Upgrade Your Dental Care with Smile Brilliant

This post was done in partnership with Smile Brilliant, however all opinions are my own.

Thank you for supporting brands that support Southern & Style!

If you've been a long-time reader, around the end of last year I discovered a brand called Smile Brilliant who are known for their at-home teeth whitening kits that are the real deal.

I shared my whitening results & have fallen in love with the kit and the brand-I look forward to being able to whiten again after pregnancy is over!

So, since dental and oral health is so important for pregnant women & just in general-I have been trying to be very diligent about taking care of my teeth and mouth, including regular brushing, flossing, mouth-washing, and trips to the dentist.

At my last dental appointment, my hygienist asked if I had ever considered an electric toothbrush and I told her no...I was honestly pleased with my manual toothbrush & didn't know that there were any additional benefits to using an electric version.

Boy, was I ever wrong. She explained that electric toothbrushes actually help you teeth by removing more plaque than an average manual toothbrush & they also improve gum health (so important for everyone, but especially expecting Mama's like myself!).

She also knew that I'm a huge coffee lover & since having to stop using my Smile Brilliant whitening kit since being pregnant-I was feeling self conscious about my smile and she informed me that an electric toothbrush could help my whitening as well.

Y'all, the team at Smile Brilliant answered my dental prayers once again because after some investigation I discovered that my favorite whitening brand also has an electric toothbrush on the market, but at a much better value than other comparable brushes on the market and when I say better value, I mean at half the price of other similar brushes out there.

In the individual package you get one cariPro Ultrasonic toothbrush, two premium replacement heads with tongue scrapers & DuPont bristles, one wireless charging dock, and a very helpful instruction manual.

The toothbrush itself is very, very easy to use even though it's high-tech in that it has five brush modes:

Clean-Standard, but superior daily cleaning

White-Most powerful mode for removing deep surface stains, polishing, & deep cleaning.

Massage-Gentle gum pulsation for gum stimulation-use this one combined with another mode for complete cleansing coverage.

Gum Care-Gum mode is for gentle cleansing along the gumline, combine this mode with another for complete cleansing.

Sensitive-This is the perfect "beginner" mode to get used to the shift from manual to electric toothbrushes. It's also perfect for those who have sensitive gums and teeth. I was able to start with this and then shift to white & clean modes within about a week.

Overall, I have been so pleased with my cariPro Ultrasonic Toothbrush-it's truly helped me regain my self confidence in my smile because my smile has whitened significantly, but more importantly my oral health is greatly improved-my dentist was satisfied when I came in for my last cleaning!

Photo by Amy-Cole Photography

If you're looking for an upgrade to your dental care, then I highly suggest trying out the cariPro brush...you have absolutely nothing to lose-they have a 60-Day Trial so it's worth testing out to see if it works for you.

Also, make sure you check out their FAQ (frequently asked questions), just in case you need to know anything before you buy.

Who doesn't want a brush that will remove up to 7X more plaque than a manual, improves gum health in just 2 weeks, and offers 2X whiter teeth in just one week?

It's a no brainer!

Y'all know I also wouldn't leave you without a coupon code; so use the code southernandstyle20 for 20% off cariPro Ultrasonic Toothbrushes-they're worth the investment in a better smile!

And even better than that you can enter here to win one of these cariPro Ultrasonic Toothbrush sets for yourself...let me know below that you entered!

Until next time. . .

xoxo, 

Boot Roundup

Dream-Catcher (Sold Out-Similar)/Bone Embroidered/Desert Red (Sold Out-Similar)/Fringe (Sold Out-Similar)/Angel Wings (Sold Out-Similar)/Auburn Gameday Boots

One of my favorite things about fall is having an excuse to wear all of my boots (even more than I already do!)

This truly is the perfect time of year to pick up a new pair because there are so many occasions to wear them to!
In Alabama, where I'm from, it's always appropriate to wear boots to a tailgate (hence those awesome Auburn boots that I have to add to my collection), or to the fair or one of the many rodeos that are going on.

I even pull mine out to wear to church on Sunday or out for a date on a Saturday night.
Cowboy boots really are the perfect transition piece!

I personally own the bone embroidered boots (they were my wedding boots!) and the angel wing boots. They're both by Corral & purchased from Country Outfitter.
They're great fitting boots and made with amazing quality.

I hope to add a statement pair to my collection soon, like those fringe or awesome red boots!
But you can never go wrong with a staple pair like the brown with the dream catcher embroidery.

How do you wear your boots (if you have them) & if you don't, would you ever buy any?
Which pair is your favorite?

Until next time. . .

xoxo,

35 Week Pregnancy Update

Photo by Amy-Cole Photography

The 35-week pregnancy update...aka, my very first pregnancy update 😂

When I first announced that I was pregnant on the blog I knew I didn't want to do weekly or really even monthly updates on the blog-those can be kind of tedious and boring for those of y'all that don't come here for that content.

But...I thought about it and decided that I wanted to, for at least the last few weeks of pregnancy, to update y'all and to have these for my future memories!

How far along? 35 weeks! Actually, on the day this is being posted I'll be exactly 36. But it's being written at 35 😉

Days until due date? 28!

Weight change? Y'all-I'll be honest...I really kind of wanted to delete this question because who wants to put all that out on the internet? But I'm honestly pretty proud of how my weight has been managed throughout this entire pregnancy, I'm probably more healthy now than I was when we found out we were expecting!

Up until this point, I've only gained 16 lbs. That might change when I weigh in again on Monday, but for now I'm saying 16!

Any cravings? Not really! I haven't "craved" much of anything this entire pregnancy. It's more of, "man, that sounds like it would be really good right now-but I won't die without it or anything". I really do love pizza more than normal, though.

Symptoms? I've definitely been feeling myself get more and more worn out as the days go by, which is so difficult for me to get used to because I'm super independent and like to be able to do everything myself. It's also been hard to slow down on the farm, because I like to do my own things myself but I've had to pass the torch down to my husband & some of our help to get my daily things done because I just can't accomplish tasks as easily as I used to.

I've also had a lot of trouble sleeping. Not sure if it's due to me over-doing it during the daytime hours or what, but definitely not sleeping well and feeling pretty sore towards the end of the day.

Sleep? Ha! I guess I covered that in the symptoms part, but between being super sore and over-tired, and having to get up to go to the bathroom what feels like a million times each night I'm usually only clocking about 5 hours of sleep at night.

I do try to squeeze in a nap somewhere during the day if I'm feeling the need!

Movement? He's definitely an active little one! There isn't as much room for him to stretch out, but he's not shy about trying to do so. Thankfully, he's gotten to where he's active during the day and more relaxed at night...so I'm hoping he'll continue that schedule when he's born-so many of my friends have said their baby's did!

Belly Button: In or Out? In!

Wedding Rings: On or Off? On a day-to day basis I don't wear my wedding rings anyway; since I'm just around the house. Thankfully, I haven't had much swelling either other than my normal swelling that I get in my hands during the summer months. If we're going out somewhere, I do usually wear my wedding band.

Best Moment this week? I haven't been to the doctor this week (it was my last week to skip a week, starting Monday I'm on a once-a-week basis with my doctor). But I think just spending time with Chris while we were in Montgomery & getting to dream with him about all the things we're planning on doing with the baby once he gets here-that was pretty special!

 Best style moment this week? 😂😂😂 On a regular basis, I'm wearing Nike shorts & an over-sized tee shirt so my "style" isn't what I would call "best".  If we can count Saturday into that equation, I wore my beloved Lilly maxi (again) for our award's ceremony and I feel amazing when I rock that little number. 

 Worst moment this week?  I don't think I really had a "worst" moment this week. I am starting to get a bit stressed that everything isn't going to come together before he is born. But I'm also trying to remind myself that if it doesn't, that will be okay too! 

 Do you miss anything? Yes! I miss SO many things. But guess what? In just a few weeks, I'll be able to have them so it's all okay and all worth it. I mostly miss raw sushi, wine, and being able to eat a sandwich without microwaving the meat first!

 What are you looking forward to? I'm exciting to hopefully finish the nursery! We have a few things left to purchase & do, but it's all coming together and I'm really grateful for that.

 Mood? Nervous and excited. It's finally starting to become a reality, although it seems so strange that Chris & I are really, really about to be parents! There is a sense of nervous-ness, mostly because I hate hospitals and doctors offices-they just really freak me out so I'm dreading all of that. But there is a sense of excitement as well because I'm excited to finally have our little man here and be able to share all that the future holds! 

            Well, there y'all have it-my first pregnancy update...at 35 weeks 😂

Until next time. . .

xoxo, 

A Farm is More than Land & Crops. . .

It's a family's heritage & future ❤🚜

Typically, on a Tuesday I would do a weekly recap, a roundup of all the little things I've been doing in the past week & fun things I've found around the internet.

And to be honest, normally I don't get 100% personal on the blog with y'all because we tend to be a pretty private family.

However, this past weekend was one for the books & I have to tell our story and put this down to remember and share because it's so exciting and important!

Friday afternoon, Christopher and I packed up and headed south for Montgomery. We checked in to our hotel room, (spent over an hour on the phone with Verizon & Apple tech support 🙈), spent another hour in the Verizon store buying Christopher a new iPhone because phones are important to farmer's y'all, had dinner at Wentzell's, walked by the river, and headed up to our room for the night.

Saturday was a jam-packed day for us, it was our full day at Commodity Conference for the Alabama Farmer's Federation and we were so excited to see friends, meet new friends, learn new things in seminars, etc.

The day was fun and tiring, so around 3ish we headed back up to our room, took a nap, then got up around 5 and got all gussied up for the dinner.

Over the past six months, there have been a ton of things going on in the background that I've mentioned here and there on the blog, but never really went into full detail on.

In March, Chris & I were chosen as one of three finalists to be Alabama's Outstanding Young Farm Family. We had went through an application and interview process to be chosen as finalists.

Over the next few months, we prepared and practiced, we worked really hard to prepare for an on-farm interview with three judges which happened the last week of June.

On Saturday night, all of that hard work came to fruition as we stood on stage with two other very deserving couples-but our name was announced!

It was such a validating moment for both of us because of all the hard work and dreams that we've poured into our farm and into this contest. To know that other's notice your dedication and passion is an awesome feeling-especially since farmers tend to get more criticism than compassion sometimes.

 We love what we do & we love this organization that we get to be a part of.

We're so excited to represent the state of Alabama over the next year and that we get to compete at National's in New Orleans in January!

 We have an incredible support system of both of our families as well as all of our friends, we are so thankful to have everyone cheering us on and helping out whenever we asked.

It's going through things like this that truly let you know who you can count on & we appreciate everyone so much!

There are so many exciting things coming in the next few months; mostly the arrival of our sweet little boy!

But we can't wait to see where we go from here & we look forward to advocating and supporting agriculture in the future.

Until next time. . .

xoxo, 

August Goals [2018]

P.S. Another sneak-peak from our maternity photos with Amy-Cole Photography 😍

Y'all, it has been so, so long since I've done a goals post. I'm talking way back in January!

Thankfully, I did check some of those off like...

-redecorating our home (thankfully it's current state is neutral enough where it will be fine until I feel like decorating like Fall, or maybe even until Christmas!)

-having a fun night out with my biggest big sister (we had a blast seeing the My Favorite Murder podcast girls live in Atlanta!)

But. . . I also kinda failed at the others because there was so much going on in our lives and I fell off the wagon!

So instead of dwelling on what didn't get done, I'm going to share my goals for August with y'all.

At my last doctors appointment (34 weeks!) she scared me to death basically saying we could have a baby before the end of August, which I know is true but darn it if I wasn't planning on a September baby 😅

So I've got a to-do list that needs to get checked off. . .

~Reach 1,100 on Instagram

Obviously this is a selfish social media/blogger goal, but I am so close (currently at 1,085!) and would love to reach that goal that I've wanted for a long time!

~Complete Baby Upchurch's Nursery

We have all of the pieces, it's just getting things put away and things hung on the wall, etc.

As soon as our dresser & bookshelf arrive from our handyman who is painting them then the room can finally be finished! We also have a piece of artwork that I had commissioned coming for over his crib that should be here in 2 weeks!

~Add Baby Upchurch to Our Insurance

Technically this can't officially be done until he's made his arrival, but I want to make sure all my ducks are in a row so it won't be a headache after he's born.

~Pack my Hospital Bag

I have my list all written out & ready to go, I'm just waiting on a few things to come in from Target orders & then I can pack my bag and have it waiting. I'm also waiting on some sweet "coming home" outfits for our little guy so those can be packed as well.

If you have any hospital bag do's or don't's please leave them in the comments!

~Enjoy 2 Date Nights Before Baby

I know date nights will become a thing of the past, at least for a little while after we bring our babe home so I want to make sure we sneak in at least one or two before he arrives.

~Finish All Baby Shower/Gift Thank-You Notes

Y'all, if you don't send thank-you notes...why not?!

I think they are so thoughtful and sweet, especially when people have been so generous and kind to you as they have been to us.

My goal is to have every note out before baby comes.

~Repaint Our Front Door Hangers

With baby's arrival comes the arrival of friends & family to our home.

I want to make sure our front door hangers are repainted (they're just white and need touched up) so they are welcoming to all who enter!

Well, it's a lofty list but I'm hoping I can accomplish it all-I guess we'll see next month!

Until next time. . .

xoxo,