charming.

these handmade baby girl pieces are so charming!
i would love to mix and match these on my own little v.

mimi mouse

i've only sewn a few pieces of clothing before,

but i'd love to find the time to try making some baby girl outfits.

7 months.

oh my goodness...
violet is 7 months old now.

our lovely little gal is so fun.
she still never stops wiggling,
and now she scoots around on her tummy.
she talks nonstop,
and loves to make all sorts of silly sounds.

her favorite things to do:

eat breakfast (she gets pureed fruit each morning)

water the flowers with mama

read books with daddy

get tickles & kisses

and of course, play with toys!

she sleeps from 10pm-9am,

but wakes for a snack at 6am.

she is still nursing,

and eats homemade baby food 3x/day.

she takes 3 naps each day.

at her last doctor's appt,
she was in the 10th percentile for weight,
and 60th for height.

will came home just in time to join us...
my heart melts when i watch these two play!

mama's turn!

and then we busted out the tripod.
that's our excuse for the poor framing & total lack of direction...

 oh, how i live for this little family of mine!!!

inspired by: neon yellow.

yellow is one of my favorite colors,
from lemon to mustard to pale.
isn't it fun that neon is making its comeback?

earrings: wanelo

shakers: fitzsu

vase: spell-binding

sandals: topshop

skirt: urban outfitters

necklace: lesdemoizelles

door: the glitter guide
polish: american apparel

my memories scrapbook software winner.

congrats to our giveaway winner vanessa (the sweet life of mama & mia)!
she won the my memories digital scrapbook software.
i know she will put it to good use!

vanessa, please send me your email address.

thanks everyone for playing.
and don't forget, you can use my coupon code
(STMMMS17703)
and get $10 toward the scrapbook software,
and $10 coupon toward the mymemories.com store!
such a fun product :)

disclaimer: this post was sponsored by my memories.
all opinions are my own.

a dreamy backyard.

we have been having such great weather,
and spending more time in our little yard.

sometimes i dream about what i would do with it,
if i had endless money to spend and a lot more space.

a sweet lazy hammock in the shade.

a firepit, places to lounge, and a view of course.

a treehouse to enjoy with our little one.

the brightest most colorful flower garden.

raised bed veggie gardens to tend.

a cozy little birdhouse.
right now, we have a mama & baby birds living in the side of our roof!

a chicken coop and sweet lady chickens to greet.

bright cheery retro furniture pieces.

a charming umbrella to keep us cool.

wouldn't it be nice?

1. beachcomber26.blogspot.com / 2. sweethomestyle.tumblr.com / 3. southernlivinghouseplans.com
4. tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com / 5. google.com / 6. shopterrain.com / 7. thetanglednest.com
8. anthropologie.com / 9. google.com / 10. rubypr.com

my memories digital scrapbook software giveaway!

i love to make cards, and i love to take photos.
you'd think i would be a big scrapbooker,
but for some reason i've never really tried it.

when my memories sent me a copy of their scrapbooking software,

i thought i'd go ahead and give it a try.

oh my goodness...i had so much fun!

look at the cute little pages i made!
i'm totally hooked!

1. wedding photos by amelia lyon / 2. maternity photos by eplove. / 3. hospital photos by will

i like to keep it somewhat simple,
but they have so many fun things you can put on your pages.

this software was so easy to use,
i didn't even need to watch any of their tutorial videos.

here's a screenshot of the user interface on my mac
(you can use it on a pc too).

in addition to all the fun stuff that comes with the software,
i just found a ton more kits on their site to download free.
the kits contain extra digital background paper, frames, elements, etc.
here are some that i love...

1. retro garden / 2. good feeling / 3. mida's touch

i seriously can't wait to make more pages!

i love that you can even have the pages printed & binded!

now, on to the giveaway...

my memories is giving one lucky reader
a copy of their digital scrapbooking software!

how to enter:
visit the my memories site and check out their digital kits,
and leave a comment on this post.

for additional entries, follow this blog, or
share the link to this post on facebook, twitter, and/or your own blog.
leave separate comments for each with links to where you shared it.

the contest ends on monday, june 18th, at 8pm (PST).
the winner will be chosen via random.org.

good luck!
in the meantime, here's a coupon code if you'd like to purchase it: STMMMS17703
you get $10 toward the software, and a $10 coupon for the mymemories.com store!

disclaimer:
this post was sponsored by my memories.
all opinions are my own.

a day in my life, part 1.

last week i challenged myself to take photos of my whole day.
the normal routines, the everyday mundane tasks,
the moments i usually don't think about photographing,
because they don't seem special.

i really want to remember this time in my life,
being a first-time mama to a sweet baby,
because it truly is special.
photos can hold more than just memories for me.
they can encompass such strong emotions.

i got about halfway through my day,
and had to ditch the camera when things got a little busy.
so here is part 1 of a day in my life.

violet goes to sleep at 10pm, and wakes up for a snack at 6am.
she sneaks into our bed, and then she sleeps in until 10am.
she seriously wakes up THIS HAPPY every morning!

first & foremost, we change her giant diaper and get her dressed.
in this photo, she is spitting all over me. silly girl.

next stop is breakfast.
i eat a LOT since i'm breastfeeding.
2 hardboiled eggs, a cran-bran muffin top, blueberries, and a whole mango.
violet had a pureed banana.
she just started on fruits, after having only vegetables for the first month.

this is where she "hangs" out while i get my shower.

 she isn't too pleased about it.

little v LOVES spending time outside.

we water the plants everyday.

some days we weed the garden or trim back the plants.

i love when our bougainvillea is blossoming like this.

 she absolutely loves the windchimes in our backyard.

 our little lemon tree is bearing fruit, so exciting!

we have lots of rosebushes.

they are a pain to take care of, 

and i'm still learning how to handle them,

but they sure are beautiful.

violet takes 3 naps a day.

this is when i try and get a little work done.

even though it's summer, i am still corresponding with my students.

post-nap...she wakes up happy of course!

and here is a typical lunch for me.

vegetarian chicken patty cut up in whole wheat pita bread,

with cheese, lettuce, hummus, and a sprinkle of lemon juice.

my favorite veggie chips, carrot sticks, and pink lemonade.

here is violet on her playmat, keeping busy while i eat lunch.

she loves her activity center too.

she can keep herself entertained pretty well.

then we take her daily walk.

she is so calm and quiet, taking in all the sights & sounds.

snack time for mama.

remember, i am nursing baby girl every 2-3 hours.

i pretty much have to eat that frequently too.

a peach, cheese squares, and snap pea crisps.
lots of water all day too.

we play together and she climbs all over me.

and then i try to get some photo editing done.

while changing her diaper, i realize she wants to play with the diaper caddy.

lately, her favorite toys are ordinary things around the house.

so, after about 10 minutes of editing photos,

i turn around and see what a cute little mess she has made.

so, the camera and i made it to around 4pm.
6 hours of the day covered. not bad, right?

thanks for following along :)
we'll work on part 2 of a day in my life sometime soon.