Archive | sweet child of mine RSS feed for this section

{last minute gift guide} for the little ones in your life…

12 Dec

Collages

Only twelve days left until Christmas eve.  I am finally done with all my shopping, and am ready to start wrapping gifts.  Now that I’m done with my list, I wanted to share a few gift guides with you to help you finish your shopping too.  Here’s a short list of items you may want to buy for the little ones in your life who bring you so much joy.

Many of these items were hand-picked (i.e. pointed out and/or admired) by my own sweet peas during one or more of our [all too frequent] trips to Target.  I think it’s adorable that whenever my girls spot Hello Kitty [or 'Kitty Kat' as they call her] or something sparkly, it always catches their attention!

You can find all of these items at Target and/or Amazon, as noted below:

V-Tech Kiss & Care Cows $10; Mr and Mrs Potato Head $14; Fisher Price Camera $32; Baby Thumper $10; Corduroy Toms Shoes for Boys $34; Hello Kitty Paint with Water $6; Cherokee Sequined Skirt (Target) $15; Pink Hello Kitty Mary Janes (Target) $20; Pink Radio Flyer $60; Hello Kitty Karaoke CD Player $39 (Target)

{Happy Shopping!}

xo

~the sweetest mami~

{peachy meets beachy} our family photo shoot

23 Oct

A sunset family photo session at the beach?  Why, yes please.  Now… what would we wear?  Well, it shouldn’t be so formal that we can’t run around in the sand and get a little dirty.  It should be fun and reflect our personality as individuals and as one sweet family.

After trying on several different looks, I was ultra pleased that one of my favorite bright dresses finally fit again!  Victor suggested wearing his seersucker pants since they are so beachy and comfortable.  Once we figured out our outfits, I was on the hunt for the kids’ outfits.

I carried the coral and turquoise theme through, and was so happy to find Lucas such a cute onesie that matched both Victor’s and my outfits!  The girls were very happy to add one more tutu to their collection, and I’m happy I found the perfect girly and sparkly tees to match.  I found everything I needed at Target!

I also made small organza flowers for sequined headbands I also made, to add the final touch to their look.  I used sequined elastic ribbon in silver and gold for the actual headbands, and wide organza ribbon in matching silver and gold to make small flowers, following this easy tutorial via ‘go make me’ — bejewelled flowered headband/diy project’ blog post.

Inspiration:

 

Sneak Peek:

We had a wonderful time at the beach, and are very happy with the Sneak Peek of our photo session.  Alison is such a talented photographer and so great with the girls and the baby.  She has so much patience and such an eye for beauty.  Please visit her blog for the full sneak peek, and if you’re in the South Florida area, I highly recommend her for your own family photo session or special event.  You can see visit her full professional website here.

{enjoy the sweetest moments}

xo

~the sweetest mami~

{Celebrity Nursery Design}

20 Sep

I created this chic nursery design, based on powder pink and rock star platinum, as a small tribute to the announcement of Shakira’s pregnancy today.  I was *tickled pink* with the news and genuinely inspired to create an ultra feminine look for what I’m sure will be one very spoiled, and deeply loved, baby.

 

I’m secretly wishing for a baby girl, too. Can you tell?  Congratulations to Shakira and wishing her a very happy and healthy pregnancy as she prepares for the next big chapter of her life.  {Shakira, if you’re reading this and you are interested in my services, now you know where to find me.}  ;-D

Shopping Guide:  Furniture and Chandelier from Restoration HardwareLamps, Rug and Vanity Set from Z GalleriePillow Shams from Petit TresorArt Prints from Etsy – Breeding Fancy, Niko and Lily, My Sweet Swirls – and Society6Diamond Bear Pendant from Tous

{Sweet dreams}

xo

~the sweetest mami~

Making room for baby…

27 Mar

Sunshine Inspired Nursery
{by Haute Decor Designs}

I’ve been spending the last few weeks nesting and getting our home ready for our little one, who will arrive any day now.  We are super excited, despite not knowing the gender!  I wanted to create a soothing space for the baby, with subtle pops of bright color, so we settled on a soft gray wall color with pops of yellow for the room.  I stumbled upon these cute art prints on Etsy some time ago, which led me to think of Sunshine as inspiration for the room.

We’ve been spending a lot of time putting together furniture and getting shelves up in the room, and it’s almost ready for the baby.  I’m looking forward to sharing photos of the finished room soon, but for now I hope you enjoy this inspiration board which is somewhat of a sneak peek.

{Happy Decorating!}

xo

~

the sweetest mami~

natural vs. organic…what’s best for our little ones?

25 Jan

Lately, I’ve become consumed with all the debate and news surrounding the quality of products we use at home, on ourselves and our children, even around the house.  I’ve become intrigued with all the scandalous articles and accusations, including claims that even our good old Johnson & Johnson products are tainted with toxic ingredients!

As a parent, my number one priority is my children — their safety, to be even more specific.  I take extreme measures to make sure their surroundings are safe, by adapting our environment to their needs.  I’m careful to make sure their play area is safe, their food is organic and hormone-free, their bedroom is free of dangerous objects, our home is the right temperature, and that all chemicals and cleaning products are out of their reach.  But now, one more thing I have to watch out for??  The ingredients in their lotions may be dangerous?  The tear-free shampoo may cause cancer?  Well, I take it all with a grain of salt.  I have done my share of reading, and do agree that many ingredients in the products we use should be banned, or at minimum controlled.  It’s unnerving to know that the FDA bears no role in reviewing and, much less – approving, the products we used on our most precious little ones.

Then to add one more level of complexity to the issue, I learned one more fact recently.  Did you know that products that are labelled ‘natural’ are not the same as ‘organic’ ones?  I can’t get into the details of the differences now, but suffice it to say that to be called natural, the requirements are far less stringent than those for organic products.  Natural products include those that may have one or two natural items in them (i.e. natural oils, essence, etc), whereby organic products usually ONLY have natural products*.  So, a ‘natural’ item may still have some of those nasty ingredients we’re trying to stay away from.

I don’t want to write much more, as I’m still learning a lot on the topic, and can’t say I know a lot of the details yet.  I just wanted to post this to see if I generated some discussions from other parents, and learned more about what’s best for our little ones.  We already use mostly ‘green’ household products at home, and have decided to slowly make the transition over to the personal products we use for us and our children.  We have a lot of ‘research’ to do, and hopefully will learn a lot too.

These are some products we recently purchased, on a ‘trial’ basis, that are up for consideration.  Would love to hear about what you use, and especially about how you manage your budget with these pricier options.

xo

{Sweetest Mami}

launched by Jessica Alba - the Honest Company

 

Baby Wash by Little Twig

 

Baby Bee products by Burt's Bees

 

*Please, correct me if I’m wrong someone.  It’s hard to keep all the facts straight.

Mommy & Me: Lazy Summer’s Day

28 Jun

Favorite Things

8 Dec

These are a few of my favorite things…for Eva and Zoe…all items courtesy of the Gap.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

%d bloggers like this: