Eat, Sleep, Poop and Spit Up... Ava's first homemade Valentines

Valentine's Day has been my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE holiday since I was a little girl! Every year my Dad would get my sister and I yellow roses and my Mom red ones along with some sort of special present. He taught us the day is about showing family and friends that you value and care for them. Every year I would make special valentines for all my friends and wear as much red, pink, sparkles and hearts as possible.

This year is Ava's first Valentine's day and I wanted to make sure it was SUPER special. So I decided Ava would give all of her baby friends custom burp cloths... because what do babies love to do besides sleep and poop? Eat and spit up!

Here is a step by step on how to make these super easy and super cute burp cloths.

You will need

1. Chenille or terry cloth fabric (at least 1 yard)

2. Nursery flannel fabric (I like to use this fabric because it is soft and absorbs better) 

3. Matching Thread

**** Prior to any sewing pre-wash all fabric. The different fabrics will shrink differently in the first wash and you want to make sure that they don't warp and twist because of uneven shrinkage. 

1. Cut 1 piece of fabric 14in x 9in ( I like burp cloths a little bigger so they cover the entire shoulder)

2. Lay the piece of fabric on top of the remaining fabric and continue to cut 14in x 9in rectangles

3. After all pieces are cut place 1 piece of chenille or terry cloth and 1 piece of the patterned flannel right sides together

4. Sew around the edges at 1/3 or 1/4 of an inch. Leave a 3 inch space open on the last side.

5. Clip the fabric on all corners and then pull the right sides of the fabric through your 3" hole and put your fingers in each corner to pop them out. 

6. Flip the seam allowance in on the 3" slit and stitch on top to finish the rectangle. 

7. You will then want to press the fabric to create crisp seams.

Now you have some awesome homemade burp cloths! If you are making them for gifts I recommend you roll them and wrap with a special ribbon. 

Happy Valentine's Day from Ava Ray!!! 

XOXOXO

Now get out there and tell your family and friends that you LOVE them!! 

Fabulous Friday- Fabulous Faces

Remember when having orange skin used to be super cool? Well I guess it was actually never cool but tanning beds used to be all the rage! I tried and tried to go and get a nice sun kissed tan but always ended up burning and looking like a little pink piggy! The older I got the more I realized I was not going to win the "Miss Hawiian Tropic" competition anytime soon and that I needed to start using a higher SPF and embrace my porcelain complexion. I don't want to look 50 when I am 30 or have terrible dark spots and wrinkles so it was time to invest in taking care of my skin!

First things first SUNSCREEN! Sunscreen for the face is very important. You need something oil free that wont clog your pores but lasts all day. The absolute best face sunscreen is Clarins UV Plus. Even though it is only SPF 40 I have NEVER burnt my face when using it. I also invested in some great hats for those long days in the sun.

For everyday use I have 2 different moisturizers. 1 for the summer and 1 for the winter.... high maintenance much?! For most of the year I use Estée Lauder Daywear Plus. It has SPF 15 in it and smells delish... just like cucumbers!

For those chilly harsh winter months it's Clarins HydraQuench all the way! Has SPF 15 and provides incredible hydration!

Babies also need Fabulous Faces!! As a new Mom I was a little concerned when Ava developed a bad case of baby acne and cradle cap on her ears and eyebrows! The acne is totally normal but because it is winter it started drying out and flaking and looked horribly uncomfortable! So with a little research online I found my new "Miracle Baby Cream"... California Baby Calendula cream! This stuff healed the acne and cradle cap in 2 weeks!! Now my sweet girl has her gorgeous skin back and no more stinky cradle cap!! Like I said miracle baby cream and it's natural and safe to use! 

Makeover Monday- Accent Walls and Track Lighting

I really love a lot of things about our Condo. I love that we are .2 miles from Target, Kohls, Joann Fabrics; .4 miles from Walmart, Whole Foods, Trader Joes and the Cal Train station. I love that everyone in our building is 50+ and most have lived here since these units were built in 1970. I like that it's quiet, except for at 7:59 on Monday morning when the dump trucks come for 15 minutes to get trash and recycling. And I love that it's less than 10 minutes away from Google so Peter can be home as soon as he is done working. 

The one thing I don't love is how our landlord had an obsession with painting accent walls and track lighting. The track lighting isn't that bad, always an interesting conversation starter but the accent walls were a little over the top! When we moved in we had an accent wall in every room. I don't quite understand the point of accent walls. It looks like you just couldn't commit to the color so you just decided to paint one wall to see how it goes. Now accent walls that are a shade lighter or brighter than the rest of the room create nice depth but when the whole room is cream and you have a random sienna/brick red wall it looks super dumb. That's what we were dealing with... 

The guest room was taken care of quickly with 4 coats of pink paint on the lovely sage green accent wall and 1 coat of pink paint everywhere else for Ava's room. Peter truly enjoyed painting that one wall 4 times... just ask him about it ;) 

The dining room I actually kinda liked. There was a nice greyish wall that we were able to hang a cool metal candle holder on. Love that track lighting. 

But the bedroom... brick/sienna red surronded by cream... AHHHH 1996 called and they want their paint color back! 

For a month I tried to convince Peter we needed to paint it but he was a little worn out after the 2 days it took him to paint Ava's room so I decided that I could make this horrible color work. We had this set of 6 pictures in our dining room in our old house and I noticed the horrible red color was actually in some of the images. With my Mom's help ( I was 7 months pregnant when I decided to finish the room.... extreme nesting moment) we hung 3 on the accent wall and 2 on the other wall. Framed the room with some cool lamps and hung a big mirror over the dresser. We got some neutral curtains to pull everything together. 

It's not my favorite color but at least it looks a little more like home. 

Extreme Nesting or OCD?

So if you have ever been pregnant you know all about the urge to "nest." My nesting instinct hit me early right at 4 months but we had just moved to California and were living in corporate housing so anything I bought we would have to re-pack and re-move to the new place. Plus we didn't know the gender so I only bought a few things to fill the nesting urge. But once we moved into our new place and found out we were having a sweet little girl it was ON! My nesting instinct went into HIGH gear!

First, was to get the room painted... pink, of course. Then was to get her glider.... pink toile, of course. 

Get some art of vintage fashion sketches (Thanks to my amazing friend Neysa who is an incredible artist and custom made them for sweet Ava) .... pink of course!  

Next, there was the closet.... This was the fun part! Ava has A LOT of clothes. I didn't buy a lot of newborn stuff but more 3-6 months and 6-9 months. This is good since this little cutie LOVES her milk and grew out of newborn clothes in 3 weeks. Her room is not super big so maximizing space was key when organizing her closet.

We got a cheap little 6 shelf bookcase and some baskets which hold all of her shoes, burp clothes, socks/tights, extra Nuks, hats, and diaper covers. 

Then I bought closet organizer tabs so that I could organize her "closet clothes" (non-onsie/casual clothes) by size and know what she had for each age group. 

Then at the top I put all of her toys for 3+ months and misc stuff we didn't need just yet. 

Lastly, I put all of her sleepers, onsies, pants that fit her now as well as her swaddle blankets in her dresser drawers.  

I have found that keeping it organized helps a lot and it really helps when Peter dresses her in the morning. He knows exactly where her casual clothes are as well as hats or socks and is able to find stuff easily. 

This is extreme nesting at it's finest... or maybe just a bad case of OCD!

Makeover Monday- Mascara Madness!

If there is one thing I know about it is makeup and skincare! For the past 3 years I have in some way managed very large cosmetic departments. I have been exposed to the largest cosmetic companies in the world and gotten lots of goodies to try along the way.

Today's topic will be all about those lashes! I love long lashes and thought mascara was just mascara but then I tried a non drug store brand and now I have to say I am a mascara snob! I never realized that different formulas and different brushes do different things to your lashes. So here are my top pics...

Full Lashes- If you want super full lashes that are thick and somewhat long I would recommend Lancôme's Hypnose Drama.  This mascara creates depth and length and really gives you some drama! Only issue is it will clump if you put it on too thick.



Long Lashes- There is nothing better than Estée Lauder's Sumptous Extreme! Talk about serious length! With this mascara you will look like you have false lashes on! I like this one best because it doesn't clump and doesn't make your lashes crispy! This one also comes in some fun colors like purple and teal. Don't know why you would want teal lashes but to each their own!



Best All Around- For the BEST all around mascara I am going to have to go with Diorshow. This mascara is perfect for everyday use but also gives you great length. It lengthens and thickens all at the same time and doesn't clump.



Don't forget that any mascara becomes 10 times better with a great eyelash curler and primer!! My recommendations Lancôme's Cils Booster and the Tweezerman eyelash curler.  Gotta love great lashes!! 

If you have any other great mascara recommendations please let me know! I always love to try new products!!

Sunday Funday- Bow Mania!

Sunday Funday- Bow Mania!

If you haven't already noticed Ms. Ava has a TON of hair! She was born with a full head of hair and it didn't fall out like most babies it just kept growing! Now it is starting to have a little more body and her natural
"highlights" are coming out... too cute!

Anyways, if there is one thing I can't resist it's baby bows! I think there is nothing cuter in this world that a cute little baby girl with a bow in her hair. So when I started planning her 2 month baby photoshoot... yes I know I am a nut... I had a cute purple tutu but no matching bow! I know, the horror! I looked at Baby Gap, Target, Walmart, Carters, and online to find the perfect matching bow but couldn't find the perfect shade. Then my husband finally said yesterday morning "Why don't you just make one!" So I contacted my good friend Joanne fabrics and Pinterest and voila, the perfect bow to match her fabulous tutu. Happy 2 months my Sweet Ava Ray!

Step by step instructions

About me...

So I have always wanted to blog but didn't have the time and didn't have much to talk about besides work, marriage, and fashion... Well I guess that would have been enough to write about but then my sweet Ava Ray came into my life and I entered this crazy world called "Mommyhood."

Now everything revolves around this little Princess and napping, eating, popping , tummy time, diaper cream, baby clothes, parenting techniques, laundry... the list goes on! Life has changed dramatically and now every day there is something new we learn about our little love.

"Mommyhood" is my term for this new world that I have entered into. You go from just taking care of yourself and occasionally your spouse to having this beautiful little baby be 100% dependent on you. Your life now revolves around them. You don't know how you ever lived without them and become insanely overprotective and neurotic and want to Google every little thing they do or don't do... That's another thing... Googling... Google is your best and worst friend as a new Mom. Your babies rash goes from a mild skin irritation to all of a sudden they have leprosy. It is a great place to learn about things but also a dangerous pit of information overload and tends to fuel every irrational fear you have at 2am.

This is why I decided to blog... to fill others irrational fears... Just kidding... I wanted a place where I could share my own tips about Mommyhood, baby and mommy products I have found and love, and life lessons learned as a new Mom.

Hope you enjoy!