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I'm Shay! I’m a cookbook author, lifestyle blogger, travel agency owner, wife and mama who loves making every day special for my family.

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Mix & Match Mama

Giveaways, Shay, Shay's Closet ·

Sail into Spring Break Giveaway!


Woohoo!  In honor of next week being Spring Break…and in honor of the fact that Erika and I are going to be sailing into it on a cruise, we thought we’d share the love with you and three of your friends today!   
Today, we’re giving away one $250 Nordstrom gift card to you and then THREE MORE FOR YOU TO SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS!  
What?!  
Yes!  
One winner will receive a gift card for herself and then for the three friends she tags on Instagram.  All you have to do is go to our Instagram accounts and comment PLUS tag your three friends.  You better do it on both of our Instagram accounts because that will just increase your chances.  Plus, you should probably tell your three friends to do it too because then that will really increase your chances.
The winner and her friends will be announced this Friday morning!
You can find Erika on Instagram here (@slaughteren) and me on Instagram here (@mixandmatchmama).
Since we’re talking about Spring Break and vacations, here are a few things I’m planning on taking on my trip next week (and if you win, maybe it’s something you might like to buy with your new gift card?)…
Here’s my list:
Swimsuits
Cover-ups
Shorts
Dresses
Flip flops
Wedges
Repeat

Swimsuits:
C & Me from last summer.
Here’s the deal, I am super loyal to certain stores when it comes to certain things.  For instance, I buy 99% of my swimsuits from Athleta.  First of all, I love Athleta’s whole vibe when it comes to active wear and swimwear.  I want it to be cute but to cover me and not move when I’m chasing kiddos at the same time.  So, to see what swimsuits I’m buying and wearing daily (because during the summer, I wear a swimsuit every single day), you need to see Athleta’s selection.  The top pictured above is still available here.  I wash in my machine and let these swimsuits air dry and they last for years. I still have Athleta swimsuits that I bought and wore when we went on vacation 6 years ago…and I still wear them because they still look great!
Here I am doing my mom thing last summer in my Athleta swimsuit.  Top here and bottoms here.  And no worries, if one pieces and tankinis are your thing, they have those too!  One pieces here and tankinis here.
Cover-ups:
Last year, I bought this cover-up and wore it almost every single day.  It just worked with everything!  I’m totally throwing this in my suitcase for our cruise.  Love this one!  And I must not be the only one because it’s still in stock.  #yesyesyes

Shorts:
Oh friends.  If you have read this blog for at least a year, then you know how much I heart the J Crew Chino.  I mean…over the last almost 9 years that I have been blogging (ISN’T THAT A LONG TIME?!?!), I have talked about these shorts no less than 4 billion times (a conservative estimate).  The J Crew Chino never lets me down.  You can pick any length you want (I like the 3″ but they also have 4″, 5″, 7″ and Bermuda lengths too).  They come in a wide variety of fun colors and neutrals as well.  They wash and dry perfectly.  They always look polished and…in 8½ more years, if I’m still blogging…I will still be talking about these shorts. #promise
Dresses:
Well, a girl’s gotta have a dress on a cruise ship for dinner, right?  I’m wearing my black dress that I bought over the summer for The Men Tell All taping one night and then I bought a couple of new dresses to take.  
Haha!  Well, this is my black dress from The Men Tell All taping.  If you didn’t know…that was an exhausting day.  This dress is my favorite!  I bought black but it comes in five other colors too AND IT’S UNDER $50!  Love this dress!  (For a size reference, I bought an XS.)
I recently bought this dress to take on our cruise:
I am in love with this dress!  It’s so soft and fits so well.  Now, I’m only 5’3″, so for this particular dress, I bought a Petite XS and the length is spot on (it comes in both regular and petite).  This dress also comes in six different solid colors too.
And, last year, I bought this Lush dress…
…and even though my particular pattern is no longer available the exact same style is in a whole new array of patterns and colors.  And bonus, these dresses are on sale for under $40.  I have two of these Lush dresses and they always look and feel fantastic!  Here I am in the same dress headed to church…
…but this time, I topped it with my denim jacket (same brand & style, different color).
Flip Flops:
My favorite Toms flip flops from last summer will be walking all over that Disney Cruise.  Love how comfy these sandals are!
And I know that these Tory Burch sandals are pricey…but they are unbelievably comfy and even though mine are a few years old, they still look great!
Wedges:
And last but certainly not least…my new wedges are coming with me.  I bought the cognac colored wedges but the black are cute too!  Online, it says to order a 1/2 size down and I’m glad I did because they fit me perfectly.  Steve Madden’s wedges are ALWAYS comfy.  Always.  They’re going to look great with my dresses and my shorts!
If you need a shorter heel height, these Steve Madden wedges are cute too…

Okay, I couldn’t wrap up my post without mentioning two more things that will be in my suitcase…

You know how I love my Ray Bans…but I am NOT going to get in a pool or the ocean with a nice pair of sunglasses on, so every year, I buy myself a cheap pair of aviator sunglasses to keep in my pool bag.  I grab these from Nordstrom that are only $12.  They look so cute, fit great and when they get lost and/or damaged from swimming with my kids, I don’t cry because…they’re only $12.

And…

…I bought myself this hat to take too.  Because…a girl doesn’t want sun damage on her face, right?!

Last but not least, what are my kids wearing this spring break?  I pretty much bought them everything from Old Navy.  I didn’t mean to, but when I went online to look for Kensington a swimsuit, I not only bought her swimsuits, I bought Ashby swimsuits, Smith swimsuits, Kensington dresses, Ashby dresses and Smith shorts with tees.  Done.

So…we’re sailing into Spring Break next week and we want you to as well!  Don’t forget, here’s how you enter to win:

1. Go to both mine and Erika’s Instagram accounts.
2. Comment and tag your three friends on each account.
3. Go ahead and tell your three friends to do the same!
4. Wait for the winner to be announced on Friday morning.
We love sharing stuff like this with you ladies!  Look for this graphic…
…on our Instagram accounts this morning and comment and tag on this picture!
Happy March 1 friends!!
And…on my foodie blog today…

…I’m celebrating National Peanut Butter Lovers Day with my favorite peanut butter recipes.

I heart PB.

Happy March 1st friends!

UPDATE!!

***And the winner of this giveaway is @kenzielou23!  Woohoo!!  You and your three tagged friends each will receive a $250 Nordstrom gift card!  Please email me asap to claim your prize!  mixandmatchmama@yahoo.com***

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Comments

  3. MEHAFFEY MOMENTS says

    I am so glad I found your blog again!!! I use to be a reader a few years ago then life happened and I am glad happened upon it again!!!
    I love your style, and I as well ALWAYS buy my suits from ATHLETA. Some years I try and buy from a different store then always end up back at their site 🙂
    I haven't read your blog for awhile and noticed you ADOPTED, we are right down to the wire with our foster to adopt and she comes next week….yayyyyy!
    Since your daughter was a little older, as is ours, was it hard for her in the beginning?
    You can answer that question or not if it's too personal. 🙂

    Now that I have left a looooooonnngg comment I will go, lol!

    I blog over at mehaffeymoments.blogspot.com if you'd like to check out 🙂
    Have an awesome day!!!

  4. Sara P says

    How do you enter the contest if not all of your friends have instagram to tag them in the post? One does, two do not 🙁

  7. Paige says

    I love your lush dress! And I'm going to check out athleta suits…I need some new ones for sure! I wish I was going on spring break!! Enjoy! I'll cross my fingers that I win the giveaway! ha!

  9. Melissa says

    I love Athleta suits too! Also, I purchased the jumper cover-up twice last year and both times it shrunk horribly, so I had to return. Have you had that problem and how do you wash it?

  11. Chelsea Rohrer says

    Ah yes!!! Cruises are so fun! My husband and I are flying to San Juan on Friday and taking a Southern Caribbean cruise. Yay. Ohh and I just nabbed a bright green pair of the 3" chinos on Sunday for $19.99 at J. Crew's outlet store! I was so pumped because I've been eyeing them on your blog for a while. I repeat…yay.

  12. kimm atwood says

    What a fun giveaway! And I have a few pair of the millers. They are pricey but I've had mine for quite a few years now and love them and they still look great! Have a great day!

  13. Aubrey says

    Packing for a beach vacay is soooo easy! Except I cringe at the thought of exposing this pale, chubby, goose-pimply body to the light of day. *cringe* It's so hard to get past that initial weird feeling of being uncovered after the long winter of layers and coziness!

  14. Johnna says

    I love all of this! I am going to check out Athleta suits right now. We are headed to the beach for spring break so this post got me excited!

  17. Lizzie Simantz says

    What an awesome giveaway!! Question on your Lush maxi, did you need to get it hemmed? Some reviews say it's very long and I'm pretty short, 5'2" so I was just curious what size you got and if you needed it hemmed, thanks!

  18. "The Mrs." says

    I can't wait to stock up on some fun j crew shorts for this summer!! Have fun on the cruise. I think we will be at Disney World during the same time. LOL

  20. Bella says

    I'd love to go anywhere warm right now! Athleta is my favorite place for swimsuits too. Love the style and quality!

  21. Lauren says

    I am SOOO excited that your cruise in next week! I don't know about you guys, but we have a major case of Spring fever over here and are counting down our days until we sail away with Mickey! 😉 I hope you guys have a blast and I hope you tell me when you get back how much Andrew loved it!! Ha! I know he has been skeptical, but I promise this vacay does not disappoint! Ya'll have fun! We leave Friday the 11th and sail away on the 12th so I bet we'll pass each other somewhere in Florida as you're getting off the boat and we get on! 🙂

  22. Sara Fehrenbacher says

    I also love the J Crew Chinos! I only have white and tan at home, but I'm thinking this year I will branch out and buy some colored ones! J Crew Outlet has the chino shorts for $29.50 right now!! Score!

  23. Jenny says

    That peanut butter bar looks amazing. I am excited to see what you guys think about your trip. Have the best time!

  25. Anna says

    Where are those jean shorts from in the picture with your Tory sandals? Been looking for some good denim shorts!

  28. Lisa says

    Love so much of this post…you should see all the tabs open on my computer right now…LOL! Oh how I miss spending summer days at the pool with my kiddos. ENJOY this time Shay!!! It goes way to fast. XOXOXO

  30. Misty says

    Awesome giveaway!! I can't wait to read about your cruise recap. We went on our first Disney cruise in October. I'm sure you already know this, but you can register the kids for the kids club prior to departing. I recommend doing that. My kiddos, boy 11 and girl 4, both loved the kids club. Also, make sure you head to port adventures once you get on the ship to get your princess meets scheduled.

  33. Meg & Ryan says

    I can't wait to hear about your cruise! Love your blog! On the TOMS flip flops, do you think they are true to size? I am going to order them this week 🙂 I think I also need some of the J Crew chino shorts. Thanks for all the recommendations!

  37. Kara Block says

    I'm a Ray Ban lover too! Although I have a love hate relationship with them. Do yours not get stuck (caught/tangled) in your hair when you have your hair up and have your glasses on the top of your head? The nose pieces always get caught on my hair which then wrecks my pony. It drives me nuts. Does this happen to you?

  38. Megan says

    I can't wait to read about your cruise!!! And I'm thinkkng I need to buy a pair of cheap aviators too! I might have stepped on my raybans today at preschool pick up. I think I've bent them back but I was a little sad!! Ha!!

  40. Bethany Parvin says

    Love these outfits so much! I am so excited for spring/summer clothes!!!! I love the clothes and I won't be pregnant anymore, so I can actually clothes shop! lol

  41. Elizabeth Birenbaum says

    I don't think I realized you were going on a Disney cruise over spring break! SO FUN! We went on our first one in October of last year and loved it so much (the kids AND the adults!) that we booked another for January of next year! ENJOY!!!

  42. Amanda M says

    Ah I have that Lush dress from last summer in a different color and wore it all the time! I might have to get another one with the giveaway. So excited to see pictures from your cruise! Oh and National Peanut Butter Lovers Day might be the best thing ever, I have to make your Neiman Marcus bars!

  45. Katie says

    I think my family is going to be on the same cruise as yours! And we just recently moved from McKinney! And I'll be wearing my Athleta swimsuits and JCrew shorts too! Because they are my faves! And I'm taking my maxi dresses and wedges! Ha! Small world!!!

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