Chalkboard Print Koozie Giveaway

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.
Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, we officially have chalkboard print koozies in the shop!!!! Ever since my very first print, I have wanted to see these on a koozie & I am so so so excited to finally have one in my hand! I swear koozies might be a bit of a midwest thing, most Iowa girls I know have a koozie in their purse at all times & guys, in their back pocket. My husband has been all over this idea from day one & has been such a huge help along the way to make them happen, so cheers to him & his forever cold beer! ;)

Nailcolor is Butter London Trout Pout

These are listed in the shop as preorders & they will ship by March 10th, hopefully sooner.
 But for now, who wants to win one?! All you have to do is enter below (I know rafflecopters are annoying, but it's the only easy way to chose winners at random) & leave a comment with your icy cold beverage of choice. Mine right now is La Croix Lime Sparkling Water! :)

TEN WINNERS will be announced first thing next week! And of course, if you purchase a koozie you can choose to be refunded if you have purchased one! ;) Thank you all SO much for your support of our small business, it all means the world to us & I hope that we can continue to make more fun, festive chalkboard goodies for every occasion! Happy happy happy weekend loves!!

Congratulations to the following winners!! Please send me an email at littlebabygarvin@gmail.com with your shipping info! :) XO
Melanie Castro, Jessica Gibson, Lindsey Heitman, Jordan O'Brien, Kaylee Cameron, Shelby McConville, Allison Stallings, Corey Decker, Monica Rodriguez & Jen Besnett.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spring Style Inspiration

Despite my irrational fears of getting eaten by a bear when we are outside, the warm weather has lured us out of the house & we are loving a little daily dose of sunshine. We have been going on walks everyday before lunch without her stroller, which I can hardly believe she is even old enough to do, but sometimes I'm the one that can't keep up.
And she walks on her tippy toes everywhere she goes.

With bright colors on the horizon, I thought I would share some of my favorite finds so far this season, even if they still require a jacket! ;) Camo is always a favorite in my book, and paired with bright purples & corals, it is perfect for Spring! I am always a fan of neutral pieces like white & chambray since they are so versatile. And of course, a springy pair of pajamas & a little bit of glitter are always essentials!

Camo Tee \\ White Ruffle Dress \\ Glitter Bow \\ Camo Moccasins

Glitter Flats \\ Clover Print Pajamas \\ Coral Leggings \\ Chambray Tank

Those gold glitter flats are the cutest! I'm a little bummed that there aren't very many cute green pieces for St. Patrick's Day, anyone else? I expected to see it all over the place but may have to settle for lots of gold instead. Twist my arm. I am however totally in love with this new bunny dress, so fun for Spring & certainly a perfect dress to rock for an Easter egg hunt.
I can't believe that Easter will be our last holiday as a family of three, with baby girl's estimated arrival just a few days later! We are certainly ready to get our celebration on! ;)

Toddler Tales

Naptime wraps up around 4 pm, which is when I close up shop for work & things start to get crazy. It always seems like these last two hours of the day are the hardest, Harper wakes up with her second wind & I am just about cashed on energy.

I lay Harper down on the living room floor to change her diaper. She extends her go-go-gadget arms & reaches under the couch to pull out some sort of cat hair covered cracker that she immediately eats before I can stop her, then scissor kicks me in the chest & escapes without any pants on. I spend the next few minutes chasing her around, which is obviously just a game to her since she is much faster than me at this point. We end up in her teepee playing "peek-e-goo" with her stuffed animals & spend at least fifteen minutes getting her doll's hairbrush tangled in my hair. I get her a bowl of grapes, a fresh water & we begin our afternoon routine of searching for missing alphabet puzzle pieces. (The W is her favorite. Or maybe it's the M?) Once the puzzle is finally complete, she tosses it into the abyss of other toys in her toy basket & grabs us a pair of her plastic golf clubs that we will use to putt last year's Easter eggs around the house. This is also when "Harper, don't hit mommy in the knee caps with your golf clubs" starts to play like a broken record.

We set up shop in the living room with crayons to do some coloring. She asks me to draw cats, balloons & pumpkins, approximately five hundred of each, we make paper hats, paper airplanes & sort all the crayons by color before she decides she is over it. She packs up her crayons (and hides a few in the couch cushions for safe keeping) while I head to the kitchen start cutting veggies for dinner. I can hear her chasing the cat around,"kiddy! sit!" as she kindly instructs Izzy to take a seat at the play table.

Eventually she joins me in the kitchen, where she proceeds to unload the entire tupperware cupboard & scatters the contents throughout the entire first floor. I give her a wooden spoon & an oven mitt so she can "help mama?" She whips up some imaginary guacamole then decides she wants a banana. I hesitate, because I know she will probably only take one bite, but give her one anyway & within minutes, banana mush covers her hair & half the kitchen. She hates being messy, so now she has half the tub of baby wipes pulled out do a little damage control. I can't help but laugh, "I got it!" she assures me.

"Oooh! My-Meow!!" Harper squeals & brings me the remote. This is toddler gibberish for "Nemo." which means she is going to sit down & be entertained for a short seven minutes. I start to wonder how medical professionals can get away with writing off the idea of having a drink when you're pregnant. They are unsure about what would be an acceptable amount so they just recommend against it all together. I may be pro-more-research on that topic. Haven't they ever been pregnant before? A few sips of sanity during this little happy hour of toddler trickery is all I'm asking for. But I don't. So I pour myself another glass of pineapple orange juice, which the cat (who now has a Mickey sticker on her back) promptly tips over & spills everywhere.

I half-assedly clean that up & get back to cutting veggies when I get rammed in the back of my ankles with a toy shopping cart. My knees buckle & slam into the kitchen cabinets, but that's ok, I'm just thankful it didn't cause me to cut off my index finger. Finally!! I hear Brandon unlocking the garage door, "daddy's home!!" I yell to Harper & she runs to the door. Brandon is happy to see that we are both still alive, tosses me a bag of peanut m&m's & scoops up the toddler.
Time to tag team this biz.

Weekend Fun

Warm weather really does wonders for the (pregnant) soul. I have felt a bit like a cavewoman over the last few months, buried in layers of clothes & going a bit stir crazy inside with the toddler tornado. But this weekend, the sun was shining & it was a mad dash to get out the door as soon as possible first thing Saturday morning.

We were so excited to visit abby & co. at Atlantic Station for their grand opening! You've probably already seen this if you follow me on Instagram (@jlgarvin) but I am so honored to have chalkboard canvases & prints for sale in this adorable new mom & baby boutique!! The husband & wife team that owns the store are the sweetest people ever & have really outdone themselves with not only a beautiful space, but with amazing selection of vendors that they have made available all in one place! Hopefully there will be an online store very soon!! ;)

Harper was a standard kid in a toy store, she wanted to play with everything, take it all home with her & made sure to knock over a rack of enamelware coffee mugs from West Elm to let us know when she was "O" for over it. So we hit up a local diner & called it a day.

Floral Baseball Tee (sold out from J.Crew Kids) \\ Maternity Maxi Dress \\ Heart Infinity Scarf

Right Left Leggings \\ Moccasins (c/o Freshly Picked)

Three of my four brothers now live in Atlanta, which we couldn't be happier about because not only have we lived for years without any family within a 500 mile radius, but Harper now gets to grow up with the most fun (and rowdy) group of uncles in the world! We started a new Sunday Funday Family Dinner tradition so we could have a good excuse to get everyone together for good food & lots of shenanigans. We just need to work on a collective language cleanup amongst the entire group before Harper learns a few new words to take with her to preschool.

 Wrap Headband \\ Heart Raglan Shirt \\ Green Leggings \\ Moccasins (c/o Freshly Picked)

Grey Maternity Shirt \\ Good Times Camper Tee

And since no post is complete these days without mention of food, I made jello cake this weekend & forgot how insanely amazing it is. Recipe can be found here. It is irresistible, don't be mad at me if you happen to eat the entire thing straight out of the pan with a fork. We've all done it.

PS. Thank you all for such sweet comments on my last belly pics!! For everyone who asked about the pink shirt I am wearing in my most recent chalkboard pic, I bought it during my first visit to abby & co.! Unfortunately it isn't available online anywhere, but hopefully it will be on their site when they launch!! I found this shirt that is very similar in style, baggy & flowy but still fitted in the sleeves. And the heart pin in my hair (also from abby & co.) is by Shop Bando, I bought it for baby girl's nursery but couldn't resist wearing it in  my hair for Valentine's week! 

XO

30 Weeks

How far along: 30 Weeks, counting down weeks in the single digits now, holla!

Gender: Girl

Weight gain: 20 lbs. at my last appointment (a doctors visit bright & early tomorrow morning will promptly confirm that it is much more than that)

Maternity clothes: Trading in my maternity leggings for maxi dresses until the baby comes. While I do love them dearly, it has been a long winter & I think we need some time apart ;)

Stretch marks: No

Belly button in or out: Out (and weird)

Sleep: Aside from Harper waking me up in the middle of the night because I hear her on the monitor playing "peek-e-goo" with one of many stuffed animals in her bed, sleep is good.

Best moment this week: Celebrating Harper's birthday with all of our friends & family, which was such a blessing, but also we are living it up in some beautiful Spring weather, which is just what the doctor ordered!

Miss anything: Getting comfortable & being able to breathe. 

Movement: Starting to be able to distinguish movement from fingers & toes, always such a funny feeling!

Cravings: Fruit (so happy strawberries are starting to look normal again!) & cheeseburgers.

Queasy or sick: Heartburn has been relentless but otherwise feeling good.

Looking forward to: My parents are visiting this week & we can't wait to see them!! It will be quite the circus having them & all four of my brothers here all at once, but we love it so much & are so excited for all the fun! Plus there's a good chance I will be able to sneak out for a pedicure & nobody will even notice.

Also, can I just throw this in here because it's too funny not to share?! Harper loves to drink out of our waters (mostly my tumblers with straws) rather than her own sippy cup. She waits until one of ours is within reach, grabs it & says "I take your water!" then starts laughing & drinks out of it. We have been laughing about this for the past week or two, thinking it is just the funniest thing. So, the other morning we were driving through our neighborhood & saw a woman walking her dog. Harper started saying "arf arf!" & waving, telling me to look at the puppy, so excited because she loves dogs so much.

As we drove away, I heard her mumble in the backseat, "I take your puppy."

Seriously, love her so much.

Handwashing & Happy Hour

Since Harper loves helping out in the kitchen & has been on a handwashing spree as we try to fight colds (and prepare her for potty training), we wanted to get her a step stool. I found one a few weeks ago from Ikea that came as unfinished wood & thought we could give it a little facelift. I love how it turned out!

 

Brandon put the stool together first (which is always half the battle since it comes in eight thousand pieces in a box that could fit in your pocket, gotta love Ikea), then we painted the entire thing with two coats of Behr Pink Hydrangea (a small sample size jar was plenty). I used leftover gold glaze from her playtable makeover to paint half of the stool, which we sectioned off using green frog tape. I've mentioned before that this glaze is a little annoying to work with, it really takes about 48 hours between coats, but the finish is so pretty! Brandon added a few coats of polyurethane & added non slip grips to the legs.

As if we aren't already flying through bottles of soap like it's our job, Harper can now reach the sink to wash her own hands! ;) The bottom step is the perfect height for her to not be able to turn the water on by herself quite yet, but considering she grows what seems like an inch a day, it is only a matter of time before things get cray (or she wet-bandits us & floods the entire first floor).

Look at those tip toes!

And now it's Friday. So I'll leave you to dreams of happy hour & sleeping in this weekend. 

Emphasis on dreams.

More Birthday Fun!

Thank you all so much for the sweet comments on Harper's 2nd Birthday! All of your kind words are very much appreciated! :)
 

I wanted to share a few more details from her birthday, including her little sticker station we set up for her. She is just a little young for pin the tail on the donkey (or flippy cup for that matter), but we wanted to have a little something fun for her to do at her party. Even though she spent most of the day running in circles with her friends playing with balloons, she was so excited to sit down & go sticker crazy with all of her new goodies! I packed up a bunch of sticker books in a gift bag & put out some of her ones from Valentine's day in a little bowl, needless to say everyone was decorated with My Little Pony & Nemo stickers by the end of the evening.

 Also, I wanted to share the easiest DIY of all time for dressing up party food. I love supporting other mom's Etsy shops & small businesses, so for the most part, I get most party supplies from Etsy. But due to the bad weather in Atlanta that caused mail to be on hold for a few days, and the fact that I had these party supplies already on hand, I decided to make these little party picks & love the way they turned out. They take no time at all & you can do them in any color for any occasion. 

Using a roll of crepe paper, you would need to just cut 2-3 inch strips for each pick. Add a strip of double sided tape across the bottom & use craft scissors to fringe the rest of the paper up until where the tape starts. Then, you just stick one end of the paper onto the stick, roll them all the way up & then use your fingers to fluff them. So easy, right? We had subs catered in like we did last year, so I made similar picks using toothpicks to put in the sandwiches. And the whole project cost maybe $3.

 

We had a little after-party-brunch the next morning with our family that stayed over, Harper went nuts for all of the deflated balloons! ;) It was such a fun weekend & this brand new two year old is definitely a happy camper!

 

 Now that Harper's birthday is over, we can get back to finishing her big girl room!! She got a few more of the books that I wanted to complete her bookshelves as birthday presents, so this little corner of her room is complete! The Cat at Night is officially her favorite book ever, so many animals & the most beautiful illustrations ever! Highly recommended!!

Can't wait to share pictures of the final product, we hope to have it finished over the next week or so! Who's ready for some St. Patrick's Day shenanigans?! :)

Harper's 2nd Birthday

So hard to believe our sweet baby girl turned TWO this weekend! We had the best time celebrating our little lady with our friends, family & a few of of her little buddies as well. We kept asking her all morning, "how old are you today!?" and she would say "two!" and hold out her hand, crossing her index & middle fingers. The sweetest thing!

I've mentioned before, Harper's favorite things are balloons, stickers & animals, so I just wanted to make sure we had tons of each on her special day! 
We didn't have a theme necessarily, I had planned on using lots of black & white but fell in love with the little capelet that I found last Fall. I wanted to incorporate some of the jade/mint from that, so we painted some plastic "party animals" during Christmas, then pulled in some pinks & golds. I used two striped blankets from Ikea as table cloths & some gold chargers that I already had. Target had tons of matching party supplies so we picked up cups, straws & a few fun lanterns.
I made vanilla & coconut cupcakes, a strawberry cake & a mini cake for Harper. I picked up a box of pre-made rice krispie squares from the publix bakery & dipped them in almond bark, then added cake pop sticks & some DIY tissue tassles to dress them up a bit. I also made some "party animal" crackers since we loved them so much last year. It was her favorite treat & she carried her little cup around so carefully all morning.

Harper's mini four layer cake was my favorite, she had so much fun helping me make frosting &  putting her own sprinkles on in the morning.

I may have teared up a little while singing happy birthday, she was just too sweet looking at her birthday candles & blowing them out!

And then, of course, she went face first into the frosting!

 

The weather was beautiful in the afternoon, so after a bath & a long nap, we got to take balloons outside & play. It was such a fun party & most importantly, Harper loved every second of it!

Harper Eve, we love you more than words can say. You are the sweetest, silliest, spunkiest little girl around. You amaze us every day, and although we would love for time to stand still so we can keep you this little forever, we can't wait to see what's in store for you as you grow up. 

You have a heart of gold, baby girl.

Happy 2nd Birthday!!!

Sources

Crown \\ Ruffled Capelet \\ Gold Scalloped Shirt \\ Moccasins c/o Freshly Picked

Maternity Dress from Asos (similar here)

Please do not pin or share images of Harper.

Love List

Happy Valentine's Day Eve!! 

We are knee deep in snow & birthday party prep over here so before I sign off for a few days to enjoy the festivities, I thought I would leave you with a fun love list of some of my favorite finds lately!

1. I have been on the hunt for the perfect wall letters for baby girl's nursery & am loving these kraft paper letters that I think will be a perfect DIY project to be able to incorporate more bright purples into the room. I love the style of them as lowercase letters & they allow you to get creative to make them perfect for any space!
 

2. These Belgian Waffle Cookies caught my eye the other day & I have been drooling over them ever since. I think they might be the perfect addition to Harper's birthday celebration treat table this weekend... if I don't eat them all first!

 

3. I am dying over this We Will Rock You tee (for both boys & girls) that I saw the other day, it is a must have for Harper once her little sister comes, I'm sure that little duo will certainly rock me!
 

4. I've told you all about Harper's major obsession with stickers, she loves them so much. She got some of these little make-a-face sticker books for Christmas & has been going nuts over them lately! If you have a February birthday or still looking for a last minute Valentine's Day gift for your toddler, these are it!

 

5. I saw this little elephant teether at Target the other day & it reminds me so much of Sophie the Giraffe, only half the price. Definitely the cutest new toy on the block!

6. Snowed in & feeling cooped up? We have resorted to throwing beach parties in the bathtub. Pool toys (or sometimes bowls & kitchen utensils), some good beach music & sunglasses are thirty minutes of late afternoon fun! And if you don't already listen to Beachin' by Jake Owen on repeat to combat the winter blues, it will totally put you in the mood! #thatsmyjam
 

7. Gap has the cutest sweatpants for kids right now & I am in love with the bright colors! Harper looks so grown up running around in them.
 

8. After this weekend, it will be time to go GREEN for St. Patrick's Day! I will be missing a green beer this year so we have to make up for it with lots of other goodies! ;) We have a yummy shamrock smoothie recipe to share & tons of other festive treats for you & your babes! But until then, Valentine's Day cookies all the way! 

  

Follow us on Instagram (@jlgarvin) for some of Harper's birthday fun over the next few days! 

 I sincerely thank you all from the bottom of my heart for being a part of our blog & for all of your sweet feedback. Sending you lots of LOVE this Valentine's Day... hope you all have an amazing weekend!! XO