Nicole, Author at Life's Tidbits

11Feb 2015

DIY Bridal Shower Chalkboard Sign

by Nicole ⋅ 1 Comment

For Jellybean’s birthday party I made a first birthday chalkboard sign. It made for a great decoration and everyone took sometime to read the tidbits we included on the poster. My mother raved the whole weekend about how cute and unique it was (clearly not unique if you’ve been on Pinterest, but either way) I was thrilled with her feedback!

My mom asked if it was possible to make some tweaks and create a bridal shower version of the chalkboard sign. She was throwing a bridal shower for a co-worker in a few weeks and thought it would be a perfect for her party. I gave it some thought and figured why not?! We sat down and came up with a list of fun things that could be included on the sign. She called her friend and asked for answers to some of the items she didn’t already know. Armed with the sign content I got to work!

It took a little bit of finesse, but I was able to adapt the 1st birthday sign into a bridal shower chalkboard sign!

Inspiration & DIY Directions

I think this would be a really cute detail for at the wedding (like near the guest book and/or card box) or maybe even a bachelorette party. Either way the sign was a huge hit with the bride. Bonus is my mother was a happy hostess!!

In case you are interested … I used the following fonts: MomsDiner, ReturnToSender, KGMakesYouStronger, and Adobe Devanagari as well as these dingbats: FramesAndRiboons, Bergamot Ornaments and AEZ Wedding Dings

Have you made any chalkboard signs for a bridal shower? What’s your favorite personalized decorations for a bridal shower?

06Feb 2015

Friday Favs!

by Nicole ⋅ Leave a Comment

This was one of those weeks that was so long and yet flew by all at the same time. Does that even make sense?! Meh it’s how I feel so I’m going with it. I’m so looking forward to this weekend … my sister AND sister-in-law are coming in for a visit. Yay! TGIF!

The best part of my week was my fur baby and toddler are finally bonding. And seriously I have a toddler? WHY is my baby growing up so fast?!?!?! Sophi tolerates Jellybean as she aggressively pets and attempts to {open mouth} kiss her. Jellybean shrieks with glee on the rare occasion Sophi kisses her back. It’s really quite entertaining to watch them together.

Check out Sophi’s ‘I’m not sure I like this’ face …

Some favs from the past week …

I wish it was appropriate to wear yoga pants and sweatshirts to work, restaurants and maybe sometimes to parties … okay really everywhere! LOVE me some cute & comfortable clothing. I love this sparkle heart sweatshirt. An absolute must have with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, ummm yup purchased! Such a great find — comfy and stylish V-day wear for this Mama.

Over the holidays I signed up for Birchbox. I’ve received two boxes so far, honestly I’ve had mixed feelings about the contents. I absolutely love the concept, but the products have been just okay. My favorite product from the December and January boxes is by far the Vasanti exfoliator. Once my sample size runs out I will definitely be purchasing a full size version!

After a year, yup an ENTIRE year, {hang my head in shame} I am finally reading a book … like a real book with paper pages and everything. Despite loving my Kindle I impulse bought a new read on Amazon one evening in early January. So what am I reading? The Happiness Project. So far I’m enjoying it a lot and it’s written as though you are having conversation with the author. It came highly recommended from friends as well as a number of the bloggers I follow.

This recipe was divine, although the bananas didn’t seem to come quite right. Either way it was delicious and when I have time, I plan to make it again. Side note: I’m kind of obsessed with quinoa right now. I blame it on credit the Earth Bowl salad from Sweetgreen.

Do you remember jellie shoes? OMG I was totally in love with them as a child. Hello early 90’s!!! Too bad they were incredibly uncomfortable, but stylish so I wore them anyways. WELL … I found baby sparkle jellies online. My fingers did the clickin’ and a week later they arrived! I can’t wait for my baby girl to wear them.

And in other news … it’s official … I am Apple convert! Bye bye PC, see ya later Android and say HELLO to my pretty little Mac and iPhone 6. I never wanted to be a lover of Apple products, but I am. Phew I feel better … no more secrets about being an Apple lover :)

What are you loving this week?

Have a great weekend and happy Friday!

02Feb 2015

Favorite Baby Gear – Months 9 to 12

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It’s so cliche, but time really just flies by! Jellybean is over a year old … and random question, but at what point do we stop saying our kid is X number of months old and just say how many year?! I remember making a conscious decision to stop telling people how many weeks old she was and just say the month. In part it was easier for me, but mainly because I felt bad making people do the math! Any-who…

Somehow over the last few months we’ve managed to identify even more baby gear essentials/favorites. Seriously this little person’s stuff, who doesn’t even weight 20 lbs might I add, has somehow managed to literally take over our condo!! We’ve even had to clear out the DVDs in the living room tv stand to make room for all of her books. Honestly though, not complaining AT ALL that she’s already a little book worm!

If you are new to the baby essential series definitely check out our favorites for newborns, 3-5 months and 6-8 months.

Nuk Sippy Cup // Doesn’t leak, which is hugely important. Like many parents it took a few sippy cups to find the one Jellybean liked.

Stride Rite Shoes // These were gifted to us from Jellybean’s nanny share friend. They are fabulous! Easy to get on and have actual soles. I found a lot of baby shoes don’t have real (rubber) soles on the shoes. Jellybean wore through her first pair of shoes in just a couple of weeks. These shoes have held up well considering the little lady is putting them to VERY good use.

Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker // Jellybean always wants to be on the move. Before she could walk on her own she tore around the house like a little bat out of hell on this thing!! The toy attached to the walker is also a huge hit and great sensory toy.

Britax Marathon Car Seat // We made the transition out of the infant carseat to the ‘big girl’ carseat on the early side. This was two fold … 1) I wanted a new stroller and the only way to financially justify it was to sell the old one with all the extras 2) Jellybean is tall for her age and I felt like her legs were just too long for the infant seat. This car seat got rave reviews online and from friends. It was an easy choice for us!

Toes, Ears, & Nose! A Lift-the-Flap Book // Jellybean loves ALL books, but peak-a-boo and flap books (think interactive) are just about the best thing in her world. She points to where ever the book is and say ‘more, more, more’ until you fetch the book, sit down and read it to her … endlessly! LOL

Baby Banana Bendable Training Toothbrush // Great for making good habits AND she had 8 teeth prior to her first birthday! A little dental cleaning was and is in order.

NoseFrida // Jellybean came down with her first cold … queue theme song from Jaws {or whatever else sounds scary}. While it’s bound to happen at some point during the little ones 1st year there isn’t a parent out there that wouldn’t do just about ANYTHING to relieve their pumpkin’s symptoms. The NoseFrida is amazing at providing sed relief. That is assuming you can actually use it on your kiddo. If your child is anything like mine it takes two parents to ‘administer’ the NoseFrida, however it was well worth the struggle.

Favorite baby gear for months 9 to 12? Any recommendations for 12 to 24 months (or should I say 1 to 2 years??)?

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27Jan 2015

Recipe: Hamburger Casserole

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Do you have a dish that reminds you of your childhood? For me, it is totally hamburger casserole. I remember hating the peas and pushing them aside, but absolutely loving the hamburger/rice part of the meal. I am not sure where my mother got the recipe from. Regardless, it was a go to dinner growing up and makes almost weekly appearances in my house today. The only change I’ve made from my mother’s recipe is to substitute green beans for the peas.

Another bonus about this recipe … Jellybean LOVES it and it’s easy to whip up even after a long day!!

Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Beef
1 pkg Onion Gray
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/3 cup Rice
1 1/2 cups water
Frozen Green Beans (1 1/2 cups) or Peas (10 oz)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Directions:

Season beef with salt and pepper and brown in a pan over medium heat. Drain the excess fat. Add onion gray mix, garlic powder, rice and water. Stir ingredients together and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the rice is fully tender. Stir occasionally so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Meanwhile, defrost peas or green beans per the directions on the package. Add the peas or green beans to the mixture and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes. Serve immediately.

The one tip I have about this recipe is to buy A LOT of the onion gravy when it goes on sale. It’s on the pricier side, however totally worth it … my and Jellybean’s humble opinion.

What dish reminds your of your childhood?

Happy Cooking!

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20Oct 2014

Jet-setter Baby

by Nicole ⋅ 8 Comments

A the ripe ‘old’ age of 9 month little miss Jellybean has been to the east coast, west coast and Midwest! Pretty well traveled baby don’t you thinks?!?! Between the age of 3 and 9 months we’ve flown with Jellybean a number of times and taken two long car trips. During each trip I learn of something new I should pack as well as what not to pack. Finding the balance between enough and not enough stuff has been challenging.

The ability to wash clothes at the grandparents’ houses was clutch! When we were in Seattle clean clothes were hard to come by and, yeah, we totally ran out of diapers … the trip was only 4 days. The husband admitted (after the fact) he thought I over packed, and was completely befuddled when he had to hand wash a onsie and go buy more diapers on the last day of the trip!

Let me put my cards on the table here. Traveling with a baby isn’t as bad as I thought it would be! Do I want to travel with her weekly or even monthly?! No, not really. But all in all flying with an infant isn’t all that bad — even when taking into account the blowout we experienced on Mother’s day.

Traveling with all of the baby’s STUFF …. now THAT, THAT my friends, that is another story. :) For such a little person Jellybean’s suitcase and carry on bag {aka diaper bag} is overflowing every time we travel.

I did my share of Googling and surveying friends when planning how to best travel with our infant. While I am clearly not an expert when it comes to traveling with a baby I did want to share what I’ve learned so far!

Tips to make Flying with an Infant Easier

Gate check the stroller and car seat. It’s free so there is no reason not to bring them with you. Yes they are clunky, but the ability to put JB in her stroller/carseat and walk through the airport was amazing. While a baby carrier is great I find carrying the baby plus carry-on bag to be a bit much! If you little one is out of the car seat already you can check it for free after obtaining your boarding pass. Not shlupping that thing through the airport is SO nice.
Change baby’s diaper just prior to boarding. Even if the diaper is just a tiny bit wet it’s best to start fresh.
Boarding early . When able, that is, apparently United doesn’t do early boarding for families, boo! It’s nice to get on and get settled without having to navigate around others … or hold up the boarding process. Better yet, when traveling with another adult, have one person get on early with the gear and then other board last minute with the baby.
Allow for extra time to go through security. TSA is super chill about carrying on formula/pumped milk, and purees/food. TSA does do an extra check so it adds a tad bit of additional time for them to do the check.
Place the diaper bag and ALL baby related items under the seat in front of you. Inevitably something I thought we would not need became a MUST HAVE RIGHT NOW item during take off or landing – clearly if it’s in the overhead one will need it when we can’t access it. :)
Bring a baby carrier. For most it seems like the baby carrier and stroller are an either/or travel item. For me, BOTH are a must. The carrier was clutch when we were flying to Seattle. It was the only way I could have my hands free and allow Jellybean to take a nap. I wouldn’t ever travel without it again.