Ry "Bigger Girl" Room Reveal

So now that Ry is a little older I wanted to give her a "bigger girl" room. Not "big" because shes still only one but didn't want to have a nursery anymore. I still have a few tweaks such as curtains but here it is so far.

Sources:

Garland- The Flair Exchange

The Paintings I made myself

Carnival prints are from Lindsey Marlor from Pillow Thought

Everything on her dresser is from Hobby Lobby except the "rylee" letters 

Glider is from Sears

5 on Friday Link Up

Today I'm linking up with the 5 on Friday gals again to go over what I'm recently lovin'.

1. Rylee now calling me "MOMMY"! She usually just calls me "Ma" or "Mama" but last night she bust out with "Mommy" and my heart just melted.

2. Origins products. I've never used them before but read great reviews. They have some amazing offers right now that I scooped up.

3. My DIY canvas art. See this post for details. I made one and now I've made 2 more for Ry's room. Her room makeover should be complete by next week hopefully so look out for that :)

4. Amish Mafia. Random. But Richie was watching it the other night and I got really into it. Thank god for on demand so I can catch up on all the previous episodes I've missed. I promise, watch one episode and you will be hooked. It's so interesting to see how other people live. I told him "I wish I was Amish" (not really though) and he told me I would last 5 minutes because you have to do manual work. So sweet..

5. Laura Bell Bundy's new song "two step". You've most likely haven't heard it yet so go to youtube right now and listen. I guarantee you will get up and try to do the line dance.

What I'm not loving is the fact that college football has started and it's almost time for hunting season too. So basically Richie will be MIA for awhile. I think I need to get this onsie for Ry.

Onsie

 

 

 

 Have a great Labor day weekend everyone!

 

What Ry has been up to these days

So I have been recently redecorating our master bedroom and Ry's room. I kind of feel like I'm nesting before surgery because I know I wont be able to do ANYTHING for quite some time. I also know that I will be spending a lot of time in my house in the upcoming months, so why not make it a house I want to be in, right?!

Anyways, I've come to realize that I haven't posted anything Ry related in awhile. So wanna know what shes been up to? Just busy being the biggest goofball there is!

Age: 14 months. WHAT?! When did this happen?
Weight/size: I would say almost 25 pounds, size 4 diapers, and size 12 months clothes.
Likes: Being pushed around the house in her baby stroller, wagon rides, sitting on my lap (but only if its on the floor), playing "I'm gonna get you" (aka-TAG), reading books for 0.5 seconds, dancing, helping me clean, eating everything and anything she lays her eyes on, blankies, and standing on the laptop (which is just freekin awesome).
Dislikes: Being in her car seat, being told "NO" (full on pouty face melt down), cuddling (unfortunately), and sitting still.
Milestones: Can officially get on and off the couch by herself, almost running (super fast walking now), follows more commands such as "get your blankie/bottle" or "go put this in the trash"

My only concern is that she still doesn't say too many words. Mostly mama, dada, baba, yah, uh-oh, meow,  and some gibberish I cant understand. I guess every baby is different but we are certainly trying to work with her more.

She is seriously my life, my best friend, and the only thing that keeps me positive most days. I'm just trying to soak up every moment I can with her right now before my surgery. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle not being able to hold her or pick her up for quite some time. It's definitely going to be hard on both of us though. But for now, all I can do is love on her and enjoy her.

Cara Box Reveal

This was my first time participating in Cara box and I was pleasantly surprised! I met some great girls! Leslie sent me my box. She sent me some lotion, a make up bag, a notepad, thank you cards, cupcake liners, lip balm, scrapbook stickers, and the cutest jewelry tray. And she added cute little notes to each item which I thought was a great idea. Wish I would have thought of that! Thanks for everything Leslie :)

I sent my box to Glori. She has the cutest little boy and girl, go check out her blog!

If you would like to participate in the Cara box exchange, click HERE!

DIY Ombre Wall Art

I'm constantly looking for cheap wall art. Usually the best way to achieve that is to just DIY! 

DIY Ombre Wall Art

Materials needed:

Base paint (acrylic works best)

White paint

Brush

Paper plate

Canvas

Directions:

Squirt some of your base paint (I chose red) on a paper plate. Dip your brush in it and just make strokes.

Next add a squirt of white to the red on the plate and mix then add another stroke. Keep adding a squirt of white with every stroke.

Eventually it will look like this.

Seriously so easy I think my one year old could do it :)

Cheap DIY Wall Art

As I've mentioned before, we are currently living in a rental which means no painting. I have desperately been trying to find something to make our master bedroom "pop". I love color and all we had was a white comforter, some colorful pillows, and off white walls. So I came up with this....

I bought wrapping paper from world market. 3 rolls for $2.99 each. Then bought 3 album frames (12X12) from hobby lobby for $5 and had a 40% off coupon. So cheap wall art for around $20! Granted, this is not my ideal master bedroom art work, but it will do for now.

Bacon Flavored Carrots

Richie is the grill master in our house and I'm the baker. He likes to come up with his own recipes and try new things. One night he put carrots on bacon and grilled them....OMG. Best thing ever. The carrots literally taste like bacon. So I asked if I could share his recipe and he agreed. Although I probably would have shared even if he didn't agree :)

Ingredients:

Baby carrots

Hickory smoked bacon

Everglades seasoning

McCormick Montreal steak seasoning

Prep Directions:

On tin foil, place 2 slices of bacon down side by side. 

Place carrots on top of the bacon.

Place 2 more slices of bacon on top of the carrots.

Use the Everglades and Montreal seasoning on top. 

Fold over the tin foil so it is completely covered on top. You don't want to be able to see the carrots/bacon at all. This is very important!

It should look like this before you fold the tinfoil over

Grill Directions:

Set grill at 350-375 degrees.

Let sit on direct heat for 30 minutes.

Flip the whole thing over after 30 minutes.

Total cook time is around an hour, depending on how you like your carrots (hard or soft).

When they are done they will look like this

(The tin foil will look burnt, but the food isn't.)

Seriously these are really the best carrots. And you can eat the bacon too because it will be thoroughly cooked. Granted, this is not the healthiest side dish but we paired it with grilled chicken and brown rice so it wasn't too terribly bad :)

If you can't grill, you can do these in the oven I'm sure but the bacon wont be as crispy. 

Side note* Richie wanted me to let you know that these are made with love.

Target Baby Style & Shopping Tips

Most of my blogger friends have been recently doing post about Fall. Down here in SW FL, we don't really have a Fall. Its mostly Summer year round (except for a cold front around the holidays) and I LOVE IT! I love everything about Summer and the beach. My style is definitely beachy... a tank top and cut off shorts. And I've pretty much "made" Ry's style be that too :) We don't do froo-froo girly crap and she has yet to wear a bow or a headband! Crazy right?! 

Most All of her clothes are from Target. I freekin love target. It's by far my favorite store. And the best part about shopping for Ry at target is that everything is usually between $5-$10! 

Here are some of my favorite items from target and they are all under $10.

Pineapple Tank

Giraffe Tee

Jean Shorts

Seahorse Onsie

Romper

Since we are on the subject of Target, here are some tips to saving.....

 

Here is a schedule of Target's markdown days

A lot of people say to get the "Target red card" because it will save you 5%. But it's 5% off your total purchase and the interest rate is huge. I would advice against it. If you find good sales, the 5% isn't worth it. Also, if the price ends in a "9", that is full price. If it ends in a "4" then that's the lowest it will be so pick up that item quick. Hope this helps :)

A letter to my boyfriend and father of my daughter

I intentionally created this blog to have somewhere to write my thoughts. I'm what you would call an introvert and often keep things in or don't know how to say things. This past weekend my boyfriend (who is also the father of Rylee)and I got into a pretty heated argument. It was bad. Real bad. I'm not going to go into detail why we fought because its quite a long history but the gist of it is that we can't seem to meet eye to eye when it comes to who/what should come first in your life and be a priority. So this morning as I'm reminiscing about this fight. I find myself thinking, exactly why did we start fighting? It's crazy how that works. In the heat of the moment it's the biggest fight you have been in and then the next day you can't even remember what it was exactly about. But that's us. That's what we do and it works for us. We may not be perfect. Actually we are far from perfect but we somehow just work. So to show my appreciation and try to recover from this fight I have decided to right a letter to him.

 Richie, 

When I met you back in 2006 your looks certainly caught my eye, but your personality, not so much. We could not have been more opposite. You tried, I denied. Then I tried, and you denied. We did this back and forth until we both finally came to our senses and fate took over in March 2011. We had ups and downs, break ups and make ups and in October 2011, we unexpectedly found ourselves pregnant. What we didn't know then was this baby was meant to keep us together. My pregnancy was beyond awful. Everything a pregnancy shouldn't be. But you stuck by my side and for that, I praise you because I know it wasn't easy dealing with me. After Ry was born, you have done things that I could have never imagined you would do, but you did them with out one complaint. Things began to get rough and that is a time i don't want to reminisce about. I believe "it" happened so that we could appreciate each other more and realize that we can't live with out each other no matter how heated arguments get. I know these past few weeks have been hard with my surgeries and I know the next few months will be even harder but we will get through it. You have been such a huge help and have taken such good care of your girls. You have changed my bandages, changed ry's poopy diapers, cleaned the house, helped me shower, all while being the main source of income. I thank you for everything you have done and you won't ever know how much I appreciate it. I know we will get through this mess I am in and can't wait to see what our future holds. I know we will once re-enter the honey moon phase and bring romance back into our lives (hopefully this letter is a start). I love you more then you know (and so does Ry.)

Lizard kiss.

 Kay

Ry's 1st Birthday and Cake DIY

So Ry's first birthday was this past June. We had it on the beach of course and it was a total beach theme. I really wanted to put my own touches on the party with lots of DIY's so I made the cake and her smash cake myself (with the help of my sister). It actually turned out to be really cute and I got LOTS of compliments on it so I figured I would share...

I used box cake. Yep that's right. Just plain ole white cake. 2 layers. I shaved off the top to make the cake flat. I then iced the whole cake with pre made blue icing (seeing a pattern here). I crushed up teddy grahams to make it look like sand. I used fruit roll ups and peach rings (you could also use gummy life savers) for the teddy grahams to sit on. Added some umbrellas (you could also add fake trees). Now the hardest part was actually the kit kats. Even with icing, it was hard to get them to stay on and we kept running out so we had to go to the store 3 different times for more! To make the kit kats stay on I just tied a string around the cake and added a lifesaver, made it look a little nautical. I made the cake the night before, put it in the fridge and it was perfect for the day of the party.

I also wanted to make Ry a smash cake. Why buy something fancy when its going to be destroyed in 0.5 seconds? Again I just used white box cake and pre made icing. She thoroughly enjoyed it and was on a sugar high for about a week. The candle came from party city. Not "beachy", but so darn cute.

TIP*** Put the cake on wax paper then set it on highchair. Makes for a way easier clean up!

Some other things we did:
-snacks in sand buckets (goldfish and pretzels)
-we attempted these watermelon rice krispies but they didn't turn out too well...
-we had a pink, aqua, and orange color theme
-decorated the table with fake paper fish
-had beach games and brought Ry's kiddie pool
-and grilled out some burgers and hot dogs
-we also stayed overnight at a hotel on the beach. made it 10000000 times easier so we could use the fridge, and Ry could nap and change and what not

Overall I'm happy with how everything turned out. I think everyone had a great time but honestly, I was glad when it was over. Next year, a trip to Disney may be the way to go.

Our Weekend In Pictures

We had a pretty laid back boring weekend around here. I'm still hobbling around from surgery so there's not much we could do. We began to get a little stir crazy (literally crazy). 

Richie got into Ry's crib with her..

Ry took a ride in her babies stroller...

And Ry's BFF (my BFF daughter, they are 5 weeks apart) came over to play.

They are so cute together :)

 Hopefully next weekend will be a little bit more exciting! 

5 on Friday (link up) Recovery Addition

I'm Back!
So as some know, I had a heart cath Tuesday. Come to find out, I will be getting a new heart valve in about a month. Awful news :( Thinking about starting up a prayer link but don't know how if anyone can help!

Anyways. This is my first 5 on Friday link up with Carolina Charm and since I'm not really doing much this week except laying in bed, I figured I would do a recovery addition.

1. My family & boyfriend.- They have been a huge help lately. My mom has been watching Ry a lot and Richie has been taking care of me (including having to help me shower). Fun stuff.
2. GOD- all I gotta say is thank God I survived that horrible procedure. I was scared outta my damn mind. Also thank God for loopy drugs :)
3. ICE CREAM!- specifically Breyers Oreo. They had to scope my throat so its pretty much the only thing I've been eating.
4. TV- all I've been doing is watching my shows...which isn't that bad since I love my reality tv, but I'm starting to get a little stir crazy.
5. My phone- This is the first time I've been able to get up and sit down to use the computer so my phone has been my only way to communicate with the world and read blogs.

It's funny as I read everyone else's 5 on Fridays, you really do realize that sometimes you take such simple things for granted. I would love to just be able to walk and pick up my daughter right now...

Randomness

Today I wanted to share with you a mother of 2 (one boy, one girl) that I met a couple of weeks ago through Cara Box. Her name is Glori and she has an awesome blog that you should go check out! Click HERE to check out her blog :)

In other news...
Today I had my stitches removed from my skin cancer. Pathology came back good. They got it all. BUT tomorrow I have to go in for a heart cath because I've been having some issues so please pray for good news!

I'm also obsessed with this Croc backpack that my mom got Ry over the weekend. I wish they had it in "big girl" sizes. We love anything Croc!

<div class="Glori_Online-button" style="width: 200px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://www.glorionline.com" rel="nofollow"> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJP0x6pYRTrqE7Sh-4kza_2aYtkvTHPZ_BjzrHykDU3VrwxMOY7TIosvL_Km8xHLntqDoPerCbO09AX6tl5Rn3CiE0GgyY87IrQjT2O7ByDXl6qGgaJOxGoKBkMx4DdmM0q8bJElxIJHw/w250-h204-no/button-glorionline-250x205.jpg" alt="Glori Online" width="200" height="155" /> </a> </div>

- See more at: http://www.glorionline.com/#sthash.ibysxeY2.dpuf

Rylee's Room

2 months ago we moved into a rental house. This was exciting because I love to decorate and could not wait to decorate Ry's room and make it a little more of a big girl room and less of a nursery. My goal was to make it eclectic, colorful, and fun. I wanted it to match her personality. Problem with a rental is that you cant paint so I had to get creative and just add colorful accessories. I wanted to make it personal with some of my belongings from when I was little and also some DIY's. 

(Sorry for the bad pics and lighting. I was using my phone.)

 This was her changing table and now its a display for cute findings. I use the baskets for diapers, wipes, etc. The stuffed animals are just cute for display (even though they spend most of the time on the floor.)

                                    

The top of the table is designated for cute accessories. I love finding little naks for her room. The 2 mason jars hold her hair bows that she has never worn. I've had the Mary since I was little.

 This bunting was my inspiration for the room. 

Ry loves animals so I figured I would add some to her room. I simply just cut the pictures out of a book and framed them.

The cross says "for this child i have prayed" and was one of the first items I bought when I was pregnant. The picture of her is from her cake smash. The eclectic art work with the toy deer was something I just completely threw together. No thought process was involved but I actually really like it!

These letters my aunt made for Ry for her birthday.

This would not be my ideal room for Ry but you have to work with what you got in a rental. Hopefully in a few years we can buy and I will decorate the ideal room. 

What I'm Currently LOVIN'

This is pretty random but I have a few current obsessions...

The color orange. I've always been attracted to bright colors. You should see Ry's room (future post?). 

I'm currently rocking bright orange toes and these awesome bracelets. 

 This man. Luke Bryan. I've always been obsessed with him but I'm LOVIN' his new single

"That's My Kinda Night". Seriously would be such a fun line dance. Even though I cant line dance right now. Dislike. If you haven't seen him in concert, you need to.

Baby Crocs. By far the easiest shoes to put on Ry and she loves them. She brings them to me to put on her then goes to stand by the door so she can go outside and get in her wagon. She wears them everywhere. But usually just wears ONLY crocs :)

The fact that my 13 month old can officially do a full on somersault!! I have an obsession with Ry becoming a gymnast so this makes me super excited! I haven't been able to catch it on video but here's a pic of it in action.

Reality TV right now. Like seriously I have to keep track of all of my shows in my planner (kidding)

1. Big Brother (which is 3 nights a week and the only show Richie will watch with me)

2. Real Housewives of OC, NJ, & now Miami

3. Pretty Wicked Moms

4. Kardashians

5. Dance Moms (on occasion)

6. Teen Mom 3 is coming on soon too

Don't I have such great taste in shows? LOL :)

Well I'm off to eat lunch and watch the RHOM before it airs (thanks to on demand)!

Leslie Morgan from Did you hear about the Morgans nominated me for the Liebster award. I've never heard of this before but think its such a great idea to get new bloggers out there. 

The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.
So, what is a Liebster?
The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.
Blogging is about building a community and it's a great way to connect with other bloggers and help spread the word about newer bloggers/blogs.

Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person who nominated you.
2. Answer the 11 Liebster questions given to you by the nominee before you
3. Pick up to 11 bloggers with under 200 followers to nominate
4. Come up with 11 questions for your nominees to answer
5. Notify your nominees.

Here are the questions she asked me:
1. Favorite comfort food?
Anything sweet
2. Favorite movie of ALL TIME?
"Just Go With It" with Jennifer Aniston & Adam Sandler..just one of my favs
3. Favorite hobby?
Line dancing
4. If you had a full Saturday without any plans, What would you do?
Lay out in the pool or go to the beach
5. #1 item on your bucket list?
Have another baby. weird. but if you know my health history you would understand.
6. Favorite memory of high school/college?
oh boy is all I have to say :)
7. Favorite dessert?
ice cream
8. Current favorite TV show?
housewives and big brother
9. Favorite ice cream flavor?
oreo or reeses
10. Favorite Vacation Spot?
key west
11. Favorite Restaurant?
leeroy selmons


I nominate:
Glori Online
Home Sweet Ruby
Always Abby
Twinkle Toes and Princess Bows

My questions for you:
1. Where are you from?
2. What is your favorite color?
3. Which season do you prefer?
4. How would you describe your style?
5. What do you do for a living?
6. Favorite reality show?
7. Favorite product for hair?
8. What item could you not live with out?
9. Favorite actress/actor?
10. Favorite store?
11. Favorite sport?

Prayers Needed for Baby Finley!

This is Finley. She was born a week ago with little to no heartbeat and very few signs of brain activity. Her parents are Noelle & Tim, and they have hope for their little girl. Since shortly after her birth she has been in a medically induced coma. Yesterday they received some heart breaking news - Finley's EEG results came in and they showed that her brain was flat. Even though the doctors have said Finley only has a one in a million chance to live, they are fighting for her, and a bunch of bloggers are too. This story holds a special place in my heart, as I was born sick also and survived. So with lots of prayers, Finley will too. This is where ya'll come in. Please pray & spread the word. Donations for the family are being collected HERE. Every bit helps. Lets all get together and make a miracle happen. <3

Beach must haves for your little one

As some may already know, my family and I (and now my daughter) are complete beach bums. I grew up on the beach. Its my favorite place to be. But unfortunately the sun and tanning finally caught up with me and I had some skin cancer removed today.
Which made me think to do a beach favorites post!
First of all you need a cute bathing suit.. I know sunscreen should be the first thing but whatevs.
My favorite suit of all time is this cute Target bathing suit. Ry wore it on her first birthday which we had a party on the beach of course.

Second is sunscreen. My favorite brand is Coola for myself and then for Ry I just use baby Neutragena. Next is a GOOD pair of sunglasses. A pair that will actually stay on. Which is why I recommend these Baby sunglasses from target. They have a velcro strap. Winning. Obviously hats are great too, but good luck keeping it on. If we plan on staying at the beach all day, we usually bring a kiddie pool and fill it up with a hose from a local hotel. no joke. but its entertaining and keeps Ry cool. Also TONS and TONS of snacks and wipes. Last, I would definitely bring a sheet or blanket or some kind of extremely large towel. A basic towel wont cut it and an umbrella if your beach doesn't provide them for you. 

What I wouldn't bring to the beach is your diaper bag. It will be engulfed in sand in 2.5 seconds. Instead, just put everything in a beach bag. Also now that Ry is walking, we don't bring her stroller. That was a joke when we use to try to have to push her through the sand when she was little. 

Its a pain in the ass having to pack and lug everything but it sure is worth it :)