Mermaid Tails with Jordan Emmitt

A few weekends ago the girls and I got to take part in my pal Jordan's first local workshop. It was held at the most adorable shop in Orlando called Paper Goat Post. 

I took a few pictures of things around the shop that I especially loved. I regret not buying the mug and jewelry dish because they are gone now. I may still go back for one of the animal heads. How many mounted faux animal heads are too many for a child's room? Asking for a friend...

Jordan led the kiddos in making several mermaid crafts- shell necklaces, painted wooden spoon dolls, and no-sew mermaid tail blanket things (don't remember the technical term). The girls loved painting their spoons (both versions of Ariel who were then forced to fight to the death several times) and playing in the glitter meant to decorate the spoons. They also enjoyed watching me tie their blanket sides up for them. 

If you're local and looking for a good time check out Paper Goat's event calendar or Jordan's blog for upcoming workshop news. 

Baby Shower Sneak Peek

Here are a few snap shots from my baby shower. Amy took all of these with her phone. Girl has mad phone photography skills. I had such a fun time. 

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Maternity Pictures: Rose Garden

Our second location was at a rose garden right down the street from Sassafras. See a theme here? hint: it's Rosie. Jordan took pictures with of me with a stargazer lily when I was pregnant with Lilly so I wanted to carry on the tradition. We even managed to find a rose and a lily. Oh, my heart. I have totally embraced the fact that I have become one of those people who have a theme for their kids names. A garden of babies! Don't judge. I'll share the last set of pictures with the whole family tomorrow.

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You can check out the first batch of pictures here!

Maternity Pictures: Sassafras

My sweet friend and amazing photographer Jordan took some maternity pictures for me last weekend. I shouldn't say some, I should say a lot of maternity pictures. So many that I will be sharing my favorites in 3 separate posts- one for each location we shot at. I love them so so so much. If you are in central Florida and need pictures taken do yourself a favor and check Jordan out.

Our first location was so much fun. Sassafras Sweet Shoppeis a local vintage inspired candy store. They sell every kind of candy you can imagine. We ran with the retro theme with a Rosie the Riveter look. I thought it would be hysterical to take some pictures with my big bump and candy cigs too- very Betty Draper and so wrong. I'll share more pictures tomorrow. 

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Spring Break

Ok, so I don't technically have a spring break but Amy's daughter does so we all celebrated at the beach.

all photos from my and Amy's instagram feed.

We had such a great time hanging out with Amy and co. at their beach condo. The kiddos got along so well and we mamas got a lot of time to relax. We played in the ocean and the pool and even went to the zoo on our last day. Amy and I each ended up getting free zoo passes in between the parking lot and entrance. Talk about random acts of kindness. (Amy paid it forward later that day at Starbucks. I have yet to do my "pay it forward" act. I am a horrible human being.) And then, since we were in her neck of the woods, we met Miss Becky for a quick lunch before parting ways. Such a great week. I am so thankful for sweet and generous friends like Amy. 

Did you do anything fun this week?

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MM // life lessons at the berry patch

Over the weekend Amy and I took the kiddos to the berry patch. It was a beautiful and blustery day.The blueberry bushes looked like they needed a while but the strawberries (or as Lilly says, "strawbellies") were perfect. Amazingly ripe and juicy. Delicious.  

I even learned a little lesson at the patch. (hint: Frankie says to do it) More then once Lilly picked a green or overly ripe strawberry. I kept my eyes on what she was putting in her basket, making sure they were perfect, since I was paying for them after all. But after a little while I realized that I wasn't having any fun! I was so focused on getting the "right" strawberries that I was missing all the sweet moments taking place in front of my face. So I decided to RELAX and enjoy the experience I was having with my daughter and our friends. Life is so much more then having the right strawberries. While a ripe berry is delicious- it's important to enjoy the picking too. 

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Mommyhood Monday // Friends

photo stolen from Amy

Can I just say how happy I am to have this girlie as a friend. Mom friends are so important. I know that may sound silly but it is the truth! 

Amy (of Buggie and Jellybean) and I met through instagram. Soon after I found out that she lived semi close to me and our internet romance blossomed. Amy is an amazing mom and super creative. We finally met up (at Target. Ha!) and hit it off. We have the same sense of humor and have kiddos that are the same age. Nolan and Lilly are so cute together and Nolan's big sis, Avery, is pretty sweet too. 

We hang out with our kiddos but occasionally have girls nights too. We had one last night. We tried a new (to us) Vietnamese restaurant and spent the rest of the night messing around at Starbucks. Girl time honestly refreshes my soul. We talk and laugh and share frustrations. When I was a new mom I had zero mom friends. Trust me on this one- having other mom friends is necessary. You know when you have those days when you think you may actually loose your mind? They've been there. Or when you are crying in your kitchen because your kid just threw the second lunch you prepared for them on the floor. They've been there. They understand and encourage. They are a blessing and a half.

I'll say it again- I am thankful for her and our friendship. 

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Disney round two!

Last Tuesday Lilly and I got to meet our blog friend Tera. Tera works for Disney in California but was in Florida for business. Lilly and I met her at Epcot and had a wonderful day! Tera was super sick so she couldn't hang for too long but I can tell you this- if you read her blog and think she's cute in pictures- it's nothing compared to the real deal. Girl is petite! I had to ignore my usual "I'm a giant!" thoughts. ha. 

Lilly and I spent a while at Epcot where she saw Nemo, Alice and Winnie the Pooh. We also listened to an awesome band that played classic British rock and roll while in "The UK" in Epcot. Lilly was terrified at first (loud music) but mommy loved it. After that we went to the Magic Kingdom to see 'Punzel and Mickey. The park was all decked out for Christmas which was amazeballs. 

The whole day was a surprise to me and here is why: at one point Tera said "I have to be back at my hotel at 4pm to catch my airport bus but you all are welcome to stay as long as you'd like." As it was approximately one o'clock at this point I laughed in my head. Three plus hours alone with a toddles in a theme park. Ha. Laughable. BUT!!! Not only did we stay until four o'clock- we stayed until the Magic Kingdom kicked us out at 7pm due to a special Christmas event. I was super impressed with myself (not ashamed to say it) and was reminded that my first trimester exhaustion is outta here! w00t!

Thanks again, Tera!

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Editorial Part 2 + Out takes

So, it turns out blogging on vacation is a little harder then anticipated. Who knew I was so attached to the old clunker sitting back at home on my computer desk! So I have pretty much scrapped my weekly features and am just doing what I can. Luckily, Jordan uploaded the rest of our editorial photo shoot onto her blog so I snatched up some more pictures to share. The above images are some of my favorites. The first one with the glasses is probably my most favorite ever. I'm not going to lie, it makes me feel a bit like a movie star. You can even see Jordan in the glasses!

The below photos are some outtakes from our serious shoot. 

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. (which is a lot! does that make me super conceded? probably) It is just such a nice break from my usual jeans and a tee, only mascara and blush wearing lifestyle. I think every mom deserves some super glam pictures of herself. It's a nice reminder that we are women too. 

♥

ps- you can see part one here.

Editorial

Ay, chihuahua! So, as I mentioned before, last weekend I helped my friend Jordan play around with some new lighting equipment. And by help I mean I just sat there and tried to look like a model.

The shoot was a little outside my comfort zone since I am kinda the opposite of a serious or brooding person. But we were doing and editorial shoot so I tried to behave like a moody model. I told Jordan (and Tiffany who styled the shoot) that I was trying to look like I wanted to kill them or seduce them. We joked about Tyra Banks nonsensical advice on ANTM. (Confession: I love ANTM.) and laughed a lot between shots.

I kinda love how my eyes match my hair. Not to completely geek out on you here but the color of my eyes look in this last photo makes me think I would fit in pretty well with the Cullen family.

All joking aside, Jordan is amazing. She took our wedding photos and our family portraits last year. She is based in Lakeland, FL and also works in the Tampa/St. Pete area and Orlando. If you are in the Central Florida area and in need of a photographer look her up!

Jordan's Website

More editorial photos

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