Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Resolutions.



Ahh I cannot believe 2015 is coming to an end and we are getting ready to celebrate New Years Eve and welcome 2016!  With a new year, comes new resolutions.  I'm not one to usually make resolutions, but this year I felt like I wanted to.  There are things I would love to work on and maybe putting them in writing will motivate me to really follow through!



1. BALANCE
My number one goal or resolution for 2016 is to find a better work/life balance.  Sloan and Co. has become so much bigger than I ever imagined and while I am so incredibly thankful, my work often comes at the expense of my family.  I'm a stay at home mama, but I also feel the need to have something for myself and SAC has really fulfilled that need.  I have already started making some changes and I am really excited for the future of SAC!

2. LIVE IN THE MOMENT/APPRECIATE THE SMALL THINGS
I know when my babies are grown and I'm reminiscing about what our life was like, I'm not going to remember what clothes they were wearing or what things we had.  I really want to focus on the small moments of joy with my girls and be able to just live in those moments without being distracted by things that don't really matter.  I'm not saying I'm never going to buy a ridiculously cute (and overpriced) bonnet or stay up late searching for the PERFECT birthday dress, but I am going to work on focusing on what's really important: my family and the time I spend with them!

3. GET HEALTHY!
You guys, postpartum has not been as kind to me the second time around.  I basically use breast feeding as an excuse to eat and drink anything and the pounds are not just falling off this time!  If I'm being totally honest, I want to feel better about myself and I'd love for all of my clothes to fit again!  Walking into my closet these days is kind of depressing!  And outside of being vein, I want to set a healthy example for my girls and have more energy to run around with them!  I want exercise to become a regular part of my life again, to cook healthy meals, and to drink more water.  It all sounds so doable... I need to get motivated!  Let's go Marisa!!

Three resolutions seems like plenty and I want to actually stick to these so I better leave it at that.

I'm super excited for New Years Eve this year!  We're heading to our friends house for a fancy (kid friendly) dinner!  We'll be home by bedtime, but there will be plenty of time for noisemakers and silly NYE hats :).  Oh and champagne!  Lots of champagne!  I am so excited to party with my girls and the hubs.  I hope you all have a fun and safe New Years Eve as well and WELCOME 2016 (I know you're going to be a good one!)!!!

Xo

Marisa

And because I'm trying to make sure my children are the most festively dressed people on the planet...




Monday, December 28, 2015

Christmas 2015

Christmas 2015 was by far my most favorite Christmas ever!  It was truly magical.  We created new traditions as a family, got to see the beauty of the season through Sloan's eyes, and experienced so many firsts with our little Phayre.  I'm honestly so sad it's over already!  Sloan was so upset when we took our Christmas tree down and hasn't stopped talking about it for two days.  It was a good one for sure, I can't imagine how much better they'll be as our girls grow!



The festivities started on Christmas Eve Eve because Eric had the day off!  We baked, prepped food, and watched way too many Christmas movies.  Sloan's favorite activity was baking cookies for Santa.  At first she was terrified at the idea of Santa coming into our house, but eventually warmed up to the idea as we told her he might bring that purple puppy surprise that she'd been asking for!  I seriously don't know what I'm going to do without being able to bribe her with that purple puppy surprise for good behavior now!  Maybe tell her that the Easter bunny is watching and he won't bring her Easter basket unless she's a good girl ;-).

Christmas Eve was busy busy as we hosted both our families for dinner!  We spent the day cleaning up the house (which really means cleaning up after tornado Sloan) and getting the big meal ready. Sloan announced, "I going to be shy tonight, ok mommy?" before everyone arrived, but luckily that only lasted about the first twenty minutes of the night.  It was no time before she was telling everyone about Santa's cookies and the carrots and oats we had set out for the reindeer!  Phayre was passed around between family members while I zipped around the kitchen.  The Christmas meal turned out perfect, all centered around the most amazing turkey that Eric made.  I also made my famous mac n' cheese (remind me to share that recipe at some point!) and this stuffing recipe.  We played Christmas games and ended the night with a fabulous dessert that Eric's aunt made and an adult gift exchange.  Truly a great night with family!



Our moms and my brother came back over bright and early on Christmas morning to open gifts.  Sloan was a present monster, ripping through gifts and saying, "Anoder prezzie mommy!  Anoder one!!"  We had a blast exchanging gifts and watching Sloan's excitement as she got all the things she had asked for.  Hashtag spoiled :).



After we exchanged gifts, I made the easiest sausage, biscuit, and gravy breakfast casserole and it was seriously SO delicious!  Everyone raved over it and took seconds home with them!  Oh and of course the mimosas (and coffee) were flowing!  We spent the rest of the day playing with Sloan's new toys and lounging around the house and watching Christmas movies, it was just perfect!


We took the girls up to Mt. Hood the day after Christmas with our good friends to play in the snow, it was so much fun!!  Sloan is quite the little snow bunny!  She had a blast sledding and throwing snow balls.  As long as Phayre was warm, she was pretty happy too!





2015 has been a huge year for us and I'm a little sad to see it go.  Time is just flying by and I'm really struggling with it!  I just want to hold on to all of these little moments with my girls and try not to forget anything!  But, until next year!

Xo,

Marisa

Monday, December 21, 2015

A ((super easy)) Christmas Centerpiece



You guys, only four more sleeps until Christmas!!  I have seriously never been so excited for Christmas!  I think it's because this is the first year that Sloan really "gets" it and seeing Christmas through your child's eyes is so magical!

This is the first year that we are hosting our families for Christmas dinner so I've been busy getting the house ready and perfecting my Christmas dinner menu!  Last year we were asked to host, but I got out of it because I was in my first trimester and I had the worst morning all day sickness ever and didn't get out of bed for weeks (thanks for that Phayre).  I decided my table needed the perfect centerpieces this year, but I also didn't want to spend a fortune.  They turned out so darling and they were seriously SO easy to make!

What you'll need:
-Mason jars or any other glass vase
-Epsom salt
-Cranberries
-Some greenery (I bought a bouquet of greenery at Trader Joes for $4.99.  You could also cut some branches off a tree in your backyard and even your Christmas tree)



I filled the mason jars until they were about half full with epsom salt and then filled the rest of the jar with cranberries.  I cut up the bouquet of greenery into smaller pieces and then stuck a few pieces in the center of each jar.  THATS IT!!  See I told you, super easy!  I plan on mixing in some more candles on Christmas, I think everything looks better with candles!



Merry Christmas guys!

Xo,

Marisa

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

All I want for Christmas...

With Christmas right around the corner, I started thinking about what I REALLY want for Christmas this year...

1. More sleep.  I have a four month old... no explanation needed here.

2. For both of my girls to nap at the same time. Every. Single. Day.

3. For my husband to never text me again saying, "It's gonna be a late one.  Be home as soon as I can. Sorry."  You guys, we all have our limits and mine seems to be at about 6pm.

4. For the UPS guy to somehow be disciplined for honking and then ringing my doorbell ALWAYS DURING NAP TIME!

5. A grocery store with a drive-thru (for the important stuff like milk and wine).  Actually more drive-thru's in general wouldn't hurt.

6. To look better unshowered, because who has time to shower anymore?  Oh normal people do, don't they?  Well then I wish for other people to shower less so that I don't look like such a slob compared to everyone else all the time.

7. A magical machine that will not only wash our clothes, but then fold, hang, and put them all away!

8. For someone else to clean my house.  And while they're at it, they can go ahead and clean my car too.  There is an embarrassing amount of fruit snack wrappers in there.

9. An inspector gadget arm.  Not just a third arm, but an inspector gadget arm that can stretch really far and move super fast.  I need this for many reasons, let me explain... If I had an inspector gadget arm it would be able to reach my phone when I sit down to nurse and realize it's on the other side of the couch.  Or when we're checking out at Target and I tell Sloan she can't have the little Palace Pet figurines, my inspector gadget arm could pick up her flailing/screaming body and carry her to the car (damn you Target for putting those right by the checkout lines).  And because Sloan ONLY has to go number two as soon as I start nursing Phayre, my inspector gadget arm could lift her onto the potty and help her do her business without ever disturbing Phayre.  I'm sure there are so many more things my inspector gadget arm could help me with, these just come to mind first.

10. For time to slow down so that my babies will be babies for much much longer.

Ok ok and in all seriousness, if my husband is reading this I want these slippers, this candle, and an electric wine opener :).  And a handmade gift from the kids wouldn't hurt either :).

Xo,

Marisa

Because I'll never get tired of seeing this picture :)

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Littles Gift Guide

Ok guys, please tell me I'm not the only one doing A TON of last minute Christmas shopping online. Hello I have two kids, I'm not schlepping them to the mall and searching for gifts!  With Christmas only a few weeks away, I thought I would share some of my favorite gifts for the littles that can all be purchased online!  (Links for each item is under the photo!)



11. Beanie
12. Teepee
14. Black Car
21. Octopus Ring Toy

I hope these ideas helped you guys!  And because I'm also shopping for my husband, I've included a few ideas for men below!








Monday, December 7, 2015

Holiday Bucket List

Oh the holidays are upon us and it is truly the most magical time of year!  This is the first year that Sloan really "gets" Christmas and seeing the magic of Christmas through her eyes is seriously amazing!  She LOVES Christmas lights and loves talking about baby Jesus.  But oh man, my girl is terrified of Santa.  She is excited about the idea of Santa and loves reading books about Santa, but we've seen him twice now and the girl looses her mind she is so scared!  I'm hoping this is just age appropriate and she won't always be so afraid!  Phayre is only four months old so obviously she doesn't get it, but she's super fun to dress up!

We've been doing lots of festive activities, but there are several more on our holiday bucket list!  I thought we'd share some of the fun things we've been up to!

Probably my most favorite tradition is Christmas pajamas!  And I'm not even going to admit how many I bought this year... just in case my husband reads this :).



The girl's pajamas are both from Carters, but they're sold out.  These ones are very similar.  Phayre's santa hat.  Sloan's bow.  Phayre's shoes. 

Our neighbor gave us tickets to a pancake breakfast with santa and it was so fun!  Sloan loved the chocolate chip pancakes (and I loved the mimosas, obvi).  The best part was that the entire event benefitted charity!  It was all fun and games until it was actually time for the girls to sit on santa's lap though...  Sloan lost her mind.



I literall begged and pleaded with Sloan to stop screaming... and proceeded to bribe her with treats.  Let's just say it didn't work.  Not one little bit.  In between cries and screams she yelled, "I WANT A PURPLE PUPPY SURPRISE, NOW LET ME GOOOOOO!"

We also went to our town tree lighting at city hall and it was seriously a blast!  That scary old santa happened to be there so we decided to skip him this time.  We listened to the choir, drank hot cocoa, and ate the most delicious cookies!  Phayre slept on me almost the entire time in the front pack, which always feels amazing.  Pretty please sweet P, always be little enough to sleep on me in the front pack!

(A lot of you have asked about this cozy suit of Phayre's and it's sold out, but this one and this one are similar). Phayre's hat.  Phayre's paci clip.

Isn't my hubs such a stud?! :)

We haven't done it yet, but we plan on going this week to zoo lights!  Apparently most zoo's around the country put lights up for the holidays.  We've been once before and it's super fun to walk through. We'll also start going on nightly walks to see our neighbors Christmas lights, one of Sloan's favorite activities.  If you're in the Portland, OR area make sure you also check out Peacock Lane!

We built a gingerbread house last week and plan on decorating Christmas cookies this week (followed by hot cocoa and our favorite Christmas movie, The Grinch).  These activities are so so fun, but beware of the sprinkles.  I'll definitely be cleaning up sprinkles until Christmas of next year... or longer.  



This is the first year we're doing Elf on a Shelf with Sloan!  I love the idea of it and Sloan LOVES it, but we keep forgetting to move our Elf (which Sloan named Donut).  Seriously you guys it's so bad, we've had Donut for a week and we've moved him twice!  We're working on it though... and thank goodness Sloan is only two!  My mom bought Sloan these elf pajamas and she thinks they're the best ting ever (they come with a matching doll dress!).

This season really is magical and I am enjoying it so much with my two sweet girls!  I hope you guys are doing fun things with your families too!

Xo,

Marisa 




Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Catching Up!

It's been awhile since I've had time to blog!  Sloan and Co. is keeping me very busy and I am so thankful for it!  I am cranking out bracelets as fast as I can, while still trying to find enough time to squeeze my babies and do fun things with them.  Anyone figured out that whole balance thing?  If so PLEASE LET ME IN ON YOUR SECRETS!  Anyways... we're doing great, just busy busy busy!

Phayre turned four months old on Monday!  I am truly in shock that my tiny little baby isn't so tiny and is already four months old?!  Phayre is seriously the sweetest baby and smiles constantly.  She always has her hands in her mouth and is a very vocal girl!  Baths are her favorite and she watches everything Sloan does.  Our little P has so many nicknames... Phayre Bear, PG, Sweet P, Squish, and Sloan usually just calls her "chunky girl".  She hates tummy time and her carseat.  And I mean HATES her carseat, car rides can be super fun with our girl :-/.  But she is sweet and healthy and I couldn't ask for a more perfect girl!  We went to her four month check up and her weight is in the 31st percentile while her height is in the 80th percentile.  Another tall girl for us!




At four months we are loving this baby bath, this teething necklace, these pacifier clips, and our beloved boppy (we use this cover).   I have also fallen in love with this soft little romper, these jammies, and this adorbs plaid dress!


Sloan is as spunky as ever and saying the funniest things!  The other day she walked into the living room where I was nursing Phayre and said, "Mommy, I love your new boobs! You get them at Target?"  I don't know where she comes up with this stuff... and I totally wish I had new boobs :).  Sloan also believes that you can buy anything at Target.  I'll say, "Oh we need to get gas in the car." She'll reply with, "Let's get it at Target mommy!"  I'm starting to think we spend entirely too much time at Target, but can you blame me?!  I mean their holiday section is pretty amaze... I've walked through it like 15 times already!  And seriously, why does Target have to tempt me with a Starbucks right inside?

Starbucks & Target. That's how we roll.
LannieBHandmade sent us this shirt and I about died, it's so perfect!

My goal is to finish decorating our house for Christmas as soon as I can work through all of my Sloan and Co. orders!  Pictures to come I promise!

I hope you babes are having a great week!

Xo,

Marisa

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Slimmed Down Chicken Pot Pie // Comfort Food

Once upon a time, I used to love cooking and trying new recipes.  Hashtag before kids :).  Anymore, it's whatever I can get on the table by 6pm.  Major bonus if I actually made it myself and didn't pick it up from Chipotle or New Seasons.  Eric is actually super helpful with meals on the weekends, but the weekdays are up to me.  While balancing a newborn and a toddler, I try to keep meals sweet and simple.

One of our favorite recipes that I try to throw into the mix (but takes a tiny bit of extra time) is chicken pot pie.  Eric and I love this meal and Sloan will actually eat it too!  I love when you can get the entire meal into one dish and this is also a great one to make ahead.  Oh and because I'm guessing you don't have much more time than I have, I listed all of my shortcuts throughout.

This is sort of a cross between chicken pot pie and chicken and dumplings, but a slimmed down version of both (no heavy cream here!).  I hope you guys enjoy this meal, it's truly one that I love sharing with my own family.


Ingredients:
-Non-stick cooking spray
-2 cups shredded chicken breast
-Olive oil
-Salt & pepper
-1 cup chopped onion
-1 cup chopped carrots
-1 cup chopped celery
-1 cup green beans (cut into inch long pieces)
-Minced garlic (about 2 teaspoons)
-1 1/2 cups 2% milk
-1/4 cup flour
-1 cup chicken broth (I use the low sodium kind)
-2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
-Bisquick mix (I use the heart smart box)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Spray your casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

If you are cooking the chicken yourself, do that first.  Either boil it or pan fry it and then shred it.  Great shortcut: buy a cooked rotisserie chicken and shred the meat.  Set chicken aside.

Add about two teaspoons of olive oil to a large pan on medium to medium-high heat.  Add the onion, carrots, and celery.  Season the veggies with salt and pepper.  Huge time saver: I buy these veggies pre-chopped at my local Trader Joes (see photo below).  Cook for 3-5 minutes and then add the green beans and garlic.  Another time saver: I buy the package of pre-trimmed and washed green beans so that I just have to chop them a few times into smaller pieces.  I also save time by keeping jarred minced garlic in the fridge.  Stir everything and cook for 5 minutes more.


Add the milk to the pan.  In separate bowl, whisk the chicken broth and flour together until the flour dissolves, add it to the pan.  Keep stirring until mixture comes to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 2-3 minutes longer.  Add shredded chicken to the pan and season with salt and pepper again.  Add the fresh thyme and stir well.  Spoon the mixture into a greased 13x9 glass baking dish  (or something similar in size).

Now to make the "crust" (which is really like dumplings).  Grab your box of Bisquick and double the dumpling recipe on the side of the box (1 1/3 cup bisquick and 6 tablespoons milk).  Drop the batter into little mounds on top of the chicken and veggie mixture.

Bake until the mixture is bubbling and the crust is starting to brown-about 20-25 minutes.

Let cool a bit, serve, and enjoy!

I hope your family loves this recipe as much as mine does!

Xo,

Marisa

Monday, November 9, 2015

Our Weekend Recap and a COUPON!

You guys!  It's already Monday again!  We had a pretty full weekend, but managed to squeeze in some fun family time.  The weather is changing, so we've been trying to get the girls outside whenever it's not raining.  Eric had a big meeting on Friday afternoon and surprised us by coming home early as soon as the meeting was over.  We packed up and took the girls to the park.  I sat on a blanket listening to Phayre Coo and watching Eric and Sloan play on the big play structure.

I thought to myself, "How I am this blessed?!  Look at my incredible husband and our beautiful daughters.  I wish I could freeze time and stay in this moment forever."  And then Eric gave me the look... That look where he's panicked or flustered and I think he might just run away.  He picked Sloan up and started walking towards me, which made Sloan completely lose her shit because she thought she had to leave the park.  As he walked up to me, screaming and flailing toddler in hand, I asked him what was wrong.  With a straight face he said, "Did you remember to put underwear on Sloan today?  Because she just went down the slide and flashed the entire park."  Well shit! Obviously I forgot and the girl likes being naked so much she never tells me!  <insert the emoji where the monkey is covering his face>. Because I'm not the absolute worst mother in the world, I at least had extra clothes in the diaper bag.  So I put some panties on Sloan and calmed her down with some yogurt covered raisins (sugar fixes everything-or alcohol, but I stick to sugar with the kids).  Crisis averted and we went on to enjoy the rest of our park date.

I seriously feel like taking a newborn and a toddler out in public, is like traveling with a circus, but you don't know what the circus acts are.  It's a surprise every time you leave the house!  Although the acts almost always need a set of clothes at the end.  I look at these moments as my way of earning a glass of wine though :).  After our park outing, we went to our neighbors house for pizza and I got to enjoy a nice cold glass of rosè, perfect start to the weekend!

Here are a few photos from our park trip:





And because all circuses travel, we also took our little circus to the mall.  Everyone wore underwear and it was actually a pretty successful trip.  Outside of Sloan tackling another little girl at the disney store for touching "her" Minnie tea set, there weren't too many incidences.  I caught the other little girl on their way to the ground and then we got the hell out of there in a flash so it hardly seemed like an incidence.  

I picked up a few new fall favorites and thought I'd share...

Gap is having their friends and family event (you can save 40% online with code FFBEST or save 50% off five regular priced items in store with code FFBEST50 through today 11/9).  I picked up the cutest "Oh Deer" sweatshirt for Sloan, these candy cane striped tights for Phayre, and the cutest cable knit cardigan EVER for me (seriously it is so flattering).

Nordstrom is having their fall sale and I picked up a few things there as well!  These over the knee boots are only $64!  And the striped top I wore to the park is only $18 (I seriously live in this top-I recommend sizing up one size).

Sloan is obsessed with nightgowns so I was really excited to find this plaid ruffle nightgown at Gymboree (on sale for 40% off)!  You can see the rest of my holiday pajama favorites here!

In other news, our holiday release is tonight at 6pm PST!  So many festive bracelets and necklaces available!  You can shop our new designs here and how about some coupon codes just for our blog readers?!



The first three customer can save 20% with code HOLIDAY20.
The next three customers can save 15% with code HOLIDAY15.
And everyone else can save 10% with code HOLIDAY10 (only valid 11/9, expires at midnight).

Alright guys, hope you have a great Monday and a wonderful week!  

XO,

Marisa

Friday, November 6, 2015

Little Favorites // Christmas Pajama Roundup

Those of you who know me, know that I am uhhhhhbsessed with any type of themed dressing.  And pajamas are no exception, in fact I have a serious thing for holiday jams!  So I browsed some of my favorite stores and created a roundup of my favorite Christmas jams!  If my husband wasn't so cheap  financially responsible, I would order them all :). Enjoy dressing your littles, it's the most magical time of year (well it's almost that time of year)!  Oh and the best part??  These pajamas start at just $11! ((The links for each pajama are below the photo))



From top left going right...
8. Santa Footed One-Piece
9. Striped Sleep Set

I hope you guys love these as much as I do!  I can't wait to get my girls in Christmas jammies and cuddle them!  Let me know what you guys think!

Xo,

Marisa

P.S. All of the Gap pajamas are 40% with code FFBEST through November 8th!

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Sloan & Co. // Christmas Preview

Howwwww in the world is it almost Christmas?  52 days until Christmas to be exact!  It seems way too early to be talking about Christmas, but it really is right around the corner!  We haven't even celebrated Thanksgiving and I'm like bring on the holiday tunes and red holiday Starbucks cups!

I thought I'd share the first sneak peeks of our Holiday 2015 collection here first; this isn't the entire collection, but definitely a good taste of what is to come!  I hope you love what you see so far, I am just in love with this festive collection.  I imagine these bracelets pairing so perfectly with your little ones holiday dresses.  This collection will be available for purchase on Monday November 9th, 2015 at 6pm PST.  Follow this link to purchase!










Hopefully you guys love this collection as much as I do!  All of our holiday bracelets and necklaces will be available, along with some old favorites (think characters) next week!  Let me know what you guys think of the collection so far!

Xo,

Marisa :)



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