January 1, 2016 by Drafts & Crafts

What better way to kick off the new year than with some exciting news from our gender reveal! The votes are in…

These individual milk and cookies were oh so fun!! I used a few drops of food coloring to dye the milk pink and blue in a large bowl before pouring the milk into each cup.

2015 was a sweet, blessed year for Jason and I! A few of my favorite memories include celebrating 1 year of marriage, an annual snowboarding trip, two weddings of dear friends, moving back to Florida from DC, and finding out that we are expecting a baby!!

The hubs and I have been patiently waiting to find out the gender of baby Colding. Ok ok, Jason was the only one of us who was patiently waiting, I could barely take it! I have several friends who have found out the gender around 14-15 weeks of pregnancy, but I had to wait for 18 weeks due to my doctors sonogram schedule and the holidays.

So after 18 weeks and 2 days of waiting, we are excited to share the big news that we are expecting a BABY BOY!! Baby Colding’s official due date has been moved from June 1 to May 28, 2016. The midwife that I have been seeing at the practice is happy with the way the baby is developing and how everything looks. I have been blessed with a smooth pregnancy thus far. I have made it almost half way with no real sickness or complaints.

These are some quick snaps from our little gender reveal. We had an intimate night with all of our local Jax friends and family as we shared the big news of our baby boy!! Most people who know me were convinced it was a boy based on all of the old wives tales!! We are thrilled to welcome 2016 with open arms!! I am spending the first of the New Year in Charleston, SC with Jason and my parents. Can’t wait to share some details about our trip!

May all of your wildest dreams come true in 2016 & may your hearts be filled with love!!

Keep in touch,
Dani

 

December 20, 2015 by Drafts & Crafts

Stocking stuffers are one of my favorite parts to Christmas morning! I am sharing some last minute ideas for the fancy girl from Anthropologie!

Rug: Anthropologie (on sale!)

What I love most about Anthropologie is their unique selection of gifts. More than their beautiful boho-chic clothing, Anthro has a huge variety of home and beauty products that are suitable for anyone!! You can find so many little treasures that would make THE BEST stocking stuffers. For anyone who is last minute (guilty), here are some neat products that I have been gathering this month. These are 10 items under $20 that women of all ages will enjoy:

1. French Girl Rose Lip Polish (lip scrub)  (in above photo)
2. Hot Chocolate Sticks (in above photo)
3. Home Sweet Home Mug Stoppers  (in above photo)
4. Mini Capri Blue Candle
5. Face and Lip Sport Stick
6. Crowned Leaf Mug (in above photo)
7. Albeit Lipstick
8. Monogram Wine Glass
9. Horoscope Trinket Dish
10. Umbrella Ring Dish

I hope these items give you some helpful suggestions for some last minute stocking stuffers. I know I would LOVE to unwrap any of these goodies, I’m sure your loved ones would too! Is anyone else still in disbelief that Christmas is this week? I am thrilled for a 3 day work week and to relax with my husband. My wish is for everyone to have a special holiday and remember what Christmas is all about. I know, that sounds a little ironic on a blog post about presents, but I really hope your hearts are filled with love this holiday. I am looking forward to finding out and sharing the gender of our baby in a week!!

Keep in touch,
Dani

 

December 15, 2015 by Drafts & Crafts

This DIY creates the perfect space to display those beautiful holiday cards!

{Materials}

• glue gun & glue stick
• foam wreath
• 2 green ribbon rounds (I used 2 rounds of 1.5 in x 12 ft)
• red ribbon
• clothes pins
• glitter

{Steps}

1. Pick a starting point and begin wrapping the green ribbon around the wreath. Place a line of hot glue each time you wrap the green ribbon. ONLY hot glue on the side facing you, that will be the back side of the wreath. Be sure to wrap the ribbon tight and smooth on the from side and then hot glue on the back. If you hot glue is a little messy, that is OK because it will be on the back side.

2. Wrap the entire way around. Finish by wrapping one last time around where you started and cut the excess ribbon on the side facing you (the back).

3. Tie a bow to your liking and place it at the top center or at the bottom center if you prefer.

4. Hot glue your desired number of clothes pins on the front. I chose 5 pins since my “wreath” was not that large. Glitter the front of each clothes pin for a sparkly finish!

5. Use your choice of colored ribbon to hang the wreath. My piece was 8 inches long in total. Fasten the ribbon to the back side with hot glue. Let the hot glue dry for 5 minutes before hanging.

I never know where to display the Christmas cards that I recieve. Sure the mantel or a book shelf is a great place, but than it starts to look clutered. This craft makes a cute wall decoration to display your favorite cards. I was hoping to make this craft with some friends, but I did not get around to it. If you have time, a DIY christmas card wreath and cookie decorating party with your girlfriends or children would be such a fun activity! Did you make any holiday DIYs this year? Do share!!

10 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS!?! (insert face grabbing-mouth open emoji)

Keep in touch,
Dani

December 13, 2015 by Drafts & Crafts

Each year I fall a little more in love with winter whites, it’s fun to break the rules 😉

{Waffle Sweater: Forever 21 only $15} {Plaid top: Ralph Lauren}
{Jeans: Pea in the Pod} {Flats: Talbots on sale!}
{Bag: Kate Spade} {Jewelry: Loren Hope via Rocksbox}

Who ever said you can not wear white past labor day must have been blind! If you ask me, wearing white in the winter is classy and magical! I am digging this Christmas inspired look from this past weekend. Nothing like a comfy plaid top and cozy waffle sweater. At almost 16 weeks preggers, this is my first pair of maternity denim. It is such a relief that you can find cute and affordable pregnancy clothes and don’t have to give up on style just because you are pregnant.

I bought these precious flats from Talbots on Black Friday at a whopping 50% off. You can currently purchase them for 30% off. They run a bit small and I have wide feet so I am working on stretching mine out. I love adding a little conversation piece to my wardrobe. Even though you may only wear these through winter, I try to take good care of my belongings so that I can have timeless pieces, like these flats, for many years ahead.

I hope everyone is getting excited for the holidays and still taking some time out to remember what Christmas is all about!!

Keep in touch,
Dani

December 11, 2015 by Drafts & Crafts

Jason and I have been blessed this holiday season with a bun in the oven! I am excited to share a few more details about my pregnancy below. 

PC: Lacy J Photography

If you follow me on Instagram you probably saw my pregnancy announcementthat and that I was going to share our pregnancy story on the blog last week. And then another week went bye and I am just getting around to write the most exciting post EVER! I have been busy to say the least. When I shared that picture on Instagram what I really should’ve said was “I’ll be sharing my Pregnancy story sometime in the next month or so.” Jason and I have been devoting our time to house hunting and baby planning. We were under contract with a house and it came back with a SCARY inspection and now we are continuing our search. Keep your fingers crossed for us please! I constantly beat myself up when I get behind on blogging. My overachieving ass feels like some kind of failure. At this point in my life I have to put other priorities in front sometimes!! So enough with my sob story because…. Jason and I are HAVING A BABY!!!!

I am currently 15.5 weeks preggo, I have known for 14 weeks that I was pregnant. I took a test “the first day possible,” if you know what I mean. I found out before Jason got home from work and then I had to run back out in the evening for my job. It was a few days before my husband’s 28th birthday so I initally thought it would be so cool to surprise him on his birthday. About an hour later, reality sunk in. I realized that I would never going to be able to keep this news a secret for 4 days!!

It was time for plan B: I wanted to tell him in a clever  way so I began brainstorming. Most nights we have “sleepy time” tea. I decided it would be cute to write “#1 dad to be” on a mug. When I got home, Jason ran out to get pizza for us. While he was gone I put the mug on the table. I strategically (shaking & nervous) placed the mug so that he would have to be sitting down in his seat to be able to read the mug. Well….. he sat down….. and the look on his face was PERFECT!!! His eyes lit up and he said, are you serious, over and over again!! It was priceless!!! I was so proud of myself for pulling it off!!

We told Jason’s family about a week later after finding out. We waited to tell my family for 3 weeks, when we were going down to South Florida to see them. It was the hardest three weeks of my life!!! My mom and I talk on the phone every single day and it was killing me to keep it from her. I just had to keep reminding myself that seeing the look on my parents and brother’s face would be worth the wait! Our family and friends are over the moon and I am so glad to have them apart of this journey. It will be my parents first grand baby, I am pretty sure they will love the child more than they love my brother and I (only kidding… kinda).

I have been so fortunate not to experience any morning sickness or issues with my pregnancy thus far.  Jason and I find out the gender of baby Colding in 2 weeks!!! I can not hardly sleep at night because I am so anxious to find out. I am such a planner so it is killing me to not know if it is a baby girl or baby boy. So much excitement for the holidays!!! Thanks you to everyone who has wished us warm wishes!! I can’t wait to share more as time goes on. I hope to share some fun holiday posts for Christmas!! Wow, we are just 13 days away!!!

Keep in touch,
Dani

 

November 24, 2014 by Drafts & Crafts

Keeping it classic in stripes with a side of plaid. It is not offically the holidays until we pull out the ol’ blanket scarf!

Photo credit: Lacy J Photography – Be sure to book your holidays sessions with Lacy now!!

{Tunic: Old Navy} {Blanket Scarf: Target, Lou Lou, Open Sky}
{Jeans: J. Crew, similar SALE} {Bag: Rebecca Minkoff, similar}
{Booties: Sears SALE}

It is that time of the year!! The holidays are officially under way and temperatures are finally starting to cool off in North Florida. Can you believe Thanksgiving is here?? I know that I can not believe it!! Time has flown by this year! It’s funny how time feels like it moves so slow when you are young, but as the years go on and life is happening… TIME JUST DISAPPEARS!

I pulled out the classic “Zara” blanket scarf for the first time this week. It took me forever to find this scarf last year and now so many companies make awesome dups. I linked three sites that practically have identical look-alikes.  I love that you can really experiment with some pattern play when it comes to plaid scarfs. Don’t be afraid to play around with stripes and plaid this holiday season! I hope you all have a very plaid holiday!… only kidding…well, sorta. I hope everyone has safe travels if you are going out of town this week! I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving!!!

Keep in touch,
Dani