A Well-Stocked Pantry

image via Design*Sponge

One of these days....when my girls are a few years older and less likely to grab things off the shelves...I'm going to have this pantry in my dining area.

Summer Night

It was a fountain kind of night....

Can't wait until this one is old enough to enjoy it too!

Inspirational Mama

Moms are superwomen, if I do say so myself. This particular mom, Adele, may be one of the most super of them all, however. While her daughter naps, Adele poses Mila with everyday household objects to create these gorgeous photos. I wish I had the imagination to do this! See more pictures on her blog, Mila's Daydreams.

all images via ohdeedoh

Breezy

The heat is extremely oppressive on the East Coast at the moment...these images of white cottages cool me down (at least in my mind)...

all images via Canadian House & Home

The Dentist

Sophie had her very first visit to the dentist today, and it went perfectly. I cannot express how proud I am of her! She climbed up onto the chair herself, and responded to everything the dentist asked of her. She was happy, conversational, followed directions well...it was a breath of fresh air in the midst of the "terrible two" behavior we've been experiencing!

My littlest girl

Grace, 6 days

Sometimes when I look back at Sophie's baby pictures, I'm amazed at how much she changed in her first year. Since I was living it, I didn't notice or appreciate it until each stage had already passed. So that I don't do the same thing for Gracie, I'm starting a new monthly routine where I'll post her picture in order to document her growth.

Field Trip

Sophie went on her first field trip today, with her daycare class. Her dad helped chaperone and they visited a local frozen custard shop. She had a lot of fun!

Big Sister

As much as I love Gracie, I do miss Sophie a bunch. I've barely seen her at all since I've been at the hospital. Today, I get to go home a day earlier and although I won't have the staff of nurses helping me out with the baby, I'll get to be with my Sophie again!

Who is this strange baby?

Cheesing for the camera

She's here!

Baby Grace

She finally made it into this world on Friday morning at 10:40am. Ten fingers, ten toes...a good 7 lbs 15 oz, 19.75 inch bundle of joy. Already breastfeeding like an expert!

Another Kids' Room Inspiration

image via Style-ing with Children

I am loving the vintage-y look of this kid's room. If I had to have two kiddos share a bedroom, I would do matching twin beds like these, too.

Almond Joy Milkshake

image via Design Sponge

OK, tell me this doesn't look so yummy...I ran across Spike Mendelsohn's recipe for this simple milkshake and was surprised at how few ingredients it required. I love Almond Joy...hopefully this tastes like the real thing. In either case, I'm sure it will be sinfully delicious.

Ingredients:

. 1 cup milk
. 1/2 cup cream of coconut (coco lopez)
. 1/2 cup coconut flakes
. 2 cups creamy chocolate ice cream
. 1/2 cup crushed almonds

How to make it:

In a food processor put 1/2 cup almonds. process till finely chopped and set aside.

In a blender, pour milk, coconut cream, 1/4 cup of the ground almonds, coconut flakes, ice cream.

Mix for 5 minutes.

Pour in large glasses and top with a spoonful or two of crushed almonds.

Getting Pampered

I had a pedicure appointment scheduled for this afternoon while Sophie was supposed to be in school, but then the daycare called me and told me she busted her lip while dancing next to the wall...well, I decided to cheer her up and picked her up early from school for a little pampering!

Parenting While Plugged In

Is this you?

I read an interesting article in the New York Times a few days ago about how more and more parents were distracted with their smart devices while they were supposed to be parenting. The author mentions a study in which children from more educated, affluent families are exposed to more vocabulary than those in struggling families, purely on the basis of how much their parents speak with them. Parents who are focused on their devices rather then being engaged with their children may change this.

This is something that Darren and I have discussed (and struggled with), and we're trying more and more to be mindful of it. Neither of us use blackberries or surf on our phones very often, but we are guilty of using the internet when we could be interacting with Sophie. It's a struggle, but I think we might try instituting an internet ban for the few hours she spends with us every evening. After all, she's growing and changing so quickly these days...

Sophie's First Backpack

"Why, helloooo there...."

"Do you like my new backpack?"

Master Bedroom Redecoration

Darren and I have been so busy and productive, but I haven't had a chance to show you the fruit of our labor until now. We've spent a lot of time redecorating our master bedroom (the last frontier in our home) and now it's pretty much done! One motivator was that, once the new baby arrived, we'd have no energy for another 2 years to tackle anymore projects. Here are the pics...enjoy!

My awesome dad hemmed these curtains for me, but I accidentally asked for them too short. I might readjust the length.

I've rearranged and moved around a lot of accessories from other parts of the house. Here, the mirrors used to be in the dining room and the lamp was on my bedside table.

We only have 3 bedrooms, so now our master bedroom has to double as an office. I'm trying to keep it as clutter-free as possible. Lucite accessories work well, as they don't take up visual space.

We got an awesome deal on this armoire...from $1800 to $500 at the now-defunct Big Pagoda in San Francisco.

Party Favors

OK, so Sophie's birthday is about 4 months away, but lately I've been thinking about what I want to do for her celebration. She goes to daycare now, and has been the lucky recipient of many bags of party favors. Being me, of course, and having no life, I want to make a better party favor bag when it's her turn to pass them out. I saw this on Armelle, and thought it was so cute. I am trying to avoid putting candy in the favor bags since a lot of parents don't want their kids to have sweets, but I love the other unique items that fit into this tiny, personalized package.