Five On Friday!

It's time for another edition of Five on Friday and I do hope you'll join along!

Remember, all you have to do is post about five things on your mind, add our logo (found at the bottom of this post), and join the party using the linky tools below. Easy, and a great way to find new blogs and be found. :)

O N E
I'm so excited for this weekend's trunk show in Myers Park!

I'll be there with bows, bonnets, and some bibs. I hope our turnout is great -- would love to meet any of you who are able to swing by! So many wonderful vendors will be there with really unique items. We will have some fun things to sip on, too, so it would be the perfect spot to swing by after work today or during the day tomorrow!

T W O
Speaking of The Tipsy Bunny, check out this pink version of the double ruffle bonnet that my mom made for our shop! This one was shipped out to a customer this week. We are down to just ONE left in size 3-6 months, and if it doesn't sell at the trunk show, I'll post it in our Etsy shop!

T H R E E

Look at these sweet friends at a birthday party at Monkey Joes this past Sunday night! I just love hearing their little toddler conversations! What's cuter than that?

F O U R
You guys may already know that I am a huge fan of Ja-Vies ... I truly think they are the most comfy flat around! I own four pair now. But then I saw this on Insta yesterday and really think I want one more pair. The ginghams are calling my name. For $19 and free shipping, I can't say no! Visit their website here if you're interested. Oh, and for sizing -- I wear a 7.5 and the 38s fit me perfectly. The sale ends Sunday.

F I V E

Okay, off to listen to a few more minutes of the S-Town podcast before the girls wake up. I'm on Chapter 6 and mannnnnnnn it's good. I've been flying through it -- but whoo lawdy, not one you'd want to listen to with kids around. Lots of f-bombs. :)

TGIF y'all, and hope you will join in on Five on Friday this week! Cheers to the weekend!

The Discipline Diaries

Last week was sort of a doozie of a week, discipline-wise. I was feeling like Camille's behavior was out-of-control, and the way that I was dealing with it was also out-of-control. I felt panicky in my heart, which is not normal for me. I felt like I was constantly teetering on the edge of blowing up, and all it was going to take would be a wooden puzzle falling on the floor and clattering me into a stage ten meltdown. 

Phew. 

At one point I was texting with my sister trying to just vent vent vent myself into a state of calm, and Camille was sitting on the time-out step, and then she started crying really hard. At the moment I just thought she was doing it for attention, escalating her tantrum, and then she cried out that she'd tinkled on the floor. 

Y'ALL.

I always hope that I'm not putting too much out there on "the internets," the type of thing that will embarrass me or my family down the line, but I also know that there may be many of you who are just completely nodding your heads in agreement right now and thinking "thank GAWD I'm not the only one."

I read recently that any labels that you assign to your children should only be POSITIVE labels, and if negative labels should just be associated with their behavior ... i.e., my daughter is friendly, my daughter is creative, my daughter is funny -- the way she snatched from her sister is rude, the way she screamed in the grocery store is not acceptable behavior in our family. 

Staying at home with the girls is not the easiest thing I've ever done. But, just as I did when I worked behind a desk, I'm refusing to come face to face with a challenge and then back down. Oh, heck no. I'm re-energized to tackle this and WIN. :)

Recently I hosted another Junko Bunco at my house and someone (an angel?!) brought the book 1-2-3 Magic, which I quickly swiped up. I started reading it last week and incorporating the calm counting immediately. I am amazed at how well it has worked. I'm not screaming like a scary mommy any more (most days) and I feel in control of discipline. I can calmly tell Camille "You're at a 1" or even silently hold up a finger and she typically reverses her behavior. If not, I wait a few beats and she goes to a 2. At number 3, she has a consequence -- typically 3 minutes in time-out, depending where we are. 

Probably the most interesting concept I've incorporated and loved has been to allow them to come out of time-out with a clean slate. No harping on the past. When the timer on my phone beeps, Camille can exit time-out and I can be there to greet her like "hey, wanna go outside for a few minutes with me?" or "let's get a glass of water!". Before, she was coming out of time-out and I was spending extra minutes asking her to apologize for what she did, talking with her about why we don't do that, etc. etc. etc. 

But if you think of it, would you like to be reprimanded at work, then receive a punishment, and then after you've "served your time," be reminded again of what you did and why it was bad? No way!

So anyway, there's some of the inner-workings of our family and what we are going through these days. It's not always easy to discipline, but I feel a lot more in control of the situation now.

Easy Salad Recipe: Chipotle Wedge Salad

A weeknight salad is a win in my books for a few reasons:

+ cheap

+ healthy(ish)

+ fresh

+ ingredients can be prepared/chopped during naptime

+ fast to put together after the kiddos are in bed

Recently we had these wedge salads which were delicious!

I started off by doing some naptime prep-work. I browned a pound of organic grass-fed ground beef from Aldi, adding in a few sprinkles of cumin and ground chili powder for a little flavoring. I also chopped some olives and quartered a head of lettuce.

One quarter of the head of lettuce went in one bowl, one in the second bowl, and I stuck these bowls in the fridge to chill.

When it came time to serve, I filled the empty part of the bowls with the cold ground beef and some additional toppings (chopped red onion and a mixture of black beans and tomatoes I had from the night prior). On top of the salads went the shredded cheese, black olives, sour cream, and chipotle tortilla strips -- another great Aldi find. 

To chow down, we mixed our bowl ingredients all together and topped with a little organic chipotle ranch from Aldi which was SO tasty. 

Ranch, cheese, tortilla strips ... that's why I said "healthy(ish)" :) 

But it definitely was a delicious salad! Total win in my books. 

A Family Lake Weekend

My family is the type that always has a gathering on the books ... and that's a good thing. We got together this past weekend at my parents' lakehouse in South Carolina. We arrived around 3:30 and played outside and just enjoyed the peaceful, beautiful outdoors. 

We had so many laughs playing with these face drink coasters!

They are less than $7 (HERE) and make for some great photos. 

Saturday we took a boat ride to lunch. The weather was absolutely perfect.

During the babies' naptime, we worked on a few projects -- the guys made a golf chipboard game and I started refinishing a table that will be used in our guest bedroom. It still needs a few more coats of paint and wax (I'm using chalk paint from Michaels) and a little wood glue where a leg has come unattached.

We ate well, we drank well, and we had some wonderful times together. As always. Love my family.

PS - are you following my sister's One Room Challenge on her blog? You can find her HERE. She's redoing her guest bedroom on a strict $150 budget. She's encouraging me to participate in the fall challenge ... I'm thinking about it!

Five On Friday

It's time for another edition of Five on Friday and I do hope you'll join along!

Remember, all you have to do is post about five things on your mind, add our logo (found at the bottom of this post), and join the party using the linky tools below. Easy, and a great way to find new blogs and be found. :)

O N E
So, I mentioned the other day that I had a pretty awesome story about the cake figurine that was on top of Charlotte's first birthday smash cake. This one:

Here goes. When I was born, my mom had a friend who was so happy for my mom and so excited to meet me. She began sending me annual birthday gifts -- always these porcelain figurines for each birthday year. She sent me these for years and years and I had them displayed in my childhood bedroom. 

When my parents sold and moved this past summer, I was torn with what to do. It's not like I was going to put them in my current bedroom, but I also didn't want to just wrap them up, put them in a storage tub, and keep them in the attic where they wouldn't be enjoyed by anyone. I made a rash decision and just told Mom that she could donate them all. :( 

WELL. This fall I went down to my parents' new house and was helping them unpack and get a little organized. At the very bottom of a random box was this ONE porcelain figurine. Wasn't wrapped up or anything, but not a single chip or nick or crack or break. I think it must have gotten separated from the rest of the lot and ended up at the bottom of a random box. What a gift!!! 

So, I decided it was a little divine wink, and I knew it would be a perfect cake topper for our sweet Charlotte. Plus, it just embodies her so perfectly. Sweet, innocent, cuddly. 

T W O
I'm still loving my black mask and using it regularly (this one). This was a recommendation from one of my favorite local beauty/makeup bloggers, and I know I can always trust her skincare advice! I like to put it on early in the morning before the girls wake up, let it sit for 15-20 minutes, and then rinse. I feel like it really smooths my skin and helps keep it free of impurities.

T H R E E

Just wanted to share this sweet dandelion photo of Camille. This has not been the easiest week discipline-wise, but we are all striving to do better and I'm reading a new book that is helping me with my gameplan.

But look, look at this girl. She is growing too fast, she's exploring her boundaries, she's headstrong -- and that's a great trait in a girl. I love her so much.

F O U R
You may have seen this on Snapchat last night, and hopefully you got a giggle. It was my turn to host our monthly Supper Club. I was trying to think of a dinner plan, and it hit me -- yesterday was 4/20, maybe the most celebrated day of the year for high school potheads.

Please know that I did this completely tongue in cheek, but YES I totally did a 4/20 theme for supper club! We had big ol' burritos, cheesy refried beans (which was enjoyed on a paper plate with a plastic fork), and then dessert was brownies and cheetos.

Lemme tell you. It's been wayyyy too long since I enjoyed cheetos. Those things are insanely yummy.

So yes, we all got a great laugh out of it, and the burritos were actually great! I stuffed them with ground beef, rice, and a black bean/tomato/onion mixture I simmered. Rolled them up, topped with cheese, and baked them. 

F I V E
Lastly, I have added some new items to The Tipsy Bunny on Etsy! Please pop on over and pay us a visit! I am also part of a fun trunk show coming up next weekend here in Charlotte -- will share deets soon for any of you local gals.

TGIF y'all, and hope you will join in on Five on Friday this week! Cheers to the weekend!

Strawberry Pickin' and Strawberry Pie (RECIPE)

Monday morning after ballet, we ventured over to The Hunter Farm for some springtime strawberry picking!

The girls and I hopped on the hayride right when we got to the farm, and the hayride took us to the barn to visit some animals.



... just before you assume that I posted the only photo where I look semi-decent but the girls are in la-la land please know all of the pictures looked like that. case in point below. we are working on their photo game ;)

We had a chance to visit with pigs, chickens, goats, and some adorble baby cows!

After we fed the goats, we headed back to the front of the farm to grab a white pail and start picking strawberries.

It was fairly warm already, and we were coming up on lunchtime, but in the little bit of time we had, we picked some beautiful red berries. Definitely enough to make a strawberry pie at naptime the next day!

I just used the Pillsbury recipe because it called for cornstarch instead of boxed gelatin, so I had all of the ingredients on hand already! I omitted the optional red food coloring. Also, I let my liquid get a little too thick, so much that it would not pour over the strawberries in the crust. So, I took the strawberries out and added them to the gelatin to coat them, then added that mixture back into the baked pie crust. I also did not serve with whipped cream because I like my pie with just plain ol' sweet strawberries!

Crust:
1 refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box

Filling:
3 pints (6 cups) fresh strawberries
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water

Steps:

1// Heat oven to 450°F. Bake pie crust as directed on box for pie crust, using 9-inch glass pie plate. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 15 minutes.

2// Meanwhile, in small bowl, crush enough strawberries to make 1 cup. In 2-quart saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch; stir in crushed strawberries and water. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. If desired, stir in food color. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

3// Place remaining strawberries, whole or sliced, in cooled baked shell. Pour cooked strawberry mixture evenly over berries. Refrigerate until set, about 3 hours, before serving.

4// Just before serving, top pie with sweetened whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate any remaining pie.

To see more of my dessert recipes, click here

Charlotte's First Birthday Party

Charlotte turned ONE this past Friday, and on Saturday we had a handful of friends, family and neighbors over. We kept this celebration really small compared to Camille's first birthday party (recap HERE) and it was just as enjoyable.

(invitation HERE on Etsy)

The vintage baby party invitation was just perfect for our sweet little Charchi-girl. She is so angelic and darling, just like that cherubic ruffled-bottom baby on it. 

(gold glitter acrylic cake topper HERE)

I used Harris Teeter for the layer cake and her smash cake (they give you this for free for your child's first birthday!) and it was delicious as always. The acrylic cake topper is reusable, so a total deal -- it's around $10. 

Charlotte wore a dress that my mom made and the sweetest little vintage-hued party hat (found HERE). I found she kept it on best if I put it around the back of her head instead of under her chin.

I have a really neat story about that cake topper ... will share it Friday!

She was gentle at first with her cake (it was her first taste of cake ever!) and then she dove RIGHT in. A girl who takes after her mama!

Charlotte, you are a dream come true.

Our whole family just loves you.

Happy first birthday, baby girl!