Number 2!

I have been soo excited and so impatient to officially share the news... that our little family of 3 is becoming 4! I am already 20 weeks along, which is mind-blowing how fast this pregnancy has gone. We had our ultrasound to determine gender, and while baby's legs were crossed, the technician was pretty positive we hare having a girl!!

I'm trying to hold off on buying everything pink & bedazzled at the moment, but it is becoming harder and harder to hold off. Nursery planning (in my mind and on Pinterest) has begun, patterns for ruffled leggings have been bought, but a name... is impossible! I am having the toughest time coming up with a little girl's name, but we'll come up with something eventually (I hope).

I cannot wait to share more about my pregnancy, which has been easier in some aspects, but much more difficult in others, than my first pregnancy. I also have two friends due around the same time as me (January 3rd), which is so exciting!

Being the nerds that we are, this announcement seemed like the perfect way to share our news. We've received so much support and love from our friends and family already, which is really what it's all about and we couldn't feel more blessed :)

Two Days Off

Yup, I can hardly believe I wrote that title either- I had two full days off of work in a row! It was marvelous. And the best part- one of those days I literally had nothing to do except hang out at home with Henry. Realistically, I had laundry, cleaning, and a million other random things I could have gotten accomplished but I decided nah, Gossip Girl and cuddles sound SO much better.

My second day off, I had my best friend's Bridal Shower which was a blast. It was so nice to get away for a little while and see some friends I don't get to catch up with too often. Of course I didn't charge my phone beforehand so I got zero pictures.. sigh.

Not gonna lie, nights around here have been tough. I think it's a combination of teething and hitting new milestones, but Henry has been waking up every two hours at nights. Yeah.. two hours. Like the newborn phase, only worse, because we became naively used to our little guy sleeping through the night. Thankfully he didn't get up last night, so here's hopin the trend continues and he keeps sleeping well. I'm sure Carl hopes so also, cause I've been one grumpy momma.

Me and my mom have also been throwing around the idea of starting our own little business doing candy dessert bars for weddings & possibly an Etsy shop. If you visit my Pinterest Board here, you can see some inspiration for what our business would entail. We've been collecting apothecary and various other containers, and would provide the full decor and set up for the candy bar.

I also really love the idea of an Etsy shop. We had multiple guests at our wedding asking about the decor that me and my mom created. My mom has also sewn so many wonderful projects for Henry, such as Boppy covers, his crib bedding, and his Halloween costume. Because I can't have a post without photos, I thought I'd share some of the projects that inspired this possible business venture:

We found this frame secondhand, added the decorative piece on top, then spray painted the whole thing. I then bought some black foam board and a chalkboard marker to create the sign and voila!

Being the nerds that we are, we decided our little guy had to be Yoda for Halloween. Even though he was born on October 27, my mom managed to whip this adorable costume together by the 31st, even crocheting that hat. Too cute for words.

I decided to go the silk flower route for my wedding, and I'm so glad that I did. Not only did they save money and look gorgeous, they're great keepsakes! This was one of the bridesmaids bouquets we put together, and unfortunately you can't see the handle which was covered in ivory lace ribbon. 

And that's all for this post. Henry is actually napping, so I probably have 20 minutes to try and paint my nails before he decides to wake up and inevitably splotch them all up. Motherhood for ya! But worth every second :)

The Best Day- 6/20/15

Prepare yourselves for wedding picture overload! We recently got our wedding pictures back, and I was beyond excited with how they turned out.

For me, planning a wedding was such an amazing and fun experience. I absolutely loved browsing Pinterest and every bridal magazine I could get my hands on for inspiration. My mom helped out with every little detail and DIY project I could dream up, and it turned out more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. Here's a sneak pic into our gorgeous, vintage-inspired wedding:

Our full wedding album, by our amazing photographer Hannah Garr, can be found here.

If you have any questions on decor, need some inspiration, or are searching for ideas for your own wedding, please don't hesitate to reach out! I have definitely discovered a passion of mine and while I'm no expert, I would love to help in any way that I can.

9 Months!

I am definitely slacking on the posts lately- but things have been crazy! I started full time at Buffalo Wild Wings as a captain and let me tell you, it has been exhausting. After working from home at Uber, I was used to sitting at a desk and logging in hours on a computer. Now, I'm constantly moving and it is definitely taking it's toll. However, it has been great to get out of the house and it turns out, I work with several of my friends :)

Amidst the craziness lately, Henry turned 9 months old! I cannot believe our little man is saying "mama" and "dada", pulling himself up to stand, and eating anything & everything. He is such a sweetheart and my little cuddle bug. 

I also had my best friend's Bachelorette party- which was a blast! It was so nice to get away to the lake with friends I don't get to see often and just relax. It was a Bachelorette party done right, involving matching shirts, shots, and a lot of pool time, which was perfect. 

And without further adou, back to Mr. Henry. Getting pictures of this crazy man is definitely a challenge, and the sticker can no longer be put on his clothes (or it's immediately ripped off and shoved in his mouth). He still takes some stinkin cute pics tho. 

Favorites: yogurt bites, maple puffs, and pulling himself up to stand on everything. 
Crawling: he hates being on his knees, so he army crawls everywhere. He's gotten really fast, and makes a run for it every chance he gets.
Walking: SO close! He stands, can take some steps with help, but then plops right down. 
Mood: during the day, he's usually the happiest little man. Nights have gotten tougher since the poor guy is teething. 
Teething: two have come through on the bottom and four more are poking through up top. 
Sleep: we have our good and bad nights. He has four teeth coming in at once, so he's been waking up multiple times a night. Some cuddling can usually put him right back out, and all I have to say is thank goodness for Orajel. 
Hates: sitting still and being told, "no". We're in the very slow process of learning we can't eat everything we find on the carpet or stick cords into our mouths. 

Invitations Made Easy- and Fantastic

In addition to sharing updates on Henry and our family, I really wanted to share some tips & tricks I discovered when planning my wedding. I have multiple friends getting married and I definitely understand how stressful and overwhelming it can get. 

When I first started browsing various invitations, I think my jaw literally dropped when I saw some of the prices. I thought, how in the world can simply inviting people to my wedding eat up so much of my budget? From there, I started shopping around.

One of my favorite options (that I decided to use for my wedding) was purchasing invites that you print off on your own. I got these gorgeous invitations from Hobby Lobby and the best part- they go 1/2 off! Hobby Lobby's entire wedding section periodically gets marked down 50%, making these such an affordable option. I got a pack of 25 invitations that also came with RSVP cards for only $15. They fit my theme perfectly, and were honestly cuter to me than the mega-expensive alternatives.

The invitations came with the following:

• The outer envelope to mail everything in
• The inner envelope with that fantastic pattern
• A pearl to glue on the inner envelope
• The invitation itself with the border and image already printed on the paper

What really got me excited was that the RSVP cards came with these as well! They included the RSVP card with that adorable pattern on the back of the card, and an envelope for guests to mail them back in.

Instead of printing them myself, I decided to go to a local print shop that was able to get these done in 2 days for a very affordable price! Saved me a lot of time, and I didn't have to worry about messing up my cards with trial & error.

Not only does Hobby Lobby after these DIY invitations, but I've noticed other stores such as Michaels and even Walmart do as well! Not only does this save you money, you can personalize them any way you'd like by adding pearls, a little (or a lot) of bling, or some ribbon and tying a bow.

If you want to save even more money, Hobby Lobby includes very detailed instructions to print them off yourself, as well as templates online.

I hope this excites some of you as much as it did me. Please comment if you have any questions and let me know your experiences if you try these out!

Summertime Adventures

Since I'm starting a new job soon, I really wanted to try and spend as much time as possible with little man during our free time. There was actually a day under 80 this week, so we decided to go to the zoo!

While Henry is still a little on the young side to have any clue what was going on, it was so much fun! We walked around with Carl, my mom, and younger brother and we had a blast. I've always loved the zoo, and getting to take my little family was the best. Of course, Henry barely noticed any of the animals there but the minute we got home he went crazy when he saw the cat. Oh well, ya win some you lose some. I was just excited to get some fresh air (and the giant pretzel with cheese didn't hurt either).

I'd love to hear if anyone has fun suggestions for things to do with little ones around the KC area- I'm trying to get out of the house and get Henry out in the fresh air as much as possible :)

My Current Obsession

After seeing repeated ads, and thinking "I should really try that" time and time again, I finally decided to sign up for Ipsy- and I'm so glad that I did! This company is so much fun, and great for someone like me who never ventures away from the same old beauty products I always buy.

For only $10 a month, you'll receive a Glam Bag chalk full of samples! From concealers, to lip glosses, to full sized eye liners, all products are chosen based off of a quiz you take when you first sign up. Since you're asked your skin tone, hair color, and various preferences, you receive products that you'll actually use! 

When I go to buy makeup, I tend to stick with the same ol' products that I just pick up at Walmart or Walgreens. With this subscription, I get so excited mid-month knowing I have brand new products coming. 

If you want to try this out for yourself, just use my referral link to sign up and take the quiz, then you'll start receiving your products. Not only do you get fun products you may not have ever tried on your own, they come in really cute bags! Here's the 3 I've received so far: 

If you decide to try this company out, comment and let me know how your first bag turns out! I love seeing the different products that people get. That's all I've got for this post- now to try and get the little one to take a nap (ha!). 

8 Months

I have so many ideas on things I would love to share, that I decided to start with a post that would embody what 90% of my posts will probably be about: Henry. This crazy little man keeps me on my toes 24/7, and he's so darn cute I can't help but take about 1,000 pictures a day! While I don't want to overload everyone with baby pictures all day long (I promise, I have more to share) I also can't not share. So without further ado, Mr. Henry:

Favorites: army crawling around, bananas, and putting everything in his mouth
Crawling: so close. He gets on his hands & knees.. then falls back on his belly.
Mood: he's such a happy guy most of the time, we're lucky.
Teething: he's got two on the bottom, and one coming in up top!
Sleep: we've discovered a miracle- flavored rice cereal. He cannot get enough, and if we give him a bowl right before bedtime it keeps him full enough to sleep all night. Hallelujah! (here's a link for the kind we buy. It's got a great variety of flavors & he loves them all).
Hates: sitting still and not getting to take mom's phone when she's on it.

With me starting a new job this Saturday, moving to a new house at the end of July, and my best friend's Bachelorette party coming up, things are gonna be crazy. I decided to start this blog as not only a creative outlet for myself, but stress relief as well. There's something therapeutic about taking time out of my day to sit and get all my thoughts down, and if someone enjoys reading it in the process, fantastic!

Thank you for taking the time to read, and I hope you'll stick around :)