Two Months

Baby Update

I can't believe my baby girl is two months old! She's growing and changing so quickly and we have had so much fun watching her discover and learn new things every day! She's starting to look a little less bald and she's going to have her daddy's hair colour, along with some more of his traits that are starting to become more visible. Although, I do have to say she still looks a lot like a mini-me! 

 TWO MONTHS

10 lbs 10 oz and 22 1/2"

• Smiles all the time
• Can roll over
• Can't get enough of tummy time
• Enjoys car & stroller rides
• Loves funny sounds
• Is sleeping for 5-7 hours at night
• Loves to airplane w/ Daddy
• Is 'talking' all the time

Holiday Hacks

Easy Gift Giving Guide

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With Christmas just around the corner this is usually where my sheer panic sets in, between the boy's large family, our neighbors and our friend's growing families the gift count gets higher and higher each year. It's easy to break the bank and overload anyone's schedule! With a newborn in tow this year I've opted for a more simple solution! 

1. Break Everyone Down into Groups

Make a list of everyone you need to get gifts and break them into more manageable groups (such as: neighbors, teachers, grandparents, friends etc.) This way you can come up with 3-4 gift ideas that work for everyone versus coming up 563 different gifts for everyone. Now when you find that perfect gift for the grandparents just times it by two and you've got two sets of people done!

2. Go the DIY Route

Going the DIY route is not only fun but it can save you some Christmas cash as well! It's also a great excuse to try out some of those favourite pins on Pinterest you've been dying to try. (Check out some of my favourites) All my neighbors this year will be getting a cute little Christmas tree cupcake! They will be fun to make and lets me cross all my neighbors off my list!

3. Check Out New or Small Businesses

I love supporting entrepreneurs and small business owners, but there is also an added benefit around Holiday season, many of them offer great deals to compete with the big box stores, and they offer more unique products for the ultimate gifts. Check out one of my new favourites Lost My Name an adorable personalized story book for kids, not only a great gift but a wonderful keepsake.

4. Convenience Over Time 

Anyone can buy a gift card and unfortunately they can come across as impersonal, so what's a gal to do? This predicament often puts us in a time crunch for the holidays. Well now you don't have to give up personality for time. Awesome sites are popping up all over the place that offer the perfect solution, with customized gifts that are both time savers and extremely personal! My new favourite for this holiday is Chat Books which turns your favourite Instagram photos into your own book for only $6! In the Christmas Spirit enter the code: GYAC6NLU and get your very first book FREE!

Comment with your favourite Holiday hack or gift idea this holiday season and automatically be entered to be 1 of 3 winners to receive 15% off your very own Lost My Name Book!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS & HAPPY WRAPPING!

Fall Treats

Little Owl Cupcakes

Fall is by far my favourite season. The crisp air, snuggling under cozy covers, the comfy layers and boots, waking up with a cup of warm coffee and the smell of pumpkin and spice. . . everywhere!

I wanted to spread the fall festive cheer and decided to make some super simple fall treats!



These cute little owls are adorable and so easy to make!

Here's what you'll need!

• Cake mix of your choice (I wanted pumpkin but they were all out so I went with a rich red velvet)
• Frosting of your choice
• Two packages of Oreos
• One bag of Reese's Pieces

How to create these little critters:

• Bake cupcakes according to instructions and let cool
• Put on a thin layer of frosting on all cupcakes
• Split oreos in half and use the side with creme filling for the owl's eyes, push firmly onto top of cupcakes
• Use the brown pieces for eyes and stick in a yellow or orange piece for the beak
• To create the feathered look I filled a sandwich bag with icing and clipped the tip to make a makeshift icing bag. I pipped eyebrows above the eyes and little squiggles in rows below the beaks for the body.
• Let sit, then share and enjoy!

WhOo's Going to Make These Sweet Treats?

Black Friday Madness

The Craze, The Crowds, The Deals.

As today stretches on, it's like I can feel the city preparing itself for tomorrows festivities. Everyone seems to have already checked out of work mode and are mentally on Holiday break. Even as the freezing rain is sweeping through New York, 

it hasn't dulled the excitement that is buzzing around Thanksgiving! 

My mouth is already watering just thinking about all the sweets and fall goodies that tomorrow will bring.

Though there is something darker looming closer as well. A craze that has swept our nation and seems to grow out of control every year. Once, a fun easy going day where generations of families could go out shopping for their loved ones and bask in the glow of a great deal. It was an extension of Thanksgiving, a way to bond and bring in the next holiday. It was Black Friday. It since has turned quite sinister, evolving into a monster that spans longer and longer each year, Black Weeks would be a more suited title. There is now Shop Small Saturday, Cyber Monday and "Don't Stop Sunday" probably isn't far behind. Companies battling each other, each trying to out do the other. Starting sooner, lasting days sometimes weeks longer, and the deals and tactics getting more and more outlandish. Now, it's fairly common to read about fights breaking out and people even being trampled as the big name stores open their doors in the wee hours of the morning. I'm not sure about you, but this doesn't sound like the "Holiday Spirit" to me!

Since New York City is the breeding ground for shopping, it's safe to say I will be boarded up in my home with my boy and my pups (probably slightly bloated from the day prior's festivities) like the apocalypse was here. I don't handle rush hour subway crowds very well so I shutter to think about ones on Black Friday.

 Just the mere mention of it makes me feel like this…

So for those of you crazy enough to risk not only your patience, 

but possibly a limb or two here is a list of the biggest deals going on in NYC: 

• Toys "R" Us: Is an early opener at 5pm on Thanksgiving. Good-luck with that I'll be halfway through my dinner at this point.
• Walmart: Our second runner-up opening at 6pm on Turkey Day and have a one-hour in-stock guarantee. One hour? Better be first in line. . . 
• Best Buy: Also played into the early start and will be opening at 6pm this year Thursday. Offering deals like a Kindle Fire HD 7 for $99. Almost makes it tempting. Almost.
• Old Navy: Opens a 7pm Thanksgiving and is offering everything for half off. And the first 500 customers (in all of America, mind you) will be entered into a $1 Million sweepstakes
• Target: One of my personal favourite go-to shops has fallen for the trend as well opening its doors at 8pm after turkey dinner. I'll be having seconds by this point. 
• Macy's: The legendary Macy's is starting at 8:00 sharp. I can see the madness already.

Now for those of you who are bunkering down like me, don't fret it doesn't mean you're doomed to full priced holiday gifts this season. In fact the wonderful technology driven world we live in today ensures that almost every big name store is offering similar if not the EXACT same deals online as they are in stores. So you can cuddle up with your loved ones and a hot cup of cocoa, maybe even a slice of that leftover pumpkin pie (just saying) and scour the savings online in the comfort and warmth of your own home. Once again, I do not understand the people that rather battle it out with strangers or be ran over by that coupon clipping granny, but hey more power to ya!

Here are my Black Friday (and Saturday, and Sunday, and Monday..) Online Shopping Tips!

1. Check out Black Friday it's going to be your best friend this week. A website with an alphabetical (and searchable) list of every sale going on out there. It's updating constantly to keep up with the current deals. Look for your favourite stores, click, shop and save!
2. Don't have a favourite store in mind? Take a look at Slick Deals offering the best promotions and deals out there for products. You can search by category ('shoes' 'apparel' 'travel') and even has a tab of complete freebies just waiting to be redeemed! What are you waiting for?
3.  Fat Wallet is another similar shopping tool. I think it's slightly more difficult to navigate but still plenty of deals just waiting to be taken. You can even sort through deals by the % off their offering.
4. Froogle. Never heard of it? Neither had I. It's owned by, you guessed it- Google, but it's purely for shopping. Type in that lovely gift you're searching for and it instantly price compares across the board. No more searching for hours comparing prices trying to save a penny or two- it does it for you. Where has this been all my life??
5. And last but certainly not least, when your prizes of glory are gleaming in your victory cart and you're about to close the deal check out Retail Me Not  for those last minute savings, enter any online store and it pulls up all the available coupon codes for extra bonus savings. I use this every time I buy anything online!

And of course because as maddening as the whole thing is, I have to be apart of it too (from the safety of my own home, of course) Take 40% off all statement necklaces from 10 PM Turkey Day (after you're pleasantly stuffed and the kids have been put to bed) to 11:59 PM EST Friday Night! 

Plenty of time to mull over these adorable stocking stuffers, hint to the Mr, and treat yourself to that something special to sparkle this Holiday season. 

*Shop My Chloe+Isabel Collection!

Hope these tips have helped those avid Black Friday shoppers, 
no matter which way you chose to do it.
Happy Shopping and
May the Deals Be Ever in Your Favor!

 

DIY-Advent Calendar

An Easy Daily Activity Advent Calendar

Since I've been having trouble sleeping recently and I always love a good craft I decided to whip up a super easy DIY activities advent calendar to be all ready for December. I grabbed some things from my craft room and got started. This can be recreated with things you have around the house!

Here's What You'll Need:

• Scissors
• Red & Green Paper
• Markers
• 25 Manilla tags
• Red Ribbon
• Thick ribbon any colour (I picked green polka dot)
• a used Christmas card
• Tape

 

Cut out strips of coloured paper leaving the front a little shorter than the height of the manilla tag so it pops up from the front. Fold the back down and tape down to create a loop for your ribbon to be strung through. I used markers to create "stitches" along the pouches to give it a more handmade look. 

Make sure to tape up the sides to prevent the tags from falling out the sides!

String your ribbon through the backs to create a long chain. I alternated green and red, but you can mix it up however you feel. I used green and red markers to number each one. I cut out holiday characters from a used Christmas card and taped them onto separate pieces of paper and inserted them into the chain to break up the numbers. I used my thick polka dot green ribbon to make two large cute bows to dress up the ends of the wall hanging.

 I'm a big believer in experiences over gifts, so instead of filling our pouches with little presents or candy (when let's face it the Holidays are already filled with enough tempting sweets and treats) I filled them with various activities to do with the boy. I cut up strips of the extra red ribbon and tied them to each manilla tag, as an easy pull tab from each pouch. Then I labeled each tag with an activity with markers, if you have kids this would be fun to have them help out with this part. 

The holidays can be stressful enough with a laundry list of things you need to buy and get done, so I had to put some thought into where each activity went. Put the activities that require a bit more time on a weekend, and the activities that are easy to do during the week when you might be caught up in work things. This is supposed to make December more fun, not more stressful so don't overwhelm yourself with activities that are going to be too hard to complete. Plop them in each slot and you've got yourself a personalized advent calendar! 

Stuck on ideas? Pick some of these and mix in some of your own traditions or favourites!

• Donate something to a local charity
• Drink hot cocoa
• Go iceskating
• Attend a Christmas Party
• Do a random act of kindness
• Have a game night
• Make apple cider
• Go Christmas caroling
• Bake fresh cookies and decorate them
• Make a snowman
• Crank up the Holiday music
• Eat a candy cane
• Share your favourite holiday memories
• Sleep under the Christmas tree
• Build a snowman
• Go window shopping
• Kiss under the mistletoe
• Check out the neighborhood lights
• Have a gingerbread house competition
• Take a holiday picture
• Make a wish for the new year
• Send a Holiday letter
• Eat breakfast for dinner
• Go shopping for stocking stuffers
• Make paper snowflakes
• Watch a cheesy Christmas movie
• Volunteer together
• Go Sledding

Enjoy Your Christmas Countdown!