Fab Artist: Danna Ray

Danna Ray's art reminds me so much of New England winters. The lighting is soft but cold, and the scenery is beautiful but barren. I especially like her juxtaposition of abandoned objects with nature and tree branches. Each painting could evoke a different emotion in a person. I also enjoy her suitcase paintings where light seems to beam out of them as if a star is captured inside. You can buy her original artwork and prints of her artwork at her etsy shop, Groundwork. To see more of her incredible paintings, check out her Flickr.

Fab Open Sky

I just wanted to showcase some of the awesome products in my OpenSky shop. These are just a few of my favorites.

Top from left to right:
* Organic Chamomile Milk Bath for Mom & Baby
* Orchid Wall Art
* Grow Food vintage style poster
* Glass Glitter Rainbow Bottle Set

Bottom from left to right:
* Lonnie the Boston Terrier door stop
* Mailbox Fill & Spill plush for baby
* Flat Cats-snuggly blanket/stuffed animal hybrid
* Pillowcase dress

Don't forget--With this promo code: 11102Join30pct  you get 30% off your entire purchase under $100! Only until November 21st!

Blocks!

How cool are these?

I just found them via Cool Hunting. I love the pastel colors and unique shapes. They are made out of sustainably harvested hardwood by a company called Tegu. Unfortunately, Baby V won't be playing with blocks for some time! I've had such a hard time finding him cool Christmas presents this year because he's only 3 months old! But I figure he'll be 6 months a little after December so by then he can play with more toys then.

3 months!

I can't believe my little guy is 3 months old today. Nobody was kidding when they told me that time flies even faster when your children are born. I love the stage that he is at right now where he can recognize us and smiles all the time. However, I can't believe I've already forgotten what it was like when he was a teeny tiny newborn, he seems like a different baby altogether! In honor of his 3 month birthday I wanted to do a list of some of the best baby products we either bought or received at our shower.

1. The swing--we have the Graco Lovin' Hug Swing. It will be your best friend. Sometimes when he is super fussy we put him in it and it calms him right down. It plays classical music and nature sounds but we usually just put it on the classical music. He also sleeps the longest in the swing during the day.

2. The Baby Bjorn--I love this carrier. It is comfortable and easy to take with you anywhere. I actually have the Moby Wrap as well but I use it far less because I find it harder to put on and he doesn't feel as secure in it. We were fortunate to get a hand-me-down as they can run pretty expensive. If you can find one used I would definitely recommend it! I would rather wear him in this than push him around in a carriage and now he is big enough to look out so he can see the world.

3. Playtex Double Electric Breast Pump--I almost splurged and got the Medela one but even though I read mixed reviews on this one it was one of the cheaper double electric pumps I found. It works great and I have had no problem with it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants an affordable electric pump.

4. Sleep Sheep--This makes several different sounds and it really works. We attached it to the side of his bassinet and we've grown to like the sounds for sleeping ourselves! I prefer the white noise but the ocean sounds are nice too.

5. Swaddles--We have 3 different Kiddopotamus swaddles. We have actually stopped using swaddles recently because he's outgrown the ones we own. However, this was the best thing to get him to sleep as a newborn. We discovered early on that swaddling was a necessity to keep him sleeping for the longest intervals through the night. He would sleep 4 hours at time at only 2 weeks old and then slept 6-8 hours at a month and a half old. We would change him, swaddle him, then feed him, and he was out for a long interval. On the nights that I would try to leave him unswaddled he would be fussy and flail his arms around. Don't underestimate the power of the swaddle!

6. Graco Pack N Play with Newborn Napper--The new and improved Pack N Play has a newborn napper, a changing table, and a bassinet. We put one in our living room and it's a great place to lay him in during the day for a nap where I can still watch him. As he gets older we can take out the napper and the changing table to have a bassinet and then it will turn into a normal Pack N Play. Great investment!

A Few of my Favorite Things...11-12-2010

First off, Yogi Green Tea Super Antioxidant--so delicious and gives you just enough caffeine to wake up a little bit but not be jittery like coffee, and it's healthy! Another little perk, my tea bag tab this morning said, "When ego is lost, limit is lost. You become infinite, kind, beautiful." : )

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The website, Lose it! I actually saw a sign about this website in my doctor's office the other day! It is an iphone app but I don't have an iphone and I went to the website and it's basically like free Weight Watchers. Since I've been doing my 30 Day Total Health Makeover, I've been writing down everything I eat and do for exercise anyway. This site makes it even easier to keep track of how many calories you consume and reaching your weight loss goal.

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Ezekiel bread that I bought at Trader Joe's. It's a sprouted, flourless bread so it's much better for you than even whole wheat bread. It tastes great too, we just have a slice as a snack with some Smart Balance spread on it.

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Baskets! I never used to like baskets, but we received a lot at my baby shower and from people when the baby was born because they would fill them with gifts. They have become a life saver for storing and organizing baby products, blankets, etc.! 

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Fab OpenSky store. I just started my own OpenSky store! I love all the cool products they have to select from. I definitely am going to get Baby V some Christmas presents from this site. Since I started a new store I get a coupon code that anyone can enter to save 30% off of any order under $100. Visit the store and enter this coupon code: 11102Join30pct  at checkout but hurry because it's only until November 21st!

I go by Katie, Printed Pretties Giveaway

One of my favorite blogs, I go by Katie is having a giveaway of 3 gorgeous prints by Emilie of Printed Pretties. I had to blog about it because I am in love with Emilie's artwork. My favorite print on her etsy shop is called Animal Spirit and is a collaboration of all of her woodland animal drawings which would look amazing in Baby V's woodland animal themed nursery!

Click here to enter her giveaway, all you have to do is tell her your favorite print from the etsy shop and become a follower of her blog (which you'll probably want to anyway)!

Barefoot Contessa book signing

I completely forgot to write about the Ina Garten book signing I went to a couple weeks ago. My mom and I waited in line for 3 hours to get Ina Garten's newest book, barefoot contessa how easy is that? signed. It actually went by very fast and there were way more people behind us in line! Unfortunately, since there are so many people waiting, they rush you through very quickly but we managed to exchange a couple words and I got a picture with her! I'm a huge food nerd and I pretty much only watch The Food Network and Top Chef (my favorite show of all time) on Bravo. Anyway, the cookbook is great, Ina Garten is one of the few TV chefs that everything you make of hers tends to come out good. Her apple crisp is one of the best I've ever had and I've tasted it made by 3 different people and it's delicious every time!

One of the recipes in this new cookbook is very simple: truffle popcorn. She recommends D'artagnan white truffle butter. I actually bought the black truffle butter by mistake when I made it but it still came out delicious. I despise mushrooms of all kinds but I don't even know that truffles should be classified as mushrooms on the taste scale because they far surpass that. I would definitely recommend this butter to amplify any dish and bring a touch of elegance--even to popcorn!

Baby Einstein Dvds

My new favorite baby item is the Baby Mozart dvd. Baby V has loved watching TV since he started to develop eye sight which obviously we do not condone but I think the brightness of the light attracts him to it. However, I found the perfect happy medium in the Baby Mozart dvd that I got as a gift at my baby shower. It plays mozart while showing large, colorful, or black and white images, and other visually stimulating baby appropriate things. He absolutely loves it! I can put him in his little bouncy seat a safe distance from the TV and he is so happy and mesmerized by the beautiful music and interesting images. I think I might buy the other composers such as Baby Beethoven and Baby Bach!

 

Fab Baby Shop: Orfeo

How adorable are these clothes?? These are all from Orfeo, a gorgeous online children's store based out of London. I love the pussy willow onesie and ruffled blackbird shirt! I've been wanting a little red pointy gnome hat like that for Baby V. I think I might try to knit one like it but if I fail I'll definitely return to this store. They also have beautiful toys for babies and children as well.

Fab Artist: Wendy Wallin Malinow

One day while perusing the book store with my literary aunt when I was a little girl I found the most beautiful book I had ever seen on a table display. I loved fairies, and unicorns, and magic so this book seemed like the perfect book to me. It was intricately and colorfully illustrated in a way I had never seen before. The story was a long, mystical, and whimsical poem and best of all, at the back of the book was a little fold up fairy box you could make for fairies to live in! The book was Fairies from A to Z written by Adrienne Keith and Illustrated by Wendy Wallin Malinow. I still have it and read it to my baby the other day although he is clearly too young to appreciate it right now. Unfortunately, the book is out of print but there are couple used copies being sold on Amazon and I would scoop those up ASAP especially if you have a little girl who would love it! So I looked up the artist and she also has some sculptural and jewelry work on her website.

Her site does not even do her artwork justice but here are a couple of her illustrations from the site:

Visit her website for more of her amazing work and to see what other books she has illustrated.