Baby Showers

As a new mom, any advice to offer someone {me} throwing a baby shower for a friend? What did you love about your shower or what would you have liked?

I had a few baby showers and they were all wonderful. A good friend in Dallas hosted one, my former co-workers hosted one, and my friends from church hosted another one. Each one was a little bit different, but the best part about all of them was the company. I think the most important thing in hosting a baby shower is to make sure you listen to the expectant mother’s wishes. I am not a fan of shower games. I don’t really know why except that they always make me a little uncomfortable. But if the mom-to-be wants games at her shower then do some of those fun baby shower games. I don’t even know what they are because I just don’t like them!

Pregnant women love to eat, so have some of her favorite foods there. The baby shower in Dallas had the most adorable decorations and flowers. The hostess used the Martha Stewart paper poms and hung them outside. She had fun flower arrangements arranged in glass baby bottles. The shower that my church friends hosted was really special because all of the guests wrote little prayers and well-wishes for our family on pretty little pieces of paper. The paper had a hole punched in it and ribbon that looped through the hole. They were all hanging out this adorable twiggy tree. I kept all of them and can’t wait to show them to Hudson one day.

The things that make a shower special are the sweet touches. You can do this without spending a lot of money and you can do it by spending a lot of money. It’s up to you, but how much money was spent won’t make a difference to the mom-to-be. She’ll just remember how special everything was.

What do you think are maybe the top 3 or 5 things to get someone for a baby shower?

We just sent some gifts to some good friends of ours that are expecting. Todd really wanted to send a few certain items because they were lifesavers for us. I did a post once on what my favorite gifts have been. But these are the things that I think every parent needs: Swaddle Designs blankets (it was better for us than the Miracle Blanket), The Happiest Baby on the Block DVD (amazing demonstrations of how to calm and soothe your baby), and a Woombie for when your baby grows out of the swaddling blankets.

Entertainment

Do you have time to watch television? If so, what are your favorite programs?

This question cracks me up because I watch a lot of television. If you follow me on Twitter you know that last night I was tweeting about the ridiculousness of The Bachelor and tonight I’ll be tweeting about The Biggest Loser and American Idol. I like reality TV and scripted drama and comedy. I just love TV. My favorite shows to watch are The Bachelor, The Biggest Loser, American Idol, LOST (starts soon!), Damages (another GREAT one), Dancing With the Stars, and Real Housewives of Orange County and New Jersey. Todd and I are also know to love a good episode of Law and Order: SVU and Dateline.

We’re on eastern time and our shows don’t start until 8:00. So we usually have plenty of time to get Hudson to bed at 7:00, eat our supper, and then settle in for the TV watching. I can’t say that my husband is particularly interested in any of my favorite shows, but he plays along.

Fashion

What are your favorite pair of shoes?

Any of my TB Revas. Seriously. I have them in a few different colors because they are the most comfortable shoes ever. I can wear them with almost anything. They are the perfect “mom shoe” for me because I can make myself look put together and still be comfortable enough to do all the moving around that I have to do durning the day.

What are your favorite jeans?

That’s a hard question to answer these days. My favorite jeans ever are my 7even A-pockets. They were particularly flattering on my bum and I would wear those jeans until they’d get a hole in the knee and then I’d buy another pair. Another favorite is the Citizens of Humanity Kelly jeans. They’re also a good boot-cut jean and they have a fair amount of stretch that makes them comfortable. I was able to purchase both pairs of jeans in maternity jeans and that was wonderful!

These days, however, things have shifted and none of my old jeans fit yet. Right now I’m wearing a pair of Banana Republic trouser jeans in a very dark wash. They’re flattering and don’t seem to make me look as big as I am right now. I didn’t spend a lot of money on them. But the day that I can fit into my favorite jeans again will be a very sweet day.

I was wondering if you could recommend any budget fashion staples since I am a college student and love the products you often mention but cannot afford them right now!

I’ve mentioned before that I am not a fan of TJ Maxx or Marshalls. I know that some people find amazing things there, but I am patient and I don’t deal with crowds very well. I also get really frustrated when things are disorganized and I can’t figure out where things are. So, I try t0 do any bargain shopping online. I love finding a good sale and I signed up for Shop It To Me over a year ago. I’ve gotten some amazing items through Shop It To Me alerts. I think every girl needs the following items in her closet: a great-fitting crisp button up white oxford shirt, a black turtleneck, a great-fitting pair of jeans that can be dressed up or dressed down (not too trendy), a pair of black pants that will go with almost anything, a comfortable pair of black pumps that are appropriate for dates or job interviews. I know the colors are all basic black and white, but if you get those things in your closet, you can work around them and spend less money on cute, trendy tops and sweaters or a fun skirt. You should have a few things in your closet that make you feel as comfortable as you do when you’re wearing sweatpants and confident just knowing that it fits perfectly!

I really loved when you posted about your clothes and outfits. Will you post more of these in the future?

Absolutely. I’m going to the gym a lot more now, so when I get dressed I put on gym clothes. I know– it’s so glamorous. But I’ll post more. I haven’t been quite as inspired in the cold weather, even though I love cold weather clothes.

Home Decor

Where did you/do you get your great fashion and design sense? You always look so polished and your home is stunning (you know I’m obsessed with your house).

I’ve always loved fashion and home decor. I get it from my mom. She has a great eye and has started a new career for herself in decorating. She always just decorated our homes impeccably and I learned by watching her. Now I watch a lot of HGTV!

One of my rules is that I don’t want my home to look like the pages of a Pottery Barn catalog. I know a lot of people think this is crazy and I do love looking at the Pottery Barn catalog. But I want my house to look like us. Like we live there and made it our own.

So for every brand new piece of furniture in a room, I try to also have something older and interesting. Todd says my style is “neo-traditional.” I like traditional looking pieces, but I like to mix in some modern accessories or a modern chair. I also like to take an antique and put a modern twist on it. Like I have these gorgeous chairs that were my grandmother’s. They needed to be recovered, so I chose a bold, modern print for recovering them.

Accessorize with things you love– beautifully framed snapshots, interesting souvenirs from vacations, a coffee table book about one of your hobbies.

Your home and clothes are always so nice and cute! Do you save for this stuff? If so, any tips? We don’t struggle financially, but I have a hard time saving for big things, especially stuff like furniture.

We try to save all through the year for things like this. This past year has been a little more difficult because we had a baby, but before Hudson, we just saved any of our money that wasn’t needed for our mortgage and our utility bills. Because my mom is a decorator and goes to Market in Atlanta and Dallas, she can get things wholesale. She we just go with her to Market to get our things wholesale through her. This has saved us a ton of money. I know that we’re very lucky being able to do it this way. I don’t particularly care about brands when shopping for furniture– as long as it looks right.

Another thing I’ll do is if I find a chair that I like and the price is right, but I don’t love the fabric, I’ll buy it and have it recovered. And then I still come out ahead in the end than if I’d paid retail at a more expensive store.

It has been completely eye-opening to be able to shop for furniture at wholesale prices. And I will never pay retail again.

Your house is so adorable while still looking grown-up. How do you find decor and accessories to fit your style?

As I mentioned, my style is “neo-traditional.” A lot of our furniture were pieces that I had before we got married or pieces that were passed to us from my parents after they moved. We had a good start and we only had a few things that we had to purchase when we moved into our home. As time went on, we decided to update some things, and we bought a new bed. We got a couple of new chairs and a new sofa. I look everywhere for things that I like and don’t limit myself to one or two stores. I know that I can find great accessories at lots of different places like antique stores and other places. I was at an antique store and found an awesome little desk clock and the fleur de lis that we have hanging on the wall in our bathroom. I paid pennies for it, but both of those pieces are favorites of mine.

How did you start the process of furnishing/decorating for your new home? We’re in a very small condo now with minimal furniture that we will replace when we move into a bigger house and I’m overwhelmed at the thought of having to buy new furniture for every room. How long did it take and any tips? I’ve been googling “average cost to furnish home” so I can get an idea of how much we’ll be spending…I really have no idea how much things like window coverings cost…

As I mentioned above, we both had furniture from our families that neither of them wanted to start with. I had some of my childhood furniture that were antiques and translated well to an adult home. It takes a little while, but my advice is to take it one room at a time. Finish one room before starting another. It will help you stay focused while shopping if you know that you’re only looking for one specific room at a time.

My next purchase will be new dining chairs and draperies for our dining room. But I think we’re going to have to wait until the summer for that one.

I love love love your gallery wall! I have wanted to start one in our home but as soon as I start I get overwhelmed by the amount of pictures, options, keeping it updated, etc.? How did you narrow it down? Did you start small and grow or hang them all at once? Also how frequently do you update the wall?

I’m ashamed to admit this, but I haven’t updated our gallery wall with Hudson’s newborn photos by Millie Holloman or our most recent family shoot with Tracy Turpen. I did buy prints from both of those sessions, but I haven’t had them framed.

But I had all of the wedding photos that I wanted framed. I chose those just based on my absolute favorites and the ones that I thought would look most interesting on the wall. I chose photos of our parents, our friends, my brother, our dog. I wanted there to be pictures of everyone on the wall. We did hang them all at once. Once they were framed, I laid them all out on the floor in a grid and just kept rearranging until it was right. Todd starting hanging and did a great job.

I had planned to rotate the wall and take about half of the wedding photos down, but we still haven’t had the Millie Holloman and Tracy Turpen photos framed. Framing is obviously the expensive part, and I don’t skimp on this. I know I could frame them in inexpensive frames, but I spent a lot of money on the photos themselves. The framer that we use puts them under protective glass and it really preserves the photos. We just need to go have them framed, but I’ll show an updated gallery wall photo when we get it all done.

Thank you so much for all of your questions. I’m so excited to share the answers with you. I can’t believe how many fun questions there were!

There are a couple of things (my health and our finances) that I may be a little vague about, but I’m not opposed to emailing anyone more information if you’d like it. The internet is a big place, so I’ve got to be a little careful.

I’m not going to be able to answer all 100-something questions in one post, but I’ll take it one question at a time and will hopefully answer all of them before the end of this week. (The questions are italicized and bolded and my answers are below.) I’ll be answering in the order that they were asked, so if you’re looking for the answer to your specific question, just look back at the comments to see where you are on the list.

So my question, when are you going to come to Dallas and take me clothes shopping? You know I can’t dress myself.

I love to shop and I’m happy to come help you shop for your wardrobe anytime I’m in Dallas!

You said that you had troubles with childbirth? What happened? Also, do you plan on having more children?

(I want to just mention that I’m happy to answer this question without it being TMI, but I just request that no one respond and tell me why these things happened to me. It has been a tough road.)

My actual delivery was not a problem. It took a long time because I was induced at 39.5 weeks. They decided to induce me because it was obvious that Hudson was a large baby (9 lbs 6 oz) and any longer in there would mean an even larger baby. I was in labor (via pitocin) for 25 hours with 2 hours of pushing. None of that was much of an issue because I had the epidural. I had to have an episiotomy because of Hudson’s size and that is definitely the absolute worst thing about childbirth. When I got home everything was fine and then two days later I started having problems. I went back to the doctor and it was confirmed that my episiotomy had broken down. The stitches were no longer in tact. I went back four weeks later to have it repaired—which meant six more weeks of recovery. One more surgery is required to make sure everything is back to normal. This is one of the reasons I plan on having a c-section next time around. Once I get completely healed and get everything back in perfect condition, I don’t want to risk going through any of this again.

That being said, I definitely want more children. I love being a mother and would really love to have a large family. I know I’ll enjoy it when the kids are young and I know it will be a lot of work. But I really look forward to having 3 or 4 grown kids, their spouses, and their kids all at my house at Christmas!

How tall are you? I know that’s a weird question, but I always wonder how tall people are.

I’m 5’8” tall. While I’m fairly tall, I do not have long legs. My torso is long and I always have trouble finding shirts that are as long as I want them to be.

What is your housework routine? Are there certain days you perform certain tasks at home or just whenever they need to be done? Do you do all of your laundry at once or daily? You just seem so organized and your house looks so clean in all of your pictures. I need your tips.

I don’t really have a housework “routine.” We have two dogs and they shed and bring in lots of leaves from the outside. I keep up with their messes on a daily basis. That usually means vacuuming one room or another every single day. I clean the kitchen countertops on a daily basis. I do laundry once a week, but if there is a lot of laundry piled up and I have some spare time I may do it two or three times a week.

My “secret” is that I have cleaning people that come every week. They clean the first floor every week and they clean the whole house every other week. They do a pretty deep cleaning every single week and take care of all of the dusting. I thought that I’d be able to keep up with it all when I started staying home with Hudson, but there isn’t a good way to keep up with the dog hair and get everything clean all at once.

What is your favorite part of being a mom to adorable Hudson? How has your relationship with your husband changed since having a child?

My favorite part about being a mom…I’m not sure there’s just one favorite thing. I love the amount of love that Hudson and I share for each other. I love how the love between Todd and me multiplied after Hudson was born. It is so much fun to watch him learn things and do new things and think, “Wow! He’s mine! We made him!”

What are a few “staple” items you would recommend to add to your wedding registry? Any unnecessary items you wish you had left off of your registry?

I loved registering for our wedding gifts! There are some obvious gifts like the Cuisinart food processor (11 cup, not 14 cup) and the KitchenAid stand mixer. But the things that I am most happy to have nearly two years later are the gorgeous serving bowls and platters and the oven-to-table pieces. Our pattern (Juliska) had a lot of gorgeous oven-to-table baking dishes and they are just gorgeous! You don’t even need platters with these. It’s so nice to have so many gorgeous serving pieces if you’re hosting a dinner party, a shower, or just having friends over for dessert.

Do you ever have bad days…when Hudson is difficult or you and TC argue? You always seem to have it together, very inspiring. Please tell me you have bad days.

We definitely have our share of bad days. I try to put a good idea of what our real life is like (the good and the bad), but I also don’t want to document that bad parts of our life. I don’t need to look back and remember a silly argument that TC and I had over taking the trash out. And I don’t want to write too much about how often Hudson cried on a particular day. Those aren’t the things that I want to remember in 10 years. I’ll always know that they happened, though.

Life with a baby can be very stressful. Sleep is hard to come by for  a few months and everyone just wants to make the baby happy. But when you’ve gone without a good night’s sleep, the slightest thing can upset you. We have just as many marital spats as any other couple. But we love each other and we love our little boy and we just try to forget about the bad stuff.

Erin-I love reading your blog…I’m not sure how I first stumbled upon it, but it’s definitely one of my daily reads. I am so excited to be able to ask you a question!

Our engagement pictures did NOT turn out well, and I’m nervous about how our wedding pictures will look. You have so many fantastic photographs–I actually emailed your photographer asking if she had our date available, and she didn’t:-(. However, I’m wondering whether or not you sat down with her and talked about shots you wanted on your big day-or did she just know to do them? The pictures I’ve seen from your wedding are so beautifully composed that I can’t help wanting to have some shots be similar at mine. Let me know if it was just Kelly Moore’s great style, or if you gave her direction in what you wanted. Thanks!

p.s. I’m a Carolina Herrera/Manolo Blahnik bride, too! My shoes are silver…I really wanted something I could wear after the wedding, so refused to go with ivory.

Wedding photography! Such a fun topic!

We loved our wedding photographer so very much. I completely trusted her, her style, and her ability to do an amazing job. I can honestly say that I didn’t give her an ounce of direction. We had a beautiful venue, and it was a pretty day. I had fun umbrellas for my bridesmaids as part of their gift and we decided to use them in our bride/bridesmaids photos. But Kelly gave us all the direction and we followed her. She has an amazing eye for what will be beautiful in an image. And it could be the most ordinary thing. I didn’t give her a list of “must shoots.” We had about 30 minutes devoted to posed photos and Todd and I saw each other before the wedding. We spent about 45 minutes doing our own little session. The only “must shoots” were of family and my family was where they were supposed to be at the right time for those.

I think it’s very important to be organized and to let your photographer know what kind of wedding photos you like. But I also think you’re cheating your photographer if you tell them you want your photos to look exactly like another photo that you like.

It’s also very important to trust your photographer and their previous work. You chose the photographer, so let them do what they do best. In your case, not liking the way your engagement photos turned out, you should sit down with your photographer and be honest. Tell him or her what you didn’t like and how you hope it will be better at your wedding.

Confrontation is never fun, but it’s so much more important to have your one and only shot at gorgeous images on your wedding day turn out exactly the way you want them to.

Best wishes to you!

How many children do you want to have?

I think I’d love to have three or four children. But ask me again after we have our second child!

Was there anything you wish you could have changed or done differently at your wedding?

Our cake. It was delicious, but I was never happy with the way it looked. I wanted the cake design to replicate the lace design that we used on our save the date, invitations, programs, and wedding signage. The cake-maker was never confident making the lace and my vision just never came to fruition.

What are some things you are looking forward to wearing in the spring?

I really love winter clothes. I hope I’m not the only one. You know, I’m trying not to start browsing at spring clothes because I don’t need to purchase anything. I also just look forward to wearing clothes in my pre-baby sizes. It could be plain old t-shirt. I just want it to fit!

I’ve recently had a career change and am very interested in the potential of doing some wedding planning. Any tips on how to get started? A cousin of mine is getting married this summer and has asked me to help her with planning her ceremony. I know experience is a great place to start but where to go from there? Also, best resources you would recommend?

You are so fortunate to have a loved-one that wants you to help. I think that is the best way to get started. You have a “client” that already trusts you and wants you to be in charge. As far as planning a ceremony, I would watch videos and look at ceremony programs of lots of different ceremonies. It’s nice to see what you like and what you don’t like. I’d also ask to get a list of all the songs in advance so you can plan everything out ahead of time. You definitely want to be prepared and know exactly what’s going to happen before you see everyone. Ask the bride to give you a list of the attendants in order by height before the event. The maid/matron of honor and best man will know their placement in the line up ahead of time. But the others should be placed according to their height.

The biggest tip I can give is to listen to the bride and groom and honor their wishes. You can tell them what you think looks best and works best, but nothing feels worse to a bride than having a ceremony director that won’t listen to her or let her do some things her way. Trust me, I’ve been to those weddings and it’s not a happy place.

What are some of your favorite blogs to visit? Friends and people you don’t know.

My most favorite blogs are the ones that are written by my best blog friends, fellow mommy friends, etc.  Make Mine a Mojito, Elefantitas Alegres, It is Everlasting, According to Nina, Kelly’s Korner, Tales of the Trees, Spice and Sass, Southern Daze, Living our Own Fairy Tale, Pretty in Pink Megan, Puttin’ on the GRITS, Slynnro, All Things Fluffy, Fashionable, and Famous, In This Wonderful Life, and In No Simple Language. There are lots more! There are a few design blogs and wedding blogs that I just adore (This Young House, Brooklyn Limestone, EAD, EADL, Style Me Pretty, Southern Weddings), but I love catching up with my friends every day and seeing what they’re up to!

My favorite blogs are the ones that give me a true glimpse into someone’s life. It really is like checking in with your friends every day.

The weeks sure do fly by! We’ve had a week of highs and lows and I’ll share it with you.

1. Our family pet, Beaux (short for Beauregard), lived the last of his days yesterday. I’ll do a full tribute post for Beaux someday soon just so you can all hear his story, but for now I’ll just give you the short story. We got him when I was 15 years old and a sophomore in high school. He was a beautiful, sweet Golden Retriever, and was honestly the best dog I’ve ever been around. He was incredibly obedient and still very sweet. My mom and dad are struggling as they are constantly reminded of him. He was 12 years old and just a great boy. We got to spend a full week with him in Tennessee over the Christmas holidays and it was wonderful. We’re going to miss Beaux a lot.

2. Todd and I have a really fun weekend planned with a yummy dinner at Rosso tomorrow night then we’re going to see Sherlock Holmes. We’ve really been on a movie-going kick lately. And I love it. We both have breakfast plans on Saturday and dinner plans on Sunday night. We’re looking forward to a good weekend.

3. The SEC reigns supreme! Congratulations to Alabama for winning the BCS National Championship! Of course I’m happy that a school from our conference won, but the whole thing was very bittersweet. It was so sad that Colt McCoy was hurt so early in the game and unable to play in such an important game. For him and for his team. Then, when Gilbert, the back up quarterback came in. Holy smokes. Don’t you know he was just terrified? I’m sure he had no idea that he would really have to play in that game. But then as he found his confidence and got better and better, I started wanting Texas to win! I just love a good story and I’m glad that he was able to give Alabama a good fight! I’d say it was a good game.  And I made Weight Watchers Taco Soup for the game- watching fun!

4. I am loving all of your questions! Thanks for playing along. I will answer them this weekend and post them on Monday and Tuesday of next week. So go ahead and post more questions if you want to!

5. I have a good week of making healthy choices. I’ve worked out 4 days this week and I’m feeling great. I just hope I start seeing results soon.

Happy weekend, everyone! Stay warm!

It’s cold here today. It’s cold everywhere, I know. And we are bundled up inside. I’ve got a busy couple of days around the house, so I thought I’d do a couple of question and answer days here on Blue-Eyed Bride.

I did this a couple of times before and it was a lot of fun answering your questions.

Just leave me a comment and ask me whatever you want. I’ll answer the questions on Friday and Monday. It can be about being a mom, Hudson, home decor and maintenance, weddings, fashion, whatver you want.

So ask away!