Heart Shaped Elbow Patches! OMG!

So I know it's been a while since I posted. So Sorry! We were hit with the stomach bug and then I just couldn't get time to write. Grayson will only nap if I'm holding him lately so that has taken away any "free" time that I've had.

Anyways, it is 62* and sunny here in New England today and it is absolutely gorgeous outside! I can not begin to tell you how excited I am that the weather is warm out. Makes me want Spring to just hurry up and get here!

Today's look was defiantly inspired by this gorgeous day. My favorite white jeans paired with my navy and white striped cold shoulder top with the most ridiculously cute heart shaped elbow patches. *I predict a DIY coming soon. I need more elbow patches in my life!* I finished the look with my trusty peal earrings, silver locket, my suede red flats and a bright red lip.

Where to Shop:
Francesca's
 You can find the exact Cold Shoulder Heart Patch Shirt by clicking the link above!

Also found one at Macy's though I think the Francesca's one is way more cute



White Jeans

Express

Target

Red Flats

Target

Yummy Deliciousness!

 

To prepare for today’s snow storm Lily and I decided to bake some yummy muffins! One of Lily's favorite things to do is bake. I absolutely love to cook and bake for my family and I love that Lily has so much fun helping me. I think most kids enjoy mixing ingredients and helping in the kitchen. Usually when I have Lily help me I like to have everything already separated into little bowls so she can easily add the ingredients and won't have to wait long for me to measure everything out. I highly suggest doing this. Keeps your little one from getting bored or inpatient. Luckily for me, since I failed to have this done, Lily was super patient while I measured everything. That and she was busy mashing the bananas.

Not only was I super excited to make these healthy muffins for my family but I was oh so excited to use my new 13 piece Cook Works product that my brother got me for Christmas! Guys, this thing is on sale right now for only $6.97 at Walmart!! I'm shocked at the price! (Sorry, Eric! I had to look it up to share it with everyone) Not only is this sturdy but it does so much! I feel like I can clear out some of my extra kitchen gadgets now. I can not recommend this product enough, especially if you are tight on room. The one drawback is that it did not come with an instruction manual. However you can find their manual on line if you need one.

Back to the muffins... I usually make blueberry banana or blueberry zucchini. Lily has been very picky about veggies lately so I knew I wanted to make something with zucchini. I found a ton of different recipes on line for mixing all three, bananas, blueberries, and zucchini. After going through a couple different ones I came up with my own delicious recipe. Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you have any questions :)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil, cooled (I microwaved the coconut oil for about 35 seconds then stirred till it was all melted)
• 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup shredded zucchini (about 2 medium sized ones)
• 1 1/2 cup blueberries (put 1/2 cup aside)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line mini muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a large sized bowl, combine mashed bananas, sugar, brown sugar, egg, coconut oil, and vanilla. Stir until well combined. Add the flour mixture and stir until flour is mixed in. Add both the zucchini and blueberries. Mix.
4. Spoon the batter into muffin cups, about 3/4 full.
5. From the 1/2 cup of blueberries that you put aside take a blueberry and place one on top of each muffin
6. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 10-13 minutes. Check at 10.

Makes about 56 mini muffins. Perfect size for the kiddos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Day After

It's the day after the Patriots won the Super Bowl and I am exhausted! Such an amazing game to watch! We went to bed late, woke up a few times with the kids throughout the night and then had to get up early to take Lily to school. Also I think I may be getting a sinus infection. Last thing I wanted to do this morning was get up and wear anything but sweat pants. Since we had errands to attend to this morning I figured I would put in some effort. Bare minimum... yes, sweat pants...no. Black jeans, grey v-neck pullover, my pink puffy vest and white infinity scarf. I finished off the look with my black knee high boots, mom bun and last nights left over make up. Eh...at least I got dressed, okay ;)

Pink Vest

Macy's You all have to check out this vest at Macy's! So cute and on sale for $25. You can get it down to $18.74 with the code RED

Grey V-Neck Pullover

Gap

Priceless Works of Art

 

 

 

One of Lily's favorite things to do is paint. I have to admit that we haven't painted as much since Grayson's been born but now he is finally at the age were he can participate as well. Even if it lasts only a few minutes for him. Yesterday I got out some supplies and decided that it was time Grayson got to experience the joy of finger painting. Instead of just painting on paper I wanted to have that very first piece of artwork he did to be extra special.                                                   I used an 8x10 canvas from Michael's and tiny pieces of masking tape to mask off their first initial. Using tiny pieces helps you get a curve in the letter easily. Once I got the look I wanted I taped down some newspaper to protect my table, put their smocks on and added a few drops of different color paints to their canvas. They had blast! Lily isn't big on getting messy so once she was done finger painting I gave her a small tray and some Q-tips to paint with on regular construction paper. Q-tips are great for those kiddos who just don't want to stick their fingers into paint for either sensory reasons or those who just don't want to get dirty. I highly recommend that you have extra paper handy for them to paint. That way as soon as they get the canvas art done you can quickly give them a sheet of paper to continue their art. Otherwise the canvas may end up so over done that you end up losing the look of the different colors.

Once the canvas was completely dry I slowly peeled off the tape and Ta-da! I now have beautiful art that I can hang up in their rooms. Here are their priceless works of art! 

 

 

*You of course don't need to do their first initial. You could do hearts (great for a Valentine's Day gift), words, just random tape strips or no tape at all.

 

 

Discount School Supply    Discount School Supply is where I get most of my art supplies

 

Paint                 Smocks

 

Michael's

 

Canvas                 Paint    

 



I'm Part of the Minivan Mafia!

So it happened! I am now the proud owner of a minivan! I am absolutely loving my new Honda Odyssey! Eight seats, heated front seats (keeps my booty toasty), leather, sliding doors, a built in cooler, moon roof, and a bunch of other fancy stuff! I sat in this thing for hours yesterday, no lie! I even tried to invite friends over to hang out with me in the minivan for some reason they  declined. Weird. Anyways, we comfortably loaded all three kids and went on our first car ride as a family since Grayson was born. For the last seven months we've had to take two vehicles to go anywhere as a family. Who new I'd be a minivan mom AND be excited about it!?!

In my attempt at staying stylish while picking up my new momobile from the dealership, I wore my new floral print cold shoulder blouse from Express. I am loving this silky blouse. Its so bright, fun and versatile. Great for everyday but could easily be paired with a skirt for a night out. Also I can wear it with white shorts and sandals in the summer! I'm not one to usually wear patterns but I'm trying to step out of my comfort zone lately and this pattern was not overwhelming at all. I paired it with a pair of dark skinnies, matching red flats and a long cardigan.

Now that I'm a part of the minivan van world I can't wait to purchase a Minivan Mafia graphic tee and pull up to Lily's school tomorrow with the other minivan mommies. I feel like I'm part of new gang. A gang of cool moms! Is that pushing it? It might be, but I think it works ;)

You can find wear to buy similar items on sale at the bottom of page

 

Cold Shoulder blouse

 

Express This is the exact shirt I'm wearing. Not on sale, but it is B1G1 (buy 1 get 1) 50% off

 

Target

 

Jeans

 

Old Navy

 

Express   Express jeans are on sale B1G1 for $29.90

 

Cardigan

 

Target 

 

Red Flats

 

Target

 

Target

 

 

The One Shirt Every Woman Needs!

 The one shirt that I have found to be the most versatile and timeless is the Chambray Shirt. The ways to wear this shirt are not only endless but can be worn all four seasons! I've put together six cold weather outfits to give you an idea on how to mix up your look.

1. My number one look lately has got to be laying my chambray shirt under a sweater or cardigan and rolling the sleeves up. I love the look of a patterned or stripped sweater but a solid color works just as well! Classic yet not too preppy!

2. Tuck your denim shirt into a skirt, any length works, for a fun yet simple style that can easily go from running errands to a lunch date with a friend!

3. The contrast of wearing a denim shirt with white jeans (don't be scared) just looks so crisp and clean to me. You know, as long as it wasn't finger painting day for your toddler! Have to protect these white jeans. ;) Add some knee high boots, a statement necklace, and you'll be ready to take on the day.

4. One of the most popular looks that I've seen, would hands down have to be wearing it over a black and white striped tee or blouse. There is something just so classic about this look. Normally, I would probably wear a long gold necklace or a bold long red statement necklace for a little "pop" of fun but with a grabby baby that just doesn't work at the moment.

5. Denim on denim. It can be done. My personal opinion is that if you are going to do this, your top should either be darker or lighter than your blue jeans. I just feel that the contrast is visually more pleasing and also easier than worrying about trying to find the right shade shirt that matches your pants.
Whenever I do the denim on denim look, I make sure to add a bit of brightness to my ensemble. Here, I paired it with my cream and orange flats and a coordinating bag.

6. Another way to layer the chambray is to layer it over a dress. This works with different length dresses. Maxi to shorter. Button it down, wear it as a light cardigan, belt it with a skinny belt, or even just tie it around your waist.
I choose to (as seen in an early post) wear my denim shirt, buttoned down and under a stripped t-shirt dress. Then belt it and pair it with black tights and boots.

Hope this gave you some ideas ways to wear your chambray shirt! These are just some cold weather ideas. Can't wait for summer when I can find new fun ways to wear this shirt!

Here are a few places that you can get one if you don't already own one or just want another in different shade! Just click on the store name to take you straight to a denim shirt at a great price!

Target                 Banana Republic

Old Navy            Forever 21

Gap                    American Eagle   

Kohl's                H&M

Minivan Shopping Stlye

This week we visited a number of car dealerships and spent hours test driving different minivans. A minivan is something I never could have imagined wanting. "No freaking way", I would have said just last yr. Since my son was born that quickly changed. You know its time for magical sliding doors once some giant dummy parks so close to you passenger side at the grocery store that it is impossible for you to put your son and his car seat in the car! The fact that I had to put my tantrum throwing toddler in the front seat and then climb and practically shove the car seat over her seat to get to his side was just about enough to make me go to the offending car and violently kick the crap out of it. Luckily (?) Lily's meltdown was a distraction enough so that didn't happen. Needless to say my small compact car is no longer working for our family! Did I mention that we can't go anywhere as a family because my 18 yr old would have to take her own car? Or that my husband always has to drive because he cant fit on the passenger side because of Grayson's rear facing seat? Yup, the Corolla has got to go!

So in my attempt at still being cool driving a minivan I wore my skinny jeans and black platform ankle boots. I put on my cozy mustard colored pullover (no mustard is not just for Fall...at least it shouldn't be), and white infinity scarf. I also made sure to add a stripped undershirt for a little fun and because its cold and I needed the extra layer.

After driving and viewing all the vans my view of them is starting to change. I mean have you seen all the awesome features that they have now?! It's not your moms old van. No, the new ones are so amazing. I am literally counting down the days till I can park one in my driveway and call it mine. I've already been a "cheer mom" for four yrs I'm sure I could be a soccer mom too. As long as there's a spot for my lipstick I'm set :)

Where to buy similar items:

Sweater

Target