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Baby August 14, 2014

The J. Crew Family

I absolutely adore J. Crew, and as the primary shopper of the family, Sasha and Isla inadvertently wear lots and lots of J. Crew too. I especially love a lot of the summer to fall items that J. Crew has right now. In fact, there’s a 25% off sale for these styles with the code NOWANDLATER. I received my seasonal reward card (sometimes hundreds of dollars off due to J. Crew card spendings!). I spent ages on my phone (while feeding, of course) trying to decide what to buy with the gift card. We recently ordered Sasha a pair of the 7” Stanton Shorts – nice and short for my favorite pair of legs, as well as the Heidi Long Dress for me (for an upcoming wedding in Mexico!), and the Flower Patch Tank for Isla. I decided on some of the items below – I love this assortment of J. Crew outfits for the entire family. The only non-J. Crew item are the sweet felt bows for Isla which are from A Little Lady Shop.

Have you bought anything from J. Crew recently that you love?

The Mrs.

Barrett Suede Ankle Boots // Broken-in Boyfriend Jean in Abbott Wash // Classic Silk Blouse // Panama Hat // Origami Necklace

The Mr.

Broken-in Chino in Urban Slim Fit // Classic MacAlister Boots in Suede // Secret Wash Shirt in Orange Check // Ray-Ban Aviator Sunglasses // Ebbets Field Flannels for J. Crew Homestead Grays Ball Cap (Similar)

& The Little Miss

Baby Tunic in Liberty Nina Taylor Floral // Baby Everyday Leggings (Neon Corral) // Baby Salt-Water Sandals // Baby Oeuf Cat Bib // A Little Lady Shop Felt Bows

Personal August 13, 2014

Week 4 in Durango

We have almost been in Durango for a month, and time is literally flying by, which is giving me anxiety. I am not ready to return to Houston, although I would give anything to hug my friends and family. In the past week, we have seen multiple deer lingering in our yard and our neighbors, taken (almost) daily walks to the local handcrafted ice cream shop – Cream Bean Berry, gone on 2-mi. morning walks with the beautiful crisp air, finished Photo 101, started Floral Arranging 101, and learning so much in Illustrator 101. We also visited Sutcliffe Vineyards, ate at Carver’s Brewery (dying over their veggie burger), and Sasha’s mom, her friend, my sister, and her boyfriend all visited. It was a busy week, but we enjoyed every second of it. One of my best friends arrives next week with her baby, Lillian, who was born 26 days after Isla. I cannot wait!

Isla’s Baby Gap romper – love that bow at the waist (similar here)

Daily walks to the Animas River with the whole family are the highlight of my day

Jill is already one strike down on the babysitting tally (re: drinking and holding)! // Dinner at Grassburger happens far too often

This is the face she makes when she is gurgling – totally purses her little lips (more of this outfit here)

Isla loves to fist pump in her Gap Star Bubble Bodysuit (now on sale!)

My hair is now in constant pony tails because she loves to grab things – like her dad’s Serbian Orthodox chain necklace

Pattern play in her Carter’s top, Baby Gap striped pants and Trumpette socks

Hanging out on one of her Mimi’s colorful quilts

Belle is in heaven

Straight CHEESIN’ – in her J. Crew tank in flower patch and Baby Gap shorts

I couldn’t love her any more

Going on a walk in my J. Crew tank (I live in these), Nordstrom fedora (similar) and Chloe sunglasses (similar) – Isla’s Baby Gap hat looks like a mushroom here!

Ready to play fetch

Practicing standing with her Tata

One happy little patriotic sailor

I want this Janie and Jack romper for myself! I love the bow on the back

Food August 11, 2014

Sutcliffe Vineyards

On Saturday, we packed up two cars (Sasha’s mom, her friend, my sister and her boyfriend were visiting) and headed to Cortez, Colorado to visit Sutcliffe Vineyards. My parents are friends with the owner, John Sutcliffe, who is definitely the most interesting man alive. Sasha and I met John for the first time a few weeks ago when he came over for dinner, and he invited us to visit the vineyard for a private tasting and we took him up on the offer. The hour and a half drive was over rolling hills, next to spectacular mountains – everywhere you looked, there was a photo opportunity. Unfortunately, Sasha was driving, so we didn’t stop once! The vineyard is centered around a tall, red tower which you’ll see on the wine labels. The fields and fields of grapes are uncharacteristic of the dry, mountainous views next to it. The wine is phenomenal – my favorite is the Petit Verdot, which you can purchase online. Isla was extremely well-behaved during the trip, except for the 5 minutes when she was hungry and refused a bottle that I had pumped earlier! We need to work on that (although I selfishly don’t mind just feeding her myself!). My favorite part of the trip was not the amazing wine, nor the gorgeous scenery, but John’s fascinating stories. The man refuses to not pick up a hitch hiker (plenty of good stories to accompany that), he rattles off detailed accounts of his eccentric Uncle Percy who lived in England and wore WWII soldier apparel around town although he did not go to war, and tells the story about the vineyard’s conception being that his architect told him grape leaves would make for a good view out of his dining room window. I mean, really? If you’re ever in the Telluride or Durango area, I highly recommend visiting Sutcliffe Vineyards and meeting John. You and your taste buds won’t regret it!

Baby August 8, 2014

Pink Lemonade Party Inspiration

I have long loved bright pink and yellow paired together – à la pink lemonade. When I saw this tank and these shorts on sale at Carters, buying them was a no-brainer. Isla’s outfit reminded me of the cutest Pink Lemonade Soiree I saw ages ago on Hostess with the Mostess. I love the idea of a pink lemonade themed party! I’m getting ahead of myself, but I already let my mind wander to Isla’s first birthday party. These celebrations end up being huge events! See some pictures below for inspiration. Most are from the Pink Lemonade Soiree, others from Kara’s Party Ideas, and others from Pinterest.

What are other cute toddler party themes you’ve seen?

Also, one last reminder that the MAM pacifier giveaway ends tonight at midnight!

Baby August 6, 2014

Isla Loves: MAM Pacifiers (Giveaway)

In the months leading up to Isla’s arrival, Sasha and I had many parenting discussions – some of the them were tough due to varying opinions, like the use of pacifiers. After reading about the various benefits (watch this informative video), I was completely pro-paci. Sasha, on the other hand, was against them. Without any research whatsoever, he deemed them as enabling a bad habit. However, come week one when Isla is crying inconsolably, Sasha immediately scrambles to Isla’s closet, looking for the pacifier drawer. I had stocked up on three brands, given advice from other first-time moms who said that some babies take to different types of teats. The MAM pacifier was the only one Isla liked, as others seemed more difficult to keep in her mouth. If you watch the video below, you can see it come slightly out of her mouth, yet she is able to keep on sucking due to the textured teat.

Quite contrary to Sasha’s declaration that pacifiers mess up teeth, the MAM Perfect Pacifier‘s innovative design incorporates an extra thin, super-soft and flexible nipple specially engineered to reduce the risk of misaligned teeth. The unique Dento-FlexTM nipple neck is 60% thinner and 3 times softer than those of comparable pacifiers; the thinner, softer nipple provides less pressure on baby’s jaw and teeth to help reduce the risk of jaw deformations and malocclusions. Extra small and lightweight, MAM Perfect is available for babies age 0-6 months and age 6 + months. Click here to watch a Perfect Pacifier YouTube video.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJUEQln1ojQ]

I’m excited to be teaming up with MAM to give away two packs of pacifiers to one lucky follower! In order to enter the giveaway, you must do the following:

Reply to this post, including your name, email and who you want to win the pacifier for (a friend’s baby, your child, your grandchild, etc.)
Follow MAM on their Instagram
You will get an extra entry by becoming a follower of Snapshots and My Thoughts (see ‘Follow’ button at the bottom righthand corner on desktop version of the blog)

One winner will be drawn at random. The more entries you have, the higher the chance you’ll win! The giveaway ends at midnight on Friday, August 8. I will announce the winner by Friday. I look forward to your responses!

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