A very Merry Christmas

Hello all! So sorry I have been such a bad blogger lately. I have been in caught up in the whirlwind known as Christmas. We had a fantastic holiday with lots of family and friends. Owen really got into the present opening this year and it was so fun to watch him rip open the packages. And little Amelia gave me quite a Christmas gift...she has moved to one feeding a night! Now that's a present any new mommy can appreciate.

And because I think they are just so cute, here's a pic of my little ones Christmas morning. I'm betting I won't get too many more Christmas mornings where I can get Owen to pose before opening presents, so I figured I better show you now :)

Hope you are enjoying your Holiday week!

Pretty Smitten with Lululemon

Little Miss Amelia is 6 weeks old now so it's time to start exercising again. Luckily I have found a workout that I just love and don't mind doing! I'm not much of a gym person and I can't stand running...so to have found an exercise that I actually enjoy is quite an accomplishment! It's called The Dailey Method. Remember how I was so excited to have it come to my town? I did it throughout my pregnancy and now I'm back at it again. I thought it was only fair I get to buy some new workout clothes now that I don't have to accommodate an enormous belly.

My absolute favorite workout clothes are from Lululemon, have you heard of them? They are the BEST! They fit fantastically and are so flattering. Plus they have some serious staying power. I have a pair of pants that I bought before my wedding and we're coming up on our 5 year anniversary next year, so those are some great pants! While we were in San Francisco this past weekend I just had to stop by the Lululemon store. Here's what I came away with...

The Groove Pant...in my opinion these are the most flattering of all of their pant options. I can't live without the basic black, but they also have ones with bands of color at the top, and ones in other neutral colors.

The Power Y Tank - another great basic.

The Scoop Neck Tank - Love this tank too!

Define Jacket - Perfect to wear to/from class. Yes, I bought this in black too.

And I'd love to add these to my collection too...

The Scoop Tank in white and grey

The Cool Racerback tank in persimmon

And the Yogi Dance Tank, it comes in a lot of colors but I love this black with white stripes. So cute!

Happy Tuesday everyone! It's raining here today so we're planning for a cozy day indoors. What about you?

Free Christmas Print

How cute is this Christmas print? I came across it on the great blog Look Linger Love. It's available for a free download here.

Hope you are having a wonderful Saturday! We are in San Francisco, enjoying some Christmas cheer. Thought I'd post this quickly while our little man naps before dinner. Enjoy!

Pretty Smitten on Pizzazzerie!

Have you checked out the fantastic party website and blog Pizzazzerie yet? It's filled with some amazing entertaining tips...from inspirational parties, to recipes to DIY projects...it's a one stop shop! And I'm so thrilled that Courtney, Pizzazzerie's Editor and Founder, recently included Pretty Smitten in her blog post titled "Thankfully Inspired: 50 Inspirational Websites/Blogs". Wow, thank you Courtney! I feel so honored to be included with such amazing sites as Amy Atlas, Bake it Pretty, Eat Drink Pretty and TomKat Studio. Check out the full list here, you could be reading blogs all day!

And be sure to check out the Pizzazzerie website in all of it's glory. Here are a few of my favorite things that I found while browsing...

I've always wanted to try making homemade marshmallows, and yep, now want to try it even more. Aren't the adorable in all of their white fluffiness? Package them up in a DIY smores kit and you've got a great little gift.

And how's this for a Christmas party? Make your own gingerbread houses! My family has been making a gingerbread house each year since before I was born. We traditionally make them the weekend after Thanksgiving, keep them up until Christmas, and then get to devour the candy starting Christmas Day. I'll be sharing more pictures of the making of our gingerbread house later this week, but let me just tell you now...it's nothing like this gingerbread wonderland party featured here. Maybe something to aspire to for next year??

And how cute is this party? I love sock monkeys, and so does my little man. I simple adore that hat. Find all of the details here.

Check out Pizzazzerie for lots more fun stuff, and thanks again to Courtney for including Pretty Smitten!

Pretty Smitten with Janet Hill Studios

I've been smitten with Janet Hill Studios for quite a while now. Janet Hill's paintings of women, dresses, shoes and desserts are a little bit sweet, a touch glamorous and absolutely chic.

Here's the first print that caught my eye in her Etsy shop so long ago. Love the yellow with pops of red.

I recently bought this print titled "Francine and Her Frenchie" and it's now hanging in my office. I adore it, simply adore it. Isn't it darling?

I also bought this one titled "Sunday Picnic" and it hangs in Miss Amelia's room.

So what do I want next? Well...she also sells original oil paintings and I'm dying for this one titled "Dancers." Oh my, it's love at first site. Can I add it to my wishlist? Might have to settle for the print instead, but I'll happily take either.

A few other prints that I'd love to own....

Aren't they all just fabulous? And find many many more in her Etsy shop here. Enjoy!

Holiday Wishlist

Hello all! How was your weekend? Ours was filled with lots of holiday festivities. Yesterday we drove up to Hillside Tree Farm at Apple Hill to cut down our Christmas tree. Our little guy had tons of fun running in and out of the trees and we came home with an extra large tree for our living room, and a tiny tree for the playroom! I hope to be posting pictures of that adventure later this week. For today though I thought I'd put together my holiday (dream) wishlist. My mom and I did some serious Christmas shopping on Saturday (I think we logged about 7 hours) and not only did I buy ALL of the gifts for my family but I of course spotted some things I wouldn't mind to have myself...

I can never seem to pass the Nordstrom shoe department without finding a pair of boots that I want. These have been on my list for months, the Frye Melissa boots. Oh my how I would love to have them. They are the perfect go-with-everything comfortable boot to trek around in with my two babies. Stylish and practical. Love love love.

These are also great. Not only are they adorable with the tie at the top, but they're waterproof too. Perfect for our trips up to Tahoe.

I'm all about a feminine perfume. I like the fresh, clean, flower-y type and Twirl from Kate Spade definitely fits the bill! Yes please!

This faux fur throw from Pottery Barn would be perfect for our bedroom. Cozy cozy for the winter ahead.

Restoration Hardware has a great one too.

I did say this was my dream wishlist, so while I'm dreaming I'm going to put this Nikon digital SLR camera on my list too. I have a Canon EOS from years ago and while I have loved it and used it A LOT, I'm ready for an upgrade. I've heard nothing but great things about the Nikon and would love to own one myself. Anyone have one? Like it?

So what is on your holiday wishlist? Would love to hear!

Professional Photography Pics

How was your Thanksgiving weekend? We had such a nice, relaxing 4 days of family time...we went to the park, took a few long walks, watched football and just chilled out. Couldn't get much better. I also spent a lot of time this weekend pouring over the proofs from our professional photography shoot. We had our all time favorite photographer, Jill Carmel, come take some pictures right after Amelia was born. She sent us the slideshow this weekend and now it's time to pick which ones to order. This is a tough task, I love them all! Here are a few of my favorites...what do you think? And if you feel so inclined you can watch the full slideshow here...only for the next two days though, it closes on December 1st. And by the way, if you do watch the slideshow I'm now obsessed with the song playing in the background (and I've watched it like 50 times, so the song is permanently stuck in my head). It's called Dream by Priscilla Ahn. Listen to it here.

To any of you who live in the Sacramento area I HIGHLY recommend Jill. She's so easy to work with and such a sweet person.

Thanks Jill for an amazing photo shoot!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I will avoid the overly cheesy 'What I'm Thankful For' post...but I do have to say...

I am incredibly thankful for my family. I have a sweet, handsome, loving and very supportive husband that I adore. An amazing little boy who makes me laugh everyday. And the newest member of our family, our sweet baby girl. I am very lucky to have them in my life.

And I'm so thankful for the friends in my life. Motherhood is the best thing that ever happened to me, and it can also be the most tiring thing! Having girlfriends to laugh with, complain with, and just generally be with is such a blessing.

There are a million more things that I could list, but to keep my above promise...the last thing I'm thankful for that I'll mention here is Pretty Smitten. When my son was born I knew I wanted to do something creative in my life. From my love of parties, paper and all things beautiful came Pretty Smitten. It's enriched my life immensely and I can't wait to see what the future holds!

Happy Turkey day everyone!!

Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins

This past weekend was very rainy and cold so we spent a lot of cozy time indoors. It was the perfect chance to test out a new recipe....pumpkin doughnut muffins from Martha Stewart. Yum!! Below is a quick recap, and the full recipe can be found here.

I gathered all of my ingredients, greased and floured a standard muffin tin and then whisked together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another.

Next up, mixing the brown sugar and butter until fluffy. Do you like how I captured the kitchenaid in motion?

Adding in two eggs....I cracked them in a separate bowl first, just like the Barefoot Contessa always says to do. I think she says 'in case you get a bad egg' which I have never had happen...but I still like to crack them in a bowl first. They're easier to pour in, and without the chance of broken shells!

Next I alternated adding the dry and wet ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture.

Voila! Batter done, pretty easy. I used my handy ice cream scoop to fill the muffin tins.

And then into the oven. The recipe called for 30 minutes, I think I cooked mine for like 27 minutes when they started to look brown around the edges and done.

Now here's the best part...after they cool for 10 minutes it's time to brush them with melted butter and then roll them in cinnamon sugar. Okay, so this is what makes them 'doughnuts' :)

And here's the finished product! I think they turned out pretty yummy, my husband definitely agrees. Hope you enjoy them too!