Perry and I have never been big on celebrating Valentine's Day. No candy, no flowers and definitely no gifts. We both struggle with the concept of commercializing our love so for the last five years we have been together, we've opted out. It's been no lie that Perry and I have struggled with our relationship since becoming parents. There was a definite shift in our marriage when all of a sudden we went from being each others' world to having a small baby orbit in between us.
Read MoreIf I could get paid to pay with flowers, I would. Actually, at one point I did. While I was pregnant with Winter and off for the summer, the woman who did our flowers for our wedding, Sarah from Ladybird Poppy, took me on as her employee to learn a few things. She taught me so much about floral design and I am excited to show you some of the tips I've learned along the way.
For this feature, I've teamed up with ProFlowers to show you three ways to design flowers.
Read MoreToday is my one year anniversary from returning to work after my maternity leave ended. I was able to stay home for 14 weeks in total, one week leading up to the birth (she was nine days overdue) and 13 weeks after Winter was born. Of those weeks, I got paid for a whopping two weeks (which is a different story to share). But now, my toddler is sitting in her new Skip Hop high chair (that fabulously converts into a toddler chair by the way---more on the high chair at the bottom of the post), and I can't help but think back to that first day that I left her at home to go back to work.
Read MoreThere have been far too many blog posts featuring Winter and I playing on my bed. I can't complain, the cuddles while looking outside to our very own snow globe have been amazing this season. Yet, Perry and I can't seem to stop talking about our plans for this summer.
Read MoreHer personality is blooming each day. There are so many things I want to remember about this time so I decided to post a series of snaps that Brittany got while we were just hanging out by the stairwell in our house. She kept playing peak-a-boo with Brittany and would hide behind the plant and jump out while saying, BOO! These photos really sum up my baby girl right now. She is playful, confident, sweet as can be and oh so feisty!
Read MoreAs far as my design style, it's definitely eclectic with a boho artistic flair. I would say that I'm not a minimalist and not a maximalist either. I'm more of a "rotationalist" (I just made that up). I have a lot of collected things, but I don't like to have them all on display at once. As far as plants go, just a short time ago I had only one or two plants in our house. All that changed last year after a visit to the Palmenhaus restaurant in Vienna, Austria, a former prominent greenhouse for botanical exhibits. (It's okay to Google it now. I'll wait).
Read MoreFor my New Year's resolution, I told myself that I would do better at managing difficult emotions, that I wouldn't be so hot-headed and that I would give into my emotions for a short time, instead of letting them fester. I also vowed that I would give myself more slack and stop trying to be so damn perfect all the time. To hold myself accountable, I want to write about how it's going and share something that I use all the time that seems to be helping.
Read MoreIt seems like everyone I know is having a baby this spring and the baby showers this month are in full swing. I practically cried through my entire baby shower (I blame the hormones!) because I received some pretty meaningful gifts. I thought I would share some of my favorite shower gifts or "just because" gifts for your mama friends. Happy Saturday everyone!
Read MoreFrom painting, to learning piano, and now with writing, I am always trying to push myself creatively. When I became pregnant with Winter, I began posting to Instagram frequently and it opened up a whole new world. Being one of the first out of my friends in Colorado to get pregnant, it was refreshing to connect and talk to other mamas, while honing my newfound joy and creative endeavor, photography.
Read MoreWinter is nearly 14-months-old now. I’ve heard that once a baby turns a year old things get "easier". While Winter is becoming more independent, has always been a joy to be around and is beginning to develop quite the personality, I don't know if the word "easier" really rings true for my family right now. I am having to do a lot of cognitive re-framing and instead of wishing or waiting for it to get "easier", I am hoping to and working on finding vitality and resilience when faced with the stress of being a parent.
Read MoreBefore I had Winter, my New Year’s resolutions leaned on the side of being cliché’. I wanted to gain more muscle, become more flexible, be better about what I ate, etc. It wasn’t that I didn’t have depth to my intentions before kids, it’s just that my intentions run deeper now than they did before because I know that my goals affect her too. I want Winter to grow up in a household where her parents are happy, healthy and well-balanced. So even though I still want to workout more and eat better foods, my real resolution lies in the depths of my heart.
Read MoreIt's that time of year where there is so much going on in the city so it's tempting to fill each and every weekend with parties, appointments, festivities and play dates. I go through moments in my life where the stillness scares me, the quiet is uninviting and the slow vibes start to make me feel uneasy. But having a baby really makes you see these moments at home with a different lens.
Read MoreAlthough this is Winter’s second Christmas, it feels like the first all over again. She was so tiny last year at around 5-weeks-old and essentially slept through the entire Christmas Eve gift exchange. This year, she is walking, talking and showing interest in all the things I love about the holidays, like the lights, the parties and the holiday music and cheer.
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The holidays are around the corner and I just can't help but get caught up in the magic of the twinkle lights, hot coco and sharing some of my favorite holiday crafts with Winter. Winter is slowly growing out of the "I put everything in my mouth to make sure it's real" phase, so I figured I would take a stab at making a gingerbread house with her. To be on the safe side, I stuck on the larger pieces of candy and let them dry before I introduced the gingerbread house to Winter.
Read MoreHi! My name is Kara, which I am sure you have gathered by now. Not really the kind of girl you can sum up in a “Hey, nice to meet ya,” conversation. Just like my home, I am layered. I live slightly outside Boston in a 1700s Victorian mansion. I live in one of the eight apartments that it is now made up of. The character is amazing and one of the main reasons I still reside here. My apartment is only 800 sq. Ft, so I am definition Small Space Squad. My style is a mixture of mid mod/bohemian. It’s super eclectic and layered throughout. I am packing it in because “less is more” doesn’t ring true to me. I have a “more is more” attitude with an addiction to thrifting. I believe green heals and have an enormous collection of plants throughout the apartment. They are my babies. I love the color they bring to a space. I love the unique shapes and textures and the way they stand tall when the light beams in. My apartment is a jungle. Sometimes, I think I've overdone it. Then I remember that basic is boring and that my mid-mod/eclectic/plant loving space is wild and quirky and 100% me.
Read MoreI am slowly starting to put the life vest back on. The life vest that I always knew was there but was maybe too proud or too weak to grab for. For the last year, I have set unrealistic expectations for myself. When I am at work, I give 150%; I pumped three times a day while I was nursing, which meant I never got a lunch or any other break and I often felt like I was failing my colleagues because I couldn’t stay late for meetings. At home, I gave 300%; I took care of Winter, I grocery shopped, I tried to cook, I stayed up late to clean the house, worked on my blog, texted my family and friends, and responded to comments on Instagram all while trying my best to stay positive and enthusiastic.
Read MoreSo weaning happened and all I can say is holy hormones! When I first had Winter, I thought breastfeeding would come naturally for us. I literally thought that you just put the child up to your boob and they got milk. My naïve self snuffed at the thought of a breastfeeding class and never thought to ask any other mother I knew what it was like for them. When I first launched this blog, I wrote about my breastfeeding journey here.
Read MoreIt's almost December and I am beginning to wonder where the snow is in Denver? Temperatures are dropping but we haven't had snow stick around for longer than 24 hours. Last year around this time, I had a tiny newborn and we were up to our knees in snow. Regardless of the weather, we somehow managed to keep Winter warm by bundling her up in a bear suit (long live those bear suits!) and would walk for miles on end.
Read MoreWinter,
On November 6, 2016 at 6:39 PM, you turned one years old. I can’t describe to you the joy it brings to me, the honor I share with your father in wishing you a happy first birthday. From the moment you were born, my soul flew free, wrapped its arms around you and hasn’t left your side since. I picture this process often. I envision a warm, translucent light hovering over you as you explore your world, encouraging you to spread your kindness to everyone you meet.
Read MoreWinter’s nursery reveal is finally here! We had such an overwhelming move back in August (moving with a baby makes things exceptionally more difficult) and it feels so good to finally have at least one room where the closets aren’t busting at the seams and where everything has found its natural place.
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