{Landon's Very First Easter Basket}

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the holiday's with a child bring out the kid in you again!  I get so excited for the holidays now.  I plan plan plan, so everything is just perfect for him and that we are creating some awesome memories.  His outfit is planned in case it's cool or warm {two different ones of course}. It looks like we will be wearing the cooler weather one - even though it will be about 65 degrees with any luck, because the warmer weather one is shorts :/.  There will probably still be snow on the ground on Sunday...sadly....You know because it's normal to get snow in the spring right?

We are planning on doing Easter egg dying the night before at my in-laws with all of Landon's cousins, then church as usual the next day, 1st Easter dinner, then an Easter egg hunt with all the littles, then our 2nd Easter dinner at 3 with my side! Busy but fun day!

I started planning for Easter, oh ya know, around Valentine's Day...I knew I wanted to get him an Easter basket that he can use for years to come.  I found the blue basket at JoAnn around Valentine's Day, that's also where I found the bunny ears {love those things}.  I got them both on the same day. And then it started: my crazy Easter addiction!

Next, I wanted to get him some books, so he could start to see some pictures and {not understand I know}enjoy this special day.  I got two books, "The Story of Easter" and another little book called "Flip, Flap, Fly" that I thought looked really springy and is such a sweet book {yes, I read in in the middle of the aisle in Barnes & Noble}.

I also went a little crazy in the dollar aisle at Target one day and bought a bowtie {it matches the basket AQUA!} and a little bib that says "Mommy's Little Bunny".  I also got a little carrot rattle by Bunnies by the Bay at a boutique when we were in Lawrence that is a stuffed carrot! CUTE! And perfect!

I bought a JellyCat bunny for our little Landon as well, THE softest little bunny in the world! I also got a chocolate Easter bunny {for him ;)....} because what Easter basket is complete without a chocolate bunny?  OK, OK it was more for mommy & daddy than our 9 month old, but it's still going in the basket...along with some pastel eggs that I will probably fill with Puffs & Yogurt Melts.  He'll be more interested in the eggs anyway, who cares what's inside right?

Lastly, I ordered a personalized basket liner from an Etsy shop.  Although I liked the Pottery Barn ones, I didn't love them and I love Landon's basket, so I was on a mission to find one that matched his basket...I would post the link, but the shop owner made one specially for us! I sent her a message and she said she was no longer making those, but she said she would make this one exception! I was delighted!

 I can't get enough of Etsy, such cute things! Just ordered $50 worth of birthday stuff for Landon's birthday party on there....it's in July......what!? I'm sure there will be a post on that as well :) Oh yeah, back to the liner. It's blue and goes so well with his basket.  I just found out I'm off work on April 1, and I love having the day after a holiday off! I will post pictures of all of the Easter fun that we have! Can't wait!

Tata! Happy Happy Early Easter to all!  May this be your best Easter yet! I think it will be ours.

{fresh bed}

I decided to vamp up our bed a bit a couple of weeks ago.  What we had before was pretty, and I bought the duvet cover in New Zealand, which made me love it more.  It is reversible white and gray floral{ish} - white on one side gray on the other.  I would typically keep it on the gray side.

I spotted a photo on Instagram {follow me if you wish} about a month ago.  It inspired me to redo our bed.  I fell in love with the romantic and chic look.

This is the photo I originally saw.  I loved it for some reason.  Loved all the textures.  I took the idea and put my own ideas with it to make it ours. 

I used the same blanket from Target that was used in the photo.  It's that chevron pretty that's 2nd from the top.  It's so perfect in person. I thought Calvin would have it all snagged in the first hour that it was in our house {our pup sleeps with us...ooops}.  Nope, no snags.  None yet, and it has been on our bed for close to 3 weeks now.  I LOVE all the layers at night.  I'm always so cold and we have a sheet, a heated blanket, a duvet cover with a down comforter inside of it, and then this blanket on top! LUX! 

The Nate Berkus sheets are super soft and comfortable and they don't pill, which drives me crazy when you get a sheet with a high thread count and they look terrible when they are washed but once. 

Mike said the other day, "It's so hard to get out of bed now, it's so comfortable!" We got the heated blanket & a really nice mattress pad a couple of years ago as gifts and WE LOVE THEM! But nice sheets and layers make it super comfy too. 

I almost feel glutinous, when our sweet baby can't sleep with a blanket until he's a year and we have layers upon layers on.  Seriously though one night, we had our heated blanket on, and I woke up in the middle of the night to get water, and our house was freezing for some reason!  We didn't know it because we were so warm.  I went and grabbed our babe and brought him to bed with us that night.  Poor baby! 

Anyway, here is the most recent picture of our superfresh bedding!
The 1st one is the original one I posted on Instagram. FYI I have over 700 pics on Instagram.  I basically post on there every pic I take.....but that's what I love about it!

Here is a photo that I took last night on my Canon.  It just goes to show you the difference in lighting can make...YIKES! I would say in real life it definitely leans more towards the one above from Insta.  It is more whitish than tanish/yellow as it's portrayed below. 

{I also want to add - NO, I do not make our bed every day.  In fact, I only make our bed on the weekends or when I'm off of work.  During the week it is a jumbled mess of sheets and blankets.  And I'm ok with it.  It probably looks better that way than if my husband were to try and make it.  Sorry, babe.  You're good a lots of things, but making a bed is not one of them....along with wrapping presents.  He leaves for work later than me and typically when I leave either they're both still sleeping or they are both laying in our bed watching Mickey.  Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for the win!}

I also bought some new lamps from HobLob for 50% off {& a new nightstand from Marshall's for me!}.  They were around $40 a piece.  I sent a picture from my phone to my husband and he texted me back that they were way too big.  I left without them.  I kept thinking about how good I thought they would look all day on that Sunday, so I finally made a trip up there to get them the next day.  I think they look absolutely perfect! That's what happens I guess when you ask your husband for some decorating advice.  When I ask him something decorating-wise, he normally says, "Why are you asking me? You will just do what you think looks best in the end anyway...what do you think looks best?" Sweet! I think I second guess my opinions a lot is the main issue. 

Terrible lighting in these pics, but you get the idea. It was snowing outside, people!

Pillows courtesy of Etsy.  I can't remember the shop names ;/

Close up of the Threshold blanket. 

I bought the duvet cover - the shiny snakeskin look - from Tuesday morning.  There is one by Parkville close to our house, so I stopped in and left my boys in the car.  Came out 5 minutes later unsure of how I would feel about this but knowing I was able to return it if necessary.  I got it home and I love it! I am loving all of the textures and patterns.  Seriously perfect!

Off to bed now.  

NO WAIT! I have one other thing!

Landon and I went to Nordie's today while the hubs was watching basketball with his buddies.  And I found a new product that I love! Do any of you own Hunter wellies ? I just love them for rain and snow and right after a rain and well pretty much I just love them.  Oh an Kate Middleton wears them and so did Princess Diana - talk about classy! Every time it rains, you can bet your bottom dollar that Kailey will have her rain boots on.  Since we are taking a ladies trip {my mom and I and a couple of her fun girlfriends} to Scotland in July, in ahem...113 days......but who's counting{?}, 

I decided I will probably need another pair, right? These are the one's I had in mind.  Classic black. Can't go wrong.  They are pretty expensive for a rain boot, but with our winter this year, I wore these {already have in green} with my Hunter welly socks ALL THE TIME! And I'll probably wear them to church tomorrow considering its supposed to snow 10 inches tonight. Ugh. 

So the wonderful product I found that I didn't know existed: Hunter Boot Buffer.  My green boots just weren't my favorite anymore.  They had some sort of "oxidation" on them.  They were turning a shade of white and I wasn't sure how to get them back to how they were when I got them.  They looked old and worn and I had only had them for a year.  I am a person that loves RESULTS and comparative photos.  Looky here, folks!

Left is after and right is before {obviously}.  Do you see what I mean about what the sales person at Nordie's called "oxidation".  Ug-ly.  Not the cutest, right?

I will use this stuff forever! I am going to get the black ones sometime soon, and am really glad I discovered this stuff before I did.  I bet the oxidation shows really bad on black.  Kind of like darker cars look dirty quicker than light colored cars, ya know? 

Hope you enjoyed my ramblings, Night!

{St. Patty's Day}

Some may wonder what I have been up to lately. Of course having a child and a full-time job is not terribly conducive with a blog post a day, but I will catch you up and try to post more.  I love nights that I am able to blog.  It makes me happy :-).  A way to share what's going on and things we're doing with friends and family.

Landon Thomas {he knows his name now, and knows that when he hears 'Landon Thomas', he probably should stop what he's doing} is now 8 months old an is getting to be a very big boy.  I swear he gets more fun every day and has quite the personality now, which we LOVE!!

Our St. Patty's Day was super fun and {my all-time favorite word} FESTIVE!  I'm sure my husband is sick of hearing it, but he loves me so he deals with it.  We woke up, went to church, in our green, of course! Then when we got home I put a little food coloring in our milk with some festive straws and we had some lucky charms.

Every time I eat these, or buy them, or look at the box really, I am required to proclaim "Everyone's after me Lucky Charms!" They're super delicious, and I think of them every year around St. Pat's Day.  Nom. Landon got his first taste of real sweetness when he ate a couple Lucky Charms marshmallows.

His face was priceless, his famous Charlie Brown smile lit up our morning! Mike and I got a good chuckle.

Later that afternoon, I made some cupcakes and came up with the GENIUS idea to put the frosting in a ziploc, cut the corner and squeeze it out so it looked a little nicer.  It worked so well!

My ziploc bag frosting bag.  Not too shabby!

Action pic!

Having a child makes the holidays so much more fun.  Now they are not only about us and our families, they are about this little human who knows nothing of the holidays...YET! We want to make every special event just that.  A special event.  I want him to have memories that he can tell his children about and do with his children.  I want him to eventually be as excited for these holidays as we are.  My husband said, "I have never seen you so excited about St. Patrick's Day." I definitely was, and I thought it was absolutely perfect.  We didn't end up going to the parade because of the nasty weather, but it was still a fun day.

Green family

I do have a post planned about Landon's Easter basket and things chosen to go in it! Exciting stuff people! I can't wait for Easter!

I'm also planning on a cute chalkboard for easter/spring and my hubby asked me to do one really soon for opening day for the Royals.  So if it turns out well, I'll post it! If not, I won't. I have all these ideas stirring around in my head and not enough time to do them all! 

We'll leave on this note...a cute baby booty in a cute little outfit :)