Happy Friday!

Blastoff!!

What I'll be wearing in my mind while watching the space launch today...(in real life it'll probably be my jeans and an Old Navy striped tee)

1. Khara LeDonne's Fly Me To The Moon Handpainted Locket, $35
2. 3.1 Philip Lim, on sale! for a mere $325
3. Julie Nolan Constellation Bracelet, $50
4. Giuseppe Zanotti heels, also on sale! $416.50

Enjoy the launch today!

Order of the Week

Small, sweet, simple. Just as cute on littles as it is on adults!

Contact us here to order your own! (or here)

Kitt-In Box

While searching around the internets for a nice, modern house for my kitteh I came across this genius thing (via Modern Cat). If you have a kitty I don't think I even need to explain how genius this is. In my opinion more offices need kitties as desk accessories. Now whether or not you could actually cajole your kitty off your keyboard and into his inbox is another question...

Find the Kitt-In Box here.

*This picture alone made my day. I love the informercial-ness of it. "Oh, that darn cat!" And no way that cat didn't immediately try to eat those tulips, and spill water all over her keyboard after they snapped this pic. Just sayin'

Happy Friday!

I've had a hankering to hear this song ever since the Grammy's (how awesome was Norah Jones??) Enjoy and have a great three day weekend, if you get it!! ;)

Zara Kids

When I found out that the Zara that opened near me carried kid's stuff I promptly fell over and died. Then a nice saleslady helped me up and I took a look around. Seriously. If you haven't been/seen this stuff, take a deep breath and go here. I mean, just look at these shoes!!!

Order of the Week - Name Brand

We were asked to add this stone to our Name Brand pendant and we think it came out gorgeous!! The names are the three generations of gals in this family (grandma, mom and baby) and was a sweet Valentine's Day present for a dear friend. :)

From the Desk of A.J. - BHLDN

When I got married, scratch that, when I got engaged, one of the very first things I started dreaming about was the “theme” I wanted to take down the aisle.

Yes…I admit, I got little nuts (no not Bridezilla at all…just detail oriented-honest) when it came down to my “dream” wedding.

My first thought was…I wanted to get married in the middle of an Anthropologie. Seriously, it’s what I thought. I lurve that store like a big bowl of ice cream and the thought of a sort of bohemian, romantic vintag-ie, wedding was all I could dream about when I started to plan that year long plan of one day nuptials.

I wanted the perfect terra cotta pots to be distressed and cracked just enough. I wanted my seating chart to look like a family tree (yep…the first of many family trees I have weaved into my life), my guest book to look like an old photo album that had been found in an attic somewhere…or in AnthropologieJ

Behold. Anthro has launched BHLDN (uhm…that’s beholden, I felt like I was trying to read the back of a license plate), their venture into the wedding biz. Dresses (amazing dresses!), bridesmaids (soooo sweet!), and little odds and ends. Launched on Valentine’s day…awwww

This screams Pinky Swear…we loves us a good wedding online catalog to drool and plan our renewal vows…if we can’t get the Hubsters on board, we may have to vow to each other to just throw a big celebration…in a bohemian, romantic, vintage-ie sort of way;)

Find BHLDN here.

Hippo! No, Rhino!

Few things get me riled up as much as someone who reviews a book and complains that there were "no words." Some of our family's favorite books are ones that use very few or no words to convey the story. (Goodnight Gorilla, The Red Book, Suzy Lee's books are some of our favs) I've tried to include these types of books in my kid's library throughout the years. Reading a book with little or no words does take more "work." You have to be very tuned into the illustrations, the little details, but that is what is so great about them! You can involve everyone in reading the story, or your little ones can "read" to you. Its also a great facilitator for conversations with your little ones ("What do you think he's feeling? Where do you think he's going?") And I've found that even though my little ones can follow much more complex storylines and can read on their own, they still appreciate a good book. Words or not. (Here's a great little article on how to read a wordless book outloud if you're feeling a little intimadated).

Hippo! No Rhino! does have words. They are just very carefully chosen, and most rhyme with Rhino. Poor Rhino's sign mistakenly says "Hippo." As visitors to the zoo approach Rhino and proclaim him to be Hippo, Rhino grows increasingly agitated and attempts to fix the sign himself. Finally a boy notices the mistake and fixes Rhino's sign. The illustrations in this book are gorgeous, full of color and vaguely retro looking (reminds me of older Golden Books). We actually bought this book as a gift for my niece, but my kids almost didn't let it go. Highly recommend this little book!!

Check it out at your local library or find it here.

Order of the Week - Cherry Blossom

This week's highlighted order is for a very special grandma to four. The stones inside each blossom are each birthstones of her grandchildren. So sweet and sooo purty. I don't want to give this one away!!

Order your own here or here! Mother's Day is just around the corner!!

Gnome Sweet Gnome's Tissue Holder

Just about every single kid I come across these days has a runny nose (mine included). There's nothing fun about it, but maybe if I had this adorable tissue holder it wouldn't be so bad. I dare you not to smile when you look at this.

Find it here.

Happy Friday!

Enjoy some funny kittehs. I love that Big Cat is so obviously trying to get away from Kitten, who is saying "CAT! CAT! YOU'RE STUCK IN THE BOX CAT! I'LL GET YOU OUT CAT! CAT CAT! CAT!"

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Chinese New Year!!

From the Desk of A.J. - Wubbanub

The Boy Wonder #2

I’m trying really hard not to compare my 2 boys…but how do you do that? They are very similar in many ways (they look exactly the same…we pretty much made a clone), but different as far as temperament, eating habits, and everything else.

One of the best gifts I received was a little pacifier called the Wubbanub. It came in a little box, with a little card that said “hope you get some sleep…and know it will get easier. BTW, don’t send me a thank you”. Given to me by one of the “mommy friends” from Boy Wonder #1’s mommy and me class.

So…this pacifier…a regular hospital pacifier but it had this little small perfectly sized plush toy sewn to the handle part of the paci. I thought, “how cute”. Little did I know…what I meant to say was “HOW GENIUS!!!!”.

The Boy Wonder numero uno never wanted a paci…and I was sooooo happy with that. I didn’t want him to get the bucked teeth people are always talking about and I didn’t want him to be the four year old in line still sucking on his binkie (I know…I’m judging…I’m strictly talking about me:). He was mellow and just feel asleep…never fussy…nada.

Boy Wonder #2? Not so much. Immediately, as in the hospital, we knew this one was going to be a bit more sensitive aka fussy. I tried soothing him…rocking him, the Hubs did his Barry White humming Boy Wonder #1 loved so much. Nothing worked. He was a bit gassy…but over the weeks the doc just said “he’s a bit on the sensitive side…he just needs a little extra tlc”. No problem. Then I remembered…my gift!!!

Tore that puppy (literally) open, washed it and let the babe at it. He LOOOOVED IT!!! And while all the other pacifiers fall to the side…this one can be propped up by its bean bag body, and its soft & squishy, and you don’t lose it in your bag. GENIUS! (of course, invented by a mom;)

At 3 months, we’re just getting out of the fussy stage. He’s already over the pacifier (he has found this amazing thing called a thumb), but I’m telling you…I don’t care how many hours we used it…every time sweet boy calmed down and got that peaceful look on his face I thought of and thanked the mama who threw it together in her hotel room on vacation and the mama who was so sweet and thoughtful enough to give it to me as a gift. Mamas helping mamas…one thoughtful gesture at a time:)

Find Wubbanubs here!

Order of the Week - Packaged With Care

Thought I'd highlight something a little different this week: our packaging! Both Ms.A.J. and I come from design backgrounds and we're suckers for a beautiful presentation, so we put a lot of thought and care into ours. From the moss inside the box, to the sparkly babies breath outside, we think it all adds a little extra something special to what is already a special and meaningful gift. :)

Valentine's Day - Print Your Own!

Worried if you order Valentine's Day cards off Etsy they won't get to you in time? Of course, you can always check with the individual shop (they are always more than happy to let you know if it'll get to you in time) Or you can choose from one of the many PDF files offered. They simply email you the file and you've got adorable, sometimes personalized valentines ready for you to print to your heart's content.

1. Bubbledog, $2.50
2. Vicinity Studio, $4.00
3. The Paper Nut, $5.95 (this one comes with the cards and the gift tags! I want this one to send to my loved ones)

I also really love these from Happy Thought. A little more prep work, but so cute!! My son's school does not allow food items so I'm thinking this is a cute alternative.

Find the house here, $6

And this cute hanging decoration here, $7

Another tip? Through out the years of making our own invitations I've learned that Kinko's online printing services are really awesome (and cost efficient). You simply upload your file to their site, choose your options and pay online. They are usually done within the hour and you go pick them up at your nearest Kinkos. I don't own a paper cutter, so I also love that they let you use theirs for free. :)