June 2010

There’s a small little piece of blogging real estate over in the right sidebar of my blog. Some of my favorite companies, shops, and friends have advertisements in the sidebar and I wanted to share a little bit about each of them with you. You may even find some discount codes mentioned, so keep your eyes open!

For more information on advertising on Blue-Eyed Bride, email me at eeakin11{at}gmail{dot}com.

Ashley Brooke Designs

In Ashley’s own words…

Ashley Brooke Designs is a luxury paper company where I create hand-drawn fashion sketches from scratch.  I love working one on one with clients to design exactly what their hearts desire.  Our designs are available on everything from stationery to coffee mugs to tote bags.  Contact me at info@ashleybrookedesigns.com and let’s talk design!

Penny Lane Designs

In Marina’s own words…

Penny Lane Designs is a small graphic design boutique that specializes in high quality, affordable custom blog designs, ‘Faux’ Sites, pre-designed blog layouts and print design. My goals as a designer are to create designs that are unique, clean, polished and to make my clients happy.

The Letter Tree

In Sherry’s own words…

The Letter Tree is a monogrammed gift shop that offers the best selection of monogrammed gifts with enough variety and style to have something for everyone.  If you are in need of something monogrammed, a special baby gift that stands out from the rest, fun gifts for your bridesmaids, a wedding gift, groomsmen gifts, specialty papers and personalized stamps, we have it all.  Adding personalization creates unique keepsake gifts that will be treasured for years to come. We strive to always provide great product selections and exceptional customer service. Please be assured if you shop with us, you will not be disappointed.

Monogram Chick

In Sarah’s own words…

What hatched at a dining room table has grown leaps and bounds into a web destination for personalized gifts. Monogram Chick is an extensive selection of fabulously unique products including gifts for bridesmaids, hostesses, sorority, housewarmings, children and babies. With items for any budget, Monogram Chick makes giving a personalized gift easy and affordable. For the month of July Blue Eyed Bride readers can save 10% on their order be entering the code BEB10 at checkout!

momAgenda

In Nina’s own words…

As with many great inventions, the momAgenda was created to simplify the life of its founder – and caught on like wildfire. Today, momAgenda encompasses a vast range of organizational products, many inspired by its loyal devotees.

Kelly Moore Bag

In Kelly’s own words…

About three years ago, I started sketching and dreaming about having a handbag/lens bag line of my own. As a photographer and a woman, I was always left wanting more when it came to my options for a stylish, functional bag that I could use to carry my equipment while I photographed. I sat down and made a wish list of everything that I wanted in a great bag, and now 3 years later, I’m so excited that my wishlist has come to life!!

Minted. The Freshest Designs on Paper

In Minted’s own words…

Minted is a new online store offering fresh, modern custom invitations, stationery, announcements, holiday cards, and more.  We have gathered our collections from the most acclaimed independent stationary brands, and many are exclusively carried on Minted.com.  We also offer our own exclusive designs created especially for Minted.com.

Personalized Greeting Cards from Tiny Prints.

In Tiny Prints’ own words…

Tiny Prints offers an extensive collection of unique and contemporary stationary for both family and businesses, including everything from stylist corporate event invitations and other business stationery items to fun photo birth announcements, baby shower invitations, holiday photo cards and more.

Layla Grayce

In Layla Grayce’s own words…

At Layla Grayce, we truly, madly, deeply care about design, about creating the perfectly decorated room that expresses your unique sense of self, and finding perfect items for gifts or everyday. These are things that can make a difference in the quality of our lives and those dear to us. We feel that beautiful surroundings bring harmony, balance and happiness to your home and life, and strive to showcase products that will achieve this philosophy. Beautiful surroundings that express your personal take on lifestyle shouldn’t be a luxury – it should be a necessity.

Many thanks to the June advertisers and sponsors!

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After one year of being a mom to the greatest, funniest little boy in the world, I thought I’d share my {real} experiences and let you in on what I’ve learned. I wrote a similar post a few months ago if you’d like to go back and read that one.

• The year started off with a tremendous amount of fear. I was so afraid of what would happen when I brought him home. Or what would happen when my mom went back to Texas. Could I take care of him by myself? How? I’m just a girl! How did I end up with a baby? What if I accidentally drop him or he gets sick? The level of responsibility is tremendous and I was terrified.

• I learned after two days alone with him that I am his mother. I know him better than anyone knows him. He’s counting on me and my primary job is to love and protect him. I can do that!
• But I do screw up. He rolled off the ottoman when he was 3 months old. Who knew he could roll over? No one knew until that minute! And a few weeks ago he practically leapt off the changing table. He cried a little bit and I felt terrible. But things happen and the guilt will consume you. And you don’t forget it for second when those things happen.

• Modesty goes out the window. There’s no time for modesty. I’ve already shown my goods to a room full of people, so at follow up doctor’s appointments I don’t get embarrassed like I used to. Or if my mom wants to see my stretch marks I’ll show them to her!
• Nothing grosses me out. I’ve been puked on, pooped on, peed on. It happens. I just hurry to clean it up and get the job done.
• There is no love like the one I feel for my child. And it brings into perspective just how much my parents love me. And then I remember the horrible way I spoke to them when I was in high school and the lies that I told so I could do what I wanted. I’ve probably apologized to my parents more in the past year for things that I did 10 years ago than I did when I was actually doing those things!
• Everything is seen through Hudson’s eyes. I get excited about the tiniest things that I’ve taken for granted over the years. Like a day at the beach!

• My best girlfriends are such incredible sources of strength and humor!
• I love having conversations that aren’t about babies, baby things, baby clothes, baby tips, baby ideas. Baby, baby, baby. It’s nice to take a break and focus on being Erin. The mom job is 24/7, so just an hour long break is always appreciated.
• I want to give Hudson everything I can, but I don’t want to lose myself. When he goes to school or graduates from college, I don’t want to be wondering where my life went. I want to teach him the importance of being an individual and having a strong identity.
• I am so appreciative of our family and the support that we have. We have been so fortunate to have so much freedom and time to spend time with just the two of us because of TC’s parents. They love Hudson and love us and we’ve had some great nights out with their help. I also have no idea what I’d do without the constant support and love from my parents. Even from 17 hours away, I know that they’re going to laugh at the funny Hudson story I tell them. And if I need help they’re there to give me advice. What wonderful friends they are to me!
• I have a deep respect for single mothers and single fathers.

• This year would have been completely different without this blog and the community that I’ve found with it. Mommy bloggers to share stories. Non-mommy bloggers to take me away and make me life. And my friends. So many girls have helped me share stories and also helped me “get away” and laugh.
• Every single month gets easier and more fun. You start sleeping longer. You can start going to restaurants again because they can eat table food and are actually able to interact with you.
• And don’t forget, “You can fight a bear for a little while.” Or in this case, a toddler! Some days it’s just a test of wills and we’re working on patience for him and staying strong for me. Each day is a new day!

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I wanted to share something very special with all of you. Megan’s friends and some other bloggers have gotten together to ask the blogging community to have a moment of silence for Baby Cohen. I’ve posted the details below.

What: Moment of Silence for Cohen

When: Thursday July 1st from midnight to 11:59 pm.

How: Bloggers participating will post the Cohen banner (below) or simply post Cohen’s name in large letters on their blog.

Why: July 1st Megan and Brent will be holding Cohen’s memorial service.  The moment of silence is an opportunity for Megan’s blog community to stand behind her and support her on this difficult day.  Linking up will give Megan a chance to see the support at a glance.

Participating bloggers can Link Up on July 1st at Send Love To Cohen. Will you join me and help spread the word?

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I love a good project. Don’t you all know that by now about me? A wedding, decorating a house, a pregnancy, a baby (and everything that comes with a baby), selling a house…. Back up.

We took our house off the market. We were encouraged to lower the price on our house and, let’s face it, we don’t need to sell our house. And we certainly don’t want to sell it bad enough to drastically drop the price. We love our house, we love our neighborhood, and we love the convenience of where we are. So selling our house was a want and not a need. We thought we needed more space, but we just wanted more space.

Now our project is going to be making the most of the space that we have. It’s time to take a long, hard look at our house, the space, and make sure we use it all in a way that maximizes our space so we get the most out of it.

Office to Playroom

The office/study is going to be turned into more of a playroom. It’s time for the toys to be stored in the playroom instead of the living room. We’ll play in the living room a lot, but we have a 4th bedroom and we need to use it as a playroom instead of an office. Our computer and shelves will stay in this room, but I’m looking to replace the chair and ottoman with a daybed, like the one below. With the daybed, it kind of serves as a “couch” and can still be a place for guests to sleep when they visit. We’ll also have more storage options that are more baby-friendly for toys, books, and games. (the pictures of the study are almost a year old and the pictures have been replaced with more recent photos.)

Living Room

We’ll basically be doing a furniture shuffle in the living room. Moving or selling the big bookcase, putting our current couch (which is currently on the other side of the room) on the wall where the bookcase is currently, and opening up the room so the back of the furniture isn’t facing the front door.

(These pictures are also from last summer– you can probably tell by the presence of the baby swing.)

On the other side, now that the couch will be moved, we’d like to have  sectional. It is such a small area, but a sectional is our best way to maximize seating potential without having to completely block off the room. It’s one big room, but we have to create to spaces because our front door is set in the middle of the room and then it leads to our main hallway. We’ve explored every option and lived here for three years and this is the plan that TC and I have come up with– after many conversations with my decorator mother. Thank goodness for her!

I’m planning on framing four large prints from our recent family photo sessions and hanging them on either side of the television. I’m so tired of looking at the blank walls, but haven’t been reading to commit to anything there. Now I’m ready!

The couch in this photo will be moved to the other side of the room.

This is all going to take a few months as we save money, search for the perfect pieces (no impulse purchases this time), and wait for things to arrive. It’s not a major overhaul, but we’re finding the best ways to use what we have with our space and adding a couple new things to the mix.

Are you a project person like I am? What projects are you currently working on?

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