Busy Bee + Design Updates

Between kiddos, house chores, and making endless future plans with everything, I can't seem to keep my blogging hat on long enough to form a proper post. This weekend was a great refresher. No big relaxing trip or reflection time, just quality time with my mom and little sister and watching my own two little ones grow their own little sister friendship.

A few hours walking around a local art festival was enough to inspire creativity and enliven passion. All while observing the world through little eyes. A sand pit becomes a castle construction site, a public piano becomes a grand piano on center stage, and climbing an art sculpture translates to conquering Mt. Kilimanjaro (which my mom actually did in real life a few months back).

And now a few fun blogs I've designed over the past couple of weeks. Check out these amazing ladies and their awesome blogs.

Abbey at Everyday Champagne has always let do as I please with her blog. She recently decided to branch off from solely food blogging to blogging more about fashion and beauty, so a subtle redesign was in order.

Laura from Sweet Cheeks Photography has a great eye for photography! She captures incredible moments in time during her everyday shenanigans with her two blonde haired cuties.

Sarah from The Baum Squad is a fellow momma with a hilarious daughter and a deliciously chunky baby boy (seriously, this kid puts my daughters' baby rolls to shame). She, like me, blogs about everyday life except she succeeds in her scheduling and consistency far better than I could ever even attempt.

a letter to my 25 year old self

Dear Quinn,

It might be hard for you to wrap your head around, but in 5 short years you’ll be a full time stay at home mom with a 3 year old and a 1 year old. Those two little ladies will bring you more joy and more worries than you ever thought possible. It sounds great, doesn’t it? You don’t have to go to work everyday! No more workplace drama and meaningless customer complaints. Just relaxing and playing with your kids everyday. Oh, man. I wish you knew…

Yes, watching your children learn and grow each day is incredible, but it is also a lot of work. Work that has no 15 minute coffee breaks or end of the day cocktail hours with coworkers. This will just be a different stage in your life, no better or worse than before, just different.

While I’m sure you are having a blast down in Alabama and your stubborn tendancies will not likely take any of this advice easily, I wish you knew...

Shopping is one of our favorite things to do. Finding that adorable new dress or perfect pair of trendy shoes brings us joy, but I wouldn’t waste your money on fancy things. Pretty soon, you’ll be comfortable reveling in the moment wearing one of your 4 or 5 go-to mommy uniforms. Something that isn’t necessarily trendy, but fits you and your style + is comfortable throughout the day and makes you look pulled together when you feel like a hot mess.

While we’re on the subject of wasting your money, lets talk a little bit about how much money you’re spending eating out. Birmingham surprisingly has some amazing cuisine, it’s true, but there is simply no need to eat out every single night. Trade that in for cooking at home the majority of the time. That condo kitchen may be tiny, but spend a little time in there and learn how to cook a few recipes until you are a master chef (or at least have a handful of recipes memorized). You’ll thank me in a few years when you suddenly realize that it 4 o’clock and you have yet to plan dinner. You will easily be able to pull from your catalog of tested recipes instead of reaching for that store bought pizza at the back of the freezer.

You're not going to want to hear this one, but I strongly encourage you to take a look at your bank account. You are making a lot of money (compared to the zero you’ll be making as a stay at home mom) and it doesn’t look like you’re saving much, if any. Why not skip the bars this weekend? The amount of money you’re spending on alcohol will shock you in 5 years! (Also, in 5 years you’ll get drunk off of just 2 glasses of wine and suffer a horrible hangover after 3.) You are probably thinking that you’ll have plenty of time to build up that nest egg and you’d rather have fun now, I wish you knew...

Here’s a thought. If you insist on wasting your money, waste it on something good. All of the money you’ve wasted on clothes + restaurants + bars in your early 20s could have paid for many trips off your bucket list. Waste your money on experiences now as those experiences will be much different when you have kids to consider. Then, when you look back on the days as a newlywed, you’ll think less of the wasted money and more about the experiences you shared with your new husband.

Money will not bring you happiness, but having a little cushion of it will bring you much comfort when you are not the only one you need to support. I know it’s hard to look towards the future now, during your first real moment of independence. I’ve been there, I know. I also know how stubborn you are and that you’ll probably decline this advice with a bit of know-it-all attitude, but I just wanted you to know.

In the end, it will all turn out alright. You and your husband will work through the hard bits and live a comfortable life (even if you’ll still be paying those student loans off until eternity!). In five years, everything will be different. Not better or worse, just different and you’ll love every bit of the journey (even the hard bits). Trust me, I know.

Sincerely,

Your 30 year old self

DIY Greeting Cards for Kids

We live in a fantastic neighborhood. The kind of neighborhood where everyone really does know your name and people look out for your house when you're out of town. I hope to live here forever and a day. 
All of our neighbors welcomed us with kind words and treated our little family as though we had lived here for years. I wanted to extend the kindness we felt to the newest members of our neighborhood. A sweet family with 2 adorable little girls. 
Because kids were moving in and I had a 2 year old to entertain, I decided to let Ellington make her own little welcome cards for our new neighbor friends.

This idea has endless possibilities. Simply choose a word or phrase and let your little one color away. By the way, the markers we used came from the Kiwi Crate that Ellington got for Christmas.

The only tedious part was cutting out the painter's tape. I just cut small strips of painter's tape and stuck them to a blank greeting card to create the word 'Welcome'. 

After Ellington announced that her coloring was complete, We peeled off the tape and were left with a colorful + FREE + personal + homemade 'Welcome to the Neighborhood' card for our new neighbors.

Towards the end of our little art project, Winsley woke up from her nap and wanted to join in on the fun. Of course, older sister Ellington couldn't resist "helping" Winsley color the envelopes to go with the cards.

If you need to create a quick note or greeting card or just want to waste a little time with your kiddos, this is a wonderful little project. Considering the cold weather headed our way, I'm considering preparing some thank you cards for Ellington and Winsley to color or maybe even DIY Valentines.
Tons of ideas! Now I just have to get everything prepared in case we're stuck inside all day because of the rain + cold weather.
Do you have a go-to craft for rainy days? Or maybe some kid friendly neighbor gifts? I'd love some more suggestions to add to my craft closet.

Snail Mail Collective | July 2013

For the past month I've been getting to know a new blogger from across the country - all as part of an amazing little thing called The Snail Mail Collective put together by two of my favorite bloggers, Melyssa + Chelsea. Basically, you are paired up with a blogger and get to know them over the month before sending off a little snail mail package. Oh, and there is a $5 limit of the gifts you choose to send to keep things in everyone's budget. Plus, I think the $ limit really pushes you to get creative with your purchases. There is also a theme each month to help you decide what to send. July's theme was 'Where you're from'. 

I was paired up with Rachel who blogs over at Tossing the Script. I don't know whether she would agree or not, but I've decided that we are just alike and totally different. Let me explain. We are the same age + have similar interest and somewhat similar personalities, but we are on totally different paths in life. Through this tough season of mommyhood, reading her blog has made me think of what life would be like if I had chosen a different path. Not in a bad I-hate-my-life way, just a little curiosity of what my thirties would look like if I weren't married with kids. I'd like to think that my life would look a lot like Rachel's - exploring my city and enjoying the little things with good friends. I guess I'm doing that now, but it's completely different when you have a husband and little ones to think about too. 
You should read all of Rachel's posts, but read this one if you only have time for one post. And can you believe that she has only been blogging for 3 months?! Go show her some love. I know I'll be back each week to catch up on her blogging shenanigans. 

Yummy Moonstruck Chocolate! I just maybe devoured my chocolate bar before snapping a picture, so this is from their website. . . along with some other deliciousness that I may have to order. 

Back to The Snail Mail Collective. Her package came at the perfect time, in the middle of a rough week in mommyhood. I already knew (through our emails) that chocolate was on it's way! The chocolate arrived melted - which didn't bother me in the least. I would have licked that paper clean in my moment of mommyhood weakness, but I had a nosey toddler eyeing my treat. I quickly tucked the chocolate bar away in the freezer and started counting down the minutes until it was time to get the kiddos ready for bed. 

Unfortunately, this meant that I reluctantly had to share my treat with the husband after Ellington was asleep. It was probably for the best. That incredibly delicious chocolate bar was well worth the calories!   Added bonus - Ellington loves the postcard that Rachel sent along with the chocolate. She walks around the house 'reading' it in her toddler talk - entertaining and adorable. 
Read all about Rachel's take on The Snail Mail Collective here. 
If you are a blogger (or just a blog reader - no need to have a blog), I highly encourage you to go sign up for The Snail Mail Collective in August! It's a great way to challenge your creativity + meet new blogging friends + receive some fun snail mail. Just do it! You're welcome. 

Weekend Recap

1. Lots of block building was included in our weekend happenings. This masterpiece was created when I had to run upstairs to change the baby. I came back down to find an incredibly tall block tower and an incredibly proud little architect. 

2. Another moment in mommyhood where I was focusing on the baby and the toddler took the moment to sneak away. When I finally found the key to unlock the toddler locked door, I found one mischievous little lady who was covered head to toe in aquaphor (if you have no idea what that is, think vaseline). It took THREE shampoos + TWO shampoos with dish soap to get all of that greasy stuff our of her hair. 

3. I had to do it. I caved into the trend of 'cupping'. And I'm not sorry in the least bit. I'm not guaranteeing that this will be the last 'baby cupping' you will see in my instagram (@kimchisweettea) feed. 

4. Exciting happenings in the neighborhood! We were apart of our very first block party in our new neighborhood. It was glorious! Plenty of kids for my girls to play with and we met all of our neighbors.  Ellington was so worn out that she passed out right in the stroller. I cannot tell you how happy this makes me -  knowing that there will be many many more of these community events in our sweet little neighborhood. 

5. Unfortunately, our weekend ended + our week has started with rain. Lightning, flooding, and more rain to come. 

How was your weekend? I hope all of my East Coast friends had some fun before the rain came and all of my West Coast friends found some way to beat the heat.

Linking up with Sami and Rachel today. 

A Week at the Beach, Part 4 of 4

Okay, people. This is the last of the pictures from our beach trip. I was hoping to get a family photo on this trip (it's on my summer bucket list), so we headed to the beach for a short photo session and enjoy the feeling of sand between our toes for the last time.

I cannot believe how much our annual beach trip has changed over the past 3 years. Ellington was so little the first time we headed to the beach with the same awesome couples that joined us again this year. The second time (here and here) at the beach, Ellington was still an amateur beach goer and a little weary of getting her hands covered in sand. This year (here, here, and here), she was a true professional. I even had to bribe her a few times to get her off of the beach.

Next year's beach trip will be even more fun! I just know it. We started out with 3 couples and a baby. Now we have 3 couples and 4 babies. I foresee many more crazy times at the beach!

What I learned: Everyday Blogging Challenge

Something that I never really expected happened during my self-imposed everyday blogging challenge,  I discovers some incredible blogs and started a few over-the-internet friendships (hopefully the feeling is mutual or I just outed myself as a blogger stalker).

When I started this month long adventure, I was really just trying to spark some creativity in my own writing and mix things up a bit. I'm not sure how it happened, but I began to venture out of my own blogging neighborhood and met some amazing-hilarious-supportive ladies.

I learned that there is no 'I' in blogging (okay, well there is an 'i'). What I mean to say is that blogging doesn't need to be just about YOUR blog and YOUR content. It so much more fun to venture out a little. Go see what your internet neighbor is writing about and spread the word about their blog. Maybe reading another blog post will give you an idea of what to write about or maybe you just might make a few over-the-internet friends (or you just might become a blogger stalker).

To get you started, here are a few new-to-me blogs that I cannot wait to read everyday! There's something listed for everyone :)

A Week at the Beach, Part 1 of 4

We take a beach trip every year with two wonderful couples and this year we ALL have babies! For the past two years, Ellington has been the only kid around and we just went for a long weekend. This year there are 4 kids and we are at the beach for an entire week!  I am super excited and because of all the friend time + craziness involved with vacationing with kids, this post will be short and sweet with lots and LOTS of pictures. Expect more posts this week with many more pictures. :) I'll get back to normal blogging new week. Enjoy your week and pretend like you're on a mini vacation if your not at the beach. Your boss won't mind if you show up in a swimsuit smelling of suntan lotion, right?

I'm not sure what exactly Ellington is doing here (she claimed she was 'washing' the baby), but lets just say we won't be leaving her alone with the baby anytime soon.