THE Book Review.

I've never done this before, but I felt like I absolutely had to being that it involves two of my most favorite people that I've never met. 

Meet Carson Ellis and Colin Meloy. Ellis and Meloy are the super-talented husband and wife duo behind many wonderful projects. Ellis is the insanely talented illustrator that has worked with Meloy's band (my favorite of all time) the Decemeberists, and illustrated book covers, cd covers and much more. Her work reminds me of the photos that I would see as a child in my books; images that would take me far away from the regular day to day. Ellis and Meloy have teamed up once again not for a tour poster or album cover, but with their very own book, "Wildwood."

After coming home from seeing the Decemberists only a few weeks ago, I felt like after listening to this band for a solid 10 years I should know more about them. I had known briefly of Carson's work simply from her incredible album covers that she had illustrated for the Decemberists, but knew little else of what she did. The more I "researched" the more my heart fell in love. I came across "Wildwood" and was in awe. The book is a complicated tale of newness and adventure. Not the average children's book that I thought it to be...this was a book that I wanted to read myself. The images are incredible, the words by Meloy are classic Meloy, carrying an understand elegance and sophistication without making you pull out a dictionary every 5 seconds. I can't wait for this to show up in my mailbox.

(image source)

You can find much more out about "Wildwood" and read the first four chapters HERE.

Outfit.

This weekend was all about work here at the Johnson household. But I wasn't at work forever! I had just enough free time to fit in a special outfit for a bit of free time with friends. 

Shirt: Thrifted

Skirt: Vintage

Shoes: Target

To the "Working" Moms/Wives Out There...

Instead of my usual Happy Weekend! post, I'm going to tackle something on here that I have been having somewhat of a hard time with. I'm sharing this with you because maybe you have felt this way at one time or another. Strength in numbers, right?

Ever since I officially went back to work, I feel like I have been "falling short" of my wifely duties. Sometimes there are dishes in the sink, the floors are not vacuumed, the kid needs a bath and there is laundry to be done. For most people, this isn't really a big deal to have a few things left undone. For me, being home at two years and having the time to raise a child and keep everything almost freakishly neat has been possible...until now. I think that this time at home has been incredible for both Bean and I, but has honestly tainted my view of what my capacity for running a household is. Our schedule now is not ideal; Josh and I see each other only a couple hours a day on days that I work, dinner has to be planned/prepared before he gets home (which usually doesn't happen that often) and everything needs to be scheduled so that he can help. When I am off "providing" for the family, he is at home painting our daughter's nails and reading bedtime stories. I am not resentful or ungrateful, but this whole concept is just different. How realistic is keeping a clean house, a bathed child and making sure the bills are paid all of the time? 

This question has made me want to reach out to other working moms and wives. You can work part time, from home, or whatever else you can classify as work. How do you do it? What does it look like for you? Are my expectations of myself even remotely close to being realistic? I would love some insight because I feel like a crazy person...

(I have to say thank you though to an amazing husband who has enough grace and patience to be Mr. Mom when I am at work. To he who paints Bean's nails, puts extra bubbles in her bath, and reads more than enough stories at bedtime: you are incredible. Thank you for letting me help carry the load. I'll do it any day for you.) 

Violet's 2nd Birthday

Yesterday was Bean's 2nd Birthday. It was such a great day filled with friends, family and a very good reason to celebrate. Here are some of my favorite photos from yesterday's celebration. 

Happy second birthday, Violet!

Happy Weekend!

(source)

 

 

Happy weekend everyone! I am trying to complete my jam packed list of to-do's for this weekend, but I thought I'd share some lovelies with you that I enjoyed this week...

This just might be the most incredible dress I've ever seen.

What an awesome cupcake stand. A definite for our DIY list.

I'm waiting not-so-patiently for fall. Even more impatient for this at this place.

Finally, celebrating our big girl's 2nd birthday. There just aren't words.

Hope you have a happy weekend friends!

"Almost 2."

If you were to ask Violet her name and how old she was, she'd be able to answer you.

She'd say something along the lines of this:

Me: "What's your name?"

Bean: "Dioletttttt."

Me: "How old are you?"

Bean: "Almost two."

Her use of the word almost makes me want to think that she understands that something exciting is approaching, that we are counting down the days until we celebrate her day of birth. The anticipatory almost. Violet's almost.

In light of her almost birthday, my cousin Chelsea at Sofia Brown Photography (previously Green Apple Foto) shot some really amazing pictures of her. Our girl looks so big, so very much like a two year old should look.

What My New Hair Needs.

Ever since I went ombre several weeks ago, my hair hasn't exactly been cooperating with me. I couldn't figure out why, so I decided to ask my best friend/dream stylist how I could "fix" it. She pointed me in the direction of a few products that have worked wonders for me, and lucky you, I'm going to share them with you!

1. Paul Mitchel Super Skinny Serum

I love this serum because unlike most of the many other serums that I have tried, this one does not weigh my hair down or leave it feeling greasy. It also cuts drying time down by 30%! When I had my hair done, my student stylist used the smoothing serum on me and I was hooked. It has controlled my frizz (I have really coarse, thick hair that tends to get frizzy) and adds great shine. I recommend this for anyone looking for a great smoothing product. Oh yeah, it works really well with styling tools for heat protection as well.

2. Paul Mitchell Instant Moisture Daily Shampoo

This was part of the trio of products that I recently purchased from my local Ulta. When my best friend/dream stylist told me how great this line was, I had to find out for myself. She uses it on her own hair, so I knew that it was great. I got the shampoo, daily treatment conditioner and the moisture mist in a combo pack for a really great price! What I like about this shampoo is that it makes your hair feel really clean. I have been using just your everyday, run of the mill shampoos and my hair felt clean, but always felt dry and damaged. This shampoo totally changes that! 

3. Paul Mitchell Instant Moisture Daily Treatment

With this conditioner, a little bit goes a LONG way. For my medium length hair, I only use about a nickel size and it leaves my hair feeling so strong. Blondes need a lot of moisture, which my best told me, so a moisture shampoo/conditioner combo is key. After not using a moisturizing shampoo/conditioner after I got my hair lightened, my ends started to split like crazy. From the blow dryer to the flat iron, curling iron, triple barrel waver, etc. I was just damaging without any repair. In the week that I have had this conditioner, I have noticed incredible repair. I've never had that with any conditioner before, so I'm thrilled! Great product for really damaged, dry hair.

4. Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Moisture Mist

This is a great touch up product for my hair. It reactivates any product I already have in my hair, making it really great for a quick touch up if I need one, which I usually do. I use it a few times a day and it gives my hair a quick shot of moisture. It doesn't work or feel like a hairspray; there is no residue left over once you've sprayed it in. Great for a on-the-go girl!

I am LOVING these products for my new hair! Get that moisture, gals!

DIY Birthday Decor

Bean's 2nd birthday is just around the corner. While I still remain in shock of how fast the last year has gone by, I had to snap out of it in time to make some really special birthday decorations for our almost 2 year old.

When thinking about what I (we) wanted for Violet's princess themed birthday party, all I could think of was sparkle. I did some online research, gathering some really cute ideas in a Pinterest folder. Not trying to go over the top, I went to Michael's to try and put together my vision. When we walked up to the store, they had a few sale bins out front. What did I see, but the amazingly cute pre-made award ribbons. I grabbed all that they had (how convenient that they were all pink and gold). While I was there, I also bought some striped card stock, decorative paper, glitter glue; you name it, I bought it. I have to leave some mystery for the party right? 

With these pre-made ribbons, the "award" section was what I got to make. Now I had a reason to make paper rosettes, thank goodness. I have seen them all over the internet made for weddings/birthdays/anniversaries/parties making me love them even more. Following some very simple instructions, I crafted some myself. I loved this tutorial brought to you by Paper Source. I would personally explain how I made these myself, but the product will be much more successful if you follow with photos...I promise. Maybe these will help...

(The stamps I used c/o Michael's)

I plan to hang these in front of the dessert table, but we'll see. It's hard planning a party when you have no idea what it looks like inside. I going out on a limb here, but I'm confident that we can make it fun AND beautiful!

Sneak Peek.

I worked for a few hours yesterday on Violet's "birthday" room makeover. Here is just the first sneak peek...

New Bed for Bean.

Sometimes I really love Craigslist.

A couple of days ago while browsing through the baby/kids section, I came across this little gem at the top of the screen:

Toddler Bed/ Great Shape $35

Ever since Bean became mostly potty trained, it's been really hard for her to stay in diapers at night. In the morning, she'd take them out and pee in her bed. We started talking about getting her a little toddler bed so that she could get in and out of bed (with permission of course) and go to the bathroom. She might be a little young, but she's a pretty good girl and it's good for her to learn some responsibility, right? So, I emailed the woman and we eventually figured out the details. She came to deliver the sweet little bed yesterday afternoon, right after Bean had fallen asleep in her crib. The teeny little sleigh bed was just perfect for her.

With the addition of a new bed, we had to take her crib out. I'm also thinking of taking the glider chair out as well. I guess that this is the beginning of a total room makeover for her, isn't it? With a few new big birthday gifts coming, she's going to need some room. I'm now in the process of gathering some inspiration via the all helpful Pinterest. Her new bed will be decorated with her already owned Dwell Studio Tulip bedding. I'm thinking something a little more toddler, a little less baby. I've got big plans for Bean's room, which you'll see in the next couple of weeks as we get things moving.

So very sad/happy about our little girl growing up...

Menu Planning.

Ever since I went back to work, there have been few nights where I am home to make dinner. In order to make sure that my family gets fed, I've had to be a little more strategic with menu planning. I've had to sharpen my skills a bit...

The easiest way to make sure that dinner is made for the day or the week is to sit down (for me, Mondays usually work the best) and plan out what we will eat for the entire week. I will go through the refrigerator and make a list of what we will need. What I have found most helpful is preparing most dinners in the slow cooker. This gives Josh and Bean a really good, hot meal instead of something that they might have to reheat when it comes time to have dinner. With hair school approaching, this process may only intensify.

The blog Mama and Baby love had a really great breakdown of some serious dinner preparation. 

Smitten Kitchen has some really yummy sounding slow cooker recipes I can't wait to try.

 

Eating Well features many healthy slow cooker menu items. YUM.

Simple Mom, one of the greats wrote a great piece on menu planning that inspires.

 

Have YOU ever had to be really intentional with meal planning before? How did you and your family do?

Cora's Play Kitchen Before & After

As my little Bean approaches two, her imagination is running wild. She builds towers out of legos just to fly them around the house. She tucks her babies in at night and kissed them goodnight. She dances around the house in her tutu while watching Angelina Ballerina. Pretending is INCREDIBLE.

While browsing Facebook the other morning, I came across the always cute little Ramona standing in front of an amazing little teal play kitchen. Upon opening the photo album, I came to realize that Cora and her husband Brent had made this for their sweet little daughter. I was so amazed at their before and after that I had to share it with you all. Here is how Cora explained the process from beginning to end...

" I actually originally got the idea from your blog a couple years ago.
We started with a yellow nightstand that was in Ramona's nursery. My father-in-law did a lot of the hardware stuff and the cutting. We hinged the top drawer so it opens like an oven and fit a piece of wood in there. I covered that piece with cute contact paper. We also attached magnets and a piece of metal inside so the door would stay shut but was easy for Ramona to open and close. The bird knobs on the drawer were the ones I attached to the nightstand when I decorated her nursery so I decided to keep them on there. We took the bottom drawer completely out and fit another piece of wood in there also covered in contact paper. I bought a adjustable tension rod and made a little curtain to cover the gap. I then bought a cheap piece of plywood from Home Depot and attached it to the back of the nightstand to made a back splash. I bought a cheap frame from Michael's with 4 windows painted it and added a landscape photo in the back ground. I plan on changing the landscape with the seasons. The little curtain on the window is attached with sticky velcro so I can change that out as we wish as well. I also bought a cheap shelf and painted that. The burners are actually wooden basketball shapes that are made to paint that I flipped over, painted with silver paint and added red circles to look like a spiral burner. The stove knobs are wooden wheel pieces that we attached with a screw so she could turn them like real knobs. The sink is a bowl I bought from Goodwill. My father in law cut a hole in the top of the nightstand so it sinks in and she can remove it if she wants. The facet is an old one my in laws had after they remodeled their bathroom a couple months ago. I bought a little bulletin board from goodwill and painted it with chalkboard paint and attached that to the side of the kitchen."

Great job, Cora and Brent! Ramona is going to be able to have the best time with this sweet little kitchen! Isn't the before and after incredible?