Coffee & Donuts--Pregnancy Photoshoot

My little sister took some photos for Kyle and I to document the "fun parts" of being pregnant. We took them when I was 32 weeks. I did not want to remember being too pregnant, but we did want some pictures together. Since I loved eating donuts while growing this child and I didn't really give up my Starbucks addiction... so we thought a little Coffee & Donuts themed photo shoot would be perfect. 

Baby Recliner

Everyone needs a rocking chair for their newborn. Whether it's a wood one or an heirloom or a nice lazy boy it's a necessity to rock your baby to sleep AND keep comfortable. We looked at a couple local furniture stores and just couldn't find the right one for us we also checked out IKEA to find something but there was just nothing that screamed pick me. While we are in the cities we made a quick run to the Maplegrove Pottery Barn kids and found the perfect recliner.

Who's delivered a few weeks ago and we decided that we wanted to put it in our living room rather than in the baby's nursery since we've noticed that a lot of new parents spend more time in the living room that in the nursery itself for the first few months at least.

The recliner is a little lighter than expected so we've thrown a quilt over it so that it doesn't get stains or worn out before the baby arrives. We love it and it is very comfortable and so does our dog, Mozzy. He much rather late in the recliner and then on the big sectional that we have in the living room. I feel he only likes it because we tell him you can't be on it and he knows we didn't buy it for him. He is such a plush pup. Already showing signs of jealousy will see how this baby thing goes.

Baby Room

The nursery is done we are so excited!  It makes becoming parents that much more real. Our theme is bears with green accents. It started out as more of a woodland theme with wood slices everywhere  but we went more with greens and subtle wood accents.

Kyle used our diy shapeoko to mill these cute "bear" wall art hangings for the nursery. He used this pretty green toned wood and a wood slice from our wedding centerpieces. They turned out super cute. We found this tin "W" at hobby lobby and thought it would just make a really nice centerpiece above the crib. Kyle's boss made us this beautiful crib out of quartersawn oak and it just really fits the room nicely. It's a transition bed so it can be used for crib now and a toddler bed later. I also made some crib sheets out of my favorite green fabric that matches the quilt that I did (check for posts later) and those turned out super cute! The fabric matches the baby quilt I made with greens and teddy bear oranges.

Kyle and I had really great teamwork on getting the nursery ready and our little boy is just going to love it.

Fresh Towels

So the other day my husband and I were talking about how our towels smell. Since I'm currently being lazy I decided to buy all new towels for upstairs bathroom for my own personal use. Because I deserve that. We made a Target run and bought all new Fieldcrest luxury extra long bath towels. I got them washed right away so we could begin using them and they are literally the best things ever! We decided that when we're millionaires one day will only use fresh new towels. It's that amazing.

Our old towels are not by any means not good they just had a stench. I should've looked this up before but the fix is simple. Your towels lose their absorbency and begin to take on that musty smell that only happens when they're wet. The solution is to wash the towels on the hot cycle once with one cup vinegar NO DETERGENT and then wash them on another hot cycle with half a cup of baking soda again NO DETERGENT. Throw them in the dryer without a dryer sheet and viola! clean fresh towels once again.

So now my guests will have plenty of towels in the bathroom downstairs to use while they're visiting us in the new baby.  Although I didn't buy that new towels they will have some nice once again fresh smelling towels to use.

Apricot Jam Ya'll

Our good friends, Brad and Sara, invited Kyle and I over to experience making Jam. Neither Kyle nor I have ever made jams or jellies before but I have always wanted to! We bought 10 pounds of Apricots (pronounced with a hard 'A' if you have Southern roots like me) and decided to take our chances in an Apricot Jam.

We tried two different recipes, one with liquid pectin and one with powdered pectin. Honestly, they taste the same but the powdered pectin recipe yielded the best results for us. Or at least, the prettiest! 

Our expert jammers had all of the tools that you need to can. You can purchase your own set of tools pretty much anywhere mason jars are sold but here is a link to some at Target. We used pint jars and the recipe yielded around 40. Next time I make a jam, I am going to use quart size jars since it is so good--giving away a pint just seems mean!

French Macaroons

I made these Macaroons for a special friend's baby shower. They are challenging to make but so delicious! After baking the macaroons, allow to cool completely before you assemble. To assemble, take 2 cookies of equal size (HANDLE GENTLY!) and top one half with a filling. I usually use my buttercream icing but you could also use a jam or other frosting. Sandwich the cookies together gently. To add flare, dip in sprinkles or dust the tops of the macaroons with pearl dust.
It is such a light cookie and perfect for a fun tea or garden party for the ladies to snack on.

Baby Shower Cakes

I was able to attend and provide sweets for a friend's recent Garden Party Themed Baby Shower. It was so adorable and they did a fabulous job decorating! We all sat outside with fresh flower bouquets lining our table linens. They served fancy brunch food and teas in mason jars. Finally, we partook in desserts (made by FrostedbyLo); Lemon Cake, Naked Chocolate Cake and a Strawberry Cake. They gave me the reigns to decorate and bake whatever I wanted so I went for it and I've never made cuter cakes! I placed them on my personal cake stands that fit the theme perfectly and I think everyone was pleased with how it turned out.