A Simple Nursery

I finally got around to finishing Charlotte's nursery! I can't believe it has already been 5 months since we moved into our new home...and this is the only room in the house that I can actually say is "complete." Her room is the smallest in the house yet it still took hours of hard work and planning, (makes me a little nervous about the rest of the house!)

The diamond accent wall is by far my favorite feature in the room. I had actually seen something very similar used as a wallpaper, but I couldn't afford the price. Needless to say, I was so in love with the look, I decided it was worth the extra effort to actually paint the pattern on myself. (Tutorial to come!)

The room really doesn't have a specific "theme" it's just full of things that I like and that remind me of my little girl (which is sometimes the best way to go when it comes to designing a space). 

Check out photos of the room + project details below...

Room Details: 

Diamond accent wall: I made my own stencil and painted the pattern using a very light grey color (tutorial to come later!) If you are looking for a less time consuming option you can purchase the wallpaper that inspired me at The Firm. 

Paper crane mobile: get my tutorial HERE

Bookshelves: These are actually "Picture Ledges" which I purchased for just $14.99 at Ikea

Nesting doll art: I actually made this myself in Photoshop. I am also planning on painting my own nesting dolls to display on the dresser...someday :)

Sheer curtains: Also purchased from Ikea, I couldn't find the exact pair online, but you can view a similar option here.

Triangle framed art (on shelves): This was a last minuet design that took me literally 30min. to make. I simply cut triangle shapes out of paper, painted them, and then taped them in different patterns in each frame. (tutorial to come!) 

Shindigz Giveaway Winner...

Hope everyone had a great weekend! My husband and I celebrated our 7 year wedding anniversary in Seattle and had a blast! It was my first night away from my kids EVER which was a little nerve wrecking yet relaxing all at the same time (don't ask me how that works :)

Well, as promised...

The winner for the $50 Shindigz gift-card goes to....

Megan from Just For Me...and You! (I will be e-mailing you the details shortly)

A big thanks to all who participated!

photo credit: Shindigz.com

$50 Shindigz Party Supply GIVEAWAY!

I had so much fun putting together my daughter's first birthday party and it's no joke that ordering from Shindigz party supply made everything much easier and less stressful!

and guess what...

Your in luck! Because Shindigz has offered to give one of you a $50 gift certificate to use towards your next party!

Please follow the simple instructions below to enter...

1st. Visit Shindigz website and browse their party inventory
2nd Leave a comment below and tell me what type of party you plan to host and which Shindigz product(s) you might use for the big day!

*The giveaway will be closed on Friday April 5th and the winner will be announced the following Monday...so hurry and enter!  

Charlotte's 1st Birthday

My baby Charlotte had her 1st birthday on Saturday, I can't believe a year has come and gone since the day she was born! I had a hard time deciding how to celebrate her 'big day' and whether or not I should choose a theme for the party. She's not particularly into anything but my drawers and cupboards at this stage of life... so instead of a themed party I decided to just choose a sweet & cheery color pallet to match her cute little personality and get us excited for spring!

You may think this is a little over the top, but whenever I have an event that requires a little more decorating and planning then your average dinner party, I like to actually draw out my plans and make lists of exactly what I need to purchase.

Normally, I am running around from store to store trying to put together and find all of my necessary party supplies but this time I was able to purchase just about everything I needed through Shindigz.com (A wonderful online party supply store that happens to have award winning costumer service.) Their online shop was super easy to navigate and I loved being able to get exactly what I needed without having to take my 2 little ones out on long shopping trip.

The party consisted of a delicious dinner with our closest family members, presents, cake & ice cream, and an awesome home video documenting the highlights of Charlotte's 1st year of life (thanks to my husband :). I used a soft color pallet for the decor (whites + creams with small touches of pink + gold). And to keep things simple yet elegant I added some fresh flowers (many of which came from our own garden!)

When I started putting this post together I realized I totally forgot to make Charlotte a party hat! Don't know how it slipped my mind...I did make her headband though...so I'm counting that as the party hat! 

I decided to make a smaller version of the large cake for Charlotte's personal cake. I loved how cute the cakes turned out, and the frosting technique was so quick and simple! If you are wondering how I did it you should check out THIS cupcake tutorial I listed on you tube. I used exactly the same technique for the top of the cake but ran the icing in lines from bottom to top for the sides (I'm making a video for this tutorial as well just haven't got around to posting it yet!)

Healthy Valentine Treats!

Thanks to a good friend and a spectacular blog, I have really started to change the way I feed my family. The transition has been slow and was a bit of a challenge in the beginning (if you have been a long time follower you are aware of my addiction for all things sweet!)

On my journey to a more wholesome diet, I have definitely struggled with the decision of whether or not I was still going to keep making all of my traditional Holiday treats. Half of me would say, "But it's a Holiday, it only comes around once a year!!!" and the other half of me would say "yeah, it is a Holiday, but there are also a million other holidays and special occasions throughout the year." (lately, it seriously feels like there is some sort of "special" need for a dessert overload all.the.time).

So, I have decided to not cut sweets & treats completely out of our Holiday celebrating (that would make life much too boring!)...but I have been trying to make some healthy-er more wholesome ingredient decisions.

My 3yr old and I tested out this Homemade Pop-Tart Recipe from 100 Days of Real Food last week and it was seriously delicious (especially warm out of the oven!) The recipe uses homemade jam (just berries sweetened with honey instead of sugar) and all whole wheat flour for the crust. I never would have thought using whole wheat flour in a pastry crust would even turn out, but it did and it was a hit with everyone in the family!

Have you seen any healthy Valentine treats around? Please Share! 

Click below for more detailed instructions!