The holidays are coming and it’s my favorite time of the year! Tis’ the season for cheery Christmas songs, lots of family love, great food, and the perfect cocktail. I’ve teamed up with two of my favorite ladies, Julie and Christine, for Solerno liqueur’s holiday campaign. Tomorrow is going to be pretty epic. We will be filming all day at the Eventi Hotel to bring you our favorite (and delicious) cocktails using Solerno. Follow us all on Instagram to catch up on behind the scenes action (aka 3 mamas drinking on a Thursday morning sans kiddos. It’s bound to be amazing ;). You can also follow via our sweet hashtag: #solernosparklingmamas. Solerno | Julie | Christine | Nicole (oh hey!)
I recently discovered All Good Living Kids and became an instant fan. Made in the USA under ethical labor practices, their collection features awesome prints created by artists and graphic designers. They also have an organic line which uses low impact dyes and eco-concious screen printing. The designs are fun, modern, and just perfect for my mini city dweller. How awesome is this New York City tee? You can check out the entire collection and shop here. cardigan from h&m kids (similar here) | shirt c/o agl kids | jeans from zara kids | air jordan sneakers
Day of the dead or Dia de los Muertos is a holiday tradition that takes place October 31st – November 2nd. Celebrated primarily in Mexico, the holiday is now celebrated in cultures all over the world. The 3 days are used to celebrate the lives of loved ones who have passed. This is done by creating beautiful alters, praying, cooking your loved ones favorite foods, dancing, visiting their grave sites with gifts – basically celebrating all of the happy memories and times shared together. It’s an extremely special and in particular, happy, holiday.
Last Saturday we visited a local bookstore in Spanish Harlem, La Casa Azul. They had a special family day for the 2nd day of Dia de Los Muertos. There were craft activities for the children, calavera face painting, and a musical performance by ¡Uno, Dos, Tres con Andrés!. It was a perfect day of celebrating filled with lots of love. Make sure to head over to Karla’s blog for more besos de mami!
It’s toddler superman! Sheesh I love this kid and the joy he brings to my life. How cool is he? We had such a great time strolling the East side as superhero’s (I was super mom ;). It’s Sunday and Halloween is over but I just had to share these photos. In total, Lucas got to dress up in 3 costumes – Andy Warhol, Superman, and Jesse Pinkman. Ivan might or might not be planning next years get up already. Yoda anybody? Hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween week! Let the Thanksgiving and Holiday (yikes!) festivities begin.
Lucas and I love us some mail. In particular the kind that comes stuffed to brim with the most adorable, quality goods for the two of us. A few weeks ago we received A Little Bundle as a gift and I was floored upon opening it and discovering the most amazing, lovely items inside! Ok – so what is A Little Bundle? It’s a monthly service that delivers a curated bundle/box right for both you and your child (up to two years!) right to your doorstep. Each individual item is hand selected based on your needs and preferences. One of my favorite things about the service? Each month you receive a card to fill out for your child and save as a compilation of love letters. What is sweeter than that? Genius I tell you! Learn more and subscribe here. Also be sure to follow along on Instagram where you can learn about new products, enter giveaways, and be the first to see sneak peeks!
The hubs and I have grand plans for a family costume this Thursday for Halloween but I needed a costume for the weekend and for fun day time activities this week. I began frantically searching online for something cute and inexpensive and came across this brilliant idea from Oh Happy Day. I instantly fell in love and Ivan was on board so there ya have it. Andy Warhol was a go! We had almost everything we needed for the costume and it took about 10 minutes to put the whole thing together and run out the house in time for a Halloween garden party uptown. ANDY WAS A HIT! I can’t tell you how many times we got stopped and Lucas was in artist heaven with his paint brushes. I’m thrilled with how easy this costume was and Lucas looked stinking adorable. I plan to dress him up again as mini Andy during the day on Thursday. It’s just too good!
Last Sunday was full of adventure. We got all dressed up in our Sunday best – tiger leggings and mustache loafers, clearly. To Brooklyn we went for a family dinner, beers, good laughs, and lots and lots of chasing after a toddler who shall remain nameless. I love our little trips to Brooklyn. There’s something so magical about that borough (hint hint Ivan ;). Little pockets filled with mom and pop shops, outdoors cafes, and rows upon rows of the loveliest brownstones. Lucky for us we happen to have loved ones that reside in one of those beautiful brownstones so we can visit as often as we’d like. Before heading inside to join everyone, we took our time walking, letting Lucas explore and check out all the pumpkins for sale. We ended the night with very full tummies and happy hearts. My favorite way to bid adieu to the weekend.
I love our daily walks. Lucas thinks I’m pretty fab and I make an excellent tour guide. And well, my tiny guy is the best at making a walk around the hood an exciting adventure. Halloween is just around the corner and he loves to check out all the amazing decorations in the neighborhood. One of my many favorite things about our walks is that whenever Lucas hears music, he just has to stop and dance. The boy has some serious moves! Check out those breakdancing skills! Killer, no? He’s also a great market shopper and handles the responsibility of cart pushing and checking out. Teach them young is my motto.
The Time Capsule. Basically one of the most genius ideas I’ve come across in a long time. The baby market is flooded with gift ideas and it can become both redundant and overwhelming. I promise I have found the perfect solution to your gifting needs. The Time Capsule was dreamed up after Andy Warhol’s famous cardboard box. He was known for putting in tidbits of his every day life in a brown box and once it was filled, he would seal it, date it, and start all over with a new box. Over the course of his life, he created over 600 capsules, all filled with the contents of his life. Thus – Time Capsuleswas born. I can’t think of a cooler way to create your own capsule of memories for your children.
The packaging is stunning. Clean, sleek, and timeless. Enclosed comes everything you need to create your time capsule – a book to write notes/diary entries/quotes, gorgeous paper, tags for the items you’d like to include, and an extra strong sealing strip to close up your capsule once your finished. For Lucas’s time capsule I am including the following:
first pair of chucks
mama and baby hospital bracelets
the very first articles of clothing he ever wore at the hospital
a memento from his baby shower
1st birthday candle
ticket from his first trip to the Central Park Zoo
newborn diaper (clean, of course!)
newspapers from the day he was born
I am still working on his capsule. I am filling out his notebook and printing photos to include. I can’t wait to share the finished time capsule before I seal it up. This will be an epic 18th birthday gift for Lucas, don’t you think? For a while, you could only purchase all this awesomeness in Europe but it is now available in the US! You can purchase yours via the adorable shop Perfectly Smitten.
My toddler is 23 months today. TWENTY THREE MONTHS! Holy where did the time go? I’m in complete denial that this kid (who shockingly is beginning to look like a teenager in some photos. is it just me?) is going to be two next month. Lucas is vivacious, spunky, smart as a whip, and loving. Man is he loving. This week he has been willingly giving mami and papi some pretty delicious on the mouth kisses. Toddler slobber is the best you guys. He says “peeese” (please) , “dank uuu” (thank you), and can count to five (although he is partial to two and five). He’s all boy and is a great collector of all the things. In particular acorns. Please see the photographic evidence above of the acorn/Lucas cheek affection. Swoon.
We spent all morning in the pediatricians office and he has gained 1/2 a pound in 3 weeks. Who knew weight gain would make me so happy. This summer has been a battle getting this kid to eat but we are finally – slowly, but surely – getting our foodie back. Basically he’s a big boy now. Oh Lucas. Te amo, te amo, te amo.
