3/12/14

"Brown Bear, Brown Bear" Themed 1st Birthday Party By AbbyTanoriPhotography

It's Wednesday friends and I have an adorable mid-week feature that I know will help add a pep to your step until the weekend arrives! Today's special celebration was submitted by the wonderful Abby from Tanori Photo! Abby was invited to capture baby Jackson turning the big ONE and his adorable "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" themed first birthday party. My little McKenzie is obsessed with her "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" book or what she likes to call "bow book"(bear book) and I know would've loved to attend this fun-filled occasion. Jackson's beautiful mommy used her wonderful DIY talent to incorporate all the visual elements from this sweet little book and charmingly displayed them throughout the space. From "Brown Bear...." books that served as center pieces to the rainbow of colors that were used to create a festive atmosphere for all of the little guests to enjoy. This party is definitely one I am going to pin to my "party inspiration" board to hopefully use if we are ever so blessed with another first birthday party in the future. "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? I See An Adorable Baby Boy Turning O- N- E!"

Source: Tanori Photo

3/10/14

"I AM ONE" Tee from Gracie & Hatcher: Review and Giveaway!

Top of The Monday Morning To Ya! Today I am revisiting the fact that my little baby McKenzie is well past her One Year milestone (she's 16 months now :'(). The day after her first birthday, I've tried not to think about how much she's grown since then. Although it is getting harder and harder to be in denial when those tantrums of hers show their face more and more these days. Sheesh, and I thought the first three months of life were tough, this 1 1/2 stage is almost taking the cake. In addition to McKenzie's wonderful way of expressing her emotions, I am also forced to face her new toddler age when we are out and about and adoring passer byers take notice of her sweet charm (at the moment) and inquire about her age. With a little sad hesitation, I tell them she is one. I guess I'm just never going to get over how quickly my baby is growing up right before my very eyes. These days I'm learning to ~~grow up~~ take a deep breath and enjoy each and every moment of her "one year" status because I know her 2nd year milestone will be here before we know it. I'll probably have my own little secret pitty party that day too. I know, I'm a mess! In all honesty, I do feel truly blessed that she is happy and healthy and progressing right along. I couldn't be more proud and honored that God chose me to be her mommy.

gracie + hatcher

To help us celebrate McKenzie's "I'm still One" status today is the wonderful Children's T-shirt shop, Gracie & Hatcher! Owner, Designer & Creator, Brenda is a wonderful friend of mine from Anchorage, Alaska. She is such a beautiful mommy inside and out and a talented artist in every sense of the word. She not only is an amazing make-up artist, she specializes in Graphic Design, Branding and Design Consulting! Today she is using her talent to create stylish tees for the "mini-me" in your life. At Gracie + Hatcher online, you will find high quality children's T-shirts from American Apparel that are screen printed with two graphic options designed by Brenda, "I AM ONE" & "I AM TWO". Her tees come in boy & girl friendly colors and several sleeve length options with sizes ranging from 6m to 4T!

When I saw her graphic tees for the first time, I immediately wanted to buy one for McKenzie's 2nd birthday, however I was bummed that we would have to wait 8 months before she was able to wear it. Luckily Brenda reminded me that Kenzie is a 1 year old for one whole year, so technically she could rock the "I AM ONE" design right now! With my mommy brain in full throttle ~~all the time~~ at the time, I thought "what a BRILLIANT idea!" So now we have another wonderful reminder that McKenzie is STILL ONE!

Outfit Details: Headband -Thrifted, Tee - Gracie + Hatcher, Polkadot Leggings - Old Navy(sold out), Moccasins - Freshly Picked

McKenzie is "Washing The Spider Out!" while "itsy bitsy spider" is ~~sung by me~~ playing in the background :)

GIVEAWAY TIME!

To help you and your little celebrate their ONE or TWO year status, Gracie + Hatcher is offering one lucky Fawn Over Baby reader an "I AM ONE or TWO" Graphic Tee in preferred color of choice! All you have to do is follow instructions below for your chance to win!! If you can't wait and would like to purchase now, visit Gracie + Hatcher online!

Giveaway Details:

Fill Out Our Wonderful Rafflecopter Form Below- (please complete required/mandatory entry before proceeding to extra entry options. All entries will be verified)
Winner will be chosen and announced Friday, March 14th
Feel Free to Share and/or Invite Family & Friends To Participate!
Have Fun & Good Luck Friends!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

3/7/14

The Wonderful Cheeky Albi Designs: Print Review and Coupon Code!

It's Friday!! I hope you have exciting plans for the weekend! My exciting plans include finishing up the final touches to McKenzie's long awaited nursery update. I have had so much fun gathering a variety of fun little pieces that I hope will tie the room together nicely (fingers crossed). The project I have been working on this week is her mini collage wall display. I decided to go with a collection of different shaped white frames to house a few fun prints that represent McKenzie. A fun fact about McKenzie is that she was born in Anchorage, Alaska and shares the same birth state as her grandma "mimi"(my mother). Who would have ever thought that two southern bread women, like my mom and I, would travel so far from home. Thanks to the US Air Force, we did and we will forever be proud of our stay there. I can't wait until McKenzie is old enough to understand and get to know the unique state that is Alaska.

As a little reminder of where she was born, I wanted to incorporate Alaska in her room decor somehow. As I browsed Pinterest, I stumbled upon the most adorable print of a vintage map of the British Isles with the saying "Oh The Places You'll Go!" It was exactly what I was looking for to help round out the collage I was slowly putting together. If only I could switch out the beautiful british isles with a map of Alaska? I immediately contacted the wonderful Etsy shop that was behind this sweet little work of art, called Cheeky Albi Designs. Owner and creator Lucia, granted my request and worked to find the perfect vintage map of Alaska as well as create the perfect color combo that would coordinate well with the overall color palette of McKenzie's room. I am always taken back when I come across shop owners that go out of their way to make sure their customers are 100% satisfied and that is exactly the service I received from the fabulous Lucia! Based out of Manhattan, NY, Cheeky Albi Designs "specializes in prints for nurseries and children's rooms". Each piece of art is created by Lucia herself and professionally printed on fine art paper with archival inks that will last nearly 100 years! This was so wonderful to learn, as I hope to keep these prints for many years to come.

To give you an idea of what you will find when you visit Cheeky Albi Designs, here are a few prints that so many of her customer happen to love! :)

The Prints I chose for McKenzie's room was of course the Map Themed Print "Oh, the Places you'll go" and the "M" Initial in the vintage Alaska map design. I am so happy with how well they add a pop of color and interest to our wall display and create a daily reminder of McKenzie's Alaskan roots.

Details(LtoR): Bible Verse Print- DIY by me, Center Mirror- Target (painted matte white-similar), Map Themed Prints - Cheeky Albi Designs, Dream Catcher - DIY Tutorial, Mini Bunting - DIY by me, Chevron Frame -Target, Large Plush Lamb - Restoration Hardware Baby & Child, Small Plush Lamb - Kohls, Newborn photo of McKenzie is by PropagandaAK Photography

COUPON CODE!!

To welcome all of you to Cheeky Albi Designs, Lucia is now offering Fawn Over Baby Readers a lovely coupon code to use toward your online purchase! Just type in code: "FawnOverBaby" at checkout and you will receive 20% off! How exciting is that!!

I know you will love each and every print as much as I do! Enjoy and Have fun Cheeky Albi Shopping!