Our sweet little Annabelle turned 1 in August and we were so excited to celebrate with our friends and family!!  Picking a date for a summer time birthday party is a little tricky with a big family but we found a date that worked and decorated for a little get together at the house.  I loved how all the little party pieces came together and definitely learned a few tricks to make things a little easier.

Decor

I did a little pre-planning and put together some fun little pieces to make AB’s day special.

I finally printed some of AB’s monthly pictures and hung them on the fireplace as a little banner!  Crazy to see how big she is compared to the littl 6 lb 5 oz baby we fell in love with!

 

 

I also put up the birthday banner I made a few years back when we celebrated Brandon’s birthday the first year we moved in the house and it is now our little family tradition to hang it for each of our birthdays.  *I used small command hooks that we leave up all year to hang the other banners I have for different holidays. They are so tiny and clear against the window frame you don’t notice them.

The table we used for birthday desserts was the same cake cart we used for our wedding.  I grabbed some table runners to cover the cart (which is normally used in our garage as a potting table) and laid out the desserts.  We did little homemade mini cakes for AB and also my two brothers whose birthdays were so close to hers. I find it easier to do cupcakes for everyone else; there is no need to worry about cake cutting and it makes it easy for guests to take a treat home.  

 

I made these little floral hoops to hang in the kitchen to bring the party “theme” in to this space.  I loved how this DIY turned out but I do have to say I would love it if someone can help me find a way to keep them from spinning all around on the twine (without gluing them directly to the window)!  I plan to find a way to hang these up in AB’s room now.

 

My favorite party decoration was the floral hoop we hung over the dessert table.  I have wanted to do a name wrath piece for AB’s room since she was born. Annabelle Elizabeth is named after both of my grandmothers (Annabelle is my mom’s mother and Elizabeth is my dad’s mother).  They both have passed away but I wanted to honor their memories.  I was able to get copies of each of their signatures and place them on the ribbon. I used a scanner, photoshop and my silhouette machine for this DIY, and it ended up being a lot easier than I had expected.  I laugh because people who see it comment on how similar their signatures are… I guess that’s Pennsylvania Catholic School cursive for you! It hangs over AB’s bed now and I absolutely love it.

 

Food

As our guest list for the party started to grow I know I wanted to keep the menu simple so that I could mingle with everyone and not spend the entire party in the kitchen.  I scoured pinterest for easy meals but ended up taking the advice of a friend and let someone else do the heavy lifting! We ordered the party food from Walmart. We still kept it simple and went with chicken and finger sandwiches with fruit and veggie platter sides but picking up the food made everything easy.  Now I did grab the fruit, veggies, and cheeses from BJs and prepped them the night before but that was simple chopping! The day of the party I had Brandon run out to the store and grab our order.

I did bake the little mini cakes for AB and my brothers, but that was with a super cute little tiered cake pan I snagged off Amazon.  I added the cupcakes to the walmart order and they turned out way better than i could have attempted (i mean… look at my icing skill on those mini cakes! ha).

The price wasn’t too bad and how simple it kept prepping was worth it!  If you have a big group get together coming up I recommend checking the local grocery store for their platter prices.

All in all in was a wonderful day and her party was the perfect way to celebrate our favorite little girl!

 

Each stage with a baby seems to get easier and harder at the same time!  Now that AB is one, she is eating regular table food and drinking from sippy cups and while that means no pumps, formula, bottles and puree to lug around, feeding a toddler comes with its own learning curve.  There have been a few gadgets along the way that have made meal times a little easier around our house!

Suction Plate

Picking out what AB is going to eat every night has been a trial and error process. And while there really hasn’t been anything she refuses to eat, she definitely has let us know her favorites (carrots and peas are a big hit!).  So most nights I like to start with what we are planning to eat for the night and maybe change out an item or two if it’s not quite right for her. Say if we are having spaghetti and salad, she may get plain spaghetti noodles, meatballs and peas instead of salad.  And now that she is eating little meals instead of purees I wanted her to have her own little plate for the table. This adorable little divided plate is perfect to keep all her random foods seperated and the suction is a lifesaver; many a meals that would have ended up entirely on the floor have been saved thanks to that little suction pad!  

Squeeze Pouch Toppers

AB is a big fan of her squeeze pouches with fruit and veggies and I am a big fan for their convenience.  These are perfect to stash in AB’s bag for when we are out and about and sitting down to eat a snack isn’t convenient.  My only downside to the pouches were that I still needed to help AB with them so that she wouldn’t squeeze all the contents out at once, and even at her little age, she is already pretty in to doing things herself.  Then my friend told me about these squeeze pouch toppers that have been a game changer. They pop right on to a squeeze pouch and act as a stopper from a squeeze mess! The child just needs to suck on them to get the ingredients out.  And the ones I found on amazon even come with a little carry case so they wouldn’t be lost in the bottom of a giant diaper bag. AB loves these things so much and it has given me a an extra hand during a quick snack break on the go!

A New Use for Bakeware

While it is easier to have a toddler that can eat regular table food (compared to an infant that needs purees), I still find myself taking the time to prep little meals to go for AB when we are headed out of the house.  I always so like to be prepared. For packing up those little meals on the go, I have found using silicone cupcake liners to be the perfect trick. I started using these for my own little snack containers and find they are the perfect size for meals for AB.  I will take a larger tupperware container and use the baking cups to divide up the container. Then I can fit one little toddler approved meal in a handy container and step out of the house!

Kitchen Scissors

I learned about this meal time tip one day while I was dropping off at daycare one morning.  Her sweet teacher was prepping the breakfast for the little ones and she wiped out a pair of scissors to cut up their pancakes… genius!  She said it was much easier (and faster) than using a knife and fork to cut them all up.  And oh man, was she right!   I definitely find cutting up a peanut butter sandwich in to bite size pieces with scissors is so much simpler and less messy than trying to using a knife.   So now at our house we have a pair of dedicated ‘kitchen scissors’ that we use to cut up AB’s meals.

I would love to hear what works for everyone else!  Any tips and tricks you have for making life with a toddler simplified?

 

After our recent trip to the pumpkin patch I have definitely been in the mood to add a few little decorations around our house for fall.  Our house is still very much a work in progress in terms of design and style so the seasonal decor pieces are usually kept to a minimum at our house.  But even just the few subtle pieces, and a perfect smelling candle, can really freshen up the house for the new season.

Little bit’s of AB’s books have creeped in to the house decor, haha.  I leave them turned around to try to try to help them blend in.

 

What are your favorite ways to decorate for fall?

I had a few errands to run and scored some time all by myself at Target (who knew a hour alone could be so enjoyable!).  I had seen a few outfits online that I wanted to try on so I headed to the dressing room and thought I would share some pics to show the fit and style of what I found.

Dresses

This shift dress is an easy throw on (no zippers or buttons) but with that style lacks a fitted look.  The length is nice but for my taste, without the fitted look, the length leaves this dressing looking a bit burlap sack-y on me.  The bottom hem is higher on the sides than the back and front.  The dress is well made, and the material is thick (yet still breathable) so no liner is needed.  This could work as a great dress to throw on for a day at the beach where you would be bouncing between shops, restaurants and the sand.

The embroidery and sleeves drew me to this dress and while the style is adorable it was too short for me.  The material is thin (black underwaer may have been the wrong choice for a try on session…oops) so without a slip, even nude undergarments may not show.  While I loved the dress’ details it was a bit too short and thin for me.

The look of this dress is so perfect for summer.  The material is thin, but, as you can see there is a lining which keeps it from being see through.  The material does hang so a pair of spanks with a strapless bra may be your best choice. The embroidery is so sweetly detailed and the top is stitched to keep the neckline modest. The white would be a great for a bride on a beach-y bachelorette trip!  It also comes in a navy blue.  I would say it runs true to size (they only had a medium in store, so I would order this in a small, my normal size).

Love this black bo-ho dress!  First, it has pockets!!  The straps are thicker, leaving you the option to wear a regular bra.  The length hits a bit above the knee and because of the length and loose fit I ended up purchasing this in a x-small (I am in a small on this try on).  The tassels are cute, but I may opt to cutting them off to leave a simpler neck line. Can’t wait to wear this one!

(Definitely not the most nursing friendly dress, but I think I can make it work to have such a great easy dress option!)

Here are a few more dress picks they didn’t have in store:

 

Tops

I am in love with this top!  Obviously embroidery is a current trend and this top looks so sweet with the detail.  The loose fit with the lightweight fabric make this a great choice for summer.

The ruffled sleeves adds a little flair to this striped tee.  The material is thick (wearing a black bra here that is not showing).  The shirt is short and, on me, would have not have meet the pant line on mid-rise pants.  The back is longer so the look with these high rise shorts works.

Not the best picture, but I couldn’t leave out this light-weight jacket.  It is super light and would work perfect for the light afternoon rain storms we seem to get here in the summer.  It has a longer tail and the sides cinch for a fitted look.  With pockets and a hood, this has a new home in my coat closet!

Here are a few more top picks they didn’t have in store:

 

Shorts

I am usually not a fan of shorts, mainly because I think they look too short on my long legs, but with the temps already hitting 90+ this weekend (we apparently skipped spring all together) I feel like it’s going to be a hot summer and I may need to add a pair or two to my wardrobe.  These high-rise chambray shorts had such a great fit.  They come in a 3″ in seam.  The rise was perfect on the post-baby body and the fit makes them easy to wear running around town with a baby in tow.

Here are a few more shorts picks they didn’t have in store:

What styles have you seen lately at Target that you are adding to your wardrobe this summer?

AB hit the 7 month mark on March 21st!  How has it already been 7 months with this little cutie?!

I know I say it every month, but this last month has been the best!  She is really starting to get her own little personality and you can see her understanding things and taking in the world around her.  She is rolling all around and is a full blown wiggle worm.  She may not be a crawler yet but she definitely knows how to get to where she wants to be!!

She is now very aware of the dog, loves to pet him and squeals with excitement when he sniffs her! (possibly the cutest thing in the world)

Purred foods are part of her night time routine and she is a big fan of carrots and rice but could do without the peas!  This subject is one I have googled more than a few times making sure we are doing this whole ‘feeding’ thing right! Ha Thankfully she takes it all like a champ.

Her first Easter is this month and we are always excited for a good excuse to celebrate with our baby girl!  Happy 7 months little miss Annabelle!!

Taking Annabelle’s monthly updates has been so fun! I snagged the perfect month milestone blanket from Amazon and got it in just in time for her 1st month pictures! I am sure it will be a bit of a circus trying to wrangle a squirmy crawler for pictures as she gets a bit older, but so far she has been pretty cooperative!

Hunter who has been Annabelle’s shadow since we brought her home, insists on being in her photos as well. His paws are in almost every photo and in month 5 he decided he is not just a paw model and has made a cameo or two!

She just hit SIX MONTHS (which is so crazy), so I figured a quick photo dump would be the best way to save these memories!  I feel like a cliche, but every month just keeps getting better with our little AB!

And yes, she is finally taller than her little Suzette doll! haha

I was back and forth on whether I wanted to find out the gender of the baby but Brandon was positive that there was no way he could wait until August to find out!  So of course, if he was going to know, I had to know too.  I mean, how could someone keep that big of a secret during all the prepping and planning!

Because Brandon was going to be working over the weekend after our appointment, we choose to find out at the ultrasound.  Brandon wouldn’t have time over the weekend for a gender reveal for us to find out with our families, but my brother asked if he could do a gender reveal for my family to find out when we would be together at my parent’s for my dad’s birthday.  So in true pinterest fashion, Mark prepped with cans of silly string and my nephew had fun finding out they had a baby girl cousin on the way!

My sweet co-worker has been obsessed with gender reveal videos on youtube and asked if I could hold off on posting online what we were having so we could have an office gender reveal (I work with some of the sweetest people).  So the office girls planned a little lunch party and we decided on a box of balloons to make the big reveal.   I prepped the box and all my coworkers wore pink or blue to pick sides.  It was so fun to share the news with them!

So when the secret was out we took the opportunity when we had the bunny on hand at Easter to do a quick little shoot.

We are so excited to have a little girl on the way.  I know she will have Brandon wrapped around her little finger and of course she will have some of the prettiest smocked dresses from my mom.  Can’t wait till she is here!

Oh what a whirlwind of a year! It has been a busy couple of months around here so a life lately recap is much over due.

In August, Brandon and I enjoyed another trip to the beach with friends and spent the few days soaking up the sun, trying some tasty new adult drinks and driving along the beach at Corova.

We cut the trip a little shorter than planned but we were more than excited to head back to town for Brandon’s promotion ceremony at the fire department. Words can not describe how proud I am of him. He works so hard and spent most of the past year preparing to rock his promotion testing and interview (which he did!!). He looked so handsome dressed in his dress uniform and we celebrated his success with dinner, drinks and friends!

September was a busy one at the office for me, but when my day-to-day work involves event prepping, even the stressful work ends in a big fun street festival. One of my favorite new events we have added is the Drive-In movies at the park. ET was the halloween season pick and watching the loads of cars pour in to the park was the best! The busy days continued as we celebrated the holidays in town with tree lightings, parades, and Santa himself!! I definitely love the work I get to do and am so thankful for a great workplace!

This Thanksgiving I headed to Pennsylvania to visit family and every trip there is magical. The fall in the mountains is always breathtaking and time with family and friends is the best. We spent time shopping, eating and drinking, just how the holidays should be spent!

 

Christmas this year was wonderful too. Brandon worked at the fire station Christmas Eve so I headed to mass with my parent’s and brothers and dinner at the oceanfront in Virginia Beach. Christmas day we opened presents, watched the boys play with nerf guns around the house, and ate and drank until we were stuffed!

My favorite present we gave this year was taking our niece and nephew (who are both 11) to the trampoline park for the day. They are at the age where we have no idea what to get them and most of their time is spent on their computers or phones so we figured getting them up and out of the house over their winter break was the best thing we could do!

And we are two years in to our new house and still loving every inch of it! Slow and steady we are adding furniture and decor pieces and figuring out our personal style has certainly been an adventure. I feel a real sign of “adulting” is gifting furniture to ourselves for our anniversary! We are creating a list of work to be done (built-ins here, new room designs there) and getting to work making the house our home.

It has been a great year for us overall and we are looking forward to all the wonderful things 2017 has in store.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful New Year!!!

We have been loving these summer days, especially down in the outer banks hanging out with friends and family. The sunny beach days by the water and the cool nights around the table playing the Mexican Train Game (have you played… it’s addicting) have been the best. My 30 by 30 list has seemed to fall by the way side between vacations and busy work weeks but my #28 – have a signature drink has been one everyone has been willing to help with! So by trial and error at the beach house we have been testing every pinteresty delicious drink around.

While this lavender lemonade didn’t make the signature cut it is still one I would recommend to try during these last few days before fall.

Found this great recipe at onekingslane.com (and cut the servings in half):

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
4 sprigs lavender (stems and buds), plus a few additional sprigs for garnish
5 fresh squeezed lemons (approx 1 cup) lemon juice (I was excited to use my new juicer for this!)
2 fresh squeezed limes worth (approx. 1/4 cup) lime juice (and this!)

Directions:

Boil about half a gallon of water and the sugar. Remove from heat, and add lavender sprigs along with the lemon and lime juices all together in the pot.

Let the mixture cool to room temperature, strain the lavender.

For a quick way to serve use a shaker after straining (love this new shaker from Shikshook) with ice to chill quickly.

To make this a bit more adult friendly (and what better kind of signature drink than an adult one) I topped each serving off with a 1/4 glass pour of my favorite Prosecco from Trader Joes.  It added a little carbonation and whole lot of deliciousness!

Hope you enjoy!

 

*I received the shaker to test at a discounted rate but all thoughts and opinions are my own.