I bought this adorable growth chart from “KimsSister” on Etsy, and the quality has far surpassed my expectations. It’s super cute and goes great with Owen’s nursery. You can buy one here.

Waverly Fabric just came out with a brand new line of beautiful fabrics called ‘Modern Essentials’ which will be sold in Joann’s stores starting next week. Here’s a little bit about the new design:

Waverly takes a new direction with Modern Essentials, a unique variety of classic motifs designed for 21st century style. The collection offers three distinct looks – a playful, ethnic group, a spa inspired group and a take on the more traditional florals with Asian aesthetic and tone. The color palette ranges from earthenware and saturated jewel tones to crisper, warmer fruit punch tones and serene, aquatic colors. All are on cotton sateen with a nice calendar finish.

I love that these patterns range from bright and colorful to subtle and sophisticated! Such great colors! I already used two of their great fabrics listed below, ‘Sweet Spot’ and ‘Ring Toss’ to spruce up my baby gate, and I have plans for several more of these fabrics.

Waverly is giving away 1 random stack to FIVE READERS! Lucky YOU!

Leave a comment here, and if you feel like it, ‘like’ their Waverly Home Facebook page. Comments will close on Wednesday April 20, and 5 winners will be announced on the following day. Good luck!

If someone said, “But those chairs aren’t really ‘you’.” I’d say, “You’re right.”
Then I’d probably buy these {from here}:

If someone said, “Brooke, you seem to buy a new couch every year or so. Isn’t it time to buy another one?”
I’d say, “Jason, darling, I’m sorry I keep buying pretty couches that are uncomfortable. But I nailed it on this last couch and I still love it. I’ll keep it forever.”

It all started with these adorable invitations

by Gracie Girl Notes. This Pennsylvania shop has fun prints and cute shapes for invitations, announcements and thank you cards. I provided the wording, and Bevin came up with the adorable concept of the little elephants with heart cardstock and kraft paper invitations. They really were cute and professional, and even better – I didn’t have to spend ANY time on them! She sent a proof via email before she shipped them out, so I was confident I was getting the perfect invitation. {Plus anybody that packages with Divine Twine is alright in my book}

Then came the sponsors

Several items were donated from companies that got me through the rough transition into new-mommyhood. You know how moms talk – we know who’s pooping, who didn’t nap, and who’s cutting teeth. It used to drive me crazy when I didn’t have kids and the conversation would continue at-length on any of these subjects. But now I get it – we’re all trying to be the best moms we can and it takes experience from our peers and the help of quality products.

A few things I was able to share

We bought at least 6 different brands of bottles for my underweight one-month old. Some bottles came out too fast, others too slow and frustrating. Some had him swallowing too much air, making an achy belly and big spit-ups. With a baby with colic, anything that could lessen the symptoms was a lifesaver. Switching to a more sensitive formula combined with these Tommee Tippee bottles made such a difference. He was less gassy, happy with the flow, and less starving! 9 months later he still loves them, and they are easy to hold in his big paws. By four months, he was holding them on his own.

And with colic comes LOTS of tears. I’m a firm believer in Dr. Karp’s “Happiest Baby on the Block” method that can get any crying baby soothed as long as there is no medical problem. I’m having flashbacks as I type this. It seemed like a century, but with the three months of colic came nights in the laundry room with the dryer on, running water to soothe cries and many many swaddles. These Aden + Anais swaddle blankets were the only ones sufficiently big and stretchy to pull tight enough for him to be sufficiently womb-like. They are definitely on my ‘must-have’ list for new moms {I even took mine to the hospital from day one}. They just made such a huge difference in our baby when he was little. Now that he’s older, they stay around covering a sleeping baby in the stroller, or as a blanket to crawl on.

When people tell me their babies wouldn’t take a pacifier, it almost doesn’t register. I can’t even IMAGINE. I got Owen sleeping 10 hours consistently at 3 months old using his favorite thing in the world: his Nuk pacifier. He is still happily using his pacifier at night, or when he’s embarrassing me with his volume level at a restaurant. He will only spit it out for two things: his bottle or his toothbrush. My only regret is that I didn’t know about these sports ones. Owen came home from the hospital wearing my baseball outfit from my birth, and this baseball binky would have topped it off!

You might remember Nicole Hoxie Photography doing my newborn’s pictures. They turned out better than I could have imagined, and I’m so lucky to have such great pictures. It’s so fleeting, they only stay that tiny for such a short time! Nicole is so crazy talented, you’ll notice that if you visit her home. Quilts, clothes for her kids, decor – all handmade! This is a diaper clutch that she designed and created – a perfect fit for a few diapers and wipes, and other essentials. Just in case you don’t feel like lugging your entire diaper bag, or you can leave it with the sitter while you’re away. She has created so many beautiful diaper clutches and you can buy them here.

Also pictured is a Baby Carrier Cover by Kukuku. No longer in stores, but a lifesaver for a chilly baby while he’s in your front carrier {works great with Baby Bjorn, Ergo, and other similar baby carriers}. My baby never liked to sleep, but I’ve managed to lure him to sleep with the fuzzy fleece lining of this cover and a little back rub.

In light of the rough first months, a one-of-a-kind frame like this one found it’s way to my doorstop {You can see my post about it here}. This frame was created by Face to Face Framing using reclaimed barn wood. They have an impressive Etsy shop with really amazing woodwork and home decor. Brigitte sent me one of these frames with a photo of my little one and it has got to be one of my most prized possessions. You can’t bottle that new baby smell or hang on to that feeling when your baby cozies up to your neck for the first time, but my frame with my baby’s little toes is as close as it gets. {Also pictured is my ‘Love Print‘}

Also from Face to Face Framing is this fun burlap pillow. I’m so jealous that they create these fun pillows – I would LOVE to do this {read: I would love to procrastinate on my daily house-wifing and work-from-homing duties to get involved in yet another project}. So cute!

And lastly, who knew it would be so hard to get back on the wagon? I went without a hairbrush and mascara for probably a good month after baby. So much feeding, diaper changing and soothing, all I ever wanted to do in my spare time was SLEEP. But the pieces had to be put back together, and if I was going to wear a pony tail, I was at least going to throw on a pair of earrings! :) These cute hoops are from a local brand, Twisted Silver. I’m seeing their cool jewelry more and more and my friends and family grow their Twisted Silver collection!

The baby food was provided by three great companies that I LOVE. How did anyone raise children without this stuff? He may have his sleeping faults, but Owen is an exceptional eater. I always have a few of these food pouches in my diaper bag in case our errands run long or he’s just a hungry dude. His legs start squirming at the very sight of these, and he loves that he can suck it out of the top all by himself! Plum Organics, Revolution Foods {who has the CUTEST website} and Ella’s Kitchen all have a version of these baby food pouches and they are a lifesaver. It’s organic {don’t roll your eyes}, it’s sneaky {crammed with veggies, but you’d never know it!} and fun for the baby’s to eat {Look ma, no spoon!}.

And lastly, just a few party details

Raffle tickets made using Just Something I Made‘s Vintage Frame graphics {Fun to use for quick projects like this}, and napkin flowers from Design Editor’s Tutorial here.

Brought a rug {Pottery Barn – circa 2009} and some toys for little crawlers.

Penants made from a less-than-favorable book and some scrapbook paper {Sorry for the backlighting here, you can see great penants from the Crafting Chicks here}

Food for kids and mommies {Weight Watchers Chicken Salad recipe here – I added slivered almonds and Fuji apples}

A little something extra for the mommies {when they’re hands aren’t full}

And the guests of honor!

Owen all dressed up for the event {hang on little buttons!}

I also need to clarify. I am crafty, yes. But something about scrapbooking makes me want to melt into a puddle. I don’t have the patience or the desire to organize, cut and glue the photos. This year, Kodak SAVED ME.

Kodak very generously offered to pay for my photo book this year. After I had separated the photos on my hard drive that I wanted to use, I uploaded them to the kodak website and this is what happened:

No joke, the book was done.

Pictures were AUTOMATICALLY arranged in date order, and placed into perfect little layouts. Melt into a puddle, I did not. I spent about 15 minutes moving a few pictures via a super-easy drag and drop method, added a few captions and was done! If this is not a life saver, it’s at least a TIME-saver. I love how the book turned out, and loved how easy it was. Other programs I have used for digital scrapbooks line all of your images along the bottom, and one by one you place them into a layout. It can take HOURS. Kodak is the bomb, ’nuff said.

Loving my new photo book, it arrived just a few days later. Look at my little boo and how much we’ve done this year!

So no, it wasn’t just about a free photo book. It was about trying a great new product, that has totally won me over. I LOVE when an easy solution comes around to make my ordinarily busy life somewhat more manageable.

The secret to a great line when you’re painting is getting the right tape! Scotch’s Blue Painter’s Tape with Edge-Lock will give you great results each time if you do this secret extra step. Check out my little video on how I tape off lines (please disregard the fact that I think my hair is long enough to wear a pony-tail when it’s not). The really dimply wall texture Shannon had put this tape to the test, but we had almost no touch up to do!

Here are the before pics:

Here are the after pics:

The stripe behind the low bed draws your eye up, making the room look bigger. The natural look of the strie ties in the shells on the lamps and the other browns in the room. It helps give the room dimension.

We mirrored the stripe on the opposite wall behind the dresser.

Close-Up of the Strie:

Here’s a quick look video at the before and after.

Now for the Giveaway!

Scotch is giving away a FREE ROLL OF Blue Painter’s Tape with Edge Lock to 16 READERS! Leave a comment below for your chance to win!

Comments will close at midnight PST on Wednesday Jan. 26 2011. Good Luck!