:: huge giveaway ::

I've been pretty addicted to entering contests since going on maternity leave. That's how I was helping to contribute to my reduced income. ;)

There's a HUGE giveaway goingon at Laura Winslow Photography. Check it out here. There's $6500 worth of stuff to be won by one person. There's some cute things and it's just in time for Mother's Day. Winner will be chosen May 6th.

Good luck!

:: toddler bed ::

So, I know I have only had a toddler officially for less than 2 weeks, but I have been a little obsessed with seeing what kind of options are out there for toddler rooms. Just gathering ideas for my next planning/decorating venture.

I am loving this super cute, yet very stylish bed that I found at Sobu, a husband & wife-owned Califoria-based company.



Image via Sobu



The bed goes for $650, plus $125 shipping.  I love it so much.  The orange piping is perfect for a little girl, or a little boy too!  It would go so well with the decor of our house, and looks like it's quality furniture.

Did I mention the name of this bed is Junk in the Trunk?  How cute is that?  Check out this cute pull-out.

Image via Sobu

Pure genius. They obviously have kids of their own (whom the company is named after) and know how to incorporate functionality without compromising on design.

If I can just convince hubs...just maybe...

OR...

Dear Owners of Sobu (Laleh and Alessandro):

If you are looking for a Canadian tester for your bed, I'd be happy to answer your call ;).

This little girl would love it!  Here's our "pretty please" face.

:: spring into a new look - blog makeover ::

I've decided the blog needed a makeover, as it is FINALLY looking like Spring around these parts, and I was feeling like it needed a pick-me-up. 

My blog header inspiration comes from the Macs blog.  Love it.  Snippets of my life in the last couple years, summed up in those 3 photos.

Hope you like the new look.

:: mariah carey's nursery ::

Photo via Life & Style seen on Babycenter



I first spotted this picture of Mariah Carey's nursery for her twinsies with Nick Cannon on ohdeedoh, and was quite surprised.  It's actually quite pretty.  When I think of the diva herself, I think over-the-top, glitter, and butterflies.  This looks pretty soft and soothing.  Don't get me wrong, this is still quite opulent and I can't imagine what the price tag is.  Rumor has it at $1 million.  Honesty, for that much, I think she could have gotten more.  Mind you, she did have two nurseries, an east coast and west coast one.  Maybe that's the price for both?  Either way, it's still a lot.  But if you can afford it, why not?  I almost want to go pick up a magazine to see what the other nursery looks like. I'll probably just be cheap and wait for the images to hit the web though.

I also didn't know what sex Mimi was expecting, so by this picture, I'm guessing a girl and a boy. Now we wait to see if she'll name one of the babies Hello Kitty ;)

:: post-baby figure ::

Photo Courtesy of People.com

Have you seen this picture of Miranda Kerr's post-baby body (that's Miss Orlando Bloom, in case you weren't in the know), just 3 months after giving birth to her first child?  Granted I didn't look like this {before} I had a baby, but I want to know...what's the secret?  Victoria's Secret has this gift of finding supermodels that seem to miraculously bounce back to their bikini bods just months after having a baby...Giselle, and of course Heidi Klum who looks amazing after 4 kids! 

So, as my impending work date gets closer, I wonder how to actually fit in working out into my schedule.  I guess it's all about being motivated, and finding little ways of working in physical activities into your day, like taking the stairs, lunchtime walks, stuff like that.  Then, there's always exercising after the little one's gone down to bed. 

Must find motivation!  Or be super rich, and be able to get nutritionists, and fitness trainers, and not have a day job like these supermodels.  That could work too ;)

:: little miss birthday party ::

The party was a smashing success!  Everything came together wonderfully, and I would do it over and over again.  Good thing there's a birthday every year, hey?  Maybe not so big and grand next time though.  Hubs will attest that it was a lot of work to pull together. 

While I fully realize that Miss H will not remember any of it, it doesn't make it any less important of a milestone to celebrate.  Plus, it was fun putting it all together, and doing all of these projects along the way.

She'll have beautiful pictures to look back upon, courtesy of our photographer at Photolicious Photography.  I was a winner of Kathy's Reality Rocks contest, but she did such a fantastic job, and was such a pleasure to work with, that I would recommend her to anyone.  

Here is a sneak preview of the day:



Photo Courtesy of Pholicious Photography



Photo Courtesy of Pholicious Photography



Photo Courtesy of Pholicious Photography



Photo Courtesy of Pholicious Photography



Photo Courtesy of Pholicious Photography

And our cake was made by our talented baker, Charnika at Panache Cakes.  She did our wedding cake, and did not disappoint with my Little Miss Sunshine cake.  It was perfect, and was so yummy.  We had rave reviews at the party.

Photo Courtesy of Panache Cakes

:: diy photo timeline ::

I love the idea this mom had for her son Levi's 1st birthday party, that I did one myself.  I stumbled across the Macs blog and found great inspiration for both the party, but also for love, life, and hope.  I first mentioned this blog in this post.  Read Cora's story if you have time. 

photo via themcclenahans.blogspot.com



Back to the real point of this post.  Jess created a Photo Timeline, documenting every month of her son's first year, hung above her fireplace.  Love this idea.  I will have photos out of Miss H for her birthday too, but this timeline shows truly how much she has changed every month.  I take monthly pictures of her wearing her white onesie, adorned with Picky Sticky monthly stickers, which you can see in this post.  So, I used those shots for this project.

I followed her directions here, using scrapbooking supplies I already had.  Mine was modified a bit, using 1.25" circles (cut off of my Cricut), and 3.5"x5" photos. 

Here are the all of the numbers on their mini clothespins.

Here's how the finished product looks.

Am I really about to have a 1 yr old already?

:: diy party hats & high chair bunting ::

I am STILL making stuff for the party that is now exactly one week away.  I keep telling myself that I'm saving costs by making this stuff myself.  Although I do wonder if I could have saved myself a bunch of work and heartache if I had just bought one of those ready-made party packages.  Ah.  It's no different than spending an afternoon scrapbooking.  This is just crafting in a different sense.

I made these super cute party hats, using just scrapbook paper, ribbon, and the stickers I purchased off of Sticker You. 

I'm pretty sure NONE of the kids attending will tolerate wearing it, but they make good table decor nonetheless.  I even had a tester to make sure it fit.  I figure if my {soon-to-be} one year old will put up with it, maybe there's hope {some} of the kids will wear it.  At least just for ONE picture?  A lot to ask, I know.

Note: Child needs her hair cut badly!

I had leftover paper, and quickly whipped up this high chair bunting.  Super EASY, and quick to make.  Plus, I'm always one for photo ops, so her high chair will be festively adorned, when we go to serve cake!

:: cake smash ::

We had the cake smash photo session today, and I can't wait to see all of the pictures from it.  The session was like a Trash the Dress shoot...for babies.  Miss H was a little unsure about the taste of icing, so there wasn't a lot of actual eating of the cake.  By the end of the session, she managed to pummel the cake to pieces for some good photos.  It was VERY messy.  I've seen some cake smash photos that usually end in the babies crying, but not this baby.  She loved hamming it up for the camera. 

Since she has now sort of tasted cake and icing, I am hoping this is a good warm up for her actual birthday, and she'll just dive right in.  It's fun, and good for some laughs. 

Here's a teaser I received back from the photographer.  What a sweetie.

:: smash cake ::

We're doing a Cake Smash photo session tomorrow.  So excited.  I picked up the smash cake today, and it is oh-so-cute!  Can't wait to see the little one "smash" into it.  It will be interesting to see what her reaction will be to her first taste of sugary goodness, but I'm pretty confident she won't disappoint.

We currently have a mountain of snow outside.  Seriously.  It's April.  So, I thought this little pink cake would help brighten everyone's day.  I'm just so pleased how this one turned out.  May have to order another one...in yellow form of course for the big partay, which is coming very very very soon. 

I'll post some pictures of the session, once I have them.