H&M Littles

Are you sick of my H&M posts yet? Well, sorry if you are, but I have to tell you how much I am LOVING the baby section! Crew owns more H&M clothes than I do! I love them for the following reasons:

They are modern looking

They are inexpensive

They always have something new

They fit well

When I've needed to put something together for an event or pictures, I ALWAYS end up finding something great there. Since baby grows out of his clothes so quickly I love that I can leave with an outfit for around $20. There jeans are adorable! Most of their pants have adjustable buttons on the inside to loosen or tighten. Never thought my love for that place could be any stronger! I never would have guessed.

Found green pants for Crew on Friday. GREEN! They had cobalt and one other color (maybe red). $9.95! Thinking of pairing them with black pattern shirt and black cardi. 

My Baby Must Haves

Lately, I've sat and thought about all of the things a little baby needs. I can't believe how many things are out there. Not only is there tons of gear, but 100 different kinds of one item. It's hard to narrow it all down. There are so many things I debated also. Do I need that? Is it really worth the $? (I've learned it generally is worth it). Both baby and I have some favorite things I thought would be fun to share. I think many of them are on most must have lists, but thought I'd share anyway. Let's keep the list to 10 things I use DAILY and could not go without (this excludes my amazing Britax carseat and stroller). :)

1. Medella breast pump and pumping BRA

Granted I have never used a different pump before, but I love this one. Also, the bra is a MUST HAVE! I am strictly pumping, and to be able to have my hands free has been a life saver. Worth every penny!

2. Aiden and Anais Swaddling Blankets

My baby loves these! Even when he was brand new, he would cry if we wrapped him in anything else. It was the craziest thing! Target has the best deal on them, if you can find a print you like.

3. Gowns

Again, my picky child (he gets that from me), hates having his feet covered. These have saved us many hours of lost sleep.

4. Video Monitor

This was a great debate between hubby and I. He didn't feel it was necessary. However, he loves me and caved. Not once have we looked at each other and thought "hmm wish we wouldn't have bought that." It calms any paranoia I have of him not breathing, or even to just check on him without getting out of my bed with every little noise. It has been amazing. Seriously people, you won't regret it!

5. Mam Binkis w/ Pacifier Clip

I just love how little and cute these are. Crew has never been picky about a binki, but I love that these don't swallow up his face. I also love the clips. A must since his binki is in and out every 10 sec.

6. Boppy

Baby loved to sleep in it more than anything. shh I know that's against the rules, but it was only naps when we were around. 

7.  Cloth Diaper Burp Rags

My mom made me tons of these before I had him. Really, I think we have about 20-30. I laughed thinking this was outrageous. NO! I still think we need more sometimes. They are thick and cute and holds enormous amounts of spit up.

8. Baby swing

Gives me some sanity and baby great naps!

9. Sound Machine

Baby loves music. He way prefers it over heartbeats and white noise. Plus the projection of images keeps him entertained/hypnotizes him to sleep.

10.  Bottle Warmer

Perfect for middle of the night feedings. Heats quickly versus waiting for water.

Trouble!

What?! So nice of them to do this right after I had a baby! :) I think they knew.

*Crewcuts*

p.s. Finally have an opening date for Utah H&M! 11-11-11! It's going to be madness!!

Baby's Nursery

I think it's about time I post baby's nursery! He ended up coming 2 weeks early! It's been so fun and such madness too! :) We sure love him! We named him Crew. Not after my favorite store J.Crew. I know that's what you're all thinking. ha ha. It just added to the fondness of the name. :) Anyways, I am thrilled with the way the nursery turned out! It was exactly what I have envisioned. There are still some things I need to add though. I've been waiting to put up a collage of frames on the one wall, but need two certain ones from Ikea. They haven't restocked since May! So I'm still waiting on those, I'll have to post how that turns out later. I also need to find a great C and little things like that. Here it is. :)

I made the mobile! So simple! I found a cheap mobile that had a white base to it and took it all apart. I carefully cut the animals knowing I needed to save the string. Mom found these antenna balls and I added tattoos to the balls. I then glue gunned the strings into the balls and added the U from a craft store. Perfect! :)

My DIY Alphabet Pillow

So to catch up real quick- never made it to Nordstrom sale. :( Dr. put me on bed rest the day before! Hopefully you all found awesome things though! There's always next year! ;) Baby is coming any day now- about 3 weeks early. We've been on super speed making sure everything is ready. Still stuck on a picture collage for the nursery, so it's not quite 100% yet. Anyways, once I saw this pillow I knew I had to have one for the nusery. However, I wasn't in love with the harshness of the black lettering in my nursery. I also wasn't sure how to go about it? Iron ons? Didn't know until we were in Restoration Hardware and my mom came up with the brilliant idea to stamp it! YES! I had found this pretty light blue material at IKEA that I knew would fit perfectly in my nursery. I decided I would try to make a pillow since two sides were already hemmed and finished. I purchased one of their pillow inserts as well. I am SO happy with it! I can't even believe how perfect it turned out! I wasn't sure if it was going to so I took the picts once I had completed it, so hopefully it makes sense.

You'll Need:
Scissors
Fabric Paint with pointy tip
Fabric- measure for insert (I got about 1 1/4 yard)
Pillow Form
Iron Fusion tape- What's this called? ha ha Ikea has it next to their fabric. I knew it would be easier than sewing for me
Alphabet Stamps
Iron
Measuring tape
Ruler/something to keep a straight line
Wet paper towel
Paper to place in between fabric to prevent bleeding

It really probably would have taken about 1 hour had I not debated and knew what I was doing.
Cost: around $15

1. Iron fabric to make smooth. I then placed my pillow form on my fabric measuring where it would end in the back. To make the first side crease I placed some iron tape straight along where I wanted my "seam to be" and ironed. I then did the same for the other side making sure it wasn't too lose. I then "hemmed" the closing seam and closed it- again measuring with the pillow. Finally, close one end of the pillow. I closed the bottom and finished with the top, but I would do it the other way around.

So now you have it "sewn" on 3 sides and closed. 1 opening left to put the pillow in.

2. Insert paper in between your fabric as a buffer so the paint doesn't soak through to the other side. Take your measuring tape and find the mid point of your fabric. Then place paper or a ruler from the point going across your fabric to help keep the stamps straight. I taped mine down so it wouldn't move.

*picts with camera phone- sorry*

3. I was lucky that my stamps were already in big rows. I kept them as connected as possible so that they would be as evenly spaced as possible. I found mine at Target in the $1 spot! Align your stamps in a row. This helps with spacing and measurements. Keep them there taking a row at a time to stamp. Make sure to measure from the edges as well to get it centered. Mine was about 9"n down and then 4" in on both sides.

4. Take your paint and paint it directly on letters. Try not to let it bleed over the edges- some show when you stamp it. Also make sure to do some practice runs on spare fabric. I did several before really going for it.

5. Stamp letters. I pressed really hard, but being careful not to smear or rock it too much. I wanted the letters crisp. Wipe the letters with a wet paper towel after stamping since the paint will dry on them.

6. Once you're stamped, make sure it's 100% dry. Remove the paper and everything you have taped down. Then insert your pillow form.

7. Now, it's time to close it. This was the hardest part. Realistically I should have waited for more hands. I needed someone to hold while I ironed it closed, or vice versa. I ended up standing the pillow up and taking my flat iron to it to hold it until I could get to where I could iron without it moving. *only do this if your flat iron is completely clean and it's little* I then could push the pillow down a little and really iron it together without it moving on me.

 That's it! You're done!! I am so in love with this pillow! It looks perfect in my nursery!! I hope it inspires other great things to come!

Again I would finish with the bottom not the top- it would probably lay nicer. :) Hope this all makes sense. Let me know if you have any questions.

Need To Knit

*plaza.fi*

Never thought I'd have such a desire to knit! Definitely need to learn asap!

*etsy.com*

*Sundayinbed*

*Lombok*
Baby/I really need one of these!

*Plaza.fi*

Letter Lamp

LOVING this lamp (even just plain letter) idea for baby. I think it's so great when you can customize things to how you want- font, size, color. Perfect. Here is the how to from Design Sponge!

CREWCUTS

Well, I felt this deserved it's own post! In our shopping outing today I learned that...CREWCUTS IS COMING TO PARK CITY IN MAY! Crewcuts is the J.Crew Kids version. They don't have any in Utah, so you have to do all online shopping. I cannot wait for my little man to wear this stuff! YES!!!!!

The Knottie

I LOVE THESE. Don't they look so comfy and snuggly? I would want to be wrapped in it. They don't debut for a few weeks though. The Knottie by Lala Pequenos.

*Tribaltimes*

No-Sew Banner

I am contemplating putting one of these in baby's room. I feel these banners (while I do love them) are super trendy right now, and I want the nursery to have more of a classic/elegant feel, so the jury's still out. However, this is the most amazing way to make it happen. I would want it to be made from fabric, and I thought "Really, I'm going to sit and sew a triangle banner together?" Not that it would be hard, but maybe time consuming. I love this! Take square fabric, fold in half, tie together, hang. Perfect!! Love that she used handkerchiefs! The possibilities are endless with this!!
THANK YOU MOTHER HUDDLE!

Maternity Pant Solution

So I am 13 weeks along and my pants are already so super tight. Great. Well, I've tried the band pants already. I have to say they are definitely comfortable, however, I hate how they don't stay up. Since I just look chubby I don't really like the band showing at all, and I feel like I'm going to moon someone everytime I bend over. :) Ok what does this have to do with anything?...I've found the perfect solution! Forever21 believe it or not has maternity pants that are half band half normal! I LOVE them! I can wear a belt to help keep them up, still be comfy, and look normal from the back. Not to mention they were $13! Brilliant 21, brilliant! Who knew?!

Baby Amore

I think it's past time to let my B lovely-ers out there know that I'm prego! Yay! It's our first baby and we're super excited! I'm 13 weeks and due in August. I'm going to try and not be baby post crazy on here, but I apologize in advance if it gets that way. So, I thought I had my nursery figured out for sure. For either a boy or girl I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Well, then I see something like this and I think, well maybe I don't know... LOVING these so much. I love how different is all is. I found them here on urban grace interiors. There is also an etsy shop.

This is inspiring on so many levels- it could be turned into decor, or inspiration for an invite. Beautiful

LOVING the polka dots