Happy Friday

Custom Birthday Wrapping Paper c/o Minted

Happy Friday, friends! This week was a crazy one and I really missed this space!

Between having lots of visitors, prepping for Rowan's birthday party this weekend, finalizing our girls weekend in Napa, and a crazy work week that involved working after Rowan went to bed, I'm pretty much in need a glass of wine just thinking about it.

Be sure to follow on Instagram and Snapchat (HomeSweetRuby) for all of the party fun. I'll definitely be overgramming the next few weeks!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Cheers!
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Spring Wishlist

Now that I'm done nursing and most of my blouses just hang on me (due the boob shrinkage detailed here), I've been going back and forth about doing my first ever capsule wardrobe. I'm not totally sold but I think the idea behind it - weeding out the items in your closet that don't fit right, you rarely wear, or just bought because it was on super sale but aren't totally in love with - might be just what I need to refresh my closet this Spring.

Clearly I'm not a fashion blogger and since I work from home, comfort is key. I've been loving basic, versatile and quality pieces with a wildcard like this embroidered dress mixed in, for the rare date night or brunch with the girls. Also you know I can't pass up navy and white stripes, so this is currently my go-to dress.


Rag & Bone Jeans (40% off!). (Also love this color, which are also 40% off). So I admit I was really skeptical of any jeans that cost more than the usual $40 I'll shell out for a good sale at J. Crew or even less at Old Navy. I've learned that when it comes to skinny jeans especially, the quality and cost-to-wear ratio is so worth it! No more washing after every wear because they stretch out and give me a saggy mom butt.

ASOS Embroidered Dress. Love the embroidered detail and sleeves.

Converse. Typically I'm a boat shoes kind of girl but I love these with jeans and a tee for errands or travel days.

Kendra Scott Pendant. I'm in need of a new pendant and love the look of this without the tassel on the classic Rayne pendant.

Pineapple Dish. Catch all for jewelry or all of the 5000 bobby pins I have laying around the house.

GiGi New York Crossbody. Basically Spring perfection and the quality is always on point with GiGi. This would be perfect to wear wine tasting in Napa!

J. Crew Garment-Dyed Tee. The most comfy basic tee ever. I can't have enough of them!

I'm also officially in countdown mode for Napa and I'm really trying to outfit plan to avoid overpacking. Currently on the hunt for a maxi dress or some kind of floral to wear while I'm there. If you have any recs send them my way!

Okay tell me, what's on your Spring wishlist? Anything else I should have my eye on?! 
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Valentine's Day 2016

I hope you all had a fun Valentine's Day!

There were no babysitters, naps, or romantic candlelit dinners for us, but we did indulge in carbs. Lots and lots of carbs. Fancy.

After barely eating a thing Saturday because of food poisoning, those donuts and Trader Joe's frozen croissants snapped me out of the fog.


My Valentines completely surprised me with a gorgeous Loren Hope cuff. I assumed we weren't doing gifts, so I neglected to get my husband anything. Wife of the year.

Sarra Cuff
With all of the birthday party planning and postponing, I didn't have time to put together much for Rowan's Valentine's Day either. But if you're looking for a really sweet new book for your mini, I highly recommend I'll Never Let You Go.

 
The illustrations are so beautiful and I love, love the story. It ranks up there with On The Night You Were Born. Cue the ugly mom tears.

And no weekend would be complete without an attempt at some photos for the grandmas. Who knew the XOXO balloon banner could be so much fun?!

 


Here's to hoping your Monday goes by fast!
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Rowan's Birthday Week

All the feels over here this week as my baby turns one. But before I get in to all the excitement going on, there has been a bit of craziness that must be shared.

Cake Stand c/o Minted
I've been a little MIA around these parts because Rowan had his first (and hopefully last) bout with Hand Foot and Mouth disease. He was incorrectly diagnosed with a "cold, ear infection and teething" at a pediatric urgent care center but we later found out it was in his daycare class. I won't get started on how I feel about that doctor. 

If you've ever dealt with HFM before, I am so sorry mama. I feel you. (I found this post helpful if anyone is curious). It's very contagious and makes its way through daycares pretty easily. Rowan's symptoms manifested differently than most babies, he had what looked like razor burn on his legs instead of the typical sores babies have on their hands and feet. He wasn't eating and had a 103 degree fever. It took about 4 days until he started feeling better but we kept him home most of last week to make sure no other babies got sick because of him.

Then my husband got sick. He was also misdiagnosed initially and after a second visit to the doctor, he was diagnosed with a rare adult case of HFM.

Lovely.

As sad as I am, we decided to postpone Rowan's first birthday party. Luckily he is at an age where he won't remember, and he'll still have a party in a couple weeks. I want to make sure we are all 100% healthy and give myself time to disinfect every freaking inch of this house so no one else gets sick too! Crossing my fingers my sore throat isn't the start of it too. Eek!

Thankfully though, Rowan was back to himself this past weekend! He has been such a happy kid and is walking (and falling) all over the place, its both exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. I guess that's parenthood in a nutshell though!

Okay now on to fun things, like Rowan's cake smash session! I've seen a ton of these all over social media but wasn't about to shell out hundreds of dollars with a photographer and crazy backdrops.

Cake Stand c/o Minted
Plus I knew the chances of me taking some good photos at his party would be tough because its always kind of chaotic with other people and kids involved. So I made him a 6 inch cake, with super fancy boxed cake mix and buttercream frosting purchased from the Publix bakery! 



There are so many more I'd love to share but I'll hold off on being that mom. It was a last minute decision to do a mini cake smash session but he loved it so much! Especially now that his party is postponed, I'm so glad we did it!
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New Series: Weekend DIYs

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was going to be starting a new series on the blog so its finally time to spill the beans! I'm so excited to finally be getting back to one of my favorite parts about this blog, DIY projects!

And in case you ever think your house is a complete mess, go ahead and bookmark this post so you can come back to it and instantly feel better about your current living situation. 


It's been a while since I had time for holiday DIY projects or coerced my husband into building a coffee table, but with so many things on our new house to-do list my goal is to knock one project off every couple of weeks. While it would be fabulous if we could hire someone to do this for us, we're on a budget and I have (probably too much) confidence we can do it.

I should probably point out that we are still beginners when it comes to DIY projects around the house, in fact it took us 3 hours to comprehend IKEA instructions for a baby gate last week. Which is still not installed by the way, ahem....

Anyway I hope this series will inspire you, give you a few laughs at rogue projects that don't go as planned (there are bound to be a few in this bunch), or help if you're planning to start a similar project of your own.

First things first, we have to discuss some of said projects! There are many, many small projects like replacing the kitchen faucet that did not make this list but here are the biggies with the horrifying visuals.

Guest Room: Paint


I have been going back and forth on this room color but finally decided on Sherwin Williams Spare White. It's got the slightest hint of green in it which I think will pick up some of the colors in the rug and go well with the dark bed frame and gold details. Now I just need to find the time to paint! That dinky fan needs to go too now that I see it photo bombing this picture.

Guest Room 2/Rowan's Big Boy Room


This room is a hot mess and I can't even believe I'm sharing this photo. It's currently serving as storage obviously but it has gotten slightly better since I took this photo. The previous owners thought it was a super good idea to paint a very dark navy on alllllll of the walls, so who knows how many coats of primer and paint it will take. I want to do a board and batten statement wall like this on the wall where you see my sad little sewing machine set up.

Office: Organize


I am normally one of those people who always keeps their work space immaculate and organized, but right now it is so far from it. I've got first birthday projects everywhere, random Target Dollar section purchases on the floor, a gallery wall to hang, etc. It's bad. At least its painted and has a pretty light fixture!

Laundry: Paint + Add Cabinets 


Pretty self explanatory, nothing fancy but it could use a face lift with some prefab cabinets. 

Dining Room: DIY Wainscoting + Paint


This room has lots of potential and I think the wainscoting will add a lot of value, plus a good coat of paint will cover up whatever the eff the previous owners had going on with these walls. It also needs a new light fixture, curtains and curtain rods... just to name a few. And hey, maybe someday we'll even furnish this space!

Not pictured but something we'll most definitely hire some help with are painting our kitchen cabinets white and redoing our half bath. I just know those are not doable projects with how hectic things can get around here!

So there you have it, our project list in all of its messy, unfinished glory.

If you have any words of wisdom or suggestions for dining room paint colors, send them my way! I'll keep you all updated on our progress every couple of weeks!
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