Happy 1st Birthday my Love!!

Can it be so?
Can you already be 1 year old, little lily of my heart? Today is your birthday, my sweet. Your daddy and I are overjoyed at the amazing year we've been given with you and are thrilled to see you growing, and changing, developing and becoming more aware. It has been a year of many laughs and smiles, as well as hardship and sleepless nights, but each moment has been worth all of the sacrificial love we've been blessed to give you. We enjoy everything about you, Lilyan. We enjoy how much you love your family and your big boy cousins and how much you've blessed this home. We enjoy that you are growing into your own wonderful personality and that we have the blessed opportunity to instruct you and teach you. We praise God for crafting and creating you just the way you are!

Our love for you grows and grows...
Our Precious Lily Rose...

The princess is ready for her gifts!

Getting ready with tutu and all...

  

Happy birthday from Dada and Mama

Your auntie cooked you yummy apple pancakes!

I love everything about this chubby picture!

Birthday cupcake smash!

Making silly baby noises while you eat!

Squishy cupcake hands!

May the Lord bless us with another year to spend with you, sweetest one.

Happy 1st Birthday my love!!

lily tries honeydew melon with pineapple and doesn't like it!

Funny girl!

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baby says "uh-oh" and gives mama kisses.

Sweet Lily gives kisses at one week under 1year old.

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Interior Design

Is something I've always been interested in, and I'm slowly discovering my style. When i was young, i wanted nothing more than to be an interior designer. Honestly, i made the wrong decisions, like many of us do, and did not go with my gut, 'course the Lord had other life plans for me in my teenage years anyways. Now, I pay close attention to detail and have a natural eye for all things exquisite and design oriented. I'm learning new things about myself as i go through life, as i baby proof and as i change and mature (at least i hope i'm "maturing," lol) and i'm finding that i'm finally putting a design profile together in my head; the color palates i prefer, the textures i admire, the major and minors of the living space, and it's awesome! A few years ago i was a miss-matched, unidentified mess and had no idea what made me happy, as far as design goes. These days i'm putting a picture together of a future home where there's an airy, light feel from the major pieces, yet depth and richness within the accessories.

I decided to take a "what's your design style," quiz (consider me a cheesy, i enjoyed it), and was able to partially identify with their results. While the results are mostly true, i'm still a huge fan of pops of color and allowing certain ideas in the room to "flow," or be considered a re-run, to adapt the "i meant to do that" sort of symmetrical feel. They said my design style was:

"Rustic Revival (a mix of modern and country)"
You can take kid out of the country but you can't take the country out of the kid... or is your theme "you can take the kid out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the kid?" Either way you play it, you are one of the unique individuals who loves a mix of modern and country. The clean lines of the modern softened by rustic /vintage elements is the perfect mix in your mind. And can we blame you? You've taken the best aspects of two popular designs and mixed them in a manner that appeals young and old alike. A subtle background of white or light colors provides a nice canvas for all the wonderful flea market, eBay or garage sale finds as well as the classic modern pieces that you love.

Materials: The material palette for urban country runs the gamut because of the two extremes being mixed. On the countryside you see a lot of wood, woven rope, canvas and linen, rustic metals and wrought iron, cowhide and vintage leather. On the more modern side, you see acrylic, satin and polished nickel and chrome, glass, faux fur, refined leather, fiberglass and sleek woods. It's the mixing of these elements that makes the style work so well. Sea-grass and other natural woven materials are often used for floor coverings. Concrete and natural wood floors are very popular, and work really well together.

Colors: When it comes to color, think light, casual and airy. White, pale gray or beige, khaki and sage; all of these colors make nice, subtle backdrops for Urban Country style. Think of the colors of natural linen, concrete, and if you'd like to go dark, use the dark brownish-black of iron or the deep burnt orange of rust. The key is to keep the spaces feeling open (go modern!) and yet warm (yay for rustic!), and by going light on the walls and major pieces and more color on the accents and accessories you can achieve this mix really well."

something like this-

Like i said, i mostly agree. But i also agree with this-

1. Cobalt blue with Orange, beige, dark woods and White

Actually, i really love these two colors together, and these are definitely my first choice. I think their contrast is absolutely stunning, and i would love very much to incorporate these into design in the future. Cobalt and poppy orange; Bliss.

Here are some other styles that are quite agreeable in the portfolio amidst my mind as a second choice:

2. Grey with yellow, black and white accents

3. Gold with black and white accents

Though these are indeed dramatic, I can appreciate the bold taste; 

pops of orange to brighten it up with lively bronze accents.

I love finding out NEW things about how best to accentuate my style.

Health and food for Body and mind

I'm trying a new mindset on, and I think I like it.
I'm so easily tempted and swayed by food which is an unfortunate event, but I have been really putting my body into subjection and only allowing myself to eat what would be the best for my body, and not in big quantities, either. It's been fabulous. I wanted to jot down a list of the staple things I'd like to always have on hand; especially as far as daily snacking goes, but I didn't want to write it all down on paper because if i lost it, well....that would defeat the purpose. I would ideally strive for all things Organic, and to consuem less processed and refined sugar (and knowing the huge-mungus sweet tooth i was born with, that'll be a challenge....)

Todays snack is: A bit of low fat cottage cheese with some granola, walnuts, almonds and sliced peaches. Amazing!

So, here goes. This is more so a list for myself, but feel free to read....lol

Walnut pieces
Almonds (whole raw, whole dry roasted)
Dried cranberries/ rasins
Granola
Low fat cottage cheese
Low fat vanilla yogurt
Low fat cheeses (swiss, sharp chedder, mozzarella)
Raw honey (love love love)
Unsalted almond butter (great with the ingredient mentioned above on a little spoon)
Canned black beans
Canned chik-peas (homemade humus)
A reduced fat whole grain cracker of some sort
Apples (Gala, fugi)
Carrots
     -Try grating apples with carrots, and adding a bit of lemon and honey for a tangy-sweet Cole slaw (mhm!)
Protein powder (Whey)
Baby spinach
Nutritional Yeast Flakes (especially with ingredient mentioned below)
Braggs (all purpose liquid seasoning with amino acids, great for a vegetarian diet, but absolutely delicious)
Avocados
Pesto (the best with an aldente pasta and a little olive oil)
Trader Joe's already made wheat pizza dough
Chicken broth/ Chicken stock (I use this often as a base when cooking food for baby)
Coconut oil/ butter (great for body, hair and cooking)
Chewable Vit C
Super B-Complex (turns food into energy, so beneficial after a workout)
Super firm Tofu (amazing as a cold cubed protein in salads)
100% fruit juice: Cran, Pom, Grape...
Trader Joe's "Green" juice (veggies and fruits)
Trader Joe's sparkling orange water
Trader Joe's honey wheat pretzels


...more to come....