Mexico Vacation


We got back late last night from a short trip to Mexico. I was our first time back to "Arizona's Beach" since Andrew had his accident in 2016 so it was kind of an emotional roller coaster for me. I grew up going every couple months and we did that all throughout the first years of our marriage but once we hit the snag with his accident, I didn't really have the desire to go back and relive those memories.

It was Andrew's birthday on Sunday so he really wanted to spend some time back in Mexico and soak up the sun and relaxation so we did - kid free! I'm happy we went and kept saying we for sure need to go back again with the kids. Drake has yet to come with us and Emery went twice - once at 4 months and then at 15 months. I'm working on getting the kiddos passports now so we can get back sometime in the winter with cooler weather and more family with us.

Overall, it was a great trip! But I will say, I was homesick and missing the kids like crazy. Do you guys typically vacation as a family or just you and your spouse? I think doing both is so good for you! Pour into that marriage and get time alone but also create memories as a family and experiences together.


code AUBREYLL15 at Logan + Lenora


jumper here - scarf here




swimmer - Kortni Jeane, scarf here, bag here, sandals here, sunnies - Beehive Texas


bags here
code AUBREYLL15 for a discount



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Master Bedroom Shiplap


I can finally say we have a legit shiplap wall in our home! I did do a makeshift one in the kids bathroom back in September but this is just all the feels seeing it in our master bedroom and how big of a statement it makes. It just feel right. You know what I'm saying?

We had our local friend, Mike, from Dec1Designs (@dec1designs) do this for us. Him and Andrew go way back with Discount Tire and our families spend a lot of time together. He also upscaled those night stands you're seeing here from IKEA. I can't believe how much bigger our room looks with just this simple update! And it makes me want shiplap everywhere now. Or white walls. I still have a hard time accepting the paint color the builders chose with this house... because it's dark.

Now onto the next house project! Finishing up our outdoor patio space and then a mudroom! What house projects are you working on right now?





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My Peanut | 20 Months

bloomers - Littles Modern

Okay, this little lady is just melting my heart lately! She's almost 20 months and still the tiniest peanut but her personality is coming out and it's so fun to see her similarities and differences to her older siblings. She's talking up a storm now and knows what she wants - I mean, that girl is relentless until she gets it, too. 

She's breaking in a few teeth, which I think are her last ones. Praise the Lord! She isn't sleeping quite through the night. It's maybe once a week we get a full night of her sleeping while the others are up around 3am. Guys, she's going to be 2 in a handful of months here and that is slowly killing me. Angel from day one only waking up once or twice but 20 months in and I'm like.... when will this end? Will it ever end?!!

We have been dealing with some constipation issues with her and it literally breaks my heart. We did find a resolution for it recently, which has been a blessing but man, those few months of constantly struggling and her screaming from pain was so intense and broke my freakin' heart!!

She's finally getting into 9-12 month clothes and wearing things her sister wore when she was around 8 months. It's crazy how different they are in size. I thought having two girls at the same time of year, they'd be wearing all the same clothes during the same seasons because of sizing but nope. Hollyn is so behind on that scale. We just introduced size 2 diapers and she's actually wanting to already potty train so that's hysterical.

Anyway... wanted to update here this sweet baby! We love her to pieces. She really makes our family whole.

Happy Friday, friends!
xx

bloomers - Littles Modern




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Subway Tile Backsplash for Under $100!


Okay, you asked and here it is! I shared about a week ago we finally did the classic subway tile backsplash in our kitchen for less than $100 ($81) and people were shocked! It really was that cost effective and budget friendly so this would be best to just break down and share what we purchased for you to see from there.

As far as installation, we have our good friend, Mike who is the owner of Dec1 Designs (@dec1designs) and he always helps Andrew and I our with random projects around the house. His wife and I are good friends and our kiddos play together all the time so if you have a handy man for a friend, loop them in on helping install! You will need a tile cutter and they can be rented from Home Depot for like $20.


BEFORE




First off, you have to measure your square footage. Of course price will fluctuate depending on what you need to cover with space so keeping that in mind - here's our information. Also, full disclosure, the below is going to look a bit messy because it's all iPhone screen shots but this shows the product we snagged for better reference.


Festival White Subway Tile

You may not have a Floor & Decor locally but because we do, we went there. I believe white subway tile is typically .23 cents each at Home Depot or Lowe's and Floor & Decor was .15 cents so already, way cheaper! We opted for the traditional 3x6 sizing and because of square footage we needed to buy for, we just bought 3 full boxes of tile at $12.00/box.



Mapei Type-1 White Adhesive

This is your adhesive to apply to the back of each tile to adhere to the wall. Some people had questions asking if textured walls matter and no, it doesn't. Just grab this for your project and it'll do the job seamlessly. Cost is roughly $12.00.



Mapei Silver Unsanded Grout

So the picture is not showing the color we chose because I picked something else. I ended up going with the color "Silver" which turned out to be the perfect choice for our home. Our countertops are builder grade granite with a ton of warm and cool tones so it worked perfectly. We aren't going to be changing the countertops while in this home so overall, it was a good choice. Also, make sure your snag the unsanded grout. Cost is roughly $12.00.



Mapei Unsanded Siliconized Acrylic Caulk

Again, this is showing a different color but whatever grout color you choose, get the same unsanded siliconized acrylic grout color. This is to touch up all the edging of the tiles where grout doesn't meet and seal up any gaps. Total cost on this roughly $7.00.


Festival Ceramic Bullnose

This is a tricky one because you'll need to take a look at your kitchen and see which areas are needing a rounded edge finish over the standard tile edging. We needed 10 total for our project so total cost came in at $7.20.


So there you have it! Those are all the items we used when working on this project and our grand total was $81.62. Insane, right?! What projects are you working on with your home? Ours is never ending but it's so fun actually getting them marked off the list!

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Stenciling a Concrete Floor


stencil | playhouse- Amazon | doormat- Target | chair (similar)- Home Depot | lanterns- IKEA | planters- IKEA | pillow (similar)- Target



Back in August when we moved into our new home I was on the hunt for creating a patio space that was cozy, comfortable, stylish, and beautiful! I wanted the kids to be able to run outside and love the space they had while Andrew and I being able to welcome guests and entertain, because we love doing so.

I started scrolling Pinterest for ideas when we were planning out our backyard design and landscape and after all that was done, I knew I needed to snag all the goodies to just bite the bullet and paint our covered patio concrete slab to really make the space unique and inviting. Bringing a little bit of the inside, out.

I came across this tutorial from Zevy Joy and snagged the stencil in September. Then it sat for 9 months. So Spring comes around and I keep telling Andrew I need to do it and then it hits 105 and I'm like... NOW. It's happening now. So with a fire up my behind because we are planning to get all our patio furniture from At Home in the next couple months, I knew I needed to get this accomplished before I got all those homey pieces to actually style the space and make it ours.

When I purchased all the supplies, I reached out to an epoxy company, read tutorials and asked a few painters we knew and they said as long as I had a good sealer, I was A-Okay using interior paint for the coverage. We shall see in time if that's going to work or not... ;)

Here's what we purchased


Behr interior flat paint in White, 2 gallons
Behr interior flat paint in Carbon, 1 gallon
9in roller paint brush + 5 foot attachment
Painter tray + liners
2in paint brush for edging
Slim 3in roller paint brush for stenciling
Blue painters tape for stenciling
Fabiola Tile Stencil, size large

STEP ONE

I started will taking everything off the porch and power washing the area. Get all the built up dirt and grim from the space and make sure you have a clean slate. This is essentially brand new concrete so we didn't have imperfections or cracking so we didn't need to patch or add extra steps making sure the concrete itself was in good shape.

STEP TWO

I jumped right in and started with a white coat. I trimmed the edges first and then rolled the interior of the space and did two coats this way.

STEP THREE

Stenciling! I opted for the largest sizing available in the stencil and it was perfect. I taped 3 of the four sides when lining it up and roller the black paint with the smaller roller brush then. I didn't wait for each section to dry - I just continually went in a horizontal row all the way across then bumped back over to the next row on the bottom left, where I originally started the upper row.

Whew! I hope that makes sense.

STEP FOUR

Dry time. Let it dry about 24 hours to ensure it's good to go before adding your sealant. While I need to get back to y'all on that part, all we have applied up to this point is a spray can Outdoor Paint sealant recommended to us from an employee at Home Depot.

Again though, I'll be going back and sealing this heavily with an epoxy type clear finish.

Overall, the project took me about 4 hours on a 12' x 6' space and was so easy to do. The stencil is laid out to line up everything evenly so applying it was so simple. I didn't care for little smudges or imperfections because it's a space I'd like to have character. The whole idea of this "tile" look is rustic and very old world to me, so it's second nature to have those little areas adding character.

I looooove how it all came together and can't wait to actually get the furniture we envision in July. It's on our list to get around Andrew's birthday as a splurge!

So what do ya think? Was the DIY worth it? Or would you opt for just tiling the space and calling it good. I'm personally all into house projects lately to put our touch on the home and give it good appeal for resale so it stands out!





the outcome



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Filling My Cup


Every morning I get up, check my phone for any urgent emails, scroll instagram and facebook, make sure all scheduled posts actually went live and before I know it, I'm an hour in and already engulfed in social media, work, and the stress of the day. 

I've really been trying to switch up my routine with grabbing a cup of coffee, getting the diffuser going, and spending time in the Word. It's not already easy and relaxing because three kids break up the calmness of that but it sets me on a better foot starting out my day. I find I'm way more calm and less worked up about all the little things throughout the day and I'm finding I have a good opportunity to share Jesus and talk about our faith with the kids.

During that time, I haven't even touch my phone! What?!! Yep, I don't even look at my phone or bring it away from my nightstand until I'm ready to jump into work for the day. It's such a freeing feeling knowing I'm just not engaging in that until it's time to "clock in" for the day. You should seriously try it!!

What's something you do to help the stress of the day slowing come to life after waking?

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Pool Date


large carryall - Logan + Lenora (code AUBREYLL15 for a discount) | swimmer - Kortni Jeane | exclusive portfolio bag - Logan + Lenora x Kortni Jeane

Given it's the holiday weekend I thought it was the perfect time to share my new Kortni Jeane swimmer! I have a few of their styles and just love the coverage and modesty they offer but still are darling and unique to each person. I opted for a v-neck top this time to hold the girls in - haha - and it's perfection! Not only does it offer support but it makes chasing kiddos around at the pool much easier and less fussy.

They recently teamed with Logan + Lenora, one of my other favorite shops, to collaborate on an exclusive wet bag. It's total mod and fun and was a perfect match to my basic black bottoms and trusty, Free People top (see below). Can't go wrong!

We're spending Monday at the pool and BBQ-ing with my family. What are your plans for the holiday? It's basically the kick off to summer! That also being said, make sure you check out instagram on Monday for a fun and exciting GIVEAWAY!

Stay tuned...







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My Identity

between motherhood, business owning, and a child of god









photography by @rennaihoefer

written MAY 3, 2018

So I’m gonna give you guys a little backstory... this morning I was just feeling off and emotional. Everything was kind of getting to me and I couldn’t pinpoint why. I even sat down with Andrew and was like "I don’t know what it is but everything is triggering me at this point right now and everything is making me feel insecure and upset." So having that disclosed, going into the event tonight for The Foundress, I was worried not knowing how to explain myself not knowing what to say I do. Looking back at what I just said at the event, I was speaking as if my identity within my children

Don’t take that the wrong way because I absolutely love my babies but my identity is not in my children - my identity is found in Christ and knowing that I am worthy. So when I’m thinking about a bio or explaining who I am, it shouldn’t be I’m a mom and so much of what I said tonight was saying that I am a mom and that’s it.

Yes, I have that title of Motherhood but when it comes to what I do, I am a business owner, a graphic designer, a wife, daughter, sister, friend, and I am a child of God. He has abundantly blessed my life and my family through business that has come from this online platform just having an online presence where so many of you follow my story. I never take that for granted. I love sharing and being open with you guys I think the transparency behind being able to do that and the vulnerability of that is something I’m meant to be sharing.

That doesn’t mean that motherhood is inferior to having this online presence and it’s not to say that the online presence is inferior to being a mom or a business owner or whatever it is that I’m doing with my time. I think I struggle explaining what it is I do because they have my hands in so many things right now.

I have this Instagram that I manage, I have clients where I’m managing their social media and building out their website and online presence, I am sharing my love of essential oils, and then I still do blog designing outside of social media.

I’m in a season of life I’m wearing so many hats that I don’t exactly know what to say but on a regular basis, on an everyday basis, I’m always a mom. I’m always putting on the Motherhood hat. I think it’s easy for me to identify saying I’m a mom and I’m here to encourage you in motherhood and while that’s true, I always have wanted to share and be raw in the mess of life and the mess of motherhood and that it’s not perfect and it’s not easy. I’m one melt town away from losing my damn mind and that’s okay - that’s life!

So when I’m really trying to find the core of who I am and what it is that I’m doing, I don’t really have that definitive answer.

I do know that I am a child of God and I have been very open recently after doing the Bible Journaling Challenge, that I am wanting to share and be a light to His Kingdom with this platform. Which in turn, I think that is why some people have fallen off and that’s okay too, because it may not be your cup of tea. Let’s be honest - I’ve invited you guys to unfollow me! I mean, I don’t think it gets any more vulnerable or open than that.

I have evolved and changed so much since my blog started when Andrew and I got married - which is eight years ago - and I’m not the same person. I’ve grown and changed but I’ve also become a mother and I’ve also started business ventures and stopped business ventures, I worked for our church for a while but in all of that I’ve built this platform to be able to share and be open with you all. I’ve made so many mistakes and I’ve done so many things wrong and I look back thinking “why did I do that? What was the purpose of that?”  but I do know I want to share.

I want you guys to know you are also worthy.

So I’m gonna leave it at this - I know motherhood can be isolating and I know motherhood is hard -  heck, you guys have seen me crying about rough days with my kids. I’ve never had anything I shared resonated so much with someone! That vulnerable moment brought me the most rewarding reading plan I’ve invested in! It's the YouVersion Bible app and the plan is "Overwhelmed by My Blessing: Encouragement for Moms". That’s what this community has! That’s what this business of mine has become - sharing and connecting and talking.

And while Instagram is ever-changing, I will still be here sharing and talking because I want you to know that I’m going through the same thing right now and if I could just sit with you and give you a hug and say you’re doing a great job, whether that is through motherhood, or a job that’s really difficult, or a season of life giving you trial after trial, I want to be there through this community, this online platform with Instagram waiting to encourage you and uplift you!

So if I could go back and do you tonight over with The Foundress speaking about who I am and what it is that I do --

I am Aubrey Kinch. I started a blog when my husband and I got married because we had no social media so we wanted a way to keep our friends and family connected. I married into having the sweetest little son and he’s just my angel! He’s my light. We have two little girls who give me a run for my money and leaving me crying to my instagram friends. I share about motherhood struggles, the triumphs, the trials, and everything in between. Like ballet class and Friday Night Lights down to how I'm OCD and like to keep our home organized and clean, even with kiddos.

I am a graphic designer who loves a pretty feed but when you go to my story, it’s unfiltered, it’s raw, it’s messy, and I hope that’s what you take away from what I share. So in the chaos of kiddos, co-parenting, balancing a business all while being a wife and mother, Christ is the center. My hope is when you come to my feed, you can feel inspired and uplifted and encouraged.

I’m honored to be a part of The Foundress to be able to share those successes and failures and get to know everyone in that new community. Coley and Lindsey, thank you for giving me the ability to share my story.

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