First of all I officially signed up yesterday to go to the Bloom Workshop this April and I couldn't be more giddy! Happy early birthday to meeeeee. :)

Second of all we are going to Disneyland tomorrow for Blair's birthday and I can't. even. wait. I can't wait to eat all the corndogs see her sweet face light up when we visit the princesses. She just adores them and it will be extra special if we get to see the ones we keep missing. Belle, Rapunzel, and Snow White I'm talking to you! It's supposed to rain which I'm actually good with since it drives to crowds away. Plus with less people this will ensure that the corndogs don't run out. ;) Priorities.

Yesterday was Blair's last day of ballet for the session we enrolled in. I'm going to sign her up again because she just loves it. Her teacher let them wear their favorite princess dress to class and boy did the girls love that!

That's all, friends! Have a fabulous weekend...I know I will in the land of corndogs at the Happiest Place on Earth. Expect a healthy dose of photos. :)

Last weekend M and I had a crazy Saturday night and made some practice Peppa Pig sugar cookies for Blair's birthday party coming up. I went to a local bakery and got a quote for a dozen cookies. At $5.75 a cookie M said, "You better figure out how to make those yourself." And while I am by no means an expert, I was really happy with how they turned out! Here are the steps below...

Step 1: buy cookie cutters and a bag of sugar cookie mix

Step 2: bake cookies to perfection :)

Step 3: Outline cookies with firm royal icing

Step 4: Fill in details with firm royal icing

Step 5: fill in the rest of the cookie with liquid royal icing and add details

Step 6: buy black gel frosting so I don't have to use pepper corns for the snout for the picture. :)

 Here is the recipe for the royal icing I used:

My friend gave me this recipe for royal icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
1.5 table spoons meringue powder
2.5 table spoons warm water

To get firm frosting for the outline I used the above recipe. To achieve the liquid frosting I simply added more warm water so the cookies "flooded" easily. I poured the frosting in small squeeze tubes which was messy but I eventually got it all in. Let me know if you have any questions and I would be happy to (try) to help!

New prints are in the shop! And boy do they sure look cute with the existing baby monthly signs that are already in there. :)

 Good Morning Gorgeous which compliments THIS LISTING perfectly. It would also be super cute framed on a bed side table for you and your man!

Hello There Handsome looks great when paired with THIS LISTING.

And for all of you crazies out there who wait to find out the gender...

Lord knows there is NO way I could wait! ;) Just so you know every purchase means a lot to me and I so appreciate your business. Happy shopping!

This weekend was filled with fun activities for us. On Saturday M took B to her friend's birthday party while I went to LA with my Mom and Tiff to see Wicked. It was awesome! We had a great time and apparently so did Blair..

I love that he did the photo booth with her and I wasn't even there to force him to!

Isn't her cake darling?!

Pin the dot on the ladybug

While M stayed with B we had a girls day out at Wicked.

 On Sunday morning we headed to the park so Blair could burn some energy and nap early since we had plans to see my Grandma that afternoon. M played hard with her; quite different than when I go and sit under the trees with the other Moms and chat. I like to say that I am encouraging independent play. M says I'm forcing it. :/

sweatshirt: gap last year, jeans: gap, moccs: freshly picked

Happy Monday!

I know I post a lot of pictures from ballet class but the girls are so darn cute I can't help it! I definitely think we will sign up to do ballet again next month. Blair absolutely adores it even if she's not the most skilled dancer in class. ;)

Swoon! Is there anything more precious? I'm thinking about making a little scrapbook with all of Blair's pictures with her friends from birth to now. I think she will love it especially since she doesn't have a sibling yet...she really cherishes her friends!

Oh, and side note I FINALLY found something that cleans "dirty baby" thanks to my cousin's advice...bar keepers friend! Check out before and after...

Pretty good right?! Now if I could just clean the actual fabric part. :/ I tried to convince Blair to change baby's jammies and she freaked out. Baby steps I guess. See what I did there? ;)


Oh and we have two more prints in our shop this week! These would be the perfect shower gift for a baby girl or boy. Get yours HERE.

Happy weekend! Oh, and I started taking Metformin and so far so good. Just a very mild lack of appetite which they said was normal. Waiting for the other meds to arrive as I type!

I am by no means an expert but I am pretty pleased with how my gallery wall turned out in our entry way. I thought I would share some tips on how I achieved this look.

First of all this space is really hard for me to photograph. Our stairs are right behind it so I can't back up far enough to get the whole wall in the shot. :/ So bear with me.

{Mirror}

I always start with a mirror. This one happens to be my favorite kind of deal...free from my Aunt. :) Mirrors are always good in an entry way because people like to check themselves out when coming and going.

{Flair}

One of my favorite things about this wall is the "hello" sign. It's trendy but still goes with our home since it's a rustic wood material and is appropriately placed at the entrance.

{Art}

Also known as a chalkboard print. :) I like to change out the chalkboard print depending on the holiday/season. Of course you can buy yours here!

{Dimension}

The little white shelf with the picture on top adds some dimension to the wall so not everything is flat. This creates interest and shape!

{Quote}

Find something that is meaningful to you and lets your guests know who you are or what you value. It could be a line from your wedding vows, your favorite verse, or song lyric. Just chose something that is unique to you or your family. Mine is "Be still and know that I am God" because lately that's what I have to keep reminding myself of while on our infertility journey.

{Personalization}

Adding an initial is easy and cute. There are so many out there to choose from...metal, burlap, kraft paper, cloth, etc. Find one that suits you!

{Photos}

Choose a couple of your favorite photos to display. I purposely chose black and white prints so they went with the rest of my wall. I also like to switch these out seasonally.

{Texture}

I grabbed some greenery from Hobby Lobby and wound it around a wreath frame to add more interest and texture to the wall. With so many square frames the wall needed something round. The wreath breaks up all the lines and brings nature in!

Some "rules" that I like to follow for gallery walls...

Mix it up! Think outside of the photograph box. While I'm sure you have a beautiful family we don't need to see 50 pictures of your smiling mugs all in the same place.

Trace around everything you plan on hanging on scrap paper and "hang" your wall temporarily to see how you want things placed. It saves a lot of headache (and holes in your wall) later.

Stay within one theme. I kept my wall very neutral with wood tones, white, black, and grey. It would be weird to have a bright pink shelf thrown in there. So even though you might love that bright pink shelf save it for somewhere else (maybe the nursery?).

Choose a couple things that "match." I chose two little frames that matched to pull my look together and seem more focused and less haphazard. 

I hope you enjoyed this little DIY sesh and got some inspiration! I know I'm a huge copy cat of all things Pinterest so feel free to copy away! :)

In a few weeks we are headed to Disneyland for Blair's 3rd birthday. This year I am especially excited because we are getting passes! Yippee! I seriously can't wait to eat corndogs on the reg and see the princesses all. the. time. :)

Unfortunately I am a firm hater of all Disney apparel but I've been softening up lately and allowing Blair to own some princess pjs (so crazy, I know). That girl loves them of course and I just know if I buy her a princess shirt it is all she will end of wearing so I'm not setting myself up for that. I do have one exception: Disneyland apparel at Disneyland is A-Okay. Hence, my quest to find the perfect little outfit for her to wear the day(s) we go next year. Here are some of my faves...

top 3 shirts: gap

sequin shorts

sequin skirt

pink princess shirt

mickey shirt

mickey glitter clip

Where do you find cute Disney attire without being overly cheesy? I'm sure the Disney store will have plenty to choose from. :)

I hope everyone had a sweet Val Day whether you spent it at home or out and about. We celebrated a day early with my best friend and her boyfriend (our roomie) by going out to dinner. We went to my favorite restaurant called, Nick's, down in San Clemente. The food was bomb, as usual, and the company was even better. :)

the original valentines ;)

M also surprised Blair and I with a little early Val day bouquet (one for each of us!). The flowers were stunning!

We spent the weekend enjoying the 80 degree weather down at the beach. It was incredibly relaxing because my Mom and brother's gf watched Blair the majority of the time. We paddle boarded, tanned, ate a bomb lunch, and slept like babies. Unfortunately my poor brother's gf took one for the team and "slept" with Blair (because let's be real sleeping in a twin with a toddler is not sleep). She's still battling a cough and wanted to snuggle all. night. long. Let's just say Taylar will be extra spoiled on her birthday this year...

oh, winter bodies

The last day of our vacation we hit up a local donut shop. I'm not supposed to have donuts for many reasons but I couldn't say no. Blair wore appropriate attire...

We stopped by a local mural on the way home in which I looked ridiculously tired. Such is life.

And finally on our way out of town we hit up the Rainbow outlet for some summer sandals for Blair. She found one just her size...

That hair though...

Back to the grind this week! I hope you all felt loved on this weekend and enjoyed some quality time with your loved ones!

Guys! Best news ever! (Well, not ever because when I'm prego that will be the best news but...) I have extreme PCOS (poly cystic ovarian syndrome)! And while I realize this is a bad thing, the good news is that I finally have a diagnosis. I prayed that my doctor's appointment would give me answers and boy did it! I am so so thankful.

This post is going to have all sorts of information so if you're infertile (like me) then you will probably be interested. Otherwise, you might want to move on to another blog for today. ;)

Here's what I learned...I have had PCOS my whole life and never knew it till now. My case has gotten more extreme as I've gotten older (and more insulin resistant) and have had a baby (who depleted me of all my hormones). All these things have contributed to my struggle with getting/staying pregnant. I'm 100% not relaying this as accurately or understandably as my doctor did but here's my main issues...1) I have PCOS 2) I have thyroid issues 3) I have no progesterone (the hormone that helps you get and stay prego).

Here's the interesting part...the meds he prescribed me (and the way to take them) and not typical. My doctors at Kaiser and going to lose their noodle when they find out what I'm doing but guess what...those idiots didn't even catch that I have PCOS because I'm not your typical candidate: I'm not overweight, I don't have acne, and I don't have facial hair. Those are all top symptoms of PCOS. Apparently 50% of PCOS cases don't display outward symptoms...that's me.

The meds I will be on are bio-identical (natural, not synthetic) Progesterone and Thyroid which makes a huge difference in resulting in healthy pregnancies. I will likely be on these meds the rest of my life since people with PCOS have a 6-8 times more chance of getting uterine and breast cancer. But it's preventable! Same goes with miscarrying.

I will also be taking the drug called Metformin which helps with regulating my blood sugar levels. People with PCOS have insulin resistance and in my case it's severe. This also means that I have to be really careful about my sugar intake...as in don't do it. :( I'm pretty sure that was the worst news I heard all day. I LOVE sugar and the doctor also said that is classic PCOS symptom. The good news is that the thyroid meds will make it easier for me to lose and maintain a healthy body weight...winning!

I'm SO relieved to have answers but SO annoyed at Kaiser for not catching any of this. Come to find out they don't even test for low thyroid in the most thorough way AND they didn't ever think to test me for PCOS because they were so sure I didn't have it. Lame.

Overall I can't thank YOU all enough for all your prayers. Today went just as I had hoped in that I have a clear diagnosis and a plan for recovery. I can't wait to start my meds and keep you all updated on the way it's going. If any of you is struggling with getting/staying pregnant I highly recommend this doctor. He graduated from UCLA and is also currently an ER doctor in L.A. He's no ding dong!

If you're still reading, I commend you. :) This weekend we are headed to the beach for some major R and R and I'm stoked! Happy Valentine's Day, friends! I love you guys!

Guys, this week has been a doozy. Over the weekend Blair had the stomach flu for the first time. Monday I took her in for a cough that just wouldn't go away and was told it was her asthma acting up. Tuesday I took her in to the doctor again because she developed a fever. Turns out she has a mild case of pneumonia. Mild or not, nobody wants that! :( Poor baby isn't sleeping AT ALL and coughs all night long. Which means Mommy and Daddy are zombies too. Reminds me of the good old infant days! All that to say I needed a hall pass on blogging yesterday...so thanks for understanding. :)

I mentioned earlier that I hit up HomeGoods with my Mom over the weekend. Here are my finds! Not including the two things M told me to take back because he could make them for me. :)

Some square wall art (actually from world market)

a jar for our utensils and butter

neutral placemats (target dishes)

a wire rack for the office...now what to fill it with?

a wire basket for the dining table

a hand woven yarn pillow

times two!

a little silverware caddy for the bar cart

mason jar soap

an anthropologie-ish ceramic strawberry crate for M's stuff he usually throws on the island

 Some little items that make our house a home make me happy. :) Any ideas for what to put in the wire organizer in the office? A friend of mine suggested clip boards with some cute prints on them. I like that idea but I have two other spots to fill...what else? Besides the obvious...books.

Lately M and I have been OBSESSED with Fixer Upper on HGTV. I just love Joannna's farm house style. The way she brightens up spaces with so much white is beautiful to me. I'm trying to keep that in mind when shopping for things. Sometimes I find bright and funky things that I like but until we have another baby that will have to wait. I'm saving bright and funky for kids' rooms! The rest of the house I want to be calm and peaceful...like me. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Oh and today I have my BIG doctor's appointment to get a more detailed overview of what's up with my hormones. Lots of prayers please!