Flowers

Harper picked these flowers from the backyard this afternoon. It looks like some sort of bud, but I’m really not sure. It is as small as it looks, about the size of my thumbnail! Anyway, it was super sweet ♥♥. She even told me to get a glass of water for the new flowers!

Do your kids bring in all kinds of funny gifts from the yard?

Temporary Tattoos for $1

I was at Joann Fabrics this morning and while waiting in line I spotted some temporary tattoos for only $1! I’d been looking for some tattoos ever since the Tattly post. (35 tattoos for $1 seems like a pretty good deal!) We’ve been playing with them all day & Harper now has tattoos all over her arms.

I remember being totally OBSESSED with temporary tattoos as a child! Weren’t you?

p.s. harper’s leggings are from Old Navy. These yellow ones are one of my favorite pairs. They remind me of leggings from American Apparel.

White & Red Polkadot Little Girl’s Dress

Halloween is coming up soon! Are you guys preparing for your little ones’ costume? I still haven’t decided on what my one year old daughter will be, but I wanted to show you the Minie Mouse dress for a little girl I made for my friend’s child last year. I bought the white and red polk-a-dot fabric, traced the existing dress pattern that fit her well and made this dress. I wrote more sewing process here, if anyone is interested..

~ Chie  {find me elsewhere: blog, shop, facebook, etsy, twitter}

Inspired by Zebra

1., 2., 3., 4., 5., 6., 7., 8., 9., 10., 11.

Are you inspired by the animal print trend? I tend to be more drawn to leopard than zebra printed things. Although last week I purchased this pink/white zebra skin wallpaper to line Harper’s dresser drawers. Do you have anything Zebra printed in your daughter’s room? Here are just a few of my picks from around the web.

P.S. #5 is a doggy toy, but wouldn’t it be cute on baby’s shelf?

Zebra Skin Pink Wallpaper

photo of the day

nikaa.hu

To share your favorite photo on Spearmintbaby.com email it to spearmintbaby@gmail.com (subject: “Photo of the Day”)

Pregnancy Beauty Products

For me, getting pregnant meant significantly simplifying my beauty routine.  Between the stuff you’re officially advised not to use when pregnant (like my beloved exfoliants with BHA and Crest Whitestrips ; ) and my desire to avoid potential hormone disrupting ingredients like parabens and phalates wherever possible, my pool of beauty must haves became really small, really fast.  But I did get really attached to a core group of products that I absolutely love and now can’t live without.  Here they are:

#1 – Boppy Prenatal Sleep Wedge – alright it’s not really a beauty product, but it helps me get my beauty sleep in a huge way! I have used this wedged under my belly since about month 5, and it’s still providing amazing, much needed support now in my last month.  I also wedge it up against my back to help me stay on my side.  A great investment at $15! I never bought one of those huge noodly pregnancy pillows, just a standard full body pillow that I supplement that with this.

#2 – Dermablend Cover Creme – This is rated a “low hazard” product by the Environmental Working Group and the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics’ “Skin Deep” database (located here), but mainly I love it because it covers *anything* and comes in naturalistic skin tones (it’s not too pinky or orangey). Although I never used heavy duty foundation before, I have gotten some melasma above my lips and eyebrows during this pregnancy, and this stuff spot covers it like a dream. It also contains a titanium dioxide based SPF 30, to prevent the same problem it’s covering.

#3 – The smell of most shampoos and conditioners – especially the organic ones which tend to be herby or fruity – were completely intolerable to me in my first trimester.  This one from Avalon Organics smells STRONGLY of peppermint, which along with lemon was one of the smells I actually liked at the time, and it’s also a great conditioner – a little goes a long way, and it feels very rich and thick going on.

#4 – I am definitely part of coconut oil’s cult like following, and have many different bottles of the stuff stashed in various places around the house – one in the kitchen for cooking, one for our dog that I treat his occasional dog park nicks or hot spots with, one ready to go on the diaper changing table for when the baby arrives (will use it in lieu of diaper ointment if need be), and one ready to go at the nursing station (it soothes sore nipples as well as lanolin, but it’s less greasy / apt to stain and also has those great anti-bacterial properties).  But my favorite use so far has been as a belly moisturizer (in lieu of those expensive stretch mark prevention creams and oils).  I have had no itchy bump, and no stretch marks show up so far.  I know that this is supposedly more influenced by genetics than anything to do with products, but I still love the stuff for moisturizing my bump, either way! Dr Bronners and Nutiva are my favorite brands (look for organic, cold pressed, un-refined oils).

#5 – As they say on the beauty message boards, this is now my HG daily SPF moisturizer (Holy Grail – that product you’d been searching for your whole life ; ) Aragan Oil is one of the miracle cosmetics ingredients du jour, and maybe lots of its supposed benefits (like fighting hyper-pigmentation and excess sebum production) are legit – but I mostly love this stuff because it’s free of nasty ingredients, light and fast absorbing.  I have found that a lot of the non chemical sunscreens are very heavy titanium or zinc oxide formulas and love that this one doesn’t have any hint of that waxy feel.  It also smells great, thanks to the aragan oil.  And of course, I also love that creator Josie Maran is a mom with two inspiring natural birth stories under her belt!

Also – not pictured, but I LOVE Fresh’s Sugar Lip Treatments – free of chemical nasties and SPF protective, they come in several flattering tints and smell great!

Finishing up some DIY work

Harper’s new furniture is almost finished. I am just lining all of the drawers to the dresser and this nightstand.

The dresser just needs 1 more coat of polyurethane:

Bright Wall Colors in Boy’s Bedroom

Did you use bright colors in your guy’s room? I tend to prefer lighter, more subdued colors but I thought this was great inspiration for those of you wanting to try something bright/unexpected. The black and white striped shade and black chair really help to make the room less “blinding!”

via familyliving.se