with two cats

Paper Mama Photo Challenge

2012-02-26T16:09:00.000-05:00

This week's theme is 'black & white'. Linking up!

Friday Favorites

2012-02-24T13:50:00.001-05:00

Pinterest love.

I think this is an important read for any breastfeeding mother.

One day she will be older...

I need to get on top of this.

I would have slept here as a little girl:

[the smell of bacon and eggs coming from the kitchen, the sound of cartoons, hot cups of coffee and a tiny human streaking through the house in just underwear] - sounds pretty perfect

I'm definitely going to be playing around with this.

Makes sense of my own ambiguous disdain of licensed character toys + give her choices

What were you doing on 10.10.10?

Happy weekend! xo, Lauren

Featured Artist: Yolanda Sanchez

2012-02-23T12:55:00.000-05:00

I could never afford them, but these paintings by Yolanda Sanchez just make me happy.

-xo, Lauren

Link Love: Blogging Tips

2012-02-23T07:00:00.006-05:00

If you haven't noticed things are looking a bit different around these parts (for those of you who read via RSS, feel free to click over to check it out!) I know I've changed the design pretty frequently - I tend to be fickle and I'm always trying to improve things. I suppose I was in the mood for something a bit more dramatic and went for the charcoal gray :) I'm still working on the header and a few other details, but for now I'm pretty happy with it.

But I also realize that there's more to blogging than just having a pretty website design and I've been reading more and more great posts on the topic lately. Here are a few of my recent favorites:

1. Growing your readership (the above illustration comes from this post - love it!)
2. How to be part of the ten percent
3. Make your blog read more like a magazine and highlight details with this fun graphic approach.
4. Modern (and affordable!) blog designs
5. 25 Fonts for the (Self-proclaimed) Font Snob
6. Site design tips and tricks
7. Building relationships with ad networks & sponsors
8. Alt Summit workshops (online!) for only $15

Hope that helps those of you who are bloggers (or are thinking about starting a blog) out there! If you have any great reads on the topic I'd love it if you'd share them!

-xo, Lauren

Hooroo and I love you me!

2012-02-22T12:00:00.002-05:00

Despite the fact that Violet's aunt and uncle live in Australia, she gets to talk to them quite frequently via Skype. For those of you who haven't used it, it's a free way to video chat with people online. We weren't sure how well a relationship could be developed in 2-D, but when they visited us this past Christmas our normally shy-around-new-people girl ran up and gave them huge hugs and was glued to their side for the rest of their visit.

Violet has been saying so many new words lately - her language abilities are just exploding and she at least tries to repeat many of the words we say. Hooroo is an Australian way of saying goodbye and her Uncle Dan uses it a lot so we had a lot of fun teaching her that one in preparation for her upcoming trip this summer! Another cute thing she does is invert words. I figure with the word 'Possum' (the name of her aunt and uncle's dog), she heard the 'mmmm' sound at the end and repeated that sound first since it was most recent? 'Minnop!' She also often says 'Me!' when you ask her to say 'You' because she thinks of 'you' as herself if you know what I mean :) Such a cutie pie. It's fun to see how their little minds work.

Anyway, I had to share this video with you but I have to warn you that I die a little bit more every time of the cuteness, so watch at your own risk!

-xo, Lauren

Mini Meals 2.22.12

2012-02-22T07:00:00.002-05:00

Monday's breakfast: Fred Food Face plate, Craisins,

Earth's Best Organic Graham Crackers, egg whites, banana

We're pretty limited with what we can feed Violet here at the H-Haus due to her FPIES - especially for breakfast. She can't have dairy or soy and can only have very limited grains (so far oat and wheat), so that rules out a lot of breakfast foods like pancakes, toast, and a lot of cereals. Luckily she ~~loves~~ is completely obsessed with eggs. They're one of her favorite foods - probably second only to guacamole. Although she can have egg yolks the doctor recommended that we go with egg whites since she eats eggs so frequently. Less cholesterol and all. I think I may start trying to mix some things in with her eggs - maybe spinach? Vegetables are one thing that she has to be coaxed (or bribed with guacamole) into eating.

You can enter your 'mini meal' in the linky list below. Can't wait to see what your little ones are eating!

-xo, Lauren

Instagramish 2.21.12

2012-02-21T12:00:00.003-05:00

A few of the billions of flowers the Hubster got me for Valentine's Day week
Me and my little Valentine
More flowers from my Mister :)
Paint from some crafty Valentine fun
Cookies made for me by my little sweetheart
And flowers from my Violet
A pretty heart painted by a pretty girl

I realized I don't have any photos of me and the Hubster (just the crazy amount of flowers he got me - a bunch each day!) We kept it pretty low-key this year with a soon-to-be-two-year-old on our hands and no babysitter in sight. Just a clean house, candles, and a yummy dinner at home. (And of course the flowers!!!) We are, however, going to have a more romantic weekend coming up for my thirtieth birthday. We haven't decided for sure whether we're going for a staycation or a mini vacation away from home, but we do know that my parents are watching V so it'll be just the two of us! We've only had one entire weekend to ourselves since Violet was born and I was sick the whole time, so it didn't really count. I'm sure I'll miss my little munchkin, but at the same time I'm so excited!

-xo, Lauren

Supermom: Esther Garfield of Buy Modern Baby

2012-02-21T07:00:00.039-05:00

Esther Garfield - Buy Modern Baby

This week's Supermom is Esther Garfield of Buy Modern Baby! Esther has a Master's degree in television production, but self-admittedly rarely watches TV. (She's too busy working on her website and blog!) Esther started Buy Modern Baby in 2006 as a resource for parents to find the best in modern baby and nursery products, followed by Buy Modern Baby the blog in 2010. Her site has been incredibly useful to me with my idea board service and in finding products for my own home. Esther is also mom to two little boys. Read on to learn more about this week's Supermom:

My brother-in-law kept telling me (for years!) that I needed a blog to go with my product guide but I wasn’t convinced. There were so many blogs out there that I already enjoyed reading, but I starting running into so many interesting things that didn’t fit the categories in the guide, so I finally gave in and decided to give blogging a go.

It took a few months before I found the blog’s groove but once I realized I had my own unique perspective in the world of kids design, I knew I had a lot to add to the conversation.

My favorite part of being a mom is the interesting talks that I have with my kids. Even before they went out into the wide world of school and friends, it was so interesting to hear their unique thoughts and perspective. I wish I could record all of our conversations.

The toughest thing for me about becoming a mother is just that there’s never a moment where you can just put being a parent on a pause. There’s not a single second where you don’t worry about your children’s well being. Even if I’m in a dead sleep, if they make a peep from their rooms at night, I’m wide-awake and ready to help if they need me. It can be exhausting, but it’s just part of my job and I wouldn’t trade it with anyone!

My philosophy for baby items has always been to use as little as you can get by with and keep it as simple as possible.

These are three things that I love, but if your circumstances and lifestyle are different, they might not work or be necessary for you!

1. When I got home from the hospital, I realized I needed a place to put my baby when I wasn’t holding or wearing him. A simple bouncer like the Baby Bjorn Babysitter does the trick perfectly.

2. Some lovely baby wash, moisturizer and diaper balm like the ones from Mini Organics make me very happy. I love all the Mini Organics products and whenever my baby’s skin had any irritation, I knew I could count on them to gently soothe and bring things back into balance. And they all smell perfectly wonderful. I love using them for myself as well!

3. This one is going to sound strange, but all the little baby clothes stressed me out. You get so many cute little things, either as gifts or you buy things yourself, but then you have this crazy wardrobe with tiny clothes in all kinds of sizes. I was always worried that I’d miss things or forget to put the boys into certain outfits until they had grown out of them, so closet dividers were a must-have for me. I had to keep all those cute little things organized.

1. Before you know it, your little ones are sitting up on their own and trying solid food. Our Ikea Antilop with the additional tray served us perfectly for both our boys.

2. Now I know these aren’t as eco-friendly as I prefer to be, but for eating out with a toddler, especially those who are still eating off the high chair tray at home, there’s nothing like having a pack of Table Toppers in your diaper bag. These make eating out a little more hygienic and you can leave the table without having made too terrible of a mess. I particularly liked the designs that had a road on them. Bring a toy car as well, and you’ve got an activity while you wait for your food.

3. The perfect nightlight is essential at our house. Hopefully your toddler won’t particularly NEED a nightlight, but both my boys have gone through stages where they don’t want their rooms completely dark (like right now). Even if they don’t need it, it doesn’t hurt to have a little illumination in the room for when you go check on them. We have a Mobi TykeLight, but I also like OXO Tot lights and Boon’s Glo.

Can I say a cook, a housekeeper and a great babysitter? Heheh—unfortunately I have none of the above.

But really, sometimes there are a few products that help it all go more smoothly.

1. iPhone. I don’t know how I got through nursing my first child in the pre-iPhone era. It was so much easier the second time around when I could sit and read news and twitter and even blog posts using just one hand wherever and whenever. Even getting up in the middle of the night is easier if you have twitter to keep you company.

2. Spanx. These LITERALLY help things go more “smoothly.” Get it? I know there are a few of you that put on your old jeans back on a couple weeks after the baby arrives, but I’m pretty sure that most of us need a little extra help. I particularly like the High-Waisted Shapers. They’ve got the maximum amount of shaping without impeding on nursing.

3. Slow Cooker. To make mealtime go smoothly, you really can’t beat a slow cooker. Put a meal together during naptime and at dinner time, it’s ready to just serve. The food is cooked and soft enough to mash up for babies and if you make enough, you’ve got leftover lunch done for the next day as well. I really need to use our slow cooker more often! We have the 7-quart Crock-Pot from Costco and I’m happy with it but don’t have anything else to compare it to.

I don’t. Lol! Once the kids are in bed, I leave the dishes in the sink and the pile of papers on my desk and I blog. Also, I don’t watch TV anymore. I prefer surfing the web and interacting online. The rest of the time I just do my best.

There are as many different moms out there as there are people. You don’t have to do what you think everyone else is doing, you just have to be the best mom that the person you are can be. And you don’t have to be the same mom for every child you have. Each child is different and will require different things of you.

I’m sure it’s cliché, but MY mom is a supermom. She can still take care of me like no one else. When she’s here, she looks after my boys, does the gardening, makes dinner, and I’m pretty sure she stays up long after I’ve gone to bed to clean up... well, you know... all that stuff I left undone while I was busy at the computer!

Thanks to Esther for your thoughts and advice! I can definitely relate to never putting being a parent on pause. That's been the most difficult thing for me to adjust to as well. But you're right - I wouldn't trade it for anything! See more of Esther over on her blog, Buy Modern Baby.

xo, Lauren

Friday Favorites 2.17.12

2012-02-17T10:25:00.000-05:00

Love this home tour from Katie's Pencil Box.

Fifty-six ways to market your business on Pinterest.

Can't wait til my kid starts saying funny stuff.

Definitely creating one of these ASAP.

What a fresh take on a traditional corsage:

The prettiest wedding.

Downton Abbey mania!

On working mothers and missed opportunities. Liz is always spot on.

Well said. This too.

And last but not least, have you seen The Take Home Series over on Pacing the Panic Room? Pretty video hair tutorials for you to play with this weekend!

Happy Friday! xo, Lauren

Featured Artist: Debbie Carlos

2012-02-16T07:00:00.001-05:00

You don't know how much I've been dying to buy one of these posters by Debbie Carlos. Two problems hold me back. One - I have no idea where I would put one (I love them for being so large, but they're so LARGE!) and two - I honestly don't know if I could choose just one. They're all so breathtaking. Sigh. -Lauren

Working on a new design

2012-02-15T12:13:00.003-05:00

Bear with me and I'll tell you all about it when I have the bugs worked out!

xo, Lauren

Mini Meals

2012-02-15T07:00:00.004-05:00

Babies are so easy when it comes to food - give them milk, milk, oh yeah, and more milk and call it a day. Even when they get a bit older - just puree away and they're happy as a clam. Eventually though, they have to get used to more tastes and textures and you want it to be healthy of course, and it gets a bit more difficult. Sometimes I worry if I'm not giving Violet enough variety or sometimes I just want new creative options for her meals.

So I was thinking maybe we could help each other out? One parent to another? And we could link up to share what our kids are eating these days. I'm going to try to post this once per week on Wednesdays and we can each share one meal that we fed our toddler/kid.

Just post the photo to your blog with a description of the meal and then link up to your post below (not your blog in general, but the actual url of the post that way no one has to hunt for your meal, please) and we'll see how it goes! I so hope some of you will participate - I'd love to get new ideas for Violet! Here's what Violet ate on Saturday for lunch:

Saturday's lunch: Fred Food Face plate, carrot and celery sticks, Wholly Guacamole, Nature's Promise turkey burger

Link up your mini meal here!

Supermom: Reichel Broussard of Copy Cat Chic

2012-02-14T13:21:00.000-05:00

Reichel Broussard - Copy Cat Chic

This week's Supermom is Reichel Broussard of Copy Cat Chic! After a career in the corporate design and marketing world Reichel now does freelance work in web, print, and interior design. She's also a pro at finding high style items on a budget and graciously shares her finds with all of us via her blog Copy Cat Chic. Since starting her blog, Reichel has also become mama to sweet baby Arden, and I've been thrilled to see more baby-related posts over on Copy Cat Chic (not to mention Arden's amazing nursery)! Read on to find out more about Reichel...

I started blogging after my husband and I bought our home. We were house rich and money poor ;) So I found myself searching for the best deals on furniture and accessories for our home. I wanted to share my finds with others and that's when I created the blog.

I love that Arden is my sidekick now. She's always by my side and when she's not, I feel strange....like something is missing! And life is so much more exciting and fun with her in it :)

The hardest thing is not having "me" time. It's hard to find the time to make phone calls and keep up with emails. And everything around the house is in mid-flight ;) I get halfway though projects and have to abandon them when baby calls!

1. The Lulu Woon Doll

2. The Serena and Lily Prague Market Organic Sling - this was so easy to stuff in the diaper bag.

3. Every newborn deserves a cashmere gown. Mine is from TSE, but I think Ralph Lauren has a good selection of cashmere too! Or this one.

1. Dria Cover in Oslo - This comes in so handy for not only a pregnancy top, a breastfeeding cover, a baby blanket, a stroller/carseat shade, a makeshift picnic blanket, etc.

2. A Petunia Pickle Bottom Cake Cameo Clutch - A stylish diaper clutch for when you don't need the whole diaper bag. I actually have the Cake Cameo Clutch in French Gooseberry. LOVE!

3. A good sleep ma sk - This thing makes it possible for me to get a little more zzzz's in

I fake it ;) I'm not "doing" it all. I have to prioritize what's important and the stuff at the bottom of the list gets bumped until I can find the time...I like to pretend that I'm on the ball though. That helps ;)

I think the biggest thing is to not feel guilty. There's always something to feel guilty about...for not folding and putting away the laundry or leaving dirty dishes in the sink, or for not mentally stimulating your child during every waking hour. Just know that you're doing the best you can and it's enough, believe me.

I'd say any stay-at-home Mom, bonus points if they home-school...and add gold-star if they blog too ;)

Thanks to Reichel for sharing your advice and thoughts with us! Your advice to other moms especially struck a chord with me. I often feel that guilt creeping up on me and try to remember that you can't do it all - you can only do your best! :) See more of Reichel over on her blog, Copy Cat Chic!

xo,

Quick & Easy Valentines

2012-02-13T18:34:00.001-05:00

That you can make with things you have laying around the house!

1. Supplies: The end of a bunch of celery, a pencil eraser carved into a heart, a sponge cut into a heart
Not pictured: (painter's tape, paint, paintbrushes, and a plastic container)

2. Pour the paint into a large plastic container and spread it out flat with a paintbrush

3. Dip your tools into the paint and have at it!

3. Use painter's tape to tape off a shape

4. Or to write letters & words!

5. Don't be afraid to get messy!

6. Voila! Fold and write your message with a metallic paint pen for quick and easy (and toddler-friendly) Valentines :)

xo,

Lauren & Violet

What do you feed your little one?

2012-02-13T14:31:00.000-05:00

Now that Violet is firmly in the world of 'real' food, I feel like we're getting stuck in a meal time rut. So to encourage myself to be more creative with Violet's meals I thought I'd share one of her meals each week with all of you!

And to make it more fun I thought I'd make it a link-up! I'd so love to see what the rest of you are feeding your little ones. I need new ideas!

Here's how it's going to (hopefully) work:

If you have a blog: Post a photo of one of your toddler/kid's meals from the week along with a description.

No blog? Just post a photo of one of your toddler/kid's meals from the week along with a description onto a photo sharing site (like Flickr, Photobucket, or even Pinterest to name a few.) (Oh, and don't forget to make sure the photo is visible by the public.)

Link back to your original post/photo via my blog so that we can all view each other's ideas! The first 'Mini Meals' post will go up this Wednesday, so don't forget to snap a photo of your little one's meal and join in. Hopefully we'll get more participants each week :)

xo,

P.S. I also started a 'mini meals' board on Pinterest where I'll share some of my favorite products and ideas as well!

Sneak Peek: Violet's Big Girl Room

2012-02-13T09:57:00.000-05:00

Progress is slowly being made...

Sources:
plush . lieschen mueller
terrarium prints . quill & fox on Etsy
letter 'v' . anthropologie
charlie harper memory game . land of nod
flash cards . anthropologie
squirrel lamp . anthropologie
mirror . pottery barn
map . vintage - ebay
desk . thrifted - salvation army
floor lamp . ikea
cat . aunt's farm
rug . anthropologie (clearance)
quilt . house8810
sheets . land of nod (Christmas gift card!)
pillow . pretty little things by lori marie

And if you'd like to see more updates and sneak peeks as they happen, follow me over on Instagram!

xo,

Free Valentine Printable

2012-02-10T15:13:00.000-05:00

Here's a free Valentine's printable for your sweetheart :) Click here to download the full version. Happy Friday!

xo,

Potty Talk: 5 Tips to Potty Train your Toddler

2012-02-10T07:00:00.004-05:00

So not only did I successfully get my child to wear pigtails in her hair for longer than thirty seconds (which I am extremely proud of by the way), I can now officially state that she is well on her way to being potty trained. I was a little nervous to write about this on here, as I didn't want to jinx anything, but we've been gradually getting closer and closer to a diaper-less existence. So for those of you who are childless and uninterested in the details of potty training a two-and-a-half-foot person, feel free to skip this one. For the rest, you may read on at your own risk and I warn you that I will use words like 'pee' and 'number two' pretty frequently:

Now I have to be honest and say that I have assumed more of a support role in the potty training process. Being a first time parent, I honestly had zero expectations of when Violet would train on the potty. (Well, I did assume by age three as my niece and nephew both were trained by then, but that seemed like a long time away). The real bulk of the work has been done by Violet's sitter. She encouraged me to start the process (I really hadn't even considered it other than letting Violet sit on the potty and use toilet paper for fun - she likes to do what her mama does) But serious and actual down and dirty training? The thought hadn't even crossed my mind.

That all changed when Violet's sitter wrote a question in the journal that she sends home each day - "So when were you thinking about starting to potty train Violet?" Suddenly it was before me in all of its toilet-glory, and I decided to go for it. She had shown interest in the potty, enjoyed the potty for pretend play, and I figured it couldn't hurt to harness that enthusiasm.

Sooo here we are. Yesterday my daughter peed twice on the potty at the library (yes a public restroom!) and informed me not once, but twice at home yesterday that she had to pee. She can now pee within seconds of sitting, unlike at the beginning where we sat. And sat. And saaaaat. She is going to be 21 months old tomorrow and I'm amazed at her potty abilities.

Now I realize that every child is different (the sitter's boys trained much later than her daughter who was trained by 20 months!) and the methods that have worked so far for me may not work for you. But for those of you who don't have an amazing babysitter who walks you through the joy of potty training, I thought this could potentially be helpful. So here's how we went about it (in all of its glorious detail):

1. Make sitting on the potty a part of your daily routine
We started out by sitting Violet on the training potty whenever we would normally change her diaper. We'd take her wet diaper off, place her on the potty for a few minutes, and finally wipe and put the new diaper on. That way we weren't wasting a ton of diapers and she just got used to sitting on it routinely. (I'll admit I was kind of annoyed by this extra step initially. Extra work is not a welcome phenomenon in my world). If she peed, great, if not - no biggie. The point was to get her used to sitting on the potty on a regular basis.

2. Test out training underwear with scheduled potty visits
After about a month of this, we decided to go for it one day and put her in training underwear. We sat Violet on the training potty every 20-30 minutes, unless of course she asked or seemed to need to go sooner.

One hiccup I ran into is that Violet's enthusiasm for the potty came to a sudden halt at home. At the sitter's there are two other potty trained children and I'm sure the potty was a fun group activity, but at home when I asked if she needed to sit on the potty I started to get a decided 'NO!' Thanks to my mom this issue got resolved in a really easy way. She babysat Violet over the weekend and simply put her on the potty without asking or telling her first. Problem solved (and why didn't I think of that!)

3. Keep it positive & fun
There were some accidents during this time, but we never treated them negatively. Just cleaned up the mess and moved on. (Which is way easier when you have mostly wood floors and not carpet by the way!) Now the successes? Those we celebrate! We clap, sing silly songs, and of course tell Violet how much of a 'big girl' she is and how proud we are of her. She is always thrilled and claps right along with us - so cute.

We also inform everyone and their mother of her potty-training successes ("Violet peed on the potty TWO times today!!!") Whenever we do this she gets such a happy and proud look on her face. It's pretty freaking adorable. (Oh and sorry to all our friends and relatives who have to hear about my daughter's bodily functions - and thanks for making it seem like the most exciting news you've ever heard!)

4. Don't push too hard
As far as number two is concerned, that's still hit or miss. We've had two successes, but she often gets pretty upset about doing it on the potty, so I've let her use her diaper when she chooses. We're really trying to associate potty training with positive feelings and not negative ones, and I feel like she's on the younger side of things as far as potty-training is concerned. Maybe she's just not completely ready for that part yet - and that's okay.

5. Encourage self-awareness
Just recently, Violet took the next big step and started informing us when she has to go. Usually she comes up to me and says, "Mommy...pee pee!" and off we go! If she doesn't ask within half an hour, we usually will go and try anyway. Sometimes she gets so into what she's doing or playing with I worry that her mind is on other things than her bladder (I'll admit that her bladder isn't always the first thing on my mind either!) She's also woken up from most of her naps dry, which is pretty awesome, although at night she still goes in her diaper. (At least for now).

Overall I'm pretty happy with how things are panning out, and if all goes well, maybe she'll even be fully trained by the time we go to Australia (it would be amaaaazing not to have to lug too many diapers along! I know this probably all sounds excruciatingly slow and everything, and I know that some people go cold turkey to underwear, or use pull-ups, or a billion different methods that I have no clue about, but this slow gradual process has worked really well for us. I'm going to admit that it's more work than just changing her diaper, and requires a lot of time and patience, but it will pay off in the end. Slow and steady wins the race, right?!

And Violet's favorite part? FLUSHING of course! She even has a method - close the lid, flush, open the lid, watch, then re-close and clap. (You cannot flush while the lid is open apparently. Where do they come up with these ideas?) So there you have it. And if you have survived this post I applaud you and wish you much luck and a babysitter-fairy who magically appear to help you with all of your anti-diaper endeavors.

xo,

*update: we used this potty in white - I liked the height of it, the fact that it had a backrest, and the simple design. It's working great!

Violet's Turns Two: Party Inspiration

2012-02-09T13:31:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it, I really can't, but in three short months my baby will be two. And when I realized this I naturally hopped on to Pinterest and started pinning like a mad person. (What did moms do before Pinterest?!) Here are a few inspiration photos I've dug up for her birthday party:

[tents for the kiddos]

[favor bags]

[invitations?]

[candle holder]

[mountain pies!]

[mountain cake - one layer only]

[tree stumps as serving pieces]

[vintage sheets]

[outdoor movie]

I'm thinking a woodsy/campy type of theme with tents and s'mores and mountain pies and maybe an outdoor movie? Who knows what weather we'll end up with in mid-May, but a girl can dream, right?

Check out all sources and more ideas over on my Pinterest board.

xo,

with two cats for Houzz.com: Dotty for Polka Dots!

2012-02-09T08:37:00.001-05:00

Are you? Check out my latest ideabook for Houzz.com:

Eye Candy

2012-02-08T13:00:00.000-05:00

Currently my dream home would feel something like this:

image source

If I didn't live with a man that is :)

xo,

Resolve!

2012-02-08T07:33:00.000-05:00

No, not talking about the carpet cleaner :) I'm happy to report that I've made progress on a few of my New Year's resolutions.
1. Keep from looking like a hoarder by putting away clean laundry IMMEDIATELY.
We finally got our mountains of laundry put away one day while my parents were graciously watching Violet. I know - just how I wanted to spend the few moments I get alone with my husband. But it had to be done. And you know what? Our room feels HUGE. Even with the lights off. And I sleep better at night too. Now we just have to keep at it!

2. Read more books for me.
I've always felt kind of guilty doing this. When I'm with Violet I feel like I should be devoting all of my attention to her. When she's napping or in bed for the night I feel like I should be cleaning or blogging or spending some quality time with my husband. But I really missed reading and I decided that a) it's good for Violet to learn to play independently some of the time, and b) it's good for her to see me reading for fun, and c) the dishes will keep (or the Hubster will do them *wink wink*)

3. Turn 30.
Well this will be happening in about a month and I've been waffling when the Hubster asked how we should celebrate. I didn't really want a big party and considered going away for the weekend, but in the end I think I'd just like a nice weekend stay-cation. Time to read, blog, clean the house, relax, spend time with my husband, and just be. You don't get much time to just be with a toddler around. I was thinking maybe one evening the Hubster and I could go out to a romantic dinner and another night maybe out with the girls? Or maybe just sleep. :) Either way, I think I'm going to ease into the big 3-0.

As for the other resolutions? Still working on those...

Yeah...

Violet's Big Girl Room: Update

2012-02-07T13:00:00.001-05:00

I've updated the idea board for Violet's big girl room again to get a better picture of where I'm headed:

Little changes and additions here and there. I can't wait to finish it! I'm still stuck on the bed. I really don't want a bedskirt, but I have to find a bed that's on the smaller side so that it fits properly in our teeny space. (And is the right price of course!)

*Update: Most sources can be found on my Pinterest board here.

A Winter Walk

2012-02-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

We went on a walk to the park the other day. Winter decided to ease up for a day or two and we thought we'd venture out into the great wide world. No confining stroller - no heavy blankets. We each simply grabbed one of your chubby little hands and set off.

We didn't get far. "Burrr!" you said in your little sing-songy voice. And sure enough, flying high in the sky above us was a bird. Then you looked down at the ground "Eeeee" you said with a look of disgust on your face.

"No, sweety, that's not yucky - that's just some moss and dirt - it lives out here." we replied.

A few steps more..."Leeeeeaf!" you screeched, pointing to a few dead leaves on the ground. Then, "Teeeeee!"

"Yes, there are lots of leaves and trees out here, aren't there?" we replied. We found a caterpillar, an ant (which you may have stepped on - oops!), rocks, and sticks as well (each with their own additional examination and discussion). You were so sad when we had to leave a couple of "woof-woof's" behind as well, but we promised that there would be more.

It may have taken a bit longer than we expected, but we did finally find the park. And while it was thrilling, well, surprisingly so was the walk to get there. I guess sometimes it really is the journey and not just the destination.

Seeing the world through the eyes of a child really is some kind of magic, isn't it?

xo,

Progress: Nursery & Big Girl Room

2012-02-06T11:14:00.001-05:00

Little by little...that's my mantra for Violet's big girl room. :) Well, we made a little progress this weekend - her mirror arrived from Pottery Barn and it's up! It's the same mirror that Nicole used in Eleanor's big girl room:

It's the 'Eleanor' mirror on the top right of this group:

Violet's is hung vertically, rather than horizontally like Nicole's, but I love the look (and it came with the ribbon)! The Hubster hung it for me and even tied the bow (and I have to admit he's got serious bow-tying skills)! It was also a great price - I got it on sale for $59. Hopefully I'll get to snap some pics to show you soon.

On a related note my sister is currently in the world of nursery decorating for her little bundle-to-be, and she has been searching high and low for a modern crib (cot) at a reasonable price. She had almost given up on the look she wanted when she stumbled across this beauty (but in white):

Oeuf, you may think? Think again! It's actually by a company called Bruin and it was on clearance for around $200!!! It does look veeerrrry similar to Oeuf's Sparrow Crib:

But compared to Oeuf's price tag of $730 this one is a steal! It doesn't convert to a toddler bed, but she's okay with that. I couldn't find a link online (plus it's probably only available to those of you in the Land Down Under anyway), but she found it at her local Babies R Us (in Australia). Who would've thought?! If I lived in Oz I'd be running to snatch one up while I had the chance. I'm really excited about her nursery design - she has such a great eye! I'll be sure to share more details with you guys as they develop.

That's all for now (like I said little by little)!

xo,