk person, so I was intrigued. She had the Gizeh style and she swore they were super comfy!

As I prepared for our Vegas Vacay, I decided I needed some comfy sandals. Old Navy flip flops are awesome for the lake, but this nearly 30 year-old needed to invest in some actual footwear. And when you're used to spending approximately $4 for sandals, Birks certainly are an investment!

So I went on search of a good deal. Amazon has some, but the prices vary by color and shoe size. My not-so-delicate size 9.5 feet did not fit in any of the sale sandals, so I moved on to Zappos. No deals there either. I decided to check out Nordstrom Rack (because you can order online now!) just in case they had any deals.

Cue harps and angels singing.

These gold Gizeh Birks were on sale! In my size! I ordered them right then and impatiently waited for them to arrive. Which they did, the night before I was leaving. I couldn't wait to wear them on the Strip!

And then I did. OUCH. Here's the thing people forget to tell you about Birks. They really have to be broken in. I sort of knew that, but since the shoes came in at the last minute I conveniently forgot. And I was in pain after walking a few miles up and down the strip in my Birks. Which isn't the way to start a weekend full of foot pain thanks to the dress code requirement of heels for most clubs! 

I didn't wear the Birkenstocks the rest of the weekend, but I decided to give them another go this week. And success! Maybe it was all the walking in Vegas, but they are finally broken in. And I now LOVE them. They are comfy, cute, and fancy enough to wear to the office. 

I will probably invest in a couple other pairs - a black and a brown, most likely. But I'm happy with my gold pair for now. I've been embracing the mixed metals look so it's working for now. Nordstrom Rack doesn't have gold anymore, but they do have silver and a few other colors if you're interested! Or there's always Amazon :)

​Previously on Mrs Robbins Sparkles...