summer fun list

I was inspired by this list at Little Miss Momma to create a summer fun list. A list of things I want to do this summer.

1. Go to the Madison zoo.

2. Go swimming at the pool.

3. Go swimming at the lake.

4. Go on a picnic in the park.

5. Go to Noah's Ark in the Dells.

6. Ride the train in the park.

7. Eat ice cream at Kelly's Creamery.

8. Decorate the balcony and have date night on the balcony.

9. Watch fireworks.

10. Go for a bike ride with Morgan.

11. Blow bubbles.

....I'll add more later : )

showered with love

This past Saturday was my bridal shower. The theme from the bachelorette party was carried over with a wine and cheese tasting. Although I'll admit, I think there was a lot more wine tasting than cheese tasting.

There were also a lot of other yummy foods like this delicious coconut cake:

{recipe here}

About half way through the shower I realized that we hadn't taken any photos, but oh well, I guess that's what happens when you're having a good time and living in the moment. We did get one shot of the table (after it had already been dug into):

And of one of the games. The famous toilet paper wedding gown game:

I'll admit, I enjoyed that game much more than I expected to. We had some creative people that took it seriously and there was some damn good toilet paper fashioning going on. It brought me to tears laughing at my mom wrapping my grandma up in toilet paper.

I'm so thankful for the wonderful friends and family that came, and can't wait to use all the lovely gifts we were given. I'll have to come up with an excuse for a dinner party soon :)

P.S. The wedding is now 20 days away and my to-do list is still giving me anxiety.

P.P.S. I still am unsure what direction we are going to go in for Morgan's birthday and we're at the point were invitations need to go out if we're having a big bash. {insert more anxiety}

for the love of reading...

Our little man's new go to "toys" are his books. He is in love with them, and I'm in love with the fact that he's in love with them. Since he was the tiniest little thing he has loved being read to. He has always genuinely seemed interested in the book, looking at the pages and hearing us read. Now he can entertain himself with them for quite some time. He'll pull them all down from their shelf and sit in the heap of them slowly flipping through the pages. He'll flip through one in the car. I carry one in my purse and the diaper bag because it will entertain him in store if he gets fussy. He really is in love.

here's the photo evidence:

Isn't it sweet?

27 days

There are 27 days until our wedding. 

27 days, people! 

That is going to be here before we know it and guess what? I can't seem to gather the motivation to finish my to-do list. I still have 32 items on my to-do list. Some of these things are really small, some of them are things I can't do until a little closer to the date, but there are a lot of things I could be getting done now. 

So why can't I gather the motivation to get things done? I think because I've been thinking wedding, wedding, wedding for the past 6 months and I'm burnt out. I'm ready for it to be here. I'm ready to enjoy the day. But, I'm so over planning it. 

I think I need another wedding nightmare to get my butt in gear. Yea, that usually does the trick ;)

P.S. In case you didn't notice, I'm procrastinating further by writing this post : /

the chalkboard obsession continues....

Chalkboard paint is everywhere these days, and I've jumped on the bandwagon. I'm not exactly sure what it is about it, but I think it adds a little touch of whimsy to everything you brush it on. 

I have chalkboard paint that you brush on and spray paint.Yesterday I used the spray paint to transform two Goodwill frames into little chalkboards. I did not take any before pictures (bad, Ashley) but I will explain the process you and show you my fun after pics!

1. I picked up two frames at Goodwill for $1.99 each. One had a Christmas print in it and the other had a lion picture. It doesn't matter what's in the frame, as long as it has glass and you like the frame. Then I removed the prints and took the glass out of the frames. 

2. Laying the glass on a piece of cardboard I spray painted several coats onto each piece of glass, waiting for the paint to dry between coats (doesn't take long). After I got my desired coverage, I left the pieces of glass on the cardboard in the garage for 24 hours.

3. After 24 hours I replaced the glass in the frame and using the side of a piece of chalk, rubbed chalk all over the surface of my new chalkboard. After you cover the entire surface you wipe the chalk off (I used paper towel) and it's ready to go!

Here they are immediately after replacing them in their frames:

Here is one getting the "rub down":

Here is the final product:

I am going to use one in my laundry room, and the other is for the wedding :)

Bachelorette

Last night was my Bachelorette party, and let me tell you, we had a blast! We started the night out with dinner at a sports bar & grill downtown. This was a good time, but the real fun started at our next stop: an adorable little wine shop just a short walk down the road.

The owner opened the shop up just for our private tasting. We were ushered to the back of the shop where the was a huge Gorgeous (yes with a capital G) rustic table with beautiful mismatched chairs. I want one for my house!

We forgot to take pictures, but I found this pic on their Facebook page. The table cloth wasn't on when we were there though and there is some beautiful wood underneath.

We sampled four wines and I loved them all (just call me wino from here on out). We tried a white Lambrusco, a Chardonnay Pinot Gris blend, a Riesling, and a red wine that I can't recall the name of. The owner was very knowledgeable and I learned a lot about wine, but still left there confused. There are just so many different kinds. 

The best thing about the shop? Most of the bottles were around $10! I was really surprised, I thought it would be a lot pricier for "good" bottle of wine. I think the most expensive bottle we tried was $13. We all left with at least one bottle in tow. I bought two, a red Lambrusco and a Riesling called Frisk ;) 

After the dinner and wine tasting we continued downtown for some more "traditional" bachelorette festivities. We had a lot of fun and it was nice to be able to let loose a little and be silly, but I'm so glad that's not my scene anymore. This mama is way over that! I'll take my wine at home with some good conversation over a pub crawl any day.

lemon "puppy chow"

I decided to try out this recipe from Smashed Peas and Carrots despite the fact that it didn't fit with my no sweets diet plan. I did of course sample it and let me tell ya ladies - it was oh so yummy! But, I was a good girl and took the majority of it over to a friends last night for a party. Can't keep stuff like this in the house!

Lemon Puppy Chow

Ingredients:

9 cups rice chex cereal

1 1/4 cups white vanilla baking chips

1/4 cup butter or margarine

4 tsp grated lemon peel

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Measure cereal into a large mixing bowl and set aside.  In a microwaveable bowl, microwave chips, butter, lemon peel and juice uncovered on high for 1 minute; stir.  Microwave about 30 more seconds or until mixture can be stirred smooth.  Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.  Pour into a 2-gallon resealable food storage plastic bag.  Add powdered sugar, seal bag and shake until all the cereal is well-coated.

*I omitted the grated lemon peel because I don't own a grater (shame, shame), and I combined everything in a rectangular Rubbermaid container and shook it which worked really well.

**Image from Smashed Peas and Carrots - I didn't think to stop and take my own (fail).

 

cupcakes for 2

I came upon this recipe via pinterest. Seriously guys, it's the bomb diggity (pretend I didn't just say that). It's a cupcake recipe for two! How perfect is that? I'm trying to watch what I eat (gotta make sure I fit into that dress) and this is the perfect solution to any sweet tooth. You can have homemade cupcakes without making a whole batch that will sit on the counter taunting you until you eat them all. Yea, been there, done that.

Here's the source:

how sweet it is: one bowl vanilla cupcakes for two.

Here's the yummy pics:

Here's the recipe:

1 egg white

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla (yes, a full teaspoon – they are super vanilla-y!)

1/4 cup flour

1/4 heaping teaspoon of baking powder

pinch of salt

1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 2 liners.

In a bowl, add egg white and sugar and whisk until combined. Add in vanilla and melted butter and stir until mixed. Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir until smooth. Stir in milk. Divide batter equally between the 2 cupcake liners.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until cake is set. Let cool completely, then frost as desired.

Enjoy!

P.S. I haven't made this yet because I'm trying to avoid sweets in general right now, but I will be making it sometime soon :) Oh and I bet they'd be yummy with some fat free cool whip (and even more low calorie than with the frosting).

Destressing, after a 12 hour work day - boo, by getting my Pinterest on. :)

My inspiration board for Morgan's b-day.

Seriously kids, check it out!

more on baby proofing....

Baby proofing has been the name of the game this week as we try to keep this adorable fella:

 yes, this is how we had to dress on a JUNE day. blah!

out of trouble.

...

This was one option considered:

Totally kidding! :)

But we decided it was too extreme. 

So we've put up all the dangerous things in the bottom cabinets, 

moved all glass objects up out of his reach or put them away, 

but are still working on the whole cord situation. 

....

Want to know just how crazy I am about this baby proofing thing? 

Sometimes we forget to empty the tub right away after bath time as we are busy getting Morgan dressed, fed and ready for bed.

Frank says he doesn't always empty it on the weekends so that he has proof that he bathed him {lol}, as if I wouldn't believe him.

When I noticed we did it again the other night I freaked out and had visions of baby crawling into the bathroom and pulling up on the side of the tub. 

My solution?

Crazy much?

Hey, this way we always have a little reminder when we go to shut off the light.

...

Now, how have I used this baby proofing business to my benefit? 

{insert sly grin}

I decided that our TV stand was so ugly it was dangerous for our little guy.

In all seriousness, it was an accident waiting to happen with it's sharp corners and open shelves.

So yesterday we bought a new TV stand that sits up higher so it's corners are above his head. And it also has cabinets so we can keep him away from the cords and game systems, etc.

 I have also even been considering adding scrapbook paper on the inside of the glass so that he can't see what's inside. 

Out of sight, out of mind. Maybe.

AND, it's pretty too :)

baby proofing

I had a minor panic attack last night as I was getting ready to go to bed and looked around at all the things Morgan could get into and consequently get hurt with.

Don't ask me why this suddenly hit me last night at 10pm with a serious sense of urgency, but it definitely is something that needs to be done. These days he loves pulling up on the TV stand, couch, ottoman, chairs etc., and can move at an increasingly fast pace with his signature "army crawl".

So while googling baby proofing check list, I came across this brilliant piece of advice:

"Before you baby-proof your home, try crawling around on all fours and "thinking" like your baby."

Although hilarious, I bet you can guess what I'll be doing after the bambino goes to bed tonight ;) 

random rambling

ahhhhhh

That's the sigh of my relaxation.

You see, I have this new discovery...

it's called laying the baby down in his crib for a nap.

Not revolutionary? 

Why did it take me 10 months to realize this, you ask? 

God only knows.

I spoiled my little guy by holding him for a nap all. the. time. up until recently. Sure, I got a little break, but I was always confined to the couch.

Now I lay him down. Scrub the house from top to bottom. Take a peaceful shower without having to sing a rendition of "Old MacDonald" for entertainment because a certain little boy can't believe I have the audacity to take the time to condition my hair. Catch up on my blogs, FB, and pinterest with out getting a crick in my neck from trying to navigate the computer with one hand and a (adorable)sleeping bambino in my lap.

And lest you think I'm a lazy bum, occasionally I'll straighten up and load the dishwasher. Occasionally.

And sometimes I hold my little guy while he sleeps because he's growing exponentially and I won't be able to hold him in my arms forever, nor will he want me too. I'll hold him while he sleeps from time to time because I'm a mom and that's what we do.

Now how about some sleeping baby adorableness
for your viewing pleasure?

 yes, he can fall asleep like that.

 sleeping like an angel in his crib.

livin' the good life.

in mommas arms.

zonked after Easter.

And last, but not least...

vintage Morgan circa July 2010 (tee hee)

OMG I just found Pinterest

I have heard whispers about pinterest in blog land lately and even visited the site and requested to join.

Never got an email back. 

Oh pinterest you're a clever one, build up the anticipation and excitement by making it exclusive. 

Then, I read a blog post from Jenni where she was gushing about pinterest. I emailed her and asked for an invite. I just got it this morning and already I'm obsessed. 

I wish I would have had this when I first started wedding planning. If I had I might not have so many inspiration pics saved on my computer. 

It is a boatload of inspiration waiting to be found... and drooled over. Actually it's a little overwhelming, but if you join you'll never lose any cute idea you come across on the world wide web! 

If you'd like an invitation to join, just comment and I'll email you one. Trust me, you want one. ;)

Embracing the camera June 2

I haven't participated in embrace the camera lately because well, I'm usually not too keen on embracing it :) I take a million pictures a day of my little man, but I still struggle to get in the picture. I'm working on it though.  Here's the proof.   

 

And in honor of someone's 10 (!!!) month birthday:

 Yea that lasted for about 2.8 seconds

 See?

 I love the shots where he isn't looking at the camera or cheesin' it up, although those are great too....

Ahhh my little slice of heaven :)