I have been trying to get in the habit of making a nice lunch for myself. It makes everyday a little better when you sit down in the middle of the day to eat something delicious. Since Rowan was born I’ve found myself so busy that it will be like 5pm and I’ll realize I haven’t eaten anything. So bad for you!

I started looking back thru some old Last Night Dinner post and I came across a few that I think will make great lunches…

Satueed Kale with Brown Rice (I actually had this today for lunch!) | Blog Post

Apple Grill Cheese | Blog Post

Sweet Potato Stew | Blog Post

Nectarine Pizza with Fresh Basil and Reduced Balsamic | Blog Post

What are your favorite lunch foods?

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Well, this post was 16 months in the making. Rowan has moved around a lot in our apartment. She slept in our bedroom for the first 6 months, then she had half of the room that she is in now and then finally we surrendered and gave her the whole room. She is a lucky little girl to have such a huge room. She could throw many a dance parties in there if she wanted too.

I love her room. I love it so much! It is bright and colorful and fun and it makes me so happy for her. Growing up, my mom always made sure we had a beautiful room. She painted, sewed and wallpapered to make each of us a special room we could call our own. I wanted to create that for Rowan. I love being in there with her. I will be the first to say that the room only looks this clean right before bed and in the morning when she wakes up, but that is ok. What kind of room would it be if she wasn’t allowed to play with everything in it, right?

What makes the room so special to me and hopefully for her are all the handmade or hand-me-down pieces from loved ones. There is the blanket I was brought home from the hospital in, there is a crocheted manatee from my sister, a heart pillow and artwork from Don, Rachel and Addy, her first birthday dress, artwork from our favorite Hawaii artist, a rocking chair my Grandma gave me when I was a little girl, a crocheted Foofa and print from Laura (my bff), all her bedding was sewn by my mom, there are kitties from Julie, a special blanket from Punky, and a handmade pop up book from my sister Carrie. I could go on and on. Every item in her room is more than just a toy, a piece of art or a place to sleep. It is a room full of love.

I am going to try my best to list out where everything is from, but again a lot of it is handmade and passed down.
Crib: Walmart
Chair: Ikea
Table and Chairs: Ikea
Change Table: Jenny Lind
Teepee: Handmade
Bunting Flags: Handmade
Crib bedding: Handmade
Lady w/ Cat Tattoo Print: Amanda Atkins
Cat w/ Moustaches: Paper Sparrow
Waves Print: Heather Brown
Live in the Sunshine Print: The Wheatfield
I am a Child of God Print: Persimmon & Pink
I lovely Love Print: Tuesday Morning
You are a Cool Cat Print: Orange Studio
I Freaking Love You Print: Hilary Bird
You are my Sunshine Print: The Wheatfield
Rowan’s Stuffed Name: Handmade
Birds & Branches: Handmade (Bird Pattern Here)
Rocking Chair: From when I was little

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I am sure you all have heard of Washi Tape before. It has been all over pinterest for quite sometime. I got my first rolls back in the fall and well, I have been hooked ever since. I wrapped all our christmas presents with them and have been finding all kinds of cute ways to use them around the house. I got all my Washi tape from Modcloth. They have tons of different sets to buy. See? Here, Here, Here or Here.

Here are some presents I have wrapped lately…

I am in love.

p.s. if you search washi tape on pinterest you will find lots of great ideas. These are my three favorites… 1 | 2 | 3

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We are home!!! Finally! It took us 2 days, but we are here. Rowan and I had sort of a rough trip on the way home. Our actual flights were fine, but I left my phone in the car when my cousin dropped us off, then I couldn’t get a hold of anyone to let them know, then our flight was delayed 4 hours, then I missed my connecting flight in Atlanta leaving us to spend the night there. Luckily, my best friend lives about an hour from the airport and since I couldn’t get on a flight until 3pm the next day, I called her up. She swooped in and rescued us and we got to have a little impromptu hang out. It was so fun seeing our kiddos getting to play together for a little bit. You gotta make lemonade, right?

Here is the last warm weather outfit post. Something about Florida brings out the bright colors in me!

Outfit Details:
Dress: H&M
Button Up: American Apparel
Sunglasses: Target
Statement of the Art Necklace: c/o Modcloth
Bow Flats: Blowfish

Modcloth has some seriously awesome statement necklaces right now!

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I thought we would start having a weekly feature called “Our Week in Snapshots.” Not every week will be as exciting at palm trees, the Grand Canal, and giraffes but I think it will be fun.

Here we go…

We had such a wonderful time in FL with my Mom. We are very lucky to have such a beautiful place to come visit. Nothing like watching dolphins and manatee play in your back yard. Can’t wait to come back!

Happy Weekend Everyone!
Wish me luck on our flights home tonight!

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Do you Remember Rachel Antonoff’s Fall 2011 Lookbook? Well, it was the most darling thing ever. The clothes were of course beautiful, but I couldnt get enough of those cat tights! I have googled “cat knee pads,” “cat tights,” and “cat knee pad tights” like a hundred times. I never found what I was looking for! So, I just decided to make my own…

1. Find a pair of tights you want to use. I picked a nude color. I recently bought some knee pad tights from asos and loved the nude color they came in with the knee pad. I also decided to paint a pair of white tights as well. Put on your tights and find where your knees hits.

2. Make a cat stencil out of cardstock. Stick some left over cardstock inside each tight leg. Stretch out and tape down each tight. Roughly stretch the tight to be the same length as when you are wearing them.

3. Trace your stencil. Make sure you center it around your knee marks.

4. Start painting. You will notice how much paint the tights suck up. It kind of take a bit to paint each one.

5. Let them dry and you are ready to go!

I also made a pair for Rowan. I cant wait to wear them together. It will be so nerdy yet so awesome at the same time. Twinsies!

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I don’t know why as mothers we feel the need to create this fantasy image that everything is so sunshine and rainbows all the time. I think it is a load of crap. There I said it. haha. I got an amazingly sweet email today from a friend that really made my whole week. In that email she shared with me this article from the Huffington Post titled Don’t Carpe Diem. This article had me laughing, than crying, than laughing again. All I could think about was how I heard that exact line “cherish every moment, they grow up fast” like 3 times today. I also carried a screaming, head butting, smacking me in the face Rowan out of 2 stores and a restaurant this evening. I don’t know how well I seized those moments.

Parenting is not easy. Staying at home is not easying. It erks me to no end when people who don’t have kids make some kind of mean comment about how easy it must be. Boy, do they have it coming to them when they have kids. When I write my monthly posts about Rowan, I choose to focus on the good because it is all true stuff, she is the joy of our world. I love Rowan with every fiber of my being, but that doesn’t mean that I dont count down the hours, minutes, seconds until it is bedtime sometimes.

So, what is the point of this post? I am not really sure. I guess I just wanted to tell all you moms out there that you are doing a great job! That no matter how you choose to raise your kids, you are doing a great job. It is ok to think it is hard. It is ok to think everyday is not laying in a bed full of kittens (wouldn’t that be nice?)

The thing we should remember, are those precious moments though. They are what help me move on from the bad ones. The love that I feel for her is real and even on the worst of days, a flash of her smile can change everything. On days when I find myself counting down the minutes till bed- it never fails that as soon as she is down I want to go back in to cuddle her a little more. She is my little baby and I am her mother. Motherhood can be tough but honestly I wouldn’t want it any other way. The worst of days are what really change you. You grow. You stretch. You become a better parent for your child.

And on that note, I am going to show you some cute pictures of Rowan, lay in bed and drink my beer (Kona Brewery Koko Brown with Toasted Coconut!!!) and watch Arrested Development because today was one of those hard days for me.

Go read this article!

p.s tomorrow I have a diy project that will have you meowing!

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Did you ever have one of those heart friendship necklaces that were broken into 2 pieces and you each wore one around your neck? I did. I have always loved friendship necklaces and bracelets. They always seemed so special no matter what they were. I got a package in the mail the other week full of christmas goodies for Rowan and inside was also a little gift for me. They were what I know refer to as my grown up friendship bracelets. They are just so beautiful. Punky sent them to Julie and I. I love them!! When I packed this dress for the trip, I knew my bracelets would match perfectly.

I would also like to add this dress into my ever growing “favorite dress” collection. I love this dress. I feed a giraffe in this dress today and this dress has amazingly deep pockets. So, yeah. This dress is kind of kick ass.

Outfit Details:
Dress: c/o Ruche (last Summer)
White Button Up: American Apparel
Belt: Charolette Russe
Boots: American Eagle
Beaded Bracelets: Gift from Punky
Other Bracelets: Stella & Dot and forever 21

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On January 12th, Rowan turned 16 months old. 16 MONTHS OLD! umm, what? How did this happen. Every day she is more and more a little girl. She makes it very clear she is not a baby anymore, nor does she want to be treated like one. She is Miss Independent. I followed her around Target for like 30 mins yesterday before she even turned around once to see if I was there. She drags her ride on toy around the house to stand on top of when she wants something she can’t reach. She is a smarty pants for sure!

She talks all the time. She just wanders around all day chit chatting about everything. I have no idea what the heck she is saying, but it cracks me up listening to her. Sometimes she comes right up to you and with such intention states something and then walks away. haha. Oh to know what she was telling you! Her newest word is shoes. She likes to pull out all my shoes in the closet and show me each pair of “shoes.”

She still signs “all done,” but now she signs “more” which she uses anytime she wants to eat. It is really cute and she also signs “please.” We have taught her where her nose, tongue, belly and feet are. We are working on eyes and ears. She can twirl, jump, and dance on command. Also, I don’t even know how this came about, but when you say “awwww yeeeah” she folds her arms and tilts side ways like an 80′s rapper. It is especially funny when you put a baseball hat on her backwards and she does it. Haha. We very much enjoy teaching her tricks.

She still goes to sleep like a champ. We are down to one nap and have been for quite sometime. Her naps last anywhere from 45mins to 2 hours. She goes to bed anywhere from 7:30-10 depending on what we have going on that night and wakes up on average at 7:30am. This little one is just like me, she seems to not need a lot of sleep. We stopped giving her snacks throughout the day in an effort to get her to be a better eater at meal time. It has helped a lot. Instead of crackers for a snack if she wants something I will give her fruit. She is getting better about eating veggies, as long as she is doing it herself of course. She is getting really good at using a spoon. Breakfast is our best meal.

She is just the sweetest little girl, but boy does she have a temper. She is stubborn just like her momma. We are getting to that stage I have been dreading… discipline. Ugh, I hate that word. I have no idea where to start or what will even work. My fingers are crossed we figure it out. She still waves at everyone and if she is walking and passes any little boy or girl, she runs up to them gives them a hug whether they want one or not. It makes me laugh. I love that anytime you get down to her level and open your arms she comes running (even from rooms away) to give you a hug. She is still head over heels in love with her Dada. He is her world. She is seriously the most social baby I have ever met.

haha. Ok. I wont go on and on anymore. Can you tell I am a proud mom? Sorry if these post get too long. I write them for myself to remember too. When the next one comes around I am going to love looking back and reading them.

Oh how we love our little cheetah!

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Not going to lie. I am totally enjoying every minute of this high 70 degree day. I wish winter was like this in NY. Taking a little break from layers with a pretty skirt and sandals today.

Hope you’re not blinded from my pale, no sun in months legs.
Have a lovely day friends!

Outfit details:
Striped top: h&m
Skirt: Thrifted
Belt: Thrifted
Sandals: Blowfish
Bracelets: Stella & Dot, Forever 21

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