Veronica Rose: 2 yrs too old

April 19, 2013

Veronica and I both couldn’t sleep last night. Maybe she knew it was her birthday today…

We sat up looking outside at the moon in silence for a looooong time.

She just asked, “mama hold you.” (which translates to pick me up) I most willingly complied.

I was secretly thankful for those moments to snuggle up and squeeze this little baby of mine who has suddenly become a little girl.

Veronica Rose,

These are a few things I hope to never forget about you:

You hate to wear pants (we will work on that), and prefer to run around in just a tee shirt and rainboots.

You prefer baseball caps to bows.

You like to do anything your big brother does…trains, bikes, digging in dirt, and getting messy. You are more daring than we bargained for…. you walk the line and push the envelope.

Climbing, dumping, sneaking….you giggle out loud when you are caught doing something wrong, followed by “Yes sir..” and a pretend sorry face.

You are sometimes more spice than sugar, but I know its because you got my strong willed nature. You also got my sensitivity and your daddy’s big blue eyes and eyelashes.

This may prove to be a challenging combo, but if daddy and I do our part, someday you can choose to be strong willed for all the right things. We know God made you perfectly in His image. Speaking of your daddy, he gets this sparkle in his eye when he talks about you. He won’t admit it, but you turn him to mush. He loves you to the moon and back and you are so lucky to have him and Gabriel looking out for you.

You and Gabriel are best buds. You squabble every day, but you also share many hugs and kisses. He makes sure you always get any surprises or treats he is having, as well as avoid any danger. He says with pride that “he is your big brother and he needs to protect you.” We all can’t wait to see who you grow into.

And even though come June, you will no longer be the baby of the family, you have my whole heart and soul. Always.

I have gotta wrap this up before I start making this happy day a tearful one…:)

Happy Birthday my beautiful blue eyed girl!

Mama

And here’s a video from two days ago. Seemed appropriate since I caught her without pants on film;)

*Veronica’s birth story here and First birthday here.

IHOD Brand Re-design: Process Board

April 19, 2013

Left to right clockwise: Image 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

With every brand design, there has to be the starting point of inspiration. A spark or strand of ideas that the designer or brand client connects with. I wanted to share with you all, a sneak peek at my own personal inspiration color board that started the re-branding process of IHOD:) I will always be a lover of bold color, but since my posts are already so heavily saturated with color, I decided it was time to scale back in the logo colors. I have four interchangeable colors that will be used throughout the site, but the logo is black and white!

Can’t wait to reveal the look and share more of the steps I took in the re-branding process as well as why I am switching to wordpress! Stay tuned:)

Meet the Crew…

April 17, 2013

Gabe – My husband of almost five years, and the man behind the camera. The kids and I are his biggest fans. His constant love and support are the wheels on this adventure. Rugby, the outdoors, and teaching history are his languages of expertise. I learn something new from him every day. Get to know more about this guy here.

Gabriel Joseph – 4 years old, with a long standing love for train engines and tracks. A big sensitive heart that always wants to make sure everyone is happy. He takes his role as a big brother very seriously, always making sure Veronica has everything she needs, and if she is near danger he sounds the alarm. He keeps the dinner conversation at a rolling laughter with his tall tales and expressive hand motions. I tribute my eye crinkles to him. A recent favorite post about Gabriel here.

Veronica Rose – 2 years old, and the will power of a lion. She loves to dance, sing, and get into anything she is not supposed to. She follows her brother around all day long and tries her best to keep up with him. She prefers baseball caps to bows, and we have a hard time keeping her in a dress. She is in charge of making sure mama grows in the virtue of patience, and knows how to perfectly remedy a bad situation by a certain tilt of the head and peace offering. A little more about Veronica here.

Bambino on the way – Gabe and I are anxiously awaiting our 5th anniversary on June 28th – the due date of our third little love. We do not know the gender of the baby so it will be the surprise of the year. You can view the birth announcement here.

Thank you for being a part of our family with your love and support over the past few years. Wish I could meet more of you in person, but until then, I hope you can continue to find inspiration and encouragement among the pages of IHOD!

Get in touch: email | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram

Bump Styled: Black and White

April 9, 2013

*Update: This was the one post that didn’t transfer from my old site so I am re-logging into the new blog. Hopefully you email subscribers won’t receive this, but if you do, I apologize for the double post in one weekend!

Anna // Tee: Target, Tank: Blanqi Bodystyler, Denim: Gap, Heels: Zara (similar), Sunnies: UO
Gabriel // Shirt: RL (consigned-similar here), Jeans: Gap (consigned), Sandals: Target

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Ever since Gabriel felt the baby move, he has been frequently asking me what the baby is doing, and what we should call him/her. Here are some of the names that were being discussed while Gabe was snapping these pics…

Mary Fawn

Mary Chapstick

Mary Nose

He cracked himself up. He gets his joke skills from his dad..;)

Speaking of names, do you name the baby before he or she arrives? We have a few favorites for both boy and girl that we have up our sleeves. I like to see the face of the baby though before naming them. I was pretty sure the name Veronica needed to be a dark hair and dark eyed babe, but when I saw little V for the first time, I knew that it fit her just right. Gabe and I talk about names on a regular basis. We have a whole list we love. We’ll see how many we get to use;)

We had a beautiful weekend here in Georgia. Spring is finally staying for a minute. Happy Monday!

Shop Scoop: BRIKA

April 5, 2013

I have often said, one of my favorite things about being a lifestyle blogger is being able to connect with different sites of talented artists and unique finds. Excited to share this with you…

BRIKA features the work of entrepreneurs and designers in a well picked and curated collection of products that combine modern craft with the artisans shared belief that our lives can be as beautiful as we wish to make them. These are some of my favorite items, but there is a grand selection that you can browse by category or by the maker. I hope you have fun checking it out! Those triangle necklaces…such a steal! Trying to decide which color to go for:)

By the way, very member that signs up for BRIKA receives an instant $15 credit in their email inboxes to spend! You are also automatically entered into a giveaway to win one of 2 $100 BRIKA gift cards.

Happy Friday to you all!

*This is a sponsored post which is %100 my own opinion.

Shop Scoop: Litographs

April 4, 2013

A favorite book and movie of mine is now breaking in the formerly drab neutral walls in our guest room. It will be the leading lady on this soon to be gallery wall. The entire volume II (Cosette) of Les Miserables is written into the poster. These prints above are just a few examples of the classics that are transformed into posters and tee’s through tiny words that make up the story.

Litographs.com offers color or black and white variations of your favorite tales in the coolest of art forms. Check out their magnifying glass zoom option to see how the words form the imagery. Its fascinating! Which story would you choose to wear or display on your walls?

*This is a sponsored post that is 100% my own opinion.

Bump Styled: Wear and Go Basics

April 3, 2013

Top: c/o She Inside // Denim: Gap // Necklace: DIY // Orange Tote: HM (Same here) // Long Haul Bag: c/o Fly Girl Handbags // Wrap Bracelet: Iristy // Leopard flats: F21 (similar)

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There are a few basics this pregnancy that I have been switching out back and forth. Comfortable pants are probably the most important factor for me. I use a Blanqi to keep up non-maternity pants and to smooth and shape. I also love long and loose tops. My leopard flats are almost at their end considering I have worn the life out of them! Color and prints can be thrown in with accessories. For instance…

Sometimes I stick a tote inside a larger carry all:) I can fit just about everything into this Long Haul Bag – laptop, bottles, diapers, snacks (for low cal emergencies for both the kids and I;), wallet, make-up, etc. That way, if I am heading into a store and don’t need it all, I can pull out the smaller tote to stick in necessities.

So there you have some of my wear and go tricks of the mama-hood trade;)