Two years ago, I was awoken in the middle of the night with contractions. By 9am we were at the hospital. By 12n things were really happening. And by just after 4pm our Z was here! She came out loud and full of life – exactly how she is today.
We love you more than words can say sweet Z – Happy 2nd Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!
ps. taken in our French-inspired bathroom. She loves the Eiffel Tower.
It has gotten colllllld around here! It’s officially fall with bone-chilling winter right around the corner. So how do you stay cute and fashionable? Well here is literally what I am wearing right now to do just that.
1. I love sweaters like this Pleated Jacquard Jacket from Zara that you can layer under and wrap yourself in to feel extra cozy. 2. A cozy waffle knit to layer under your sweater is a must. I like this Waffle Knit Henley T from the GAP. 3. J. Crew Pixie Pant these are the comfiest pants and look great with boots, honestly they’re basically like fancy leggings. 4. You need a scarf in this weather, right? I love this Washed Wool Scarf from Madewell – plus I needed a pop of color in this outfit! 5. This Cut Out Handle Duffel from kate spade Saturday is a great fall bag – you can wear it on your arm or as a cross-body! and 6. While there’s still no snow on the ground (and boots are a must) I like to wear more delicate shoes. These Jeffrey Campbell D’Orsay flats from Urban Outfitters have such a great shape, I love them in this metallic silver.
We had a date night with some friends at the new Beat Hotel in Harvard Sq. Have you been? The food is fantastic!
Someone has a new chore and LOVES it – she gets to feed ki-tee dinner every night at 5pm.
Fresh rosemary from our CSA this week, I love the smell!
I had a huge event for my day job this week…naturally it required buying a bouquet of balloons! Aren’t all events better with balloons?
Pinkies up!
Z likes to organize our shoes like this every time we walk in the house and take our shoes off.
After a very long and busy week in our house I am ready for the weekend – have a good one!
Today I am showing you the first DIY project for my Z’s upcoming 2nd birthday party that’s going to be PURSE-tacular! You recall she’s turning 2, loves purses, so therefore it’s only natural to throw her a purse themed birthday party, right? Right. First things first – the most fun thing at a birthday party? The party favor! I found these adorable wooden purses on Amazon and went to town, here’s how I made them….
You will need: Glue gun, paint, mini wooden purse, string for the handle (I used this raffia), and a paint brush.
First, paint your purse. I mixed my paint to make green to match the colors of the purse party (purple, green, orange). Let your purse dry.
Then, glue down one end of your string.
Start wrapping the purse handle.
Once you’re at the other side cut and glue down. Wrap the other handle the same way.
Cute! I decided to add a little monogram (a la Louis Vuitton) to add a little something extra to them.
Stuff with a tiny treat and give out at your purse party.
I’ve made quiche and shared it with you before, but this quiche we made over the weekend was just YUM. We decided on breakfast for dinner one night (what’s better than that?) and went the savory route (quiche) over something sweet (like waffles). We had spinach up the wa-zoo from our CSA that week so a quiche Lorraine was quickly decided on. So easy to put together, we used this recipe from allrecipes.com as a guide, here’s how:
First, saute your onions and garlic in butter. Once cooked down add your fresh spinach that’s been chopped. We also added ham.
While that’s cooking, whisk your eggs and milk and season with salt & pepper.
Spoon your veggie mixture into your crust (I used store bought). Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
Pour the egg mixture on top letting it mix into the veggies.
Cook for about 15 minutes, then sprinkle the top with more cheese. Cook for additional 35 to 40 minutes.
Serve warm and enjoy! Also good as leftovers.
There’s nothing more perfectly fall than the Head of the Charles Regatta, did you go this weekend? We try and go every year. It’s a fun weekend in Cambridge, MA of boat racing, vendor sampling, and all around beautiful fall weather (most of the time).
The views are kind of spectacular, huh?
People everywhere and tons of food sampling and other fun.
And of course vendors selling things like fried dough.
And, frankly, it’s the perfect reason to wear your fave new fall outfit. (mustard yellow polka dot for her, army jacket for me).
We’ll see you at the Head of the Charles Regatta next year!
Cheering Daddy on during his marathon over the weekend!
Funky giant carrot from our CSA that looks like it’s sticking its tongue out at us.
Sleeping on our bed! Not usually allowed.
Snacking before gymnastics.
Have a great weekend everyone! Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram @iamstyledbyjess.
There’s nothing yummier than a homemade pineapple upside down cake (ahem, Dad!). And now – a fall version using apples. We had a few apples left after we picked 20 lbs about a month ago and after eating most of them as is (we did make a pie and some apple butter) we decided we were due for an apple dessert. You know when you have a great fall weekend and you just need to cap it off with a fall dessert on Sunday? Well, that’s what we did using this recipe from Food Network.
Peel, core, and cut your apples into skinny pieces.
Make the caramel and pour it on the bottom of your greased pan.
Place the apples on top. Make the cake batter and spoon on top.
Bake. When your toothpick comes out clean (50 minutes or so!) immediately flip onto a plate or cutting board and let cool slightly.
Enjoy – this is sooooo good!
So there’s only one reason to make your own ruby slippers, right? You guessed it! Z is going to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz for Halloween, you won’t believe how cute she looks in her costume. I got lucky and happened to be at Jo-Ann Fabric about a month ago and there was a teeny tiny Dorothy costume in the 50% off last-year’s-costumes-rack so I grabbed it. Every girl needs to dress as Dorothy for Halloween once in her life, right? Right. Of course I had to add my own DIY aspect to her costume so I decided to make her some beautiful ruby slippers. You won’t believe how easy it is!
You will need: shoes, red glitter, Mod Podge, and a brush.
Brush the shoes with a light layer of Mod Podge.
Sprinkle with the red glitter and shake off excess.
I split the shoe in thirds and did one part at a time.
When you’re done, give the shoe a good shake to get off any loose glitter.
Let the shoe dry a couple minutes then paint with another layer of Mod Podge to really seal so your glitter doesn’t come off. Let dry overnight.
Stay tuned for Halloween and I’ll show you the full costume, Toto and all…
If you live in the area you’ve heard of and probably been to Wilson Farm in Lexington – a great little farm store with homegrown produce, homemade treats, gourmet goods, and so much more. In the fall they do a pretty cute spooky hay ride. We just went yesterday and our Z loved it – it’s great for kids of all ages and not really too spooky at all (but there are some funny bits for the parents!).
You ride on tractors that they actually use to farm with during the day (the spooky hay ride is open specific times becauase of this) and you ride by and sometimes through (as seen above!) regular activities that they’ve made spooooooky….
…like this spooky farm stand!
Or this spooooky birds nest!
Hay rides are awesome.
And at the end of this free spooky hay ride they give you fall treats, how fun!
We walked around the store after and found this awesome Halloween gingerbread house.
And best of all – the largest candy apple we’ve ever seen. Fun afternoon!
Styled by Jess