Gray Winter

This may sound strange, but I kind of like gray days in the winter.  I like the way it makes our house feel.  Sometimes the winter sun is just too bright for me.  I like when it's gray and I can open the curtains and light candles and feel cozy.  I also realized that I've been a bit obsessed with gray pillows, for our gray sofa.  

I made this one before Christmas

Got this one on sale from Anthro.  I spotted it back in the summer and kept my eye out for it to go on sale.

In the spring and summer I love color and pattern, but for some reason in the winter I like things to feel more clean and simple.

The pillow on the chair I got last week from West Elm.  I spotted it on sale when I ordered a new shower curtain.

I needed a change in the bathroom and have had my eye on this one for awhile.  

I'm going to really try not get too down this winter.  Over the past few years I have really grown to not like winter.  I think having kids makes it more stressful- they have places to be, I don't like driving in the snow or ice, feeling stuck at home.  One of the biggest factors is that Rob has a job where he has to be there, no matter what the weather.   It stresses me out.

We've had a mild winter so far.  It feels kind of weird, but I'm not complaining about it.   I do like the coziness that winter brings.   I like being at home where it's warm, with candles lit, drinking lots of coffee. 

This candle is amazing.  Yes, I'm a candle snob and it's from Anthro.   It smells cozy and clean and is perfect for winter.  

I'm hoping to share with you over the next few weeks  how I'm surviving winter.  I will admit blogging is hard with Brady's lack of schedule.  As I was typing that sentence I had to go up and get him from his too short nap.  But, I'm doing my best, and I really want to blog, so hopefully I'll be back soon.  

Happy New Year!

I realize I'm about a week late on this one but, Happy New Year!  2011 was a great year, mostly due to the fact that this little bundle arrived.  

I was thinking the other day about the beginning of 2011 and how difficult it was.  When we found out we were pregnant in January, we were more than ecstatic.  But, the couple months to follow were rough.  I was sick with migraines, we had a scare with the pregnancy, we had a ton of snow that always seemed to happen on the nights Rob was working.  But, by spring, things were more than great.  And surprisingly,  it turns out I actually really enjoyed being pregnant in the summer.  Being due the end of September allowed us to travel to Maine in July and the shore in August.  And these past few months as a family of 4 have been amazing.  I am so in love with all my boys.  

I came downstairs yesterday morning to this...

LOVE!

2011 was a great year despite some rough times and I'm eager to see what 2012 brings for our family.  I'm not making any grand resolutions this year.  I know there are things I need to work on, areas where there is always room for improvement.  

So, here's to 2012!  Happy New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I'm feeling overly blessed this year.  Especially since our annual PJ picture now has a new addition.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!  xo

Baby's First Christmas

This is Brady's first Christmas (obvisouly) and I had some trouble figuring out what to get him.  He's three months tomorrow and quite honestly, the kid doesn't do too much.  Not that I have higher expectations of him, it's just, what do you get a three month old?  Aiden was 10 mos old for his first Christmas and it was super fun.  When we took him to the city to see the light show, he spotted this monkey while we were waiting and totally fell in love.  Of course we bought it for him and I will always remember that and associate that with his first Christmas.

So, I wanted to try and find some ways to make Brady's first Christmas memorable with some gifts that hopefully he will come to love and that will be remembered as part of his first Christmas.

Here's his loot before I wrapped it all up.

The two main things that I imagine will be memorable gifts are, Sophie the Giraffe and booties that I ordered from Etsy.  I see Sophie everywhere and if you read any reviews about her, people rave about how she is the best thing for a teething baby. I didn't know Sophie's story before- she's been around a long time, and is French!  I'm hoping that Brady will love chewing on Sophie some day soon.

I knew I wanted to get Brady a pair of homemade booties from Etsy, but was a bit overwhelmed by all the choices.  And the prices ranged from affordable to outrageous.  I was happy when I found these because I wanted something neutral and I got them a little big so that he can wear them through the winter.

A baby can never have too many cute clothes in my opinion.  The soft tractor toys are from Ikea and I also got him this colorful wooden toy. 

I am totally stumped on what to put his stocking...

I remember this time last year I so badly wanted to be pregnant, so to see how much has changed since last year - we are so amazingly blessed!!  

My favorite time of the day

My favorite time of the day right now is at night, when the kids are in bed, and the house is lit up by Christmas lights. 

Rob and I hang out on the sofa, addressing cards, putting Christmas gifts together, watching tv.

It's very quiet.  And it makes me happy.

This week is crazy busy.  This morning we are heading over to Aiden's preschool for his Christmas concert and then tomorrow morning we are heading into the city for our annual Christmas in the city trip that we started the first year that Aiden was a baby.  I love that we have this tradition and make it a priority every year. 

I'm hoping to be back this weekend or next week to share a few things before Christmas weekend.  

Hope you're all suriving the holiday rush!  

Goodwill Love

This past weekend I got to putz around Goodwill by myself, which was a treat.  We have one right down the street but I don't go very often.

I always beeline it to the housewares section to see if I can find anything good.

I got super excited when I spotted these crates:

Our Goodwill actually gets a lot of things from Target, brand new.  I believe these were from Tarrget by the looks of the tags, but I am not totally sure.  Goodwill had them marked at $12 each and the original price tag was $25.  

I've been looking for something to replace the other crate-like containers we've had in these shelves for toy storage.  We've had them for about 3 years and they were starting to fall apart, being made of fabric and cardboard.  So I've been looking for something sturdier. 

So, you can imagine my excitement when I spotted these. 

And you can imagine my even greater excitement when I was only charged $6 for them...FOR BOTH!!

I love a good deal, it makes me giddy.  So, I couldn't shut up about these on Saturday.  I think Rob was getting sick of me saying,  "can you believe these were only $3 each?!!!".  

Anyway, I love them.  They fit perfectly, they're solid since they're made of wood and I love the rustic, vintage look of them.  

I also scored some clothes for the boys.  

I need to stop in to Goodwill more often.

The small things

Sometimes it's the small things in life that bring joy.  Here are a few little things in my life that are making me super happy...

I'm addicted to these caramels.  They're from Trader Joe's and they only have them around the holidays, which is probably a good thing because I can't stop eating them

I love Florence and the Machine.  I think her music is amazing.  If I'm ever in the car alone, I BLARE this song so loud.  Because c'mon, "it's hard to dance with the devil on your back, so shake it out".  (side note....the video is a bit strange, but aren't they all?). 

We got a new car over the summer and it came with heated seats, which weren't necessary to use until recently.  They make me very happy.  

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I officially can start using this candle.  I. Love. This. Candle.  It literally smells like winter, hence the name.  I like it because you can use it not just at Christmas time, but all through the winter.  I'm obsessed with it.  I bought like 5 on clearance at the end of the season last year.