Before having a baby my favorite thing to buy parents-to-be was baby clothes.  They are so cute, tiny and just down right adorable.  I could easily spend $100 without even trying … my husband would probably interject at this point and mention this is an addiction I’m still battling.  But, have faith, I have limited sed addiction to my own child’s wardrobe for the time being.

Having a baby changed my perspective a bit on baby gifts and I have steered myself towards choosing necessity items off the baby registry and/or putting together some of our favorite gear for the expecting parents.  I don’t expect everyone to love everything that we did, however I found it extremely helpful when veteran parents recommended or gifted us their favorites.

Go-to gift bag items …

Baby Shower Gift Ideas | Life's Tidbits

  1. Onsie/Outfit
  2. Nuk Sippy Cup
  3. Bright Starts Lots of Links
  4. Burp Clothes
  5. Wubbanub
  6. Lansinoh Soothies Gel Pads
  7. Book {favorites picks: this, this, this and/or this}
  8. Snack Catcher

Some additional items I sometimes include …

I like to add everything to a cute baby shower gift bag OR arrange them in a pretty basket.  Either way, the gift is a mix of things the parents can use immediately as well as items for a few months down the line.

For more ideas check out this super cute baby welcome basket my friend put together for me!

What are you go to baby shower gifts?

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I spent a TON of time researching baby gear in my second trimester.  I looked at blogs, read articles and perused friends, friends of friends and acquaintances registries looking for items they all had in common.  Although I consulted with the husband on my picks, he pretty much deferred to me since I was doing the research.  In all honesty neither of us have ever used this kind of gear before so it kind of felts like a guessing game when picking items to register for.  In the end I am pretty pleased with what we chose.  But honestly, who would have thought such a tiny little person would “need” SOOO much stuff?!

For the purposes of this post, let’s just take the baby basics/big ticket items off the table, okay?  So diaper, wipes, stroller and car seat are “given” must have items for newborns.  Given my research, to date, below is what I think we will need for Jellybean …

Baby Registry Must Haves | Life's Tidbits

1 – Boppy Pillow –  It is rare to find a baby registry that doesn’t have a boppy pillow on it.  Most of my friends who have breastfed swear by it and say the pillow makes it so much easier to support the baby.  I was fortunate enough to get a hand-me-over boppy from a friend.  I purchased a  new and crazy soft cover from Pottery Barn.

2 – Sophie Giraffe –  This teether seems to be all the rage as of late.  All the babies being strolled down the street have one sitting next to them.  I swear it shows up on every Google search for “must have” baby items.  While we can’t call the giraffe Sophie, because that is our dog’s name, we are now the proud owners of a “Sophie” giraffe teether.

3 – Thermometer – As a first time mom I’m confident I will be concerned Jellybean is sick.  I expect this thermometer will help keep my mind at ease in the coming months.

4 – Swaddle Pod – I like that they have a zipper … place the baby in the pod and zip-her-up … no messing around with trying to do the traditional swaddle for bedtime.

5 – Soothie Pacifier – Have come highly recommended on blogs and from friends alike.  We received a couple from some friends who just had a baby girl back in October.  They said these pacifiers were a must!

6 – aden + anais Swaddle/Receiving Blankets – It feels like this item is a given.

7 – Bouncing Chair – The bouncy chair seems to be interchangeable with a swing.  My friend is kind enough to lend us her son’s swing so I registered for the bouncy chair.  I figure we can put Jellybean in both and let her decide which she likes best.

8 – Nosefrida Baby Nasal Aspirator – New and veteran mommies alike rave about this product.  I guess it is better than the “ball” nasal aspirators.  At my friend’s shower a couple weeks ago a mom said she always gives the snotsucker as part of her shower gift.  I figured it is certainly worth a try therefore we purchased one.

My plan is to update my must have list once Jellybean arrive and I actually start using these products.  It should be interesting to see what I thought we needed versus what we actually need.

What baby gear/item do you wish you had registered for and/or purchased prior to bringing the little bundle of joy home from the hospital?  What am I missing?

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I’m a little bit behind in posting gift ideas given there are only 7 days until Christmas and let’s face it Hanukkah was almost a month ago!!  However it might come in handy for any of you last minute gift buyers out there (like my hubby)!!  Heck this year I have to put myself in the last minute present buyer category.  If you are already done with holiday shopping these items would make for pretty good Valentine’s Day gifts as well.   Best part is these gift ideas won’t break the bank!  With a baby on the way, we decided to keep the gift giving/spending to a minimum this year.  Being on (more) of a budget this year has enabled me to find ideas I might have overlooked in the past.  I would certainly be excited to receive any of these items …

Gift ideas under $50  | Life's Tidbits

For the Wine Lover – wine cork collecting kit
For the Lady Friend – Lenox Adorn Ring Holder
For the Home – Monogram Drinking Jars – Set of 4
For the Photographer – Fingerless Shooting Gloves
For the Cook – Nordic Ware Reversible Griddle

What gift would you love to receive that’s under $50?

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We might be a few months into our second year of marriage, but this year we got our very first Christmas tree!  Our new home needs a tree.  Clearly I had my priorities in the right order since the first order of business was to go purchase ornaments.  A couple years ago when we were registering for our wedding at Crate & Barrel I had seen a lot of cute ornaments.  Our first and only stop for ornaments was at Crate & Barrel.  Luckily for us there was a 30% off sale on all the ornaments!!  My husband and I filled up our basket with lots and lots of white, silver and red ornaments.  I was pretty sure we were buying too many, but figured we would return the ones we didn’t need.

It seemed like destiny as we drove up Massachusetts Avenue and right by a Christmas tree sale at the local church.  Instead of heading the Whole Foods or Home Depot to buy our tree we were going to get it from the church!!  They had a ton of options.  I am not really sure why we didn’t think of checking out the local churches in the first place.   At least we will remember this for next year!

After walking around the available “medium” size tree options a few times we quickly agreed on this guy:

Sorry for the crappy camera phone pictures.  It didn’t dawn on me to bring my camera … fail!  Anyways, after purchasing the tree we laughed a little at our lack of planning on how we were going to get the tree home.  It might have been December, but the convertible top when down and the tree when in the backseat of the car.  We made it home just before the rain started in.  Pretty good timing if I do say so myself.

We were home and had a tree and ornaments, but we were lacking lights and maybe more importantly a tree stand.  We threw the tree in a bucket and walked to CVS.  There we purchased a tree stand and 200 white lights.  Back to the house we went to decorate our tree!!

After a number of tries we finally go the tree straight in the tree stand.  The husband cranked the Christmas music and we spent the next hour or so arranging the ornaments perfectly.  Here’s a close up of a couple of the ornaments.

I am very happy with our final product.  Check it out …

What do you think??  I’m very pleased.  Our menorah and dradle looked great next to the tree throughout Hanukkah! Maybe next year we will buy a tree skirt and actually get some gifts under the tree :)  We did have a present under the tree for less than 24 hours.  Then I couldn’t wait any longer and gave my husband his holiday present prior to Christmas Eve.

Happy Holidays!

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It seems we have come to the end of the wedding related posts.  I’ve shared my bridal shower and the bachelorette party as well as my wedding dress purchasing experience.  And let’s not forget about it pouring down rain only a few hours before what was suppose to be an outdoor ceremony.  Below I’ve listed all of the DIY projects we tackled along the way as well as the vendors we used.

But before we get to that here are just a few of my favorite pictures from the big day!  All of the photos below were taken by Korie Lynn Photography.

How cool is that detail shot?!?!  The pearl bracelet was HANDMADE by my Aunt!  I couldn’t find what I wanted so she made me the most perfect bracelet I could have ever imagined.

I had always dreamed of getting a picture in front of the white house and this was the perfect shot.  Luckily the rain held off until after this picture was snapped :)

This was taken in the lobby of the St. Regis a little while before the ceremony.  We had time to squeeze in a couple more photos so I suggested the purple couch since it matched our wedding colors.  I love that we are all smiles!

And last but certainly not least the picture above!  There I am between the two most important men in my whole life!  My husband to the left and my Dad to the right.  Not to mention all the special faces I can pick out in the crowd behind us.

Okay so there are some of the top pictures of the evening now for the roundup …

DIY Projects:

  1. Invitations
  2. Envelope Calligraphy
  3. Rehearsal Dinner Invites
  4. Escort Cards
  5. Table #s, Stamps and Thank You Cards
  6. Candy Buffet/Bar
  7. Menu Cards

Vendors:

Ceremony/Reception Venue: St. Regis Hotel
Photographer: Korie Lynn Photography
Floral Designer: MultiFlor
Band: ‘Round Midnight
Videographer: Suburban Video
Hair: George Salon
Makeup: Go Go Gorgeous
Wedding Dress: Stephen Yerick
Bridesmaids Dresses: Lazzaro
Groomsmen: Joseph A Bank

Oh and just in case you missed it we spent our honeymoon in Italy – Positano, Sorrento, Cinque Terre and Rome.

Happy Wedding Planning!!

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