The Big 2-7

I'm learning that this whole new mom thing is turning out to be a bit time consuming. Surprise, surprise? No I totally expected it. Having a little one that loves to be cuddled all day long (when she's not being fed or changed) leads to a very neglected blog. But since I love cuddling Lucy, it also leads to a very happy mommy, so I really can't complain. Anyway I have some things that I've changed and a few projects in the works so I'm not gone forever.


Monday the 15th was my birthday. The big 2-7 for me. I think since I hit 21 birthdays don't have the same excitement they did when I was younger. Now it's just another year closer to 30 (eek!). But I will say I did receive some goodies this year. 

Birthday cake at my grandparents' house on Sunday.

I've been eyeing up the Andover Jewelry Box from Pottery Barn for a long time now.

Jordan tried to get it for me for earlier this year but they were out of stock online and the one they had in the store was pretty beat up. And then our Pottery Barn closed for renovations. I had forgotten about it when Jordan surprised me with it for my birthday. Actually it was a gift from Lucy but I'm sure daddy had something to do with it. I loved that I received my first 'mommy' present and even kept the tag that was attached to the gift. After I opened my presents I immediately brought the jewelry box upstairs and filled it with my jewelry.

The top section holds all my rings, pins and some of my earrings (I don't wear earrings often). 

The drawers underneath are perfect for my chunky bracelets and other miscellaneous pieces of jewelry. You can see in this post and this one that I keep my necklaces on hooks on the wall.

From my parents I received these adorable owl salt and pepper shakers,

and these great milk glass pieces. I love the star shape at the top of the glass.

These pieces haven't found a permanent home yet, but I'll keep you posted when they do.

My parents also gave me an external hard drive (woohoo!) so I can backup all the pictures I take for this blog and the hundreds I'll be taking of Lucy. 

Remember when I wrote this post about neeeeding a gold boyfriend watch?

I finally got my watch! Another great birthday gift from the hubby.

and it came in the cute box!

 I'm finally hanging my button art tomorrow (slacker, I know but I couldn't decide where to put it) and will snap a few pictures of some additions I've made to the nursery since posting the reveal a few weeks ago. I told you I wasn't finished with that room. :)

Feeling Like Myself Again

We went out for dinner and margaritas with my best friend and her boyfriend this Tuesday. I got to dress up, do my hair and put on some makeup. It was a nice break from the leggings, unwashed hair and makeup-less face I've been sporting lately.

 F21 Necklace, Gap Tee, Urban Outfitters Skirt

We are going out to dinner tomorrow night for my birthday to Amada in Philly. It's one of our favorite spots and we haven't been since our engagement two years ago. I can't wait to pig out on some yummy tapas and a nice glass of red wine. And another excuse for this full-time (for now) mom to doll herself up.  

Eric Carle and Pottery Barn

Any parent or parent-to-be is familiar with Eric Carle's children books. I would be surprised if you told me you've never seen The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I see an assortment of these every time I'm shopping at Marshalls/Home Goods. I just love the art in these classic books - the bright colors and fun graphics just seem so appropriate for a child's library. 

Well good news: now you can have these graphics for your child's room. Pottery Barn has started selling an entire collection of Eric Carle inspired wall art, linens, dishes, bathroom accessories, games, halloween costumes and more. 

I absolutely love the colors and abstract look of these graphics. If I had a little boy I would create his entire room based on these items. Throw in a big red rug and some bright accent table with chairs - perfection.

See more via Pottery Barn Kids

Sugar-Lemon Face Scrub

I don't know if it's some post-partum side effect, but lately my skin has been feeling a bit icky. Since I'm home all day with Lucy I've barely been wearing any makeup, but when I have my face just doesn't look great during or after. Granted it doesn't help that I slept with my makeup on Friday night. Not intentionally. We went out Friday night to the Maroon 5 concert in Camden (Amazing show, by the way. And it doesn't hurt that we had third row seats.) I fell asleep on the couch around 2am, and by the time I got up to bed I was out the second my head hit the pillow. 

I decided tonight that I'm going to go back to an old beauty regimen that I did religiously this time last year. 

A lemon-sugar face scrub.

This little scrub is great and practically free. 

You just need to use two items you most likely already have in your kitchen: sugar and lemons.

I start by washing my face with hot, soapy water. The hot water helps to open up my pores. Then I simply mix the juice of half a lemon with a teaspoon of sugar and use cotton rounds and scrub the mixture all over my face, focusing on spots like my forehead, lips and around my nose. The sugar is great to slough off the dead, dry skin. The lemon juice has beta hydroxy acid to help exfoliate and smooth skin, as well as alpha hydroxy acid to hydrate and unclog pores.

I've read that this mixture can help with sun spots, age spots, freckles, acne and dull skin. I just know that as soon as I wash the mixture off my face, my skin feel amazingly smooth. It feels so good that I actually wait some time before putting on any moisturizer. I'll just use a little Neutrogena cream.

Another item I swear by and use on a daily basis. And yes I use it on my face. Well just under my eyes and on my lips - two of my extra dry trouble spots.

There are other versions of this scrub - some with honey, some with olive oil or coco butter. I just stick with the lemon and sugar because I always have them around the house. 

What skin regimen do you swear by?

DIY: Framed Button Art for Nursery

A few weeks ago I was surfing around Etsy looking for some finishing touches for the nursery.(I told you all I'd never be done that room!) I purchased a few pillows for the chest in Lucy's room, two of which have arrived.

While searching for 'yellow' items to add to her nursery, I came across a set of vintage yellow buttons from elizabethwren vintage.

I pinned the photo from Etsy because when I saw how the buttons were arranged for the picture, I actually thought it was a piece of art. Once I realized it was just buttons, I decided that I wanted to purchase them and make them into framed wall art.

I've had this Ikea Ribba frame on our living room shelves for a while now. I purchased it because I needed a splash of white with the dark frames and colorful accent pieces. Well I snagged that frame to use in the nursery since it's a shadow box frame and I can easily frame the buttons behind the glass.

I guess I need to find a replacement now!

(Notice the empty frames. The bottom left photo is actually the picture that came with the frame. We'll be filling them with some new family pictures with our little one.) 

It took me about twenty minutes with my trusty glue gun before I had this:

I had considered using the mat that came with the frame and using a teal or patterned background behind the buttons, but I kind of really like the simple look of the white background and white frame with the yellow.

We'll be hanging this over the weekend along with another great piece that Jordan's aunt bought for us when Lucy was born. I'll be sure to take some new pictures with the new wall art and pillows once everything is set.

There are some other great sets of vintage buttons at elizabethwren's Etsy shop that I'm already considering purchasing for more art pieces. Perhaps in different sized frames or with a colored mat or background to mix it up a little.

Here are just a few I liked:

Some thrift shops around here also sell jars full of vintage buttons to create your own combination of colors/styles of buttons. 

Be sure to check out elizabethwren vintage on Esty!