Friday, January 30, 2015

5 on Friday

Whoop whoop Friday! This has been a big week for me blogging wise. I feel like I am back in my element with my space. And with Miss Lizzie finding a good nap pattern, I have time to write again. Yay! So let's recap the week's goodness:

{One}
   I love this shirt! I ordered it a little over a week ago and I am literally counting down the days until I get a shipping notification in my inbox. It's an Ezra + Eli shirt if you're interested in stalking them until they go up for sale again.


{Two & Three }
   Hobby Lobby took a decent amount of my money this week and I did not mind giving it to them. The chalkboard letters are huge. The milk jugs are absolutely adorable and I loved the little holder for them. These beauties are on sale right now for half off! Go and pick them up!




{Four}
   This shirt popped up on my Instagram feed this week and I might have squealed when I saw it. We are taking Lizzie to Disney World in March and I think I have to get one of these printed on a onesie. And maybe one for mommy too lol



{Five}
   Baby Wearing. I love how I can just snuggle her all day in the wrap I whipped up. Instructions are here if you want to make one too. I am spoiling this child so much already. I am in big trouble!



{Spoiler Alert!}
   I attended a Cow Party last night, so be on the look out next week for another round of Navy Traditions and some cute cow themed goodies to go along with it!


Thursday, January 29, 2015

DIY Baby Wrap



All of us new mommies have seen and registered for the huge assortment of baby supplies out there. Everything from humidifiers and nail clippers, to diapers and onesies are out there for us and our little lovies. A lot of those items are necessities that we need to buy from a store (aka strollers and aspirators). But some are more luxuries then necessities. And when those luxuries are so obviously, even painfully overpriced, that makes it even harder to splurge. Especially when we legitimately can make them ourselves!

Case and Point: The Moby, Boba and K'tan Wraps.

I went to a local baby shop to try one out before I bought it and my only thought was "Seriously? $50 bucks for fabric. Just fabric. Wowza." So what's a girl to do? Take some mental pictures and measurements, and head to the local Walmart of course! Price wise, Walmart has some of the cheapest fabric out there. I found my white fabric on sale for $1.99 a yard. You cannot beat that price. I bought 5 yards of fabric and began constructing my own carrier. Here are the steps:

{1.} Fabric. You will want a knit fabric that has stretch but not a ton. Think of your baby being snug against you but still comfy when wrapped. The pink fabric is a traditional jersey and the white is a more breathable knit. 5 yards was the perfect amount to wrap around my self twice and tie in the front under my babe. The width of your fabric can be any size, but just be sure it is at least 25 inches. I chose a 60" width fabric so I got 2 wraps out of it!




{2.} Wash, wash, wash. You need to double check that your fabric wont unravel, therefore it wont need to be hemmed. Washing will test it and get the extra starch out. It's also a great way to see if the fabric will be nice and soft for bebe. The ends of mine rolled in a bit, and that's okay. As long as it's not fraying you're good!




{3.} Cut the fabric to the desired width if it is not already the size you want. I folded mine in half long ways, like a hot dog, and cut down the line. Since my fabric rolled after washing, I wasn't worried about perfection with the cutting since I can hide it easily. If you're wanting a more symmetrical look, measure and pin about an inch from the crease then cut just to be sure it doesn't shift while cutting.    




And you're done!

{Bonus} 
   The Moby and other wraps like it, have center line indicators (tags or designs) so you know where the middle of the wrap is. I added a few stitches to some of the butterflies on mine so I always knew where the middle was while wrapping. You can do this too by adding a little tag, hand stitches, ruffles or even a monogram.


Now wrap up that babe of yours and get stuff done using both hands! 




Wednesday, January 28, 2015

A New Diamond to Polish

Oh I am so excited! I finally found the perfect piece to be a little bar/storage area in the dining room. I have been wanting storage in the dining room ever since we moved in last year. But I never found anything that I really liked that wasn't an arm and a leg. So of course I went on Craigslist and found this beauty. It was a total steal at only 30 bucks. Check it out.  







She needs a good sanding, some new paint and definitely new pulls for the drawers but I like it. Up close, you can tell that whoever painted this cabinet last didn't sand the previous paint off; so there are some spots of hot pink shining through. But it is solid wood and it has great lines to work with. I still have a few projects to finish up around the house before I start in on a big one like this one, but I just couldn't wait to share! Wish me luck that I finish the others quickly so I can dive right on in : ) 


Monday, January 26, 2015

Recipe Day Monday

No matter what is going on, when you make cookies, you get an instant boost of happiness! With Miss Lizzie still fighting that nasty cold I decided to make another batch of lactation cookies to really up my milk supply for her. One of the few things her pediatrician said that I could do for her while she is sick is to make sure that she is well hydrated by nursing at least every three hours. So into the kitchen I went and whipped up these delicious little babies. This recipe was created especially for me by my culinary school graduate, nutritionist, health nut little sister Natalie. I don't know about y'all, but every recipe I found for lactation cookies either included a hunk of butter or buckets of sugar; and that was the last thing I wanted to eat after Gestational Diabetes and tons of pregnancy weight gain. These cookies are a step away from the scone like cookies out there and more like a traditional cookie, almost peanut butter cookie like in consistency. Dense (so you only need one or two) but yummy! 




I love my stand mixer



Nice and Chunky, full of good stuff for you and your babe. 




I only press mine down a little but if you like them thinner, press them a little more. 



Yum. 





Don't be intimidated by the list of ingredients. I got most of them from our grocery store, Publix. The only thing that took some searching for was the Brewer's Yeast. I found it at an independent vitamin shop in town. If you live by a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's I've heard from a few people that they sell it there. The entire process only takes about 15 minutes not including baking time. And if you like your cookies a little bit more done or crunchy, leave them in an additional 2-5 minutes. This recipe is truly one of the simplest recipes I have ever tried. Give 'em a whirl, and let me know what you think! 


Friday, January 23, 2015

It is Friday

Well my little one is nearly four months old and is sick for the very first time. She is fighting a mean, mean bug that has been passed from my husband, to me, and now to her. Poor little babe. All she has done the past five days is sleep, eat, and go to the doctor; the first appointment was for me and the second was for her. If you've ever had a sick baby you know that there are only a few things docs can give or do unless the babes have been sick for the better part of a month or have a super high fever. I hate the idea of having to wait for it to get worse to be treated or on the flip side, get better and have my healthy lovey back. She does not feel like playing much but we have gotten a few smiles every here and there. The smiles and extra snuggles are the only happy moments of sickness. This has been my first experience in worried mommy mode and I am trying to be as on top of this as possible. So this 5 on Friday is on some very key items that are true godsends and are not only helping getting my Lizzie back to healthy but keep my sanity as well!

{One}
   The Ollie Swaddle. I cannot praise this invention enough. It is the only reason my girl is sleeping at night. I love this thing so much. God bless this little piece of fabric and the magic that is in it!


{Two & Three}
   Little Remedies Saline. A few drops in each teeny, tiny nostril and then you aspirate the hell out of 'em with the NoseFrida until your little angel stops sounding like Harvey Fierstein with the sniffles : )


{Four}
   The mamaRoo. I'm pretty sure Lizzie would sleep all day in this swing if I let her. She cannot breath lying down right now, so a slightly upright position it is. Car Ride is her motion of choice.

 
{Five}
   Lots and lots of coffee and wine. For me, not the Babe. Cheers!