Merry Christmas

Hello friends.  I hope your holiday was blessed and restful.  I wanted to share with you our 2011 Christmas card.  I worked with Kelly Lyden from WH Hostess for a custom card this year.  She helped me create a double sided Christmas and birth announcement photo and I couldn't be more pleased.  My friend Melissa took the photo of my two sweet peas on the front. 

Tripp Trapp Chair

I am super excited about the new Tripp Trapp high chair I just purchased for baby Sloane.  I love the elegant modern style and its versatility; my oldest daughter can use it to.  I'll be sure to share with you my personal feedback for those of you who are interested but on the fence.  It's definitely pricer then other high chairs but I am banking on its "grow with your child" features for my return on investment.

I have read a few concerns regarding children tipping the chairs backwards, but this video shows a new feature with fixed stabilizing guides on the bottom.  I'll be testing this tipping hazard as soon as it arrives.  

A Totally Awesome 80s Evening

This past Saturday night I attended an 80s Christmas party for Lights in The Heights.  It's an annual holiday event The Heights neighborhood holds every year for families to stroll the streets with holiday cheer and gear. 

Every year my friend Nancy holds a costume party to celebrate the event and this year it was Rockin' 80s.  At first my husband was going to attend, but at the last minute it ended up being an all valley girl evening and a totally rad one like fur shure!

Here are a few of me and my BFFs dressed in head to toe 80s attire.  Would you believe we got 90% of our outfits from Forever 21?  It's part of their Heritage 1981 line.  This was all before we busted out the Karaoke machine and jammed to Madonna, Wham, Run DMC, Rick Springfield and so many more 80s classics.

I would like to introduce you to Rachel, the pretty blonde working the retro curls ala Kelly Preston.  Then on my other side is Laura who brought back her middle school perm and sky high bangs with the lace hair bow.  I chose to rock the side pony with neon and lace tights. 

I seriously love my lace tights.  Despite their hideousness they did a great job camouflaging cellulite.  Ha!

Here I am with my 80s button flare and electric blue eye shadow to stroll the streets full of merriment and my reindeer rodie.

Kitchen Sneak Peak

I know, I know, I've been promising the after photos from my huge kitchen renovation.  I am the worst when it comes to taking photos, but I am working on that weakness.

Here's a sneak peak for now.  More to come in the next week.  I pinkie promise.

Olivia Crystal Snowflake

Look who arrived on Sunday evening.  Ms. Olivia Crystal Snowflake according to my daughter.  She's been a bit mischevious as you can see, but she's keeping Jacquelyn on the straight and narrow.  Jacquelyn fell for the story hook, line and sinker.  Needless to say we are working every angle possible.  Anyone know of an all year long elf?

Gain 10 Pounds And You Too Can Be Sexy

My friend Joe posted these hysterical ads about female weight gain to achieve sex appeal. They are the antithesis of what the media shoves down our throats today. Can you believe there used to be ads like these?  I’ve been working so hard with exhausting efforts to lose baby weight; I wish I was born about three decades earlier.  Life would be so much easier right now.  Thankfully, my husband likes a lady with curves. 

Simply Brilliant-Toddler Buffet

How clever is this idea? Ice cube trays to create personal toddler buffets. They make perfect pint size portions for our wee ones. Think play dates and birthday parties; fill with a variety of toddler approved snacks and serve. Simply Brilliant.

Image via

A New Favorite

Hello bloggy friends! I am hear to share with you today one of my new favorite websites. TheBeautyDepartment.com founded by Lauren Conrad, Kristin Ess and Amy Nadine. The primary focus is beauty products, tutorials and to answer reader questions, but every now and then they'll highlight other fun stuff like this DIY table skirt.

Personally I love the fabulous beauty tutorials about hair and makeup.  They keep them short and simple so as not to overwhelm you and easy to practice at home.

Go see for yourselft it won't dissappoint.

Fall Polish via Pinterest

I am loving Pinterest. Are you? It's so addicting and I am gathering great inspiration for life, fashion and home. One of my favorite items to pin is nail polishes. I love have people are showing the actual color on their nails while holding the bottle of polish. Why don't nail polish manufacturers do this? It's a great way to show the actual color on nails instead of a computer generated image with poor color translation. Branding managers could learn a thing or two from everyday people.

After spotting this beautiful brown fall color Particuliere from Chanel I had to try it. Here it is on my nails and I am in LOVE.

Look who I bumped into.

I was shopping with some friends today and we bumped into this handsome gentleman at West Elm. Do you recognize him? He's none other than Carter Oosterhouse from HGTV. My friend Amber noticed him and I had a mini heart attack when I saw him.

I've had a crush on him for a long time and I really wanted my picture taken with him. I had to do a lap around the store first to get up the nerve. I am so glad I did because he is so nice, such a gentleman and better looking in person than on TV. He's so tall too!

Slam Dunk Fun

What child wouldn’t love a personal indoor sports court?  I was scoping out the beautiful work of Dillon Kyle Architecture when I spotted these awesome rec rooms for kids.  This definitely nurtures a healthy and active lifestyle for kids.  Love.

Make it a BANNER event!

Ever had a fabulous event and needed the perfect welcome banner?  One that was super cute, stylish, colorful and accented your party perfectly?  Then Murchison Dry Goods has what you need.  The talented Carrie Murchison and company make fabulous event banners that are the perfect size for any event. 

Right now all One Haute Kid blog readers receive 20% off their order now through October 15.  Enter code HAUTEKID20 

Check out these cool custom banners.

I am hanging my banner this week so I'll be sure to post a pick.

Any interest in my Pinterest?

I've started pinning away and you are welcome to follow if you'd like. This stuff is addictive. 
Click here to follow.

A Tennis Love Match

I recently started tennis lessons in an effort to spend more quality time with the family and add more cardio to shed some baby weight. I’ve never really been much of a tennis enthusiast, but my husband has his entire life and he’s really good.

About a month ago he started teaching our four year old how to play and I figured I better jump on the court too and learn or they’ll leave me behind in the stands.

After a few lessons it turns out I actually like tennis, a lot. So I figured if I was going to really try my hand at the game I needed the proper gear and headed to Tennis Express in Houston. I admit I was a bit intimidated to shop for a racket not really knowing much about the sport, but when I entered the store and saw all the cute and I mean super cute tennis dresses, skirts and accessories, all my inhibitions flew out the door.

What was this? A sport I could enjoy and get to wear super cute clothing too? Why didn’t I discover this years ago. Needless to say, now I am a tennis enthusiast too.

My absolute favorite tennis apparrel was Stella McCartney for Addidas.  The Tennis line is so fine.

And then in no particular order, Nike has some nice dresses and skirts as well.

As well as Addidas, Ralph Lauren and K-Swiss

My Fall Must Haves

It doesn't feel a bit like fall in Houston, nor will it any time soon, but I've already got a few fabulous items on my radar. Since I am still working on loosing the baby weight I am keeping my focus on accessories.

In no particular order...

Neutral ballet flats via Jcrew.com

Marc Jacobs shoulder bag in Dirty Olive

I've been looking for a flat black boot for a while and this one is perfect!

A muted and lightweight scarf to carry to help with summer/fall wardrobe crossover.

Penny Loafers are the shoe to have this fall and I love this gray suede one. 

 

I love a crisp demin shirt for the fall.  My eye is on this one.

And for a more lady like look, I love this versatile blouse.

Where does the time go?

Our baby girl Sloane is now 8 weeks old and growning way to fast in my opinion.  I feel like I blink and she's already twice the size she was when we brought her home.  She has been such a blessing and has fulfilled our lives in ways we never imagined.

She has given us many smiles to cherish and brighten our days. 

We've shared a few cries and quiet moments too.

But cuddling takes precedence over everything else. 

Needless to say, we love every sqaure inch of her. 

Tip Toe Twins

Last week while we were out and about school shopping, we headed to the Premium Outlet Center in Houston.  When ever I shop there I always make a stop at the Tory Burch store to see if I can score some cute shoes on a discount.  This go around I found a beautiful pair of tan ballet flats with a black patent toe.  I snatched them up immediately and was on a shopping high when I left the store.

To make this purchase even better, the next day we were in Gap Kids and I spied a pair of black toe ballet flats for my 4 year old.  Of course I could not resist the purchase since they looked just like mine and like my daughter would say we were twinsies! 

First Day of School Style

Today was a big day in our house.  My daughter started PreK and did an awesome job at drop off.  She was very brave, not one bit scared and eager to learn.

She also put a lot of thought into her first of school outfit.  As you can see she was feeling sassy! 

A little Monday Runway pose for you.

Here is the sweet smile I saw all morning long.




Making our way to school.  The bag is as big as she is.




This is her "come on mom" look.  She was done with the photos and ready to head out.

Make a wish!

Yesterday was my husband's birthday and we had a casual dinner at home just the four of us.  It's a tradition with our family that we bake a cake for each other and this year we made a chocolate fudge cake with chocolate icing.  It was delicious. 

Check out the action pic below.  The baby's face cracks me up. 

Mom's One Line a Day: A Five-Year Memory Book

Found this precious memory book for mothers. I love the idea of writing a simple one line a day journal entry to archive precious moments between you and your children. I've never been one to keep a journal, but a simple one line entry I can do.

I am In The Mood for Fall

I am so ready for fall. I am over the severe drought situation we have in Houston. I want to enjoy the outdoors again, not just run from indoors to the car to avoid the 100+ plus temperatures.

To fuel my dreams for cooler days a JCrack (JCrew) catalogue showed up in my mail.  I think I need to add these to my fall wardrobe.

First up, the Cece Flat from JCrew.

 

 

 

To what do my wandering eyes appear...

but a beautiful Amanda Talley pillow. That's right friends, you heard me; made out of her beautiful printed fabric. The hubby watched the girls today so I could have a productive Sunday afternoon that included visiting a few of my favorite shopping spots.

I was leisurely perusing MAI in Houston when my eyes landed on a beautiful Amanda Talley lumbar pillow. I have read about her new fabric line, but never seen it in person and let's just say I was aw struck. The fabric is so beautiful in person no photo does it justice.

The screen printing is so beautiful and saturated with color it looks like a real painting. Had it not been for the $300 price tag it would have come home with me immediately. Sigh...oh well, it was worth the 5 minute rendezvous we shared in the aisle of MAI.

And Baby Makes Four

Hello friends! Well it was a rough road getting here but we are finally home and I'd like you all to meet our little Sloane Sidney she is the sweetest baby and we all feel so blessed to have her. Big sister is of course crazy excited and super inquisitive.

As I said above, it was a rough road getting to this point because I had to stay a week in the hospital due to C-section complications. Sloane was healthy and strong but I on the other hand had to have a second surgery and two blood transfusions. That's just the tip of iceberg too, but I won't bore you with hospital details.

In other updates, Sloane immediately slept through the night and we are very, very grateful. I am on the mend and love my belly bandit. It’s my new post surgery BFF. My personal review; it's a definite mommy-must-have for C-sections. It actually helps with the incision healing and my doctor recommended it too. As far as firmer tummy results, it has helped with the "jelly belly" feel which I don't have this time around. Don't expect over night results the product does recommend 6 weeks of wear for best results.

And Lastly the hubby really out did himself this time. For the birth of our daughter and our 10 year anniversary he surprised me with this.

Let's just say mommy was very happy ;)