January 23, 2019 by Drafts & Crafts

Better late than never; I am excited to finally get around to sharing photos from Winnie’s first birthday party!

Hard to believe that its been over a month since our baby girl turned one! Time just flies by these days! Its so bittersweet to watch them grow, well mostly sweet, but I do find myself missing the little baby phase! It truly goes by so fast and you wish those days away when you are so sleep deprived and have engorged breasts! Winsome Rose is a little firecracker though and we LOVE her personality these days! She loves following around her big brother and they are starting to grow into the best of friends! Her first birthday party was filled with our family and our close friends! We kept it pretty simple with a backyard movie! The menu consisted of a hotdog and popcorn bar with some whimsical forest decor! Hope you enjoy these photos from our favorite photographer! Sindy, from Verance Photography, always captures the most dreamy photos for my family!

Winnie’s pinafore: @paperlinen
mushroom embroidery: @urbanpigtails
Winsome birth stat poster: @shop.lovefound
Winnie’s bonnet: @maxandoliviaco
Cake: Made by my friend Courtney,
(I can ask to share contact if you are local!)
Mushroom Cake Toppers: @penny.gem
Wands: Hand made by mama!

Hope you are off to a wonderful start of 2019! My goal for this year is to focus on myself and family! I want to start by doing a little more for myself this year, taking time to do the things I love! Get my health, fitness, and gospel goals together! Secondly, I am trying to take on less this year, put down the phone more, and minimalize my life and house a little more. Just thought I would share since this is my first official blog post of the new year!!

Keep in touch,
Dani

February 7, 2018 by Drafts & Crafts

I finally made my own recipe for nipple cream and now I am kicking myself for not making this sooner! Nursing mamas, you gotta try this simple recipe.

I know I can’t be the only nursing mother who was tired of paying $15 for a tiny tube of organic nipple balm! I spent TONS of money on nipple cream when I was exclusively pumping for Tanner so this time around I was determined to save money. Let’s be honest, throughout the journey of feeding or pumping, our nipples need some TLC. This cream takes about 10 minutes to make and cost around $30, I call it Dani’s Nip Dip- hahaha! It should make enough to last about 24 months, so share some with your friends! I am going to link the products that I bought and researched off amazon. These products are all natural/unrefined and should be safe if baby does get some while beginning to latch. Lastly, I do want to mention that this is a homemade recipe so use at your own discretion. Winnie and I have been using it for about a week and love it!

Makes 12 ounces-  filled 3, 4 ounce mason jars

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups extra virgin olive oil (purchased at local grocery)
• 6 tablespoons coconut oil (purchased at local grocery)
• 3 sticks of beeswax (about 3 tablespoons)
• 3 tablespoons shea butter

Steps

1. Place all of the ingredients in small pot on the stove.
2. Simmer on low to medium heat. Took about 10 mins on low/medium heat to melt each ingredient.
3. Stir until your mixture is clear and there are no clumps.
4. Pour your mixture into jars. Be careful because it will be hot. Wait until the mixture is cooled and no longer clear before placing the lid on.

Hope this recipe soothes you! I would love to hear if you have any tricks of your own or what cream is your go-to?

Keep in touch,
Dani

November 21, 2017 by Drafts & Crafts

Gift giving is my love language so I was excited to create this post to share with you guys. My goal was to cover a gift idea for everyone on your list that you have to shop for this holiday season! The majority of the gifts are well under $100, with just a few around the $100 price point.

***All of the above images were borrowed from each company’s website, they are not my own.

1. GLDN personalized jewelry – for ANY lucky lady in your life
   GLDN’s jewelry is dainty, timeless, perfect for everyday wear. I think any women would love! Add a special touch and personalize a gift for your wife, friend, mother, MIL, grandmother, or aunt. use code “DCCOLD15” for 15% off of your order until 12/31/17!
2. Hillflint College Sweaters – for the sports fan
   These sweaters are the bees knees! I love the vintage, retro feel of Hillflint. College sport fans would appreciate one of these high-quality sweaters.
3. Fox Hollow Studios Prints & Calendars – for the homemaker
   We all have those people who make their home feel like our home. Fox Hollow paints beautiful images that would fit into almost any home style: from spice plants, to cool cacti, to beautiful barn scenes.
4. Aviate (airport abbreviation) Hats – for the jet setters
   You may have seen these hats by now, but if you have not, then you are welcome. Rep your favorite city, place to vacation, or where you are from with these causal ball caps. Plus, we all have bad hair days!
5. Bose Sport in-ear Headphones – for the person who likes to workout or run
   A person who likes to jam out while they get their workout on will appreciate good speakers that are sweat resistant. In my opinion, Bose always produces the best sound.
6. Artifact Uprising Photo Gifts – for ANY body special to you
   I have ordered photo gifts from many companies, but Artifact Uprising is the only company up to par. From the quality to the modern design, anyone would enjoy a special photograph keepsake. My personal favorites are the wood block & prints and the wooden calendar. Great gift for a grandma or grandpa!
7. Homesick (state & city) Candles – for the person who misses home or loves to travel
   We all love where we are from, right? These candles are the sweetest reminder of home or they could represent a memorable trip or favorite destination. I love this NYC based company!
8. The Art of Shaving – for the classy man who appreciates good products
   I have a few fancy boys in my life so this is a cool gift idea for a guy who likes to stay looking fresh.
9. The Night Sky Art Prints – for the sentimental person or a loved one
   These posters are really neat! You choose a date and location of which a special occasion took place and Night Sky generates the stars from that night! Perfect sentimental gift for an engaged person, newlywed, or family who just had a baby.
10. Bose Waterproof Mini Speaker – for the music lover and adventurer
    My husband and I got a portable Bose speaker last Christmas and we love it! The only thing that would make it better is if it were water proof and had a hanging clip like this one! You could really take this mini speaker anywhere!
11. Roku Portable Streaming Stick – for the entertainment center king and queen
    Endless TV and movies at your finger tips, can’t go wrong with this small piece of technology for a good price!
12. Mark & Graham Leather Wallets and Moneyclips – for ANY lucky dude in your life
    I’ve learned over the years that most men like a small wallet. These leather Mark & Graham wallets are classic.
13. Gathre Leather Bonded Mats – for the family or outdoor person
    Anyone who has been around me knows that I am an huge fan of these mats. Beautiful colors and patterns to choose from, high-quality, wipeable leather mats! They come as small as changing mats for babies and get as large as fitting 8 people for a picnic.
14. Promptly Childhood & Adoption Journals – for the expectant mother
    Perfect gift for someone who is expecting or about to adopt. Record memories from being pregnant, through age 5.
15. City Map Glasses – for the entertainer
    These glasses would be a great addition on a bar cart. Gift someone their favorite city map on their favorite cocktail glass. I am thinking my husband needs a set of DC maps on a bourbon glass.
16. Boon Pipes for the bath – for the toddler boy
    Affordable toddler gift! Tanner has a set of these and let’s just say they are so cool that he is not the only one around here who enjoys playing with them!
17. Dainty Cheeks Doll or Purse for Anthropologie – for the toddler girl
    Affordable toddler gift! Dainty Cheeks is a company that hand makes one-of-a-kind stuffed toys. Well we are in luck, Dainty cheeks did an artist collaboration with Anthropologie and created an affordable line of dolls and purses. A normal Dainty Cheeks doll is $150 and you can get one at Anthro for $28 and a purse for $14.
18. Circuit Cubes, boxed project – for the middle age child (age 6 to 12)
    It is tricky to buy for an adolescent. To play it safe you can give a fun and educational type of gift like these boxed projects. I know I loved a gift that involved me doing some type of crafts when I was younger.
19. Jan handwoven blankets – for the homebody or Netflix binge watcher
    Know a homebody or someone who likes to binge watch through the latest hit on Netflix? Gift them a beautiful hand-woven blanket to cozy up on the couch with, designed by one of my best friends! Comes in three beautiful colors, you can e-mail, hello@jan-studio.com for an order.
20. Yarning Made hand knitted blankets – for ANY special baby or baby coming soon
    Hand-knitted blankets are the sweetest heirlooms! My mother kept my hand-knitted blanket and it was so sweet to pass it down to our son. My favorite blanket for a baby girl is the heart print and the “ZZZZ” for a baby boy. Love the modern twist on these timeless blankets.

Hi friends! Happy Thanksgiving week, which also means happy kick off to holiday shopping! Let the the Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas shopping craze begin. I want to begin by saying, the meaning behind Christmas is FAR GREATER than gift giving. Gifts do not have much to do with it, but we do take gift giving serious in my family (for all occasions, not just Christmas). I spent a lot of time creating this gift guide, thinking about unique gifts for the loved ones in my life. You see, my husband is a music buff, while my dad and brother are huge sports fans. I think most people have a wide range of “personalities” to buy for and some are much harder than others. One thing I am really passionate about is supporting small businesses, so I have included several of my favorite small shops in this list. I know you will love their products as much as I do! My goal was to cover everyone on your list so I hope you find some new, awesome ideas for the lovers in your life. Please share any fun gift ideas that you have!

Keep in touch,
Dani