Creating Free Digital or Printable Invitations

One of my dearest friends is pregnant with her first little one, and it's a girl!  Living in a house full of boys, I get extra excited at any opportunity to get crafty with my favorite color, PINK!  Her mother-in-law and I are throwing a fun co-ed shower for the happy couple and we decided on a pink and gold Twinkle Twinkle Little Star theme.  I immediately took to Pinterest and have been pinning like crazy.  When it came time for the invites, the parents-to-be decided they wanted an email invitation.  I went to Evite and Paperless Post and while they had some great design choices, they didn't have exactly what I was looking for.  I don't know about you, but once I get an idea in my head, I get stuck on it and nothing else will do.  So, to PicMonkey I went.  If you have never used PicMonkey, get on it.  I absolutely love this site.  It's a great tool for bloggers looking to spice up their blog pics, but it is also perfect for designing your own invitations.  Did I mention that it's FREE!  They do have a Royale membership that has a few extra features, fonts, and overlays, but I've always managed to get by with the free version.

To make this invite I went to PicMonkey and clicked on the Design option.

That will bring you to a page that looks like this:

 

On the left you will see the basic edits available to you.  First you want to pick the color of your card, if you are going with a white card, skip this step.  I wanted pink so under Canvas Color I played around until I got exactly the shade of pink that I wanted.  Once you are happy with the color, click apply.

Next you want to add in your decorations, I decided to keep it simple with just a few gold stars in the top right corner.  From the little menu on the left, click on the butterfly.  This will give you a bunch of little shapes you can use as decorations.

I clicked on the Stars because, um, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  Stay with me people.  Of course you can use whatever you want.  Keep in mind that anything with the little crown icon is a Royale feature so you will have to pony up to use those.  I picked a nice basic star and then played around with the color until I got a shade of gold that I was happy with.  Then I copied the heart and resized it to get a few different sizes and rotated some of them to create visual interest.

Finally I clicked on the Tt from the menu on the left and inserted text boxes for all of the text I wanted to enter.  I used the same shade of gold as the stars.  One cool thing to keep in mind with text is that in addition to their fonts (non-Royale options are somewhat limited), you can use any fonts that you have on your own computer, yay!  Once you have it how you want it, click save, name it, and save it to your computer.  I was super excited with how this turned out!

In case you are thinking to yourself, "Wow Lauren, this looks great except for those random black boxes," I just added those on top for this post to protect their privacy.  Once you have the invitation saved to your computer you have a couple of options.  You can have them printed (or print them yourself if you have a good printer) and mail them out.  The parents-to-be wanted their invitations emailed out so I had to find an online invitation service that would let me upload my own design.  After a little bit of searching, I found a site called Celebrations that will allow you to upload your own design.  It's a free service, unless you want it ad free in which case you have to pay to upgrade.  This means that with a little bit of creativity and some time at your computer, you can design, send out, and manage RSVPs for your own custom invitations for FREE! 

Motherhood Together Mommy & Me Classes

I received a discount to participate in their classes but all opinions are my own.
 

When I had Jake I joined a new moms group at the hospital where I delivered.  Every week I would get out of the house and spend time with other moms who were going through what I was going through.  After the group we would walk over to BJ's and have lunch on the patio.  Some weeks, this group was what kept me going.  It was such a lifesaver for me and I knew I wanted to join it again when Luke was born.  I was devastated to find out that the woman who ran the group left the hospital and so they stopped holding it.  Even though I have a lot of friends with kids, none of my friends have kids the same age as Luke.  They all had their kids closer together than we did.  While my girlfriends are great, sometimes you need to talk to someone who is going through the same thing.  Sometimes I don't want to hear, "oh I remember that," I want to hear, "Oh my gosh, that is the worst, I'm dying right now with _______ too!"  Like most moms out there, I was going a little crazy in the first few months and I knew that I needed to find a mom's group.

Then one day I heard about Motherhood Together.  Three lovely ladies, Alex, Chelsea, and Bianca, met in a moms group with their adorable little ones, now toddlers.  They also realized how valuable having a community of moms and a place to go every week was so they decided to create Motherhood Together.  It was exactly what I needed.  Their 8 week classes meet once a week for an hour and half.  Some of the sessions have a guest speaker and others have a topic.  What every week has in common, is a safe space to be with other moms where you can vent about things that are making you crazy, share the moments that are bringing you joy, and most importantly of all make friends for yourself and your adorable little one.

One week the speaker was a sleep specialist and I was so excited.  Jake was a phenomenal sleeper so I assumed that I had sleep training all figured out.  Um, not so much.  Luke is a completely different person and in no area is that more clear than when it comes to sleep.  Having a sleep specialist there to give advice and answer questions was exactly what I needed.

Another week the wonderful Crisanta from Infinifoto came and did mini shoots for each of us.  You can never get enough pictures of your little ones, and honestly, professionals get paid for a reason.  These pics are so much better than what I can take.  That being said, she also gave us some tips to help improve our own pictures.  (In honor of this post, Josh finally relented and allowed me to share a pic of our littlest man.)  Look at that face!  There aren't even words. 

We also got to hear from lactation consultant extraordinaire, Jen from Milkalicious (such a great store for nursing mamas) and we got to play with Discovery Toys.  In fact, I liked Discovery Toys so much, I decided to sell them myself but that is a topic for another day.

Motherhood Together is the perfect resource for Orange County mamas whether this is your first baby or your third (or second, or fourth, you get the idea).  Having a place to go every week is just what you need.  It is the perfect venue for making new friends because the classes aren't too big.  It may not seem like it, but I'm actually kind of shy.  In a big group it is hard for me to put myself out there and make friends.  Have a smaller, structured group takes away that pressure.  Plus, no one cares if your baby has a blowout, spits up everywhere, or has a meltdown.  We're all in it together.

In fact, we're all in it together is the idea behind Motherhood Together.  It's that idea of supporting one another even when you don't do things exactly the same that makes these classes so wonderful.  There is no judgement, just support.  On top of all of the wonderful features I've mentioned, you get to know the lovely ladies who created Motherhood Together.  They are such amazing mamas and while they each do things a little bit differently, they couldn't be closer.

Motherhood Together has new sessions starting all of the time, so even if you don't see one on their site that works for you, I encourage you to reach out to the ladies.  If you are a mama with a baby (or babies) under a year old Motherhood Together is for you.  I know you are super excited about Motherhood Together, but get even more excited because Alex, Chelsea, and Bianca are so amazing that they are offering a 10% discount to all Imperfect & Fabulous readers.   Just send the girls an email before you pay and they will contact you with details about how to get your discount.



I received a discount to participate in their classes but all opinions are my own.

Making Your Own Baby Food with the Beaba Babycook

I received a complimentary Babycook Pro but all opinions are my own.

For my very first Mother's Day, way back in 2009, my wonderful husband gave me the Babycook Classic.  I absolutely loved it.  In fact, I loved it so much that it has taken up permanent residence on my kitchen counter which is really saying something because my counter space is very limited.  I made all of Jake's baby food with it and once he stopped using purees I started using it to steam vegetables for us for dinner on a regular basis.

Now that Lucas is eating solids my Babycook is back in use making purees.  As much as I loved my Babycook Classic I always wished that it had a larger capacity.  Well evidently I wasn't the only one because Beaba now has the Babycook Pro which has a 4.7 cup capacity (the Classic has a 3.7 cup capacity).  

If you want even more space, they have the Babycook Pro 2x which has TWO 4.7 cup bowls so you can make two things at once!

 

I had planned to write this post with some baby food recipes, but unfortunately, Lucas has been having some tummy problems so we are stuck on only mild foods, and no new ones for the foreseeable future.  I didn't want to keep holding out on you about the beauty that is the Babycook so I decided to just tell you about it now and post some recipes once Lucas is back to normal eating.

I know that there are people who will say you don't need any special equipment to make your own baby food and while that may be technically true, trust me, you want a Babycook.   It is one piece of equipment that can cook, puree, and reheat.  On top of that, it is automatic.  This means that if you start something steaming but then your baby wakes up so you have to step away from it, there is no need to worry.  The Babycook will shut itself off, periodically clicking back on so that the food stays safe to feed your little one.

I know that it is kind of pricey, but it is so worth it!  Not to mention the fact that they sell it at Bed, Bath, & Beyond so you can use one of those great 20% off coupons.  When you look at cost per use you will more than get your money's worth.  If you are anything like me, not only will you use it to make baby food, you will use it for years to come.  I've even used mine to make a berry puree for berry mojitos.  That's right, it's good for making baby food AND cocktails.  Double win for Mommy!

Making your own baby food is not for everyone, but it is so worth it for me.  I love knowing exactly what I'm feeding my little one.  Saving money in the process is an added bonus.  The Beaba Babycook makes it so easy to do.  I make big batches of whatever baby food I happen to be making, freeze it in cubes and then I always have a variety of fresh, healthy foods ready to serve my little one.  Having one machine that can cook the food as well as puree it makes it a no brainer.  I highly recommend picking one up!


I'm linking up with Thrifty Thursday, Link Party Palooza, Inspiration Monday, Mix It Up Monday, Craftastic Monday, and Busy Monday.

Baby Bloggy Boot Camp

This post is written by me on behalf of Liz Lange and Ergobaby.  Product was provided.

Recently I had the opportunity to attend Baby Bloggy Boot Camp.  Since I'm pretty new to blogging and have a new baby, I haven't been able to attend any of the amazing blog conferences out there, but the SITS girls held this half-day blog conference for pregnant and new mommy bloggers during their Women Get Social conference.  I was so excited when I found out about it and even more excited when I realized I would be able to attend because babies were welcome!

It was an uncharacteristically rainy day here in Southern California, but Lucas and I braved the weather and headed down to San Diego.  I was lucky enough to sit at a table with a great mix of bloggers from someone just thinking about starting a blog to some really amazing and established bloggers.  Lucas was having a rough day so I didn't get to chat with other bloggers as much as I would have liked, but I did get some really great information from the wonderful speakers. 

In addition to all of the amazing stuff I learned, we got some A-MA-ZING swag!  Look at all of this awesome stuff!

 
Two wonderful ladies from Ergobaby were there to show us their new 360 Baby Carrier, Ergobaby Swaddler, and Ergobaby Wrap.  As I mentioned in my newborn essentials post, swaddlers are an indispensable tool for getting your baby to sleep and these swaddlers by Ergobaby solve the concern of hip dysplasia common to swaddling by having this little strap between your baby's legs.

I'm a HUGE proponent of babywearing and between the Ergobaby Wrap and the Ergobaby 360 Baby Carrier, you can wear your baby right from the get go, all the way up to 3 years old!  What is so exciting about the Ergobaby 360 Baby Carrier is that it can be used FOUR different ways!  Front inward, front outward, hip, and back.  This pretty much covers any and all ways you might want to wear your baby and I am so excited to be able to try them all out as Lucas get bigger.  

In addition to the amazing products from Ergobaby we received some samples of a variety of products from the Honest Company and a super cute color-blocked maternity dress by Liz Lange.  I loved my Liz Lange skinny pants (seen here and here) during my pregnancy, and even though I'm not pregnant any more, this dress is still going to be a part of my wardrobe.  I love the way that Liz Lange clothes are an affordable way to look great without spending a ton of money!

All in all this was an amazing opportunity and I'm so grateful I got to go.  It left me really excited about blogging, and extremely hopeful that once Lucas is a little older I'll be able to attend a full blog conference!

 This post is written by me on behalf of Liz Lange and Ergobaby.  Product was provided.

Loving Lately - 5 Newborn Essentials

Lucas just turned three months old and we have officially graduated out of the newborn stage and into infancy.  There are so many helpful things out there for babies, but I thought I would share the 5 things that we couldn't have survived without. 

1. Babywearing Wrap:

 

The biggest challenge of having a new baby is the lack of sleep.  Getting your baby to sleep moves to the very top of your to-do list.  I am not exaggerating when I saw that I would do anything to help him sleep.  Babywearing is great so that you can at least have your hands free and I highly recommend investing in some sort of wrap.  I have the sleepy wrap (now called the boba wrap) from when Jake was a baby.  Lucas spent A LOT of time in the wrap during the day.

2. Swaddlers:

 

Babywearing is all well and good during the day, but it is not something I want to be doing at night.  At night, I want to sleep.  With Jake we took the newborn care class and learned how to use a blanket to swaddle but when you are waking up multiple times a night to nurse and change diapers, you don't want to be messing with that.  Invest in some swaddlers.  We have a ton of these, I found the organic ones to be a little bit bigger and stretchier.  Ergo just came out with a swaddler that is supposed to help prevent the potential hip problems so if we were starting over right now, I would invest in some of those.

3. Sound Machine:

White noise helps babies sleep.  They are used to a bunch of noise from in utero so keeping that up once they are born helps them sleep.  Added to that, it helps to cover up the other noises of everyday life with a 5 year old so that your baby is able to actually stay asleep once you have gotten them down.  We have this cheap one from Bed, Bath, and Beyond (using a 20% off coupon of course).  We also bought this one because it can run on batteries if needed so it is great for travel.  Jake still sleeps with a sound machine at night.  We bought both of these when Jake was a baby and have never had to replace them.  I can't recommend this highly enough!

4. Pacifiers:

Jake never really liked a pacifier but Lucas does.  We have them everywhere.  I keep them in every room, his car seat, a spare one in each diaper bag.  Lucas would spend all day latched on if I would let him but I have no intention of being a human pacifier so when he falls asleep or is done eating, I just slip a pacifier in his mouth.  He likes the ones they give you in the hospital.  Find one your baby likes and stock up.

5. Luna Lullaby Bosom Baby Nursing Pillow:

With Jake I had the Boppy and the My Breast Friend.  This time around my sister recommended the Bosom Baby.  It is amazing!  It is super puffy so it actually keeps your baby up high where you need them to be.  This means less hunching over and hurting your back.  It also is great for when big brothers or cousins want to hold the baby.