Spring Style Picks.

This boy of mine has been growing out of clothes like a little weed and Jack and I are always on the search for cute, durable and inexpensive clothes that will last him for a few months before we have to go up in size and buy new items, which mama doesn't mind at all. I have talked about how much I love Old Navy and Target because their clothes are so cute and very affordable. I love baby Gap but will only shop when there's a sale or if it's something I know will last and really love so I included a few of my faves on this  list. They have such cute stuff but it tends to be expensive and as fast as these babies grow, I just can't see myself spending so much on them when they will only wear them a few times. Who says you can't find clothes for less but still cool and cute?

With Spring making its way (not that it ever got that cold here) we can finally start thinking about putting up big and light jackets back in the closet until next year, well who knows with this crazy weather. I have been waiting to be able to put Elliot in shorts (and see his little legs) and short sleeve shirts and be able to go out and play. It gets really really hot over here so light clothing is preferable. I'm loving all the stuff that these stores have right now especially on sale!

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Can you picture any boy in these clothes? So cute! I've said it before and I'll say again that stores are coming up with more and more fashionable and cute clothes for boys. Thank you for that! I can totally see Elliot in any of these outfits with those little hi-tops, wearing that hat and sporting those sunglasses, although he probably wouldn't leave them on for more than 2.5 seconds.

My sister gave him a plaid shirt similar to this one and I can't wait till he fits in it. So cute! He lives in those pants. I bought them in different colors and I can't wait to be able to roll them up! They're so comfy too and easy to pull down for diaper changes. And those color block shorts? Too cute. What are your favorites for this Spring?

I hope you all have the best weekend!!

Our Weekend.

What day is it? Just kidding! I'm tired of those commercials ha!

Monday morning my BF and I were talking and when she asked me how my weekend was I said it was long and great! She asked since when are weekends long (she's right) and I told her honestly this weekend just seemed that way and it felt so good. Jack and I did a lot and our time spent with Elliot is always amazing.

If you follow me on Instagram (@shadiabrown), I posted this picture of the painting supplies I got to do a painting for our living room. These colors are some of the ones we have on the furniture and although I do not want it to match exactly, I have some ideas on how to make it work. I cannot wait to work on this! My mom has two huge paintings that I did in college and although I feel tempted to ask her for them to put in our home she has them in her bedroom and living room so I will just settle for this smaller version.



Sadly, Elliot decided to go to bed a little later than his usual time and this mama was tired so Jack and I only got to work on another little project while having some beers, very much needed for both of us. When you drink a Stella, you need a Stella glass. Period. ;)



I printed a bunch of my Instagram pictures through Artifact Uprising for Elliot's first year party and I wanted to find a place for a few of my favorites. I bought a frame at Hobby Lobby with my 40% off coupon and got on it.

After a few beers the measuring and making sure the spacing is perfect isn't so good so I made sure I started drinking while working on this and not before. :) We used double sided tape on the pictures and it worked out great. Terrible picture but we love how it turned out! We hung it in our bedroom and eventually will go to Button's room.



The next day, Elliot and Jack read the newspaper while we all drank our smoothies. Jack is a huge fan of them and is always making them for us. They're so good. We throw kale and spinach in them and Elliot loves them too. He has been a little picky about his veggies lately and these smoothies have been a good way of incorporating lots of fruits and veggies in them without losing the taste.

Elliot is very intent on finding us some good sales at Lowe's.



This one was made with a little bit of coconut water, orange juice, peaches, strawberries, and a couple of blackberries. We make Elliot's with milk and usually add banana, peaches, strawberries, kale or spinach, blueberries and blackberries.



We spent the day doing yard work and hanging out. My new favorite hobby is yard work! It is so relaxing and as they days get nicer and nicer, the more time we spend outdoors the happier this girl is. It was a beautiful day and it lasted forever!

The loves of my life.

The next day we did our grocery shopping and even got to grill. We made steaks and veggies.



It wasn't a great day to do it but grilling is one of our favorites especially when it comes to veggies so Jack pretty much was the one hanging out outside by the grill. Elliot couldn't take daddy being outside and wanted to join him but it was cold and windy! Mother Nature, make up your mind please.

Finally we started preparing for the week ahead, making lunches, laundry, ironing, giving Elliot a bath are among our usuals for Sundays.

I love you all and I haven't forgotten about blogging, it has just been hectic! I hope you all had a great weekend!! I'll say it, happy hump day!

Life Lately.

So much has been going on lately that I haven't been able to post so I'll include all the latest happenings in this one.

The weather has been absolutely beautiful over here with the weather girl on the radio saying that we will be having "cooler" days from being in the high seventies to low seventies which I think is hilarious. She should say something like "less warm" but definitely not cooler. Ha. Regardless, it's been beautiful and perfect for spending time outdoors. I have gotten home the past few days and Elliot and Jack are waiting for me outside so we either take a short walk, or take Elliot's little bike outside for him to push, backwards. 



The right way sometimes too.

It all started Friday. I was sick so I spent my day at work feeling like shit until I finally called my boss to tell him I was going home. I got home, ate and slept like a queen. I felt guilty for not picking Elliot up from daycare but I needed this! It felt so good.



Jack and I had lunch at my mom's on Saturday and asked her to watch Elliot for a couple of hours so we could run home and plant some little bushes on the side of the house. It was such a beautiful day to do that and we needed to take advantage. I wasn't feeling great but this had to be done.

We also planted some herbs for cooking! Basil, cilantro and mint are some of our favorites.

This little one has been loving spending all this time outside.

 

If you follow me in Instagram (shadiabrown) you know that Elliot finally took his first steps! We were at my mom's and all of a sudden my mom called him and he took a couple of steps then she handed him to me and he took a couple more! It was so exciting and sweet! Since then, Jack and I have been practicing with him until he finally feels confident enough to let go of us. So bittersweet!

We also finally weaned him off the bottle. I honestly thought I was going to have a hard time but it wasn't bad at all! At night is when I thought we would struggle but after a few cries and a few nights, he finally gave up and started drinking his nightly bottle from his sippy. Then naturally I practically ran to Target to get him a couple more. I wasn't expecting to do this so soon and I had been half-assing the weaning part. Jack and I would give him the sippy, he would cry, we would give him the bottle. We are so weak! Soo first time parents ;) What finally gave us the push is the fact that the girl at daycare who takes care of him asked me if I was still giving him a bottle because they were having a hard time getting him to drink his milk from his sippy. I, very embarrassed, nodded my head and said I really needed to get on it this time for good. It worked! We are ready to pack all of his bottles to make room for a few more sippies. He's such a big boy!

We have been wanting to cook different meals since we get bored of the same stuff over and over and we decided to make these mini pizzas. They are so easy and quick and delicious. I used whole wheat pita bread, cut it in half (get the pocket pita), spread some pizza sauce and topped it with some of our favorite veggies.

There it is, a quick and short recap. Be ready for some healthy and delicious new recipes! Hope you're having a great middle-of-the-week day! I'll be back soon!

Minestrone Soup.

Jack and I have always sort of planned our meals for the week to know exactly what to buy at the grocery store. It's such a pain to go in and not know what you need and you end up getting stuff you don't use and spending double so a list helps a lot. Coming up with that list is what's so hard! So as we are having breakfast Sunday morning (our usual day to do the shopping) we jot down what it is that we will be having. It's hard because we don't know if we will be craving that particular meal but we try to come up with dishes that are simple and quick but still good and healthy.

Some meals are regulars in our menu but lately I feel like I have been making the same things over and over and it gets tiring and boring! In an effort to start with brand new recipes, I resorted to my handy app that I've been using since Jack and I got married. It's called Spark Recipes and it is awesome. You can find recipes by category, or you can search for one you want. It also gives you really easy directions and it even tells you how many calories each recipe is!

This past week we decided that our meals would be light, quick, healthy but still hearty so we decided on some good soups and salads. We both love minestrone soup but are aware of how much sodium the ones from the restaurants contain. I found one on this app and bought all the ingredients. The best part? You don't have to add any salt! All the flavor is in the herbs and spices. I made it last night and thought I'd share the recipe because it is so so good!

You'll need-
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, cut up with juice. (I actually got two of the 14 oz cans already cut with low sodium)
2 tbsp. parsley
1&1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 bay leaf
5 cups vegetable broth (again, low sodium)
1/4 cup of any whole wheat pasta you like, we used rotini which to be honest isn't the best but it was okay.
2 cans of beans (we used black beans & cannelini-low sodium)
2 cups desired veggies- we used zucchini & carrot

Cook onion, garlic & celery until tender. Add the tomatoes with juice and all herbs & pepper. Add broth. Let it simmer for a while then add the veggies, simmer for a while longer, add the pasta and beans then cook until pasta is ready. See how simple it is?



We paired it up with healthy grilled cheese sandwiches. We used whole wheat bread, American cheese and used a little bit of olive oil instead of butter.

Elliot loved it too! I actually dipped the bread in the soup before giving it to him so that he wouldn't choke on it. Tonight we are making taco salad bowls! I'll share that recipe too!

A Trip To The Zoo.

First of all, did you guys watch the Oscars? I loved them!! I put Elliot to sleep and started watching while folding laundry and drinking a cold beer, who said multitasking can't be done in this house? ;) I absolutely loved how Olivia Wilde looked. She rocked that dress. And Kate Hudson? Stunning. I loved Ellen as a host but thought her show kind of started dwindling down at the end. I also loved Pink's performance, my sister and I were texting back and forth on what was going on and I told her how much I loved Pink then she said her performance was lip-synched. Is that true? The acceptance speeches always make me tear up, always. I'm not a huge fan of the Brangelina duo but they looked beautiful and I loved how Brad kissed Angelina when they were mentioning the humanitarian awards and he looked like he teared up. So sweet. Okay, enough of the Oscars.

This Saturday we took Elliot to the zoo. We had been planning this for a couple of weeks and after having such busy days at work and home, this seemed like the perfect way to spend our Saturday morning. We needed something relaxing and effortless and the zoo was both.

I really thought that Elliot would pay some attention but wouldn't really know what was going on. I was wrong! He was the cutest. I would point to an animal and he would sit there and stare at them forever until we moved on to the next one. Then Jack and I were thinking how messed up it is that they have animals locked up for humans to see. Do you guys remember that artist that showcased the opposite? Humans in cages with animals looking at them. Anyway. Again, back to the zoo. Must be Monday.

I was holding him while we went in to look at some type of monkeys and I pointed for him to look at one of them. It was so close that he had a perfect look. The monkey was moving its little hands then all of a sudden jumped to another branch and Elliot shuddered then started pouting to cry. It was the funniest/cutest thing I've ever seen. That's when Jack and I realized that he was in fact paying attention.



The sea lion was one of my favorites. They're such enormous creatures! We then learned the shows were canceled due to them being aggressive when in heat, which is apparently always because they were canceled for good. Those wild animals! :)

This picture melted my heart.



The lion is such a regal and frightening creature that I was glad to be so far away from it.



I tried to get a couple of pics of this little one but he just wasn't in the mood. I parted his hair to the side and he looked too cute!





We ended with the giraffes. They are so weird! They kept spanking each other with their necks. Isn't it funny how they are so close to the highway? I felt sad about that!



We then went home after Elliot fell asleep in his stroller by the time we got to the giraffes but it was such a fun and relaxing day. He did so so good! Of course at home he let loose and was all over the place and I loved it. I love seeing him explore and trying to get into everything.

The weather was so nice that I took Elliot outside to take a few pics, he just wasn't having it! 

I hope your weekend was great despite all of the snow I know some of you have been getting. Seriously, send some over, I'll take it! :)