5 Year Anniversary Gift: Wood

9.19.2018

I’ve always been a procrastinator. As in I usually wait until the day before I need something to start making it. It has always worked for me before, I did my best work under pressure. But then I threw a baby in the mix and now it just does not work out as well. I think I’ll have enough time and we’ll have a blowout and she’ll need a wardrobe change. She’s such a diva.

So this year, I didn’t go crazy for our five year anniversary. It just wasn’t happening. Unless Sawyer turned herself into a piece of wood, he wasn’t getting the cherished 5th wooden anniversary gift. We weren’t doing gifts. Nope, just dinner.

Until the day before our anniversary. Who was I kidding? It’s me. I had to make him something. It didn’t have to be anything special, just something. I’ve made the wooden coasters before, but I wanted to do something a little different for him. Just a keepsake, something special. You know, to let him know I was thinking of him. Because cleaning, cooking, and raising a tiny human is not enough (in my mind, not his. In his mind I deserve an award every day for keeping her alive).

I went to Michael’s and walked around the wood aisle. Yes, there’s a whole aisle dedicated to wood. I know, mind blown.

I decided on a wooden box that I would stain. I picked up some wooden slices (because I live in California, and I can’t just go cut down some branches from my backyard without the city fining me), and I printed photos for each one. I did one for each year, our anniversary photo on one side and the ‘best’ photo from each year on the other.

Not surprisingly, he loved it. I had to admit it only took a few hours, but he couldn’t have cared less. After all, it’s from the heart. My heart. 😉

Products I Love

Must-Have Baby Product: DockATot

8.29.2018

I like to think of myself as somewhat low-maintenance. Perhaps my husband would disagree with me, but I’ll remind him when he’s blow drying his hair and applying his nightly face mask that I am the easy one. I mean, it’s been a few days since I’ve washed my hair (hello mom bun!), and I don’t think I’ve had more than five minutes to apply anything to my face in ten months. Since October 2017 to be exact.

So when it came to being a new mom, I didn’t think things would change too much. I’ve seen people lugging bag upon bag with them just to run into Target. Or five suitcases when they’re at the airport. I vowed I wasn’t going to be that mom, but then again, what did I know?

When I was pregnant I got hooked by a Pinterest ad for the Dockatot. It just looked so cool and sounded like such a good product. It’s a multi-functional lounger, co-sleeper and playtime lounger (with two sizes, one for 0-8 Months, and one for 9-36 Months). Usually my husband is the one that gets hooked by marketing, but here I was, wanting to buy this pricier item I found on Pinterest. Who was the high maintenance one now?

I had an unused gift card to Nordstrom (where I’ve never shopped in my life) and guess who sells the Dockatot? I figured it was fate, and I jumped on the “Add To Cart” button and bought that baby.

It arrived and it looked as perfect as I thought it would be. From the first night home from the hospital, Sawyer has been sleeping in her dock. And sleeping she does. She’s been sleeping twelve hours straight (on average) since she was about four months old. I’d like to say that it’s all because of how amazing her mama is, but let’s be real here: I basically don’t even know what I’m doing 90% of the time.

For nine months we loved that DockaTot Deluxe. She slept in it every night (with the exception of two trips across the country, where shocking, she didn’t sleep well). Best Nordstrom’s gift card I’ve ever spent.

Then she grew up. Okay, not really ‘up,’ but out. I needed to size up to the next size, which was a little more pricey. But guess what. I didn’t even question if we needed it this time. There was no question – getting good sleep is worth every penny. So for us, not having the larger size was not an option. We were getting the Grand. We received the product compliments of DockaTot, and boy were we thrilled!

And as you can tell, we take it everywhere. To the beach, on road trips, to our friends house for sleepovers. Everywhere. She’ll probably take it to college with her. And if you’re thinking she’ll have grown out of it by then, you’d be mistaken, because I may have crawled in there with her once or twice and fit quite well.

If you’re considering purchasing one, you definitely have my vote. I wouldn’t ever promote something unless I felt that it was a great product, so there’s that. But some added benefits include:

Made in Europe, designed in Sweden
Tested for breathability
OEKO-TEX certified
All natural, 100% cotton
Handmade in Europe
Ideal micro-climate for babies and tots
Grand is perfect for toddler bed transitions

Check out the DockaTot products on their website! You can find our exact one here.

Lifestyle

Summer Must-Have: Wooden Watches

8.08.2018

Okay guys, I think it’s fair to say that I don’t normally jump on bandwagons. I mean, I do, but not until there is a knock-off version available at Target. The new skinny jeans? Does Target have a pair? The new sunglasses? Can I buy a knockoff online?

Because I’m so frugal, I’m always one step behind the current trends. But not anymore! I’m jumping right on this bandwagon! Have you guys seen the wooden watches from JORD? I’m obsessed. Here’s why:

I’m not a jewelry person. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just that I never wear it. I’m always afraid I’m going to break it or lose it or drop it down the toilet. But not my JORD Watch. I’m not letting this thing out of my sight. Even Sawyer isn’t getting a hold of this beauty. It’s wooden so I don’t worry about scratching the band, especially when she inevitably puts it in her mouth.

It fits me perfectly. You can order the watch to size, but it’s also super easy to adjust. The watch face is so beautiful (it’s blue!), that I want to match my daily outfits to the watch. And let’s be honest, it’s pretty easy to match wood to just about anything. Especially when you’re a mom, and don’t have time to put together flashy outfits. PS: It looks great with yoga pants and a top knot too!

It’s so comfortable. The wooden band makes it so comfortable to wear, I don’t even feel like I’m wearing jewelry. Maybe I’ll just wear it 24/7 so I don’t have to remember to put it on in the morning. I can barely remember to brush my teeth.

I guess the wooden watch bandwagon is the one I’m going to jump on. That is, unless I have to keep photographing my hairy arms (I never realized how hairy they looked until I tried to photograph them). But as any other new mom knows, it’s not like I have time to start shaving them now! So I’m just going to accept it and move on!

You should check out all of the other JORD watches here. And if you’re on the same page as me and want to see my watch, check it out here.

Are you into to the new wooden watch obsession too? If you want to win $100 towards your own JORD beauty, enter the contest here!

Luxury Wooden Watch

DIY

Flying with Infants – Treat Bags for Co-Flyers

6.28.2018

Sawyer is eight months old and she’s about to go on her fourth cross-country trip. Although she’s quite seasoned, I’m always nervous that she’s going to be a little terror on the flight. Because lets face it. We’ve all been on that flight that we wished we weren’t on, sitting near a baby that really wasn’t having the time of their lives, hoping they had enough mini-bottles of your choice left on the airplane (or the baby had enough regular sized bottles to keep them quiet).

So just in case our flight-mates felt the same way, we brought the bottles to them. And the candy, and the Advil, and the ear plugs. You know, in case Sawyer decided she wanted to practice her Opera singing.

I created these little packs for a few people on our last flight. Sawyer liked to hand them out (okay who am I kidding she just wanted to put them in her mouth, just like anything else that isn’t a child’s toy).

Other ingredients included: gum, mints, Wet-Wipe single packs, antibacterial gel, and fruit flavored hard candy. I think everyone enjoyed them, even though Sawyer was pretty well-behaved on the flight. Although I could have enjoyed the mini-bottles, wrangling a baby on your lap for five hours isn’t easy!