Sunday, April 27, 2014

Chinatown

I'll be getting on a plane tomorrow (Monday) morning to Hong Kong. It's basically the longest flight ever.

Ever.

Houston to Chicago, then 16 long hours on the air bus to HK. Basically torture made better by a little TV in the seat in front of me. I was willing to add an hour to my trip just for that TV. Not even kidding. My first flight from San Francisco to HK didn't have it. Oh sweet Lord. I'll never make the trip without it from here on out if I can help it. Honestly, I'm not really dreading the flight. It will be okay. I'm absolutely 100% dreading the jet lag when I get home. It was horrific. Fingers crossed that it's better this time?? Amen.

Anyhow, I'm going to be instagramming sneak peeks of our days so make sure you tune in (will be posing photos at weird times because of the time difference). Annnnd, I'll see you guys back in the US of A in a week.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Family Photos 2014

You guys. I'm so completely thrilled. We took family photos a couple of weeks ago and I got them back yesterday afternoon. Floored. Courtney (Lovingly Luxe Photography- go check out her blog, y'all!) captured our family so well. I will cherish these photos forever.

I thought for SURE none would turn out. Not because Courtney isn't an amazing photographer (she is!) but because it was muggy and humid, Jonah was hungry and there were mosquito's. Ya know. Just a normal photo shoot for my family. Yours too?? I could not be happier with these. I can't wait to print them out and get this stage in our life plastered on our walls. I print far too few photos. I seem to snap, snap, but then never print.

I highly recommend Courtney. Book her today, y'all. She is so down to earth and friendly, not to mention her pricing is totally fair. Here's her Facebook page, too. No excuses. Get your family photos taken!

Here's a preview of our shoot-


























Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Easter Bits

It was a wonderfully long weekend filled to the brim with family, food and lotssss of fun.
I hope yours was too!


Thursday, April 17, 2014

Easter Traditions + Treats

Easter is such a special holiday. Celebrating the risen One that died for us. Amazing Grace it truly is! Celebrating an occasion so special gives it a certain importance. It's the BEST celebration!!

Like other holidays, Easter feels a little more special now that we have Jonah. Last year was his very first Easter and I wanted to start a fun tradition with him. I ordered a custom hand-painted Easter basket and plan to use it year after year. Basically until he goes off to college. Ha. I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out, y'all! 

Last year he was too little to understand an egg-hunt and this year he's LOVING the thrill of the hunt + opening the eggs to find "nandy". My boy loves him some candy. And I love finding little treasures to put in his basket. This year the "Easter Bunny" is bringing Jonah a basketball hoop for the tub, a blue (his favorite color is blue. If you ask him the color of anything, it's "boo".) bubble wand, sidewalk chalk, new sunglasses and some other goodies. He's gonna be SO egg-cited. See what I did there? 



Yesterday I had my first big Mom fail moment. I signed up to bring pizza and treats to Jonah's class party/egg hunt. I was all prepared for it today. Annnnd, it was yesterday. I picked up Jonah and he met me at the door with a paper (ugh) bag full of eggs. I'm sure it will be funny in a few years, but yeah. NOT so funny yesterday. Poor babies didn't get their pizza!! I felt terrible. 

Regardless of missing (!!!) the class party I still took his teachers delicious treats today. They forgave me. I made extra large Blondie Bars (for my BLONDE moment. But not really.) for them and used cute treat bags. Simple + cute. Here's the link to the Smitten Kitchen recipe.


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Happy Easter, y'all. I hope you enjoy the time with those you love the most!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Night Night



The last couple of nights our bedtime routine has NOT been fun around here. Somehow we (okay, I) got into the habit of allowing Jonah to hang out in my bed and watch Veggie Tales before he went to sleep. Jeremy is always working at night so we just vegged out in Momma's bed. He inevitably would fall asleep in our bed and then I would just transfer him to his crib when I got ready for bed. Welllllll, this turned into a habit. He expects to "sleep" in our bed now.

So yeah. For the last few months this is what's been going down. And sometimes I would fall asleep and NOT transfer him to his crib and end up with elbows and feet in my back. Fun times. This past Sunday night I decided that he needed to get him back into the routine of sleeping in his own bed.

Uhmm. He screamed for 53 minutes.

I have a very, very strong-willed child on my hands.

But, I'm pretty strong willed too. I went into his room every 15-20 minutes and picked up his Cookie and Paci (that he had thrown across the room) hand them back to him and repeated the process saying, "night night, Jonah" each time. Finally, finnnnnally he conked out. It was absolutely pitiful and I almost gave in and went and rescued him a bajillion times. Momma probs.

But honestly. I want to be able to stay up late and do my own thing if I want (CRAFT) past his bedtime. I want to be able to cuddle with my big dude. And get a good night's rest. Whew. He has been pointing his little finger upstairs and telling me it was time for US to go to my bed and go to sleep when he was tired. Bossy little britches.

Anyhow, I'm happy to report that he didn't make a peep last night when Jeremy put him to bed. This will be his fourth night back in his crib.

Momma is sleeping sound, y'all. It's the small victories. I'm sure I'll have to repeat this process once I get back from China. Whew.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Vintage Farm Inspired Nursery {Jonah Knox}

You guys. My little dude is almost ready for a big boy bed, and I'm in complete denial! Before he turns into a big-little man, I thought it would be fun to go back and revisit his Birmingham nursery complete with my inspiration for the space.

Here's my original inspiration board (that changed about a million and one times before Jonah was actually born). Jeremy and I both love plaid, so we wanted to incorporate a preppy plain into the space. I didn't want to actually pick a "theme" per say, so we tried to mix elements and come up with a look, but not necessarily a themed matchy-matchy space:


And, here's the outcome after months of junking, crafting and planning (the best kind of planning, in my opinion!). Jonah's vintage farm inspired nursery:










I hope you enjoyed the tour. I miss this room where we brought him home and left tons of great memories (miss my house, too). I think houses become part of you, and I left a little piece of my heart in Alabama.

Do you guys agree?  I hope you're having a splendid week thus far...

Monday, April 14, 2014

Play-date Style {What Jonah's Wearing}

Remember chatting a few weeks ago about Jonah growing out of all of his clothes? True story. He's gained a couple of pounds and has grown an inch at least over the last two months!! He's such a little man now, talking like crazy and bossing me around. It's the cutest (until it's not cute, if ya know what I mean).

I had several coupons that I was saving so I stocked up on fun (and inexpensive!) basics and I'm having the most fun mixing and matching it up..


All items shown are from Carter's, OskKosh, Baby Gap, and Old Navy.
(Most of these should be current and in stores right now)
You can find the converse online or in stores now.

And- I picked up these cute slip on's at Old Navy a few weeks ago and they have been the BEST buy. Jonah loves to splash in puddles and they're great for slipping on quickly (they don't come off, either!) and if they get dirty/muddy you can just rinse them off.

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Happy Monday, y'all! 
I hope everyone has a splendid Easter week.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Easter Egg Truffles {Treats for Jonah's Teachers}





I used 1 package of Golden Oreos (crushed them up) and mixed with 1 package of cream cheese. I rolled them into egg shapes and chilled into the freezer until they hardened. I melted 8 ounces (1/2 of a large package) of white chocolate bark and dipped each egg until completely covered (I found it easier to roll the eggs into the bark with a spoon). Once covered I stuck them back into the freezer for a bit. 

While they were in the freezer I melted the remainder of the bark and mixed with my Wilton food coloring to create pastels, then decorated my "eggs". 

Voila. Pretty, cheerful treats for Jonah's teachers!!
Happy Friday, y'all!


Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Stripes + Sperrys + Chambray

You know how everyone talks and talks about how everything is different after you become a Mom? And its all this really scary talk before you actually become one. I remember getting upset when people told me to "enjoy that while it lasts" about this or that activity + adventure. Eh. I don't really agree. I understand their meaning now, but having Jonah hasn't changed what I like to do, where we go, or anything about me personally.

And, becoming a Mom hasn't changed my sense of style in the least. If anything, it has made me more confident as a woman and a little more fun. More playful and easy going, if you will. I'm not the girl that wears designer clothing and probably never will. I'm a Gap girl. You'll find me in stretchy pants most days with a messy top knot. The coolest thing has happened over the last couple of years- I've finally figured out my personal style. Better still, I stick with it now. I'm an American girl all the way. Casual. Classic. Playful.

Here's what I packed for my trip to Baton Rouge this week:


1. Striped boat-neck tee from Gap (link to similar)
2. Washed denim shirt dress from Gap (link to similar)
3. Leopard Minnetonka moccasins
4. Chambray drawstring dress from Old Navy (on clearance in stores now!)
5. Gold Sperry's
6. Washed Canvas Sperry's from JCrew (link to similar)

Monday, April 7, 2014

Weekend Bits


Our weekend was so full of fun + family. Those are the best, you know?! Happy hearts over here.

And, for our family shindig I made this Tex-Mex Pimento Cheese Dip + Broccoli Salad. Oh lawd.
Good things, y'all. Good things.