Christmas 2016

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

We celebrated Christmas at home this year which was much needed after our emotional Christmas last year. It was low-key with nothing on the schedule besides exploring downtown and meeting friends at the Christmas train display at Belmond Charleston Place on Christmas Eve.

That evolved into throwing pennies into a nearby fountain, which I think Rowan enjoyed even more than the trains, and a stop at Revelry Brewing for the parents. Quite the nontraditional Christmas Eve!

On Christmas morning I expected Rowan to tear into his presents but he was so laid back! We practically had to talk him into opening his gifts because he was so into his new easel and slide, which Santa's elves lovingly built Christmas Eve!

(Excuse the grainy photos, it was so dark Christmas morning despite Rowan sleeping in a bit!)

He was a big fan of his stocking, which is my favorite part of Christmas morning too! Also, that bed head. I love it.

After presents and a big breakfast, we walked around south of Broad Street to see the gorgeous homes before all of the decor is taken down. It's kind of become a tradition which we started when I was super prego two years ago.

I know most people have their trees down by now but we're still celebrating with family so I'm still in Christmas mode over here. I don't think it's even hit me that 2017 is in a few days!

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Christmas Around Here

It's so hard to believe there are only 4 more sleeps until Christmas! This month has flown by and I've tried to make a conscious effort to soak in all of the craziness.

But you know you've reached bad blogger status when you are posting Christmas decor this late. Oops! I had plans to do this sooner, but as some of you may have seen on IG stories yesterday, I've been dealing with some back problems for the past month and sitting in front of a computer longer than I already do for my day job was not an option. Thankfully I think I'm finally on the mend, which is great because my 30-pound toddler didn't get the memo that mommy can't hold him all of the time!

Anyway, on to the fun stuff! Usually I decorate with a lot of reds but this year I switched it up and I love the little change! I mean, aside from the garland that dried out about 2 weeks ago and the Trader Joe's wreath that somehow smells more like body odor than evergreen?

I think we may have bought one of the biggest Christmas trees on the lot this year. We loved it so much but failed to take into account our 9 foot ceiling so it sort of felt like a Griswald tree once we got it in the house. "It's all part of the experience, honey."

Rowan has done surprisingly well with the tree, knock on wood. We put all of the toddler-friendly ornaments on the bottom and he has about 5 that he takes on and off which is fine by me!

I'm really missing a fireplace mantel again this year but our tv stand is tall enough that its a decent alternative topped with some live-ish garland!

The car pillow just might be my favorite new addition... I was trying to find one that I liked everywhere but ended up adapting Lisa's idea by cutting the car from this placemat and ironing it on a white Ikea cover using this method.

If you follow on Snapchat, yesterday I shared a quick real life tour. You know, the kind that shows all of the junk and toys dispersed throughout the living area that you shove into a closet before taking the pretty photos!

I have Rowan's room and the guest room decorated a bit, but there is zero hope in making those picture ready. Maybe someday I'll get it together!

Hope you've all have a fun Christmas week!

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Our Weekend + Favorite Sugar Cookies

I've been trying my hardest to get a little Christmas home tour for you guys but as it turns out, I really dislike cleaning my house. Our "live" garland has seen better days and I'm slowly having to move ornaments higher and higher on the tree, but hopefully I can snap a few photos before everything dies on me!

Also I realized I forgot to share our Minted Christmas cards here! I love them so much. Our photo was one of those moments where I'm glad there is proof I gave birth to my child because he is a spitting image of his Daddy.

Our weekend was filled with visiting Santa, a stop at the aquarium, and perusing our favorite streets in South of Broad to see all of the Christmas decor. I officially came to the conclusion December is the best time to visit Charleston. You just really can't beat the cool temps and charming doorways with giant wreaths!

I don't know why I didn't think of giving R the cookie cutters to play with earlier, we got like 20 solid minutes of independent play out of that.

On Sunday we stayed in our pajamas and baked sugar cookies. It was a mess with a toddler involved but he loved it. He dipped the cookie cutter in flour first then pushed it down aimlessly wherever he could reach.

My husband claims he doesn't want to screw up the cookies so he'd rather not help decorate. (Insert eye roll here). But honestly I kind of don't blame him. I have to be in the mood to decorate them otherwise they all get some frosting slapped on with the same sprinkles.

But this year I got smart and used a pastry bag to frost them all and it was the easiest and quickest way to frost a sugar cookie! I know Pinterest and bloggers love the look of royal icing cookies but who really has the time for that?! I'll take funfetti frosting over royal icing any day.

I've tried other sugar cookie recipes but always come back to this one! Once the frosting sits on there overnight they soften up and are so.dang.good. The problem is that working from home means I'm 20 feet away from them all day. Cookie for breakfast? Yep. Lunch? Yep.

Hopefully I can whip up a few more types of cookies so we don't eat all of these too quickly! Tell me some of your favorite cookie recipes!! 

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Toddler Advent Calendar Ideas

It's been such a fun Christmas season over here, we've been so busy despite it only being one week into December!

With Rowan just a few months shy of 2 years old (cue my ugly crying), he is starting to understand more about the holidays and I've been excited to try a few new things with him this year. I thought an advent calendar would be a fun way to incorporate some festive activities and make sure we cross off some of our holiday to-do list!

 Last year I picked up a stocking advent calendar during the after-Christmas sales (similar here) so it was just a matter of finding easy things to do during the week and filling in the weekend with bigger things like visiting Santa and baking cookies. With Rowan involved it's inevitable a few cookies will get "boo boos" and need to me eaten immediately, so you won't hear me complaining!

I know a lot of people do small gifts each day but I wanted to keep it simple because the last thing the kid needs is more stuff and I really want him to start learning about giving and helping others. The only gifts I included in his advent activities are a new Christmas book, a Finding Dory figurine (which he is oddly crazy about), and some stickers or crafts we can do together.

These free printables for activities from i heart naptime are so cute and made my job so much easier! I love that there are blank cards included so you can add your own.

Make Christmas Cookies

Read a new Christmas book

Make Christmas cards for the military

Decorate the Christmas Tree

Drive around to see Christmas Lights

Take Ruby for a walk and give her a new dog treat

Pass out Christmas cookies

Listen to Christmas music

Watch a Christmas movie

Visit Santa Claus

Playground date with Daddy

Decorate Gingerbread Houses

See Scuba Santa at the Aquarium

Drink hot chocolate with marshmallows

Make reindeer food

Make a Christmas ornament

Make paper snowflakes (I'm going to make them in advance and let him open them up)

Learn about the Nativity

Donate to Toys for Tots and the Humane Society

Make a Christmas treat

Have festive pancakes for breakfast (or dinner!)

Take a family picture with your Christmas tree

Sing Christmas carols

Paint a holiday picture for grandparents

Read about the Christmas story

Rowan is really into art (especially painting) lately so I picked up some wooden ornaments and little craft projects from Michael's for some of the activities. Try not to be too jealous of his coloring skills!

Also if you're looking for a new Christmas book, a few of our favorites (other than Little Blue Truck which has been well documented) are Olaf's Night Before Christmas, Bear Stays Up for Christmas, and my personal fave, Home Alone! Seriously, its Home Alone in a children's book form with the cutest pictures. I admit that one may have been more for us than R though!

If you have more ideas for an advent calendar with a toddler I'd love to hear them!

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Favorite Cyber Monday Deals

This weekend has been nothing short of chaos with Rowan's newfound ability to climb out of his crib. Sooo needless to say I'll be getting all of my holiday shopping done online today!

There are so many good deals out there so if you've been putting your shopping off like me, here are some of my favorites!

Pehr Pom Pom Bin. Bannor Toys Wooden Camera. Gap Softspun Hi-Lo Tee. Childhoods Clothing Hoodie.
Toddler Hunter Boots. Capri Blue Candle. J. Crew Messenger Bag.

Pehr Designs: 30% off all storage and free shipping with code STORAGE30. We love our Pehr bins so this is a great deal!
Bannor Toys: 15% off with code CYBERMAMA
Childhoods Clothing: 25% off with code BLACKFRIDAY
Hanna Anderson: 20% off everything with free shipping 
Joss and Main: 30% off everything with code CYBERDAY
J. Crew: 40% off and free shipping with code
J. Crew Factory: 60% off everything and extra 40% off sale with code HAPPYSALE
Gap: 50% off everything (no exclusions!) with code CYBMON
Old Navy: 50% off everything (discount applied at checkout)
Nordstrom: Extra 20% select sale items and 25% off Hunter Boots!
Anthropologie: 20% off full price items and 30% off sale with code STACKS
Target: 15% off your purchase. I love the Cat & Jack line for kiddos!, especially these soft skinny jeans for playdates and school!
Minted: 20% off everything with code CM2016. They have so many good gift ideas... R's footprint art is still my favorite!

Hope you all find some great deals!!

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Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! This has felt like the never-ending week but now that it's finally Friday, I'm praying time will slow down! We have so much to do before we host a little Friendsgiving on Sunday and I'm just hoping they don't mind the mishmash of Fall and Christmas decor I've got going on over here! 

I wanted to share a few favorites from the week before we sign off and enter what I expect will be the last remotely non-crazy weekend before the holiday madness begins!

ONE. If you're looking for easy desserts for Friendsgiving, the Trader Joe's mini pumpkin pies and pumpkin cheesecake are a major addiction around here. Rowan commandeers that cheesecake the moment he sees it, so my husband and I have resorted to snacking while hiding in the pantry. Hashtag we're fatties.

TWO. Like every woman in America, I'm a big fan of athleisure and Gap's softspun knit line is hands down my favorite clothing ever. The fabric feels like butter. I have a few of these tees and cannot stop wearing this hi-low top. Treat yourself now because they are 40-50 percent off!! Also they run a little big so if you're in between sizes go smaller.

THREE. We picked up Rowan this 3 foot Christmas tree (for $18 I couldn't pass it up!) for his playroom and he is completely obsessed. He tells us all of the colors of the lights and makes us sit on the couch with him just to admire it. Totally got his mama's love for the holidays!

FOUR. Needing last minute table decor ideas? I love the look of silver dollar eucalyptus with copper accents! I'm totally going to try to recreate this gorgeous setup!

FIVE. I think we're leaning towards an easel and new art supplies for Rowan's Christmas gift (he loves painting and I'm hoping to avoid more toys!) but I'm eager to hear what you're getting your toddler! Anyone have fun ideas for an almost 2 year old?

Hope you all have a fun and festive weekend!

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Thoughts on Family Photos with a Toddler

We had our family photos this past weekend with the super talented Shannon Michelle Photography and I adore them. Rowan was a little velcro toddler on my hip 90 percent of the session, so I tried to keep my expectations low, but Shannon seriously worked some kind of magic.

A photography session with a toddler is just as unpredictable as I expected, but here are a few thoughts that were running through my head as our session went on.

1. Really glad I skipped the dress and booties. Falling on my face while wrangling a 30 pound child is not a picture I'd like our photographer to capture.

2. Note to self: Just pay for the overpriced toddler haircut in an airplane chair instead of the cheap place down the road. Also don't under any circumstance let my husband go solo with him to the salon.

3. Thank you Jesus for the 60 degree weather.
 
4. I hope I brought enough marshmallows for bribes. Maybe I should have grabbed the lollipops too. Damn.

5. Next time we're leading with the ducks. He lit up the moment he saw them in the pond, and by then the photo session was over. Who knew my kid just needed a few ducks to quack at him?

If you're one of those toddler moms who thought through a styled photography shoot with perfect outfits, I applaud you. I'm lucky I had two of the same shoes on as we ran out the door at what felt like the crack of dawn.

PS These are just a few of the blog-approved photos, sorry I can't share more of the gems!

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Weekend + Thanksgiving Table Goals

I think we've finally gotten to the point in Charleston that the sweater weather is here to stay! Although the cold evenings this weekend did have me missing our fireplace, I'll take the leggings and cozy blankets any day!

Our weekend was low key on the account another cold being passed around our family. Rowan had the worst of it but I don't think I'm far behind. 'Tis the season, right?

On Saturday I hosted a Thanksgiving Tablescape event with World Market which was so much fun! It was my first time hosting an event so I admit I was a tad nervous but I'm so glad I did it. Thank you to World Market for having me!

I can't take credit for any of the styling- that's Rachel from Maison de Pax's work- but I was able to share some good tips for dressing your table and meet a lot of sweet shoppers equally as excited for the holiday as I am. I even came home with a few of the wooden candlestick holders (love them in white too) for our Friendsgiving table this weekend, so I'd call it a win!

I also had two women touch my hair without asking because they liked my curls. Super random, I know. I'm going to assume that means I didn't look like a hot mess despite the cute toddler hovering around my feet while I was getting ready.

Though the event was only two hours, by the end I was starting to feel the effects of my cold and talking so much with interested shoppers. I couldn't wait to collapse on the couch with hot tea in one hand and pumpkin cheesecake in the other. TJ's pumpkin cheesecake, I can't quit you!

Also tell me I'm not the only one with holiday confusion?! I've been listening to the Frank Sinatra holiday station and decorating Rowan's room for Christmas while wishing pumpkin season would never go away!

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Hawaii Recap in Photos

It's been a rather gloomy week with all of the election chaos, so I thought today was a good day to recap our trip to O'ahu! I mean, who doesn't love a good beach photo? Don't worry, the festive holiday content is coming!

I do apologize in advance though for the massive picture overload that is about to ensue. I took about four hundred (!) photos and I'm not even sure if any of them do this beautiful place justice. I'll definitely share more about each of our favorite stops in another post, but for now, lets all just imagine we're having a Mai Tai on Waikiki Beach, k?

This was our first trip sans Rowan, so considering how long of a trip it is from the East Coast I was pretty proud of us for actually going through with it! It was totally weird not having to work around nap time and just focusing on what we wanted to do together as a couple, though I admit I may have shed a tear on the way to the airport.

There were other islands we wanted to see, but ended up staying on O'ahu for the whole trip because my husband was working there during the week. I'm glad we did stay, there is so much to do and so many beautiful spots to check out.

Upon landing in Honolulu, my husband picked me up and we went straight to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. It was a quick tour and I highly recommend it if you're in the area.

We then stopped at our hotel on Waikiki Beach and headed to dinner. By this point it was around 10 PM Charleston time and I was spent, but mustered up the energy for a Mai Tai and my first of many fish tacos at Duke's.

The rest of our weekend was spent driving up the east coast of O'ahu exploring all of the stunning lookout spots, beaches, fruit trucks, and the North Shore. 

One of our favorite areas of the North Shore was Sunset Beach. It's one of the best areas on the island for surfing, with good reason because the waves were huge and terrifying. We opted to watch the surfers from the sideline before stopping by the food trucks for garlic shrimp and some of the famous Matsumoto Shave Ice.

Another favorite spot that I wish we had gone to sooner was Lanikai Beach. The Mokulua Islands or "Mokes" were so beautiful and the sand was much softer. We've already decided that if we ever go back we want to kayak out to the Mokes.

While my husband worked during the week, I spent my time trying coffee shops and acai bowls, shopping, and getting some color on pasty skin. And probably annoying my mom by asking how Rowan and Ruby were doing. ha! It was such a bummer not having the whole day to spend with my husband, but hey... it's Hawaii, I can't complain. 

The sunsets during our walk to dinner each night were absolutely stunning, I kept taking photos and then 5 minutes later the sky would be even more beautiful.

Overall, we ate well (more on that in another post), explored, and recharged. It was just what we needed!

If you've been to O'ahu let me know some of your favorite spots, I'm so interested to see if we hit them all!

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