2014 recap of Maya and me…thank you for following along!!

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This was such a fun year blogging! We really didn’t know what we wanted to do with this blog when we started, and I specifically wasn’t really sure what I wanted my posts to be about. They started off as casual mom fashion posts, but quickly turned into me documenting Maya and me having fun together, but…also showcasing our mostly thrifted clothing. 🙂

Fashion aside, I hope some of the images just made you smile 🙂 The main point for me is to have fun with Maya and to be able to show this to her when she grows up. That is the best thing to have come out of this little venture.

Life can get hectic and overwhelming, but this blog has consistently been something I look forward to doing. The images I now have of Maya and me are invaluable. Having a structured way to document us having fun and stories along the way, an absolute unexpected bonus! The people I have “met” both from the blogging community and on Instagram probably know more about my daily life than a lot of my family and friends (I still don’t really share this blog with that many people…maybe some day I will :))! For those of you that have followed along and become friends along the way…thank you, thank you, thank you! 🙂

Anyway…No idea how I narrowed down my favorites from this year, but…here are a few (ok, a LOT haha).

Happy New Year!!!

(All pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya and 6 random ones of us that either my mom or the Huz took-can you guess which ones they are?? :))

Scandinavian Shrimp Pie

Vintage Levi’s Jean Jackets + Combat Boots…twinning (oops!)

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I’ve been on the HUNT for a vintage Levi’s jacket. I wanted it to be a little boxy, but not too big. And then…there it was just hanging on the end of a rack at the thrift store. I’ve said it before. I’m ridiculously lucky when it comes to thrifting. I think of something I want, and sooner or later (usually sooner) it’s there for about 90-95%+ less than retail price! This was not a major score at $10, but because it was something on my wish list, it was a total score (insert happy dance the minute I saw it!!) to me! I had found one for May a while back, so…yes we were totally twinning this day haha. Whatever, I’m not even sorry!! 😉 If only we could find joy as adults, as toddlers do jumping of a single step…over, and over, and over 🙂 On me…

Jacket- Levi’s (thrifted, similar here)

Top- The Oxford Trunk (sold out, but similar here)

Jeans- J Brand Skinny Leg Shadow Destroyed (ebay, not destroyed here and less expensive here)

Boots- Frye 12″ Harness Boots (eBay)

On Maya…

Jacket- Levi’s (thrifted, but similar here)

Scarf- Mine, old

Dress- Hanna Andersson (thrifted, but similar here)

Leggings- Gap (thrifted, but similar here)

Boots- Xhiliration (eBay, but similar here)

Keeping it Real…

I don’t really have a keeping it real. I’m still on the high of the holidays, and…the holidays being over! ;} What I mean by that is I LOVE the actual holidays!! Getting to spend time with family, eating amazing food, drinking good wine, giving, and ok, let’s be honest receiving gifts!! 😉 THAT all makes the time leading up to the holidays-the prep for them during my busiest work time of year, all worth it. That said… The fact that all the running around like a chicken with my head cut off for the last 3 months is coming to an end is…such a relief (does that sound bad??) Honestly, I don’t even care if it does sound bad!!

I am such a creature of habit. I love the simple day to day activities. I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch about 90% of the time, and honestly, my day to day doesn’t vary all that much! When too much out of the ordinary happens or too much gets out of whack, I just feel out of control and overwhelmed. And let me tell you, the last 3 months has been ALL THAT and MORE!!! So…January, I am soooo ready for you! 🙂

(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Leather + Animal Print for the holidays…

Mexican Hot Chocolate

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Merry Merry Christmas everyone!

Feeling chilly? Need a drink after playing in the snow? This Mexican Hot Chocolate will warm you right up! A delicious blend of spices including ginger and cayenne make this a wonderful steamy drink for a cold winter day.

Ingredients (1 serving)

2 tsps cocoa
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
cayenne to taste (I use about 1/8 tsp, but I like it spicy!)
1 Tbsp agave syrup or honey
1/4 cup water
1 cup milk (or coconut milk)
Half ‘n’ half or cream to taste

Directions

Mix dry ingredients in a cup
Add agave and water
Microwave on high for 20 seconds
Stir till well blended, add milk and return to the microwave for another minute or until hot
Add some whipped cream (optional)

What we wore for our holiday pictures…

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I’ll preface this to say…our family pictures were more along the lines of those viral forwards that everyone laughs about and says “thank GOD that wasn’t us”. And just wait for it. The truth is in the pudding. Really, I don’t even know what that last phrase means, but…it sounds better than the truth is at the end 😉

And yet… I’ll start of with what we wore, because well…that’s what this blog is mostly about 🙂I scored this top from The Oxford Trunk for $10 (!!!) when they had a big sale. I got it in both white and black, and I looooove them!! A post with me wearing the black version is coming soon. These next two are a little out of focus (we missed our mark in the excitement), but I don’t care 🙂 She’s been extra into giving kisses lately, and I’m not complaining!! And…here’s our holiday card 🙂 Not at all what I had planned, but it’s what we got. And…I kind of think it’s perfect 🙂SO….keeping it real ahead of the real “Keeping it Real” at the bottom. All of the above pics of me and Maya were taken a few days ago. The holiday card…3 weeks ago…

I have a list of suggestions for clients before we take family pictures, and I absolutely LOVE when they put some time and effort not only into what they wear, but how they want their pictures to look. That said, my number one goal is to make sure everyone has FUN…and then I capture that.

Well….none of that usually happens for us haha. What’s the phrase “The cobblers children have no shoes”??

I’ve been insanely busy doing everyone else’s holiday pictures, and we’ve had a LOT of stuff going on personally so I honestly wasn’t sure we’d even have time to take ones for ourselves.

ANYWAY. I had a last minute cancellation about 3 weeks ago, the weather was actually clear, so we scoured everyone’s clothes to find things that were clean and somewhat went together, I grabbed the tripod and away we went. Maya is always so excited when her brothers are in the back seat with her, so she was chatting and laughing the whole way there. I was getting hopeful that we would get some great shots of everyone…

We all get out, and I get a few pics of the boys with the Huz. Again thinking “This is going to be great!!” Maya was just running around happy as a clam, playing and then trying to get in their shots. As I’m getting the tripod set up to get a group pic, Maya starts howling. Like a hysterical crying that I’ve never heard before. I make sure she’s not hurt (she’s not). All she wants to do is have me rock her on the bench. Um….are you kidding me?! The kid that gets her picture taken almost every day of her life, and is totally used to having it taken with a self timer and tripod is now flipping the F out! Inconsolable even??! I tried taking a few and playing with her like I always do. NOT WORKING. At this point, I’m losing my patience and am getting totally frustrated. Tears may have been shed from both of us. Honestly, I really just wanted to get ONE picture of all of us, and a few of Maya with her brothers! It sounds like something that would be easy to get, but with teenage boys and us all being so busy. It just isn’t… Oh well. I Photoshopped two images together to get the one for our card, and honestly, that’s all we needed. I got a few of the 3 of the kids at Thanksgiving, and that is better than most…

On me…

Top- The Oxford Trunk (sold out, but similar here)

Jeans- DL1961 Emma in “Cellar” (thrifted, but similar on sale here)

Boots- Circa Joan & David “Kirstin” (thrifted, similar here)

On Maya…

Jacket-Gap (thrifted, but similar here)

Dress- Gap (thrifted, but love this one here)

Tights-H&M (old, similar here)

Boots- Zulily (search Link Boots)

Keeping it Real…

This is what really went down… hahaha. I can somewhat laugh about it now :{

And here’s the Huz finally calming her down, and honestly my favorite picture of the entire shoot… She looooves her Daddy!! Sadly, it was too late to get all of us into this moment. I don’t care though, because THIS…was all worth it for me 🙂

(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya and her Daddy :))

Hot Artichoke and Crab Dip

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We just had our annual Iron Chef party – the challenge was to use ONE of the following ingredients in a dish: crab, chocolate or cranberries. I picked crab and made this dip. Guess who won the iron chef challenge!? Yep, that’s right – Hot Artichoke & Crab Dip! 🙂

This dip is everything you would expect from a hot creamy artichoke and crab dip – plus more! The 1/2 tsp cayenne adds a fabulous kick. Spicy but not too spicy. If you’re not into spice and heat – omit! Definitely not recommended for kids, but a wonderful “grown up” dish. I served this with cucumber and red bell pepper slices, but toasted baguette or pita would be great if you prefer!

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked crabmeat
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese + 1/4 cup for topping
1/3 cup chopped green onion + 2 tsps for garnish
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper + 2 tsps for garnish
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Serve with

1 hot house cucumber, sliced (for dipping)
1 red bell pepper, sliced (for dipping)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
Combine cream cheese and mayonnaise in a large bowl until smooth; stir in garlic and cayenne. Gently stir artichoke hearts, crab, Parmesan cheese, 1/3 cup green onion, 1/3 cup red bell pepper. Transfer the dip to a 9-inch pie dish and sprinkle top with rest of cheese.
Bake in the preheated oven until topping is golden brown and dip is hot, ~30 minutes. Garnish with 2 teaspoons green onion and 2 teaspoons chopped red bell pepper.

Oversized sweaters and playing on the beach…

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I have been on the hunt for the perfect oversized black sweater for a long time now. I’ve bought/returned and bought/resold so many over the years.

THEN…one of my favorite people to follow (Sheree of It’s Not that Deep) started her own shop-Deep Style! She has the best eye for vintage and thrifted clothing, so I checked it out right away. When I saw this sweater in her store, I couldn’t hit buy fast enough. Those ruffly sleeves! The cowl neck?! $35!!??! When it came in the mail, it was even better in person. So thick and soft…even better than what I had been picturing in my mind during my search! I will try and repeatedly wear it on my non picture taking days so you don’t get sick of seeing it on me 😉We haven’t been going down to the beach as much lately (weather being crazy and life being even crazier), so I’ll apologize in advance for the massive amounts of pictures. We were both in our happy place! 🙂 And nobody else was there, so I didn’t feel like a total nerd moving the tripod all over the place 😉 Kind of love this next one…. So impressed she threw this big ol’ piece of driftwood! Goooo Maya!Coming in for a kiss hahaha 🙂And then this happened…OH MY GOSH-DYING!!!! And no, there is no way I could leave it at just a few images… She got up there, and just started busting a move!On me…

Sweater- Tahari (from DeepStyle, love these here and here)

Top- H&M (similar)

Jeans- Paige “Blue Heights” (thrifted, similar here)

Shoes- Superga (thrifted)

On Maya…

Sweater- Gap (thrifted, but similar here)

Top- Tea (thrifted)

Jeans-Joe’s Jeans (thrifted, but similar here)

Boots- Xhiliration (eBay, but similar here)

Keeping it Real…

I could say I turned the two black and white images into black and white because it helped create the mood… In reality, it’s because I haven’t had time to dye my roots and my gray hair is out of control :{

Can I tell you HOW EXCITED I AM that I have next weekend off???!! I had a client reschedule, and it’s the first weekend off I’ve had in 3 months! PARTAY!!! Or, in reality…sit on the couch and have a Netflix marathon!!!

(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Little Black Dress from day to night…

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I feel like I keep saying I’m not a dress girl, yet whenever I make myself wear them, I love them! They are so easy, and comfortable. At least they can be… Yet, for some reason I think they are more work than they are? I don’t know why that is, but I’m happy Dressember spurred me onto thinking differently. I for sure didn’t make it on the wearing a dress for each day in December, but a few days for the month already is a big step, and I’m planning on trying for more!

But in order to make it really count, I thought I’d go for a twofer 😉 Day to night dressing is honestly a Mom’s best friend. Although…I rarely do anything at night, so whatever. BUT…if I DID have plans, this would be a great transition outfit! 🙂 And then for night…remove a few layers, add a classic pump, apply a little make up, go from a no shower top knot to a twisted side bun, and voila….ready to go to holiday party!On me…

Dress- Rhyme (old, but loving this here here)

Top-StyleMint

Leggings- Forever21 (similar here)

Shoes- Converse (thrifted, similar here)

Heels- Via Spiga

On Maya…

Dress- Zulily (search Yo Baby)

Leggings- Gap (thrifted, but similar here)

Boots- Zulily (search Link Boots)

Keeping it Real…

I could lie and say we went to some fancy party, but truth be told I just ran outside to take the “Night” pictures after I put Maya down for her nap. The Huz (who also works from home), came upstairs and was like

“WOAH! Where are YOU going?!!”

“Oh, you know…party on the sidewalk. Whoop whoop!” 😉

(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Lantern Craft

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It’s that time of year.. the days are short, the nights are long, and if it’s raining, the days just feel dark! These lanterns are a wonderful kid activity and winter decoration to bring some warm light into the house! Growing up in Scandiavia and going to a Waldorf, we would make these every November for our Lantern Festival. They are super simple to make and you can get creative with shapes, sizes and color schemes! Have fun! 🙂

Supplies

Glass jar (any shape/size OK, but needs to be glass not plastic)
Colored tissue paper
Glue (watered out Elmer’s glue)
Brushes or sponge brushes to brush light coat of glue on outside of jar
Tea lights / votive candles
Shiny star stickers (optional)

Directions

‘Paint’ the outside of the jars with a thin coat of watered out glue and rip up pieces of colored tissue paper and stick to jar
Repeat with multiple layers until desired color density / effect is reached
Let dry, and add a few star stickers
Light candles and drop inside the jars
Enjoy super cosiness! 🙂

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