2014 Recap

How are we already done with 2014?! It has been a year that I'll never forget that gave us so many new memories and firsts for us as a little family.

Starting in the top left corner, follow along as I recap the highlights from each month. Warning: baby overload! (Sorry that I'm not sorry!)

January - On the 9th we welcomed our first baby into the world, Charlotte Noel. She was born at 11:52am via C-section and weighed a whopping 9lbs 12oz and 21.5 inches long. Best. Day. Ever!

February - While I was still on maternity leave, Charlotte took here first trip to Disney World at just 6 weeks old! Yes, I'm aware we are completely crazy.

March - Charlotte loved her first St. Patrick's Day with her mom and dad. We managed to still celebrate the holiday by having green beer and watching TV in the comfort of our own home.

April - Easter was spent with family in Richmond but not complete without a trip to visit the Easter Bunny!

May - Daycare was an easy and natural adjustment thanks to an awesome in-home provider. Charlotte enjoyed spending the warm days outside on the giant water slide at daycare and of course my heart melted when I got this little picture.

June - We have a local farm (Burnside Farms) that plants flowers to pick during the spring and summer months. It is such a cute place to stop and take pictures too. Charlotte of course picked her flowers in her Lilly!

July - We spent the 4th of July down at the river with my parents and my in-laws. It was such a fun weekend complete with boat rides, a cornhole tournament and of course fireworks.

August - The whole family showed their Notre Dame spirit during one of the big rivalry games.

September - We went back to Disney World where Charlotte was completely enamored by the characters (unfortunately that was short lived). It was also an exciting month where my husband got a callback to the American Idol Auditions. He didn't make it any further in the process, but it was such a cool experience that not everyone gets to say they did.

October - Charlotte's first Halloween was a success. At the last minute I decided to craft a DIY Olaf costume for her and then stumbled upon this perfect Ana costume for me.

November - We went back to Burnside Farms to take some pumpkin patch pictures. Charlotte was scared of the pumpkins at first but eventually warmed up to them.

December - Our 4th and final trip to Disney for the year (we had annual passes, don't judge) was so much fun! We got see the Christmas lights and watch the lights dance at Hollywood Studios.

In just a few days, we will be celebrating Charlotte's first birthday and I can't believe all the memories we've already made in just one year. I'm sure this next year will be even better!

We have no plans for New Years Eve, but I'm actually looking forward to a nice quiet evening in. Sometimes it's more fun to drink a bottle of champagne on the couch while watching the ball drop with the ones you love. Here's to 2015!!! Happy New Year!

Charlotte's First Christmas

I know it's been a while since I last posted, but like everyone else, I've been busy with the season! Since this is Charlotte's first Christmas, I find myself experiencing a lot of firsts as well! Standing in the toy aisle agonizing over the perfect gift for Charlotte, making sure she has Christmas jammies, a Christmas outfit (a dressy church one AND something she can spend the rest of the day in), and of course hunting down the ever so popular (and sold out nearly everywhere) "Twas The Night Before Christmas" book to read tonight. Let's also not forget the cookies and milk for Santa!

I know I sound like a crazy person, but I don't get a do-over on Charlotte's first Christmas so I want to make sure we do it right. Sure, she won't remember this but I'm a believer in starting traditions day one. I want to be able to look back one day and show her pictures of all her Christmases and to see that even her first Christmas was magical.

So from my family to yours, we wish you a Very Merry and Blessed Christmas! 

Mickey's Not So Merry Christmas Party

Yep, you read that right, Mickey's Not So Merry Christmas Party. A few years ago I posted about Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in Walt Disney World and how great it was. Unfortunately, just two years later, it seems as if everything has changed....for the worse. It pains me to have to write this about my beloved Disney, but I only hope to help those of you who are planning a trip and can't decide if this is worth the extra money or not.

As I've written before, this is a special hard ticket event that requires extra theme park admission. Over the years I've gone to so many of these parties and I love them so much that I welcome the extra cost. One of the biggest advantages of these events like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party in the fall and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in the winter is that they advertise the crowds to be much lighter. This could not have been more wrong in our instance last week. I had never seen the parks so crowded which made for a not so magical experience.

Normally when the party starts at 7pm, it is more crowded than usual because they are trying to get the day guests out of the parks while the party goers are all arriving. Normally this influx of crowd lasts about an hour and then things start to calm down. This year, that never happened. Unfortunately, when it is that crowded it makes all the other special activities incredibly hard to experience. For instance, they serve cookies and hot chocolate at various places throughout the park for free. But because of the crowds, we found ourselves waiting in line for 20 minutes just to get these treats.

When it came time for the castle lighting, parade and fireworks it was hard to find a spot, but if you did, those three events were well worth the wait. After all, Disney certainly knows how to set off some fireworks and put together an unforgettable parade.

We spent the rest of the night fighting crowds (and the cold) until we couldn't deal with it anymore. The wait times for rides never seemed to go down which made us just want to come back another day when it would be less crowded to ride those rides.

The only picture I got of the parade. Look at all those people! 

Does this party offer unique experiences you can't get on any other night in the parks? Sure, but it comes at much too high of a price. Go to Magic Kingdom any other night and you will see the holiday decorations and be able to ride rides without too long of a wait. Things you get at the party you can't get any other time: Snow on Main Street, unlimited hot chocolate and cookies and a special fireworks display and parade. My recommendation is this, save your money and hop on over to Hollywood Studios to enjoy the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. At least there you get a light show of choreographed Christmas lights without having to buy a special ticket. Not to mention it snows there too! And unless you plan on eating $70 worth of cookies, stay back and enjoy the lighter crowds while everyone is at Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Very (Not So) Merry Christmas Party.

Pure joy as we strolled down the streets of the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights!

Charlotte's 11 Month Update

I know I'm almost a week late on this update but since we were in Disney World during her actual eleven month milestone, I decided to wait until we got back so as to keep all the updates uniform (ridiculous, I know).

Eating: Over the last few weeks, we've been giving Charlotte less formula. We didn't purposefully cut her back, it just sorta happened due to her eating at least three meals of solid food a day. We give her water all day so I think that keeps her from wanting the formula. I can't believe next month we will be able to ditch the formula all together!

We also started giving her a tiny bit of juice now and again. We love how much she loves water, so We've been hesitant on giving her juice, but after she stole her cousins sippy cup a few times, we decided the deed was done and it wouldn't kill her to have juice every now and again. So far she hasn't shown preference over one or the other, so that's good!

Sleeping: Absolutely nothing has changed on this home front (thank goodness). She is such a great sleeper at night, going to bed at 7pm and waking up between 6-7:30am. We still struggle with getting her down on the weekends for a nap, but that doesn't bother me since she sleeps so well at night.

This month her little personality has really begun to show. She is still such a good baby but lately a little temper has emerged. She finally learned the tone in my voice when I scold her as well as the word "no" and absolutely hates it! I told her "no" when she tried to grab my sunglasses and she screamed as if I had just snatched a bottle from her mouth. Then she starts to flail her arms and repeatedly screams "ne ne ne ne". I have no idea where she could have got this little temper from! ;) Again, if that's the worst of our problems right now, then we can't complain.

She did so good while we were in Disney last week. She loves being in her stroller and will even take naps in it. She handled the car trip to and from Florida like a champ and we are so grateful for such a fun and easy going baby.

Even if she doesn't always cooperate for my photos, she still manages to crack me up Like this most perfect diva photo! It's as if she's saying, "No more pictures please, Mommy!"

I can't believe that in less than a month Charlotte will be turning one! I seriously wish I knew where the time went. I'm so happy I did these monthly updates even if they were a pain in the butt to get her to sit still and keep her bow on. Being able to look back and see how much she's changed month after month is pretty awesome.

Check out her other month updates here:

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months
10 Months

H54F

I'm not going to lie, my posts are going to continue to be sparse until after the New Year. We have soooo much going on right now that certain things have had to take a back seat, this little blog being one of them. I promise I'm not going completely rogue, just only posting when I have time or something blog worthy to write about. 

In other news, WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD TONIGHT! I'm so excited for a full week away from the real world to visit my happy place! Not to mention, there will be Christmas decorations and lights everywhere! It seems like it's been forever (Ok, forever to me is three years) since we've been able to visit during the season!

Enough of that....let's get to the best part of my Friday! High five time!

1. Charlotte went to visit Santa for the first time with her cousin and I think it's safe to say neither of them cared for the jolly old man in the red suit. This picture needs no words....
2. Just in time for our trip to Disney, these little magnets came in the mail. I love that they even sent two so we don't have to fight over who's car it goes on. Yes, I'm going to be that girl with a DVC magnet on my care...feel free to judge.
3. Charlotte's favorite thing is the phone. Not the phone locked, it has to have pictures on it. She likes to swipe and scroll through pictures of herself and on occasion she takes a selfie. I have a feeling we are going to be in big trouble in 15 years or so.
4. This week has been crazy for a number of reasons so when my friends surprise me with gifts that I haven't had time to make for myself, I get so touched. This picture is an iPad case that attaches to the headrest for Charlotte. Since we are driving, I had mentioned needing a way to attach the iPad to the backseat so we can keep Charlotte entertained. Then my brilliant friend came up with this design and surprised me with it one day at work. It's absolutely perfect and I can't wait to use it!
5. As I was packing a few nights ago, I told my husband that I was so mad at myself for not having the time to make cute family shirts for our trip. He of course told me it wasn't a big deal, but to me it really was. So you can only imagine when another great friend of mine took it upon herself to make shirts for our family for our trip! The crazy thing about this is she doesn't even have an embroidery machine. She did all this by hand! 

I think it's safe to say that I have some of the best friends and family a girl could ask for. When life gets crazy, it's so good to know that there are people who want to help (without even being asked!). I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I'll be thinking of you in sunny, warm Florida!

Linking up with Lauren Elizabeth for H54F!

Baby's First Christmas Ornament

If you've had a baby and are like me, then most likely you have a few mementos from the hospital just lying around. You tell yourself you will scrapbook them one day, but let's be real, how are you going to put those precious little hospital hats in a photo album? More importantly, who has time to do all of that?

After some extreme Pinterest-ing, I found the perfect way to showcase Charlotte's hospital bands and hat.....make an ornament with it! Imagine of all the other fun ornaments you could make with other precious items/memories you have lying around the house begging for a home.

 What you'll need:

Clear plastic ornament (got mine from Michael's for $1.75)

Ribbon

Hospital hat

Hospital bracelets for both baby and parents

Any other special keepsakes from the hospital

Simply take the top off the ornament and begin filling it with all your precious mementos from that special day. Arrange them how you want (this could take a while if you're anything like me), and pop the top back on. Now, tie a ribbon around the top or even write on the outside, and voila, you have the perfect Christmas ornament to remember that very special day by.

High Five for Friday

It's Friday and not just any other Friday, but the Friday before a holiday! Time to bust out the stretchy pants! Who's ready for Thanksgiving?

1. These little easy bake cookies are my guilty pleasure. I try to only buy them a few times a year or else I would eat them all day every day. I made the mistake of letting Charlotte try one and now she begs for them.
2. Our first Christmas decoration we put out was this adorable little Elf on The Shelf ornament I found at the mall. It was fate that they had her name, so of course it was purchased! And then I realized that this was her first ornament
3. We went to a friend's house for dinner on Saturday and Charlotte might have partied too hard. As soon as we got in the car she passed out, hat and all.
4. My friend took me to this adorable little bakery over lunch this week and I couldn't help but purchase a few festive cookies (I'm starting to realize that this week involved way too many cookies....oops).
5. And of course, no weekend is complete without a few chores. On the plus side, this little Ninja Turtle makes doing laundry so much more fun. 

Time to deck the halls! I hope everyone enjoys their weekend and the short week that follows! As always, I'm linking up with Lauren Elizabeth for H54F.

My New Favorite Thing - Ebates!

I know I'm a little late to the party, but I just discovered this new amazing thing called Ebates! A friend had me sign up last year, but I never did anything with it and man, am I regretting that! Thank goodness I rediscovered this little gem just in time for my holiday shopping.

How Does it Work?
You simply login to your Ebates account and search for the store you want to make a purchase from. For example, I knew that Walmart had the toy I wanted to buy Charlotte for Christmas, so I searched Walmart from the Ebates homepage and then clicked "shop now". You will get redirected the Walmart homepage and anything you buy from that redirect, will count towards your Ebates account.





Earning Money
There are two ways to earn money via Ebates. The first is by shopping through the links and getting cash back from every purchase you make. For instance, right now, Kohls is offering 6% cash back on everything you buy. So if I spend $100 at Target, I will get $6 added to my Ebates account. It doesn't seem like much, but when you add up all the shopping you do in a year, it's quite a bunch! Plus, sometimes stores will offer up to 10% cash back. Just about every store I could think of was on here, so it really does add up quick!

The other way to earn is through referrals. Right now they are offering a great referral program that gives you $75 once 3 friends sign up and makes a purchase. To qualify for the referral bonus, they have to make a minimum $25 purchase before the end of the year.

Getting Paid
Every quarter you get paid. So if you sign up today, you will get a big fat check on February 15th. You can have it deposited into your PayPal account or have an actual check mailed to you. It's totally up to you!

I've become quite the little Ebates expert in the few short weeks I've been a member, so if you have any questions, just comment or email me and I'd be happy to help. And no, I am not being compensated in any way by Ebates for this post. I'm just a girl passing along a good deal to my fellow shoppers! Happy shopping!

High Five for Friday!

1. A sweet and dear friend of mine sent me this picture from her baby's first birthday party. They had a professional photographer who managed to get some great shots of Charlotte. She knew I was having a rough week and wanted to see if passing along these pictures would help...yes!
2. My hunt for Charlotte's first Christmas dress is officially over. I found this adorable boutique style dress at Kohls! It was marked down from $40 to $24, then 30% off plus $5 off which brought it down to $11! You can't beat that deal! 
3. This smile is my favorite. I love how she scrunches up her whole face when she smiles. It can instantly turn a bad day good; for those few moments, nothing else in the world matters. 
4. My brother-in-law's sister got married over the weekend so my sister ad her family came home from Texas to attend the wedding. I can't remember the last time the four of us took a picture together (matching was pure coincidental)! The original four!
5. Charlotte has been a little under the weather this week so she's been fussier than usual. I stayed home from work on Tuesday since she had a fever and boy, was that hard work! Silly me thought I would be super productive, so when she finally fell asleep the dishes got done and all bottles got cleaned, I rewarded myself with a celebratory glass of wine. 

Linking up with Lauren Elizabeth for H54F!

Charlotte's 10 Month Update

Double digits?! Seriously, where is the time going? I can't believe in just two short months, we will be celebrating Charlotte's first birthday! I guess that means I really need to start planning her party.

Eating: We officially ditched the baby food. With seven teeth, there really is no need for the pureed stuff; time for the real deal! Lucky for us, she loves everything we put in front of her. Sometimes the texture of a food may throw her off, but after a second or so of being unsure, she continues to shovel it in. There are some foods that she seems to prefer over others, such as pizza, bread and grapes, but the good news is she still manages to eat her vegetables, which makes me very  happy!

Sleeping: Charlotte's sleeping habits haven't really changed. She still goes down around 7 and is up between 6:30 and 7 the next morning (we were blessed with such a great sleeper). She moves around quite a bit in her sleep but never wakes up. However, nap time is a different story. We struggle on the weekends with a routine so she ends up taking a few short naps throughout the day instead of one long nap. We are fine with not sticking to a tight nap schedule as long as it doesn't affect her behavior. So far it hasn't, so we let her dictate her sleep schedule.

She becomes more active every day. Last month she was pulling herself up and standing while holding on to furniture and this month she is walking from one piece to the next holding on. She can even stand for a few seconds without holding onto anything! I'm curious to see how much longer we have before she starts to walk. With that being said, we've begun the baby proofing. Gates went up, cabinets got locked and electrical sockets got plugged since she is into everything!

We are working on the word "no"to teach her boundaries. So far she just laughs when I say no.....boy, are we in trouble!

This little baby girl has such a personality already. She is silly, playful, energetic and smart, and I can't wait to see how she continues to grow (I have a feeling she will be keeping us busy)!

Check out her other month updates here:

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

High Five for Friday!

1. Charlotte's first Halloween was a success! Since she was Olaf (costume tutorial here), I couldn't resist being Anna. Even though we only went to a few houses, we still had a great time!
2. My mom made me a fall table runner and I LOVE it! This picture doesn't do it justice, but it's absolutely perfect! Now I need her to make me a Christmas one just like it!
3. Charlotte barely squeezed into her first Halloween shirt that I bought for her last year. Good thing we only had to wear it for one day. Silly me bought a nine month shirt for my nine month baby. 
4. So. Much. Candy! My work collected leftover Halloween candy for the troops overseas. This was part of the 26lb stash we donated. I just wanted to swim in it! 
5. Charlotte is spending more time on her feet than sitting or crawling and she gets stronger every day! Sometimes I catch her for about 5 seconds standing without holding onto anything. We are going to be in trouble when she starts to walk.

Linking up with Lauren Elizabeth for H54F!

Treat Yourself to Some Downtime

“This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Weave Made Media® and PEOPLE® , and PEOPLE StyleWatch®, but all my opinions are my own. #weavemade #MeTimeMags http://my-disclosur.es/RgFrEH”

Mom, wife, full time employee, seamstress, maid and the list could go on and on. Having multiple jobs and responsibilities is just a fact of life, but forgetting to take time for yourself doesn't have to be. In an age where our personal lives are no longer private, thanks to social media, we often get caught up in fabricating our lives to be more busy, more fabulous and more fulfilling than the next guy. How are you supposed to enjoy life if you never take a miniature to just stop and smell the roses?

Tonight I'm doing just that and I couldn't be happier. I find it so important in my busy schedule to take an hour a couple of times a week to do what makes me happy. Growing up, my mom used the phrase "me time" when she just wanted to slip away and not be disturbed for a little bit. Sometimes she would even tell me to take "me time" in hopes I would return with a better attitude. Needless to say, this idea of setting aside time for myself has always been a part of my life. 

Now that I'm a mom, I treasure my evenings as time to get caught up on everyday chores. However, sometimes I skip the chores, grab a drink, my People magazine and allow myself to get sucked into all the celebrity gossip. It's amazing how refreshing just 30 minutes of uninterrupted quiet time with your favorite magazine can make you feel. Before you know it you'll be ready to tackle those after dinner dishes and maybe even some laundry before it all starts over again tomorrow!

And when I want to get caught up on all the latest fashion trends, I will crawl into bed with my favorite nail polish and read my People StyleWatch magazine while my nails dry. I can quickly go from being in a fashion rut to suddenly having new inspiration with my existing wardrobe. 

You don't have to break the bank to enjoy your "me time". I think a lot of people define "me time" as getting out of the house and going on a shopping spree or pampering yourself at your local spa. But let's face it, we are all on budgets. So splurging on a a couple of magazines for hours of entertainment is totally feasible. And you don't even have to call it a splurge when you use this coupon at Safeway to get $1 off on one (1) participating magazine title PEOPLE, PEOPLE StyleWatch, Sunset, and InStyle available through the Just4U online portal 10/23/14 - 11/20/14 (while supplies last)

What better way to shake those Monday blues and stay warm inside on these cold fall nights than to cuddle up with a People or People StyleWatch magazine and leave the outside world behind for a little bit?

Charlotte's First Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

To say I've been looking forward to visiting a pumpkin patch with would be the understatement of the year. I have been dying to have this moment with Charlotte. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and her first birthday all in the next 3 months is almost too much for my little heart to handle! Our first stop on this three part journey was the pumpkin patch at Burnside Farms.

Look how cute and pretty everything is? I love the mini market and all the scenes with the pumpkins. We chose to Burnside Farms over the other big fall festivals and pumpkin patches in the area mainly because they didn't charge admission. Since this was Charlotte's first visit, we knew we didn't need to spend money on activities and games she couldn't partake in. Plus, how can you resist this cute and quaint little farm?!

Charlotte was not at all a fan of posing next to this pumpkin. I don't know if it was the coarse grass or the foreign object next to her, but about 3 seconds after putting her down she completely lost it and demanded to be picked up.

We tried again by the smaller pumpkins to see if that was less intimidating, but no such luck. The only way she would cooperate would be if I was holding her. I did give her a mini pumpkin to play with so she would be less afraid of the larger ones.

Charlotte still wasn't overly thrilled, but had warmed up to the pumpkins once she had one of her own to play with. The two mini pumpkins we ended up with cost us a whopping $1.87 (man, I wish more things in life were that cheap). Even though they had some good looking full sized pumpkins, we decided we would save the real pumpkin and carving for next year when Charlotte can help a little more.Without the added pressure of having to pick the perfect pumpkin, we directed our attention to Charlotte and capturing memories of her visit to the pumpkin patch. Here are some of my favorite shots from the day:

Even though the pumpkin experience was a little stressful for Charlotte, at the end of the day, all that mattered was that she had her Daddy to protect her from the scary pumpkins and hoist her up on his shoulders to carry her home.

DIY Olaf Costume

If you're anything like me, you have probably waited until the last minute to figure out Halloween costumes for your children. You would have thought since this is Charlotte's first Halloween, I would have had her costume figured out months ago...that couldn't be more wrong! Last week a quick panic came over me when I realized I hadn't even thought about a Halloween costume and it was in just two weeks!

After a good Pinterest session, I decided on Olaf. Since Frozen is so hot right now (see what I did there?!), I decided to ride that train while I can, because I'm sure by this time next year, no one will even know that lovable snowman's name.

In an effort to not break the bank on a costume she will only wear for an hour or so, I decided I would try my hand at making it. After all, she isn't going to remember this Halloween and dressing her up is for pure selfish reasons on my part so the simpler the better. My only stipulation was to make sure it was cute enough for pictures! 

What you'll need:

Tulle

White ribbon

White short sleeve onsie

Embroidery machine (optional)

Black fabric (additional fabric if you are making Olaf's face by hand)

Glue

Scissors

Black tights

Black long sleeve shirt

Making the skirt was my first step. I didn't bother doing a full tutorial on this, since there are already 1,000 of them out there. Here is the one I used for the tutu. This was super easy and doesn't require a sewing machine or any sewing skill so don't be afraid!

The next step was to make the onsie. I chose to do a short sleeve one because I wanted a black one sleeve shirt underneath so she had twig arms just like Olaf! I found an embroidery file that was an applique of Olaf's face, so I simply made the shirt that way. If you don't have an embroidery machine, his face is simple enough to make on your own. I would either hand draw his face directly on the onsie or cut out pieces of fabric and glue them on. 

Now for the final touches! Simply add black tights, black fabric circles to the tutu and your black long sleeve shirt, and that's all there is to it! I'm so proud that the only money I spent on this costume was to purchase the embroidery file for the shirt. Everything else I managed to have from leftover projects or were part of Charlotte's existing wardrobe. 

The only thing left is a head piece of some sort. I know Olaf doesn't wear a hat, but I was thinking about maybe a basic white bow with some pipe cleaners coming out the top like his hair. Let me know if you have a better idea. I would love to hear about it!

High Five for Friday!

1. Monograms, monograms and more monograms. Who wants one of these awesome monogrammed vests?! Check my Instagram tonight for a flash sale of my entire inventory of vests! I will monogram and ship for $45!
2. Who doesn't love a fire-pit on a nice cool fall night?! We spent some quality time with our family over the weekend and it's moments like this, under the stars with a warm fire and a drink in my hand that makes all my problems insignificant.
3. Charlotte is already looking up to her older cousin. He is so sweet to her by making sure she has all her toys and books. 
4. We had so much fun celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday at Tides Inn. Charlotte got a special souvenir (the stuffed crab hanging from her mouth), and it hasn't left her sight since.
5. We had donuts in the office yesterday, so of course I had to wear my matching donut sweater!

Linking up with Lauren Elizabeth for H54F!

Monogrammed Quilted Vest - WIWW

Who's ready to bust out that fall wardrobe? I know I am! You hear me say it every year, but this is truly my favorite time of the year for so many reasons. The weather, the holidays, the clothes, these are just a few reasons why this time of year makes me giddy. Speaking of clothes, how cute are these Old navy vests?! As soon as I saw these with their adorable gold zippers, I just knew I had to have one (or 2). And once I got these bad boys home, I slapped on a gold monogram and voila, my most favorite wardrobe piece was born!

I don't normally buy things in this color, but I decided that I needed to try something other than my standard red, pink and blue. I'm kinda diggin' the green and find it super easy to incorporate into my current wardrobe. For this outfit I kept it simple and paired it with boots, jeans and a white tee. So there you have it, my new essential wardrobe piece; the quilted vest.

I will be posting these vests for sale on my Instagram account this weekend only. Sizes, colors and quantities are limited, so be sure your following for all the latest sale updates. They will be $45 monogrammed and shipped.

Linking up with Lindsey @ The Pleated Poppy

Minnie's Bow Headband

I wish I could say I was this creative and came up with this idea on my own, however, that would be a lie. Amanda over at Dixie Delights shared this adorable DIY last month and as soon as I saw it, I just had to try it out for myself! Imagine all the possibilities!

To start, you just need a set of Minnie Mouse ears (I went with the classic ones you can get in the parks), some elastic, alligator clips and any bow you want. This project takes no skill or time so dust off those mouse ears before your next trip to Disney!

First you want to carefully cut off the original bow that came on your ears. Don't worry though because you will be able to have the classic Minnie look again by using this same bow whenever you like. Now you need to glue your elastic to the headband where the bow once was. You'll want to glue on the underside so the top can be where your new bows will attach.

Now that your elastic is secured to the headband, go ahead and make your bows using your favorite fabric. For mine. I used Lilly and Star Wars (perfect for Star Wars the Weekend) fabric, but this is where you can have fun. Get creative and find fabrics that coordinate with your Disney Park outfits (what, you don't have a separate wardrobe for your Disney trips?). You can even find holiday themed fabrics if you're planning on being in Disney for Halloween, Christmas or New Years.

Once you've settled on a bow, or four, simply take your alligator clip and slide it under the center piece of the bow at the bottom. Normally you would attach your alligator clip to the backside of the bow, but for this project you want it on the bottom.

And there you have it! Slide it in to the elastic and now your bows are interchangeable! Make sure you put an alligator clip on the original bow as well so you can still wear them the classic way! Below are all the ones I've made so far. I've decided that I need to make bigger bows, but I didn't have any big enough pieces of scrap fabric, so for now these will do, but be prepared to see some real obnoxious ones!

I now have ears for every outfit and occasion! I seriously can't contain my excitement. Imagine all the different Minnie ears I'm going to have on my next trip in December! What do you think? If you have a trip coming up, will you do this for you and your family?