Initial Love

One of my favorite pieces of jewelry is this necklace:

It's an "a" for my baby and reminds me of her every time I look at it. I always knew I wanted something like this when I became a mom. I picked this one from Tiffany's because of its delicate look.

Here are some other pieces of "initial" jewelry I've come across online and just love.

Catbird via Babble

The Jewelry Bar

Albeit Jewelry via Pinterest

Charlie and Marcelle

They're small and simple but adding the initial of someone you love can really make for a big impact. How much more special to have a bracelet or ring or necklace on with so much meaning.

P.S. I think my daughter is becoming a little fashionista. I sat her down with a tin full of cookie cutters last night to keep her busy while I made dinner and she started putting them on like bracelets!

On a completely random note: we also had a blast having a dance party!

Summer Slipping Away

The guy at Starbucks told me they now have the pumpkin spice flavor in store. I don't know if I'm ready for this. Where did my summer go?

Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles via Pinterest

Don't you wish you had one of these at your home + the view? I would sit out here every. single. day.

Lend a Helping Hand

Thank goodness all of my relatives on the east coast are doing fine after Hurricane Irene. I can't believe some of the flooding/damage. Thank God it wasn't as bad as predicted.

Click here for an article from CNN on how you can help the victims of the hurricane.

The Daily Mess

Toys are taking over my house!!.. and no matter what I do to clean it up, this mess returns day after day!!

 (Obviously there was something important under the crib.)

(She got it)

Every night, after babes goes to sleep, I spend probably 15 minutes cleaning up this mess - just to do it again the next night..and the next night...and the next night.

Why this madness?

First, I like to relax at night - and there's NO way I would be able to sit and de-stress with so much commotion around me.

Second, I like the idea of starting each day with a clean slate.

I just have one question - is this parenthood or am I missing some magical organizational technique that prevents such a mess??....

I think it's parenthood. (but please let me know if you have a different answer!)

Barely Break a Sweat BBQ

One of my new favorite dishes to make at home is BBQ chicken sliders. I first got the recipe in my Redbook magazine. (does saying "redbook" make me sound old?... I kind of feel like it does....)

BBQ Chicken Sliders

It takes no time at all to make this dish. I've altered the recipe a tad from the magazine. Really this is it: grill chicken breasts. chop up chicken on cutting board. heat up BBQ sauce on stove top (I use a sweet and spicy BBQ sauce). add chopped chicken to BBQ sauce to heat up all together. serve on buns.

As for the coleslaw - I've made it myself in the past but find it tastes the same and saves time if I buy it in the deli section of the grocery store.

So EASY!!!

Here's mine:

I must say, I'm not usually one for BBQ, but I really enjoy this. My husband LOVES it.  I hope you take time to make it and let me know what you think!

Friday Fashion File

Friendship bracelets -- more grown-up than you ever thought!

Ana Osgood Jewelry

Lilli Dolli

 Noir Jewelry via The Southern Eclectic


Opening Ceremony

Polyvore

Splish Splash

Temps spiked around here today, so we set up the baby pool. This girl loves water!

Riley thought those toys looked an awful lot like HIS toys:

I couldn't forget this pic - she's giving her "no no no" finger wave to Riley:

Pricey Pillows No More

Changing out the pillows in a room can really make a difference. But decorative pillows can get expensive, especially when you're talking about buying quite a few.

via

So what do you do if you don't want to spend a lot of money?? ---> step out of the living room section of the store and head to the kitchen section.

That's right, I said KITCHEN. Have you noticed how beautiful some placemats and cloth napkins are? Did you ever think how easy it would be to turn those into beautiful pillows?! It is!!

Sarah over at Thrifty Decor Chic did it at Pottery Barn...

She found that some of the Pottery Barn pillow designs almost matched those of their cloth napkins. So she grabbed a couple napkins and made her own pillow. Instead of $59, she said she spent only $8!

Courtney over at A Thoughtful Place is planning on doing the same. She found great patterns at World Market. Her idea is to back these with white and make a set of coordinating pillows:

You know it's a good idea when my favorite designer Sarah Richardson is doing it!! On HGTV's Sarah 101, She turned a kitchen towel she found at Anthropologie into a fun pillow for a child's room.

You can see it with yellow backing on the bed:

In fact, the kitchen towel was the inspiration for the whole room!

Just think - a pillow at Anthropologie would set you back around $100. A kitchen towel - around $20!

Isn't this clever and so affordable?! With as much as I like to change up the pillows on my couch - I'm now spending a little bit more time in this part of the store.

Pillow Talk

Pillows are a great and easy way to change things up in your family room, living room, even a bedroom. By adding more or changing out the color/design of your pillows you can really transform the whole space. I wanted to share some of my favorite decorative pillows with you. I found all of these on etsy:

Martha and Ash

Be Still Shop

Lilly on Blue

Lilly on Blue

Lilly on Blue

Kyoozi

Some pillows sure can get pricey though, but guess what... I have the answer and it's in the kitchen! I'll explain tomorrow!

P.S. Got my new camera. I'm so excited - it's much nicer than my old one and so much fun!! Now I can take even more pics of my little cutie patootie!! (good thing she can't roll her eyes at me yet)

Food Struggles

One of my biggest concerns now that babes is eating food - real food, not baby food/breast milk - is that she's not getting the nutrition she needs.

("Mom, I'm pretty sure this is not a healthy move!")

Okay, so it's not always this bad..... but we are in a food rut, especially at lunch time. (mac&cheese anyone?)

Side note: I've always struggled when it comes to eating a well-balanced diet myself. I find I get intimidated when it comes to healthy food because I don't know that much about it. I especially get overwhelmed at the grocery store and usually go for what's easy over what's healthy... I know, I know.

So this weekend I spent hours online looking for help in the form of healthy "one year old" menu ideas.

I found some great information at LiveStrong.com, but my saving grace was Babble. I've looked at this site for topics like fashion but never realized what a great resource it is for food!

via

It has a lot of great ideas when it comes to feeding kids:

via

You'll have to check out "A Dozen Easy Muffin Recipes"

Now to my big find on Babble: "Top 100 Food Mom Blogs" These blogs are great for recipes not only for baby but for the entire fam! (I really like The Naptime Chef.)

My big take-away: I need to give baby more options - healthy options - at each meal. (Like if I make her mac&cheese I should also add in a veggie and a fruit on the side.) I also picked up some healthier items like hummus, cheese, avocados and beans.

She really liked this snack I made her (cheese, hummus and whole wheat crackers and peaches):

Notice empty plate:

I know it's not that complex, but I'm feeling so much better.