Drafts & Crafts

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2017 Gift Guide List

Craft Box, Mommy & Misc

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

Our Baby Girl’s Nursery

Mommy & Misc

December 9, 2017 by Drafts & Crafts

With 6 weeks left until we meet our little girl, I am happy to finally share the finishing touches of our her nursery. 

Photo credit: Verance Photography

Crib: Babyletto Hudson 3-in-1
Dresser: West Elm
Wallpaper: St. Jude’s Fabric, Harvest Hare
Rug: Lorena Canals (c/o)
Moses Basket: Bloomingdale’s
Maeve Blanket (draped over crib): Max + Moose (c/o)
Baby Bird Hoop: Urban Pigtails
Wooden Basket (holding the stuffed animals): Ikea
Leather Mat (in reading nook): Gathre
Rocking Chair: a family heirloom
Book Shelf: Ikea
Rabbit Hook: Anthropologie
Robe: Pink Blush Maternity

It is hard to believe that in just 6 weeks we will be a family of 4. Tanner will no longer be an only child, he will be a big brother, and we will have another newborn to love on. It feels surreal, but the closer it gets, the more excited I am! My nerves about turning our world upside down are starting to subside. After lots of praying, my heart is content and I only have sweet feelings about bringing our baby girl home just in time for the holidays (fingers crossed I don’t go past Christmas)!

We have been working on baby girl’s room for some time. It was nice to take it slow and take our time. I would highly recommend this for someone expecting their second or third child. When you are caring for other children, your second+ pregnancy goes by in the blink of an eye. Baby #2’s room was planned around this timeless, whimsical wallpaper. I first saw this wallpaper in a bathroom at one of my favorite local eateries. I knew if we were having a girl, I would have to track down this vintage-inspired, golden bunny and bird beauty to be the focal point of her room.

From there it was pretty easy to pick out pieces that went with the mid-century look that I was going for. I love the warm and happy feeling that I get when I walk into her nursery. That feeling is probably the pop of yellow talking. I hope you enjoy taking a peak into our baby girl’s nursery. My husband and I had so much fun setting it up. Well, I doubt Jason would say the wallpaper part was fun. Putting up wallpaper is a beast! Tanner even helped work on his sister’s room with his dada. I think this is a sign that he will be an awesome big brother!

Lastly, this is a sneak peak of the robe that will be in my hospital bag for delivery! I am loving this floral robe by Pink Blush. Pink Blush has tons of beautiful and affordable delivery robes to choose from! Please let me know if you have any questions about the nursery. Thank you Sindy for capturing our second babe’s nursery.

Keep in touch,
Dani

Steps to a Healthier Lifestyle Series: Part 3: Sleep

Mommy & Misc

October 31, 2017 by Drafts & Crafts

Sleep plays a crucial role in the way we function each and every day so I am concluding my steps toward a healthier lifestyle series by taking about sleep. 

For the past two months I have been taking more natural approaches to get my family to move toward a healthier lifestyle. I previously wrote about using less harmful beauty products and replacing some medicine with essentials oils. Lastly, one huge factor that was effecting my daily attitude was the way I had been sleeping. Months had gone by and it seemed like I was tossing and turning all night if I did not take my anti-nausea medicine, which is mostly a sleep aid. I couldn’t figure out why I was not tired. My son keeps me busy all day and I was working out regularly and using all of my energy. I was feeling irritable in the mornings because some days it felt like I had not slept at all. Being pregnant definitely plays a role in insomnia, but as I mentioned in to previous post, I did not want to be dependent on medicine while pregnant so I knew something had to change.

My husband and I slept in a queen size bed since we got married and it begun to feel like we did not have enough room. I was constantly scrunching myself up to feel comfortable on the bed, but really all I wanted to do was spread out from corner to corner. I have been dying to upgrade to a king size bed so I started researching hybrid mattresses that come to your front door in a box. They are affordable and I know a lot of people have been talking about how these hybrid mattresses are the new wave of mattresses. I found the brand Tomorrow and am over the moon to work with them! We have been sleeping on Tomorrow’s hybrid mattress for 6 weeks and it has been amazing!!! We upgraded to a king size and ordered the medium-firm hybrid mattress. It has been truly life changing.

My husband and I were a little skeptical, wondering how on earth a king size mattress that can fold in a box could be comfortable. We like a firmer mattress so we thought maybe it would be too soft for us. We were glad to be wrong!! Each night when we get into bed we talk about how we are sleeping on a cloud! We don’t mean the mushy, overly soft kind of cloud. It is plush, forms to your body, yet still remains firm for comfortable feeling. Upgrading to a king size mattress gave us over a foot more of space and it has been so nice to feel like neither of us our hanging off of the bed or fighting for space, especially being pregnant. We wish we would have made this switch a long time ago!

I am glad that I realized how my restless nights were taking a toll on my life. I know switching mattresses comes with a big financial commitment, but I don’t think you can really put a price on a good night’s sleep. You can use code: “CRAFTS100” for $100 off of a hybrid mattress from Tomorrow. Tomorrow does have payment plans for people who qualify, as well as 100 day trails! If you are uncomfortable at night, I encourage you to look into a new mattress. Since switching mattresses, I went cold turkey off of my sleep aid and began using essentials oils instead. I believe the combination of a new, larger mattress and essentials oils have allowed me to get a restful night’s sleep again. I am still pregnant and not dealing with insomnia, it is a miracle! Thank you to Tomorrow Sleep for designing this hybrid mattress and sponsoring this post.  All these opinions are my own and I would love to tell you more about the mattress. If you have any questions about Tomorrow’s hybrid mattress, please don’t hesitate to ask. HAPPY HALLOWEEN AND HELLO NOVEMBER!

Keep in touch,
Dani

A few weeks into the third trimester..

Mommy & Misc

September 27, 2017 by Drafts & Crafts

I am now 32 weeks pregnant and feeling all of the feels so I thought a little update was in order.

I have truly enjoy journaling my pregnancies! I have so many thoughts and feelings that writing them down has helped me gather my emotions throughout this journey. On a side note, I also use my Promptly Journal to actually write things down because there is nothing like taking pen to paper. Today marks 32 weeks of growing baby Colding number dos. It has been an emotional few weeks over here. I just have to say, pregnancy is emotional. Even when everything is going pretty well, it is still emotional. I saw a really funny quote the other day that pretty much sums up pregnancy, “I am 32 weeks pregnant and not to brag or anything, but I have not had a mood swing in 7 minutes.” Tanner is now 17 months and is a little wild child. He is fearless, loves to climb, jump, wonder, and explore. As much as I love his curiosity, it also gives me anxiety that he has no problem walking away from me.. or should I say running away. When you hit your third trimester and start to feel physically tired, chasing after a toddler is no joke. Where are all my second time mamas? Exhausting!! With that being said, I really want to take these next two months before baby sister is born to work with Tanner to stay close, hold hands, and look for mama and dada.

On the emotional side, I am worried about bringing a second baby into our home and rocking Tanner’s world. I know it will be a huge adjustment for all of us. I held a friend’s baby the other day and Tanner wanted me to pick him up too. In the past, this has never bothered him so it will be interesting to see how he reacts to having his baby sister home the first few weeks. I know he will eventually adjust fine and be a great big brother, but the beginning and the unknown is what scares me!

Even though my nerves run high these days, I am SOOOOO EXCITED!!! A BABY GIRL! We feel so blessed that we will get to experience each gender so now maybe we will be two and done? Who knows, I LOVE babies so I could see myself wanting one more down the road depending on how adjusting to a second baby goes. Our sweet girl is all set, we received so many kind gifts, and her nursery is just about complete! I do feel myself starting to physically slow down some so I am glad that we started on her nursery early. The second pregnancy has gone by so fast!!

Lastly, I wanted to share how I am praying for a VBAC (vaginal birth after c section). To keep it short, I had a c-section at 37 weeks with Tanner due to preeclampsia, pregnancy-induced high blood pressure. Just because I became preeclamptic with Tanner, does not mean I will get it again with number two. My blood pressure has been great and I have been exercising regularly, which is something I did not do the first time around. If my blood pressure and blood tests remain normal, my doctor will let me try for a VBAC, but my body has to go into labor naturally. Meaning, they do not want to induce me if my body does not do it on its own. I have been praying that I will get to experience a vaginal childbirth, especially because it may be our last baby. I know this is what God designed my body for, so I am hoping labor will happen naturally. I wanted to share this because it weighs heavy on my heart everyday as we get closer to baby girl’s due date. I will share one more maternity update in the beginning of December and if we know a c-section or a VBAC will be in our future.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and Halloween!!! I am loving all of the pumpkin photos and halloween costumes on IG!

Keep in touch,
Dani

 

 

Baby Girl’s Fall Sprinkle

Mommy & Misc

October 17, 2017 by Drafts & Crafts

My sweet friend, Ashlyn, threw me the most beautiful fall-inspired sprinkle last weekend! Here are some of the swoon-worthy details… 

Verance Photography

 

Happy Fall! Last weekend, we had a magical fall brunch for baby number 2! I wanted to share some photos with you all because it was the sweetest day! My friend, Ashlyn, asked if she could put a shower/sprinkle together. If you see Ashlyn’s creativity, then you know I could not resist (Ashlyn has runs a boutique wedding and design company called Loba Design Co.)! She was so kind to ask me about what my wishes were for my “sprinkle” and she made them come to life! We sipped on mimosas and mommy-mosas while each creating our own flower crowns. Many of my friends brought a dish and the food was fabulous!! Cheese board, breakfast casserole, donuts, muffins, fruit, quiche galore!! My friend Robynn made the the cutest pink ombre cake!

Baby girl and I were showered with adorable outfits and lots of necessities, like diapers!! I can’t help but know that moving back to Jacksonville and into our neighborhood was God’s work. We have been blessed with great friends and feel so loved as we bring baby number 2 into our family. A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who helped celebrate. Thank you to Sindy of Verance Photography being there through all my special moments and capturing beautiful photos that will last many lifetimes.

Keep in touch,
Dani

Steps to a Healthier Lifestyle Series: Step 2. Essential Oils

Mommy & Misc

September 27, 2017 by Drafts & Crafts

Continuing along in my journey of working toward a healthier lifestyle for my family, I am talking about how I have replaced some medicine with essential oils. 

Last week, I kicked off this new series by discussing how I am using less harmful, and more natural beauty products in our home. This week I am continuing with part 2 of the series, talking about how I started using essential oils in our house. When someone in our house doesn’t feel the best, we typically jump toward the medicine cabinet. I wanted to try to break this habit with introducing essentials oils in our home.

Since my second pregnancy has been much more sickly than my first, I used anti-nausea medicine from week 6 to week 12. I cringe at the fact that I had to take medicine while pregnant because I felt so sick. The first time I ever used essential oils was when my girlfriend, Meghan, made me an anti-nausea roller. I used that everyday, along with a prescription medicine. Around 12 weeks, the nausea did subside, however the insomnia kicked in FULL-FORCE. I resorted to taking unison (a sleep aid) nightly. My doctor did ensure me that it was safe to take, but it still made me feel uneasy. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to wean myself off. I did NOT want to depend on a sleep aid from week 13 until delivery.

Around 24 weeks, I decided something needed to change so I got my first essential oil diffuser and oils from Vitruvi. I had been asking a lot of friends about their experience with oils. I honestly did know if I was that “crunchy” to wean myself off medication with something so natural. I finally thought, I have nothing to loose so why not try essentials oils. I ripped the band-aid off about 4 weeks ago and have been sleeping pretty sound with Vitruvi’s sleep roll on and the diffuser on my nightstand. Sure I toss and turn some (and pee often), but when I was pregnant with Tanner I was up from 3am to 5am every single night. This has not happened to me once in the last month!

I have been using essential oils for my whole family! I put the sleep roller on Tanner’s feet before he goes to bed and on my husband’s neck. It has been fun to look up different remedies for things, we have mostly been using them for sleep, headache, calmness, and fall scents to make the house smell delicious! Vitruvi was kind enough to share some fun blends with me:

Favourite Fall Blend
10 drops Bergamot and 10 drops Cedarwood
Bedtime Blend
5 drops Eucalyptus, and 10 drops Frankincense into my diffuser and turn it on the 7.5 hour cycle.
Morning Wakeup
5 drops Lemon and 10 drops Eucalyptus together in the morning.
Pretty Florals
Yang Ylang can be quite strong, use about 2-3 drops along with 10 drops of Geranium

Moving forward, I plan to try oils first before we jump for Tylenol. I personally feel like trying oils can’t hurt so why not try them first. You can look up a remedy for nearly anything you are experiencing. If I am able to have a VBAC with baby number 2, I plan to bring my diffuser to the hospital to diffuse some calming scents in my room. If you have any questions about the Vitruvi oils or diffuser that I have been using or would like to know any remedies, please don’t hesitate to send me a message. Thank you to Vitruvi for sponsoring this post and making my essential oil dreams come true! Stay tuned for Part 3 of Steps to a Healthier Lifestyle Series.

Keep in touch,
Dani