The Nugget's Birthday Extravaganza - Part 1

The Nugget's party was a huge success! We had a great crowd, good food and the kids had a lot of fun! There are way too many pictures for one post so I will have to split them up.
Below are pictures of all the decor. Most I ordered from Etsy and a few things I made myself.
Enjoy!

Cupcake & Candy Buffet

I love the way the grass cupcake wrappers and the animal cupcake toppers turned out. Made by two different Etsy sellers, but they complimented each other so well!

The Nugget's little cake. He wanted nothing to do with it. My little paleo baby :)
My sister commented that if I would have made it out of meat and spinach he would have loved it. She's probably right!

The front door sign. So cute! I may just hang it in his room permanently. At least until he's 16. :)

The stickers are from Etsy, but I cut out the little tags myself. These were for the goody bags.

Goody Bags

Photo banner I made. And all my wheat grass. If anyone wants a wheat grass plant I've got a few to spare.

More wheat grass.

His adorable little hat from Etsy. Of Course he refused to wear it.

Tissue Poms from Etsy. I am so glad I ordered these. They are still hanging in my kitchen. I love them so much I don't want to take them down.

The Daily Nugget

September 23, 2010
11 months - week 4

He's taking this new fireman thing pretty seriously. Yes, that's him standing on the seat of his truck attempting to pump the water hose....

The Daily Nugget

September 22, 2010
11 months - week 4

Daddy, your toothbrush is so much better than mine :)

P.S. Happy Birthday to my buddy, Margaret! Can't wait for your party on Saturday!

Love, Aubrey

The Daily Nugget

September 20, 2010
11 months - week 4

Ready to terrorize the neighborhood in his new fire truck....

Fabulous Things Monday

Sorry that Monday is almost over and I am just posting this. This has been a super crazy week. I went a little overboard on Aubrey's first birthday party and I'm still recovering. At least I have leftover Sangria to help :)
Anyway, on to the fabulousness. It's a short one, because I have a lot of sleep to catch up on.

B. Toys are some of the cutest I've come across in a while. If you're tired of all the primary colored stuff, you will love these. They use sage greens, burnt oranges and purples for these creative toys. They make everything from musical instruments to bath toys. Aunt Celeste gave the Nugget this drum for his birthday and he LOVES it! Definitely one of his favorites. I actually really like it too and have found myself playing with those shaka-shaka eggs probably more than an adult should.
Check them out and in the mean time, here's a few pics of the nug playing with his drum.....

Those are drum sticks in his hand, but he's moving them so fast you can't even tell

Those eggs I mentioned. They are sort of addicting...

The Daily Nugget

September 13, 2010
11 months - week 3

His first birthday card arrived in the mail today. It was from Tori. He loved it :)

Fabulous Things Monday

There are only two things I miss about the working (outside the home) world.
1. Eating lunch with Whitney everyday
2. Wearing nice clothes (and shoes). Really there is no point in nice clothes and shoes once you're a stay at home mom. I see the same Mom's every Monday morning at the grocery store and guess what we are all wearing? Workout clothes. I bet most of us are not wearing them because we just left the gym. It's just whats comfortable and easy to throw on.

But if I did have a nice office to go to and dress up for, here's what I'd be coveting today.....

All of today's fabulous shoes are available at Anthropology.

The Daily Nugget

September 10, 2010
11 months - week 3

Escaped during a diaper change......

The Daily Nugget

September 9, 2010
11 months - week 3

I need a fence.....or a leash. STAT!

Just this week, my little nugget has realized there is a world beyond the back patio and his sandbox and he is trying to make his escape every chance he gets!

Down the side yard.....

To the hose.....

To his umbrella.....

To the garden.....

Here mama, I picked some oregano for you....

What am I going to do once he can walk???

Kyle, I see fence building in your immediate future :)

Rule of Life #101

Never buy wrapping paper from the dollar store. Yes, that price tag may look tempting. But when you are three-quarters finished wrapping and the the paper tears six inches across the edge of the package and you have to start wrapping all over, it's really not worth it.
Lesson Learned.

The Daily Nugget

September 8, 2010
11 month - week 3

Today's obsession : the garden hose....

The Daily Nugget

September 7, 2010
11 months - week 3

Playing soccer in the kitchen......

Mmm....Mama this soccer ball tastes delicious.

The Daily Nugget

September 6, 2010
11 months - week 2

Parenting Lesson #1. Never say never.
Prior to becoming a parent, I said I wouldn't give my baby a pacifier. Some how, a year later, I am the proud parent of one extremely pacifier - obsessed baby (otherwise known as the nugget). :)

4 pacifiers at once! He can hardly contain his excitement!

Even behind the pacifier, you can see his mischievous grin :)

The excitement is uncontrollable!

*sorry for the poor quality pictures. they were taken with the iphone*

Happy Labor Day

I hope everyone had a fun, restful weekend! We stayed at home and enjoyed this beautiful weather and watched lots of football!

Long weekends always call for indulging in delicious food and this weekend was no exception. Saturday I made these Bacon, Egg and Toast cups from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. They were easy and scrumptious! You should try them!

Bacon, Egg and Toast cups - ready for the oven

Just out of the oven

Ready to eat, with coffee and grits!

The Daily Nugget

September 5, 2010
11 months - week 2

The Nugget's first taste of bacon! Like a good Paleo baby should, he devoured it and then demanded seconds....and thirds :)

The Daily Nugget

September 3, 2010
11 months - week 3

Hanging at Yogurt Lab with Mom and one of my CFR girlfriends, Miss Jackie.

Don't be jealous that I've been chatting with hot babes all day :)

The Daily Nugget

September 2, 2010
11 months - week 2

Playing peek-a-boo under his umbrella....

Halloween Is On the Way

Well, I've made it to Thursday. Barely. It's been an interesting week.

First, a colony of ants decided to invade our kitchen and living room. Battling insects is tricky once you have an 11 month who crawls around everywhere and puts everything in their mouth. You can't just rely on the ol' trusty, toxic stuff like before.

Second, the Nug decided that he didn't like a 7 pm bedtime anymore and that staying up until 10 and fussing the whole time would be more fun. Then he also decided that waking up at 5 am was be a lot more fun than sleeping until 6:30. This has been super pleasant for Mom and Dad. Do they accept babies at the sleep clinic these days?

But, the show must go on. So on to better news! I think I may have felt some cooler weather these last two mornings. And you know what that means?! Fall is coming and that means Halloween is coming! I think I may have mentioned before I that I'm a big fan of Halloween. Especially the decorating. The new Pottery Barn Kids catalog arrived in my mailbox this week and they have the cutest Halloween decor! If I could, I would order it all! But I can't so here are some of my favorites....

Halloween Countdown Calendar

I love it. I really, really want it. I'm hoping it goes on sale after the holiday and I can buy it for next year.

Trick or Treat Garland

This is so fun and looks like something you could make yourself. So I might give it a whirl! I'll just have to figure out a replacement to the appliqued letters. I'll report back if I find some spare time to attempt this. The boo letters are really cute too and I know I could make those myself!

Treat bags

Tons of cute ones, reasonable prices and free shipping! It doesn't get much better than that. I especially love the little bat and the owl.

Ok, signing off. Gotta go kill some more ants :)

The Daily Nugget

August 31, 2010
11 months - week 2

This swing on our patio is pretty much the Nug's favorite place to hang out these days. He could swing in it for hours at a time if I would let him.

What a sweet face :)

That hard plastic doesn't look very comfortable to me, but apparently it is. Here's how he fell asleep tonight. No story time, no nursing. Just swinging :)

Toadally Cute

Etsy is probably my favorite place to shop online. When it seems that everything I find in the stores these days is stamped with "made in china" it is so refreshing to have a place to buy quality, handmade gifts.

I've made numerous purchases through Etsy over the years and have always had a pleasant experience, but my latest purchase from Toadally Cute has got to be the best yet! Corrie, the owner and designer was amazing to work with and super detail-oriented. She happily obliged every single nit-picky edit I requested. Can we make the hippo just one shade of blue darker? Can we point the monkey's pinky toe just a little more to the left? Totally kidding about that last one. I wasn't that bad! But I bet if I would have asked, she would have responded with "sure :)"

(Do monkeys even have pinky toes?)

Anyway, back to Corrie. She was great and so sweet and very patient with me. And although everything looked great on the proofs she sent me, when my items all arrived in the mail yesterday I could not have been happier. Everything was one thousand times better in person! The quality of the paper and all the details with ribbon and rick rack and tulle were even better than I expected. So handmade, but at the same time much more professional looking than I could have done on my own.

She can make everything from invitations to door signs, cupcake toppers and gift tags. I'm not posting any pictures of my items yet because I don't want to ruin any party surprises, but I will definitely post lots of pictures after the party. In the meantime, if you are in the market for any party or event decor, I highly recommend her! I even have a coupon code for you: mention ReferAFriend along with my name and receive free shipping. You won't be disappointed!

*I did not receive any compensation for this recommendation. In fact, Corrie doesn't know anything about it. I just really love her products and wanted to pass along the word*

The Daily Nugget

August 30, 2010

11 months - week 1

My little nugget likes to join me in the kitchen to help while I cook.

And by help I mean opening all my cabinet doors, pulling every item out and then leaving it for me to clean up. Ahhh, life with an 11 month old :)

Fabulous Things Monday

Maybe there are people in the world who enjoy Mondays. But I don't know any of them.

So in an attempt to brighten your otherwise blah Monday, I am officially renaming this dreary day of the week to Fabulous Things Monday.

Fabulous Things Mondays will be filled with handmade jewelry and leather handbags from Etsy and others, delectable recipes from yours truly, the most beautiful in cookware and housewares and irresistible shoes and apparel.

There will be more goodies than your little hearts can handle. Because shopping for beautiful things makes everything better. :)

Aqua sea glass flower drop gold earrings. By tenthings

Staub La Cocotte cast iron cookware. I am usually partial to Le Creuset, but the color of these pots are so beautiful. I may have to have one. This turquoise color is sold exclusively at Anthropology.

I feel certain there will be a French Broad Chocolate Lounge in heaven. The best chocolate I have ever had and I sort of consider myself a connoisseur. :)

For all my lucky friends who have little girls and who I must vicariously live through, these are the most adorable little Mary Janes. By Gracious May

Fortunately, there are a few cute things for those of us who have been blessed with wild boys. I love little boys in Jon Jons and I love whales so this is a perfect match in my opinion.

Whale Jon Jon By Sha-Bebe