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Holly Jolly Sweepstakes with Vilah Bloom

Holly Jolly Sweepstakes with Vilah Bloom

This holiday season we're giving one lucky mom or mom-to-be a Vilah Bloom M.O.T.G. Convertible Backpack PLUS a Babysprouts & Company prize pack including a Baby Bib, Burp Cloth, Pacifier Clip, Baby Teether and Terry Sweats (0-3 mo). Total ARV of prize pack: $231.95

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How to Plan Your Own Baby Shower | Post No. 2

How to Plan Your Own Baby Shower | Post No. 2

So you're thinking about planning your own baby shower... good for you, my husband and I did the same thing! As I mentioned in How to Plan Your Own Baby Shower | Post No. 1, I’m not always a rule follower; you might even say I intentionally go against the grain at times.

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How to Plan Your Own Baby Shower | Post No. 1

How to Plan Your Own Baby Shower | Post No. 1

I’m not always a rule follower; you might even say I intentionally go against the grain at times. My husband calls me hard headed, but he also says I’m ambitious and entrepreneurial… those attributes just might go hand in hand now that I think about it. We live in a small town and although we have local friends, many others live one or two towns, even states away. A sprawling friend base means you’ve always got somewhere to stay on road trips, but it sure makes getting together with everyone difficult. When we started to think about a baby shower, the answer was quite simple – skip the traditional girlfriends and family girls routine, and throw a party. After all, a new baby isn’t just about the woman; a new baby is a celebration of new life and the addition that the little one will be to your entire friend and support base. Over the next several posts, I’ve decided to detail the ins and outs of planning our own baby shower. Not that we have all the right answers, because we don’t; let’s face it most of us are making it up as we go. Hopefully the next several posts will give you some ideas should you or someone you know decide to plan your own baby shower and hopefully they will inspire or help our readers feel more comfortable going against the grain. For us, step one was both the easiest and hardest step… set a date, time and book your location. Set A Date What’s a party without people? That’s why this part is so difficult. If you’re super savvy you could always send out a doodle (www.doodle.com) and find out what works best for all of your potentially invitees. But let’s face it, the easiest way to get an idea of when people are available is to talk to them in person or on the phone. It’s nice to think about planning several months out, but let’s get real… I was 6 months pregnant when we started planning, have a full-time business to run, laundry to do, vacations to go on and food to cook – let’s not forget about extra chores that consume every other minute of the day. We started talking about the bigger details several months out, and we even got invitations in the mail 4 weeks prior to our date, but the real planning came about a week prior, right as we got back from vacation. So, a few phone calls, a few visits with friends and our date was set – July 16th was going to be the day. Seriously though, sooner is probably better. I don’t recommend planning all the details the week before the event! Looking back, I can’t believe we pulled it off with a week to plan decorations and food. If it weren’t for my husband and his genius kitchen skills, I’d be lost. Time What time would you prefer to have the party? We chose 2:00pm in the afternoon but we made sure to express on our invitations that light appetizers would be provided that way people didn't show up with a full stomach from lunch! This time worked out perfect for us instead of an evening time (especially for the parents with kiddos). Book Your Location This is nearly as big of a deal as setting the date. If you’re inviting lots of people, you want to have lots of space, but keep in mind you don’t want your space to feel empty and you don’t want your space to feel full. Just enough room to get around, but close enough so you still feel cozy. Sometimes a kitchen and dining room is plenty of room, other times you might want to book your local community event center. We ended up inviting somewhere in the ballpark of 100+ guests with a turnout of around 50; not a bad turnout. Thankfully, our loft-home is just big enough to cater to a group that size. Until next time...  

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Gender Neutral Nursery Inspiration for Expecting Moms | My Favorites

Gender Neutral Nursery Inspiration for Expecting Moms | My Favorites

As an expecting mother, I find myself spending more time than I should searching Pinterest and other blogs for nursery ideas and designs. Technology has come so far, today you can find just about anything you could ever want or need for building your dream nursery. It’s exciting and overwhelming all at the same time. When my husband and I found out we would be a couple +1, I couldn’t help but begin to pull together items I loved from all over the web. We made a personal decision to wait until birthday day to find out our baby’s gender; a surprise either way, but just a little more exciting to wait till the end. Personally, I used to think gender neutral meant grays, creams, whites, and blacks. For some, this may be the case and perfectly fit their style or vision – but I love color and knew that we would have to add bright colors here and there to satisfy my appetite for creativity and fun. From the beginning, shades of teal and aqua have been my favorite – we even incorporated those colors into our wedding. In the collection above, I’ve pulled together some favorites, some inexpensive and other a bit pricey – but when a woman knows what she wants… a happy wife is a happy life right? My favorite item on the list is the Powwow Lodge Round Door 60" Teepee (1). This is definitely a want a not a need, but if you have room in your nursery or playroom for such an accessory, it’s definitely something worth considering. I think I’d set the teepee on a colorful area rug or blanket and fill it with some favorite toys, maybe something like the Crocro Crocodile (12).  Essential to every nursery is a comfortable rocking chair. I prefer something more gender neutral since you pay good money for a quality piece of furniture like this. The dark gray Strandmon Wingback Chair (3) looks comfortable and very stylish for what I’m looking for in a chair. It’s bigger than normal and I love the option of having an extra high back for resting your head when you’re tired. One cool DIY idea is to remove the chair legs and stain or paint these Rocking Chair Runners (4) to add to the bottom. You can find the DIY tutorial at this link: http://interiorsbykenz.com/ikea-hack-strandmon-rocker-diy-wingback-rocking-chair/. Since the chair doesn’t come with a foot rest, I’m considering adding this adorable Sweater Pouf (13); it would work great for resting your feet on or as a small chair for your child to sit on and read a book when they get a little older. For an extra and fun accessory, I found this fun Large Cloud Cushion (2) in Black Stripes to add to the chair. I’m really interested in a modern crib. The Classic Convertible Crib (11) is a little pricey, but not only is it a neutral color and would work with all of your children, but it’s also convertible. This neutral Feather Crib Sheet (14) is a great deal from The Land of Nod to go with this nursery collection and our soft and sweet Sketch Circle Organic Cotton Blanket (5) from Babysprouts & Company matches perfectly. I have always loved all the different varieties of mobiles available on the market. From plastic with musical songs to handmade, a mobile is not an essential to a nursery but it is another way to add some extra color. I picked out the Themis Décor Mobile (16) gender neutral and very fun. If you’re nursery walls are bare, adding your baby’s initials directly over the crib is a very sweet way to accent the crib. I chose the letter “C” (15) for our last name; the options are endless and adding all three initials would be just as sweet. Another essential in the nursery, or close by, is a changing table or dresser of some sort. I love the style and room that the Little Smileys Changing Table and Shelving Unit (8) has to offer. You can fold clothes away and still display some other items on the shelves. After your baby gets too big to be changed on top, you can remove the frame and now you have just a solid dresser. Add a colorful Woven Storage Basket (7) or accessories to the top right side for storing your diaper cream, powder, etc. in. Just above the changing table is a great wall space area to add some art. The Wildlands makes and sells their art on canvas; this Giraffe and Elephant set of 3 (6) caught my eye, accented with some teal graphics pulling all the extra colors from the nursery together. Another way I found to add some great color to a gender neutral room was to throw in an area rug. With a mix of color, this Curvature Rug (9) fit perfectly for what I had in mind. Last but not least is a Threshold Wire Laundry Hamper (10). It’s classy and lined with a big for easy transportation to your laundry room.  Ours would most likely sit in our closet space. I’m curious to hear about your nursery ideas; leave them in the comments below! -Amanda

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