Love List: What We're Watching

Hi, my name is Erika, and I'm a Netflix addict. I hate watching shows live. Binge is the only way to go. I like it in the background while I do dishes or work or whatever. Brainless shows are best for that. But we are kind of in a show rut right now. We've tried a few shows (Parks and Rec, The Fall) and couldn't get in to them. So here's what we're watching (re-watching) right now. Shoot me your favs and give me something to add to my list!

1, Supernatural
This is the only "new to us" thing we're watching. It took us a long time to get in to it but we stuck with it because we figured the rabid fandom couldn't be wrong. Five seasons in and we are liking it! But we only watch it together (it's our current "our" show) so it's kinda slow going.

2. Friends
Yay for Netflix getting all seasons of my favorite show of all time. I can recite this word for word in my sleep. Anyone else notice that Netflix has an edited version, though? I sometimes notice little lines missing here and there. Weird.

Bonus: Did you know our wedding cake was "Friends" themed? We are *that* kind of fans.

3. Chuck
Re-watching this one because it's been a while and it still makes me laugh. I love that it has a butt-kicking chick and a nerdy guy as the leads and it's too dang funny. And let's talk about the eye candy that is Zachary Levi...

4. Once Upon a Time
Just finished re-watching this, mostly as wishful thinking. When is Netflix getting the next season??

5. Daniel Tiger
The other night we noticed that we were still watching this after Em went to bed. As far as kid shows go, it's definitely the best. Great lessons, no annoying characters (dude, Curious George's voice bugs me!) and the kid loves it. It's a daily staple in our house.

"If you have to go potty STOP - and go right away..."

Love List: Spring Printable Round-up

It's finally starting to warm up and today we even saw the sun! It has been so lovely and we just want to be outside all the time.

To welcome spring, I thought I'd do a little round up of some of my favorite free spring printables (and a few that were just so dang cute). I have a frame on my entryway table that I just rotate the print regularly to match the seasons. Here are some of my favorites right now. Be sure to visit the original site for the download and for their other great offerings.

Love the Journey from The 36th Avenue
Hello, Spring from Sandy Toes and Popsicles
Hello, Spring! from On Sutton Place
What a Wonderful World from Lost Bumblebee
Life isn't a Race from By Dawn Nicole
Dance Your Heart Out from Smitten on Paper
What I Love Most from Eighteen25
I Love Everything About You from Tried and True
Bakers Gonna Bake from Lost Bumblebee

Now get outside and enjoy this gorgeous weather!

Love list: Birthday Spoils

Oh man, our girl is so spoiled. In the best possible way - she is so lucky to have so many people who love her and were generous for her birthday. She has had so many new things to play with she doesn't even know where to start. But here are some of her new favorites (if you need a gift idea for a two-year-old):

1. Thinkery membership
We have loved our membership to the Children's Museum and use it frequently. A regular visit is $9 per ticket and a membership is $100 for a family of four, so you only have to go 3-4 times before it pays for itself. Ours expired last month so we were so happy Bapa renewed it as her gift. Memberships make great gifts, especially for kiddos who already have so many "things."

Something with magnets... didn't understand how it works but it made cool patterns when you turn the knob. We hadn't seen this exhibit before - I really like that they keep adding things so there's always something new to try.

Can't go wrong with a parachute.

2. Green Toys Tea set
There's just nothing like a little girl with a tea set. This one is AWESOME because it's one of the only ones I've seen that's not breakable! She picked it up and immediately knew what to do with it. How do kids know?? She just started pouring tea into the cups and then pretending to sip and say "nummy!" Kills me.

She totally set up her animals for a tea party. Made my heart soar. 

This is as I'm trying to get her out the door for a dr's appt. Can't tear her away from it.

Afternoon tea with her Aunt Jenna.

3. Melissa and Doug sandwiches
My brother had the funniest story about buying this. He was at Toys R Us picking up some playdoh and kinetic sand (both also awesome gifts!) and as he headed to the check out, he saw this Melissa and Doug sandwich kit on an endcap. Without stopping or even slowing down, he just nodded, said "Yup!" (out loud) and grabbed one as he walked by. And she totally loves it! She has several wooden food sets for her kitchen, but for some reason this one is her favorite. It's got great mix and match options, so I think she likes that she can experiment with it a lot.

4. B Toys cars
We have been eyeing these Wheeee-is for a while and I don't know why we didn't get them sooner! Grammy Carol was on point with these. They are a great size (she can't put them in her mouth!) and she is fascinated by how to pull them back and let them go. We take these everywhere now.

5. Bubbles
Two of her little friends had the same idea - what kid doesn't love bubbles?? But these bubble gun and Fubbles machines are great because she always wants to do the bubbles herself and hasn't quite mastered the whole blowing through a wand thing. My only complaint with these is that they make our wood floors a little slick so they are definitely outside toys.

Love list: Little pick-me-ups

First of all, nothing's wrong. So when I say that it's been a bit rough over here lately, I feel a little silly about it because there is nothing major or serious or anything. Just seems like a struggle to get through the days lately (mostly a severe lack of sleep, I think, for all three of us). So this week's Love List is a tribute to the little pick-me-ups that have brought a some cheer into life lately. Celebrate the little things, right?

So she found this old hat (from when she was like six months old), jammed it on her head, and started playing Angry Birds. Doesn't she look like the girl from Despicable Me? I love these little moments that just make me laugh.

Um, you know I have a Torchy's addiction, right? This month has my absolute favorite taco - the Scallywag. Soooooo good. I think I need to eat at Torchy's every day this month.

Zulily had Toms yesterday!! I got Em a couple pairs, and one for Hans, too. They were a killer deal, plus a had a $15 credit, making this a total steal.

My sweet hubby took baby duty one night last week so I could have a little girls' night out with a friend - pedicures and ice cream. Love this color!

The Nike outlet had sports bras 40% off... that never happens! Silly how excited I get about something like that. Also, tell me about your favorite workout clothes. What do you recommend? Maybe I'll hate working out less if I feel cuter...

Love List: On my nightstand

There's a stack of books next to my bed that seems to be growing faster than I can read them. That's ok... I'll get to them some day! Here's what I'm looking forward to right now:

The King's Curse, Philippa Gregory
The Wise Man's Fear, Patrick Rothfuss
Season of Storms, Susanna Kearsley
First Frost, Sarah Addison Allen
Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes
The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco

What are you reading? Please, add to my stack :)

Love list: Toddler bedding picks

One of my dad's favorite stories to tell about me is about the mornings he used to lay in bed until he heard a loud "THUNK" and then patter patter patter down the hallway before my head popped into their room. He curses my mom's college roommate for teaching me how to climb out of my crib.

I have dreaded that day happening for Em. But yesterday during what was supposed to be naptime, I peeked in to see her putting her foot up on the rail. She couldn't get up, but she was trying her hardest. I fear my days are numbered. We are going to try and fight it as long as possible (because I'm pretty sure no crib = no nap ever again), but that doesn't mean we're not starting to think about it.

Among other things we've considered to ease the transition, we are thinking about moving her to a new room, new settings and making a big deal of her fun new "big girl bed." So I have been checking out toddler bedding. And there are so many cute ones I'm having a hard time picking! Here are some of my favs.

1. Well Nested, Land of Nod
2. The Littlest (Etsy)
3. Gold Dot, Pottery Barn Kids
4. Arrow bedding, Caden Lane (via Buy Buy Baby)
5. Treetops, DwellStudio
6. Pink Velvet Petticoat, Land of Nod (would a twin size be too big? Maybe we should just go straight to a twin bed...)
7. Washed Fleur Applique, Restoration Hardware
8. Pink Surprise Party Balloon, Land of Nod

Question for you: What SIZE should a toddler quilt/comforter be? The sizes of these seem to vary greatly. And if you have any other recommendations for great sources for toddler bedding, let me know!

Love List: Pins I love this week

Are you a Pinterest-aholic? I totally am. There should be a support group... it would have the best decorations, and food, and photos and then we could all blog about it and Pin the pictures...

Anyway. We have a lot going on over here this week, so I thought I'd cheat a little bit on the love list this week and just share some of my favorite recent pins.

1. How gorgeous is this photo?? Pretty sure this is the ice cream counter is at Big Top on S. Congress. Pretty sure I need a photo of Em and I sitting at those stools. Who wants to take it for me?? I'll love you forever.

2. I don't wear much jewelry. In fact, the only rings I wear are my wedding rings. I keep thinking I'd like to be right-hand-ring kind of girl. I love how dainty these stacked rings are, how simple, and I love the variety of metals. And if I could get Em's initials on these, that'd be pretty sweet. 

3. Um, yum. I'm not usually a huge fan of red velvet cake, but something about this one being combined with an oreo cookie buttercream is just begging to be tried.

4. I have been following Chocolate-Covered Katie for a couple years and I love all her recipes. I didn't realize she just put out a cookbook! I must get this. And make all the recipes. At once.

5. Mmmmm... polka dots. I love anything with polka dots and I looooove this top. Combined with the skirt. A-mazing. Why can't my closet just be full of my Pinterest pins?

If you'd like to keep up with the obsessive amount of things I pin, follow me HERE. I'm happy to share all these pretty things and more with you.

Love list: Children's Art

We have been working on a fun little mini home makeover project over here. I'm not quite ready to share it yet, but I thought you might be able to help me with one of the last little details. There's one very blank wall that could use a fun, colorful poster or print. And I'm having a hard time choosing! Here are some of my favorites:

Up: Ciara Panacchia
Adventure bike: PrintableWisdom
To the moon: EefLillemor
Eat you up: TheCreativeSideshow
Greatest adventure: Zoom Boone Creations
Be little: SimplyGiftedPrints
Alphabet animals: littleinkshop

I find that I'm drawn toward interesting typography and quotes that I love ("Let them be little" is my favorite, but Where the Wild Things Are is one of Em's fav books). But at the same time I feel like we have several typography prints in our home and could use something more illustrative, especially in a little one's space. I guess I should add that I'm looking for 16x24 or larger and I think portrait orientation would fit the space better. I also thought about some twine and clips for a drawing gallery, like this one:

Design Improvised

What are your thoughts? Have any other sources I should check out? Thanks for the help!

Love List: Christmas books!

1. The Night Before Christmas
The seems to be the favorite so far. We read it three times just today! It's the classic poem with great illustrations. Em especially likes the part in the middle where you first see Santa - it folds out to a four page spread. I think you can't go wrong with this one and it'll be enjoyed by kids of any age.

2. Santa's Favorite Story
This is a close second favorite! Figures she likes the big girl books best. I see ripped pages in our future. She just wants to flip through this all day. I think she really likes the illustrations in this one. I like that it has Santa, but it also really focuses on the Christ part of Christmas. Another recommendation for all ages.

3. Olivia Helps with Christmas
How can you go wrong with Olivia? This one sure had mommy and daddy laughing. It's a good perspective on Christmas from a little one's point of view. Another solid Olivia book.

4. Bear Stays Up For Christmas
This one's really cute! Very short and simple. There's not a whole lot to the story, mostly just cute woodland creatures getting ready for Christmas day. It's a quick, easy read and has a sweet message about being with those you love on Christmas.

5. What is Christmas?
Another very simple, Christ-centered book. I think this is perfect for Em right now because it tells the story of Christ's birth in the most basic terms. I do think that it has a shelf-life... it's good for the littlest of littles, but I don't see her reading this year after year like I do some of the others.

It's a solid start to our Christmas library. Please let me know what your favorite holiday books are!

Love list: Shoes and Books

1. Finally - Freshly Picked!
You may have seen a couple months ago that I entered a contest over and over and over again. Well... it was worth it! We won!! And so got a free pair of Freshly Picked moccs that I have been dyyyyyiiiing to have. They got lost in the mail and I was devastated. But miracle of miracles... they arrived last night! And we are so in love with them. She started squealing and running back and forth across the house. Even though she doesn't usually wear shoes in the house, she has been wearing these nonstop. Who wants to buy her 500 more pairs, one in every color?

2. New boots

Remember how I've been drooling over new boots for like, ten years? I finally got some, thanks to my sweet godmother! You like-y? They're from DSW, Bare Traps Striking. They're a little wider, just the right height, so comfy and warm. The search is over, folks!

Hmmmm... I couldn't find a good picture of just the boots, but this is them!

3. Where the Wild Things Are
And we have a new favorite. Any time I can't find my kiddo, she's hiding in her bedroom looking through this book and babbling to herself. I love it!! Any time we ask her if she wants to read, she nods and takes off running to her reading chair. So cute!

4. Fault in Our Stars
Oh my stars. Am I the last person to see this? I have been dying to see it but never made it to the theaters. We finally got around to seeing it once it hit Redbox and I'm so glad we did. I'm actually not a huge fan of Shailene Woodley (I run hot and cold. Sometimes I love her. Sometimes she's just meh) and I don't think Ansel Elgort is very attractive. And let's be real, he was stiff as a board in Divergent so I thought he couldn't act. So I was pleasantly surprised by how well both of them did! I really loved how they played their characters. And while I didn't cry reading the book (ok, one line. By Hazel's mother), I sobbed through the last half of the movie. So good! If you haven't seen it yet, you should. Did great justice to a wonderful book.

5. Gone Girl

Ugh, I did it again. That thing where I get sucked into a book and stay up waaaaayyyyy too late because I just *have* to finish it. The first 150 pages or so I was like, "Hey, this is interesting, but I'm not sure what the hype is about." And then it got SO. GOOD. Dark. Twisty. Brilliant. I'm hesitant to recommend it though - it was a little too graphic for my taste. It's a fantastic book, so long as you can stomach that stuff. Just don't get sucked in at midnight. Your toddler will make sure to wake up extra early the next day.

Love list: Pumpkin Everything

Ah, it's getting to be that time of year again. It's cooling down outside and that means sweaters and boots and hot cocoa and fires are just around the corner. It also means that Pinterest looks likes this...

Guys....

All kidding aside, I'm guilty of being a little too obsessed with pumpkin everything. It's one of my favorite things about fall! So today's Love List is dedicated to the season of pumpkins. Bring on that orange-y goodness

1. Bath and Body Works Pumpkin Cafe

Em and I went in and smelled all the pumpkin candles last week. I wanted to buy them all, but managed not to. I couldn't even pick a favorite, but I narrowed it down to Spiced Pumpkin Cider and Pumpkin Cupcake. I didn't see the sugared donut or marshmallow ones there, but I bet those are good! Guess I'm just gonna have to get them all :)

2. My mom's pumpkin cookies
These are up there in the runnings for best cookies of all time. The recipe is hiding in my email... I may have to post it one day. They are so soft and delicious. Yum. Now I need to make some.

3. Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte
As good as Starbucks' pumpkin spiced lattes are, a). they are expensive and b). they have way more calories than necessary. I've been making them at home (trying different recipes, they all seem about the same!) and they are so tasty!

4. Jamba Juice Pumpkin Smash

This is one of my favorite things ever. Seriously. I look forward to it every year. It is worth the drive. And the cost. And the calories. If you've never tried it, you MUST!

5. Pumpkin Enchiladas

We tried this recipe from Fry Sauce and Grits the other night and there were no leftovers. And I have request from both the hubs and the brother to make it again soon. Between the pork and the pumpkin sauce, it both tastes and feels light. You don't get that heavy, greasy feeling that you sometimes have after eating enchiladas. And it's really nice to enjoy the savory side of pumpkin, too.

Bonus: Five pumpkin recipes I need to try!

Something Swanky: Pumpkin Nutella Poke Cake

Something Swanky: Pumpkin Oreo Muddy Buddies

Back For Seconds: Pumpkin Spice Fudge Brownies

Life Made Simple Bakes: Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Inside Bru Crew Life: Pumpkin S'mores Bars

I Heart Naptime: Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with maple frosting

Love List: Fall Fashion

Oh man, I've got a shopping itch. I keep getting emails about all my favorite stores pulling out their fall lines and I am falling in love with them! Here's my current favs:

1. All of Baby Gap's fall line
It's no secret that Baby Gap is my favorite place to shop for Punkito. And I think I could literally buy one of everything in the store right now.

This whole outfit (and the topknot!) would be PERFECT on Miss Em

2. Big City Chic
We went in Janie and Jack last week looking for something very specific (a red sweater) and instead I couldn't stop drooling over this line. I'm a sucker for black and white and polka dots, but I'm loving the hot pink thrown in! My girl would rock these outfits so hard.

(Janie and Jack)

3. Riding Boots
I have wanted cute boots for a couple years and can never find the perfect pair! Hans bought me a fantastic-looking pair for Christmas last year but... they were over the knee. And I'm super short. And I couldn't walk in them. Sadly, I took them back and I have yet to find a pair that I truly love. I checked out DSW today and thought these were fairly good options. Any suggestions where else to check?

(Bare Traps, DSW)

(Steve Madden, DSW)

(Bandolino, DSW)

4. Fall Toms
Another not-so-secret obsession of mine. Zulily (do you use Zulily? It's so dangerous) had Toms on sale this week and I had such a hard time not going totally nuts. I did get Em these two darling pairs. The women's ones I wanted went too fast and I missed them. But I am totally in love with these two and I keep telling myself that I *need* the wool-lined ones for winter. You know how cold it gets here in steamy Austin ;)

(Nordstrom)

(Nordstrom)

5. Mustard color
I noticed that I keep gravitating toward this color. It makes me want to go to a Pumpkin Patch and go on a hayride and wear a scarf. Ya know, in 100 degree weather. Come on, fall, get here already!

(Downeast Basics)

(Loft)

What are your fall favorites?