We'll Be...

BACK!

(get it?)

My sister is in town this week and we're off shopping having fun!

xoxo

2

Can't Live Without It: Ripped Jeans

I love me some good old ripped jeans. When those little strings across the knee get broken I actually get kinda sad! It's crazy that we pay money for pants that already come with holes in them (according to my dad) but hey - it's fashionable! Below are some pairs that I wouldn't mind having in my closet. Especially that black pair that I am just waiting to go on sale on my Nordstrom wish list! Are you all about holes in your denim too?

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

Your turn to tell Stephanie, Caitlin and I what you can't live without this week. Grab the button and link up below! 

An InLinkz Link-up

14

40 weeks

What a difference 40 weeks makes! I love you baby girl! 

40 on the inside and now 40 earthside!

You're my greatest joy

thank you for being so perfectly, wonderfully, amazingly YOU.

17

Weekending

Hope you all had a nice relaxing long weekend. Ours was pretty uneventful around these parts, which is totally okay with me. We went to the park, lunched, had friends over and documented none of it. P has really taken a liking to her reflection and its been fun to see how excited she is to see herself. She has also mastered bye bye and is waving non-stop.

I did manage to get down to the Nordstrom half yearly sale this weekend where of course what I bought was not on sale. But I am in love with these slip on converse, it's the first time in a long time I have had closed toed shoes and I am loving it!
My friend also picked me up the Rifle Paper Co. + LeSportSac makeup bag and ya know what....not that impressed! It was cute, but it was pretty small and at more than $35 it went right back to the store. This tote however may be more worth the hype.
You probably noticed that we got a little makeover here at Happily Ever Parker. I wanted simple and clean and I hope that is what you find over here!

13

Can't Live Without It: The Perfect White Tee

1 // 2 // 3

4 // 5 // 6

 7

There is something to be said about finding the perfect white tee. It makes you feel good, it hangs just right on your frame and you know it's time to do laundry when it's dirty. In fact you may have two just for occasions when it's dirty! My favorite is #2 up there (even though I think I shrunk it a little in the wash! Dang it!)

PS. My very first Can't Live Without It post I blogged about this shirt and yay for you because now it's on sale! I promise it won't disappoint!

Link up with Cait, Steph and myself and tell us what you can't live without! Grab the button and link below!

Have a wonderful long 3 day weekend!!

An InLinkz Link-up

12

Loving Lately (Pst..I bought it all!)

The problem with working in San Francisco...is the shopping in San Francisco. My lunches get to be very expensive very quickly. Bummer too because most of the time it's nothing edible. I keep telling myself NO MORE clothes for P, which is so hard because now that she is in 12 month clothes it opened up a whole new section for me...TODDLER.
My latest haul (most of it on sale too!)

Sleeveless Plaid Shirt for Baby

 Patterned Flip Flops for Baby

Flamingo-Graphic Swimsuit (I bought this in a size 2 for next year)

Balconette Bikini Top - thanks all in part to Stephanie who told me I could wrassle my DD into this (she wasn't lying - I will also blame the above purchases on her as well since it came from the same place)

Freshly Picked Moccs - Platinum. We took advantage of the one day sale yesterday and sized up! PS whenever Freshly Picked has a sale we purchase them at Nordstrom because hello...free shipping!

Garden Floral Table Runner - funny fact I don't have a table this can even fit on but it was too perfect for P's birthday so in my cart it went (and they gave me a 20% off coupon!)

I also got these to match. You know for my imaginary fruit bowl.

Floral Khaki Shorts (part of me thinks these scream mom - do they?)

And my naughtiest purchase of them all is this amazing sweater. I justified it because I sold the same amount of my old clothes on eBay. So let's just consider that a wash shall we?

Next on my list is something from this collection...I will get my paws on it!

I can hear her calling my name!

I also bought a new blog template so get ready for a facelift here at HAP!

11

Skin like the Sahara

My whole life I have had relatively pretty kind to me skin. I never battled with acne as a teen (or adult) of course I would get a pimple every once in a while but nothing abnormal.

Then I had a baby.

And it's as if my old skin decided to move out and let a new tenant in. And this new tenant...sucks.

While I was pregnant I had two reoccurring blemishes that I chalked up to pregnancy skin and didn't think twice about. I have mentioned it on here before but about six months post pregnancy the same two spots kept reoccurring. While the dermatologist was someone I only saw in my Latisse days I decided it was time to make an appointment. As ugly as that C word is, it was in the back of my mind (thanks Google).

Very fortunately both spots turned out not to be cancerous but acute eczema...akawhat?

Let me tell you there is nothing cute about that ish.

It means that I can get small dry patches on my face that can take weeks to clear up. Since I already have two small scars on my face from where they did the skin scrape. These new dry spots are making me uber self conscious. Sure, I can easily cover them with makeup but there has got to be a better solution!

So tell me what are your tried and true methods for dealing with your skin?

And please don't say sleep...otherwise there is no hope for me.

12

Dreaming in Neon

bangle set 1 //  bangle set 2 // bangle set 3
pink tank // red and blue tank // floral romper

I've always felt like Memorial Day was the kickoff holiday of the summer and it has me dreaming in tassels and neon. I can't wait to break into all of P's summer attire! And while her game is always strong in the outfits department, this mama's is lacking! These are all pieces that have been hanging out in my virtual shopping cart but I have yet to actually buy. (Then I get the annoying email that I "forgot" items in my cart). Tell me I am not alone on that one.

This all just reminds me that I need to shop for a new bathing suit...another day, another day. I can't even handle that thought right now.

8

Farmer's Market & Freezer Trays

Every other Sunday I meet up with my good friend and her baby girl and we head to the Farmer's Market. When I was pregnant I knew that there were two things I really wanted nutrition wise for P. I wanted to breastfeed for a year (woo hoo almost there!) and I wanted to purchase and puree the majority of her food from local & organic sources whenever possible. Not only does this give me peace of mind that I know exactly what is going into her food, but it also saves us a lot of money. That being said, we still have our fair share of puffs and mum mum's around here!

What better than an afternoon nap while at the market?

Nuby Teether Toy

Every Sunday evening I combine fruits and vegetables purchased at the market and blend it into combinations I hope P will like. In fact an easy way to do this is go to the store and look at all the pre made pouch combinations and then recreate at home!

Some of our favorite combinations are:

Apple, Blueberry & Spinach
Apricot, Mango & Kale
Sweet Potato, Butternut Squash & Apple (with a pinch of cinnamon)

Enter Nuby Garden Fresh Freezer Trays & Nuby Garden Fresh Storage Pots

Before these trays I was using ice cube trays with covers. True story - my husband broke one completely in half trying to remove cubes from it a couple weeks ago. So these non stick, BPA free trays were a welcome change in our home.

Here I filled it with sweet potato & butternut squash combined.

Then once I have all the 1oz. portion slots filled I simply pop the top on and store it in the freezer! Super easy and it's a nice size tray so it doesn't take up as much room in my tiny freezer.

We did find that the cubes are a smidge difficult to pop out. But with just enough pressure on the little dot on the bottom it wiggles loose. When we are ready to feed P we simply heat them on the stove until they are a pile of mush! What's great about the Garden Fresh Storage Pots is that they serve the same purpose except you can take them on the go. So sometimes I will toss 2-3 pots in our diaper bag and by the time they are ready to be eaten it has thawed out and is ready to be devoured. Super convenient for mama & baby!

Nothing beats fresh!

I was provided these products to review by Nuby but as always these opinion are 100% my own. 

Follow Nuby

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

7

Can't Live Without It: Board Books

When you have a toddler that likes to pull at just about anything you quickly find that books with real pages are out for a little while. Even though I totally bought The Day the Crayons Quit more so for my reading pleasure than hers. So here is a list of just a couple of books that we are memorizing reading. Any we are missing and should add to the list?

Good Night Beach // If I were a rabbit // Giants 101 // Snuggle Puppy // My Daddy and I 

Runaway Bunny // On the Night you Were Born // Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star // Perfect Piggies

Pout Pout Fish // Dear Zoo // Touch and Feel Puppy

Now's your turn to tell Stephanie, Caitlin and I something you can't live without! Grab the button and link below!

An InLinkz Link-up

13

Currently

watching...P go crazy on the monitor. Some nights she goes down so easy but most nights it's a battle.  If I don't get her right into bed once those eyes are being rubbed I know I am in trouble.

reading...nothing at the moment. My sisters are both hooked on the Outlander series so I think I may read the first book. Anyone read it?

crafting... a felt garland for P's teepee! I just got the shipment notification yesterday that it's on its way to me! I am so excited, how the heck am I going to not bust it out before August I don't know!

anticipating...Orange is the New Black season 3! Just watched another trailer yesterday and it looks so good! Love that show and love that my husband will actually watch it with me.

needing...a new skincare routine. I don't know if it's from being pregnant but my skin has decided to not be so kind to me. I think a trip to the spa for a facial is in my future. What do you guys swear by? I tend to have dry spots and those are what is perplexing me most.

listening to...this song. (<3 makes me cry every time!!)
excited for...my sister is coming to visit in two weeks and we are so excited to hang out! I haven't gotten to see her since my trip down to southern California while on maternity leave!

loving...my husband made my first Mother's Day so special. We had such a great day and he even bought me a gorgeous bracelet to represent P since he could never find anything he liked the day she was born. It is perfect and I am going to treasure it for years to come!

realizing...that David may have no idea how to work my camera but as long as I set all the modes he can still take a pretty great photo!

20

All dressed up and everywhere to go

I know a little while ago I talked about my problem of "fixation". Once I start running with something (i.e obsessing over it) there is no stopping me. It can actually drive me insane. Today I am talking birthday attire for P. I have found so many cute things that I think would work perfectly with the "floral" theme except the issue is I found them on Pinterest. Damn you Pinterest. Because when something is pinned if the company no longer carries it, it still lives with false purchasing hope on Pinterest.

Everything that I was like ohh, that would work was from Old Navy and it was so adorable. Adorably sold out.

So while we are not set on anything yet I thought these were all sweet choices. All from Egg by Susan Lazar. The issue with Egg...the price tag. Yikes.

I did purchase the crown (Fancy Free Finery) though so whatever she does wind up wearing must be matching!!

Update:

I purchased something last night on Etsy and it's so perfectly Rifle Paper Co. inspired I cannot wait to receive it! Head over to Shop Maisie Jane to see all of her adorable rompers, dresses & headbands!

We ordered this but requested it as a bubble romper! Can't wait to see my little lady in it!

4

Can't Live Without It: (Review} Boon Forb

I have never been a fan of doing the dishes (I mean is anyone really?) and when you add bottles to the mix and pumping bottles - double the dislike! One of my pet peeves is the bottle brush cleaners. Specifically the kind you shove into the bottle only to pull them out and have them spray you in the face. Please tell me that you guys are nodding in agreement.

So when Boon reached out to me wanting to know if I would review their newest all silicon bottle brush, the Forb, I was all over it.

First off I am all about product presentation and this does not disappoint. A flower with a vase as a stand? Adorable. Cute and functional I can stand behind that. One thing I do wish was that there was a suction cup on the bottom of the vase. I see this being knocked over often.

When P is getting her bottle during the day it doesn't always get washed out right away. Often the little bit of breast milk left in the bottle always leaves a filmy residue behind. Since I always hand wash my bottles (because who knows what nasty stuff is swirling around in the dishwasher!) this brush is awesome.

Not only does it remove the film from the bottle but it doesn't spray me when I pull the brush back out! It even fit into my Medela pumping bottles. (Which is a guaranteed spray in the face normally).

In addition the tip of the Forb also cleans out the nipple of the bottle. Which is convenient because you don't have to untwist any component to access it.

I was provided with the Boon Forb courtesy of Boon but my thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. You can purchase the forb at your local Target or online at Amazon.

Bye Felicia!

You're next! Tell Stephanie, Caitlin and I what you can't live without! Grab our button and link below!

*Also I have a question! I am toying with the idea of doing a ONE TIME "one size fits all" link up for a blog sale. Since we are all different shapes and sizes how fun would it be to hop around different blogs to see if there was anything you would like to purchase? A good excuse for me to also stop hoarding all of P's baby clothes. Let me know in the comments below if you would be interested to link up! If there is enough people I am thinking of launching it sometime in the beginning of June*

An InLinkz Link-up

13

What I Wish I Was Wearing Wednesday

wedges // polish // eyeshadow // blouse // druzy earrings // druzy bracelet 
tassel bracelet // scallop shorts

You know what the best part about new clothing is? The way it makes you feel. Kind of the same way when you leave the salon with a fresh manicure or the hair salon with a blowout. So in honor of all those good feels I would be pretty happy if I was wearing this today (with a side of great hair and freshly painted digits). Gah - a manicure sounds like heaven right now!

Let's just call this "What I Wish I Was Wearing Wednesday". It may be a weekly reoccurrence.

15

The Makers

Do you ever look at people who have started their own companies and think "how did they do it"? Like the inventor of Spanx, the girls behind Sugar Paper or heck the Nordstrom family? Lately I have been sort of stuck in a rut. We all know how much I talk about wishing to stay home with my daughter and while that still rings true, it does't mean I don't want to be "working" in some way (other than the very obvious hard work of being a SAHM). I recently purchased Joy Cho's book Oh Joy! and was feeling inspired.

Then it sort of dawned on me while I was crafting away on a Friday night that that is exactly what I like to do. Sure I was prepping stuff for P's first birthday (in August, I know I am crazy) but I really enjoy making and creating. The process, the supplies, the doing. I do it for me, while doing it for others.

I think that is why I enjoy taking photos so much because it feels like a craft. I swear each time I pick up the camera I figure something else out about it. How to tweak something just a smidgen to take a better photograph.

So while I am at my desk today daydreaming of a craft room full of fake flowers and felt I'll keep thinking about how to turn my makings into doings.

What do you love to do for yourself?

10