Popular Pins

Popular Pins

Happy Friday again!  This week sure flew by and, surprise!, we’re already nearing the end of October.  I drove down one of our main streets at night recently, Westheimer Road, which passes by the Houston Galleria and through the popular Highland Village, and noticed that the palm trees that line both sides of the street were strung with white Christmas lights.  It got me a little excited for the holiday season, which will be here before we know it.

I’ve got some popular pins to share with you today.  And I’ve been working on organizing my Pinterest boards better and have added some new boards Men (mostly men’s fashion/style) and Wedding (just because the photos are so pretty and for those of you looking for wedding inspiration).  

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James, Age 2 (A Photo Word Collage)

James, Age 2 (A Photo Word Collage)

To capture a bit about what my young son is like as he turns 2, I used Picasa to add text to this photo.  

 

After uploading the photo, you click on “Text” 

Then you can chose your font (whatever fonts you have on your computer), move them around, make them bigger or smaller, and choose what color you want to use.  Then just hit “Apply” and save the picture.

Update: I no longer use Picasa to edit photos, but I find PicMonkey (free photo editing website) really easy to use and it gives you lots of creative freedom.

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DIY {Flashcard Name Sign}

DIY {Flashcard Name Sign}

Amen it’s Friday!!  It’s been a long week here, and I’m really looking forward to the weekend:)  Today, I’ve got a super simple, quickie project for ya.  I spelled James’ name in flashcards and hung them in his bathroom with the cutest teeny tiny clothespins.

I found the flashcards at Anthropologie, but they also sell them on Amazon for about $11.

Each flashcard is really cute with a  letter, word and picture. 

And here are the mini clothespins I got at WalMart.  (Oh, p.s. those are my new (real) shellacked nails!  Thanks for the recommendation guys

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baby james {22 & 23 months}

baby james {22 & 23 months}

These last two months have heard James talking and talking and talking. His sweet little baby voice is my favorite.  We have actual conversations and he absolutely delights me.   I accidentally bumped him the other day and he said, “Careful mama.”  Then I was trying to put nose drops in his nose while he squirmed away and said sternly, “Don’t like it!”

He’s like a parrot repeating everything you say.  Now I know when I hang up the phone I usually say, “okay, bye” because James has been mimicking me saying the same thing.  And he carries around my old Blackberry talking on the phone all the time.

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The Baby Cave??

The Baby Cave??

When we build our home two years ago, the only thing my husband really wanted was his own, oversized garage.  And a media room.  He’s so happy to have his man cave.

I think it’s so funny that the man cave is now being occupied by a tricycle, race car, tractor, and wagon.

Makes me smile every time I open the garage door:)

Hope your week is off to a great start!  Thank you for your prayers!  Our family member is doing so much better!

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Displaying Kid Art

Displaying Kid Art

Happy Monday y’all!  It was a busy weekend at casa HWH, starting and finishing some projects, thinking about what I’m contributing to the Thanksgiving meal, beginning to make my holiday lists (which I’ll share with you soon) and pulling out the (yikes!) Christmas decor from the attic.  Man am I glad I packed it away so neatly last year🙂  Now I can easily see what I have and what I need for this year.

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One of the things I did this weekend was to create a little art wall in our mudroom.  Our little guy (19 months old) has been bringing home lots of art projects lately so we wanted a special place to display them.  

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Stylish Baby Shower & Blog Crush {Small Shop Studio}

Stylish Baby Shower & Blog Crush {Small Shop Studio}

I was home sick from work the other day and although I tried to sleep, it wouldn’t happen.  So, naturally, I spent the day reading blogs:)  You do that too, right?  While catching up on La Dolce Vita (my first ever blog crush 3 years ago), I read that Paloma is introducing new contributors to write for her blog, including Erika Brechtel of Small Shop Studio.



I followed the link to the Small Shop Studio blog, which quickly sucked me in.  I spent half my morning reading through all of her posts and drooling over her home.  

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baby james (19 months)

baby james (19 months)

It seems like the months are going faster and faster and our little guy is growing awfully fast.  He’s still a happy guy but will definitely voice his frustration if he doesn’t get his way or can’t figure something out.

James’ vocabulary is growing rapidly and being able to communicate together is just awesome.   We have actual conversations now.  In the morning they go something like this:

James:  “Pancakes, pancakes.  Milk, milk”

Me:  “You’re ready for pancakes and milk?

James:  “Yeah”

Me:  “Would you like a banana too?”

James:  “Banana!”

He was in great hands with my brother,

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Alphabet Print for Baby/Kid Room

Alphabet Print for Baby/Kid Room

A few weeks ago on a visit to Z Gallerie, I spotted a really cute alphabet print that I thought would be perfect for my son’s room.  It’s a good size, but $99, so I refrained from purchasing it.  When I saw the framed print again last weekend, I loved it as much as the first time so I went ahead and brought it home.

I needed something for the wall above James’ crib. I originally had my DIY book art up there, but it was hung with Command hooks and 2 of the prints ended up falling after nearly a year.  

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My “Eat Clean” Meals

My “Eat Clean” Meals

My weight loss journey has hit many plateaus, but not surprisingly, I’ve always seen the biggest improvements when I’ve eaten a really “clean” diet.  For me, that means finding something high protein that I can eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for about five days straight, then switch to something else.  And when I’m eating really healthy, I’m also more likely to workout. Conversely, if I’m in a “bad” eating rut, I’m not likely to be hitting the gym.

I’m no dietician or nutritionist and only know what has worked for me.  Some of you read my story about losing the baby-weight and asked for more info on my diet,

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baby james (18 months)

baby james (18 months)

A year and a half old! Wow!  It just keeps getting better and better.  

Now James is really starting to talk to us and we actually understand what he’s saying!  Mostly he says “Gabba Gabba” because he wants to watch Yo Gabba Gabba.  Is it any wonder I’m hearing this in my dreams?!?!

James really loves music now and will dance anytime he hears it, doing the famous baby dance, bouncing up and down.  The cutest thing he’s doing lately is trying to snap his fingers- I couldn’t figure out what he was doing when I first saw it,

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Teacher Thank You

Teacher Thank You

Inspired by some of my creative girlfriends, and with desire to thank James’ teachers for being a blessing while we transition him from home with babysitter to daycare, I picked up a few Starbuck’s gift cards as a small “thank you”.

Using mini notecards and envelops, I created a message for each teacher that said “Thank You for making school fun” to include with the $10 gift card.

The envelops were created with my favorite “Honey Script” font.


I hope they like them!  

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Back to School

Back to School

I’m thinking this morning of all those kiddos going back to school.  My heart is going out to all the mommies (and daddies!) that watch tearfully, but proudly as their babies start school for the first time.  My little guy started last week but I can’t quite say it’s “school” since he’s just barely 18 months.  We had to transition from our at-home babysitter because, she too, is returning to school.  I’m happy to report that James is doing so great with his new routine.  When I drop him off in the mornings around 9:00 it’s playground time,

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Summer “To Do” List – FAIL??

Summer “To Do” List – FAIL??

I had to laugh when I just looked back at the post I wrote on June 20, 2011 proclaiming my summer to do list!  My husband just declared it an epic FAIL!

I have accomplished all of TWO of the NINE things on the list!  We managed to get to the beach for a little vacation and my hubby and I recently went on a date.

 

Planting the hydrangeas- um, no.  BBQ with friends- not so much.  Swimming lessons and bike rides- my bike has a flat tire!

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baby james (16 & 17 months)

baby james (16 & 17 months)

There have been so many discernible changes in James these last few months, I feel like I cannot possibly chronicle them all or accurately describe the subtleties of everything.  But I love it!  First of all, he’s really physical- loves to run, climb, and wrestle with daddy.

He understands so much now that it blows my mind.  I can ask him to throw the wet diaper away, and he’ll walk over to trash can, open the lid, and throw the diaper away (sometimes I don’t even have to ask).  Or, we were in my room and I found a “paci”

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James by Bella Babies Portrait Studio

James by Bella Babies Portrait Studio

I’ve shown you our photographer’s (Kristi Zontini of Bella Babies Portrait Studio in Houston) work before here, but hadn’t shared the images from the two most recent photo shoots.  We bought 4 sittings for James’ first year and did them at 2 weeks old, 5 months, 9 months, and one year.  Kristi and her assistant Jordan are the best!  They make the shoot fun and get such great results.  It’s been really hard for me to narrow down the best photos from each shoot because they get so many wonderful shots.

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Our New Highchair

Our New Highchair

Like many first-time moms, I was pretty clueless about what baby products would work best for us before our son was born.  Case in point- our highchair.  We registered for a nice, typical highchair from Chicco, that was great at first, but I quickly came to hate it because once James started feeding himself, it was impossible to keep clean.  There were so many small crevices in the chair where food got trapped.  Also, the chair was pretty bulky, not great for the narrow area where we use it.

I started searching for a new high chair that would be easier to keep clean,

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