Mama and Baby Love

Link Love 5.25.12 {And Giveaway!}

Stephanie — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:36:03 +0000

Last Saturday was Penelope’s very first dance recital. It was a lovely event, with several close friends and family in attendance. Penelope loves to dance and perform and she loved every minute of it. I will always let her pick what activities she wants to pursue, but man, I am so happy she is into dance. I wanted to get her something special to commemorate her first recital. Very serendipitously, a local friend who is an artist posted this necklace on her Facebook page. I immediately emailed her to see if she could make one for Penelope in less ...Continue Reading »

A Little Front Porch Makeover

Stephanie — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:41:43 +0000

If you know anything about Feng Shui, you know the entrances into your home should be as beautiful and organized as possible to keep the energy flowing well and keep it positive. It is the area of your house that is used and looked at the most, so it should make you happy! I have been inspired by a few houses in my neighborhood that have done some very cute front door makeovers. All of the ones I love have brightly painted doors or have lots of brightly colored pots. I so wish I had a bigger ...Continue Reading »

A Day in the Life

Stephanie — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:20:00 +0000

I have been meaning to do a post like this since Penelope was 6 months old, but I am just now getting around to it. And, of course, when I finally pick a day to write about and add in the hassle of taking pictures all day long, it turns out to be the most insane day I’ve had in a while. I wake up at 6am, do some dry brushing and few sun salutations and then get down to computer work. Penelope wakes at 8am. She calls out for me and I go upstairs to ...Continue Reading »

Supplements I Take

Stephanie — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:59:33 +0000

One of the questions I get asked regularly is what kind of supplements I take. After I posted my number 1 weight loss tip post and talked about one of my most important supplements, the emails asking about what other supplements I take went through the roof. Before I became pregnant with Penelope, I took a multivitamin and extra folic acid. I took it every day. I thought I was doing so good! Then I read The Diet Cure and realized I was lacking in lots of amino acids and other vitamins, because I wasn’t ...Continue Reading »

Link Love 5.18.12

Stephanie — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:03:44 +0000

I can’t believe my eCookbook has been out almost three weeks now! I want to take a second to say thanks again to some of the people who made this book possible. Kim of the Polka Dot Press for designing my cover and labels, Jessica, The Pixelista, for designing the inside of my book, Renee Whiting for taking picture and for Cassandra, my blog assistant extraordinaire, for editing and helping me test recipes. A couple of my affiliate bloggers wrote a raving review of my eCookbook (Frugal Babe and Once a Month Mom). It made ...Continue Reading »

Protecting Your Family’s Financial Future

Stephanie — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:41:28 +0000

I know that talking about money and economics is quite the departure from my regular post topics. However, I have been so inspired by the book Aftershock (Wiley, 2011), that I wanted to share what I have learned. This book resonated so deeply with me as Peter and I struggle to get our finances together. I read it last Thanksgiving. Actually my Dad was reading it and then I took it over and devoured it. I am pretty lucky. I come from a financially blessed family. I am no Paris Hilton, not by any means, ...Continue Reading »

Sock Bun for Toddlers

Stephanie — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:13:51 +0000

My daughter is in her first dance recital this weekend and I couldn’t be more excited. You can see a picture of her costume in this post, it is off the charts adorable. Yesterday we got instructions from her dance teacher about hair and makeup, including how to do a bun. Penelope seems to have gotten her father’s hair color and texture, not my out of control thick hair. I know her hair will get thicker as she gets older, but right now her hair doesn’t make the biggest bun. And so I thought, ...Continue Reading »

Is One Child Enough?

Stephanie — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:55:39 +0000

Something that has been weighing on my mind the last few months as I recover from my most recent pregnancy and miscarriage is the idea that our culture seems to believe that one kid is simply not enough. I remember reading an article in some parenting magazine maybe seven years ago, about how four kids was the new three, and three kids was the new two and, well, one was one and not even deserving of any attention in the article. It was talking about how the number of kids for some wealthy families, is way ...Continue Reading »

Link Love 5.11.12

Stephanie — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:32:28 +0000

Hi friends! How was your week? Mine was full as usual. My husband and I were fighting colds that we got while in Miami. So instead of attacking my mile long to-do list I had to take it easy, and now the list is 2 miles long. Oh well. I am fixin to be on the local news today! I will be talking about my eCookbook and I how I “balance it all”. Which is kind of funny after the week I have had, but I am thrilled. My kitchen was featured on ...Continue Reading »

A Yoga Burrito

Stephanie — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:25:02 +0000

This picture may look like I am torturing my child, but we are playing the Burrito game! I learned the Burrito game when I attended my Itsy Bitsy Yoga training ( I have been a Certified Itsy Bitsy Yoga Facilitator since 2006). It is a fun game to play when your yoga class has started to loose their attention span. This redirects them, helps get some energy out and then they have some more focus for poses afterward. I love group yoga classes, but a home practice is just as important, especially for kids. And so is ...Continue Reading »

My #1 Weight Loss Tip

Stephanie — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:22:01 +0000

I gained about 80 pounds when I was pregnant with Penelope. Here are a couple of pictures so you can see for yourself. I was 34 weeks here. I think I stopped weighing myself at this point. Not a single stretch mark though. This is a ridiculous picture, but I just had to share. I really should have weighed my boobs to see how much of the weight was in my chest. This is two days after Penelope was born. I immediately lost about 25 pounds after I gave birth to her. By early fall last year, ...Continue Reading »

Mom 2.0 Summit and Land’s End

Stephanie — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:51:13 +0000

OMG ya’ll. This weekend was ah-mazing. I realize the word amazing can sound trite when you use five million times like I do. But for real. This weekend was amazing. Life changing. Game changing. The Pioneer Woman has been my hero since the first week I started blogging. I have her pretty face right next to my other tried and true hero, Oprah, on my vision boards. Becoming a book author and having my own tv show are all things I have aspired to do and be for a long time, even before I even ...Continue Reading »