a disney wedding

it's been months since i posted. and then i saw this: a disney wedding. my first thought was, "wow, how original..." and as i scrolled through the pictures, i was like, "what the..?" what do you think? weird? awesome? weirdly awesome?








i love that she literally brushed her hair with a fork. and that they were married by mickey mouse. and that this took place in the middle of a suburban neighborhood. can you imagine looking out your window and seeing this? i don't know about you, but i've definitely never seen any wedding that compares. see more pictures here.


all images via theknot.com

real or fake?

people here seem to start christmas super early. like, everyone on our street has their lights up outside, and i can see trees through the window. it's not even december yet! but, i'm not complaining. steve and i are big into christmas too (listening to christmas music as i type), and tonight, we're getting our tree! funnily enough, this is the first time we'll be choosing out a tree together. and now that we're finally doing it, we can't decide if we want to buy real or fake. i'm all for a real tree, but worry that it won't last through christmas and that it will start a fire in our house (we constantly have to have heaters plugged in downstairs). a pre-lit christmas tree would be super easy to put up, and it lasts forever, but it's just not the same (no evergreen smell!) so, i want to know....which do you prefer?

a few beautiful (real and fake) trees below...

top image found via pinterest, original source unknown. bottom three images via my design chic

parenthood: sharing a room

today i want to know your take on shared rooms. did you share a room growing up? do you want your kids to? my thoughts below...

out of order

hey you guys! i'm so sorry! my posts have been posting out of order for some reason, and i haven't even logged onto blogger in the past few days to check it out. so my week of 'ween got a little jumbled. but i'll make sure to figure things out, and get them all posted tomorrow. sorry! hope you had a great halloween! jude was a hamburger, and we took him out trick-or-treating for the first time. he loved it.

just a reminder...

do you ever scroll through pinterest and think, "wow, so-and-so must really have it all together...she works out, she has a spotless house, and she knows 50+ ways to entertain a toddler indoors!" i do it all the time. and the truth is, (unfortunately), we aren't always what we pin.

if you follow me on pinterest, you know how much i love the site (and not just pinterest....dozens of blogs, and websites). but i see so many great ideas and inspiration that sometimes i feel overwhelmed. i feel like i should be making chocolate buttermilk cookies for dessert every night, or that there's no excuse for my garbage disposal not to smell like lemons. the problem is, sometimes i'm so overwhelmed by everything, that i end up actually doing (close to) nothing. and when i do complete a project (like finally making a teepee for jude's room!) i feel like if i talk about it, it makes me look like it's something i just did, no big deal. but the truth is, in order to get it done, jude watched way too much yo gabba gabba, and ate ramen noodles and frozen peas for dinner -- while watching yo gabba gabba.

no one has it all together all the time (martha stewart is a felon, remember?) i'm not saying you shouldn't strive to be a better parent, have a clean house, or cook meals for your family. but most of what we see on blogs and websites is simply the finished product, not the work in progress.

Planting an herb garden

This post brought to you by Miracle-Gro. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

 

Do you have a garden? For the past two summers that we've lived in our house, I've wanted to start a vegetable garden, but it seems so intimidating! Plus, we aren't in our house permanently, so I'm not sure I want to invest the time and money into something that may only be here a few months. So, instead, I've been thinking about starting an herb garden. On the Gardenieres website, there are tons of gardening tips from real people with real experience when it comes to growing just about anything. In Teena Spindler's video (below), she talks about the best (and easiest) way to start growing herbs:

I love that she uses just one pot! Fresh herbs you buy at the store are ridiculously expensive. Do you know how nice it would be to pick off some fresh basil leaves next time you're making baked ziti? An herb garden is so practical, and you can plant one virtually anywhere. Miracle-Gro's Potting mix makes it wasy to maintain plants; it feeds them for up to six months with its continuous release plant food, and rich, organic materials help improve drainage and air flow. And the Miracle-Gro Liquafeed makes feeding your plants as easy as watering them (and is safe to use on any of your other plants). 

So what about you? Do you have a garden? Have you ever tried planting an herb graden? Doesn't it seem so much less intimidating after seeing someone do it?

 

Like the Miracle-Gro Facebook page to connect with other gardeners and go to the Gardenieres website to watch more videos and gain more information on fall gardening, as well as year-round gardening tips (there is seriously tons of information on every gardening topic)!

week of 'ween: five festive treats

as if free candy wasn't enough, here are five halloween-inspired goodies to try...

week of 'ween: six creative ways to carve a pumpkin

today i'd like to share six creative ways to carve a pumpkin in case you have carver's block, or in case you're tired of the regular old jack-o-lantern...

week of 'ween: seven spooky flicks

week of 'ween is back! and to kick things off, i'd love to share seven creepy movies perfect for a late halloween night, after all the trick-or-treaters are in bed...

busyness

how busy are you, really?

parenthood: would you ever use cloth diapers?

when i was pregnant steve was totally into the idea of using cloth diapers. they're natural, better for the environment, we wouldn't need a diaper genie...but then jude was born

names

have you guys ever heard of the kabalarian name analysis? it is insane...

relationships: how did you meet your significant other?

i always like to ask other couples how they met when steve and i are at parties or gatherings. it's a perfect ice breaker, people love talking about it, and it's always interesting to hear about. so, of course, i want to ask you...how did you meet your current boyfriend, girlfriend, fiancee, spouse...lover?

read our story below...

what i'm reading

so, i finished life of pi, and thought it was phenomenal. i also finished rereading all seven books in the chronicles of narnia, and now, steve and i are reading les miserables together! it is so good, and better than any movie rendition out there (of course). have you read it?

p.s. are you going to see tom hooper's newest rendition, set to premier this christmas? i'll  be honest...i don't see hugh jackman as jean valjean. and i secretly (or not so secretly) hate anne hathaway.

quidditch sweaters

last week, i shared some cool sweaters with you, but this week, i found even cooler sweaters. this may be my nerdiest post yet, but wouldn't you love one of these quidditch team sweaters? if i had one, i would probably wear it everyday.

get one for yourself, or a friend here.

thoughts on a monday

"[A lady] is strong, and yet is respectful and gentle in her strength. She doesn’t curse or act vulgar. She speaks in loving ways. She embraces her femininity. That’s being a lady. Remember, it’s an attitude."

--wake up call for wives; meridian magazine

pregnancy: a hospital tip

i heard a tip from a friend while i was pregnant with jude: before she had every baby, she would buy herself a new set of pajamas to change into at the hospital after the baby was born. that way she had something new, clean, and perfectly comfortable to wear after the hard work was done. the day after i had jude, i cast aside that hospital gown, showered, and slipped into brand new pajamas. it was so refreshing, and helped me feel so much more comfortable for the few days i was at the hospital. these, these or these would be perfect, especially for nursing mamas.

cool sweaters

aren't these sweaters insane? i stumbled across this tumblr after i followed a pinterest link, and had to take a few minutes to browse through these cool (and bizarre) sweaters. i don't know about you, but i would love sipping hot cider in a cozy winged unicorn, or young ron weasley sweater this fall.

p.s. for the lizzie mcguire generation :)

thoughts on a monday

parenthood: weaning (part 2)

i realize talking about weaning your breastfed child isn't everyone's cup of tea, so if you'd rather not hear about it, feel free to move on with your blog surfing. but a while back, i told you i was just beginning to wean jude, and i'd like to tell you part two of the story...

9/11

last year, i shared with you my personal experience about september eleventh (you can read it here). it's something i can never forget. for those of us who lived through it, we witnessed a huge event in history, and are lucky enough to tell our children and grandchildren about it. we will never be able to forget the innocent lives that were lost that day. no matter our current political or economic circumstance, we are still hugely blessed to live in a country where our forefathers had the incredible foresight to build a free country unmatched by any other. as we remember that fateful day eleven years ago, i hope we're still fighting for a country that upholds the constitution and respects the laws that make the united states free. that's something we can't afford to ever forget.

a nyc police officer salutes the 9/11 memorial pool

a woman touches the names inscribed on the 9/11 memorial in nyc

Eliza Peterson holds a flag by her uncle, Norman Rossinow

people bow their heads in prayer during a memorial service at the pentagon

more powerful images here

more changes

as you may have noticed, my blog got another face lift. i also took down all the ads, and made things more simple. oh -- and it has a new title. i felt like i wanted to take the blog in a bit of a new direction. i will still have my regular posts about parenthood, relationships, and pregnancy, i'll just be adding more posts more frequently, and a little more structure. more details to come, and i'll explain things as they evolve, but until then, keep reading, and thank you so much for all of you who support me in my writing and blogging whether it be through comments, emails, phone calls...whatever. i love hearing what you all have to say. happy labor day!

september

that's all :) have a wonderful, long, labor day weekend, and enjoy september!

relationships: blind dates

have you ever been on a blind date?

i don't think i can say that i ever have. the closest i came to a blind date was going out with someone i met for about four seconds after class one day. but that doesn't really count. i'm not really sure that i would have been willing to go on one either. there's no way of knowing now! so, what about you? have you ever been? was it exciting, weird, awkward, normal? did it go well? if you haven't been on a blind date, is it something you would be up for? it worked for phoebe and mike, right? :)

parenthood: working parents

hey guys! for today's parenthood post, i want to talk about working parents. specifically, working mothers. are you one? have you been in the past? what are your thoughts on the subject in general? i'll tell you my experience, and thoughts after the jump!

click below to read the full post