Parson Me

Remember when we told you guys how we used our AMEX Membership Rewards to get our hands on something for the house that we have been craving for a while?  Well, we finally took the plunge and we couldn't be happier with the end result.

In our house, we are always looking for ways to maximize our space.  Don't get me wrong, the size of this house puts our apartment in NY to shame, but we seem to continually accumulate stuff and that stuff needs a place to go.  That couldn't be more true now that James is in our lives!  We started creating more storage space on our main floor when we installed the bench under the front window.  The bench not only dresses up this room, it also adds a ton of space for us to store things like toys, blankets and other things.

To the left of the window, we had a bookcase that housed all of our DVDs - we have a TON of them.  Let me rephrase ~ Ed has a TON of them.  He used to buy one a week back in the day which created quite a collection that just took up lots of space.  There are 2 things we hated about this: 1.  They didn't look so hot in the bookcase and 2. It wasn't really a great use of space.  I mean rarely would we reach into the bookcase to grab a DVD and watch it ~ especially since we have a Netflix streaming subscription to satisfy our movie needs.

So we brainstormed.  What would work best in that space and satisfy our needs right now?  We thought of going this route and create a pseudo mud room area for us to store coats and boots and bags.

But knowing us, it would just become a dumping ground and start to look really messy.  So instead, we decided to create a work space.  Not only can Ed use it now to conduct his at-home Sprint business (and I can reclaim my kitchen table for meals!), but it will come in handy down the road when James has all that homework to do.  

I knew immediately what piece of furniture I wanted there.  It took a little more convincing for Ed, but after he saw that we could buy the coveted Parsons Desk from West Elm using gift cards, he came right on board.  Between some Christmas gifts, some store credit and some AMEX Membership Rewards, we ended up only paying $88 for this classy desk that we dressed up with a Pier 1 lamp and a beautiful chair from World Market.

We are SOOOO thrilled with this update to the living room that already being used on a daily basis.  We still need to hang some art on the wall (we have a few things in mind), but other than that, we are good go with this new spot.  We even managed to find a great lidded basket to house James' growing toy collection that lives under the desk.  It actually plays double duty by holding all of the chargers as well! 

And where are the DVDs you ask?  Not too far away - thank goodness for that bench! :)

James' Monthly Photo Project: Two Months Old

I can't even believe that my little baby boy is already 2 months old today.  Where does the time go!  Some milestones to report:

• Tummy time appears to be a success as he is holding his head up on his own like a true champ!
• He has lots to say... especially during his diaper changes.  Mommy and Daddy love the cooing!
• And to match the coos, there are lots and lots of smiles.  Those are our favorites. :)
• We are now wearing 3 month clothing - he certainly is a BIG BOY!
• His hairstyles have reached EPIC coolness levels.  I mean look at that faux hawk!!

HAPPY 2 MONTH BIRTHDAY BUBA - WE LOVE YOU!

Birthday Weekend: The Official Recap

My, my - what a weekend we have had here in casa de Mangiaracina.  Ed, James and Lucy did a great job to make sure my 34th birthday was special...and it was!  Friday was the actual day and I was treated like a Queen.  James was happy... Lucy was playful...Daddy worked from home so I could treat myself to a mani/pedi...I received some fabulous gifts (2 pairs of shoes, 2 Minions and a massage gift certificate) and was treated to a delicious dinner with a yummy margarita and ice cream in Clifton at Peterson's (family favorite!)!!  It was a great day filled with smiles and love - exactly what I wanted.  :)

James even surprised Mommy by spending some quality time in his bouncy chair which up until now, he hated!!

The fun continued on Saturday despite the gloomy weather.  We packed up the kid and headed into Old Town Alexandria for lunch and a stroll. One of my favorite DC restaurants, Pizzeria Paradiso, now has a location on King Street in Old Town so of course we had to indulge. And to my excitement, our favorite Dogfish Head beer, Black and Blue, was on tap - Yeah!!  After lunch, we walked around, did some shopping, got some more ice cream (this time at Pop's Old Fashioned Ice Cream) and then headed home to spend some quality time with our Lucy girl.

Yesterday was a little more low key. We needed the rest after the "get up and go" days we had had which are more rare these days.  :)  Plus, our little man is battling some tummy issues so he had a rough night which meant that Mommy and Daddy had a rough night.  But we powered through and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Sweetwater Tavern with Grandma and Grandpa Q.

So there you have it.  Turning 34 was pretty awesome and I'd like to thank my boys, my Lucy and my parent's for making it so special.

XOXO!!

They Say It's Your Birthday

It is the eve of my 34th birthday and if you know me, you know that I love an eve.  Christmas Eve...New Year's Eve...Thanksgiving Eve.  I know ~ there is no Thanksgiving Eve, but really, the day before any holiday is technically an eve.  Hence my birthday eve.  It's crazy to think that I am turning 34 tomorrow...especially since it feels like I was a kid just yesterday.

My God - look at that hair.  And we wonder where James gets all his locks!  I digress...

So tomorrow I turn 34 which is 1 year away from my quote/unquote "scary age" of 35.  I remember watching an episode of Sex and the City back when I was in my 20's and Carrie was turning 35.  It seemed so far away and now, it is a mere 366 days away.  I do have to admit, though, that 35 doesn't seem so scary anymore making tomorrow's birthday feel like a walk in the park.  Especially since I will be spending the day with my little guy.  The plan is simple - shopping in the morning, Pinkberry in the afternoon and dinner with Daddy at night.  Not too shabby.

It Must Be Love

I know that I mentioned a while back that Lucy loves her brother and some of you probably rolled your eyes. I mean, how much could a puppy love an infant? Well, here is proof!!

My heart melts every time I watch this video - which has been close to 57 times already!! We are so lucky that our little girl is so good to our little man. We can't wait to see their friendship develop more over the coming years. :)

What a Shoe Show

I knew there were many side effects of pregnancy. Morning sickness. Stretch marks. Mood swings. I had them all and I was happy to see them go away once James made his debut into the world. Well, there is another lovely side effect that plagues new Moms after they give birth - one that I was hoping to avoid. Bigger feet.

What is this? I know that swelling happens...believe me I know.

But I thought that after the baby is out the swelling goes down. Apparently not. I mean, don't get me wrong...my feet are back to a normal size, but not my pre-pregnancy normal size. My size 8 foot is now a half a size larger rendering my beautiful shoe collection useless. Boo.

During a nap this week, I took the opportunity to try on every single pairs of shoes in my arsenal. I'm happy to say that some made the cut - more than I thought.

Sadly though, some did not. In some cases, it was a good thing. I had been holding on to some kicks that needed to be kicked to the curb a long time ago. But for others, it was a sad day. I know that these lovelies will make someone else very happy since I decided to donate them rather them toss them in a landfill.

So what does this mean? Well, it means it is time to go shopping again. There is lots of space in my closet that needs to be filled with the latest and greatest shoe trends, so forgive me if this post is short, but I got to get my big feet to DSW right now!

Priorities.

They seem to have changed now that James is here. What once seemed so important ~ now not so much. I no longer feel the need to get a pedicure on a weekly basis. And Ed doesn't feel the need to rush out to Best Buy to purchase the newest DVD to hit the market.

The same goes for the gifts that Ed and I give each other for special occasions like our anniversary which we celebrated yesterday. Since we are on a tighter budget these days, we decided to put a price cap on our gifts this year. In keeping with tradition, we decided to get each other gifts made of cotton - and under $25.

I was lavished with a beautiful and comfortable spa robe - made of cotton.

Ed received a cotton T-shirt with his favorite Big Bang Theory/Sheldon Cooper saying "Bazinga!"

Since my gifting was so silly, I decided to do something special to highlight our life together over the past two years of marriage and the almost six years of being together. I can't take all the credit for it – I got the idea from my favorite DIY blog YoungHouseLove.com. I just thought it was so clever so I decided to give it a whirl.

I love that it highlights all of the important milestones that we've hit in our relationship. Plus it's another way to dress up the somewhat bare walls in our house. :)

We'll be able to "do it up" on our anniversary in future years ~ we do still need to get to Ireland and Scotland to go on that honeymoon that was foiled by that darn volcano. But in the mean time, we'll stick to the little things that make us happy.