{Spring/Summer} One of my Favorite Things about the Season....

are all the delicious fresh fruits and vegetables! I love the farm markets we have here in NJ and how almost any kind of fruit or vege is available for purchase all summer long. Two of my girlfriends from work who are also on maternity leave (we all had little boys within two weeks of one another) came over to my house for lunch this afternoon. I cut up some fresh berries and grapes to go with lunch and the colors were so vibrant and bold against the white bowl, I had to take a picture!

Mommy Calling Cards

I'm thoroughly enjoying my maternity leave and loving the beautiful spring weather we've been having. I've been going to different parks in the afternoon here and there with Dean, and I wanted to have something in my purse with my information on it just in case I want to set up a play date. These are perfect! They're cute, and tiny, and have the necessary info on them. I'll be printing them this week!

COMING SOON:
~ LAUREN & RICK'S WEDDING SUITE
~ BECKY'S "SPRINKLE" INVITES
~ DEAN'S DEDICATION INVITES
AND MORE!

{Decorating} Fresh Flowers

Aren't these lovely? I love fresh lilacs...they smell so good and their color is gorgeous. Actually I love flowers in general. They make me smile. If I were rich, I'd have a fresh bouquet of flowers delivered to my home each day. Make that several bouquets.

I put these lilacs in a teacup from Anthropology my friend gave me one year for my birthday. They sit on the window ledge above my kitchen sink. I'm starting to really love the look of flowers in unique "vases". A teacup, a masons jar, or maybe even a coffee can with a ribbon tied around it....anything different.

And of course I love the monogram on this cup. I can't get enough of monograms....or flowers. Two of my favorites things....

{Ginger} So Doggone Lucky!

My husband is Ginger's favorite person and he adores her too. As a matter of fact, he downright spoils her. Rotten. He recently spent the last few weekends (and a lot of money) working on a doghouse for her. I must say, it turned out really cute! AND she even has her first initial on her house. Lucky dog.

It sits in our backyard under a tree and will be a nice cool spot for her on those hot summer days.

Here's our girl...she's one now and has matured a lot. She even sits still for a few minutes and lays in the middle of the yard. She still has a way (long way) to go, but we'll keep her (for now ;)!

{Cute Kids Stuff} Breukelen Yard

My childhood best friend, Nicole, owns a very hip kids clothing line called Breukelen Yard. On Breukelen Yard's blog, Nicole has some great features including children's book reviews and other fun finds.

Recently Nicole told me she was interested in adding a Friday feature with a new mom as the subject. AND....she asked me to participate! I was super excited and more than happy to help.

My first "Life with a Newborn" post was this past Friday. Check it out at http://bklynyardkids.blogspot.com/2010/04/life-as-first-time-mommy-kate.html. My nephew, Jack, is the feature below mine! He did a children's book review of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It's so cute!

{Announcements} My Little Sweet Face Boy

My baby boy's birth announcements are finally finished! I dropped these in the mail this evening. A little later than I wanted....BUT....I'm just a tinsy bit busy these days ;)

I love simple and classic design, so I kept true to myself and let my boy's picture take center stage. I added a simple scallop band with his stats in a blue and chocolate brown color palette across the bottom. I also used different fonts to highlight his name.

Wrap Labels - I carried the scallop design from the announcement through to the labels. The announcements and labels were printed on white shimmery paper/cardstock and the outer envelopes are matte brown.

{Invitations} Happy Birthday Babe!

My hubby's birthday is on May 8th, and I am having a small family party at our home to celebrate the occasion. This is also the day we made settlement on our home one year ago. Lots to celebrate on this day! The invitation I created uses pops of some of my favorite colors for a guy - dark blue, lime, and light blue.



I love making wrap labels (pictured above). They are the perfect finishing touch to any invitation or announcement. I'm sure I will make a few more coordinating pieces for the party! I'll post those once they are created:)

{Decorating} Color Inspiration!

I love the colors used in this room....they are so bright and cheery! A perfect color combo for spring! I think this looks more like a little girl's bedroom, but wouldn't this color combo be cute for a little boy's room too? I am starting to gather inspiration pics for Dean's big boy bedroom and this is going in my file (I know, I know...I'm a little ahead of the game!).

Jamie's Wedding Invitations

{The invitation - I love the way the dark pink pops against the black backer!}

{RSVP postcard}

{The entire wedding suite}

Jamie and John are getting married this June in Jamaica! We used a hibicus flower on their engagement party invitation and kept it consistent with their wedding invitation. These invites were printed on a shimmery ivory paper and backed with a textured black cardstock. The rsvp card is a non-traditional postcard and the outer envelope is shimmery ivory.

{Decorating} My Baby Boy's Pictures

I finally choose the newborn pictures of Dean that I wanted to purchase, received them in the mail on disk last week, made my prints at Target the other day and FINALLY found a few minutes to get them in frames and scatter them around the house so I can see my boy's sweet face in whatever room I go! Check them out below!

All pictures taken by Melissa Stottman Photography.


{Giant frames in the dining room}

{Family room wall ledges}

{Belly pic in my office}

{Shelf in the kitchen}

{Dean's nursery. I used the old frames as a backdrop for the pictures instead of as frames.}

{Aren't these cute? I ordered three of these little accordian books from Melissa - one for me and one for each of the grandmoms. I gave them as Easter presents this year. They are tiny little brag books for your purse.}

Happy Easter!

What a great time of the year it is - the warm sun finally emerging after a long, cold winter, the beautiful daffodils peaking up out of the ground, the green green grass, buds on the trees and newness of life outside, and the gorgeous pastel colors of the season. I love it all! Enjoy the day celebrating with family!