Monday, May 20, 2013

SIX MONTHS



Bee is six whole months old. What a blur these six months have been. I was talking to a dear friend earlier today about how crazy life has been and how Phoebe's babyhood has been fast and furious. It's so crazy hard to believe that we're half way to her first birthday. These days she loves milk and rolling + rolling + rolling. She can make it halfway across the room before I come back to get her. I can't leave her in her little seat anymore because I found her lunging out of it. She is much more active than Matilda was. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if she started crawling soon. She's loving floor time and per usual puts everything in her mouth.



Matilda loves her sister so much. She helps me a ton which I'm so grateful for. Sometimes she's over the whole baby thing and then other times I catch these moments of total bliss. Sweet sisters. The other day in the car I heard her talking to Phoebe and it was just hilarious. That kid. Matilda is a total, total trip. She makes me laugh all the time which comes in handy when I'm a stressed out hot mess. Speaking of comic relief. We decided to start Phoebe on... FOOD. Big surprise she loved it. She ate that whole jar of carrots. She didn't blink an eye, although I did catch an awesome reaction. Don't be fooled, she was all about it. We let Matilda get in on the action too. That's her little hand.



She definitely got a bath tonight. I can't wait to start introducing all kinds of new flavors to our budding foodie. I've been reading this book on baby purees and I'll be sharing some favorites soon. Wish us luck as we get closer and closer to moving in. We have a projected closing date... finally. xo

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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

BRIGHT + CHEERY MODERN KITCHEN

I'm at a coffee shop with a smiley happy Bee. A rare quiet moment to catch up over here. We are spending the week getting our kitchen picture perfect and I am SO excited to share it with you guys. It's been so hard to not spill the progress over here, but I hope that you like what I've done. Making every.single.decision for our house has been a little stressful but seeing the end result makes me feel like it was all worth it. This house will be 100% us. My sweet and wise Grammy keeps telling me to enjoy the process and that it's all about the journey. I've been contemplating that a lot this week as we near the end. Six months of living out of boxes and driving all day every day has been quite an adventure, but we've made it through and we've got smiles on our faces most of the time. :) Hard to believe when we started that Phoebe was five weeks old. She'll be six whole months on Sunday.

OK so here's are a few of my favorite kitchens and inspirations for ours:






Lots of subway tile, warm wood, pops of black, colorful accessories, and lots of light! Thanks for being patient with me as we wrap things up. Really looking forward to being back in a regular rotation. Heck, I don't even go to the grocery store right now. Life is just nutty. Thanks for all of the love and support always. Hope you all had happy mother's days and that the sunshine is warming you up a bit.

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Wednesday, May 8, 2013

MOTHERING




Sometimes I have these epiphanies... "Holy smokes. I'm a mom." Times two. Each day I thank my lucky stars. Since I can remember I've wanted to be a mama. I used to spend countless hours thinking of girls' names. Never boy names. Funny, huh? I've always seen myself with girls and as much as I thought it would be fun to have a boy, I just could never picture it. We have officially welcomed Phoebe into our lives and cannot picture our family without her anymore. I love those chubby cheeks and thighs and sweet grins. We are all completely smitten. People ask me all the time how Matilda is doing with her and she loves her so, so much. Sometimes she can get a little over-excited and squeeze her a little too hard but Bee never seems to mind. From time to time when I'm cooing at my youngest and telling her how much I love her, Matilda will ask, "Do you love me too?" Heart. Tight. "I love you to the moon and back." Matilda will ask, "Infinity times infinity?" "Yes, my darling. Times infinity. You're my heart."


At night time I've been doing formula. Hoping. Hoping that it will help Phoebe sleep longer. For the last couple of weeks baby girl has been waking up. At 3, 2:34, 4:14, 5:01. Who's keeping track? Anyways, Matilda loves giving her the nightime bottle. The first time I saw it my eyes welled up. I saw Matilda putting into practice what she had seen me do. She kissed Phoebe's head and told her she loved her. Talked to her in a gentle and calming voice. Held her hand. It's almost more than I can bare. The sweetness. Sometimes being a mama is hard. It can be tiring and draining and it makes you realize that you don't come first anymore. I often have that feeling when my bladder is throbbing because I've got to keep the girls safe or feed Phoebe. However, it can be the most inspiring and gratifying job in the whole wide world. All I have to do is put on a dress to hear Matilda say, "You look faboolous." I get the biggest smiles from Phoebe when she wakes up from her afternoon nap. I get to teach them the things that I think are important and watch them put them into action. Matilda is so kind and loving. I'm so lucky. I have so much to learn and often they are teaching me the most important lessons. So thankful. Wishing you all a very special mother's day. I'm so thankful for my mom who I appreciate more every day. Love you Mama.

that beautiful blanket (or kantha) is made by women in bangladesh.
find out more about this amazing project at hand & cloth.


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Monday, May 6, 2013

DIY: FORAGED CORSAGES FOR MOTHER'S DAY


Mother's Day is Sunday! Of course the best part of the day though will be kissing the little faces that give me the title. I'm one lucky mama. I'm also hoping to enjoy some yummy brunch and then maybe, just maybe get in a little quiet time. Isn't that what we all really want? A little time to read, a slightly later wake up call, pretty flowers. It's the little things. We all just want to feel extra special. I thought it would be fun to share a really affordable and definitely special idea for dressing up the wrists of the ladies in your life.

My pretty and sweet friend Megan of Victory Blooms is going to share how to create these gorgeous corsages with just a few simple supplies. You could whip these up for your mama, your aunts, your sisters, etc. The combinations are limitless but she'll break down for you the basic formula. Megan is a master of creating "dutch painting" inspired arrangements, so take note! I felt so feminine and pretty wearing my corsage. Matilda loved it too!


You will need:

Garden pruning shears
Floral tape
Floral wire
Ribbon
Grocery store flowers
Foraged materials

After you've scooped up your favorite grocery store roses (you could do soft pinks or reds or go neutral with a pretty cream like Megan did), check out your back yard! There are so many things that you can use. For the foliage Megan used porcelain berry vine. Other great alternatives would be honeysuckle vine, new growth ivy, clematis vine, or a small cluster of leaves, like geranium or gardenia leaves. Megan also suggests gathering large face flowers like hellebores (which she used here) or garden roses, peonies, dogwood flowers, zinnias or even echinacea.


Assembly instructions:

Layer 1- greenery base, I used porcelain berry vine.
Layer 2- cluster of small head flowers, I used grocery store spray roses. You can also use button mums, scabiosa, bachelor buttons or any other small sturdy flower.
Layer 3- large face flower, I used hellebores.


Start by making a cluster of three flowers with your middle layer flower. I took three stems of spray rose and a length of floral tape (be sure to give your floral tape a good stretch to activate the stickiness). Holding the cluster together tightly, wrap the floral tape about a half inch of the way down the stems from the flower heads.

Once your middle layer is together take your vine/leaf layer position it behind your cluster and attach with floral tape. Once your first two layers are secure attach your face flower. You will want one or two flowers depending on how large they are. I used two hellebores. However, if using larger flowers like garden rose or a peony you would only use one flower. Place your face flower(s) on top of your cluster of three flowers and again wrap tightly with floral tape. Trim your stems with pruning shears so that they stick out just below the tape. You now have a (mostly) foraged corsage!



At this point you could wrap the taped stems with thin ribbon or twine, tie a small knot or bow and use as a pin on corsage. Or, you can make the Martha Stewart ribbon corsage base (which we used here) and anchor your foraged corsage to create a wrist corsage. If you make one for a lovely lady please let us know. We'd love to hear about it. Let Megan know in the comments if you have any questions and we'll try and get them answered for you! Happy Mother's Day!

note: Megan recommends storing the corsages in the vegetable drawer until they're ready to wear.





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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

A TRIP TO PIKE'S

Everyone has their happy place and mine would be the nursery at Pike's. I have SO many fond memories of riding in the wagon as a child and helping my mom pick out plants. Even when the greenhouse is 100+ degrees and I feel like I might faint I feel completely happy when I'm there. Kinda like this:



Matilda has learned to smile for the camera. I used to be able to catch her candidly almost always but now as soon as I pick up the camera... this face. Pretty darn cute. I promised myself that I wouldn't buy anything. I even left my wallet in the car. Livin' on the edge. What do you know, went back to get it so I could spoil myself with this David Austin Huntington rose. It smells like heaven! We are still getting the house ready to close and our kitchen will be our main priority so I really shouldn't be focusing on plants. HGTV is shooting our kitchen for their remodel series. Some of you mentioned not remembering me mentioning it and that's because I never did. Just kind of snuck it in to the post.

We went with my pretty mama to pick out things for her patio garden. My mom is a master gardener and has completely passed on the plant love affair to me. I was oohing and ahhing over the gorgeous herbs, succulents, blooms. So much to take in. I tried to make mental notes of what I'd pick up next time we came in. This whole loan process is giving me a migraine. They require so much documentation now, which I get but it's a total headache and keeping me anxious. Remembering to breathe and trust in God who has gotten us this far!



I thought these ceramic bird feeders were really beautiful. I love the lines and colors. My Grammy is so diligent about feeding her hummingbirds. She has feeders surrounding their dining room, outside the windows, and they swarm about all around while you're sitting there eating or drinking coffee. It's perfectly lovely.



When we left Matilda was soaking wet and Phoebe was a blubbering mess. Ha. That sweet little baby is teething so bad right now and rolling over and waking herself up. It's been pretty sleepless over here which is really hard to take without chocolate and wine (my medication). I'm still going strong with the whole30 and "losing the baby weight." I feel good and I've already lost five pounds, which I know isn't really the whole point of the program but it helps justify all of my self restraint. Hope you're all having a great week!

visit pike's.

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Sunday, April 28, 2013

LOSING THE BABY WEIGHT PART 2

Oh, me and food. We have such a long history together. We are definitely frenemies. Last week I had a total epiphany that I've been abusing my body by eating junk. I was tired, frumpy, and the last straw was when Phoebe was massaging my stomach. Yup, something had to change. I've been making a bajillion excuses, "I'll just wait until after the move" "I'm breastfeeding" "I'm just going to wait until Monday." Last friday I was like, "ENOUGH." I can't wear any of my clothes, I know how to eat and felt terrible that I was ignoring that knowledge, I just needed a little inspiration. Starting that day, I began the Whole30 program. Links below.

I start day four tomorrow and I already feel amazing. My clothes are already fitting better, I've lost weight, and I have more energy. I'm going to be doing thirty days of healthy proteins (grass-fed, organic, free-range), lots of veggies, some fruit, and lots of good fats (avocado, coconut, olives). Breastfeeding mamas need to eat plenty of calories and a little extra fat but they do not need grains or dairy...

Typical Meals:

  • Breakfast - rethink "typical" breakfast and have leftovers or enjoy fritatas or other protein and veggie rich meals
  • Lunch - lettuce wraps with avocado and berries
  • Dinner - grass-fed burgers with sweet potato fries and avocado

    snack ideas: raw nuts, berries, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, etc

    Some great links:

    - It Starts with Food (what I'm reading)
    - Blogs: Whole9 Life, Nom Nom Paleo, PaleOMG, and many more here!
    - I just found this really cool free app, HealthyOut, that searches for restaurants with menu items tailored to your dieting needs: vegan, paleo, gluten-free etc.
    - Planning is key. I loved this article in Self Magazine that I pinned here. My girl Tiffany Amber Theissen shares how spending an hour or two on sunday planning can make you really successful. She lost 45 lbs of baby weight!

    If you are feeling like I was, PLEASE don't put it off and start this with me. You can also incorporate these principles into how you're feeding your family. Get your man on the program, too!


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  • Friday, April 26, 2013

    SET BACKS + UNSOCIAL SATURDAYS

    HAPPY FRIDAY friends! If you thought this day would never come then high five! We've had an interesting week on the renovation. Turns out 100 year old floor boards sometimes have nails sticking up that aren't friends will sanders. Um yeah. That has set every thing back a couple of days. Good thing I have a few more days to second guess my stain choice. Do these people know the agony of second guessing?! No, they do not.

    I've decided to have a determined day to unplug on the weekends. To get all old fashioned with books and the like. I think saturday would be a good choice because I usually play "work catchup" on sunday when I have a little help from Sam. We are wanting so badly to get back to normal here soon. We feel completely blessed to have been given the opportunity to do this, I'm just ready. I've got spring fever too which doesn't help. Looks like we are weeks away from our HGTV remodel shoot. This is not terrifying at all...

    That's all I got. Oh, I am also starting Whole30 (from the book It Starts with Food) this week. Have you heard of it? It's basically the way we used to eat (and will be eating!) in book form. I'm really looking forward to be able to wear my old clothes. Turns out wearing the same big girl jeans every day isn't really making me feel so pretty. If you have any great recipes (this crab cake one looks delish), please send them my way!

    Have a great weekend! Have a margarita or something festive for me please!

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