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.