6.30.2015

Miller turns 2 and a 4th of July Link up!

Hi Friends! First things first I have to tell you about a fun link up I'm co-hosting this week.  Starting tomorrow and going through July 7th we want to see photos of your kids in their best star spangled gear!! You all know how much I love dressing my boys and holidays are no exception! I have some adorable outfits that I can't wait to show you all, as long as everyone cooperates of course ;)

The link up will start tomorrow on our blogs (all blogs listed below) and you can join us on instagram with the hashtag #starspangledkids



I'm still in a bit of shock that my baby boy is two!! Over the past few months he has turned from little baby to little boy and is so much fun.  As much as it makes me sad to watch him grow up it is so fun to watch him discover the world around and test his independence.  We threw a little party  for him over the weekend. We kept it pretty small but I still couldn't help myself and had to do some little craft projects here and there.

We went with a "things that go" theme since he's into trucks, trains, planes, and boats. 




I get all my party ideas from Pinterest so I can't take credit for making stuff up!  I will hopefully have more detailed pictures of the table later. My iphone died a slow death and I lost all my photos :(. That's a post for another day though.   The printables shown are from Lauren Haddox Designs and Easy Party printables on Etsy. I used Lauren Haddox designs for Miller's party last year and love her stuff!


 There was a lot of playing in the dirt with trucks, which I obviously expected!

I had my dad build this racetrack in the pictures below so the kids could race cars down them. I saw the idea on Pinterest and knew we had to do it.  My dad added a tunnel and used a bigger piece of plywood so a few kids could use it at once. It was a huge hit and so easy for him to make. It's currently living on our deck and it's been keeping us busy after naptime.



 Poor Matthew didn't make it in to many photos but he was there celebrating too.  I can't believe he's going to be 8 months old this week.


Miller loved getting sung to, blowing out the candle, and eating the cupcake which was a huge improvement from last year!






We had such a great day celebrating my big boy turning 2 and I can't wait to see what this next year brings him!
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6.25.2015

Thoughts for Thursday: Because we're totally out of our minds...


We bought a new house!


As long as nothing crazy happens this place will be ours at the end of July!
This news has been quite a surprise to our family and friends because we've only lived in our current house for 2.5 years and just did all those renovations last year. We also haven't really told anyone we were looking but we've been on the look out for the past year and this house came up and it was just meant to be.

Our current house is only 1800sq ft and has 3 bedrooms.  Once Matthew was born we quickly realized that we couldn't stay here as long as we had hoped. We always knew the place was small but having a second  kid and losing our guest room really solidified that.  We talked with a few contractors about getting an addition but the price to add a fourth bedroom was so much more than we would ever recoup if we sold it since we would only be adding about 200sqft. There were also so many things we never considered since we bought this place while I was pregnant but we're close to a busy major cut through road and our backyard and driveway are both hills, which are not ideal for kids.  I also have to cross that road to get to our neighborhood pool, park, playground and while it's not bad in the middle of the day it's impossible in the mornings and evening rush house so I ended up driving everywhere when I could easily walk. 

The new house is in very similar condition that our current house was in when we bought it. It was built in 1993 and has been meticulously maintained but doesn't have any updates. It's about 3500sq ft and has 4 bedrooms upstairs with a 5th bedroom and bath in the basement.  It's a whole lot more house than we need but this is our forever house, we will not be leaving here for a long time, if ever, so we wanted to make sure we have enough space for the long haul of visitors and if we ever decide to have a third baby we won't lose a guest room.

I'm excited to move but feeling very sad about leaving our current house.  I'm going to miss my kitchen so so so much but I know this is the right choice for our family.  It was a deal we couldn't pass up. The best part is that we're staying in our community! So that will make the adjustment much easier.  I've included a few sneak peek pictures below and I promise I will be back with more pictures and details next week.








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Grab the button and link up to Annie and Natalie  on your Thoughts for Thursday post.
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Thoughts for Thursday





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6.24.2015

Rompin' Around

 So I decide a few weeks ago to hop on the romper bandwagon and buy this one from J.Crew Factory.  If you saw my instagram yesterday you know that I love it!  I've tried on many rompers in my day and being 5'9 and over 30 makes it hard to find an appropriate one that I don't feel silly in. The J.Crew one totally sold me and now I'm on the hunt for more. 

Here are my top choices:


If you're not sure about rompers give this one a try! It's super cute but still long enough and flattering for me to wear without looking like I'm trying too hard.



I think this would be a great run around with  the kids romper

Love the print and neckline of this one

I'm obsessed with this chambray one and I think I'm going to order it.


I love this chambray on too at only $28 but I'm afraid it might be too short on me  because their stuff is so short.


Love the pattern and that it's strapless.  Looks like it could easily go from day to night. 


Another one that looks perfect to run around with the kids in


Love this white one and think it would be great for a night out paired with a big chunky necklace and wedges.

I've dubbed this the bridal romper! I this would be perfect for a bridal shower, bachelorette  party, rehearsal dinner, or post wedding brunch. If you know anyone getting married tell them to buy this romper.

Here are some more good ones if you're on the search for one:


Are you a romper person?? Have you tried them out? Found they work or don't work for you?

Linking up with Pampers and Pearls for Mid Week Muse

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6.22.2015

20 Questions

I feel like it's been awhile since I've done something like this and I've been getting new readers lately so I thought this would be fun!

A little about me:
My name is Natalie and I'm a 30-something living in Maryland with my husband Kyle, crazy goldendoodle Layla, and two sons who are almost 2 (Miller) and 7 months old (Matthew).
I started this blog initially to document my wedding planning back in 2009 and it's evolved from there. I mostly talk about my life as a mom, our house, and my love of fashion and shopping.

1.Favorite food:  
Mexican! I could eat it all day everyday.  My go to order is 2 soft chicken tacos a la carte.

2. Flip flops or high heels: 
Flip flop girl, always have been!

3. Favorite places to shop for yourself: 
J.Crew, Nordstrom, Loft, Shopbop, Target, and my current most favorite J.Crew Factory

4. Standard Coffee order: 
Medium iced coffee with light cream and one splenda (I just can't give up the cream/half n half if it's regular coffee!!) 

5. Road trip must have snack: 
Diet coke and Chex Mix 

6. DIY or hire it out? 
I've always been a decent DIYer but Kyle is a hire it out all the way. He's not handy and doesn't have much patience for a DIY so we end up hiring it out most of the time.

7. Top 5 TV shows: 
The Office, Gossip Girl, Dawson's Creek, Arrested Development, and Scandal

8. Favorite Book: 
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume 

9.  Favorite Form of Exercising: 
Running! It's always been my go-to and I'm slowly getting back into it 

10. How tall are you?
5'9"

11. Do you try something new at restaurants or stick to your favorites?
Once I find a dish at a restaurant I love I only order that and never try anything else! 

12. One make up item you can't live without:
Mascara- I wear it no matter what I'm doing

13.  What's on your nightstand?
Iphone, ipad, glass of water, baby monitor, and lamp :) I've been trying to keep it less cluttered lately

14. What's one thing motherhood has taught you?
To enjoy the every day and be present. Even the slow mundane ones because they're a whole new adventure to your kids and it's amazing to see how exciting the world is through their eyes. 

15. Music that reminds you of high school: 
Dave Matthews Band! 

16. If you could live anywhere in the world besides your current city where would you live?
Hmmm  probably Charleston since it reminds me of Annapolis with palm trees but Kyle keeps telling me I would really love Southern California.

17. Tell us something about you we might not know: 
I stalk real estate, it's my hobby. I can tell you about every house for sale in my community right now.  Even though I'm not working anymore as a realtor I still love to look at real estate listings and read about the industry. To be honest I don't know if I will go back to selling but I know I will  get back into the industry in some capacity.

18. Websites you read/browse (besides blogs):
 Buzzfeed, Pinterest, Houzz, Redfin, Realtor.com,  Popsugar

19. Morning person  or Night owl?
I used to be a morning person but over the past couple of years I've turned into a night owl. I'm trying to switch that around since my kids like to get up at 5:30am

20. Favorite Breakfast meal:
Egg sandwich with feta on a croissant with a side of cinnamon roll



So tell me something about you that I might not know!


*I made this up so feel free to play along and do one for yourself if you want






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6.18.2015

Thoughts for Thursday: Loving Lately

**Friends I'm so sorry!!  I thought I scheduled this to post but apparently I didn't, thanks again for linking up as always!**

Happy Thursday! I feel like this week is flying by anyone else?!

Here are some things I'm loving this week:

This Salad...
 
 The southwestern chopped salad from The Garden Grazer popped on my Facebook feed and I had to try it because it sounded too good. I made a big batch on Monday to eat all week and it does not disappoint! It is healthy and totally fills me up so I don't have to stuff my face with carbs at lunch.  The creamy cilantro lime dressing might be my favorite part.  If you're looking for a good salad give this one a try.  I think I might  try her Asian chopped salad next.

This Face Wash...



I picked up the Cerave foaming face wash at Ulta after hearing a lot of really good things about and it's been great. My skin  is all over the place right now and half oily/half dry and this does a great job of helping the combination  skin without over drying the dry parts. Has anyone else tried this one? 

These Sandals...

I'm in a wedding in September and we can pick our shoes. We're wearing long pink dresses and I think these shoes would be perfect with it. Plus I think I could get other wears out of them in the long run. I've never heard of this brand, has anyone else? I'm thinking of ordering to see how they are.

This Book...


I've been hearing that this is a very polarizing book so I have to read it find out what I think. It's basically a peek into the life of the ultra rich mom's life on the upper east side from an outsider-who-got-in stand point. A lot of people are calling it a grown up mean girls so I of course must  find out for myself. If anyone has read it I would love to know what you think.

What are you loving this week??

Remember to grab the button and link up below!
Thoughts for Thursday



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6.17.2015

Life Lately

Happy hump day friends! Every week I say I'm going to get my act together and blog more and then life happens. I thought I would give you all a little update via iphone pictures.

We've been spending a ton of time outside...











I managed to sneak out for a girls nights and Kyle and I went out for a friend's birthday dinner. I've  also been enjoying backyard  happy hours with my boys. 



I threw a gender reveal party and found out I'm getting a nephew!!! Yay for boys!





Matthew is getting so big and crawling everywhere. He also never stops smiling.






And of course I've been shopping :) Mostly for the boys more than me. Half the stuff I buy goes right back but I did get an awesome romper I will share later this week.


What have you all been up to lately?

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