Baby Shower – Page 2 – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Baby September 19, 2014

Isla Loves: Freshly Picked Moccasins (Giveaway)

Freshly Picked is a company that has been a part of Isla’s life from the beginning, as I ordered a pair of platinum moccasins the moment I found out I was pregnant. I had been eyeing them for ages and was excited to finally have a reason to order them. We chose to use the shoes in our pregnancy announcement photo, which you can see here. I ordered Size 1, and although Isla has rather large feet, they haven’t fit her until recently. Now that she can wear them, I put them on almost every day. I love them, and I dream of having them in every single color. Freshly Picked kindly sent me a gold pair, which I am going to have to put into rotation with the platinum ones.

These moccasins are made with quality leather and match almost every outfit. They’re just as cute on boys as they are on girls, evidenced by the fact that both Mason Kardashian and North West love them (although I imagine the watermelon pair are predominately worn by the ladies!). The heel of the shoe is elastic, so they are comfy for Isla’s feet. The best part (for me) is that she cannot kick them off like she does with all of her socks.

I know that I will be buying Isla Freshly Picked moccasins until her feet are larger than 7.34 inches! If your little one, or your friend’s little one, don’t own a pair already, this needs to change quickly.

I’m excited to be teaming up with Freshly Picked to give away a pair of moccasins to one lucky individual! For the first time in the Isla Loves series, I am using Rafflecopter for the giveaway.

Follow the various entry options listed below – the more entries you get, the higher the chance you’ll win these sweet shoes. The giveaway ends at midnight on Friday, September 26. I will announce the winner by Friday. I look forward to reading your responses. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow Freshly Picked on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

PS The winner of A Little Lady Shop giveaway is Angie P. I will email you to confirm which bow you would like! Thanks!

I was given the Gold Moccasins by Freshly Picked for my review. I was allowed to keep the product, but the opinion I am sharing remains my own.

DIY September 17, 2014

DIY: Floral Crown

I seriously, seriously love floral crowns. They are perfect for weddings, wedding showers, maternity shoots, baby showers, newborn photos or just because! I have made suggestions on outfits with which you can style a beautiful floral crown at the bottom of this post.

Ever since I started my Floral Arranging 101 class, I’ve been motivated to create my own. I have read a number of DIYs (like this, this and this), and decided to give it a try! At first, I thought about doing a little one for Isla (she’s already worn this one in her newborn photos), but decided to do an adult-sized one and I’m so glad I did! I will admit that this DIY is perhaps not the most technical (as I use a hot glue gun, which would make many florists cringe!), but it works! Read the process below:

I went to the grocery store and picked up some cremones and carnations. Then I went to my front yard and cut down some foliage for fillers – you can also find these in the floral department of your local grocery store.
I cut all of the flowers so that they had 2-3 inch stems and then laid everything out on the island and placed it in the order I wanted for the crown.
I took an 18 gauge floral wire and bent one end about half an inch from the end and thread one of the carnations through – it is important to use a thick stem flower versus a piece of foliage at the end.
I then began to add the flowers and foliage by wrapping floral tape around the base and the floral gauge – laying the pieces along the length of the wire. When I got to a carnation or a cremone, I would take the wire through the stem of the flower versus the side layering technique.
Tip: As mentioned earlier, I also used a hot glue gun to secure some of the floral tape to the wire, and in some instances, to glue the bushy leaves to the wire.
When I finished filling the floral wire with flowers, I cut two pieces of cream ribbon 7 inches in length. Put a dot of hot glue on one end of each strand of ribbon and secure it to the end of the wire. Once the glue is dried, you can put it on your head and tie a bow at the back!

You can extend the life of your crown significantly by storing it in a drawer in your refrigerator. Mine lasted four days, then some of the flowers started to wither. Make sure you start the process with the freshest florals you can find.

Arrange all flowers in the order you’d like them on the crown, then thread them through the floral wire (steps 3-5 above)

Add the ribbon to the ends and tie, then voilà… a beautiful floral crown!

How to Style the Crown

Baby August 26, 2014

Isla Loves: BabyLit (40% Off Promo Code & Giveaway)

I first came across the BabyLit series while shopping at a little boutique in San Francisco. I took a picture of the cover, knowing I would add them to our Amazon Baby Registry when I got back to Houston. I added twelve of my favorite books and got them all from one of my mom’s good friends. I love them so much. It is so enjoyable to read my favorite classics to Isla. There are Counting Primers, Color Primers, Animal Primers, Opposites Primers, Anatomy Primers, and more. These books break down the classics into easily digestible terms and help children develop, as you can see from the photos below. I only brought three books with us to Durango, and I wish we had them all. I highly recommend you buy these for your little one, and if you don’t have any kids, then for friends who are expecting or having toddlers.

I’m excited to be teaming up with BabyLit to offer you 40% off all books until this Sunday, August 31 at midnight with the promo code ISLA. Click here to buy them now! In addition to this discount, BabyLit is giving away two books of your choice to one lucky individual. In order to enter the giveaway, you must do the following:

Reply to this post, including your name and which two BabyLit books you’d like to win – see the full collection here (you can change your selection upon winning)
You will get an extra entry by being or becoming a follower of Snapshots and My Thoughts (see ‘Follow’ button at the bottom righthand corner on desktop version of the blog)
You will get an extra entry by posting this giveaway’s URL to your Twitter or Facebook account (please tag @ailee_petrovic on Twitter or mention Snapshots & My Thoughts and BabyLit on Facebook)

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 29. I will announce the winner by Monday. I look forward to reading your responses. Good luck!

Follow BabyLit on Facebook

Baby August 22, 2014

Isla Loves: BABYBJÖRN Carrier We (Giveaway)

Living in Durango for the past month has definitely been a change of lifestyle for our family. Instead of being confined to the indoor air-conditioning of Houston, we are constantly out and about, whether it be walking to the grocery store or our favorite restaurants, or going on a hike, we are always on the go. In Houston, I had relied heavily on our City Mini stroller when I was running errands, but we wanted to be more agile once we arrived in Colorado. My mom’s friend lent us a ton of baby items, which saved us from hauling them across the country. One of the items was the BABYBJÖRN Baby Carrier Original. We quickly learned that this was Isla’s favorite item in the world. She could be crying inconsolably, and we would plop her in the carrier and silence (they aren’t kidding, it’s golden). She loved it, which obviously meant that Sasha and I adored it even more. Bye, bye stroller.

BABYBJÖRN recently released their newest baby carrier – the Baby Carrier We – and they were kind enough to send me one to try. It’s amazing. Seriously. One of the biggest benefits we have seen over the original carrier is the added support for our backs. When you are walking around for awhile, this is important! The Carrier We comes with a pressure-relieving waist belt and padded shoulder straps, which evenly distribute Isla’s weight. In addition, the carrier is designed perfectly to provide ample support for her head, back and hips. Also, it is easy for me to put Isla in the carrier without assistance from anyone else. And she loves it too. She finds it so soothing, and so we take her absolutely everywhere in it (see hiking photos below!). The best part? The Baby Carrier We is ergonomically designed for children up to three years old, so Isla will have many years ahead in this carrier!

I’m excited to be teaming up with BABYBJÖRN to give away a brand new Baby Carrier We to one lucky individual! In order to enter the giveaway, you must do the following:

Reply to this post, including your name and who you’d be carrying around in your Baby Carrier We (or perhaps who you’d like to win the carrier for!)
You will get an extra entry by being or becoming a follower of Snapshots and My Thoughts (see ‘Follow’ button at the bottom righthand corner on desktop version of the blog)
You will get an extra entry by posting the giveaway’s URL to your Twitter or Facebook account (please tag @ailee_petrovic on Twitter or mention Ailee Semple Petrovic on Facebook)

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 Wednesday, August 27. I will announce the winner by Friday. I look forward to reading your responses. Good luck!

Follow BABYBJÖRN on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.

The carrier passed the 6 mi. hike test! We absolutely love it. Sasha kindly carrier her up, and I took the trek down.

I was given the BABYBJÖRN Carrier We by BabySwede for my review. I was allowed to keep the product, but the opinion I am sharing remains my own.

Baby April 14, 2014

Pretty Floral Tea Party for Isla

I was totally spoiled by my sister and best friend this weekend – they threw me the most gorgeous tea party shower for little Miss Isla. It was held at our house, as many of our closest friends still had never seen the house since we re-did it last year (pictures here, here and here). I had such a great time talking to everyone – I love parties! McKenzie and Karine did such an incredible job planning and executing on their plans – how pretty is this floral tea party? The flowers are seriously to-die for. I want them to be in our house at all times!