oh, hey friday | tis the season

I am not usually gung-ho about decorating for Christmas in early to mid November, but this year I was totally onboard.
Perhaps a bit of nesting kicking in?

Our tree is decorated.
Our Christmas presents are purchased and delivered - thank you Amazon!
Our house is festive, and I love it!

In all of my early planning I ran across some kids gifts that are so SO cute.
If we had a huge house, I am sure that I would have purchased these things… but alas, our house is small and I need things tidy.
And my boys need approximately zero new things.

If you have the space though, check out these awesome presents that I'm sure your kids don't need…

1 | teepee
Can one child have too many teepees? I'd like to say no - but like I said, we don't have the space. I have soft spot in my heart for teepee's though, and THIS one is so darling. And if I had a girl, which I obviously never will, THIS one would be a must.

2 | sports
My boys are active, and if I don't keep them busy, they will tear apart my house I imagine. THIS little golf set is super cute and with a little training might be able to be used indoors during the winter. :)
Or, you could go all out and just buy them THIS bounce house. We all know how I feel about bounce houses.

3 | books
While my aunt was here last week she brought the boys SO many awesome books. Reading books, activity books, coloring books, story telling books, etc. They love them and I do too! You can never go wrong getting your kids some great books. Since by big boys are covered for a while now, I thought maybe I should think about this tiny babe in my belly and get a head start and not neglecting his baby book with THIS first year book.

4 | make believe
Kids imaginations are something else. I never thought that my boys would be interested in play kitchens, but every single time we have a play date with friends, they always head straight for the kitchen. They love it! There are so many adorable ones out there to buy but THIS and THIS one are my favorites.

5 | art and creativity
Nothing like a gift that can be time consuming! If they can assemble it and create it themselves, and then play with it… win, win. There are so many great kits available. My favorites are make your own… superhero, tutu, animal, and insects. You could even make your own kit to save some dollars too!

What are your favorite gifts that you are eyeing for your kids this year?


Before you go, don't forget to link up.
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AND just an FYI… we will not be doing this fine link up next week. We will give everyone some time to recover from your holiday gluttony. :) See you back here in two weeks.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

36 weeks | ready or not

After having my doctors appointment this week {which is now a weekly occurrence}, I realized that this little babe is coming, and maybe sooner than I was expecting.
I have been thinking that this pregnancy was taking forever to go by, and now, all of the sudden, it feels like I have no time at all before he is actually here.

I am dilated to 2 cm {tmi?} and for me, that seems to be quite a bit considering I got to the hospital to have Beckam at 3… and Brody was induced. This really means absolutely nothing, except my doctor did say it is very unlikely I will go past my due date, and he will most likely be a bit early. Or not. Maybe the Turkey Trot that I will be doing in one week will help. :)

And, you guys, I still have to get my shiz together!
I haven't packed a hospital bag, and have forgotten what I even packed the last two times I went through these steps. Any must have recommendations?

Also, after getting rid of ALL of our baby stuff since we thought we were done, I am having to remember everything that is necessary for a newborn. Like… oh a carseat!!
I did purchase diapers and a baby bath this week, and his dresser is full of clothes, so I guess we will be set.

I can't help but want to buy this little guy a new outfit to wear home from the hospital too. Even though he will be able to wear it a total of two and half times. I am thinking THESE pants, THIS shirt, THIS hat and if I were rich… THIS sweatshirt is sure cute.
Ooh, or. THIS cozy little number.
Clearly I shouldn't have started online shopping.

Now, all of this to say... who knows how regular my blogging will be in the upcoming weeks.
It may be holiday related and the fact that we will have cousins visiting for the next week + OR maybe I will be birthing a kid. Who knows.

To stay up to date on whats happening you may want to follow along on Instagram!

recipe | madsen family famous PUMPKIN BREAD

This pumpkin bread may not be famous in terms of how many people know about it.
But it should be.
Don't just take my word for it, make it.
And while you are at it, triple the recipe. Believe me.

My dear friend Stephanie {who, by the way, JUST birthed a sweet baby girl} introduced me to this family recipe probably about 15 years ago.
It has since become my favorite holiday recipe. For obvious reasons...

What is not to love about pumpkin bread, full of chocolate chips with a delicious glaze on top?
Nothing. The answer is, nothing.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

3/4 cup chocolate chips

3/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped, optional

Combine flour, salt, soda and spices.

Cream butter. Gradually add sugar and cream well.

Blend in eggs. {I used cornstarch and water because of my sweet allergy boy}

At low speed add dry ingredients alternately with pumpkin.

Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Spoon into greased 9x5 loaf pan.

Bake at 350º for 65-75 minutes.

Let cool. Glaze….

Glaze recipe:
Combine 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1/8 tsp. nutmeg and 1/8 tsp. cinnamon.

Blend in 1-2 tsp. cream until consistency of glaze.

It should be pretty thick. You may need to add a tiny bit of milk to make it the correct consistency.

Now the recipe says to wait like 6 hours before cutting into it, but I have to say it is SO good warm that we rarely ever do this. It may not stay in a perfect slice, but it truly melts in your mouth.

Seriously delicious.

Enjoy!

oh hey, friday | don't be lame like me

Oh hey guys! It's Friday. Boom, just like that.

Did you see my new blog design? Or the nursery reveal? If not, check them out - because they are both oh so pretty.

This week really flew by, and was so so busy! And now to finish off the week, my Aunt is here visiting from California and we are having so much fun. So much so in fact that I am not writing a post today. Whomp whomp.

BUT you should totally still link up and meet some fabulous new bloggers. Don't be lame like me.


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Have a great weekend everyone!!!

nursery reveal | baby #3

I guess it's about time I share baby #3's nursery!

It felt so good to freshen up this room with a whole new look for this babe. And I absolutely LOVE how it turned out.

I wanted to go pretty monochromatic, with splashes of color.

First I started with the bedding and changing table. I wanted a custom look that I could create from scratch, and Olivia from Lou Lou Made gave me just that! I was able to choose the fabrics and decide where I wanted them used. I went with a swiss cross bumper and two different abstract black and white prints for the sheet and changing pad. It couldn't have turned out more perfect! And Olivia was an absolute dream to work with… seriously check her out.

I knew that I didn't want to do the whole room only black and white, so I started shopping for an abstract print. You guys, let me tell you, if you want a unique and beautiful art piece, you have to go to Minted. They have so many talented artists that sell their goods there.
Naturally, after I found this amazing art piece, I got totally sucked in to their new home decor line also, and that lumbar pillow on the glider HAD to make it's way into my arms. I have totally found my new one stop shop - art, pillows, curtains, table linens, lamp shades… all unique and created by individual artists and designers from all over. I love it!

The walls needed a little sprucing up, so I added some black triangle wall decals to the far wall, and framed up two super cute art prints. My good friend gifted me the antlers… I spray painted them white and they fit so great in this room.

 I whipped up a little chalkboard art also… and no, we still don't know the baby's name.

I am so smitten with the room and how it all came together. What do you all think!?

Room details:
Bedding and changing pad cover: Lou Lou Made
Abstract art print: Minted Art
Lumbar pillow: Minted Home
Dream Big Little Man print: Etsy - Mama Designed
Boys Rule print: Etsy - Mini Learners
Triangle wall decals: Etsy - Just the Frosting
Lamp: Target
Pouf and baskets: Land of Nod
Glider: Restoration Hardware
Hamper: Wayfair
Dresser: Ikea
Leather pulls: Anthropologie - sold out
Crib - Creations - five years old

If you have any other questions about this space, let me know! :)

NEW blog design

I am only here for one reason today. And that is to show off my new blog design. I mean, just look around…

Isn't it beautiful?
And fresh?
And clean?

I am in love.

I will certainly have to get used to writing without everything being centered, but I think I can handle it. :)

I am so glad that I squeezed into Whitney's schedule before she stopped taking new clients. She was beyond amazing to work with!

Cheers to a wonderful week ahead. AND fingers crossed that the hamper I've ordered for the nursery finally shows up. I am totally ready to share the room reveal.

oh hey, friday | help a sista out

I went to the doctor yesterday, and this baby is coming.

Like, in six weeks, maybe five… but still he's coming soon.

It's been 2 and a half years since I've had a baby, so I was hoping that I could snag some help on the best and hottest new stuff that's out there from all of you wonderful mama's.

Yes?

Super!

You are all the best.

Here we go:

1 | labor and delivery

A couple of questions here…

Do you wear the hospital gown, or bring your own clothes? I find the gowns terrible, but was curious if you wore something else, than what was it, and are you happy you did?

What were your favorite items that you brought from home for your labor and delivery?

2 | post-partum

I've seen some awesome postpartum clothing out there, and was curious if any of you have tried and loved any of it? 

I'm all about sucking in that squishy belly after the fact. So squishy.

Also, you better believe I will be taking some of those extra special mesh undies home with me.

3 | newborn

Oh I can't wait to snuggle this little muffin.

I also want to be prepared with everything that he will need.

Any favorite soaps, blankets, toys that I should know of?

4 | baby gear

Like I said, it's been a little while since I've had a little babe.

And that means that a lot of cool new things have come out.

SO, any baby gear I should be investing in?

Solly wrap or Ergo baby?

5 | anything else

What else am I missing?

Any other key pieces that I should be purchasing before baby comes?

What could you not live without?

Thanks for helping me prepare you guys!

In other news, I've got a new blog design {long overdue} going live this weekend hopefully.

Whoop!!

Before you go, don't forget to link up.

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Peace out.

and THIS is why i blog

There are a lot of things that I like about blogging.

BUT last night I figured out the real reason I blog.

Let me explain…

I've been creating the yearly iMovie of our year that I make as Christmas presents for family.

After inserting all of the pictures from my big fancy camera and only having 5 minutes of footage, I had to download the pics onto my computer from my iPhone.

We are talking 7,000+ photos.

Every memory from my year basically.

At first I only downloaded about 500 at a time, but that was taking forever.

SO, I decided to attempt and do them all at once.

They downloaded successfully apparently, and then I chose to "delete" the pictures off of my phone. 

Mistake.

During this process iPhoto unexpectedly shut down.

And, wouldn't you know it, with my luck that meant that the pictures somehow DIDN'T download onto iPhoto, but they DID start deleting from my phone.

After cursing at my computer, googling ways to fix it, trying to find the pictures via iCloud or iTunes backup, I came to the realization that they were, in fact, gone.

ONE whole month worth of photos.

And I take a lot of photos.

This month included my trip down to California for my friends baby shower AND our big live Bachelor finale appearance. 

Now, the reason I blog…

Being the good blogger that I am, I posted about these fine events, with pictures.

I certainly don't have all of the pictures from this month, but I am thrilled to at least have some.

So, this post is dedicated to these pictures that would have been lost forever if I didn't blog:

And remember, don't have iPhoto delete your pictures.

Just do it manually.

Trust me.