a tea party bridal shower

One of my best friends since childhood will marry her sweetheart on Saturday. I will be a bridesmaid again! Being a bridesmaid is my favorite thing ever. I know a lot of people complain about it, but there is something wonderful about spending the entire day with the bride-to-be having fun, getting beautiful and just enjoying each other before she marries the love of her life. Here are a few photos from the bridal shower we hosted a few months back.

a simple cat door

If that headline doesn’t excite you, I don’t know what does!

While this post might not be the most inspiring or beautiful, it is very practical. With a little guy running all over the place, we had to install a cat door going to our new basement so we had no risks of Bodhi falling when someone forgot to shut the door. I had many nightmares about this during the first week or two in this house before my AMAZING uncle came and installed our cat door.

celebration

 

 

We had so much fun at Bodhi’s birthday. After being sick for a week and a few bumps and bruises last week, he was all healed up and ready to party. All kinds of wonderful people showed up and celebrated with us. And Bodhi did really well with a strange nap scheduled. He powered through and had a blast. I wasn’t expecting him to have so much fun, but every time I turned a corner in our home, there he was… laughing, smiling or saying “hi” to someone and constantly walking through the sea of adult legs to get to another kid for a hug or kiss. He loved every minute!

We decided to have a professional photographer this time around so I really can’t wait to show you the photos. This was totally worth the investment for us. She was able to get family photos and lots of candids and detail shots. This meant I could just relax and enjoy my little baby/toddler and all of our guests. Watch for all of the details in the coming weeks! What is your favorite memory of your child’s first birthday or any of your own childhood birthdays?

the Baby Bjorn and celebrating the lasts

I recently read a blog post about a parent’s first lasts with their children and wanted to share my own forced first last. With kids, time goes so quickly and babies, in particular, change every day. So, you don’t always know when you experienced something for the last time. Such was the case for us not so long ago.

a letter to my baby on the anniversary of your due date

Dear Bodhi,

What a year we have had my beautiful boy! You turn one in just a few days. At this time last year, I was still only imagining what you might be like and eagerly awaiting your arrival. Today is the anniversary of our due date. We expected you today and you made us wait. It was worth it. You have changed our lives in ways we never imagined.

rug sale and our family room featured

Overstock.com contacted me yesterday about my rug post. Turns out they have a rug sale starting today and wanted to feature a photo of our very unfinished family room. You can check it out here.  And if you’re in the market for a rug, you can get 15% off now. Enjoy!

oh happy day-the blog

{photo credit---Oh Happy Day}

Oh Happy Day is a DIYer’s dream! Have you heard of this bloggy goodness yet? I found so much amazing inspiration for Bodhi’s birthday here.

Everything is very approachable, inexpensive and fun! At least a few of these projects will make the final cut for Bodhi’s 1st birthday next weekend. The photo above is simple crepe paper fringed streamers and there is so much more where that came from.

DIY: Painted mirror for above our fireplace

We decided on a subtle soft grey and white for our walls and we have dark chocolate hardwood floors. To add the cheerfulness we wanted in our family room, we settled on an accent color palette of teal, blue and yellow.

I have been looking for a mirror to go above our fireplace for a while. After finding our rug, I came across the perfect mirror at Home Goods for $29.99 but it was black. I wanted it to match our teal West Elm lacquer tray I got as a chipped floor model, so hit up Lowes. A tiny portion of a $4 can of Valspar spray paint later and we had the perfect mirror for all of $30.24.

[caption id=”attachment_2265″ align=”aligncenter” width=”819″ caption=”{photo credit—Jessica Flannigan for ltfl}

the rug blues

{photo credit --- Overstock.com}

We are decorating our new home in phases and we know it will take a while before it all feels complete. Right now, we’re working hard to finish up the family room and the kitchen. They are connected as one large great room. My challenge: Finding the perfect soft, cozy rug that is beautiful and flexible (goes with everything) and affordable. Not an easy task. Add to that the fact that we have two cats with claws and a baby.

I never realized how expensive rugs are. We need an 8×10 at the smallest and would prefer a 9×12. We’re talking $800 to $3000 people! That’s crazy. The odds of any rug surviving many years in our home are not great. So, this rug needs to be padded and comfy but also needs to be able to handle cats who’s sole mission in life is to destroy it. Help!

After searching for literally months, we found the right graphic moroccan pattern with the pop of color we had in mind. We finally settled on this blue and white rug from Overstock.com mostly because of the price and the look. It’s fairly soft, but not as plush as we would’ve preferred. To give Bodhi a softer landing pad, we opted for a more expensive thick rug pad for underneath. Because it’s not $800, we won’t feel as guilty if the little one or cats ruin it.

If you’re in the market for something similar and have more cash to burn, check out this option from Shades of Light! It comes in navy and rust. I love both.

quick and easy poker party

{photo credit --- Jessica Flannigan, ltfl}

One week after moving into our new home, with many boxes still in need of our attention, I hosted a poker party for my husband’s birthday. Yes, this is pure craziness! I know! I thought it would be fine only because it was guys and they wouldn’t notice the little messes everywhere, but it was still an intense few hours preparing for a party in a house that is not settled with an almost 1-year-old by my side. And, I can’t throw a party without a few fun details, but definitely didn’t have the time to throw my heart into this one. Trader Joe’s provided all of the food.

The cupcakes were TJ’s Chocolate peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate ganache frosting. Amazing and pretty gourmet if you ask me! I added cute mini cards as cupcake toppers. Simple and relevant.

{photo credit --- Jessica Flannigan, ltfl}

I grabbed some Trader Joe’s fancy cheeses and fig butter for a delicious appetizer. Yes, I left the fig butter in the jar. I ran out of time and figured the guys would want to know what it is.

{photo credit --- live the fancy life}

I added mini cards as party favors in a fun old box we had around that looked pretty manly to me. Many of the guys have little ones, so most of the decks of cards were gone. Needless to say, the guys didn’t notice the details or the lack of more details. They had a great time with some good cocktails, simple but tasty food, music and poker! Lesson learned: It’s ok to wing it sometimes.