by Blue-Eyed Bride on August 31, 2009
You Are My Sunshine is one of the sweetest songs in the world to me. The lyrics are so sweet and simple. It’s my favorite song to sing to Hudson when he’s not so happy and we’re rocking to sleep. If I think really hard about what I’m singing to him, I find myself in tears.
This month’s Southern Living features a home by the owners of Sugarboo Designs, Inc. Their house is beautiful and their little company is so charming. They’re based in Roswell, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta. I visited their website after reading about them and found this. I’m pretty sure it has to be mine.
by Blue-Eyed Bride on August 31, 2009
So I decided to start doing Mom-Style Monday because 1.) I love clothes. A lot. And 2.) I wanted you to see the different outfits that work for me in my new stay-at-home-mom job. Some days I stay in yoga pants. But if I am wearing yoga pants, I’m wearing a J.Crew. ruffle tee on top and a pair of Bernardos.
In this job, comfort is of utmost importance. When the baby is really little you’re not leaving the house much– at least I’m not. But it’s likely that you’re going to have a few visitors, so it’s important to get dressed and look as good as you possibly can. The challenge is finding the time between feeding, burping, changing, crying, and napping to squeak in enough time to make yourself look presentable.
My closet used to be organized by color and I loved that. Now my closet is organized by activity. I have my Monday-Friday outfits that range from casual at home, casual shopping, professional (now just for Todd’s work events), church, and date nights. It’s easiest for me to pull from the area with the category that fits my mood rather than sort through all of my black shirts looking for the one that’s going to work for me on that day.
Each week, I’m going to show you my favorite outfit in my online shopping cart. This week I’m focusing on pretty layers and manageable style.
Layers are crucial because, at any given moment, that precious baby boy could spit up all over my shoulder and I need to be able to take off a cardigan and be good to go without having to go home and find something else to wear. So here’s what I’m loving this week– all from J.Crew, of course.
the Jackie Cardigan
I like the Jackie Cardigan because it’s cotton and can be worn with everything. I have it in four different colors and J.Crew has the Jackie in their collection every year. It never goes out of style. For this outfit, I like it in white or navy.
the Ruffle Tuxedo Shirt
This shirt comes in four different solid colors and I already own the white one, but I love the stripe for my mom-style. It’s a little bit more casual, but has just enough flare to make a really beautiful outfit that appears to be low fuss. If I get hot, I can take off the Jackie Cardigan and if Hudson spits up on the Jackie Cardigan, I’m already wearing something beautiful underneath it with this tuxedo shirt.
Stretch Bootcut Cord
Stretch is key here. I’ve got to be able to get down on the floor and lie down, then get back up while holding a 15 pound baby. There’s lots of movement all day at the house, so I need something durable that can move with me. The Matchstick Cord is my favorite, but they’re not all that flattering on me, so I get the bootcut version. I like this color because it’s not going to show any dog hair and can be worn with lots of tops.
Colleen Rose Flats
Gorgeous. With two dogs and a baby, however, I wear my brown Danskos in the fall more than anything else. I’ve got to be able to get out with the dogs and not worry about messing up any shoes. If we are leaving the house to go shopping or to lunch, though, I would wear these Colleen Rose Flats with the above outfit.
Gilded Tulip Earrings
My hair ends up in a ponytail on most days. It’s so long and when I’m holding Hudson he always seems to wrap his little fingers around my hair and hold on tight. Ouch! So I just pull it into a loose ponytail. I cannot wear a ponytail without wearing earrings, but I can’t wear dangly earrings for obvious reasons. The shorter the better so they don’t get ripped out of my ears! I think these are adorable.
Next week I’ll show you what I look like on a day where I can’t find any time to get myself put together and show you some good options for loungewear that you wouldn’t mind your neighbor seeing you in!
by Blue-Eyed Bride on August 28, 2009
I don’t have real sisters, but Hudson definitely has two aunts that are crazy about him even though they haven’t met him yet. His Aunt Jennifer and Aunt Catherine are coming in from Dallas this weekend to meet him!
L to R: Malain, Jennifer, Catherine, and me
Catherine and Jennifer (and our other friend, Malain– with the dark hair, who is all the way over in San Diego) don’t have any sisters and we all have brothers. We were in the same pledge class in Alpha Chi Omega our freshman year.Jennifer and I lived together in college and Catherine moved out to South Carolina a year after I moved here and we lived together out here. These two girls are my heart and soul and I’m so excited to have them here. I’m not even doing anything to prepare the house because I know they don’t care.
I originally told them to just pack sweats and PJs because we’ll just hang around the house, but we’ve decided to let Todd play “babysitter” one night so we can go to dinner. I have that same feeling that I have when I know my mom is coming to visit– complete comfort. These are my soul sisters and I know they’re excited to see Hudson, but they’re also excited to just sit and catch up while watching endless episodes of Sex and the City.
An exciting and relaxing weekend is surely ahead and I’m looking forward to just spending time with my best friends. Funny enough, Todd is heading to Dallas for work on Sunday night, so I’m really excited that they’ll be here with me while he travels to their city.
Todd and I are going on a real date tonight! Old-fashioned dinner and a movie. We’re having dinner at Garibaldi’s (which is actually Garibaldi Cafe and I’ve broken my own rule of making something possessive and changing the name of a restaurant!) then going to see Inglourious Basterds– even though I want to see Taking Woodstock. Lots of thanks to his parents for keeping Hudson tonight!
Weight Watchers Wednesday is coming back tomorrow in addition to a new feature called Mom-Style Monday where I show you the most comfortable options for me to wear around the house and still look presentable while running errands with a baby in tow. Have a great weekend!
by Blue-Eyed Bride on August 28, 2009
I just saw this adorable wedding photo on Lauren Clark’s blog and I’m obsessed. Enjoy!
Is wedding season over? Or are any of you still attending weddings every Saturday?
by Blue-Eyed Bride on August 26, 2009
Yikes. So I’ve said before that this is the hardest, most time-consuming job I’ve ever had, but that was before I even attempted to give it a shot.
I hadn’t even entered the kitchen at that point. Up until now, I’ve had 11 weeks of meals prepared by our dear friends and family. My husband would bring home take-out. We’d just eat a bowl of cereal.
This week I decided that I was going to start “earning my keep.” Not because anyone expects anything from me, but because I feel like if I’m home all day I should have a clean house and a meal on the table every night.
Sorry, Charlie. That’s not how this is going to work out. At least not right now.
On Monday, Hudson and I went to visit Todd at work and then were heading to the grocery store. En route to Publix, Hudson decided that he hated his car seat and had to be out immediately. So I just kept on driving. Past the grocery store and around the neighborhood. I wanted him to just get tired of crying and fall asleep. There’s nothing worse to me than a screaming baby in a grocery store and I was NOT going to be that mom. He finally fell asleep about twenty minutes later and we went in to Publix. I picked up all the ingredients for one of Todd’s favorite casseroles and all of the ingredients for pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and asparagus.
Hudson and I went home and I fed him a bottle and tried to put him down for a nap. Two weeks ago he was an excellent napper. Now that I’m trying to get him to sleep so I can prepare a delicious family meal he is not at all interested in napping. (Is “nap” a verb? I like it as a verb. Oh well if it’s not.)
I started chopping the vegetables and he started crying. I went to comfort him and change his diaper so I could get him back down. He fell back to sleep and I started cooking the meat. He started crying again. By the time I got him soothed, the meat was stuck to the pan and I was afraid I had ruined the entire thing. Now, I’m not a very patient person, so you have to understand that I’m about to lose my head at this point.
For about ten minutes I considered calling my former employer and begging to have my job back!
I am normally a decent multi-tasker. I’m an event planner, for crying out loud! But it’s not physically possible for me to hold a 15 pound baby (who is still struggling to control his head) in one arm and cook with the other. I’m afraid I’ll burn him or drop him!
The time rolled around for Hudson to be fed again, so I managed to get the meal simmering and fed Hudson a bottle. I finally got him down for about twenty minutes and squeaked by just enough time to get all of the ingredients into the casserole dish and into the oven. Mission: Accomplished. Finally.
The meal turned out fine, but I was exhausted and had a hard time finding the joy in the whole event.
Next time I’ll be attempting a simpler recipe that has fewer chopping and fewer steps. I’m also considering the Baby Bjorn for the first time. And I swore I’d never wear a Baby Bjorn. I’m not sure how good that will feel with a 15 pound baby in it, but it’s worth a shot.
Tonight, I’ve attempted mashed potatoes and pork tenderloin. The meat is currently in the oven and the potatoes are ready. This morning, while Hudson was napping, I pealed the potatoes and put them in the refrigerator to save a step. I’ve tasted them and they’re delicious.
So this stay-at-home-mom thing is quite the challenge, but I’m up for it. Tomorrow I’m meeting one of the other wives of the two attorneys that Todd is working with. We’re planning an open house at their new office. These other two wives are the ultimate stay-at-home-moms with four kids a piece, so I feel like if they can do it I can definitely give it my best shot.
In the meantime, I’m going to let this precious boy sleep (he loves sleeping on his side) and leave you with the most beautiful image in the world.* At least to me! How could I have been frustrated just because he wanted to be awake to play with his mommy?
*He is snuggled up in his new Woombie in the picture and we love the Woombie. I swear I’m going to do a baby product review post one of these days, but I’ll go on the record and say that the Woombie is wonderful. It hasn’t changed our life or his sleeping patterns drastically, but it is such a great alternative to swaddling. When I have to unswaddle him to change him it takes a long time and he gets all woken up. With the Woombie, it unzips from the bottom, so I can leave him in the Woombie and change his diaper. He can move his arms and legs around because the fabric has a little bit of stretch, but he can’t move his arms so much that he wakes himself up. I really love it.
by Blue-Eyed Bride on August 25, 2009
Hudson is napping and I’ve got to hurry to crank out this post or it might not ever happen!
I’m back with Home Tour Tuesday to show you our kitchen and dining area. I mentioned before that our 1930s house was updated before we moved in, so we were blessed with a home that already had granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.
You can see that it’s a pretty tiny kitchen and I’ve pretty much covered every bit of counter space that we have (which completely stresses me out), but it works and it’s clean– most days.
In college I had such a weird thing about the kitchens where I lived. They grossed me out so badly. You just never know who else ate there and what they left in the refrigerator and for how long. Yuck.
I love our pendant lights. They used to run down the center of the kitchen and that was the extent of our kitchen lighting. This summer, we had recessed lighting installed and moved the pendant lights over the sink. It’s so nice to be able to see in the kitchen at night now.
My favorite thing ever. Our coffee maker. And that’s the little painting I bought in Paris. One of my two pieces of original artwork.
The view of our dining area from the formal living area. Our next furniture purchase will be new dining chairs and then window treatments for the dining room.
This little trunk has always been used as a coffee table in my family and my parents let me have it. When we moved into this house I wanted a bench under that window but didn’t want to buy one. We just bought some pillows and used the trunk under the window. We sit on that trunk all. The. Time.
So that’s our kitchen and dining area. Glad you caught it on a clean day! Between dog toys and mail it can get a little cluttered!
by Blue-Eyed Bride on August 21, 2009
It’s oppressively hot. I’m not a fan of summertime anyway. I like the spirit that comes with summertime, but I don’t like the heat, and I generally don’t love summer clothes. I like jewel tones and layers and that just screams fall to me.
Fall in Central Park. Yum!
No, I don’t have plans to be in Central Park this fall, but I will play in the leaves and we’ll at least do a drive through North Carolina to see some nice leaves changing color and all that fun stuff.
I’ve vowed not to purchase fall clothes in August like I always do. Maybe I’ll wait until mid-September. Even though there’s no chance that it will get below 75 degrees until late October. Hopefully I can trick-or-treat with my baby boy and wear a sweater while I’m doing it!
Please take some time on this Friday afternoon to drool over these two gorgeous and obviously flattering pieces with me from none other than Anthropologie.
by Blue-Eyed Bride on August 21, 2009
I put all of the entries into a random number generator. Those of you that posted your baby and/or back to school pictures got a second entry. I loved looking at your pictures! So much fun!
And the winner is… Julia from My Life in Transition!
The other good news is that everyone is a winner because you can get free shipping at Monograms and More until August 28. Click on the button below to visit the website and entire the coupon code “FALL SHIP” at checkout!
Happy shopping!
by Blue-Eyed Bride on August 19, 2009
Hudson started giving us some really big smiles about three weeks ago and we are so excited about it! There’s just something so magical the first time you see that smile– especially because for the first few weeks you’re not getting much feedback at all from your baby. Hudson is now a smiling machine!
We had dinner at Todd’s parents’ house two nights ago to celebrate his mom’s birthday and she snapped these pictures of the Bud while he was smiling at his mommy.
We had his two month check up last week (when he was 10 weeks old) and he weighs a whopping 15 lbs and is 25 3/4 inches long! His head is 41 centimeters. He is off the charts in height and weight and in the 91% for his head measurement. So that birth weight wasn’t a fluke– he’s still a big ole boy. And we love every pound and every inch of him.
Just before we left for the beach, we were so close to having him sleep through the night, but that kind of fell apart. We’re back to every 4 hours or so. And those Swaddle Designs blankets that I was raving about? They’re too small for him. Way too small. He can bust out of that swaddle like Houdini– or HUDini. Yeah, I’m an nerd.
My mom found a new swaddling option called the Woombie. Not sure how well it’s going to work, but we’re giving it a shot tonight. I’ll keep y’all posted.
For now I’ll leave you with another giggle at the best little smile I’ve ever seen.
by Blue-Eyed Bride on August 18, 2009
Welcome back to Home Tour Tuesday!
(no, the stork is not still in front of our house)
I completely neglected this idea for the past few weeks. I didn’t forget, but it just got harder and harder to find a room to photograph that hadn’t been completely overrun with baby gear or dog toys. I’m a neat person, but I could spend all day picking up dog toys and baby stuff. But if anyone is at all interested anymore, here’s another room in our home for your viewing pleasure.
So here are our two living spaces. You can see the black front door on the right in the picture below. Our home was built in the 1930s and was lived in by the same family until 2007. At that time, someone bought it and completely updated the house, but kept a lot of the original fixtures and hardware. You can see that our living space is wide, but not very deep, so we decided to split it up into two areas that basically serve as two rooms.
This space is one that we rarely use. Hudson’s swing stays in this area and this is also where we put his little activity gym. I will sit over here and read every once in a while, but this has kind of become the unused space in the house. We’re definitely in need of a pretty round, tufted ottoman in here.
The big round table has been in my family for a long time and we my breakfast table before we got married. I love it in that corner now. At Christmas time, we move the table and put the tree in that corner. It was a great spot for it last year. Does anyone notice the never-ending amount of law books on the top shelf there? Don’t you think those belong in, say, a law office?
the Christmas tree– and you can see the high back chairs before we recovered them and the old red rug that I’m so happy isn’t in that room anymore!
The most beautiful accessory in the room: Hudson’s SweetPeace swing.
These chairs (there are 2 of them) belonged to my great grandmother and then to my grandmother. I picked out fabric at Calico Corners and had a local guy recover them for $200 total a few months ago. I love the way they turned out and I love the animal print on the back.
and of course, Princess Fiona in all her glory.
This is the view from just inside the front door. And now that blank wall space on the left is really driving me crazy!
This is the area where we spend all of our time. That sofa is so comfortable and I think I spent most of my pregnancy right there. The chair rocks and that’s where I’ve spent most of my time now that Hudson has arrived.
And at the bottom of the photo you can see my beautiful first born, Boudreaux, who has been completely left out of this blog lately. He’s such a sweetie.
The poor girl in the orthodontist commercial probably didn’t want to have her face on my blog.
So thanks for coming back for another edition of Home Tour Tuesday. Not sure what we’ll be seeing next week– probably whatever is clean. It’ll either be the master bedroom or the kitchen/dining area. Happy Tuesday, y’all!
