Thanksgiving Reflections

On this Thanksgiving Eve, I took some time to think about being thankful.  Being thankful is not something that we should think about once a year...it's something we should think about every day.  I admit, this gets lost on me among the every day hustle and bustle of life with two toddlers.  But I'm working on it!   

This list caught my eye when one of my mommy friends shared it on Facebook (thanks Jen!).  All 10 of the items on the list are things that I complain about on a pretty regular basis, but reading this really put things into perspective.  

While I would love a few more minutes of sleep, or for the laundry to wash itself, I wouldn't trade any of it because it means I have all I need - a home, food, and family.  And for those things, I am forever thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

xo,
Carly

Glitter and Gold

There's something about the holiday season that makes me think about glitter. And decorating with glitter becomes that much more acceptable because it's the holidays!  So if you love glitter, now is the time to take advantage.  Glitter with gold is one of my favorite sparkly combinations because it's equal parts glam and festive.

Glitter and gold throw pillows.  Ooh la la.

Glitter dipped gold mason jars.  Such a pretty way to display your favorite flowers.

A gold and hot pink dessert table.  This version looks perfect for a bridal shower or bachelorette party but I could also see this setup for the holidays as a New Years Eve party table.

(source unknown)

Assortment of glitter and gold vases for wedding decor create a beautiful vintage look any time of year.

These Kate Spade glitter studs are perfect for the holidays.  They are only $38 and come in gold, silver.  (Multi-color version shown is currently sold out)

Glitter styrofoam balls with gold dipped toothpicks make a fun decor piece.

I love this pretty vintage display of gold and pink ornaments with glitter star accents.

Do you have jewelry to give out this holiday season?  Put them in these gold top boxes and you don't need wrapping paper!

Have a great week!

xo,

Carly

Mom Must-Haves: Ju-Ju-Be Be Quick

Four years ago when I was preparing for my first child, I researched a TON of diaper bags, organizational pouches, etc.  You see, I have a bit of an addiction to bags.  And a bit of an addiction to organization.  One of the most functional bags I bought back then was the Ju-Ju-Be "Be Quick" pouch, and in pink of course because I was having a girl.

My intended use for it at the time was a spare clothes pouch to keep in the diaper bag.  I'm the type of mom that needs to have small bags within a large bag to keep organized.  Everything just thrown into one large diaper bag would drive me bonkers!  

Since that first purchase, I have bought three more of the exact same bag in different patterns and have even bought some as gifts.  They're just so versatile!  The Be Quick is lightweight, has a detachable strap that turns the pouch into a wristlet or purse, and comes in a variety of colors and patterns to suit your style.  Also, Ju-Ju-Be bags are made with an antimicrobial fabric and are machine washable.  Dimensions for the Be Quick are 11.5" x 7" x 1.5".

Here are some of the many uses I've had for the Ju-Ju-Be "Be Quick":

Diaper Clutch

great for quick changes at a restaurant, in an airplane, at the park, etc. when you don't want to lug your entire diaper bag

- diapers

- wipes

- small folded changing pad

- plastic bags

Pool Bag Insert

for inside the pool bag, keep things dry and separate

- swim diapers

- plastic bags

- sunscreen (adult and kid)

- kid's sunglasses

- keys

Food Bag (Dry Items)

sometimes you just need a small bag of food for quick trips with the kids

- crackers

- squeezable fruit/veggie pouches

- applesauce cups

- fruit snacks

- pretzels

- dry cereal

Food Bag (Cold Items)

sometimes you just need a small bag of food for quick trips with the kids

- cold pack

- bags of fruit

- string cheese

Lotions & Potions Bag

cause babies need a lot of stuff, and I like to be prepared

- diaper cream

- hand sanitizer

- bandaids

- alcohol wipes

- pacifier wipes

- aquafor

- sunscreen

- baby lotion

Recently, Jujube came out with their Legacy Collection, which features bold black and white patterns that are a little more modern and a little less mommy.

I bought the striped one, called the First Lady, and use this strictly as a mommy pouch.

Mommy Pouch

Keep your personal items easily accessible within your diaper bag.  This eliminates the need for a separate purse.

- wallet

- phone

- keys

- compact

- lipgloss
- pens, pencil
- pocket calendar (for the old school hand writers, and yes I am one)
- comb & hairspray
- small notebook
- hand sanitizer
- measuring tape (go ahead and laugh, but if you buy a lot of home decor like me, this comes in handy!)

Now that my kids are past the baby stage, I actually hardly carry a diaper bag anymore.  I throw my mommy pouch Be Quick, and my diaper clutch Be Quick into my normal purse along with other essentials like sunglasses, water, etc.  And I'm out the door!  

Try the Ju-Ju-Be "Be Quick"!  It's a mommy must-have for its versatility and convenience.

xo,
Carly

Holiday Cards - A Lookback

I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but it's getting really close to holiday card time!  Where did this year go??  We'll be doing our annual family photos this week, so I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane at our past cards.

2011

There is no doubt I'm a first time mom here judging by how many pictures of Shay I put in!  Geez, I just couldn't just pick one photo.  Most of my extended family aren't on social media so for many of them, this would be only time they see pictures.  But really....excessive much?  I couldn't resist that smile.

2012

I was 4.5 months pregnant with Landon here but you can't really tell with the sitting down picture (even though I think my face looks bigger).  Some of our standing photos were much more obvious.  

2013

Shaylin had a meltdown this year and we didn't get one family photo or individual photo of her smiling.  So I added in a picture I took of her at the park one day.  It was a half smile, but better than nothing.  She was right in the middle of her terrible two's so it was very hard to get cooperation.

But terrible twos or not, Shaylin has never had an easy time during our holiday photo shoots.  

7 months

18 months

2 1/2 years

Fun times!  But those are memories, and I wouldn't trade them for anything.  Since the kids are very young, I know that getting a family photo with everyone smiling is a longshot and frankly, quite unrealistic. We have days like the above, and it's really A-OK! 

xo,

Carly

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday everyone!  I don't know about you all, but having a holiday this Tuesday completely threw off my routine.  I'm just not feeling like it should be Friday yet.  Not that I'm complaining or anything!  With hubby off on Tuesday, we got to spend a wonderful day at the San Diego Safari Park with the kids.  At one point both kids fell asleep, and we got to enjoy a peaceful lunch overlooking the beautiful safari, and even saw some ziplining!

Now on to my Friday Favorites.  Here are some cool things that caught my eye this week.

Favorite Office Accessories.  Love the glam look of the gold with the pop of pink.  It really makes me want my own office space rather than working wherever I happen to plop my laptop down.

Favorite Winter Coat.  Coats in bright colors are so fun and are great if you like to stand out!  Plus, you can throw this orange coat on over even the most casual of outfits and it'll style it up instantly. 

Favorite Outdoor Living Space. This covered patio complete with a fireplace, TV, and steps from a pool is definitely a dream backyard.

Favorite Unexpected Item.  What a fantastic idea, a USB drive disguised as a Chanel lipstick.

Favorite Piece of Clothing.  Gingham shirt, styled four different ways.
1. with shorts.  2. with jeans and military vest  3.  with a skirt  4. as outerwear

Favorite Big Boy Room.  This orange, navy, gray, chartreuse color palate is what Landon's room is currently decorated with.  Let's get realistic here, with my decorating OCD, it's not likely that I will keep the same color scheme when Landon's room is up for a redecoration session.   But it was cool to see what the colors look like when decorated for an older child.  I like!

Favorite Use of my Favorite Color.  Anthropologie scores again with this beautiful phone case.  I love the glitter and broken glass look, and of course that it's in my favorite turquoise color. I loved putting together this Love of Turquoise post a couple of months ago.

And because I've been sprinkling in some Christmas inspiration at the end of my recent posts, how about a Favorite Holiday Meal.  These red velvet pancakes with cream cheese glaze are so festive and look absolutely delicious.  They are going on the menu for Christmas breakfast.  YUM.

Enjoy your weekend!

xo,

Carly

Pearls Galore

Today's inspiration post features pearls, and the many creative ways we can use it.  Bags of pearls in various sizes can be found at your local craft store if you do decide on a pearl project.  And for you over anxious holiday DIY decor folk, I included a few Christmas decoration ideas using pearls just for you!

Pearls make beautiful vase filler.  It adds visual interest, and a vintage flair.  

Second photo source unknown.

These aren't actually gigantic pearls, but they sure look like it!   Grab some balloons with some sheen, in pastel colors for a pearl-like effect. 

These desserts with pearl-like accents are simply gorgeous, and too pretty to eat.

Tux and pearl oreos

Sugar dipped cherries with sprinkles that resemble pearls are an elegant dessert.

Source unknown

This pearl necklace is a lovely accent to this casual fall outfit.  I also love this quilted navy vest with gold accents for the fall/winter season.

How about a pearl tiara art piece?  Perfect for the little princess in your life.

 

A wedding cake dripping with sugar "pearls". is divine.  So is a cake with sugar accents draped like a necklace.  Both are super pretty!

These pearl adorned LOVE letters would be fabulous decor for a wedding, baby or bridal shower, or even Valentine's Day.  

Find out how to make a pretty decor ball with a spare ball, and some strands of pearls.

And finally, the holiday decor.  

This pretty pearl wreath doesn't actually have to be used for Christmas.  It can also be a great decor piece for any vintage themed event.  

Pearls in a glass ornament is a simple project, and you can change out the ribbon to match whatever color scheme you are going with.

I absolutely love these darling mini Christmas trees and may actually need to try this!

xo,

Carly

DIY Thanksgiving Decor Project

When it comes to decorating, Thanksgiving often seems to be the forgotten holiday.  It falls under the general fall/autumn umbrella, with most people focusing on Halloween.  Then once Halloween is over, Christmas comes out in full force in all our favorite stores.  Heck, Christmas appeared even before Halloween happened!

This year I think I did pretty well with September fall decorating in that I chose fall decorations that will carry me through November.  (with a few select Halloween pieces thrown in for fun of course!)  But once those Halloween decorations came down I felt the desire to replace at least one area of Halloween with something Thanksgiving specific.

This weekend I went into Michaels thinking that I could probably find some fall decor on sale to help create a Thanksgiving decor project.  But boy was I surprised when I walked in to see rows upon rows of just Christmas items!  It was a red and green explosion in there!  Hmmm...this was going to be a bit more difficult than I had imagined.

I had previously purchased 6 clear vases from the Dollar Store with the intention being to have them spell "THANKS" and then I'd work around that.  If you missed my post on Dollar Store Gems, be sure to check it out here!

So really, all I was looking for at Michaels was some kind of vase filler in fall colors, and letters for the vases to spell THANKS.  Since I couldn't find any fall decor amongst all the Christmas cheer, I actually ended up using Christmas decor that I thought could pass for fall.  I also found gold scrapbooking sticker letters to use on the vases.  I had previously used scrapbooking stickers for a Halloween DIY project and though they worked great so I was happy to go that route once again.  Here's what I bought to work with: mini pinecones and glitter mini balls, two decorative branches, and the scrapbooking letter stickers.

Just two quick steps were needed to pull this project together:

1.  Spell out THANKS using the stickers, one letter on each vase.

2. Fill the vases with the pinecones and the gold and green mini glitter balls.  

AND DONE! 

The scrapbooking letters actually turned out to be the perfect size for the vases.

Some of the mini pinecones were sprayed gold which actually coordinated well with my fall color scheme.  

A couple of my candlesticks and the decorative branches complete the minimalist look of this Thanksgiving decor project.

17 more days until TURKEY!

xo,

Carly