R + M are finally able to spend 30 seconds in their little Land of Nod chairs {Read: I actually mean exactly 30 seconds, not exaggerating. And this is an accomplishment}.

Of course, now I feel like the sky is the limit with kids seating. I’m ready to roll.

Here are ten of my faves:

1. Lou Lou ghost chair from Kartell.

Considering I have the big people ghost chairs in my dining room these on my design wish list for R + M. Plus they come in cool tinted colors like pink, mint green and blue. Come to mama….

2. Mini parsons desk and scoop chairs from West Elm.

Also have always had a thing for the bigger versions. Mini is just so much cuter.

3. Little Nod Chairs.

As I mentioned above, R + M have these guys in pink and denim embroidered with their names. We LOVE them. But I also LOVE the new patterns this seasons. Like the hamburger chair or the sailboat chair with the ottoman. These would bring great design and bold colors to a neutral room.

4. Cygnet Chair from giggle.

For your mid-century modern kiddo {who has no concept of what mid-century modern even means}. This is hip, chic and the perfect lounge.

5. The Yolk Chair from genius jones.

When Cole and I spotted this during preggo shopping, he dubbed it, “the place where babies conduct business.”

6. Pottery Barn Fold Out Anywhere Lounger.

Not to be outdone, PB has this lounger which looks like a mini sofa but folds out into comfy heaven. Code for: the perfect place to watch Sesame Street.

7. 8. + 9. Restoration Hardware Baby: Mini Kensington Sofa, Mini 1950′s Copenhagen Chair & Mini French Wing Chair.

Because it was impossible to pick just one. Or just two. I want them all. Sigh.

10. Jonathan Adler Junior Lampert Sofa.

Because there’s nothing cooler than being mini and mod.

xoxo,

Niki

Niki:

Neon heart necklace from ETW who knows me so well.

A birthday frame that I adore. Butterflies + aqua!

Ali:

Dirty martini in honor of N’s big birthday.

Awesome “Ali” green shorts that I plan to wear while honeymooning.

Gavi:

Neon is nice.

Rock candy cupcakes. Tres chic.

Happy wedding week Ali!

xoxo,

Niki, Ali + Gavi

But a teensy weensy part of it is because I love my closet.

This might sound very vain. Very materialistc. But the truth is, a happy closet = happy wife {unfortunately, that doesn’t rhyme quite the same way as “happy wife = happy life,” but just go with it}.

Anyways there are lots of things in my closet that I love.

Like this.

Or this.

Or this.

Or even this {a ticket of a future betting on the Heat winning it all this season}.

I’ll show you an overview of the whole shabang soon, but today I want to focus on this little nook.

You see, I love necklaces. And I have accumulated them. Some since I was approximately five years old. {I refuse to part with jewelry from my youth, even things found in those vending machines you used a claw to retrieve “prizes” out of. I am sure I just dated myself by writing that}.

The problem is, they are big and bulky and sometimes difficult to see.

So I needed a way to display them where I could really see all that I had to choose from. {Vending machine jewelry and all, perhaps even a candy necklace or two}.

And of course look pretty.

So after considering many options {most of which I spotted on Pinterest}, I opted for Anthropologie knobs. Because you know I have a thing for them. Oh, and the color aqua too.

I screwed them into the wall. And hung away.

Underneath these fun little things hibernate.

It’s jewelry organizational heaven. And it makes me smile.

And you know what they say.

Happy house = happy spouse.

xoxo,

Niki

That’s why, when we first moved into our home last July, I was immediately filled with angst when we found ourselves with a giant, empty wall. A wall that was originally graced with a faux fireplace and giant alter {not quite my style} but now was drywalled and painted perfectly white.

For the past seven months I have hated looking at that empty wall. And I look at it many many times a day {and night, that’s what happens when you have babies}.

But at the same time, I haven’t been able to commit myself to anything for the wall. Did I mention it is gigantically, overwhelmingly huge?!

No photograph would do it justice. No piece of art seemed to fit the bill. And so I decided, I was going to have to make something myself to satisfy this gargantuan.

And so I did.

Let me walk you through the steps.

Step One: Perpetrator Niki enters Home Depot on four separate occasions in order to take every known paint chip made by Behr. {There may or may not be a wanted ad with my face on it}.

Step Two: Perp Niki purchases 24 18 by 24 canvases at Michaels (on buy one half off days, you need to get the app).

Step Three: Perp Niki lays out Behr paint chips, weeding out some of the more “sad” or “dull” colors to create a rainbow/ombre effect. Specifically I used Behr 100 – 600 A, B and C in color order.

Step Four: Paint chips are laid out on canvases and glued accordingly with a spray adhesive.

Step Five: Canvases are laid out on the floor and viewed from multiple angles until the arrangement is satisfying.

Step Six: Canvases are attached to giant eyesore of a blank wall. Artist is satisfied. Giant sigh of relief.

xoxo,

Niki

Gather the ingredients. {Photo was taken the

Place the contents of the can of coconut in a bowl and allow to thicken overnight in the refrigerator. In a large bowl whisk together 1 can of coconut milk with 1/4 cup of cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons of Agave {I also added 3 more tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar – but this is totally optional}.

Whisk away.

Done.

Seriously, there is no excuse as to what you have not made this yet. It will take you longer to read this post than it will to make the frosting.

I piped mine into these adorable baking cups. But, as Niki will agree, you can eat it straight from the bowl.

Happy “Baking” and Happy 30th Birthday Niki!

xoxo,

Ali

It’s officially here. No matter how much I tried to put it off. My 30th. A birthday I have thought about with slight dread since I turned 21, I think. Ok, probably way before that, when I thought someone 30 was really really old. What is it about these big decade birthdays that get so deep into your psyche?

Am I sad? Not really. I’ve always said {and tried to believe} that age is just a number and almost nothing more. Need to embrace age and wiseness….

Do I feel old? No way. Despite having two kids, a great husband, and a business that I started from near scratch , I still feel mostly like a little girl playing house. I wonder when that will change? Maybe when I become a grandmother? Or turn 40.

Besides. My twenties rocked.

I went to college. I ate lots of pizza. Drank too much beer. I met some of my best friends in the world. I learned how to shovel snow off of a car. And use 4-wheel drive. I learned a lot of other things, some the hard way. I traveled around Italy and Europe. With one of my best friends. I went to camp. For the last time. As a counselor. I committed to date my now husband. He officially became a boyfriend. We made a long distance relationship work. Despite complaining about it. A lot. I went to law school. Despite knowing I would be a terrible lawyer. I moved in with now-husband. Which was a big change. I ruined numerous clothing items in attempts to do the laundry. I quit doing laundry. I lost my grandmother. Which was hard. I traveled. With now-husband. With family. With friends. To amazing places. We got engaged. We planned a wedding. We bought a townhouse. We said goodbye to lots of friends. To move to the warmth. Near my family.  We got a dog. We fell in love. With the dog. I tried being a lawyer. I felt like a  ”real” person in the “real world.” I left the law. I started my own business. I made it work. From scratch. I started this blog. We traveled more. We ate delicious foods. We embraced having time with just the two of us. I got pregnant. With twins. I survived {almost} nine months of pregnancy. I gave birth. We bought another house. We moved. With twins. We bought a mommy-mobile. I realized things that are really important. I tried not to dwell on things that aren’t as important. I tried not to sweat the small stuff {as much as possible}. I realized I am now definitely a “real” person in the “real world.”  I realized how hard it is to “have it all.” I learned a lot about juggling and multitasking. I found my first gray hair. I cried. I laughed. I danced. I embraced this new life. As an older person. As a mom. As a wife. As a daughter. As a sister. As a cousin/niece/family-member. As a friend.

I think the hardest thing about turning 30 is realizing that 20 was 10 years ago. {That’s right mom and dad, I can do math}. I was actually escorted kicked out of a bar on my 20th birthday. Duh, because I was 20. And they figured it out. And they weren’t thrilled. Was that really 10 years ago? Am I going to turn into one of those people who keeps retelling the same stories of youth over and over until I sound like a broken record? Let’s hope not.

The bottom line is this. My twenties were pretty freaking amazing. And I know I am totally, unbelievably, undeniably blessed. In so many ways. And I can’t wait to see what the next decades have in store. Because it’s been a wild ride.

Thanks for listening and for supporting me. You guys rock.

xoxo,

Niki

Niki:

A great idea for keeping my makeup brushes organized and clean. Found and copied from the Average Girls Guide.

New signature fragrance. Smells like the Caribbean and the perfect shade of bronze.

Ali:

Heaven in a Missoni {for Target} mug. Toasted coconut.

Starbucks love day cups make me smile.

Gavi:

60% off at LF. Go. Now.

Want. These. Shoes.

xoxo,

Niki, Ali + Gavi

This year for Valentine’s Day I decided that instead of buying my husband flowers and chocolates {or more likely an Xbox game or Ravens sweatshirt}, I would make art.

{This does not excuse said husband from buying me flowers or chocolate {or both}. Unfortunately, he cannot do art. Ha.}

I bought four canvases. Mine are 11 by 14 but of course any size will do.

I painted them with pretty acrylic paint colors. This took about 10 minutes. I have the patience of my children {who are 11 months as of yesterday if that helps you understand just how impatient I am}.

After the paint dried {which felt like forever} I wrote the word love in pencil on each canvas. I used four different styles: one very blocky, one script, one retro and one Robert Indiana-esque. I did these freehand but stencils would definitely be helpful.

I filled in the words with elmer’s glue, making sure I stayed in the lines. Then I used my wide array of Martha Stewart glitter to create ombre effects in glitter.

Note: wait a little while for the glitter and glue to set before brushing {dumping} the glitter off. Or else you will have runny glue and messy glitter. Who wants that? Isn’t glitter messy enough?

Happy {artsy} Valentines Day!

xoxo,

Niki

You might remember that I love glitter. And shoes. And glittering my own shoes.

That being said, I purchased these babies for A’s wedding in a few weeks. I am in love. With the shoes. Duh.

And then it was time to find Raya a pair of equally fabulous shoes.

And nothing. Nothing. Nothing struck my fancy.

So I decided she needed some glitter shoes just like her mama.

So I purchased these babies from Old Navy. And I set to work.

First I removed the bows. Then I sanded them gently just to scuff them up.

Next I painted them with mod podge.

Then I glittered my heart away. {You might notice this is a different technique than my last shoe/glitter project}.

To mimic the bow, I found glittered ribbon at Michaels. And I copied the bow on my shoes. I used the original Old Navy ribbon to tie the whole thing off. I attached Raya’s bow with hot glue.

Now I’m in love with Raya’s. Not to mention her are flats. Therefore her feet won’t hurt. {hey, jealousy}.

xoxo,

Niki

Gather all of the ingredients.

In a large bowl mix together: 1 cup of oats, 1 cup of toasted coconut flakes, 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, 1/2 cup of ground flax seed, 1/2 cup of peanut butter and 1/3 cup of honey. Mix until all of the ingredients are blended well.

Refrigerate batter for at least a 1/2 hour. Scoop the batter into balls. I chose to use a 1″ ice cream/cookie scoop, but you can always eyeball it too!

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe click here: No –Bake Energy Balls

Happy No-Baking!!

xoxo,

Ali