What I Love

Turning Thirty : A Wishlist

May 19, 2013 By Kayla Aimee

I turn thirty in less than three weeks, y’all. This seems surreal. Especially because this weekend, I had a garage sale and someone asked me where my mother was. I’M NOT EVEN KIDDING. Also, a woman walked into my garage while smoking a cigar. I can’t even make this stuff up, y’all. This is the sort of thing that happens when you live in the boonies.

I had a garage sale so that I could finally get some things to finish our living room, like lamps. Why do we not own any lamps? I do not know.

Anyhow, my big gift this year is a trip to the blogging conference Reviewer’s Retreat 2013. I’m incredibly excited to be attending as an RA and to lead a roundtable discussion. I’m really looking forward to taking the photography courses and connecting with other bloggers and SLEEPING THOUGH THE NIGHT. Mostly all the sleeping.

J asked for some suggestions so I put together this list for him. You can tell I’m getting older because it includes things like books about canning. And I am genuinely excited about that. Seriously.
birthdaywishlist
Come Thou Fount Canvas by Lindsay Letters – I can not even describe how much I love this. It’s my favorite hymn and I think the hand lettering against the gray canvas is beautiful.

~~Antique Pink Infinity Scarf by Gertie Baxter~~ – I’ve been eyeing this scarf for awhile. It’s beautiful and also it’s an actual infinity scarf, as opposed to how I just safety pin my scarf in a circle to fake it. I’m ridiculous. (This is no longer on my wishlist because it is on it’s way to my mailbox! SO EXCITING!)

Aqua Serenity Stone Drop Earrings – I lost my favorite pair that were similar to these and I love the aqua for summertime.

Canning For A New Generation – This is who I am now, y’all. I grow things and then I try to can them. Apparently I’ve grown up or something.

Beautiful In It’s Time Watering Can – Because I need to water my herbs. AGAIN WITH THE GARDENING. But seriously, this one from DaySpring is totally unnecessary but I think it’s cute and will look pretty on my porch when not in use.

(I found those peonies at Joss & Main but they aren’t available anymore. Which is a bummer because it’s hard to find realistic looking fake flowers. Please point me in that direction if you know of any. Also, I think I want to grow some peonies, they are so stinkin’ beautiful.)

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13 Comments Filed Under: What I Love Tagged With: wishlist love

FAQs: What’s In My Camera Bag

April 26, 2013 By Kayla Aimee

I’m dedicating a few posts to answering some frequently asked questions from readers and one thing I’m asked often is what camera/lens I use. Obviously I am by no means an expert but I do love taking pictures. Here is what is working for me:

CAMERA: I have the Nikon D-5000 with the stock 18-55mm lens (the newer version of this is the Nikon D-5100.) I wanted something that would take crisp, clear photos quickly in auto mode because I knew that it would take me some to really study and learn how to use it in manual mode. I also wanted to be able to shoot video. I’m still learning how to shoot in manual so I mostly shoot in aperture-priority mode and am very happy with the quality of my photos.

LENS: I also have this 50mm lens. This is a fixed lens, which means that I can’t zoom using it- I have to physically move closer to/away from my subject. I wanted this lens because it goes to an f/1.8 so it lets a lot of light in and gives a nice, blurry background. It’s definitely got a learning curve and I haven’t mastered it but it is the lens I go to for most of my portraits of Scarlette.

CAMERA REMOTE: I got this handy little remote so that I could sometimes get photos of all three of us together. It was under ten dollars and it is much easier to use than the self timer since I don’t have to set up the shot and then run to jump in the picture before the camera goes off.

TRIPOD: This tripod doesn’t actually fit in my camera bag but I do use it often to steady the camera. And always when I’m using the remote to get a group photo. It was pretty inexpensive and has held up really well, even taking a beating from my two year old who apparently mistook it for a jungle gym. It extends up to 60 inches. Allegedly. I wouldn’t actually know because that is pretty much taller than I am.

CAMERA STRAP COVER: The very talented Leah of Bluebird Chic made my camera strap cover. I love that it is double sided and it really is so much more comfortable than the scratchy strap that comes on the camera.

KELLY MOORE CAMERA BAG: This was my much-anticipated Christmas gift this year, it is the B-Hobo bag in mustard. I adore this bag. I get a ton of compliments on it and it holds all of my camera gear + diapers, wipes, my wallet, etc. I did a video review of this bag so that you can see how much it holds, what the inside looks like, and such.

TIN FOIL: Ha! So I don’t actually keep this in my camera bag. Probably I should invest in one of those collapsible reflectors. But I have a big piece of cardboard that I cut from a box and wrapped in tinfoil and that is what I use as a reflector when I’m taking photos of Scarlette. Also, when I was looking for a tutorial to link for y’all I stumbled across a bajillion articles about how to grow plants of the illegal nature. THAT IS NOT WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR, GOOGLE.

*some affiliate links are included, you can click the disclosure button below to read my full affiliate policy!

3 Comments Filed Under: What I Love Tagged With: camera gear for the newbie

Scarlette’s Favorite Books (aka Stuff Toddlers Like)

April 5, 2013 By Kayla Aimee

Today I’m linking up with Kelly’s Korner to share our favorite toddler books! If you’re new here, welcome! Here is a little background info: I have a two year old daughter named Scarlette who LOVES books. So much so that we threw her a book-themed birthday party and there is a well worn path from our house to the local library. I’m a bit of a literature enthusiast myself so we’re always buried in piles of books around here. These are the ones that are well-loved in our house:

1.) The Baby Lit Series: We have almost all of these now, although I just saw that they released Wuthering Heights! Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Alice In Wonderland and Romeo and Juliet seem to be her favorites, she loves to count the different items in each one. I love these books because of my fondness for both classic literature and Jane Austen. Two year olds reading Jane Austen for the win!

2.) Ook The Book & Other Silly Rhymes: We received this book in one of our Citrus Lane boxes and Scarlette loves it. I like the illustrations and the fact that it is an easy rhyming book.

3.) The Jesus Storybook Bible: I thought this would be a little bit old for her but she loves it. She constantly asks me to read her “Da Bobble” and is enchanted with the beautiful illustrations. I’ve read a few different children’s bibles and this one hands-down my favorite for any age. It is a wonderful telling of the Bible story. I highly recommend this one.

4.) The Pigeon Series: She loves any book in the Pigeon series by Mo Willems and we enjoy reading them because they are cute, funny, fast and have good lessons. We also like the Knuffle Bunny series by the same author.

5.) 1,2,3 Count With Me: Learning With The Bible Counting: Her great-grandmother picked up this one for her and she reads it all the time. It counts through the story of creation and then at the end has a place where you can slide your child’s photo in so that they can see how “God made them special.” This one normally stays in her bed and she reads it to herself over and over during naptime.

6.) Fancy Nancy: Scarlette loves the younger version of these books. She’s always asking me for “Panny Nanny” and trying to repeat the fancy words. She also likes dressing up like Fancy Nancy.

(Not Pictured)
Llama, Llama Red Pajama: We’ve been reading this one since she was a baby. She is obsessed with reading this book at bedtime. Now that she is older, she likes us to act out the scenes from the book as we read it. I need to get her a few more of this series.

I’ll Teach My Dog A Lot Of Words: She thinks this book is hilarious. I will most likely get the 100 word version of this one for her soon.

I See You On The Farm: We have this one and I See You In The Jungle. Scarlette loves both of them. Also, apparently they are selling for $450 on amazon so definitely pick up a few copies of this one. WHAT THE WHAT, AMAZON?!

The Little House: This Caldecott medal winner makes me cry when we read it but Scarlette likes to flip the pages and say “AWWW! YITTLE HOUSHE!”

*some affiliate links included to fund our book habit. You can click on the affiliate disclosure link below to read my full policy and other random facts about me

12 Comments Filed Under: What I Love Tagged With: favorite toddler books, stufftoddlerslike

What Not To Buy, Baby Edition

March 24, 2013 By Kayla Aimee

So I gave you my opinion on all the baby gear I DID like. Now I’m going to tell you what not to ~~wear~~ buy. I’m like the Stacy and Clinton of baby stuff. No I’m not.

But seriously, I always find it helpful when people post what didn’t work for them so that I don’t waste my money on it. So here are all my thoughts. Well, not all of them. Y’all could not even handle that crazy.

First of all, take the baby registry checklists with a grain of salt. I was looking at one that said a must-have item for the nursery was a ROOM THERMOMETER. Do you want to know how you can tell if it’s too hot or cold in your kid’s room? STAND IN IT. Are you cold? Probably your kid is as well. Are you hot? Maybe turn on a fan. You do not need a room thermometer to tell you this. Same goes for a bath thermometer. You do not need one of these. Just stick your hand in the water.

So, without further ado, here is my list of “Stuff That Did Not Work Out In This House.” Probably none of these brands are ever going to sponsor a post on this blog now.

1.) Sophie The Bleeping Giraffe – Scarlette would not take to any teethers. Or frozen washcloths. Or popsicles. Or anything that might have kept her from gnawing her own hands off. Everyone swore to me that Sophie The Giraffe was a miracle teether that no baby could resist. We were buried under hospital bills at the time and Sophie The Giraffe cost EIGHTEEN DOLLARS and in a moment of desperation, I bought her. I carried her home like she was the Holy Grail of teethers and presented her proudly to Scarlette. Who promptly threw her on the floor and never touched her again. Nothing I tried could get Scarlette to even HOLD that thing, let alone put it in her mouth. She dug it out of the toy box about a month ago and walked around the house laughing while she squeaked it. I bought her the world’s most expensive squeak toy.

2.) Zo-li Gummy Stick Baby Gum Massagers – Another teether that had rave reviews but did not work for us. Mainly because Scarlette kept getting confused and sticking the non-teether side in her mouth and then gagging on it. Also, we discovered she had an oral aversion and these things HURT when you bite down on them. I know this because I tried it out. I can only imagine that if you have NO TEETH it probably feels like chewing on a razor blade.

3.) Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder – This is one of those mesh bags that you put fresh or frozen fruit in and your baby is supposed to hold the handle and suck on the food through the mesh. First of all, it looks disgusting. Second of all, all Scarlette ever did was mash it around on the tray of her high chair. Or in her hair. Or down the front of my shirt. She never put the mesh part in her mouth. This is another thing people swore would work and maybe it was just my baby and her oral issues because it was a huge fail over here.

4.) Mrs. Meyers Diaper Balm – This stuff was terrible. The liquid was all separated, no matter how much we shook it and so a bunch of watery oil would run out any time we tried to use it. I finally gave up on it and switched to the All-Natural version of the Boudreaux’s Butt Paste.

5.) Lanolin Nipple Cream – I know, some people swear by it but my lactation consultant told me to first try just rubbing extra breastmilk on the cracked and painful areas. I swear it worked. I did that after every pump and any time I had issues . I quit using the cream because the breastmilk worked so much better and faster.

6.) Bumbo Seat – So, obviously we had one of these. Here is a cute picture of Scarlette in it. And we actually used and liked ours because Scarlette had low tone and couldn’t sit up by herself until she was about ten months old. So for us, it was really helpful. But most people I know are only able to use their seats for a really limited period of time because the leg openings aren’t very wide so the babies don’t fit in it for long. We had the version with the tray and it was a huge pain to get the tray on and off. So while I found it helpful for our physical therapy needs, I think that a boppy would suffice for most everyone else. I probably wouldn’t register for it but would wait and see if it seems like something that would work for you because it’s pricey for something that you only use for a couple of months.

7.) Baby’s 1st Aid Kit – I mentioned before that I did not like the pre-fab first aid kits. They were full of filler items and not of the best quality. I ended up keeping the case and making my own first aid kit by picking out individual items. Here is a link to some of my recommendations. I would register for things like thermometers, safety clippers and medications individually rather than a full kit.

8.) Munchkin Stay Put Suction Bowls – Sure, if “Stay Put” means “Never Actually Properly Suctions To Anything And Constantly Ends Up In The Floor.” I hate these bowls with a fiery passion. Plus, the lids don’t stay on. That’s a fun thing to discover when you pack a bowl of sweet potatoes in your diaper bag.

9.) Munchkin Click Lock Straw Cups – WHO CAME UP WITH THESE? Because I do not like that person. I can not get them open and shut without assistance from my husband, which is awesome when I’m home alone with a baby. And they leak. I had a coupon to get them free and I am glad I did not spend actual money on them because I got rid of them.

10.) Big Equipment That Isn’t Multi-Purpose – Don’t buy a high chair AND a toddler chair AND a booster seat. Buy a high chair that converts to a toddler chair and a booster seat. Don’t buy a swing and a bouncy seat. Buy a swing that converts into a bouncy seat. This means you’ll have less things taking up space in your house and when your house is covered in Duplo blocks, you will be thankful for this.

And that is the end of this series! Thanks so much for reading & sharing! Feel free to add your unloved items in the comments so everyone can learn from one another ♥

*This is all personal opinion. No one sue me, k thanks! I didn’t like these things but obviously other people do. Some affiliate links are included in case you totally decide to ignore my advice. If so, you can click the button below to read my affiliate disclosure.

17 Comments Filed Under: Baby Favorites & Registry Recommendations, Uncategorized Tagged With: what not to buy for baby, what not to put on your baby registry

KA’s List Of Must-Have Baby Registry Recommendations: Nursery & Toys

March 23, 2013 By Kayla Aimee

(This was supposed to be up last weekend only it was lovely weather out and we went to the park instead Apologies!)

1.) Oversized Stuffed Glider – We have a glider similar to this one but I recommend getting an oversized stuffed one because you are going to be falling asleep in it often and the wooden ones are just not so comfortable for that. Ours is great for rocking Scarlette to sleep now but after babysitting some of my nieces and rocking in their oversized stuffed chairs, I’m pretty sure that they are the best for middle-of-the-night infant feedings.

2.) Munchkin Arm and Hammer Nursery Fresheners – I really like these. I keep one in the top of our diaper pail, one in the basket on the dresser and toss one in my diaper bag. I have the lavender scent and my diaper bag always smells fresh so I think they work well.

3.) Halo Sleepsacks – Everyone will tell you to get them and they really are the best. It was a really long time before I was comfortable letting Scarlette have a blanket, due to my being all neurotic, but I didn’t want her to be cold! These were great for that. I used the fleece ones in the winter. We did not use the swaddle one for bedtime, only because I had to use it to bind her pretty tightly in order to keep her still while I put her feeding tube down and so she had terrible associations with swaddling, I think. She liked to have her arms free at night. But if you do swaddle, the swaddling ones work wonderfully.

4.) Crane Elephant Cool Mist Humidifier – This was a hand-me-down and it is fantastic. Register for one of these because you do NOT want to not have one when you wake up in the middle of the night and discover that your sick baby really, really needs one. Trust me on this.

5.) Safety 1st Furniture Wall Straps – Secure your dresser/bookcases/other furniture to the wall so they don’t tip over. This isn’t just me being neurotic, visit Meghan’s Hope and learn why it’s super important.

6.) Light Switch Dimmer - We switched out our light switch for one that is a dimmer and it is one of the best moves we made. A night light didn’t give me quite enough light to see by for middle-of-the-night feedings. And now I use it at bedtime, we dim the lights for getting into pjs/storytime before lights out and it’s a nice transition. And if I need to go in in the middle of the night, I don’t have to worry about the light waking her up.

7.) Munchkin Contour Foam Changing Pad + Carter’s Super Soft Dot Changing Pad Covers- We screwed this one into the back of her dresser and used it on top. It worked great and never moved around. I had two covers and loved these because of how soft they were. You could totally get away with just one though.

8.) Summer Infant Baby Touch Digital Color Video Monitor - This was one of my spendier purchases but well worth it. I can move the camera remotely to see her entire room, which is great now that she is older because I can let her play in there while I make dinner and still keep an eye on her. I reviewed it in full here.

9.) Baby Signing Time DVDS – I loved these. I know these are a personal preference but I thought that being able to use signs really did help Scarlette communicate better with me to lessen her frustration. It was a must have for us because of our speech therapy but I think they’d be helpful for anyone. You can read my full review of our experience using these here.

10.) Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Fun with Friends Musical Table - Scarlette still plays with this often. I like it because you can use it as a floor toy when they are little and then add the legs as they learn to stand and hold. Scarlette “cruised” this to get from activity to activity for a long time. We were sent a similar toy from another brand to review and we took it to the grandparents house because we liked the features on this one the best and Scarlette seemed a lot more into it.

11.) Sassy Developmental Wonder Wheel Suction Toy - Trust me. This will entertain your kid while they are in the high chair or the bumbo seat and you won’t have to pick it up a bazillion times. I don’t know what it is about this one specifically but Scarlette didn’t give a hoot about the other ones we had. This is the only thing that would do the trick.

12.) Baby Einstein Neptune Ocean Adventure Gym – This has had great longevity. She loved it when she was doing tummy time or just on her back and once she could sit up and play with it she would entertain herself for a long time. I registered for it just because it had such good reviews and I have to join in and say it’s a fave in this house.

13.) Fisher-Price Rainforest Peek-A-Boo Leaves Musical Mobile - We borrowed this while Scarlette was still in the NICU. She was fascinated by it. I loved that it had a remote so that I could turn it back on without her seeing me if I needed too. You can set it to music and motion so that the leaves move and the dragonfly does peek-aboo or to just music with a night light. (Also, cute picture of her in the NICU using it here )