16Nov 2015

Gift Ideas for a 1 Year Old

by Nicole ⋅ 2 Comments

Jellybean’s 2nd birthday is fast approaching, not to mention the holidays, and the brainstorming of gift ideas has officially begun. When it comes to buying presents I often feel like I don’t have enough options OR I’m totally at a loss as to what to buy. Trying to decide on the perfect second birthday gift has actually made me think a lot about the things Jellybean has really loved over the past year. Some of them we bought for her, others were gifts and a few we just enjoyed using at a friend’s house.

So if you, like me, sometimes draw a blank here are some of my favorite gift for a toddle who’s 1 to 2 years old …

Corn Popper // I will admit this toy can be a tad bit annoying. The constant popping noise might be annoying to us ‘adults’, however the kiddos love it!
Magnetic Drawing Board // Perfect for a toddler who loves to color or one who’s just starting to build those motor skills. Jellybean found this gift particularly entertaining when we were on vacation and on those morning’s when I’m running late and she has to sit in the bathroom while I shower.
Radio Flyer Scoot-About Bike // I wish we had known about this bike earlier. It’s great for scooting around the apartment and outside the little toddler bike posse is pretty darn adorable.
Little People // Perfect for learning to play pretend or you know just chuck the different farm animals around. Haha. Oh the life of a toddler!
Take-Along Shape Sorter // Great learning toy for colors, shapes and fine motor skills. Also the perfect size to fit in the diaper or carry-on bag when traveling.
My First Chair // This is probably in the top 5 favorite things Jellybean loves, and I’m a huge fan as well. She loves to sit in her chair for snacks, tv, playing with a toy and often sets up all her ‘babies’ for tea or story time.
MegaBlocks // Great for building, stacking, counting and identifying colors.
Laugh & Learn Tea Set // Love the songs on the tea pot and it’s pretty adorable when Jellybean asks if I would like some “mor’ tea”.
Chat & Count Cell Phone // This toy is great when you are on the go. It fits in a purse or pocket. It’s my go to toy for trips to the store, doctors and trips, especially, on the airplane!
Jumbo Triangular Crayons // My daughter is not gentle with her toys and these crayons have held up really well over the months. While Jellybean didn’t love coloring at 12 months, by the time she was 18 months it was one of her favorite post-nap activities.

So there you have it, our favorite gift ideas for a 1-2 year old. And, seriously with all the toy choices out there toddlerhood is pretty darn fun on a birthday or holiday!

What are you favorite gifts for toddlers?

16Sep 2015

Go To Baby Shower Gift{s}

by Nicole ⋅ 5 Comments

Before having a baby my favorite thing to buy parents-to-be was baby clothes. They are so cute, tiny and just down right adorable. I could easily spend $100 without even trying … my husband would probably interject at this point and mention this is an addiction I’m still battling. But, have faith, I have limited sed addiction to my own child’s wardrobe for the time being.

Having a baby changed my perspective a bit on baby gifts and I have steered myself towards choosing necessity items off the baby registry and/or putting together some of our favorite gear for the expecting parents. I don’t expect everyone to love everything that we did, however I found it extremely helpful when veteran parents recommended or gifted us their favorites.

Go-to gift bag items …

Onsie/Outfit
Nuk Sippy Cup
Bright Starts Lots of Links
Burp Clothes
Wubbanub
Lansinoh Soothies Gel Pads
Book {favorites picks: this, this, this and/or this}
Snack Catcher

Some additional items I sometimes include …

I like to add everything to a cute baby shower gift bag OR arrange them in a pretty basket. Either way, the gift is a mix of things the parents can use immediately as well as items for a few months down the line.

For more ideas check out this super cute baby welcome basket my friend put together for me!

What are you go to baby shower gifts?

Linking Ups:

19Aug 2015

Jellybean’s Shabby Chic Nursery!

by Nicole ⋅ 5 Comments

Seriously, my daughter is a toddler (where does the time go?!?! Jellybean, please stop growing up so fast) and I have yet to share her adorable shabby chic nursery! While a few things have changed since she was born, like lowering the height of the mattress and the addition of toys, her shabby chic nursery is finally making its debut.

Brainstorming ideas for Jellybean’s nursery began before I even knew if we were having a boy or a girl. I settled on a nautical theme for a boy and shabby chic theme for a girl. You can check out the Pinterest board here. Despite my favorite color being purple I was drawn to pale pink accents for the nursery. The hubby was pretty much on board with whatever made me happy. His one request once we found out Jellybean was a girl was to keep the pink to a minimum … fair enough, fair enough my love.

Picking out the wall color was a huge undertaking. I’m fairly obsessed with gray walls and finding the perfect gray is, well, challenging. It couldn’t be too blue or purple or tan … I had to have (what I consider) a true gray. My sister and (soon to be) brother-in-law came into town for a weekend and spent at least an hour at Benjamin Moore with me looking at samples, pontificating and eventually settling on the Harbor Gray sample. If they weren’t there to assist it is possible the nursery would still have sampled gray colors all over the walls hehehe. I was worried the Harbor Gray would be too dark for the room so the sales associate suggested I get it at 75% or 50%. I am fairly certain we went with the 75% …. and it was total perfection.

I love how the room came out. It’s absolutely what I envisioned!! I ran out of time and energy before JB was born and didn’t fill the frames. I’m ashamed Jellybean is almost 20 months old and I am yet to fill the picture frames, but at the same time I kind of like them empty.

Bookshelves – Ikea
Frames – Hobby Lobby {painted the same white color as the trim}
Crib – Bratt Decor
Dresser & Nightstand – Consignment Store
Rug – Pottery Barn Kids {no longer in stock – similar}
ABC’s – Etsy {painted pink}
Elephant Hamper – Home Decorators
Sheet/Bed Skirt – RH Baby&Child
Curtains – Pottery Barn Kids
Light Switch Plates – eBay {painted the same white color as the trim}
Shade – The Shade Store
Vanity Tray – Hobby Lobby
Glider – Storytime Series
Barrette Frame – DIY {gift from a friend}

If you enjoyed this post, please add your tidbit by commenting below. Don’t forget you can follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

20Jul 2015

Things I Should have Done Before Baby Arrived

by Nicole ⋅ 1 Comment

Whether it is the first, second or third (maybe fourth?!) addition to your family, a pregnant woman is never lacking in things she must do to prepare for that little bundle of joy. There’s all the doctor’s appointments, eating right, drinking enough water, registering, buying endless # of baby clothes and gear, remembering to order the nursery furniture far enough in advance so it arrives before the baby, and I’m fairly certain the list goes on and on and well, on.

It’s funny when looking back on experiences I see things through a totally different set of lenses than I did while actually living it. For example, that crib I paid to have expedited, because I couldn’t decided until 8 weeks out what I wanted. I admit I was a rookie and 1st time mom-to-be. Well, baby girl didn’t sleep in said crib until she was 10 weeks old. Didn’t REALLY need that ahead of time hehehe. Hindsight is 20/20, right?

5 things I wish I had done before baby arrived:

Freezer Meals – This was something I read on almost every blog. Make LOTS of freezer meals. I did manage to get some stuff into the freezer, which was a total lifesaver … however there just wasn’t enough meals to sustain us for very long. We were fortunate that friends and family brought/cooked us meals, but if we choose to have a second kid I will learn from our experience with Jellybean and pack the freezer with ready-to-go meals!!
Hired a Newborn Photographer – This was an EPIC fail on my part. I started fairly early on researching newborn photographers. I reached out to a handful of them and then never pulled the trigger. Recovering from the labor & delivery coupled with the exhaustion of a newborn scheduling photos was low on my to do list and I just never got around to it. Once I was out of the haze of becoming a mother it was past that ‘sleepy newborn’ stage which is ideal for newborn photos. If I had hired someone ahead of time I know I would have followed through. Not doing professional newborn photos is a big regret of mine, but I have so many pictures of Jellybean when she was a newborn I have no choice by to give myself a pass on this one. :)
Postpartum Wardrobe – I wrote a whole post about postpartum essentials for mama. I bought so many things, but didn’t make any real preparations for my postpartum a priority. Nursing bras, tank tops, loose clothing and ‘in-between’ items could have been purchased prior to Jellybean’s arrival and would have made me a whole lot more comfortable. I am SO lucky to have family who ran back and forth from the store to get me everything I needed.
Take More Maternity Photos – I’m will admit I didn’t find pregnant Nicole to be the most attractive version of myself. At about 5-6 months I felt like the belly was cute, but once month 7 rolled around I just felt huge. And to be totally honest, people had no problem telling me how BIG I was, which made me a bit more self conscious. I took a few photos of the belly for the blog, but I shy-ed away from being in photos and taking them of myself. I wish I had a few more picture (especially of the hubby and me), because … heck … I was growing a little human inside me!!!
Date Nights – The hubby and I should have done a few more dinners out, maybe caught an extra movie or two and definitely taken an extra vacation before the baby arrived. After my daughter was a newborn I found it hard to be away from her, even if it was just a few hours (if I’m being honest it’s still hard and she’s 18 months old!!!). Also, finding someone I trusted to watch her was extremely difficult.

So there are my lessons learned on things I wish I had done prior to baby’s arrival!! I hope they help you as you are preparing for baby!

What did I miss?

19Jun 2015

Friday Favs!

by Nicole ⋅ Leave a Comment

Hey there! Oh my gosh, do you even remember that I blog?? It has been a while … insert a bajillion excuses here. Oh yeah, ummmm, okay, let me just tell you why. Work has been insanely busy. It’s that good kind of busy though. I’m learning so much and really loving putting that PMP to good use. Jellybean has been staying up later, which is great because we get more quality time during the week! The only down side is it shortens then amount of time I have with both my hand and not having to keep one eye on the bambino! Post bedtime stories are packed with household stuff, relaxing and QT with the hubby. Finding the energy and motivation to blog has been hard, but I’ve really missed it.

So I’m back … and oh so hopeful you will accept me back into the fold. =)

Lets get to it with my current favorites this Friday!

I finally got around to ordering prints from January to March of this year … jeez I’m a slacker! But, seriously, what is better than actual prints?!?! Any-hoo this picture is from Easter weekend and I just love it. Jellybean is concentrating on saying hello to the ‘baaa baaa baaa, sheep’. Our kiddo has ZERO fear and stuck her little hand through the fence in an attempt to touch the ‘baaa baaa baaa’. Luckily Grammy was closely monitoring the interaction so I could capture the moment.

I’m totally obsessed with this Crispy Cajan Chicken dish. It’s a home run recipe!! I’ve modified it a little by brushing on the hot sauce and then searing it on the stove top, followed by baking in the oven. When I cooked it on the stove top the whole time all the breading fell off – total bummer. I’ve literally made this meal every week since finding the recipe.

They don’t call these leggings ‘live in’ for nothing! I want to wear the all day everyday. I’m thinking of buying a second pair in another color. And speaking of clothes, I wish it was acceptable to wear the same blazer EVERY.SINGLE.DAY to work. Given how hot is has been in DC as of late this blazer has been clutch. Throw it over my tank top and head to a meeting … professional and comfy!

This baby sponge is amazing and why didn’t we find it when Jellybean was just an infant. Bath time sponge equals a decrease in the amount of laundry {no more… or at least less wash clothes}.

Totally loving this fashion blogger. I’m working on creating a new cohesive wardrobe so I’m really into reading these types of blogs recently.

My sister is ENGAGED!!! I got her this super cute cup as an engagement gift. It’s been crazy fun to help her plan a little. It brings back so many memories from planning my own wedding. I’ve also been pinning bridal shower and wedding ideas like crazy. Pinterest … Can’t Stop … Won’t Stop. LOL.

Finally tried this under eye dark circle corrector. Everyone sings it’s praises and I do like it, however I have a feeling I’m not applying it quite right. So I will continue to work on that!

What are your favorites this week?? Happy Friday! I hope you have a fabulous weekend!!

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