Five on Friday :: Easter Edition!

Happy Friday, friends! This week I officially hit bad blogger status, despite all the posts I had planned! Hate when that happens! Anyway I haven't done any Friday favorites in a while so lets get to it!

Linking up with Natasha, April, and Christina!

One. Easter Basket Goodies

Sippy Cup. Toddler Plates. Mint Sleeper c/o Softsie.

So I think mama needs to get a bigger Easter basket next year or maybe curb the shopping habit, because Rowan's beach toys, bubbles, and stuffed animal don't even fit! I'm so excited to add one of the Softsies sleepers in his basket though, its the softest thing ever and I'm really wishing they made adult sizes. 

Two. Daycare Teacher Gifts

R's teachers are so great and I wanted to give them something small for Easter so I put together these bags with Eos lip balm and other egg-shaped chocolates and slapped a tag on it (made with Canva). Super quick and easy! I'm pretty sure my husband thought I was losing my mind when I requested egg-shaped chocolates on the grocery list...

Three. Herb Garden

Herb Markers via Target Dollar Spot (similar also love these metal stamped markers)

Is it weird that finding those chalkboard herb markers in the Target dollar spot encouraged me to have an herb garden again? Ha! I have quite a black thumb but somehow managed to keep most of them alive into the Fall last time, so here's hoping I can do it again!

Four. Saddle Bag Love

I just ordered this pretty Old Navy bag yesterday to replace my old blush bag and I'm so excited! It's 30% off today, such a good price! I had to try really hard not to buy the cognac color too.

Five. Day Date

My husband and I took off work today so we could have a day date because #stillnobabysitter but hey, I'll take it! We still don't know what we want to do... beach, downtown, lunch, so we're just going to wing it!

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend! I'm so excited for Easter brunch and to see Rowan egg hunting with his little girlfriend, Violet. Bring on the weekend and mimosas!

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Toddler Easter Basket

Since returning from rainy Napa, Charleston has graced us with all the sunshine and hot temps. I'm definitely not ready for shorts weather but it's been so nice during our family walks!

Rowan decided this week he could walk himself rather than ride in the stroller so in true helicopter parent fashion I waddled next to him trying to stop him from face planting and then eating leaves while he was on their level. It must have been quite the entertainment for our neighbors!

I'm kind of skipping over St. Patty's Day this year (words my 21-year old self never thought I'd say), but I've been compiling things slowly for Rowan's Easter basket! I can't believe its only a week and a half away! We're planning to take him to an Easter Egg Hunt so I brought out the plastic eggs so he could practice this week.

And by practice I mean, he leaves them around the house for us to pick up after bedtime.

He's really good at it.

And if you really want to keep your toddler entertained, put some animal crackers in the eggs. You'll get a solid 5 minutes out of it.

Here are some of my other favorite things for toddler Easter baskets! And don't worry girl mamas, I've got you covered!

Wooden Sheep Push Toy. Lucas Rabbit (Love this one for a little girl!). Bathtub Crayons.
Sippy Cup. Beach Toys. Pete the Cat Book. Also love these little chick jams for the girls! 

I'll probably fill plastic eggs with snacks and a paci. I'm sure those will be much more entertaining anyway!

For the record those bunny ears lasted 1.3 seconds. And I had to bribe him with aforementioned animal crackers.

Mamas- what are you putting in your little one's basket?!

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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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Baby's First Easter

Gorgeous weather, family, a cute babe, and lots of food. That pretty much sums up our Easter weekend.

For months Rowan's Easter outfit has been hanging in his nursery waiting to be worn. It was one of those outfits that you just can't pass up. Fast forward to Sunday morning as we were hurriedly getting ready for Church (we're never, ever on time) and our little chunker barely fit in it!

We squeezed him into it anyway with the cutest penny loafers ever, which kept falling off.

I can't even... That face! He naturally didn't notice his Easter basket but we had to document it anyway. 

I put on my face, switched dresses last minute because my post-baby body just didn't fit in my favorite coral dress like it used to, and posed for some family pictures.

Squinty eyes and all.

But one of my favorites from Rowan's impromtu Easter photo shoot... because his face and that lean is just too damn good.

 
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!

And in other, fun blog-related news... Stephanie, Laura, and I are joining forces for a weekly link up starting this Friday! It's super easy after a long week, just share one thing you can't live without! Note: Wine, Target finds, or the comfiest pair of yoga pants all count.

Hope to see y'all link up this week!

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Our Weekend + 2 Years

Today marks two glorious years of marriage to this handsome guy, and I couldn't be happier to call him mine.

I'll spare you the sappy details of how much I love him and how great of a father he is to Rowan. It's definitely been a whirlwind year for us and I cannot wait to see what 2015 has in store for our little family!

We celebrated with lunch at our favorite spot on Shem Creek, Vickery's, and later introduced Rowan to the madness that is Trader Joe's on a Saturday.

We used the car seat attachment on the shopping cart and let me tell you, that shit is not easy to navigate around a busy store. We only took out one cart which I felt like was a success. Side note: Why the eff is it always crazy at TJ's? I don't think I've ever been to one that isn't packed with crazed patrons.

We left with the essentials... clearly. I should also note those cookies are gone already. Not sorry.

Though I joke that Steve's Anniversary gift from me this year was an adorable babe, we decided our gift to each other this year would be a house!

With the babe in tow, we've seen about 8 houses and narrowed it down to two yesterday. Now the hard part is deciding between the cul-de-sac house with a private backyard or the house with a great open concept but lots of neighbors. There are some projects in both houses so I'm excited to make the house ours, whichever one we pick! Stay tuned!

I hope you all had a great weekend! Also, am I the only one that is excited to fill my almost two-month old's Easter basket? And is it acceptable to sneak some egg-shaped Reese's in there for mama?!

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Currently Craving :: Signs of Spring

I've been so focused on finishing the nursery and prepping for baby that I've barely noticed all of the new clothes and accessories coming out lately! It wasn't until Charleston gave us a few 70 degree January days that I have been able to get out of the winter funk, its dark colors, and my sweatpants.

I'm so looking forward to updating my wardrobe this Spring, but until I figure out how to make that work while nursing, I'm sticking to accessories.

Bag. Ring. Phone Case. PJs (On sale!) Tech Wallet. Flats. Lipstick.

I'm seriously craving a little more color in my wardrobe, even if its just a few small details like this gorgeous druzy ring that I've had my eye on or some new bright flats. 

I'm not normally one for lipstick but I'm thinking I may branch out a bit this Spring and try MAC's Saint Germain lip color. I've seen it on a lot of fashion bloggers with a similar my skin tone and hair color to mine so I'm thinking I may be able to pull it off. Stay tuned.

It hit me that other day that my go-to crossbody bag will be replaced very soon by a diaper bag. I'm loving this tech wallet which would make it so easy to grab all of mama's essentials and go!

And if you're an Eberjay pajama fan, you have to check out these lookalike pjs from Target. They are super soft and you can't beat the price tag. I think I may need to go get another pair since they are nursing friendly and on sale!

What's on your wish list for Spring? Anything I need to add to mine?

Linking up with Annie and Natalie!

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Mother's Day Gift Guide

It's so hard to believe that Mother's Day is less than two weeks away! Where has the time gone? Also, Mom, if you're reading this please stop now!

I just got this gorgeous Lily and Val Mother's Day card and I'm so excited to send it! 

Today I've rounded up some pretty gifts for the multi-tasking Mommas out there who deserve to be spoiled. Let's face it, Moms deserve way more than these pretty things!

And if your Mom is anything like mine, she'd probably rather spend time with you at brunch or on a mani-pedi date. I don't get to spoil my Mom until my next trip North so I plan to grace her with my presence via Facetime. Not the same, but I'll take it!

Rewined Candle (On sale!). Oval Earrings. Initial Necklace. Coffee Mug (Also love this Good Morning Beautiful mug).
Odds and Ends Dish. Nail Duo. Cork Clutch (On sale!). Water Bottle. PJ Set (This set also looks so comfy!).

Most of these gifts are around $50 or less but they are easy to mix and match too!  I am loving the cork trend right now, that little bit of shimmer is so pretty when you see it in person. C. Wonder also has some great cork accessories.

What are you loving for your Mom this year? I hope those of you who can spend time with your Mom on her special day soak up every minute of it!

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Guest Posting!

Today I'm guest posting for Ally over at Life as I Know It on my favorite Spring fashion trends. Make sure to stop by and take a look around!

I hope y'all are having a great week, we're halfway there!

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Easter Weekend Recap

Is it just me or does anyone else need another day off after this weekend?! I'm moving slow today so I'm just going to do a quick recap of our lazy weekend!

Unfortunately our weekend consisted of non-stop rain so our Easter picnic plans had to be cancelled. I decided to make my Mom's delicious brown sugar and pineapple ham for dinner and I have to say I'm pretty proud of how my first ham came out. We also had some white chocolate covered popcorn for dessert while watching half of House of Cards season 2.

 

Excuse the ugly red, black and blue colors. This is what happens when you're in yoga pants all day and have no one to impress with your table setting skills.

With Ruby still on the mend, we all tried to make up for the lack of sleep we've had over the past week. We have to be really careful that she doesn't lick her incision or sit on her leg wrong since her mobility is limited, so every time she moves in her crate both of us wake up and make sure she is okay. I can only imagine what it will be like when we have a kid!

Poor pup cuddled in like this for most of Sunday

The good news is she is getting better every day. The bad news is she knows we are hiding her medication in food manages to spit it out every.single.time. She also creepily stares at us at night, probably plotting against us for keeping her in the crate rather than on the bed at night. Spoiled!

It was so nice having nothing to do this past weekend, but I did miss our families and wish we had more energy to go out and about. Here's hoping this week goes by fast! I hope you all had a great Easter!

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Friday Five

So happy it's Friday! Unfortunately I'm not one of those lucky people with today off from work, so I'll be that person staring at the clock every 10 minutes or so, wishing the day away until its acceptable to have a cocktail. Anyone else with me?!

As usual, I'm linking up with Christina and crew for a quick Five on Friday post!

ONE. Rose Cupcakes with Almond Frosting.

I've been craving anything lemon-flavored this Spring, so I decided to make lemon cupcakes this week. It's just a box mix, but I did put in the effort for some Almond Vanilla frosting. I've basically been eating these every day. I mean, who doesn't love cupcakes for breakfast?!

The icing recipe goes like this: 2 sticks of softened butter whipped for a few minutes, 4.5 cups powdered sugar added gradually, a tablespoon of vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon of almond extract (or a little less, almond flavor is strong). Whip for 5 minutes and pipe onto cupcake. Side note, do these look like roses? I tried.

TWO. Blooms. 

Chalkboard Inspiration.

My sweet husband brought home some of my favorite flowers this week! Here's hoping I can keep them alive for a few days!

THREE. Spring clothes. 

Cutaway Top

Is anyone else obsessed with all the pretty spring clothes coming out? There are so many sales lately, I honestly can't help it if this shirt (and a few others) find their way into my shopping bag for purchase. Also, if J. Crew could just send on over all of their new arrivals (Factory items included), I'd greatly appreciate it. K, thanks!

FOUR. Brunch.

I mentioned this week that we'll be picnicking for Easter since we're so far from our families, but I'm also throwing in brunch plans tomorrow after seeing this Banana Bread French Toast recipe or maybe some french toast sticks. If you can't tell, french toast is my jam!

FIVE. Easter weekend. 

Free chalkboard printable

Whether you're celebrating Easter or not, I hope you have a fabulous weekend and are able to soak up lots of Spring weather and family time!

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Easter... Picnic?

I may or may not be getting way ahead of myself by all this picnic talk but the weather is so perfect right now I couldn't resist. If you wait until summer to picnic in Charleston you'll be dripping with sweat and getting attacked by mosquitoes. Gross.

One of the things that bothers me most about living so far from family is that we miss out on visiting for Easter dinner or Mother's Day brunch. Since Ruby will be recovering from her surgery we're planning to have a little picnic in our back yard for Easter.

Honestly, we don't picnic often.  In fact, the last time we tried to picnic with Ruby at the beach, she single-handedly knocked over our drinks and dug right smack next to the blanket, throwing sand in all of our food. Unfortunately we forgot the booze that day so ummm, lesson learned.

If all goes well this time, maybe we'll be able to do this a little more. It's still a picnic if its in our backyard, right?!

 1 (cheaper version here). 2. 3. 4. 5. 6 (this one is great too!).

These are just some of my favorite picnic accessories! Of course, don't forget some acrylic wine glasses. We have a few of these and they come in handy, especially if you get clumsy after a glass or two! And if you're not having wine, I love these floral paper straws with a mason jar!

Also, you can't beat the food boxes and wooden flatware. They get bonus points for being as cute as they are easy to cleanup! 

So what are your Easter plans? Anyone else into the picnic thing?

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Spring in Charleston

I hope you all had a fab weekend! First I just wanted to thank you for your sweet comments and well wishes for Ruby. It never ceases to amaze me how many great people there are within the blogging community and I feel lucky to be a part of it. I can't thank you all enough!

This weekend my husband and I took shifts getting out of the house so that someone could always be home with Ruby. Steve went golfing Saturday which meant I got to enjoy some time downtown with Ally on King Street and at the Battery. It was the most perfect Spring day for walking around, grabbing a table outside for lunch, exploring the side streets and deciding which house I'd buy if I had a couple million to spend...

So where to start with this Second Sunday on King Street thing? I love that the street was closed off because the sidewalks there are narrow and its so nice having room to walk and enjoy the scenery.

Also, its the South, so there were so many older ladies dressed to the hilt with their Derby-style hats and dresses. Many of said ladies were pushing dog strollers or carrying a sling with a 2 pound Pomeranian strapped to their chest. Y'all, I've never seen so many dog strollers in one day...

After we perused some shops and had lunch, we headed toward the Battery to explore a little. The flowers are in full bloom so it was beautiful walking around White Point Gardens.

The houses along the gardens are the biggest I've ever seen. Of course they all have giant porches, huge windows, and gas lanterns that add to the charm. 

This one is for sale and can be yours for just $6 million.

 

It was so relaxing just to walk around and soak in the sun. It seems like Spring might be here to stay so I'm looking forward to more weekends downtown in our future! Got to get myself out of the 'burbs every once and a while!

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Operation: Shorts Season

Notice I didn't say swimsuit season? Yeah, I think that goal might be further off than the shorts thing since I'm still going through my carb and sweets withdrawal after our trip. Baby steps, folks.

I am constantly in a cycle where I really love working out and go about 4-5 times a week, then I take a month off and lose whatever muscles and tone I previously gained.

{Via}

So today I'm publicly challenging myself to try harder. Life gets busy (plus I'm really good at excuses) but I'm making myself a realistic workout schedule so I'm not a ball of insecurity when my thighs rub together in shorts, or worse, in a bathing suit. Ew. Damn you high school volleyball... I should have stayed in ballet.

I loathe running, even though it feels really good afterwards. I'm also not into cardio classes, though I do love a good Barre or Yoga class. I'm thinking of trying something similar to this Elite Body Trainer or maybe paying some attention to my fitness board again.

Anyone else have the same workout habits? What helps you stay motivated? I need all the help I can get right now, tonight's workout is going to be rough.

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