Ready to Get the Best Gifts Ever?

***Disclaimer***  We all say, "You don't need to get me anything," but they never know if they should really listen to that advice. Make it easier on everyone...

With Valentine's Day quickly approaching, you're going to LOVE me for this post!!! Go ahead... thank me now! My husband is a super thoughtful guy. He's SO thoughtful, that giving gifts is his WORST. Here's the cycle he goes through whenever something special is coming up and he wants/ feels like he's supposed to give me a gift:

"It's Whitney's birthday. What should I get her? She has everything. She likes gifts. I could just get her flowers. Flowers die. I could give her a massage. She hates massages. She likes candles. I have no idea how to pick out candles for her. She needs new tennis shoes, but I can't remember her size. I should take her on a trip. Yes! I'll book a trip... wait... I probably shouldn't spend the money. Maybe I'll get her a purse. Where do you buy purses? I'll check online. Those are more expensive than a trip!"

For real. He stresses himself out so much over what to get that he can never make a decision. He winds up running out of time and either doing nothing or something he feels is lame which in turns makes him feel even more terrible and then "grouchy Ivan" comes out. The thing is, I need nothing and have terrible self-control... so when I want something, I generally buy it for myself. This helps him none. On the flip side, I always tell him to not get me anything, but he never listens. After about 5 years of marriage... I FINALLY figured out a way to help my adorable husband with his inner gift-giving turmoil... PINTEREST!

Yes, you read right. I said Pinterest. I know what you're thinking, Pinterest would probably make the problem worse... but no...

When Ivan finally broke down and told me about how much he struggles giving me gifts (even though I say not to get me anything), I decided to make a Pinterest wish list board.

Create a Wish List board!

We've all made them... the boards where we pin things we love, but this one is slightly different. Here's what to do:

• Create a new board in Pinterest and give it a direct title (ex Wish List)... creative "Pinteresty" titles can confuse husbands. For real. Keep it simple. 
• Go shopping! You can do this within Pinterest, but it's better to go to stores online and Pin from there. You never know when a pin within Pinterest will be deleted, so it's better to make your own. Most stores have a "pin it" link anyway. 

Most online shopping sites have a "Pin It" button that will link the product directly back to your Pinterest board.

• Pick items in a variety of price ranges. I have things all the way from my favorite body lotion ($25), to my favorite candle ($50)... all the way up to a Range Rover! (A girl can dream, right?!)
• Be creative! Pick things from different genres. Even though you're narrowing down the world of shopping for you to a small Pinterest board, you still want your shopper to feel like they're picking something out for you. Give them different types of options. Your shopper may feel like giving you something special, like jewelry, but would never know that a $30 initial necklace from Stella and Dot would be something you'd like. Or he/ she may feel like giving you something practical (remember those tennis shoes I mentioned?). 
• Make sure when you pin items with options (sizes, colors, etc) that you make note of the size/ color/ option you'd pick in the comment section of your pin. Even write what monogram you'd need if monogramming applies. (Remember, this is supposed to be easy for them! My husband told me once that he wanted to get my "letters" put on something he got me, but didn't know if I would like them because I didn't say it in my comments. He then said he wouldn't know how to organize my "letters" anyway. Bless it!!!)

Be sure to comment on the specifics, if necessary. 

• After you've created your board, download the Pinterest app to your husband's phone and show him how to locate your board. Walk him through how you've set it up. (I skipped on this and Ivan asked why I gave gift ideas for myself that included a Ranger Rover! When I explained I picked items with a range of prices in the event that he won the lottery, he came around.) Believe me, he'll thank you!
• Once you receive something from your board, delete that pin and pin something new. (I didn't realize this was a necessary step until my husband mentioned one day that I needed to "clean up" my Pinterest. When I asked him to clarify what he meant, he said he couldn't remember what he'd already bought me and what he hadn't. Okay. I can fantasy shop some more. Sure thing!) 

Easy pea-sy... right?! AND... the best part of all? It's SO fun! My husband has also shared "wishes" on my board with his mom when she's asked what she could get me for my birthday or Christmas. I'm telling you... I've gotten some awesome gifts from my board! If you have a hard time shopping for yourself, I have linked some of my favorite items below to get you started. OH! And if you love this idea, but are unsure of how to start the conversation of, "remember how you always want to get me gifts but never know what to get," then just send him the link to this post!

Happy Shopping!

Amazing Grace Body Wash by Philosophy

Trish McEvoy Wild Blueberry Vanilla Candle

Initial Necklace
Rain Boots
Monogrammed Travel Bag
Hummingbird Feeder
Handwriting Jewelry

It's Raining, It's Snowing... 10 Tips on Taking Pictures of Your Kids in the Snow

Targeted Obsession: Photography/ Children

If you're in the targeted zones of winter storm Jonas like us, than you've bought your milk and bread, laid out your kids make-shift "snow gear," and are watching the world outside turn white. We get at least one good snow a year in Charlotte where the world shuts down and a surprise holiday ensues. It's fantastic! I always look forward to the special family time required by the dangerous driving conditions that keeps us all at home. It's such a wonderful time for my family that I always want to "capture" the memories on camera. So if you're like me and want to take some great pictures of your kids in the snow, keep reading! Here are my tips to capturing your powdery holiday behind the lens:

1. Take your photos within the first 5 minutes you're outside. 

Still nice and toasty... However, with all the layers I had her in, she probably wouldn't have gotten cold. Poor thing could hardly sit up!

Prepare the kids. Let them know you want just a few pictures of them smiling and then you'll play too. My four year old has realized if he smiles, it's over quick! Don't push your luck though. If you say you're only taking 3 pictures, only take 3. Those four year olds can count! ;) Also, taking pictures first means the snow around you is undisturbed, family members aren't wet, and no one is whining because it's cold... yet.

2. Pick a spot with a good background. 

Nothing distracting from that handsome face... except the neon colors... but you can't win them all! 

Consistency is key. If there's a spot that's totally wooded, that's perfect... but if there's a shed in front of those woods, the shed could take away from your pictures. You want nothing in the background to stand out so attention isn't taken away from the main subjects of your picture. The less in the background, the better.

3. Put distance between your kids and the background. 

See that blur?! 

If you have distance in-between your kids and the background, then you're going to get a bokeh effect, or blur from the part of your photo that's not in focus. A blurred background helps your kids stand out even more. This is where nicer cameras and awesome lenses help photographers. Good lenses enable you to control your focus... this is also why it's nice to learn how to shoot SLR cameras on manual settings... you can control the bokeh. BUT... even putting distance between your subject and the background on a cell phone camera will help you obtain the bokeh effect.

4. Get low... shoot from the level of your children!

Life from their viewpoint.

Don't stand up and take pictures of your kids in the snow. Crouch down so you can meet them at eye level. This helps the picture to seem more life-like.

5. Every photo doesn't have to be perfectly centered.

Text aligned right... haha... get it?

In photography, it's called "the rule of thirds"... but all you need to know is that things don't always have to be centered. Think of it like Microsoft Word. You can align your text in Word to the right, left, or you can center it. The same thing applies when you're lining up the subjects of your picture in your camera.

6. Overcast light is best.

Today was perfect for pictures! Cloudy all day!

If you shoot in direct, bright sunlight, you are going to get hard looking pictures. The light will either make things too bright or will cast unflattering shadows. If you shoot in the shade, you run the risk of your picture looking grey or dark. Often on snowy days there are lots of clouds... this is perfect! Try to start your "five minute" photo session when there are clouds overhead.

7. Be in a picture!

Always makes my day to be in a *good* picture with my kids!

In 20 years,  you'll be glad. I love looking back at pictures of my parents with me when I was little. Too often we forget to take pictures of ourselves because our lives are so centered around our children. But by being in a pic yourself, you ARE thinking of your children! They'll love seeing you in the pictures years down the road and most likely, you'll make their memory of you stronger by giving a visual reminder of you on that day.

8. Let them play.

This began the snow eating for the day. Playing in the snow for Ridge includes eating it. Oh my.

Pictures of kids playing are always the best. The smiles are genuine. I love my son's profile. And his sweet laugh. I feel like all of the small things that make him who he is to me come out so much more in pictures where he's just being himself. So let your kids play! Sometimes it's even fun to play a game of "Simon Says" while you're taking photos. The kids will do what you want, so the photo session will be easier on you, but they are also playing- so they're happier and being more genuine.

9. After 5 minutes, put the camera down.

Certainly not the pic I was hoping for... but at least I was in a few!

It took me a while to learn this one. If you don't get the "exact" picture you want, put the camera down. Maybe it's not meant to be on that day... what IS meant to be are the memories you'll make playing with your kids. Taking pictures the whole time isn't as fun for you or them, so set a photo time limit and then join your family.

10. Mess around with your photos in an editing program.

This picture was horribly bright until Photoshop rescued it.

Even if it's only in the photo viewer on your computer or the filters in your phone, play with your photos. You might hate the way they turn out, but if that's the case, then you just don't save your edits. It hurts nothing and very well could enhance your pictures tremendously! Adding just a little color saturation or brightening a picture just a tad could make all the difference. Before hitting "save," ask yourself... does this look "real?" If not, keep the picture the way it was to begin with... after all... it's all about capturing your family's memories!

White Sofas, and Helga, and Children... OH MY!

Targeted Obsession: Home Decor

"How does your house stay clean with two small kids?" Or... "How do you have white furniture with a baby and a 4 year old?" Or... "Where are all the toys?" Never in a million years would I have thought people would ask me those questions. Honestly, it'd probably be more accurate if you asked me how I have a husband and white sofas! Hehe...  No. For real.

I'll tell you the truth. My living room (where the white sofas are located) is an adult zone. It was this way from day one. We got our white furniture when my son was 2 and from the get-go we knew that we wanted our living room to be adult-friendly. Everything we do is "kid friendly." We decided we deserved an "adult friendly" space. To do this, we designated the upstairs in our home as "where toys live" and downstairs as the opposite. I do have a SMALL basket of toys in my bedroom, but I'll get to that in a moment. When our family hangs out, we do it upstairs in our bonus room. The best tv is upstairs, the toys are upstairs, we eat upstairs, we spill upstairs... basically, upstairs is where we live. Because of that, all we needed was to do establish a few rules in order to help our white furniture survive kids.

• When we come in, we take off anything "dirty" (clothes, shoes, whatever- kids AND adults do this).
• After we eat, we immediately wash our hands (this is probably my FAVORITE established rule- it's so ingrained in my son now that he always cleans up after he eats, which has saved more living rooms than just mine. Start 'em early!) ;) 
• We don't walk around with food.
• Food can go anywhere BUT the living room.

But for some reason, people think my home looks CLEAN. That shocks me. My home is far from clean. I'll be honest- I'm not a clean person. I'm a tidy person, not a cleaner. Being a tidy person, I do grab the lone shoes sitting by the couch and toss them into the laundry room when I notice them. I also have a "catch all" bowl sitting on our most prominent counter space and I'll drop random stuff (i.e. HotWheels) in frequently. My boys leave things around like boys tend to do, but I immediately grab whatever they drop and put it away thanks to my tidy tendencies. It's so nice now that Ridge is old enough for me to tell him to put his own stuff away when I see it. Ivan has passed that age, so I just grab his stuff and keep on rolling. But I'm not clean. If you look closely, there's dust on everything. Ivan cleans our toilets (I've decided it's because boys look at toilets more than girls do due to their angle of approach!) and we both try to keep the kitchen in working order. The one thing we struggled with was our hardwoods.

Every room on our main floor (except the office) is hardwood. They're super dark and I love them! However, they show EVERYTHING! Combine that with our dog who sheds like it's her job and we'd find ourselves whistling as we watched tumble weeds blow across our floors. We'd use our hand vac multiple times a day and would still have tumble weeds. It was ridiculous... and then my amazing neighbor told me about the Rumba. I was sold. My husband did some research and decided he wanted a Neato. My mother-in-law bought me one (because she's the BEST) and the rest is history. This thing does some serious vacuuming. It really does make my home look clean. We love it so much, that we've given it a name. Helga is a very real member of our family now! She does way more cleaning than me. 

Helga in action.

Helga is one of the main reason my home looks clean. Baskets are another. As I mentioned earlier, we keep a few key toys in a small basket in our bedroom. Those are the downstairs toys. And now that we have a baby there's a small basket of baby toys in the living room. Basket toys are easy to get out and put away. So they seem to stay tidy on their own. 

The baby's downstairs toy stash.

And that's all I've got. The rest of our downstairs stays clean because we don't really use it. Just don't walk into our bedroom or go upstairs. Or do! And then you'd see it's all a farce! Trying to walk in our bonus room is like trying to navigate a mine field.

So, if I were to give advice based off of my farce:

Take off dirty things, have an adult zone, have "food rules," use baskets, and get your own Helga. Having a space where everyone can do as they please (i.e. our bonus room) makes it all possible. OR.. we can just all enjoy our lives and beautiful messes because there are things that are way more important than getting all of the toys back into the baskets! Until next time... 

Targeted Obsessions: Son/ Photography

Targeted Obsessions: Son/ Photography

It's registration season. Meaning: the time has come to be an active/ involved/ supportive/ parent that helps to facilitate the love of being active through sports... so I must SIGN UP my kid for something! It's the responsible adult thing to do. (I hope you're hearing my sarcasm.)

For me, this season is met with tentative dread. Or maybe I should be "cautiously optimistic?" (Inside family joke. hehe) Rewind to registration season 2015 and I was ecstatic. I couldn't WAIT to sign my son up for something. ANYTHING. His dad couldn't wait to sign him up for soccer... so soccer it was! Dad even signed up to be an assistant coach. Of course I swooned. :)

Ivan couldn't make the first practice, so "soccer mom" stepped in. At our first practice we discovered there was no head coach, so Ivan was promoted and everyone looked to me to make the decisions of the day. Uh. Okay. I can make decisions. I set a practice day and time, watched my kid act like an idiot with a stand-in coach (assuming he was just excited and things were off anyway since we were coach-less for that meeting), and headed home feeling a little smug and a lot excited.

First (real) practice- my kid turned summersaults in the backfield. (Is backfield a soccer term?) His dad was AMAZing though. For real... coach of the year stuff. I was SO proud... of my husband. We chalked Ridge's crazy inattentiveness up to it being his first (real) practice, talked about ways to improve on the way home, and looked forward to our first game.

There's seriously something super sexy about watching your husband coach your son!

First game- disaster. Ridge refused to play. He ran for like, two seconds, said he was tired, and then cried when Ivan tried to get him to play. And it wasn't just Ridge. Two-thirds of our team fell apart. Veteran parents tried to reassure the rest of us "dumb struck" rookies by saying "it gets better the longer they play" and "mine was totally like that his first season." Again, on the way home there was a talk about how we could improve, focusing on what it means to try our hardest, and then we let it go.

The season improved very little... so little that we didn't want to sign up for season two, but Ivan had done such a great job coaching that other parents asked him to coach again, so we decided to give it one more try. Besides, everyone told us your second season is SO much better than your first! Okay... season two.

Season two was MUCH better! So let me say this: always give it a second try. The veteran moms were right! Ridge probably isn't going to be a soccer superstar, or maybe it's just the fact that he's four, but he has a TON of fun running around pretending to be a superhero as he chases the soccer ball. He even scored a goal during season two! He's ready to sign up for season three, but also wants to play baseball. So the question this registration season is this: sign up for two things (which sounds crazy stressful and like a LOT on all family members) or give up the soccer team we've come to love. The verdict is still out. I'll let you know what we decide! Until then, one of my favorite parts of soccer season two was capturing (the good) moments on camera!

Snacks are always a favorite part of soccer time... or a great excuse to sit down. Take your pick ;) 

He looks like a killer player here. In reality, he loves having his picture taken and did exactly what I said to grab that "perfect" shot. Haha. The world will never know. ;) shhhhhh!

Welcome!

Welcome to my world! Starting a blog has been on my mind for a while now, but every time I sit down to begin, I have no idea where that "beginning" should be. So I'll start with me.

I was born and raised a "good ole southern girl" in the Heart of Dixie, but don't be fooled. Just because I'm from Alabama doesn't mean I'm a card-carrying conservative. Well, most of the time I am... but I don't feel my spiritual convictions should dictate how you live your life. I'd like to be an example of God's love and not carry it around in a sledge hammer. And now I'm done with politics.

I attended the University of Alabama and was a Crimsonette. ROLL TIDE! (Man, to be that skinny again...) ;) 

My family is my life. God is at the center. I have a loving husband and two incredible kiddos. Ridge, my son, is four and Ellington just turned 6 months. Ridge told me I was going to have a baby before I knew, so Ell has always been "his baby." He's the most adorable big brother and even though I knew he'd be a great big brother, I had no idea how much he would adore and love his sister. He said from the get-go that we would have a little girl and that he wanted a sister (and that her name would be Kate... sorry bud... hate to have disappointed), but I didn't realize how much all of what he told me would come to pass. Creepy. Or adorable? Either way, I love it. 

That brings me to Ivan.

Ivan and I met in Birmingham, dated for 6 months, fell madly in love, got engaged, had a year long engagement (I was in love, not completely stupid), and were immediately transferred by his company to North Carolina. Really? It was super exciting at the time, but I miss having family in the same town... especially now that I have kids. I am, however, supremely grateful that God pushed Ivan and me out of our comfort zones that first year of marriage so we would be completely and totally dependent on one another. Ivan is my exact opposite. I love it. Well, I love it most days. Learning to communicate with your complete opposite is tough, but now that we've gotten that down it's amazing to feel complimented and loved by someone so different than myself. I'm not sure what I'd do without my intelligent, handsome, athletic, loving, moody, handyman husband. He's by no means perfect, but neither am I, so for me... that's perfection. 

Photo credit- Jessica Messer 

My decorating obsession began when Ivan and I purchased our first house. I would spend hours on Overstock.com looking at bedding or wander the aisles of Homegoods picking up odds and ends for our new home. I didn't realize it at the time, but thanks to my step-dad never wanting to miss out on a "good buy" and my (at the time unknown) love of home decor, we had enough furniture to fill our starter home. On move-in day, I woke early to greet the moving vans and didn't sleep for the next 48 hours. Ivan left on a business trip and came back to every room being finished! Friends visited our "new" home and joked that we'd been in for 3 days and looked like we'd been there for 3 years. I then realized how much I enjoyed decorating... to the point of obsession! I look back on pictures of certain rooms in our starter home and cringe, but we all have to start somewhere... right?

After about a year in NC, I began my photography obsession. I'm told I have "an eye" for what looks good behind the camera. Really, I just want things to be pretty and know how to use Photoshop. I love photography and feel super blessed by what my "hobby" has turned into, but if you look at photography long enough, read enough manuals, buy the expensive lenses, and learn Photoshop, you too could be a photographer! ;) Plus, having awesome photos of your kids (for free) is an added bonus!

My most recent obsession is children's boutique clothing. Oh my. That's a post and world all of it's own! It's a caddy, loving, fast-paced, expensive whirl wind of beautiful fabrics and precious designs (which completely make me want to learn to sew- next obsession?) by super-moms all over the world. 

Pretty stinkin' adorable, right? The struggle is real, y'all! This precious hoodie is from Sweet Honey Clothing Company. And yes, those are baby Joe Jeans! I die!!! :) Dressing a little girl is SO. MUCH. FUN! All her brother wants to wear is Under Armor (which is NOT cheap!), so being able to play dress up with my little girl works for Ridge (bc I leave him alone), Ellington (bc she loves any attention from mommy), and me! Win-win! 

Okay... enough about me today! I feel pretty accomplished on "starting" this project, so adieu for now. I can't see where this new road takes me. A new obsession? Very possibly... ;)