All Growed Up! (insert ugly cry face)

Well, to say that I was super excited about Immi going to sleep in her own room would basically be a lie – A BIG FAT JUICY LIE –  I was dreading that day…BUT seeing her so happy and proud about having her very own big girl room makes my mama heart do cartwheels!  That mama struggle is real folks…SO heart-breaking to see your babies become, well, not babies…but the JOY (oh and it’s a powerful joy) that comes with seeing those babies grow and accomplish is so amazing.  And even though I wasn’t excited about her leaving my bed…I wanted her to be excited.  So we plotted out her perfected big girl room.  IMG_1857

You probably recognize a bunch of the stuff.  I like to use/buy stuff for her birthday parties, that I can repurpose – like the giant framed floral unicorn above her bed, you can see from her 3rd birthday party over at 100layercakelet.

Her favorite part of her room are these gorgeous giant flowers from Urban Walls.   Now when she goes to other people’s houses, she says “you know what is a good idea? flowers on your wall…good idea, right?”   And THEN – I came across this freaking amazing bed set….that was ON SALE…that matched PERFECTLY with the flowers at Target!

I got this headboard from Urban Outfitters during the Dorm Sale!! SCORE!  I with they made it for a king size bed!

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The cute gold wire shelf is part of Target’s Pillow Fort Collection.  You know, the section you walk by and all you can hear are mom’s saying “OMIGOSH, so-and-so NEED this”….bravo target…bravo.

The teepee has been around since before Immi was born.  You can see if in her old nursery from our old place over at Little Umbrella (formerly On To Baby).

The butterfly pin board was a total impulse buy.  Our favorite mall, WestField UTC, is being remodeled and adding a ton of new stores, so we popped into Pottery Barn Kids to see what they were up to.  Lord help us when all the development is done and there are 90 NEW SHOPS OF FIRST-TO-MARKET RETAIL AND HIGH END, CHEF-DRIVEN RESTAURANTS for us to spend our DOLLA-BILLS at.  Be sure to check out all that is in store for us here.

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Our Tassel Garland is from one of our most favorite Tassel Fairy, and fellow unicorn lover…Studio Mucci.  I’m thinking we need another one to drape over the unicorn print… because there isn’t already enough sparkle :P. Whatchya guys think?

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And yes…her mattress is on the floor.  It eased my fear of her falling out of her bed and waking up…this way, she rolls out, she rolls out… no bombs, bruises…infact, the one time i saw that she rolled out, I don’t think she even woke up.

//Unicorn lamp//

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If I forgot to list something and where i got it, definitely feel free to ask about any of the other items you see here!  // Plush Unicorn Head // Starry Globe Night Light // DIY Peg Dolls from Goose Grease.

Our independent, VERY opinionated little lady wanted to help every step of the way – from painting, to putting up the wall decals, to deciding what goes on the shelves. So it’s necessary to show some of the behind the scenes videos/shots.  Seriously – cutest painting glasses ever! I love her so much.  and I really can’t wait to see whats coming next with her. Now excuse me while i go plop my face in her pillow and take a big whiff of whats left of that sweet baby girl smell.

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All The Cool Kids Are Gonna Be There.

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Now that kids are out of school…and it is officially SUMMA TIIIIIMMMMEEE…we (the mamas and the papas) are needing to get out of the house.  But finding a sitter seems almost as impossible as finding somewhere that is both kid-friendly and not obnoxiously annoying.  For us – it a no brainer.  Our friends over at UTC have this summer-time thing down!  From jungle gyms to the happiest of hours, I’ll take you through a quick guide to all the UTC has to offer.

Kid Specific Activities:

Immi and I were able to hit up this fun Earth Day event earlier this year.  First we learned about how plants grow – dirt, water, sun…then we got to decorate our own pots AND planted up some sunflowers!

There is something going on pretty every couple of weeks.

June 18th: Theme construction, location change to Nordstrom wing lookout barricade

July 6th: Hullabaloo concert at 10:30am/11am Storytime

July 23rd: Storytime

August 10th: Hullabaloo concert at 10:30am/11am Storytime

August 31st: Storytime

September 6th: Storytime

For a full list of kids events, times and locations, click here.

Also be sure to check out ALL events (concerts, Happy Hours, Wine Tours, Sales) HERE.

EATING OUT

Eating out with kids is almost ALWAYS an adventure…energy, tantrums, spilled foods, blunt nosey kids.  Thankfully there are a TON of kid friendly places to get your NOSH-on…and maybe partake in an adult beverage or two…you know, to calm the nerves and all.

My personal favorite place to kick it after a long week is at Eureka‘s Happy Hour.  Not only are the fries B.O.M.B,  and the is a LOOOOONG list of brews and wine, they also offer a free kiddy-app that they bring to your table right away….it’s like they JUST KNOW! (i may or may not take down my own order of sweet potato fries….shhhhh).Even the Mister will love taking the babes out here.

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For dessert…well, this is the difficult part!  SO. MANY. OPTIONS.

Gelato and coffee at Bottega Italiana

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Ice Cream, fudge, DONUTS!!! at SLOANS

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and of course, there is a must stop at Lette for a delicious macaron (who am i kidding, who EVER buys just one?!?!?!?!?!)

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AND MORE!

Now WHAT?!? You’re belly is full, the kids have a little sugar in their systems…obviously it’s not time to go sit in a car…UTC has a great list of shops to “peek” in…but even better, the kid playground and safari train! It’s a great place to let kids run around…and to just hang out.  I don know how many times we go for a “quick” round at the playground…and end up staying out past bed-time getting caught up chatting it up with another couple.sIMG_0217

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Interested in seeing what else there will be in the future…be sure check out what’s in store for 2017!

 

*This post is in partnership with Westfield UTC. All words are my own. and let’s be honest…i’d be hanging out at UTC anyway!!

Hugs!

Nikki

 

home away from home…

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I’ve been going to Westfield UTC for almost a decade now…but i really-REALLY fell in love with it a couple years ago.  We were moving and often needed somewhere to go with our little lady while prospective buyers walked through our home.  it basically became our home-away-from-home…they cooked for us, entertained us…even clothed us! hahahaha! so when i was contacted to possibly be a Westfield UTC Brand Ambassador, i was like “uhhh…YES! yes! yes! yes! YAAASSSSS!”  and then basically did the ONLY logical thing – RAN to UTC to celebrate with my gal pal at some of our favorite spots.

Lunch at Lemonade! Of course we had to bring LemonDrop…she luurrves anything lemon…and for some reason, Immi was WAY more ok sharing with her, than me.  (srsly). I always get a double serving of the ahi tuna and watermelons radish salad…and immi ALWAYS gets the mac ‘n cheese…which of course i have to taste and make sure it’s not too hot.

then some ice cream at the pinkest place on EARTH, SLOANS!…if you haven’t been here… GO!  pink, chandeliers, fudge, ice cream…

…and to burn off all the sugar so we could head back and take our naps (yes, naps…) we headed to Palm Plaza for Plaza Unplugged to get our twirl on.

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if you’re looking for the goods:
the mini & me ice cream dress
lemon drop
heart necklace