with two cats

Parades, Pools, and Picnics

2012-05-28T22:08:00.001-04:00

A parade and picnics, that pretty much sums up our weekend in a nutshell. It was hot and sticky, but nothing that a cherry snowball and a dip in the pool couldn't fix. Violet went through three swimsuits in the course of the weekend in addition to a skinny dip or two. Our 'pool' is just a little plastic job, but she took a dip in a friend's actual pool as well and she was absolutely fearless. Wanted to jump right in without even her mama to hold her up. My little Miss Independence. A glimpse of the summer to come and what the future holds. I can't even begin to imagine what the teenage years will be like...

Hope your weekend was glorious. xo, Lauren

Friday Favorites + True Love

2012-05-25T10:59:00.001-04:00

We had a special delivery to the H-Haus yesterday thanks to the lovely Lori Marie. She sent us one of her beautiful dolls, Merriweather, and Violet is IN LOVE. She took that doll everywhere with her yesterday - to the park, down the slide, on the swing, in the stroller, she fed it her snack and snuggled her and lovingly stroked her hair. I love seeing her start 'mothering' her own babies, it's so sweet. (I also have one of Lori Marie's medallion pillows and daisy chains. Yep, I'm an addict.)

We're so looking forward to a LONG Memorial Day weekend and I'm really excited to take Violet to the parade - she gets so excited about them. Having a child really does make everything fresh and fun again, doesn't it?

I also want to say a special thank you to a few heroes in my family: my Papaw, Uncle Tim, brother-in-law Randy, and cousins Donny, Shanna, Justy, and Tim - Thank you for your service to our country!

And without further ado, a few favorite links to kick off your holiday weekend:

Pretty printable envelopes

Custom constellation artwork for your little one

Can you be in love with a paper cup?

How to replace backgrounds in Photoshop

The sweetest wedding

Is the American Dream changing?

I so want to wear this crown.

Happy Friday! xo, Lauren

P.S. I've opened an Etsy shop where I'll be selling custom silhouette portraits - check it out here!

P.P.S. Follow me on Instagram - @withtwocats

Peach Perfection

2012-05-24T13:52:00.000-04:00

clockwise from top left: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven

Somewhere Else

2012-05-23T10:02:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I come across photos (mainly whilst surfing The Pinterest) that make me want to get away. Go somewhere else. Maybe back to our honeymoon? (We went to Germany and Austria). A little cafe in France? Joanna Goddard just recently went on an impromptu trip with her other half, and Amsterdam looks just lovely. Wouldn't it be great to have no responsibilities, plenty of money and just be able to jet set off to explore new places? I had a dream a couple of nights ago that I won one-hundred-and-forty MILLION dollars in the lottery. (It was a beautiful feeling.) And then the alarm clock woke me up...

I bought a lottery ticket the other day just in case.

one . two . three . four . five

bedroom refresh

2012-05-22T13:23:00.004-04:00

I always hear couples on HGTV talking about how the last thing they decorate is their own bedroom. No one sees it but them for the most part so it just gets shoved on the back burner. Is it true for you?

It definitely is for us. We've painted and bought some bedding way back when we were first married, but other than that we haven't done a thing. The new Orla Keily line just came out at Bed Bath & Beyond and it's pretty and affordable and is totally inspiring me to spruce things up a bit. I always feel so gloomy when I walk into our bedroom. I thought the dark paint color we used would be soothing, but instead it's just depressing. It doesn't help that the lighting situation is pretty much non-existent. We have a big old radiator that needs to be ripped out and a lot of ugly old beige carpet with green tile underneath. Ugh. The whole thing just makes me sick. Definitely not the best way to drift off to a peaceful slumber at the end of the day.

The idea board I came up with includes a bunch of things we already own that I think could be repurposed in our space - the Michelle Armas print, the terrarium, and the floral pillowcases. I think paired with the white Orla Keily bedding and some fun stripes it would really freshen up the space!

Sources: quilt, sheet set, floral pillowcases, white pillowcase, velvet pillowcase, striped wall, lamp, terrarium, art

Progress

2012-05-21T10:23:00.000-04:00

I made some progress this weekend on Violet's big girl room. A few little projects left to do and it should be just about finished! She loves to play in the new space but we're keeping her in her crib for the time being. (P.S. I'm really proud that I hung those hooks myself - anchors and a drill and everything!)

Friday Favorites

2012-05-18T08:54:00.001-04:00

A few fun + carefree links for your weekend:

An adorable DIY dollhouse.

Eight ways to pimp your lemonade.

You smell.

A worm party and a dirt party!

The basics of herbs

DIY avengers bookmarks - so fun.

1940's hair how-to.

Make your own graphic tee.

Play with your food

Be a Fruit Loop in a world full of Cheerios!

Happy Friday! xo, Lauren

Image Source

Yellow is a Happy Color

2012-05-16T14:00:00.000-04:00

In other news, I've been lurking on Zulily lately trying to decide on the best way to use my store credit. I think one of these beauties qualifies for sure! The best things in life are free, right?

Coming Apart at the Seams

2012-05-16T07:00:00.001-04:00

This morning started out like any other morning. Violet woke up a little bit early. I heard her little voice, a bit raspy from sleep, saying, "Mommeeeeeee... Mommeeeeeeeeee" from her nursery. I was in the middle of dressing (tie dye day at work - trying to find something appropriate to wear) so I quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and walked over to her room. She was holding onto the side of the crib, her mouth against the rail, peering over the top with her big blue eyes and mess of curls. I asked her if she slept well as I lifted her out. She was upset that I was still holding a hairbrush and that I had to rummage around in her dresser for her clothing. She wanted to go, "Down down down!" As we went down the stairs I hid the offensive objects from her behind my back and carried her over to her changing pad to change her diaper. She squirmed and yelled and made it pretty clear that a diaper changing was not what she wanted at the current moment, so we talked about breakfast (distraction, distraction, distraction). She wanted pancakes and Mary Poppins (AKA "boy, dirl, Mommy, Daddy, beeaaar!" Not sure where the bear comes in, but I eventually figured out that she was talking about Mary Poppins).

So I got her settled at the table and began the process of trying to bring the computer (that I had failed to charge the night before) back to life. She was so patient as we watched the little wheel spin on the screen until finally we were able to put in the DVD and press play. As she drifted away into the land of spoons full of sugar and chim-chimery, I walked to the kitchen to start her pancakes. I've been making her mini pancakes in the morning - a little easier for her to eat and just as tasty. I packed her bag as the pancakes sizzled in the pan and wrote a note to her babysitter in the daily journal that we share. Then I piled up the pancakes, poured a pool of sticky syrup on the plate and took them in.

I sat with her for a bit. She watched her movie and I watched her. She's so animated when she watches movies. I love to watch her face light up at the fun parts and her brow crease when she is concerned. I love how her little curls bob when she dances to the songs and how she's always worried about where everyone is, "Mommy? Dirl?" Her favorite parts always involve people running - she loves a little chaos :)

When the last pancake had been gobbled up I stopped the movie and told her we'd finish it some other time. Then we launched into a bit of our own chaos - tooth brushing, de-stickifying, dressing, socks, shoes, jacket. At the end of all of this the goal is to get her out the door happy and smiling to ride to the babysitter's with Kevin. Well, today that didn't happen. At the end of the craziness she clung to me with all of her might. No amount of cajoling could convince her to loosen her grip, so I had to pry her from my body and forcibly hand her to her father. All while she screamed, "Mommy, mommy!" in a voice of sheer desperation. It's on these days and in these moments that I don't think I can do it any longer. Be a mother, have a career, be a wife, write a blog, pay the bills, clean my house, care for my cats, keep appointments, make time for friends, have a little time to just sit and BE. It's on days like this that I get this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. A nervous, churning, guilty feeling that sits on my shoulders like a huge weight for the rest of the day.

I know that five minutes after she leaves the house she'll be fine. I know that she'll have a fun day with her friends. She'll get to play outside on the swings in the fresh air, pick strawberries from the garden, read books and help to bake something. On Wednesdays she goes to the library and checks out a new book and makes a craft and has sing and sign and plays with the train. We have a wonderful babysitter and I am thankful for her every day. But it's on days like these that my life feels off. I feel like it's coming apart at the seams. Like I can't keep it all together for one. more. minute. Like something's got to give. I can only imagine how it will be if we have another child.

I know this is the same feeling every working mother experiences at one time or another in her life. I know that I'm no different. In fact, I'm sure that my life is easier than many mothers out there. Single mothers I am in awe of you. Serious and pure and utter awe.

I've been reading a lot lately about work/life balance and about money and budgets and finances. I love my job and don't think I could take the leap (especially in this economy) to stay at home full-time. I don't know if I'd ever be able to break back into my field someday if I did. It's extremely competitive and being down-sized all of the time. But this quote from Nigel Marsh stays with me:

There are thousands and thousands of people out there living lives of quiet, screaming desperation who work long, hard hours at jobs they hate, to enable them to buy things they don’t need to impress people they don’t like.

I'm going to try to keep this quote in mind the next time I'm thinking of buying something. At this point there isn't really much we need. Just a lot of wants. And I'm the worst offender. Blogging about pretty products kind of does that to you and I've got to start practicing a little bit more restraint. I've also been reading a lot of Adam Baker's blog - Man vs. Debt, and his Ted Talk - What does freedom mean to you?

I think to me it means that I want to work because I love it, not because I need to pay for another bag or skirt or decoration for our home. I don't want to be a slave to my job. And if I someday decide that working full-time isn't right for me that I would have another option. We're lucky that we have zero credit card debt and only one car payment that is at zero-percent interest. We have one fairly reasonable mortgage with a low interest rate and very little left to pay on our student loans. And I want to keep it that way. And I want to save more. Our current savings account is created for the sole purpose of being depleted so that I can stay home with another child for at least eight or nine months, so it's not something I can count on. I need something I can count on at this point.

I'm realizing that this post has become long and rambling, so I'll wrap it up with another little saying that has stuck with me (discovered, of course, on none other than The Pinterest):

So very, very good. If you made it this far I commend you (and if you have any words of wisdom I'm all ears). xo, Lauren

Violet Loves

2012-05-16T07:00:00.000-04:00

1. Little Bluck Truck by Alice Schertle Illustrated by Jill McElmway
She calls this her 'Muddy Muddy book'. She loves everything about it - the farm animals, the little blue truck, the Dump, and the fact that every gets muddy muddy!

2. We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
Any book with a family and she's sold. Violet loves to list everyone - "Mommy, Daddy, boy, dirl, baby, woof woof!" She loves the beautiful pictures, the sounds (swishy swashy, swishy swashy!) and repetition of the writing, and of course the fact that everyone gets "muddy muddy!" And then there's the exciting race back to the house at the end of the book. She gets a little sad that they don't let the bear in, but then I explain to her that he's going home to his Mommy and Daddy and all is well in the world.

3. Ladybug Girl at the Beach by Jacky Davis and David Soman
Another book with a family, and this time the girl has ladybug wings! She loves the beautiful pictures, the rescue of the bucket, and the fact that people sleep in this book. It's a bit long for a two-year-old so she doesn't always want me to read the whole thing, but she looooves making up her own little stories.

4. There's an Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer
She loves the 'gaduh' in this book. Especially when his eye is peeking out from under the bed. ('Mommy, eye!'). She loves it when the little boy calls for his "Mommeeee, Daddeeeeeeee!" and when he "shhh hide!". A favorite bedtime read for sure.

What books does your little one love? xo, Lauren

A Day for Mothers

2012-05-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

Sorry that I was missing yesterday. I decided to lengthen my Mother's Day weekend by one more day! It was such a lovely couple of days with my little family. Filled with flowers and breakfast, our local Mother's Day fair, ice cold treats, and walks to the park. What mother could ask for more?

To all of the mothers out there - I hope that yours was just as lovely!

xo, Lauren

FRIDAY FAVORITES

2012-05-11T09:38:00.000-04:00

I'd love to live in a space with this vibe.

Links that have been inspiring me lately:

on freedom

on work life balance

on taking control of your life.

on living with less.

on remembering the little things.

Happy Friday! xo, Lauren

And then she was two...

2012-05-10T08:39:00.001-04:00

You woke up this morning, and as I lifted you out of the crib I told you, 'Happy birthday sweetheart. Today is the day you were born.' It's hard to believe two years have gone by since the day we first held you in our arms. You are the best thing that ever happened to us, little one! You make every day exciting, fresh, beautiful.

I'll always remember the look on your face this morning when we sang happy birthday to you. It was a look of pure delight. It's the little things that thrill you - a stack of fresh pancakes, a couple of candles, and a song. (And, of course, your 'Lulie' by special request).

I hope your birthday morning was perfect my love. Have a wonderful, beautiful, happy day! I can't wait to see your shining face when you walk in the door and say, "Mooooommmmeeeeee" this afternoon. It's always the best part of my day.

xo, your mama

Houzz.011

2012-05-09T12:14:00.000-04:00

Check out my latest ideabook for Houzz here. xo, Lauren

Fringed Banner DIY

2012-05-09T10:25:00.000-04:00

For Violet's first birthday party I made a fringed banner using Martha Stewart's instructions. This year I modified them a bit to make it faster and easier for me:

Materials: tissue paper, scissors, twine or string, clear tape

Step 1 - Fold the tissue paper in half:

Step 2 - Starting at the open side of the fold, cut thin strips into the tissue paper. Stop when you get about an inch from the folded side:

Step 3 - Cut the large piece into smaller sections (however large you prefer is fine. Mine were 2-3 inches wide):

Step 4 - Hang the twine and drape the folded side of each piece over it. Secure with clear tape:

Step 5 - Hang and enjoy!

The whole project took about half an hour - super easy. If I would've had more mint tissue paper I would have made a few more for sure. Happy DIY! xo, Lauren

Violet's Second Birthday Party: The Fun Stuff!

2012-05-08T11:13:00.002-04:00

So you've seen the food and decorations - now for the fun stuff! Since we decided to have Violet's party on the weekend before her actual birthday (which was Cinco de Mayo weekend) AND because a colleague generously offered to let me borrow the decorations from her Cinco de Mayo party, we ended up with a full-blown fiesta! The Hubster whipped up some fajitas, we played pin the tail on the donkey, and had a pinata (yes it was Cookie Monster which wasn't super Cinco-de-Mayo-ish, but Violet loved him and he got gussied up for the occasion). My sister-in-law and brother-in-law threw on some Latin music for the occasion and there was some serious salsa dancing going on in our garage :)

Violet got a REAL cake this year (as opposed to last year's felt version - see here and here) and she was in HEAVEN. She posed like a total pro for the camera and I think held out the longest "cheeeeeeese" ever in the history of the world (the girl has photo skills). She was soooo thrilled when she managed to blow out her candles (with a little help from the other kids who were all blowing along with her) and had the cutest smiled when everyone clapped and cheered. I about died.

And then she took the biggest bite of her cake and I think I did die.

We decided to get her a four wheeler, which she has absolutely no clue how to steer (but she loves it just the same). But I think the big hit of the day was the bubble machine! Her Uncle bought it for her and I have never seen the girl so happy. The kids ran around popping bubbles like crazy people forEVER. Seriously if you ever need to entertain a group of young kids, get one of these.

x

I think for Violet it was a perfect day. I'm so happy that she loved her birthday party, and even though she won't remember it, I think she'll know how much fun she had when she looks back at these pictures. Thank you to our family for all of your love and for helping us to celebrate the birth of our little girl.

We love you so much our little soon-to-be-two-year-old. Happy happy birthday!

xo, Mommy and Daddy

Violet's Second Birthday Party: Decorations + Food

2012-05-07T11:20:00.000-04:00

We had Violet's second birthday party this weekend and she had a blast! More pictures to come tomorrow of the birthday girl, but here are a few of the food and decorations. We decorated while she took her nap (which wasn't nearly long enough! What is it about special days - when you want them to take a normal/long nap they decide to take a short one. Never fails.) When we brought her down the first thing she saw were the balloons and she let out a *Gasp!* It was so sweet. She then spent the next ten minutes thrashing around in the balloons and taking everything in.

There were a couple of mishaps. The drink dispenser that I purchased from Kirkland's leaked (first time I used it!) so my mom ran out to buy me another. Well, that one leaked too. So we had a 'punch bowl'. I guess that's what I get for being cheap and buying a $15 dispenser! The wooden cutlery was pretty and got a lot of compliments...until we starting eating with them. They'd probably be fine for something soft like cake, but the prongs of the fork kept snapping as we tried to eat our salad. Oh well - live and learn.

Overall everything worked out great in the end thanks to a lot of help from my mom and the Mister. Stay tuned tomorrow for some pics of our little party animal!

xo, Lauren

Sources:
Balloons, cake stand, plates, napkins, cups, cupcake wrappers + flags - Shop Sweet Lulu
Bamboo cutlery, rock candy, plastic cups - Party City
Cake topper, fringe banner, favor bags, paper flower headbands - DIY
Tissue Garland Fringe - Etsy seller caramelos
Washi Tape - Etsy seller WashiWishes

Newness

2012-05-03T08:35:00.001-04:00

We finished putting up the wallpaper above our mantel last night (don't mind the mess) and decided that if we were going to do new sconces it was now or never. Here's what we bought:

It's the Francis Sconce from Pottery Barn. We were looking for something that wouldn't necessarily stand out (in a good or bad way) because we really want the wallpaper and mirror to be the star. They're arriving today or Friday - sooo excited! Now I just have to get my house cleaned up for the party this weekend - my least favorite part. Oh well, nothing like a party for motivation!

xo, Lauren

Mama + Baby

2012-05-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

a pretty floral pillow for mama . a rosy little tee for baby

A Little Singer

2012-05-01T21:57:00.001-04:00

We were watching a little TV before bed (sans monitor) when we both heard lilting sounds coming from Violet's nursery. I turned on the monitor, whipped out my phone, and captured this:

Singing herself to sleep to the tune of Somewhere Over the Rainbow :) This is one of the songs that I sing to her before bed and sometimes she joins in, but this is the first time I was able to capture any of it on video (if I whip out my phone she clams up immediately) Sooo happy I caught this little bit of sweetness :) Love her.

Around Here

2012-05-01T08:21:00.000-04:00

I've been in party crafting mode this past week - trying to pull off a pretty party but on a budget. We ended up moving the party date (to this coming weekend - eek! ) to make sure that Violet's Grammy could be there. Since it's Cinco de Mayo I think we're leaning more towards that as a theme, especially since I'm going to a Cinco de Mayo work shindig on Friday and she's lending me some of her loot (free stuff - score!). And who doesn't love a good fiesta? Not going to go too crazy theme-y but maybe some fringe, some pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey action and a couple of sombreros thrown in there. Ole!

In other news I'm still working on Violet's big girl room. I hung the hooks in the above photo myself (well, with my Dad's supervision lol). But power tools and me have never been best buds, so I must say that I'm pretty proud of myself.

I've been doing pancakes on the weekends now so that Violet has a change from her normal eggs, toast, and cereal routine. She gobbles them up - so excited that she has something new and tasty to eat. And speaking of tasty I was so worried about her birthday cake being horribly inedible (baking is also not my thing - especially not a dairy and soy free cake!) but I found out that Duncan Hines cake mix is dairy free and mostly soy free (it has soy oil which Violet can have) so she's going to have a tasty birthday cake after all - hurray!

Other than that I've been finishing up a few projects that I've been procrastinating on around the house. Nothing like a party to get your butt in gear. I painted Violet's silhouette, am sprucing up the art wall in our back room, and we got half of the wallpaper up in the living/dining area. Unfortunately the Hubster seems to have been struck by some sort of plague (he normally doesn't get sick, like ever) so we'll see if he's up to another round of wallpaper cutting, pasting, and hanging before the party. Anyway, I'm off to dive back into my world of crafting craziness. Wish me luck! xo, Lauren

P.S. Follow along on Instagram - @withtwocats

10 Easy Steps to Create a Silhouette

2012-04-30T10:04:00.000-04:00

I've had a thrift store frame just screaming for a pretty silhouette of my favorite munchkin for a couple of years now. For whatever reason I kept putting off the project, but this past weekend I was in the crafting zone and decided to go for it. It turned out to be super quick and easy. Here's what I did in ten easy steps:

Step 1: Take a photo of your subject's profile (If you are photographing a toddler it's best to do this candidly if possible - I took my photo while she was in the bathtub :))

Step 2: Open the photo on your computer and go to the print screen. Resize the photo's scale. I tried a few different sizes, but 30% worked best for the frame that I was using.

Step 3: Print your photo and make sure it fits properly in the frame you have chosen:

Step 4: Place a piece of tracing paper over your photo and trace around the outside edge of the subject:

Step 5: On a piece of watercolor paper, trace the back insert of your frame:

Step 6: Flip your tracing paper over and center it on the shape you just traced. Trace over the your drawing to transfer the pencil lines onto the watercolor paper.

Step 7: Lighten your pencil lines with an eraser. You should be able to faintly see the lines, but you don't want them to be visible after you paint.

Step 8: Fill in your drawing using the medium and color of your choice. I chose watercolor paint (Grumbacher Indian Yellow). Use wide, even strokes for an even finish, but if you can see some of your brush strokes it's okay - it just gives it a painterly look.

Step 9: Cut out your shape

Step 10: Frame and hang!

From start to finish this entire project took me less than half an hour. I've been wanting to do this for ages and now I can't believe I didn't do it sooner - it was so quick and easy. Happy painting!

xo, Lauren

Getting Crafty

2012-04-27T08:27:00.000-04:00

Sorry I've been a bit MIA, but Violet's birthday party has kind of snuck up on me and I've been pulling some late nighters in my party sweatshop (because I'm too cheap to just buy this stuff). Hope you have a lovely weekend! xo, Lauren

I want to work here

2012-04-25T13:31:00.000-04:00

Kind of completely obsessed with the studio of Katie Rodgers of Paper Fashion featured over on Glitter Guide. The colors! The little gnome man! True love.

xo, Lauren

Mini Meals: play with your food

2012-04-25T07:36:00.000-04:00

I love these plates from Boguslaw Sliwinski (via de zeen magazine). Too bad I can't figure out how to purchase them! What a great way to make eating fun for your kid!

xo, Lauren