5-minute Pillow Cover

image via apartment therapy

Yay! Finally, someone has posted easy instructions for making your own pillow covers. I have a pillow obsession, but due to the high cost of ready-made pillow covers and my fickle nature, I've been paralyzed with indecision as to which pillow covers to buy. One mistake and I could be out $100...well, now that I have these easy instructions, I can go on etsy or ebay and buy my favorite fabrics and make my own! Now, if someone could just show me how to use a sewing machine...

Blizzard Birthday

L-R: My cousin Jenny, moi, Sophie, Darren, Quang, Bodhi, and Michou

I've been pre-occupied with surviving the snownami this past week, which means a lot of meal-planning, activity planning, fighting off cabin fever, and a teensy bit of working from home. But tonight we were between snowstorms and our gang of seven-going-on-nine managed to make it out of the house to celebrate my brother-in-law's 32nd birthday. It was really nice to have a bit of normalcy again and some adult-ish conversation (yes, that can happen even if you are wearing a sombrero). Happy Birthday, Quang!

Sophie's First Day of Preschool

Today was Sophie's first day of preschool, which was probably more stressful for me than it was for her. She was such a brave little girl and I could not have been more proud of her! We videotaped it for posterity, and you can see that she goes straight to exploring the toys as soon as we arrive. Her teachers said she was very "independent" and did great...that's my girl!

The first video is long (over 5 minutes). Sophie asks me for "The Incredibles" (her current movie obsession), and then gets down to business right away.



This second video is only 17 seconds long, but the end is cute. After quickly tiring of the toys, she pulls up a seat to a table by herself and waves "good-bye" to her Mama and Daddy.

Westchester Ranch House

I have major house-lust for this renovated ranch house in Westchester County, NY. It's so inspirational to me for a few reasons. It looks well-lived in, uncomplicated, kid-friendly, yet so clean and uncluttered. This is exactly what I'd love for my house to look like, except mine is about the size of a shoebox compared to this ;-)

all images via Martha Stewart

Ethan's 3rd Birthday Party

Sophie's cousin, Ethan aka Little Romeo, celebrated his 3rd Birthday today. Sophie had one of the greatest times ever, zooming in on Ethan's million toys as soon as she arrived. She couldn't decide which one she wanted to play with first, so she played with them all. My family is all about the food when it comes to parties, and Ethan's parents provided a great spread. I loved the party. It was small and intimate, but had all the right elements: good food, good company and a very cute birthday boy.

Ethan graciously allowed Sophie to blow out the candles after he was done.
By the way, toddler candle blowing = spittle on cake

This "Finding Nemo" cake was da bomb. Wegmans does a great job decorating.

Valentine Heart Hand Stamp

image via little.lovely

I've never had a good relationship with Valentine's Day. Too much pressure, too commercial, and let's face it...Valentine's Day blows when you're single (and you care). So, a few years ago I decided never ever to celebrate that infernal day again. Fast forward about 10 years and one baby later and all I can think about this month is how sweet it will be to prepare valentines with Sophie. Check out the adorable and easy idea above from little.lovely! What is it about having a kid that just completely transforms you into a mushy sentimentalist?

Homemade Baby Food

image via Honest Fare

I never had the time or energy to make my own baby food when Sophie was an infant, but this time around I think I'm going to try (oh yeah...in case you didn't know...I'm preggers!). I'm much more organized this time around (I hope). Honest Fare recently posted some really easy and delicious looking baby food recipes and I'm so going to try these!