Blog

January 17, 2019

SQUISHIES VALENTINES

Are your kids OBSESSED with Squishies? Each of our oldest kids, Ari (8) and Amara (7) both collect them, so we thought it would be fun to give them out as Valentine’s this year. You can buy a grab bag of them super cheap on Amazon (linked below) and keep the rest for your kiddo. We like to save them for “happies” and rewards!

We’ve given you two different wordings… because at some point it’s “EMBARRASSING, MOM” to tell your friends they’re cute! LOL!

1. Purchase:

CLEAR BAGS

SQUISHIES

*NOTE: if you purchase a pack with the tiny jelly-like Mochi squishies, those will leave a residue on the paper like they’ve sweat lol. We recommend only the regular squishies pictured and linked above.

and recommended but not necessary…

CARD STOCK

PAPER CUTTER

WASHI TAPE

2. Download your cards:

“COOL” DOWNLOAD

“CUTE” DOWNLOAD

3. Print on white card stock. THIS is our favorite ever!! Super bright white and prints vibrant colors. It really makes a difference, especially with this printable since there’s so much color.

* When printing, make sure to set the scale to 100%! That will make it so the size of the card is exactly 5.5″ and you can just make one simple cut down the middle of the paper. It also fits inside the bag much better at this scale.

4. Cut right on the lines using a paper cutter. THIS one is the only kind we’ve found for seeing right where you’re cutting.

5. Pop the card and Squishie in the bag, seal with cute washi tape, and you’re done!

For ALL of our previous Valentines Day Printables, click HERE!

Leah & Jenni

December 30, 2018

MOM JEANS

Actually, this post is not necessarily for MOM’s only. My body has been like this since first grade. If you have a tummy and skinny legs that are completely disproportionate, you and I have what’s called a “marshmallow on toothpicks” body shape. I’m making it official. Sure, we could give up carbs and sugar forever, but that would just make for a sad, sad life. Instead, let’s find some jeans that actually fit and make us feel good, shall we?!

After I put the word out on instagram stories, y’all came back with tons of suggestions! All different price ranges too. I’ll put them below but wanted to tell you what I ended up going with.

EVERYDAY JEANS: Mother, Looker Ankle Fray, Girl Crush. Fits true to size. A little on the pricier side, but they’re all you need for every day! These are a medium wash with cute frayed ankles to give it that styled look. I’ve worn them with cute tennies and booties- looks cute either way. The waist band is wide!!! It doesn’t roll down every time you sit down! The waistband is higher up in the back, so no plumber butt issues. The jeans have a little stretch and fits my marshmallow on toothpick body perfectly. My one tiny complaint is that I wish the denim was a little thicker or had a button fly to really keep in allllll that tummy. They’re SO good. Four stars.

GOING OUT JEANS: Reformation, High & Skinny, Black Wash. I got one size down from Mother. These are stretchy without being tooooo tight. They are high rise but not in an insane way. They’re half the price of a lot of jeans I was looking at (score!) and just fit like a glove! So far, they haven’t stretched out where I have to constantly pull them up. Can dress up or down.

I also got Paige jeans that day and wore them out of the store, but after about 10 minutes they were sliding down, and I was walking like a penguin! Thankfully they’re from Nordstrom and the return policy is the best! They certainly looked really cute and fit well, but I think not having much of a butt to hold them up, they just slid right down. Bummer!

Here are the other suggestions y’all sent in! Click on the photo or scroll down. Thank you, internet family!!

* Madewell, high rise. These just don’t fit me, but the majority of you said you loved them! I’m sure if your body is more proportional, they would look great! They have a recycling program where you can turn in your old jeans and get $20 off your new pair! These actually look great.. might try these next: Madewell, Roadtripper.

* Old Navy, Rockstar. I own these! They’re definitely jeggings but they don’t look like it. They have a nice wide band although I’m not sure if they slim as well as the jeans I bought. They tend to push out the top part of my tummy, but if I’m wearing a looser top, it doesn’t matter. Super inexpensive and cute.

* AG Jeans Legging – these were super cute on! Might get these as a third pair.

* Wit and Wisdom. I didn’t try these yet, but they look like the have potential… not sure if the legs are skinny enough for me, BUT a lot of you said that they have tummy sucking in thingies built in to the fabric!

* Kut from the Kloth, Diana. I tried these, and they didn’t fit me at all. BUT what I love about the company is that you can pick 5 jeans to try on, they send them to you without charging you, and you only pay for what you keep. If you have more on your try on list, they’ll send you your next 5 when you return the first round. That’s pretty cool!

* Good American. I own two pairs of these. I loved them for postpartum, but now that I’m slightly less fluffy, they’re not fitting and really stretch out in the legs. I think these are great for girls with more of a butt and hips. Lucky. Ugh.

* J brand high rise skinny

* Jessica Simpson

* Not Your Daughters Jeans

* Athleta – I tried these… comfy but the legs weren’t skinny enough

* Democracy

* Artisan crafted

* GAP high rise true skinny

* Eddie Bauer

* American Eagle – high waisted jeggings

* Levi’s

* Kiki Larue

* Dr. Denim

Let me know if you have anything else to add to the list!

The moral of the story is: You should feel good in your jeans, no matter the size. By good I mean COMFORTABLE and CONFIDENT. Get what fits you now. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t fit in what you wore last year, especially if you’ve had a baby or three. Talking to myself here as much as I’m talking to you. Thanks for all of your help! I hope this helps YOU!

xo,

Leah

November 4, 2018

TEDDY BEAR’S BIRTHDAY CAKE

We threw a birthday party for my 5-year-old Max’s teddy bear (as one does). We made mini layer cakes and a mini party hat for Teddy for the occasion! These pretty little cakes are more interesting than cupcakes but just as easy and delicious.

There are a couple different levels of easy to make the cake, and it only depends on the recipe.

Use a boxed cake and frosting. This is the easiest way to go (duh) and turns out yummy every single time. Pillsbury white cake mix is my fav, and I used the egg yolks to give it the yellow color.
This recipe is super simple and seriously delicious! You probably have all the ingredients in your pantry.
The mega-boss recipe of them all from Milk Bar. The hardest, but the tastiest. I just got their new “All About Cake” cookbook, and I’ve been dreaming up all the truffle recipes I want to make!

Whichever one you choose…

* Mix in 1/4 cup of sprinkles to the batter.

* Spread it evenly in a rimmed sheet pan/jelly roll pan that’s been lined with parchment paper then top with more sprinkles

* Make sure to under bake it a little…start off with 10-12 minutes and keep checking!

* Once baked, let it cool for a few minutes, then lift the cake out of the pan by holding the ends of parchment paper and let it cool completely. I like to do this so that the cake doesn’t continue to bake in the hot pan.

* Using a 2″ round cookie cutter/biscuit cutter, cut out circles from the cake in rows. You should get 3 rows of 8, making 8 triple layer cakes or 12 double layer cakes.

* Frost in between the layers and on top. You could pipe it but I just used a knife, and it turned out just fine. Top with sprinkles!

PS. need that giant jug of sprinkles? Here’s the link!

I made these cakes for Max’s 1st birthday too! I used all egg whites so the cake turned out nice and white and tinted each layer of frosting different colors for a more festive look!

To make Teddy’s party hat, you can use THIS template but shrink it down majorly. I actually just eye balled it and hand cut- the widest part around 4.5″. Fringe a little tissue paper and tape inside the middle of the cone. Roll up and tape string inside.

I realize this is super unnecessary, but with all that’s going on in the news and the world right now, I wanted to do something to make someone happy. Max was VERY happy with the results, and informed me that Teddy was too. 🙂

October 25, 2018

DIY HALLOWEEN COSTUME – SCHITT’S CREEK

If you don’t watch Schitt’s Creek…seriously get on it. It’s on Netflix, you have no excuse. I’ve loved everything Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara have been in, so when their new show premiered, I immediately became obsessed. Eugene’s son, Dan Levy is a freaking GEM, as is the entire cast (Annie Murphy!!). This is my ode to Dan’s character, David Rose. He’s lovably snarky and strictly wears black and white. I bought face paint to do a little stubble beard, but Joshie was too wiggly. So this is like… David AS a baby lol! I found through making this costume that fake eyebrows are hard to find or don’t exist?? These are more Eugene Levy’s thickness, but you do what you gotta do. Now go watch!! Ew, David.

Sweater

Jeans

Shoes

Eyebrows – simply cut one of the mustaches in half!

Leah

October 18, 2018

DIY HALLOWEEN COSTUME – BABY JON SNOW

Not going to lie… this was a struggle to photograph. Wiggly babies and costumes do not mix! Definitely going to try this again next Halloween. I got the furriest faux mongolian fur fabric and draped it over Joshie’s shoulders. It came as a large rectangle that would actually be a good little rug if you finished the edges. The faux leather came in a giant roll. I literally only needed a 12″ square, but it was super cheap so whatever! I’m going to use the rest as placemats for the kids. I just cut a square of the leather and crisscrossed 2 strips on top. I was too lazy to sew them, so I stapled them and safety pinned them to the footie jammies. Joshie has naturally curly hair, but I added some gel to really try and Jon Snow it up! Now all we need to do is wait for the series finale to start… wah!!