Seeing Owls:

For the past year, Owl patterns have been all the rage. I've been seeing them everywhere from invitations, to fabrics, to iPad covers, Pottery Barn even had a whole line of gear in a beautiful pink and brown pattern, even Michael's had a selection of Owl themed items in their dollar section. When Kim from Everything Etsy approached me to submit some printables for one of her roundups, I couldn't refuse! I've been a fan of her web site for such a long time! So I decided to join the bandwagon, and design an Owl Theme Mini Party Kit! Here is the finished product! Read Kim's post here!

 

   Download the Party Kit Here

Set includes

Invitation

Two Inch Tags

Blank Tent Cards

Napkin Rings

Nautical Anonymous:

Blame it on the hot summer months ahead, but I can't seem to get enough of nautical themed fashion!

 

Nautical Baby Sailor Shoes

Admiral Pillows

Navy Skipper Canvas Beach Tote
Anchor Bikini

Anchor Beach Towel

Anchor Bracelet 

Pool Party Ready:

With summer come lots of birthday pool parties for the kids! Victoria already has a few on her calendar! Here are some items on our pool party must-have-list!

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

Fabric Lust:

So to continue the post about 'V's playroom, eventually I'd love to make bench cushions for the Expedit Shelves. This way, there will be a comfortable place to sit, especially for grandparents. I was really excited when I found this great tutorial on how to make them! I have zero sewing skills, and this tutorial by IHeart Organizing was right up my alley! Now comes the hard part. Which fabric to use!!

 

See all the great fabric selections from this store!

You can order samples for a $1 each!

 

V's Playroom:

After my husband was diagnosed with cancer, we knew our lives would be turned upside down. We knew there would be a lot of hospital stays, so we had to make a special place for our Victoria  to play.  Back in September I had started looking for ideas on kids modern playrooms. We knew the most cost effective way to go was IKEA, but we didn't really like the kids furniture because of the colors. So we found pieces that could easily be incorporated in a kid's room, and still be useful afterwards. It's still a work in progress, but at least she now has a retreat while daddy is busy getting better.

 

1. Expedit Shelves 59.99

They are the perfect height so she can easily access her books and toys.

 

2. Skubb Bins 14.99 for set of 3

Perfect for holding her lose toys, while keeping them well hidden

 

3. Gladsax Frames 7.99

I designed the posters and got them printed at a local printer

 

4. Lack Side Table 9.99

We didn't like the children's table, and this side table was the perfect fit for a third of the price.

 

5. Mammut Children's Stool 7.99

Adds a touch of playfulness to the room

Etsy to the rescue:

Little side projects have been a nice distraction during these last six months. Normally I don't have time for much, between day job, hospital runs, and my active 2 year old, but I made it a point to find the time and help a friend who needed ideas for her daughter's birthday party. I had less than a week to round up the details to bring it all together! Thank goodness she fell in love with a theme I already had in my Etsy Shop!

 

You can get this design here!

Boo:

I love Halloween, it's my favorite holiday, even more than Christmas. Now that I have a little girl, I have an excuse to over decorate! I'm head over heels in love with Paperglitter's Halloween Party Kit, not to mention the website's new fabulous make over with tons of new products! The kit is perfect for a mini pre Halloween party with the kids, specially since this year it lands on a Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

Play Time:

After a year of being in our new  home, we are finally getting around to unpacking the last few remaining boxes, and starting on Victoria's playroom! It just wasn't a priority and she was too little to have really enjoyed it. Now that's she's finally walking and enjoying her found freedom, we thought it was time to give her a place to play and call her own! Since her nursery is very Pottery Barn traditional, we decided to make her playroom an extension of our home, and make it sleek and modern. Here are some rooms I found while searching for inspiration!

 

 

{My favorite foam playmat is the one from Skip + Hop}

 

{Love the Chalk Wall idea}

 

{ I like the use of a low Book Shelf and using various

colorful containers to store toys}

 

 

{Large Wall art can be found in Etsy, this is one of my favorite Shops}

 

 

{I need this hopscotch rug from CB2}

SALE Havoc:

Good morning Lilly lovers! Did you all survive the havoc of yesterday's sale?  As annoyed as I was at the entire process, I have to admit it was gracious of them to at least provide their customers with frequent updates. With a sale of this magnitude, it's no wonder it drew so many people. The prices were worth the stress! Here are a few items I managed to snatch before they were long gone!

iPhone Case $10 {From 20.00}

McKim High Wedge Sandals $49.00 {From $178.00}

Baby Lilly Shifts $19.00 {From 68.00}

Opening Night Clutch Sateen $24.00 {From $88.00}

Mini Me:

I have to admit I'm a bit of a fashion sargeant when it comes to my daughter's clothes. I know everyone has their own taste in fashion, but my theory is, dress your child like you would dress yourself - age appropriately of course! My daughter is still too small to wear Crewcuts from JCrew, but the items that are currently on sale have me tempted to splurge and save them for later! Now if only these were adult sizes and adult prices!

Fashion Fever:

So I'm having one of my little panic attacks that are usually set on by new fabulous fashion finds. Lately, it's due to one of The Shops at Target, The Webster. I had first heard of The Webster from one of my close friends who knows the owners. Chic store, perfect location, high fashion, but way out of my budget. So when I heard that they were to launch a collection at Target, I was anxious to see what it would look like, and I was not disappointed. Now, if I could only find the time to shop before it's completely sold out. Here are some of the pieces I'm drooling over!

Green Bags:

Now that we live in this new society of sustainability, many new products have entered the market that promote a "greener" way of living. Having said that, I must admit that as hard as I try to recycle, I'm not doing the most that I could be! Nevertheless, everything happens in baby steps. Yesterday I found this adorable Etsy shop of reusable sandwich and snack bags, Bagitconscious, and of course I immediately had to place an order. The most difficult part was deciding which pattern to choose. I figure, if you're going to go "green", you might as well do it in a fashionable way! Below are some of my favorite products!

Sandwich and Snack Bags $13.25

Set of Three Sandwich Bags $20.00

(You choose Fabric)

Reusable Bamboo Cutlery & Pouch $15.00

(Photos from Bagitconscious)

Shiny & New:

I'm probably the only person who has noticed that the Pottery Barn Kids design team got a boost of creative juices and added a bevy of new designs, colors and patterns to their kids' line of linens. As I flipped through every page of their Summer 2012 calendar I couldn't help but to wish they would've done this a year ago! A few of their designs are even perfect for a guest room or even a beach cottage!

{See the new colors for yourself}

What's in the Bag:

Kate Spade Diaper Bag

Haribo Gummy Bears

Johnson & Johnson Hand and Face wipes

Pampers Sensitive Diapers and Wipes

Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment

Plum Organics Baby Food

Neat Solutions Easy Wipe Bibs

Ralph Lauren Baby

Bee Party:

 I finally got the time to go through my daughter's First birthday party photos. When I started planning her party eight months ago,  I wanted to design something special & unique for this celebration. I figured when she gets old enough, I may not have a say in the theme of her parties. I loved the idea of a Rustic Bumble Bee Theme, and we were touched by the opening line of The Bee Movie - According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. It's wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee of course flies anyways, because bees don't care what humans think is impossible. My daughter was born at 26 weeks, and overcame many obstacles to make it to her First Birthday, so we knew this would set the tone for her Bumble Bee Theme.   

I designed all paper goods, including the invitation, tags for food, the banner, and the goodie bags. For the kids’ goodie bags, I ordered Muslin Bags from CelestialGifts, and then designed a custom iron on logo, that read “Thank you for Buzzing by”. The goodie bags contained bubbles, bumble bee tattoos, sunflower seedling starter kits, and The Bee Movie.

My creative friend from Paperglitter was kind enough to offer her help and make three Beehive Piñatas for different kids’ age groups. This helped a great deal since there were about 30 kids ranging from ages 3 to 10.

The dessert buffet had lots of treats, besides the birthday cake, it included honeycomb cereal, honey teddy grahams, yellow gumballs, various flavors of candy sticks, and chocolate and vanilla cupcakes by a local baker, Golosinas. I found wooden letters at a local Michael's store to spell One. 

I worked very closely with my friend from The Posh Nosh Cakery to design a cake that had a hint of the Bee Theme without being too caricature like.  

Photography by: www.denisecruzstudio.com

Color Straws: HeyYoYo

Papergoods: Fresh Linen Press

A Miracle Birthday:

I can't believe Victoria's first birthday is fast approaching! I must say, there were times last year that I thought we'd never make it this far. After Victoria's premature birth at only 26 weeks, we had an emotional rollercoaster ahead of us. Each passing day was a challenge and a blessing. The three long months she stayed in the hospital felt like an eternity. The day she finally came home, only two days after my very first mother's day, was very bitter sweet. We had become so attached to all of her nurses, or as I like to call them, her NICU Mothers. They were our support system, reassuring us with each passing day, she would be okay, and one day she would finally be home. Today she is a chubby, healthy baby, who is growing way too fast. I feel thankful and blessed to finally be celebrating this joyous occasion. She is our little miracle, who changed our lives forever.

In celebration of Victoria's birthday, we have created a virtual band to make donations to the March of Dimes in her honor, and in honor of so many babies who were not as fortunate as our precious Victoria.

{Click here to make a donation in honor of Victoria}

Unique Series:

First, let me apologize in advance for yet another baby related post. It seems that's all I notice these days. I couldn't help but to share this unique series from the talented eye behind  Sugarleaf Photography. Everytime I find a unique way to document a pregnancy I can't help but to feel sad that I didn't have the time or the chance to document my own. So to all of you new expentant mother's out there, don't wait, start documenting now!

{See the entire maternity series here}

Shoes for a Queen:

Sorry I have been completely disconnected from my blog. Ive been back to work full time, plus the full time job of taking care of little Victoria. On top of that we purchased a new home, and will be moving soon! I do, however, seem to be spending every little bit of leftover time browsing the internet for unique pieces of clothing for Victoria. Since we have decided that we will stay a family of three, it has almost become my mission to make everything as special as possible for OUR ONLY ONE! The other day I stumbled on this site of beautiful hand made shoes, and page after page it was difficult to keep it together and not be tempted to purchase their entire inventory. Sadly though, their collection is only available for a limited time in limited quantities. Now I will have to visit daily in hopes of getting a chance of purchasing a pair of Joyfolie shoes!

Visit Joyfolie to see their entire breathtaking collection



Sweet Tooth:

Are these not the most beautiful cookies you've ever seen? I can't wait to start planning Victoria's birthday parties to have an excuse to purchase them!

{Find them via Etsy seller TS Cookies}

Totally Bananas:

I'm a little late posting this, but I've been feeling under the weather and not getting to my computer much. I'm excited to be sharing the first 'Boy Friendly' party kit from Paperglitter. It's absolutely adorable!   

{Purchase Monkey Party Kit here}