12/21/14

51.52

"A portrait of my child once a week, every week in 2014."

Logan: My little yogi. Forever dropping poses.
See other yoga posed photos from this project here and here
(I've been documenting them on my Instagram#logansyogadiaries) 
And a throw back to my very first photo from last years project.. 
I can't believe how much my sweet girl has grown. 

12/20/14

tis the season


 ...for all things ridiculously holiday.
annnd, the cutest cousins.

12/15/14

50.52

"A portrait of my child once a week, every week, in 2014."

Logan: the other night Daddy had an event in the city, you tried everything in your power to keep him home. Unfortunately, staying home wasn't an option, but Mommy is always the second best option, and that made you smile. 

48 & 49 || 52


"A portrait of my child once a week, every week, in 2014."


49. || Logan: at the ,rest-stop, loving life. and mama's latte. Burry, but beautiful.

48. || We bought a little 2.5ft  tree  at the supermarket, so we could stick to our holiday decorating tradition (the day after Thanksgiving.) We are getting a big tree next week, a real one. Our first in a while, your first ever. 

shadybrook christmas shop

A few saturdays back, Logan, Angelo, and I went to Shadybrook to take pictures in front of the Christmas tress for our holiday cards. It was so cold and windy that we spent most of our time walking around the their little Christmas shop. 

I love coming here every year.
They always have the cutest, most unique ornaments and seasonal things.

Santa wasn't there yet so Angelo decided to take his role, and play the big man himself. 
Logan wasn't afraid of this Santa. 

She picked out the cutest little mouse girl ornament, which she later decided was too heavy for a tree and cut off the string making her a cuddly friend. 

We played outside in the park area for a bit until we were just too cold and went home.

See our trips last year and the year before of this cute little shop here and here.

12/3/14

my favorite things pt.3 || gift guide under $100

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12 //13 // 14

I had way too much fun with this. My Pinterest has gotten so jumbled lately that I am loving having my wish lists clustered together in one spot for easy reference. This gift guide prompt was $100 and under. I wanted to share some cute inexpensive throw-in ideas.

1. I love the look of simple clean natural wooden toys for babies, especially when they're hip like this cute camera. Follow link for other grown-up toys for babies. Sewing machine, record player, shaving kit, laptop, keys, and wallets to name a few. Really neat stuff!
2. Perfect for any sports fan. I love Ebay for the biggest variety and quick shipping. Scott would die over this Patriots hoodie.
3. I think these coffee scoopers would be the perfect addition to a gift for coffee lovers. I picture it tied to a bag of Starbucks coffee in a beautiful holiday ribbon.
4. These are on my little Yogi girl's list. They would be a fun activity to keep any kid active and busy.
5. I love, love, love, this bag. I ordered this one a few months back for Logan and she loves it! It is such great quality and super handy for our outings and adventures. I'm swooning over this red one now. 
6. This wristlet is everything. It's sleek, simple, and more importantly practical. It comes in other great colors too. It's a want and a need all wrapped in one. 
7. I pinned these a while back. They are adorable. What kid wouldn't love one of these?! Heck, I'd love one myself!
8. Mustard on babies is these best. It's gender neutral, and so much cuter than your generic pink and blue. These made to order leggings come in sizes from 0-5T. They are $19+ shipping, which is cheaper than most handmade leggings on the web.
9. These shoes are another item I have pinned way back. Each time I went to order them they were either out of budget or sold-out. Figures.  The green, in fact, are no longer in stock right now too. I again love that they are gender neutral. 
10. Another want and need combo. Hair ties pretty enough to wear as bracelets. Logan would love these.
11. Another great gift for my little Yogi. At her age, I don't know if she necessarily needs this one per say (as it retails for $54+) but it's definitely one to keep in mind, especially if she stays interested in it.
12. This site had THE BEST temporary tattoos. They have the biggest variety of the most unique things and phrases.
13. We have this hat and it may be my favorite one Lo's ever had. This style is vintage meets clasic  Perfect for young and old.
14. When shopping for someone who you may not know their color preference or style, black -and-white is always a safe bet. As are geometric shapes. This frame is perfect. Everything in the shop is. I could make a wish list from there alone. 

Happy shopping! I hope you have found some inspiration here for your gift giving this year.
Remember less is more. 
Unless you're giving cash. 
THEN, more is more. ; )


See my other gift guides from this link-up series.
My personal wish list HERE.
Stocking Stuffers inspiration for Me, Scott, and Logan HERE.

12/1/14

thankful for...



Logan: Mommy and Daddy || Watermelon || Chocolate || Rebecca (her baby, stuffed monkey) || Toy Videos

Scott: Family || Football || My job || Having what I need || Electric Blankets

Me: Sco and Lo. Family in general. || Health || Happiness  || Yoga Pants || Day dates

There is something so comforting in traditional list making. It's so different to pen thoughts down rather than to announce them on the spot, to truly think about them. That's why this year we pulled out some pretty stationary and wrote down 5 things each of us were thankful for, big and small. We turned it into an activity where we sat and really thought about the things that make us happy. This was especially nice to do with Logan. We discussed being thankful and how things that make life easier and things that we can't live without would probably be good things to list. We talked about why these things make us happy. Because of that, I find it particularly funny that Logan listed watermelon and chocolate. It literally couldn't be any more true. I appreciate her honesty, and her ability to be able to list these things on her own. She gets that from her Daddy-- who listed football second. Hahah... I love this little family of mine. And I am thankful for them not only on Thanksgiving, but every  other day of the year too.

monthly grid || november

November was
many hours spent outside, 
short sleeves/ long sleeves, 
new looks, 
shorter days, 
so much love, 
and lots of sillies.

11/25/14

47.52

"A portrait of my child once a week, every week, in 2014."

Logan: The outfit. The Attitude. A glimpse of the teenage years.



Linking up here.
5 photos to go..
I can't believe I made it this far. 
I love having this collection of photos to look back on.
I haven't yet done anything with last years collection of my weekly photos, so I hope to get on that in the new year.

santa cards

This craft was inspired by this post. The second I saw it, I knew it would be the perfect craft for Lo this holiday season. I love homemade kid cards. Each year we send cards out to friends and family. Logan had so much fun making these. We did them in stages because she got a little bored from the tedious gluing. I wanted them to be her project, so this was the best option for us. I had everything pre-cut and ready for her in an assembly line structure of sorts. I did simple shapes for easy cutting. The hats I cut freely so there is a little variation in them. All items I found at our local craft store.
To speed things up, I glued the face onto the paper doily, saving Lo a step in assembling.
We used light pink watercolor for Santa's rosy cheeks and a black marker for a drawn on mouth. 
After they dried, I got out some white paint for snow prints. That was Lo's favorite part. I think they turned out pretty great! We can't wait for December to arrive so we can send them out.

11/24/14

my favorite things pt.2 || stocking stuffers

Logan
1. A meaningful print to hang in her room-- rolled up, would fit perfectly in Lo's stocking.
2. Logan loves using the iPad at night when we watch some TV, her current pair of headphones are MIA at the moment, so a new pair may be needed.
3. I've had this pinned forveverrr. It would look adorable peeking out of Lo's stocking. This doll in particular is not available anymore, but the other dolls in this shop are just as adorable. 
4. This girl loves chocolate. We always love to try new kinds. I never bought this brand before, but after reading about the company, I was instantly sold. Check it out!
5. To have her very own nail polish would be everything for this girl.
6. These I also had pinned for too long. I love their cute little size and Waldorf inspired look. I will definitely be ordering a few of these for Lo.
7. Stamps are always too much fun for my girl. They keep her busy for quite a while too. A win for both her and I.

Scott
1. I love the look of this packaged soap-- classic, clean, manly. And sea salt anything is the best. I know Sco would be happy with this.
2. Beard oil is all the rage right now. We're curious to try it out. A stocking must!
3. Boston is both mine and Sco's favorite city. We've liked this map poster for a while now.
4. I like unconventional things for stockings and think this bag, rolled up, just may fit in Scott's. If not, it can go under the tree. Sco needs a new bag for work and I'm loving this blue.
5. Anyone who knows Sco, knows he loves coffee-- needs it to function, in fact. This shirt was made for him.
6. A Starbucks gift card: to support his habit.
7. Winter in PA is rough on the skin. I've read great things about this chapstick. We're going to give it a try.
and just for fun--  me ;)
1. I adore these shades. I never ever buy myself expensive sunglasses, but I may just spoil myself this spring. The top two are my favorite.
2. I pinned this a while back. It's so simple, but so not. I would love it on my wall.
3. This is my favorite shampoo, ever, for both myself and Logan. I used it on Lo's hair since she was a newborn, but as her hair grew longer, I stopped buying it because it was a lot pricier than our other go-to, Panteen. Now that her hair is a lot shorter, I'd love to bring it back into our shower.
4. I recently reinstated my gym membership, and I've been going to the gym regularly for the past couple of weeks now, with anticipation of continuing to exercise weekly. I bought a pair of cheapy $5 ear buds at the store next to the gym and they have broke on me already. 5 bucks, I didn't have high hopes. But, now I'm feeling like a good pair may be a staple for gym days.
5. This past summer I read a book, that wasn't from the kids section, a first in way too long, and I loved it! Couldn't put it down. I actually had forgotten how much I enjoyed reading. This book is by the same author. I'm not sure I can wait for christmas though!
6. I need a new sports bra. This one looks perfect and has received great reviews.
7. This bag is the exact one I posted for Scott but different in color. I don't really need a backpack, but I love, love, love bags. Plus how cute would it be to match my guy. 
8. I haven't worn a watch in years... I think it may be time. See what I did there... ;)
9. I've been using an organic pumpkin face scrub for the past month and I am loving the way my skin looks and feels. I would love to try out some different scrubs. This one looks great! They are a few DIY recipes on Pinterest I may try out as well.


***Disclaimer: Though I would love to buy e v e r y t h i n g  on these boards, they mostly will serve as inspiration. See more on my Pinterest boards.

11/21/14

exploring different cultures pt.1

I'm dying over this adorable thrifted banjara costume that I picked up for Lo. 
She is equally as excited, as you can see. 

In the past few months I've thrifted a traditional Chinese samfoo, a kurta, and now this-- all in Logan's size. 
Meant to be if you ask me.

In our homeschool preschool we've been exploring different cultures: where they live, what they eat, the languages they speak, and what they wear. We credit our monthly issue of National Geographic for exposing us to the best photos of people living every day life throughout different parts of the world.  

We've been using the magazine as a guide for our lessons.

We especially love the photos of people at celebrations across the world in their fanciest of outfits, always envying the colors + textures, + accessories most. 

This outfit is our favorite though. 

We danced around all morning perfecting on our belly dancing moves.

I'll be sharing more about our culture lessons in the next week or so. 
We have been having so much fun with them.

11/19/14

exploring the zoo || in fall

What I love most about the zoo is that regardless how many times you go, it always delivers a new experience. No two trips are the same-- at least not for us. We always learn something new, and the animals are never predictable and always surprising.
The eagle was sitting on a lower post this time around and we were able to get a good look at him which we have yet to do.
This trip we were most impressed with the Reptile and Amphibian house. We don't always go in, but I'm glad we decided to
This guy was pushed up against the glass staring us down.
Sco and Lo were captivated by the gators and crocs for quite a while. She asked so many questions and observed them for the longest. It was so cute to sit and watch the two of them discussing the similarities and differences amongst them.
The giraffes are always interesting and I could seriously watch them for hours.
Her is an obligatory shot of Lo observing an African Plain animal.
It's interesting to look back at photos from our previous zoo trips and see the different captures from them. The different perspectives and the difference in seasons; all beautiful.
You can see of our last two visits here and here.
It was a gorgeous day. Even the hippos were enjoying the weather. 
We snacked on french fries with Ketchup and drank lots of water.
Logan really really loved having Daddy to ourselves all day long. 
Always silly, this one.
And hip. Loving life with her sweet, yummy pop (that began to melt down her arm.)
These two were bummed that the polar bear was not around, but still, we sat here a bit and enjoyed the pretty blue water.
The tigers were out and about the entire day exploring the big cat crossing which is an overhead animal travel and exploration system. It give the animals more room to roam. It's such a cool thing for visitors and more importantly, the animals. You can read more about it on the zoo's webpage.
The zebras always look the same and don't ever really do anything exciting, but they sure are beautiful to look at. I'm always amazed by the perfectly colored stripes and the total perfection of their manes. 
Of course we couldn't leave without grabbing a few pieces of nature to take home. There were so many types of leaves all around. Logan mostly loved the ones that looked like hearts. We love taking advantage of our zoo membership. It such a simple outing with lots of opportunities. We hope to get back before the big chill settles in and winter takes over.