Baby Girl Decor

For the past few months, I've had this gut instinct that we were having a baby girl.

So, we picked out a name, bedding and nursery decor for a...BOY.

I don't know why or how but boys seem much easier to plan for and so I am now 5 months along and back to square one on the planning. We got the name figured out (Charlotte Elizabeth) and I'm stalking obsessing over casually perusing Pinterest and Etsy for little girl nursery ideas.

Gallery walls intimidate me because I see these amazing photos of them in rooms but I feel like when I see them in person or try to do them myself, they turn out a little dull. Nonetheless, I found some adorable options if I do decide to tackle a gallery wall in Charlotte's room.

Here are some options...

I also love these embroidery hoops with fabric.

all images via

So, I've really narrowed it down. (note sarcasm).

I openly admit I am not a decorator so any advice? Opinions? Other ideas? Send them my way...please!!

Hubby has no idea what he's getting in to..

Laura



PB & J Smoothie

I'm back with another smoothie concoction!

Since it is summertime, smoothies are my go-to lunch again and I couldn't be happier.

I couldn't decide on a PB & J sandwich or a smoothie for lunch the other day so I thought why not combine the two? Minus the bread, of course.

The end result is a creamy, liquid version of your favorite childhood lunch!

PB & J Smoothie

Makes one meal serving or two snack size servings

Blend together until smooth: 

-1 frozen banana
-5 strawberries (whole, including the stem)
-1 very large spoonful of peanut butter
-1/4-1/2. c. of milk, depending on your preference

Enjoy!

Laura



I really love my...{flat whisk}

(see here for all previous posts in the I really love my... series!)

I really love my Stainless Steel Flat Whisk!

This whisk is essential for me in the kitchen! Whether it's scrambled eggs, gravy or scraping up the yummy bits underneath a creamy soup, this whisk is where it's at.

It's flat head is slightly flexible which helps get into the corners of the pan and makes a smooth end result in your gravies or pan sauces! An added plus? Dishwasher safe! Perfect.

I have this one from Williams- Sonoma but they have other options there as well as some at Bed Bath and Beyond!

Whisk away!

Laura

A Tuesday Tune

We are loving a DFW band, Green River Ordinance, lately.

Enjoy "Dancing Shoes"! 



Happy Tuesday!

Laura

Rhoad's Rolls Pizza

I don't want to brag or anything, but ever since I've been pregnant, I've become the queen of easy, simple weeknight dinners. Between exhaustion, back pain and overall "I'm carrying a child here" symptoms, cooking nightly dinners has become tough for me!

But the upside of this is that we have found some of our favorite new recipes this way! For example, the Grape Tomato Pasta dish! Another new favorite is even easier than that- Rhoad's Rolls Pizzas.

I've talked about my love for Rhoad's Rolls before with these Rosemary Rolls and my love continues.
 
Simply pull the rolls out of the freezer a few hours ahead of time (or use the simple thaw method on the back of the bag) and let rise. Once they have doubled in size, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and spray your pan really well with non stick spray!

Smush (very technical here) the rolls into flat circles and top with your favorite pizza toppings! This was great because the hubster likes red sauce with his toppings and I'm more of an EVOO pizza type of girl so we were able to personalize our own just the way we like it. Sort of like Burger King...

Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Simple and delicious! The hubster even said he liked these better than the typical pizza we make.

(Let's not even pretend this picture is appetizing- I was starving and couldn't mess around with food photography biz-nass).



Just FYI- I ate two of these babies and the hubster had three, so plan accordingly. And make some for leftovers- they were a great lunch the next day.

I like calling myself the Queen,
Laura

Gender Reveal Part 2

Here is Part Two of our Gender Reveal Party for sweet baby Ellison!

And my favorite part, too- the dessert.

I love the idea of an ice cream bar and decided to adapt it to the pink and blue theme.

We had brownies, vanilla ice cream and a plethora of Lil' Man toppings and Lil' Miss toppings!

I used the same signs from the entry table and just moved the title over and added the word "toppings". Super simple!

 We had blueberries, blue sixlets (from the party store), blue sprinkles, blue candy and I colored half a tub of cool whip blue!

 For the Lil' Miss toppings, we had strawberries, raspberries, cherries, pink sixlets (also, from the party store), pink sprinkles and I colored the other half of the cool whip pink.

I am really pleased with how this table (and the sundaes!) turned out! It was so easy to organize and continued the Lil' Man/Lil' Miss, blue/pink theme seamlessly.

Since my hub and I already knew the gender for the big reveal, we went to the Dollar Tree after our Dr. appointment and loaded up on pink silly string! Once you take the lid off, all the bottles look the same! I checked the tops and one had a little pink remnant on it and I simply scraped it off with a toothpick so there were no spoilers.

We passed out the silly string to all our friends and on the count of 3, everybody sprayed! It was SO fun and wonderful to see everyone's reactions!

 PINK!

 It's a GIRL!

In the end, I am beyond pleased with how simple and fun this party turned out! I love that it wasn't tons of work to prepare but was still adorable. 

So excited for a girl!!

Laura

Gender Reveal Part 1

Last Wednesday, the hubster and I found out the gender of our sweet baby and wanted a fun way to share it with our friends!

I had so much fun planning this reveal especially since I didn't know the gender while planning and I can't wait to share it with y'all!

 I was inspired by this and this to create what, in my opinion, was a super easy and cute party to throw together!

Here is part one of our party- the entry table! 

This table greeted our guests as they came in and made their predictions if Baby Ellison is a Lil' Man or a Lil' Miss!

 The prize was a massive baby bottle full of candy!

 We had so much fun with the lips and mustaches and that our friends could guess their predictions before the big reveal!

Check back tomorrow for the dessert table and how we revealed the news!

Very few people guessed girl!
Laura

Three Years

Happy Third Anniversary to my adventurous, loving and dedicated hubby!

When I look back on the last three years of marriage, the first word that comes to mind is FUN! It started with a fun-filled night of dancing with our friends and family at our wedding and has continued every day since. What a wonderful life we lead!

Since I didn't venture into the blog-world until after our big day, I wanted to feature a few of my favorite things (besides our amazing family and friends!) from our big day.

Our version of the guest book. Monogrammed cards for guests to write their well wishes and advice for us! We love going back and reading through these frequently! 

Crayons and Activity books for the kiddos!

Our wedding invitations were "pocket style" and so we carried that over into our programs.

Easily my favorite thing! Welcomed guests into the reception.

Simply and sparkly cake. Our florist made the mini "E" cake topper, too.

A wii to entertain the non-dancers.

And of course- my sweet, sweet groom.

Cheers to continuing the fun for many, many more years!

I wish we could have another wedding...same bride and groom,

Laura

A Baby is Brewing...

Big News!

My sweet hubby and I have a baby girl on the way!

I found out that I was expecting right before I went to Vegas for my bestie's bachelorette party. Remember that?

Both my husband and I wanted to wait to tell everyone the exciting news until I was further along but I knew that if I went to Vegas, for a bachelorette party, and did not even have one celebratory drink, there would be some questions. So, I decided to let them know that first night there before the bachelorette festivities were underway!

Side note: I called the bride-to-be earlier in the week to tell her and asked her if it would be okay to do a little announcement in Vegas. The last thing I wanted to do was take attention off of her weekend because of this news! She was so excited and did not mind one bit!

Gather your supplies: tea bags, strips of colored paper, (and pretend you see these in the picture) glue and a marker.

Fold the paper in half and crease the top.

Write the big news on one side...

...and the date on the other side!

(At this point, we didn't know our exact due date as the Dr. wouldn't see me until 8 weeks along but I knew it would be in the Fall! Our exact due date is October 31, 2012.)

Glue each side to the tea bag label and let dry.



Wrap it up in what would look like a cute Bachelorette gift for everyone and try to contain your excitement/nervousness! 

 

My girlfriends were SO surprised and it was so fun for me to watch their faces as they slowly opened the packages and put together what was happening!

This could not have been easier and such a cute way to announce your big arrival!

Baby's First Trip to Vegas,
Laura

Father's Day

I let Mother's Day come without mentioning my mom (don't judge- it was just a little belated) and I can't let that happen for Father's Day this weekend, too!

My dad is the (sometimes) quiet, strong support of our family.

His love for people and his ability to look at situations from a Godly, not worldly, perspective is such a wonderful example. Just like my mom, he works hard at everything he does, whether that be his job as an engineer, leading the rowdy middle schoolers at Bible Study Fellowship or his golf game. No matter how worn out, tired or busy he is, he is always the first to jump into help fix something (even if you didn't know it needed fixing!). He is the man that you want to come visit your house five days after you move in and finish all your projects/start new ones...which is exactly what he did here last week.



He has taught me many valuable life lessons, especially those that I've learned by example, but the most important and prevalent in my life right now is his never-ending servant attitude. That is something that I am working specifically on in my life and he is a prime example for that type of heart.



He doesn't like his picture all over "the facebook" and the Internet but I had to throw a couple in here to honor him on this special Father's Day weekend.

Happy Father's Day to my sweet daddy!

Love,
Laura

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

Run to your kitchen. Grab the following ingredients and make these Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes ASAP.

I can't show you a picture of the ones I made because I decided not to use cupcake liners and, despite spraying the pan, they stuck in the pan like glue. And then I got a little bit frustrated. And then I tasted them...

and all was right in the world.

So, I scooped them out, flipped them over and frosted and glazed them anyways because I had a sixth sense about the trifecta of the cake, frosting and glaze. Boy, was I right.

That glaze...mmm....



These might even pass as breakfast muffins...but I mean, if you're into that type of eating cake for breakfast type of thing. Which I totally am.

See here for the original recipe from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.

These are one of our new favorites around here!

Laura

I really love my...{knife holder}

(see here for all previous posts in the I really love my... series!)

I don't know if you heard, but we just moved. (Please note the sarcasm; we all know I can't stop talking about it.)

Anyways, when we moved out of our rental house, I didn't want to take my magnetic knife rack down from the wall because I knew the massive holes in the wall probably wouldn't go over too well with the landlord. So, instead, I chose to appear as the gracious ex-tenant and leave this on the wall. Saintly, I know.

Now that we are in our new house (it's OUR house! Eeek!!) I have been looking for a new knife holder but really didn't have a place in our kitchen that I loved to hang a magnetic rack. When I was shopping at the Container Store the other day, I stumbled upon this gem and haven't looked back since!

It's a bamboo knife holder that fits in your drawer and safely holds all your knifes without dulling the blades.

The flexible cork-like material easily separates to accommodate multiple knifes of all different sizes.

Here it is in our drawer. This takes up half the drawer with lots of room on the side for other really important kitchen utensils. They also make a deluxe knife holder that is double this size if you're really a knife junkie or just love to have options when cutting your onions. To each his own, you know?

To say that I am pleased with this purchase would be an understatement!



You can get this little beaut online or in stores at The Container Store!

Off to stare at my cork and bamboo obsession,

Laura