Gold House Paper & Press

In my house greeting cards are always needed. Whether we have a baby to celebrate, a birthday, a wedding, or maybe just to say thanks, it seems like I am constantly running to the store at the last minute to pick up a card. There is even that small percentage of the time where I manage taking both the kids to the store to pick out a gift and get all the way home just to realize I forgot the card. Unfortunately, hand-made cards by the kids can only get you so far...

Recently I found an online shop called Gold House Paper & Press. The cards are so adorable and most of them are hand illustrated by the owner of the shop, Megan Mercier. If you can find the time to plan ahead you will be able to find a beautiful card for your special occasions that is reasonably priced compared to some of the nice cards in the stores these days!

Gold House Paper & Press has items for every occasion! They also have stationery sets, art prints, fun gifts, and more!

I am such a fan!

Disclosure: We were sent samples of these cards, but all of these opinions are my own. 

Our Disney Family Tradition

There is something so magical about Disney World. Everything you see in the movies or read in the books becomes reality the moment you step through those gates. It's no wonder we can't stay away. One of the most exciting parts of my little family is the ability to start new traditions over the years and I am happy to say, that taking a trip to Disney World on Sienna's birthday has become one. We went as a family for her first birthday and continued the tradition last year when Daniel was only eight months old. 

We definitely had our work cut out for us going to Disney with two little ones two and under. After this last trip I thought we would wait a couple years to continue the tradition, but something changed. Maybe it was the little sparkle in Sienna's eye when she gushes over all the princesses. Or Maybe it is the joy that it brings them that just melts your heart. Or maybe that Disney World is truly the most magical place on earth and there is no way I am breaking this tradition now. 
See you in December Mr. Mouse!

August Group Giveaway!!!

Hey guys! 
I'm part of a fabulous group giveaway today at Sunny With a Chance of Sprinkles! 
Be sure to click here for your chance to win!
Good luck!!

A Night Out with Bethenny: Calling All My Girls Tour

Bethenny Frankel stopped in Tampa last week for her Calling All My Girls Tour and all I can say is Bethenny can throw one heck of a party! We had a fabulous evening celebrating Bethenny's new talk show with none other than Bethenny herself and an array of Skinnygirl beverages to sip on. I couldn't have asked for a better mom's night out full girl talk, cocktails, and BETHENNY! She has been such an inspiration to watch over the years with all of her success. 

The event was held at the swanky Grill One Sixteen which couldn't have been more of a perfect place! Bethenny rounded up Tampa's hottest bachelors and the place was dripping in Skinnygirl cocktails...can we say HEAVEN ;-)

 Leave it to Bethenny to have pillows that say It's Hot as Balls! Welcome to Florida...ha!

This momma was able to hang out with some good friends that I've known since kindergarten and connect with some Tampa blogger friends as well!

All the flat screens at the event had the #callingallmygirls hashtag going and you can see me below with Bethenny when we attempted to win a trip to her show earlier in the day! Unfortunately we didn't win the tickets, but I would take a photo-op with Bethenny any day! We will just have to work a little harder now to get a mom's trip to NYC!

Bethenny's new show will be premiering on your local FOX station on September 9th at 2pm! I hope you will be watching because I already have my DVR set! (live televison is a rare occasion with a one and two year old...)
Thanks Bethenny for a night to remember!

Beachin' It With Toddlers

As you saw here, I have been dreaming about the beach a lot lately. We are in the middle of August and quite frankly I can't take the heat! Fortunately, we still have a few months of beach weather here in Florida! Danny and I love taking les deux to the beach! It really can be a lot of work, but we have to turn these kids into beach bums just like their parents ;-) So I decided to share a few of our favorite must-haves for a day at the beach with toddlers!

(Clockwise from the top)
Melissa & Doug Sand Baking Set // Fedora // Foldable Wagon // California Baby Sunscreen //  Bonlook Kids Sunglasses // Hayden Reis Seashell Pouch // Salt Water Sandals
Even if we go to the beach for a day we manage to have oodles of things with us so our collapsible wagon is a must! It fits everything and even a kid or two...With this extreme heat I always make sure to keep them covered with lots of sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses. How cute are the Bonlook sunglasses with full UVA & UVB protection?
Beach Toys are a must as well... The beach is like a big playground with plenty of sand and water for them to keep occupied for hours. I absolutely adore this Melissa & Doug Sand Baking Set! And for the shell collectors out there, these mesh Hayden Reis seashell bags are perfect! And needless to say, we are huge Salt Water Sandals fans in this house!

Bethenny Frankel is Calling All Her Girls in Tampa!

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Bethenny Frankel has been such an inspiration to watch over the years and it has been so exciting to see her make a rapid rise to the top! After reaching great success from her Skinny Girl empire, she is now taking over the world with her new daytime talk show, Bethenny, that premieres September 9th on FOX. 

To celebrate her new show, Bethenny is calling all her girls to come out and have an intimate night out for her Calling All My Girls Tour. She will be making a stop in Tampa on Monday and yours truly was lucky enough to receive an invite! Woohoo! Mommy's night out!!! I am so excited to hang out with my girl and get ready for her new show!

There is still time to try and win tickets to the event here. 

Stay tuned for a full rundown of the event next week! 

Any other Tampa ladies attending this fabulous event? I can't wait! 

Best Highchair Ever- Ikea Antilop

Ok, so this post is for all the expectant mommas out there or ones who are sick of scraping the crevices of  your child's highchair to remove the grimy food that your little one leaves behind...and of course the mommy on a budget as well! I wanted to tell you about the best highchair I have ever owned...Ikea's Antilop highchair!  No...I am not getting paid or given anything else to write this, I simply feel really passionate about this plastic contraption that has given me a better quality of life :)

via

I have been through a couple of highchairs with les deux and they both happened to be the space-savers that you can attach to a chair. Sienna's was great, but it was pink along with every other baby item I owned so I decided that we needed a new one for Daniel. Not to mention Sienna still used hers well after he was born since she wasn't even two yet.  Daniel's space-saver was great as well, but it had these darn crevices that food would just get stuck in and it would require hosing off with the nozzle on the highest power to get the guck out. And at nine months, both of my children decided they didn't want to be spoon-fed so we all know how that goes.  Once we remodeled our dining room I decided to get these fabulous white tufted leather (I know...white leather with two toddlers? I'm crazy) chairs and there was no way I was going to let those beauties get indented by the space saver.  So....I did some research and decided to go to Ikea and spend the $25 on this highchair and tray and not look back... Months later, I haven't looked back because I love it! It is so easy to clean and not overly bulky so it fits nicely at the table. It is also really light weight so we were able to bring it to the park for Daniel's birthday party! The only problem is that a lot of highchairs these days accommodate infants to eat their rice cereal when they are young....and  I wouldn't recommend this chair for a baby under 5-6 months, but these days we have so many other sitting contraptions for them, that it's possible to make it work! If you don't want to go out and fork over an arm and a leg on a modern highchair that is easy peasy to clean, this one will do the job!!! P.S. The tray is sold separately so don't forget it while you go grab it! P.S.S. Because of its extremely lightweight frame, your toddler (most likely your boy) may think it's fun to flip it around the house and climb on it....just a warning...

Do you have a highchair that you absolutely LOVE?

Deux Nights In D.C.

After our weekend in Virginia we decided to spend two more nights in Washington D.C. so we could make a little vacation out of the trip....

We grabbed our strollers, sneakers, and snowcones and were off to see our nation's capitol!

One of our first stops was the National Mall and I did a little tour snapping pics with them in their strollers since that's as good as it was going to get...

Can't you see the excitement in their eyes? If you look closely you can see me making a cameo in a reflection (and it's not the pool) ;-)

I really wanted to go up to the Lincoln Memorial, but this was as far as we got. It was late in the day and both of the normally happy-go-lucky toddlers decided to have meltdowns...needless to say we flagged down the nearest cab to take us back to the hotel. 

So after a good night's sleep we decided to spend the next day in Georgetown. We met my bestie, Christina, and her family for breakfast at this cute French restaurant, Cafe Bonaparte. 

My breakfast crepe was delish and the chocolate criossants were eaten so fast I couldn't even snap a pic. 

Before our trip I had asked one of my favorite bloggers, Taza, for some tips on where to take the littles in DC since she used to live there. One of her top picks was the Georgetown Fountains, but our parade was rained on with the rainy day we encountered. Sure, I could have let them run through the fountains since we were already a little wet, but the mom in me did not want any sniffly babies on the plane ride the next day. 

So we snapped a pic and did what anyone else would do on a rainy morning in Georgetown...

cupcakes!!!!!!! 

OMG...can I please state that Georgetown Cupcake is the home of the best cupcake I have ever eaten!

Don't mind the rainy-day hair below...the last thing I had time to do was make sure I looked presentable when I had these little cakes of joy to look forward to :)

Sienna is the only toddler I know who eats her cupcakes with a fork! Cupcakes are seriously the way to her heart!

Sienna approved!

After we left Georgetown we skipped on over to Chinatown before heading back for a break at the hotel...

We stayed at the Sofitel, which was conveniently located near the White House.  The kiddos just loved looking out the window! I really love all of the architecture on the buildings in D.C.

Our trip to D.C. was short, but sweet! Perfect for juggling les deux!

Have you attempted Washington D.C. with toddlers? 

A Day at the Beach for Mommy

We are knee deep in summer and it seems like everyone is out at the beach every weekend enjoying this Florida weather! We don't frequent the beach as often as I'd  like since it involves a little more work and a lot more stuff when you have a one and two year old. 
Last time I was at the beach, the kiddos were taking a little siesta and I was able to sit on the edge of the ocean and unwind for a little bit. I've been daydreaming of having a mommy's day at the beach (sans the littles) so I felt inspired and wanted to share some must-haves if I ever get around to going...

Clockwise from the top: Sun Bum Sunscreen | Skinnygirl SkinnyMini Margaritas | Tory Burch Beach Towel Black Floppy Hat | Hayden Reis Tote | Gnarly Whale Beach Waves

What are some of your favorite day dreams for a relaxing day for mommy?

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Danny and I are huge baseball fans and we have been eagerly waiting for the day that we could bring the littles to their first Tampa Bay Rays Game! Well Sunday was the day and it was Family Fun Day at Tropicana Field so it couldn't have been more perfect!

To be honest we were a little nervous about bringing them both since it would have been right around nap time, but they actually had a great time!

We were sitting in the Hancock Club area which made things a little easier since we didn't have to stay in our seats the whole time. There was plenty of space for the kids to run free! And as you can see I'm getting a lot of use out of these umbrella strollers :)

Sienna and I even made it on the jumbotron during Take Me Out To The Ball Game! That's always a goal of ours so not too shabby for her first game! She also had cotton candy for the first time and needless to say, she will be hunting down the cotton candy man every time. 

The game was a great game as well! The Rays' pitcher, Chris Archer, pitched his first shutout against the Astros winning the game 5-0! Gotta love an exciting game.

  

We were even able to stay for the Summer Concert Series after and watched Carly Rae Jepsen perform! It started a little late, so we had to leave without hearing Call Me Baby ( I think I was the only one really upset about this). Overall we had a blast and Sunday Fun Day at the Rays Game with les deux was a success! We can't wait to take them back :)

Flying With Toddlers

While we still have travel on the brain I thought I would share some tips and tricks of certain must-haves every parent needs while traveling with toddlers. As you saw here we recently flew to Virginia and Washington D.C. with les deux! The trip was definitely a lot of work with a one and two year old and only Danny and I, but if you have these essential items below, it will make for smoother sailings :)

photos via here

1. First off we have the beloved iPad. Daniel doesn't like to watch tv, but Sienna loves a great  Sophia the First episode or Elmo movie. I made sure to download a couple of surprise movies and shows onto the iPad before the trip to whip out when needed. If it can help keep one cranky toddler calm during a long flight, I'm all for it!

2. Next we have the One Step Ahead Ulti-Mite Umbrella Stroller. As much as we love our Bob Duallie, that beast is not made for flying. So a couple months prior to our trip I decided to get two umbrella strollers for traveling. Lucky for me I snagged two of these strollers with a 30% off coupon on Gilt one day and they came out to $50 for both! If you haven't signed up for Gilt, it's amazing, you can do it here. There were many times on our trip when I did miss by double stroller, but smaller is definitely better while on the go! And one also came in handy as a luggage carrier through the airport while Daniel was in the Ergo Baby carrier. 

3. And then we have my new favorite the kids' new favorite snacks, Plum Organics Teensy Fruits. These are soft fruit snack that hold to their name and are small and safe for Daniel to eat. The kiddos love them and fight over them so I have to separate their piles while snacking. My concern with flying was of course their ears so I brought lolli-pops, but they didn't keep them in their mouths long enough to soothe any ear discomfort. The fruit snacks kept them chewing and swallowing. Looking back we definitely looked like crazy first-time-flying-parents with how many packs we opened via takeoff. Hey...at least they had multiple servings of fruit in ten minutes!
4. Of course every mom needs a good crossbody while traveling. Having two free hands while juggling multiple boarding passes, IDs and toddlers is vital! I made sure to bring along my Kate Spade Cobble Hill Ellen crossbody. It's pink, perfect, and made travels with les deux easy breezy...
5. And last, but not least my fabulous Wet Ones travel pack! While traveling through airports no parent should be without these. The bathroom lines can be long and washing the their hands doesn't happen as much as I'd like.  Of course I had hand sanitizer which was in the carry-on zip-loc bag with all my liquids and I also packed travel packs of Clorox wipes. These are great for wiping down arm rests or any surfaces that just seem icky. 
My biggest piece of advice when flying with toddlers is to carry-on as little as possible. We had to carry WAY too much through the airport! Next time I will bring a diaper bag and MAYBE another carry-on, but it is worth it to check as much as possible. 
As hard as it was I can't wait to do it again! 
Do you have any tips on flying with littles?