OOTD - Mommy and Baby!

If you are anything like me, you like things to match a little. And eventhough I love to match outfits, I really can't stand those overdone mommy and baby outfits. I like things to be subtle. So that often leads to slightly color-coordinated outfits for me and Charlotte. I think It's cute and it just looks better in photographs. So this is what we're wearing today!

My Outfit

I'm wearing my favorite denim chino's by Esprit. I actually ended up buying a second pair since I love it so much. I can now literally wear it every single day! But I won't... I don't want people to think I'm wearing the same pair of pants all the time and start question my personal hygiene. Definitely don't want that! So I make sure i throw in a different style of pants every once in a while!

 The vest is by Vila and I think it's absolutely gorgeous! It has rhinestones on the shoulders and a sheer backpanel. Underneath that I'm wearing a simple plain brown cami by H&M.

The charm bracelet is by Pandora. I love this bracelet because all the charms on it represent a certain special event in my life. You can see the babystoller, which obviously stands for having my little girl. There are also charms on it for buying my house, graduating, my new job and so on!

The ankle boots are by an Italian brand called Cellini and they are brown with subtle gold sparks on it. It has leafs on the sides which I absolutely love for fall. It looks so seasonal! 

The bag is my Burberry drawstring Bromley bag which I've had forever. The quality is so amazing that it still looks brand new eventhough I've been using it for years! I'm not a big spender, but investing in an item like this is just so worth it.


Charlotte's outfit

Charlotte's outfit is almost completely from H&M, except for the pacifier and the bow. The pink pacifier is by a swedisch brand called Bibi and they really have the best quality pacifiers. They come in all these cute colors and patterns as well! The tights and shoes are in stores right now. The vest and shorts are from last year, but they still carry simulair styles. I saw these shorts in blue just a few days ago. When I found out I was having a girl, I might have gone a bit overboard with the whole shopping thing. I bought alot of sizes in advance!

The vest has cute floral elbow patches and the little bottons are shaped as flowers. So cute! And I love the colors!

And her bow...I really love bows! I got this one at a webshop. I can't remember which one, but there are alot of shops that sell this particular bow. It has a big pink flower with a white band.

Shoes! I love stocking up on little shoes for Charlotte. I don't think It will be much longer before she'll take her first real steps. She's already gliding along the coffee table like a little pro! 

So there you have it, our outfits of the day! I I'll try to do the next one with us actually in them!

Kisses!

Charlotte's Nursery Tour!

I can't believe I haven't done one of these yet! I absolutely love nursery tours. When I was pregnant with Charlotte I just couldn't think of anything I'd rather do with my spare time than scroll through dozons of blogs and vlogs about decorating nurseries. Such a great way to get inspired to decorate your own! Now the nursery we put together for Charlotte is pretty low-budget. We pretty much only splurged on the new floor and wallpaper. Those were really the biggest expenses. But I really love how it turned out! The train in her windowsill was a gift from my brother. I absolutely love it! My boyfriend is really into trains and such so it only makes sense that Charlotte has one as well!

On this picture you can see her wardrobe and her crib. Both are from Ikea. They were already super inexpensive to begin with, but they offered a package deal making the furniture even cheaper! I think these pieces are very cute. I also love that the pieces arn't that bulky. Charlotte's room is pretty small and alot of the bigger, expensive furniture wouldn't even fit in her room. This is perfect for her nursery!

And this is the other side of the room. Instead of using wallpaper for her entire room, we decided to paint the walls on the other side taupe. It is actually the same color we used in our living room and we had some paint left. I think it's a very pretty color and it gives the room a more mature look. This room can easily be transformed into a toddler or little girls room. On this picture you can see her dresser and her comfy chair.

Now we did start off using bedding, but decided fairly quickly that it would be saver to just start using a wearable blanket instead. Charlotte moves around so much that she usually ends up with with her head at the foot end of the bed. We were just so afraid she would get her head under her bedding and wouldn't be able to get free. She's one wild baby!

Now this is actually one of the favorite things in her room. It's a picture frame that holds baby pictures of Charlotte, me, her daddy, uncle, grandma and grandpa. Unfortunately my dad passed away a year before Charlotte was born. I have been struggling with how I can incorperate him into Charlotte's life. He was a very important person in my life, and I want him to be a part of hers. I think having his baby picture in het nursery is a great way to start.

And last but certainly not least- the princess lamp! Every little girl needs something princessy in her life! :) And that's it for Charlotte's nursery tour!

Kisses!

DIY Home Decor - String Art!

I'm a full-time working mom, so that means I don't DIY. I buy! So when I do actually find myself picking up a pair of scissors, it definitely needs to be shared with the world! :) I've been wanting to do something with our hallway for a while now, but just couldn't find anything I really liked. So I decided to make something myself using nail string art. I actually really like how it turned out. If you're interested in making something like this yourself, here's how you do it! 

Before you start, make sure you have all your supplies in place. You'll be needing a piece of plywood, paint, a paintroller or brush, yarn, small nails, scissors, tape, a hammer, something to mix your paint with and a piece of paper with your pattern. I also used sandpaper to soften the edges of the plywood a little, but that's not really a necessity. 

Once you have all your supplies in place, you can start by painting the plywood and letting it dry properly.  When it's dry you can place the piece of paper with your pattern on it and secure it with a bit of tape. Now you don't want the tape to pull away any of the paint once you're finished, so make sure it's not too sticky. If it is, stick it on your hand a couple of times before sticking it to the plywood. It will still be sticky enough to secure the paper, but it won't damage your paintwork.

Once you have the paper with your pattern in place, you can start outlining it with the nails. This is the most time-consuming part of the whole project. You want to place them close to each other to maintain a flowing line. Don't hit them too far into the wood, there still needs be enough room on the nail for the yarn.  

When you have all your nails in place, remove the tape and gently rip away the paper. It should look like something like this. You should be able te make out the pattern you decided to use for this project. Check the nails to see if they are all somewhat even. If you have some nails sticking out too much, this is the time to give them en extra slam and correct it.

Next up you take the yarn and tie it to one of the nails to secure it. You want to start with outlining the pattern before you start filling it in. Do this this by taking the string and wrapping it around a nail once and than go on to the next nail to do the same and so on.

When you've outlined your pattern correctly, it's time to fill it in. You use the same technique you used while outlining it. The only difference is that you don't just go on to the next nail, you criss-cross the yarn through the pattern like demontrated in the picture above. You can do this as often as you want. The more often you do this, the bulkier it will look. When you're done, wrap it up by tying the yarn to a nail to secure it and tuck the last string of yarn in with the other strings and voilà! Your nail and string art is done!

Do you have any fun ideas for nail string art? Let me know! I have some supplies left and I would hate to let them go to waste!

Kisses!

Five Steps To A Happy Baby!

 



Yes, I am one of those annoying moms. I have one of the happiest, smiliest babies ever. She greets everyone she meets with a gigantic smile and it's simply a joy to be out and about with her. Now there really is no secret to having an easy baby. There are so many different factors that are at play here. But there are definitely a couple of things that really helped us ease into our new lives. I wanted to share these and I really hope other moms can benefit from them as well. Enjoy!

1. The three R's
Rest, Regularity and Ritme. Let's not forget that life outside the womb is an incredible adjustment for your baby. They come from this quiet peaceful place where they have their own constant ritme of naps and play, regularity and all the rest they will ever need. All of a sudden they get thrown into this busy, loud moshpit we call life which they have absolutly no control over. So say goodbye to living live in the fast line. When it comes to your baby, you are really going to have to take your time. And if that means having no time to change and having to leave for work with a smudge of poo on your sleeve, than so be it. That’s what being a new parent is all about. Just throw a jacket over it and nobody will ever notice. You are really going to need to help your baby ease into this new fase. Make sure there is enough rest en structure in your life. Be the womb! They don't call it the forth trimester for nothing.

2. Crying

There are different theories on wheter or not you should let your baby cry once in a while.  Some say you can spoil your child by coming for their every need, others say letting a baby cry can be devastating for the trust between a baby and it's caregiver. But they never speak of the effect crying can have on a mom. I found it absolutely excruciating! I can not stand a crying baby. So letting her cry was something that simply didn't work for me. Besides, on the rare occasion I couldn't get to her in time, I found that the longer she was crying the more upset she got. So crying was and is a big no-no in our house. Coming in to soothe her as soon as possible is making things so much easier for the both of us.

3. Sleeping
Sleeping problems never existed in our household. My daughter never slept in the same room as us, and immediately got used to sleeping on her own. Even when we were still in the hospital, she never slept in the same room as me. This means we never went through that awful transition fase of getting her used to sleeping in her own room or crib. Now I know having your baby close to you in bed is absolutely amazing, and you can still do that. Taking afternoon naps together or taking her into your bed after her morning feeding is absolutely fine. As long as your baby goes to bed on her own. Set bedtimes are also very important for a good sleeper. Like I mentioned before, babies really benefit from regularity. When they enter the absolute unknown, it's really nice to have some consistency in their life to hold on to.

 

4. Going out

Get out of the house as soon as you can, seriously. Having a new-born can be exhausting and it’s tempting to colapse on the couch and stay there until your maternity leave is over. Getting out of the house alone with your baby van be quite the challenge. You have to make sure you have all your things in place, fold and unfold a babystroller, get your baby (very important!), plan things between feedings and so on. But like everything in life, the more practice you get, the easier it becomes. Before you know it, you’re dragging your little pooing machine everywhere you go in the blink of an eye! Make the most of your free time and go meet your friends for lunch, go shopping and threat yourself to some nice beauty supplies. Your baby will get used to different surroundings and different people as well. The earlier you start this, the easier it will be for you and your baby. And who doesn't want a baby that you can literally take everywhere?

Now something that is just as challenging as leaving the house with your baby, is leaving it without your baby. How often do you hear about moms (and babies) having huge difficulties when it's time for the mom to go back to work? So leave your baby with your partner and just go run errends and go to the movies with your friends. This will make leaving your child at daycare or a babysitter so much easier and result in a happy laid back mommy and baby! It will also teach your baby that mommy might not always be at arms-length, but that she can always count on your return.

5. Quality time

When you're also spending time away from your baby, the time you do spend with your baby should be extra special! When it comes to parenting I really believe in quality over quantity. When you’re not used to being around children communicating and playing with your little one can be a source of insecurity. But hey, your baby doesn’t know any better! To your baby you are simply the most fun and entertaining mommy they know. Your face alone can be all the entertainment they need, especially in the beginning. Smile, make funny faces and noises, play peek-a-boo and talk to your baby. You don’t have to fabricate these amazing wonderful stories. Just take them through everything you're doing is more than enough. Talk them through changing a diaper and tell them which emotions they are expressing. Babies really like to make that kind of connection with you and love to be spoken to. Not to mention speaking to your baby is also really good for their speech development.

 

So, there you have it! Five steps to a happy baby! What are the things that helped you ease into your new lives?