the sweet life - Amber Housley - Nashville Mom Crafter Designer

Welcome

Hi y'all and welcome to my blog. Living 'the sweet life' as they say...I am a West Coast gal turned Southern gal and live in the 'burbs of Nashville, Tennessee with my husband and baby boy. I enjoy all things creative - designing, scrapbooking, crafting, photography, decorating and gardening. This blog features a little bit of each. So pull up a chair and a warm cup of coffee and stay awhile.

Antique treasure hunting

Cute vintage shelf with mirrors I'd like to take home. But I found two other things instead that I'll share soon. Great way to spend a lunch break: treasure hunting!

Around the house with Fall & Halloween decorations

Well, my favorite season has come and gone, but I'd still like to share a few glimpses around the house of Fall. I know I say it all the time, but living in the South, particularly Nashville, with four seasons is spectacular! Every month holds a new surprise when you walk out the front door. Always something to be excited about next...in October it was the beautiful leaves outside and in our own backyard.

Couldn't resist doing a little photo shoot on the front porch! My two favorite pumpkins. (see Daddy in the reflection?) :)

 

 

And around the house....

My favorite thing is decorating the mantle. All the fall leaves really warm the room up! The different orange glass bottles are from Home Goods and the felt banner I picked up on clearance at Target last year after Halloween. The Pottery Barn clear glass vase I use all the time - I just switch out the branches and flowers depending on the time of year. I have a feeling this won't be here for much longer when Colin is up and about very soon....! :)

Front entry table...little straw owl (missing his "Boo!" sign)...

 

Mmmm pumpkin scented candles! And I love these little seed pods that look just like mini dried pumpkins. A great find at Target.

 

Spooky skeleton in the dining room.

 

Another shot of the foyer table.

 

And the big day...Halloween! Colin's first! He made it to one house (our neighbors) for trick or treating.

Hope you enjoyed our little Fall fest. Now back to winter which just arrived today with the first frost!

Holiday spirit

Holiday cheer in a cup

Loving the Xmas mugs from Target this year!

Parking lot art

Catch up.

So  last time I gave you an update, it was my 4 month letter to Colin. I made it to about 6 months and then I gave up. Or maybe the better word is gave in, to all the other things to just speed on by.

So in the last 5 months...Colin took his first plane ride to San Diego, CA...

 

There he had his first trip to the zoo - the San Diego Wild Animal Park

 

Lots of family came to San Diego to see us...all of my family from Vegas drove in...including my sister who met Colin for the first time!

And my Aunt Gail and Aunt Eleanor (who were there the day I was born!) came to meet Colin too!

Then he turned 5 months old...

Celebrated 4th of July with his very first boat ride...

Started eating in a highchair...

And enjoying toys..

In August he turned 6 months old...and becamed skilled in the art of squeals and noises...

 

And Colin's new girlfriend Meadow was born...

And also became quite skilled in yoga baby poses...

Such a happy go lucky baby...

We enjoyed going to the pool...

And it was especially fun hanging with new friends!

 

Before you knew it, he was 7 months...

 

In September, we headed down to Pensacola, FL for Labor Day Weekend and Colin met his other girlfriend Reese!


 

And we had our first trip to the beach with the Murray's...

 

 

Needless to say, that day was really exciting!

Later that month...Grandma and Grandpa Housley decided to move from San Diego and build a new house in Tennessee! So excited to have family here with us!

At the end of September, it was time for flight #2 and we were off to Vegas to see Nana and Papa and celebrate our 2 year anniversary!

 

 

Colin even stayed the night at Nana and Papa's for the first time and did so good!

 

After we left Vegas, we came home to my favorite season of all: FALL!

..more to come!

Hi there!

Hi there friends, family, internets....

It's been a long time hasn't it? Whew-ee!

I had a commenter awhile back who responded to a posting that she understood why I took these long breaks...she figured I was just off enjoying life! Well, I have been to say the least. When our little man entered our world last February, I had no idea how it would turn everything upside down in an utterly fantastic way. There is soooo much to be learned when you become a parent and I have all these useful pieces of knowledge I never recognized before.

For example:

it is okay to say "nah, not now."
Or, "I'd rather be doing this instead..."
And, "you know what, it doesn't really matter in the big ole scheme of things..."

So that is a peek inside the running commentary in my head as I go through the day.
All of those above comments were probably directed at my blog (among many, many other things that you reprioritze when you become a new parent) at one time or another.

But the truth is, I miss you guys and sharing the picture that is our Nashville life (and documenting it for our own family).

There are so many things that pull me in different directions each day, and I can't make promises that I can't keep, but I'll try to check in just a little more often!

More soon!

CSA's and Healthy Family Living

 

(Red potatoes, green onions, scapes and herbs - all from my weekly CSA share and made a great side dish for dinner. Just toss in a pan with some olive oil and lightly stir fry).

Are you familiar with CSA's in your area? I first heard about CSA's last year from several of my (hip, East Nashvillian) co-workers. So my friend Sheri and I signed up this season and split a family share. She picks up the share for us over the weekend and brings my half to work on Monday's.

If you're not familiar with a CSA, here is LocalHarvest's definition:

Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

I had always wanted a garden when we moved to our new house. But between all my dozens of activities and things going on, it likely would have been an eyesore and big source of grief for my husband. So for me, a CSA is the next best thing! It's really exciting to see what will be in your box each week and forces you to get creative with your meals. You never know what you're going to get and sometimes it even includes something you wouldn't normally buy at the store. I'm especially excited that Colin is very close to solids and I have already made my first batch of green beans baby food using the ones I got in my CSA share last week. (More on baby food making in another post)...

I swear the food just tastes more fresh and tastier than what you'd find in stores...because you know it was grown locally and where it came from! Besides subscribing to the CSA for our weekly vegetables (I still get fruit such as bananas and apples on my weekly grocery store trip), I like to buy only free-range, organic eggs and organic milk (the Happy Cow label as I like to call it). While there are plenty of things I do that aren't the healthiest, I think all of these little healthy changes add up to something good for our family in the end.

We use Avalon Acres for our CSA, who do you use or have you ever thought about subscribing? What sort of healthy choices have you made for your family?

Letter: Month Four

Colin, this month officially marks the month you turned from a newborn to a bouncing baby boy.

You have transitioned out of so many clothes now and the plastic bin for the attic is slowly filling.
So many 0-3 months and 3 months little onesies and shirts are in piles. I will miss so many of my favorite outfits. Now we're on to the 6 month wardrobe and there are new summer outfits to enjoy. Can you tell how much Mama enjoys dressing you? I seriously have a hard time deciding which outfit you will wear to school each day. Sometimes I even "save" outfits for an outing during the week to make sure it's clean for the event. :)

You have graduated to some new toys, the exersaucer and the bumbo. Each of them you're still feeling out and getting used to something new. Your head and neck is still a little wobbly but you are gaining strength every day. You are wide-eyed and taking everything in...such a good little observer are you. So easily entertained by your Mama and Daddy and you have turned into our little smily giggle man at every opportunity. My favorite thing is when you are stretched out on your changing table, you start to flap your arms around and kick your legs all excited like you're dancing. At the end of this month those giggling dance moves have really led to some squeals and fun noises. We have a feeling your jibber jabbering is about to get a whole lot more frequent...

You went on your first overnight trip this month. We drove out to the country - just you, me, Daddy and Rocco. It was such a relaxing weekend and you did great. We stayed at a cabin on a horse farm and spent the days outside while Daddy fished by the pond and you and I just sat and relaxed. We also headed down to Rock Island and spent some time on the beach. We can't wait to bring you back here when you're bigger and can build castles in the sand and play in the water. 

At your 4 month appointment, you tipped the scales at 17 pounds! Your height and weight are both in the 80 percentile and your head is in the 40 percentile. This month was a great month with not really any colds or illnesses which is a small feat since you have your hand or one of your toys in your mouth about 90% of the time (and your drooling face is just so darn cute!).

This time is going by so fast. You have turned into this little boy overnight and I realize this every time I put on one of your outfits that make you look like a little boy vs. just a little baby. Every day with every new smile and giggle and squeal just gets better than the next.  We fall more in love with you every day!

Love,
Mama

Baby Love It and Leave It : Sprout Shell & Swaddle Blankets

Love It: Sprout Shell

First, have you signed up for the daily emails from BabySteals.com? If not, do so NOW! You can get things up to 75% off on the deal of the day. That is how I first discovered the Sprout Shell. This handy little stitched fabric fits nice and snug around your carseat and is a replacement for always trying to put a blanket over your carrier when in stores, or going from the car to the store, or restaurants, etc. It's so nifty! Just think, no more blankets flapping in the wind! It also works as a shopping cart seat cover and a nursing cover (though I haven't tried it in these ways). They also come in the cutest Amy Butler fabrics, which are my personal favorite.There's a hole for the handle of your carrier to fit through and it's also big enough to peek inside at your little one when he/she's sleeping. We use this just about every time we're in restaurants to help block out the noise when the little guy is trying to take a nap.

Leave It: Swaddle Blankets

I'm sorry, but I just don't get these: Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe. I received THREE of these at my shower, and even though I tried to like them, I just don't. My little guy (AKA "Houidini") was way too strong, there was no way the little one inch velcro square was going to keep him snug. A good old-fashioned stretchy Carter's receiving blanket did the trick for us during his swaddle days (which were from newborn up to about 3 months). I watched a swaddle technique on YouTube.com (look up keywords "Happiest Baby On the Block" and you can see the swaddle tips for yourself). 

Believe me, a good swaddle technique is A MUST for catching some shut eye!

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Baby Love It or Leave It is a weekly series appearing on Mondays. As a new Mama, I've found that the advice of my friends who are also new mom's invaluable when navigating through my pregnancy, registries, and of course, now mommyhood. My intention is my experience will be helpful to you as well. This is only my personal opinion.