Happy Halloween...hoot hoot!

I haven't posted in a LONG time. I guess that's what life is like being a full time working momma with a husband on the road. But, I just had to document miss Isla's first Halloween! I made her an owl costume and simply wanted to eat her up. I was the tree for her owl.

Happy Halloween...
Hoot hoot!

Isla's Video

Here is a video I put together of the stormy day Isla Harper came to meet us.

Isla's Vintage Inspired, Handmade Nursery

I had so much fun putting together a nursery for our daughter Isla. I wanted it to be a room I loved, because I spend most of my time in there now! I didn't have a huge budget to work with, so I was able to find things that were meaningful and sweet on the cheap! I wanted a lovely, vintage inspired room that had pieces of my childhood as well as sweet handmades from some of the people that have surrounded us with love on this journey. Thank you Katherine Holly Photography for the great photos!

Crib: Jenny Lind: Craigslist
Custom bedding: Etsy- Tiptoe Studio
Glider: borrowed from a friend
Rug: Overstock.com
Vintage wardrobe: already had and re-purposed for nursery
Vintage dresser/changing table: given by a friend, new ceramic knobs from Anthropologie
Wire Shelf: Anthropologie
Chandelier: given by a friend, originally purchased at Habitat for Humanity Home
Side table: Nadeau Furniture
Bench: Nadeau Furniture
Owl lamp: Target
Pair of gold frames: flea market
Where the Sidewalk Ends prints: from my childhood book
Mother Goose nursery rhyme prints: from my childhood book
Handmade book mobile: used as decor for baby shower, handmade by hosts (see DIY blog at Oh My Deer Handmades)
Name bunting: handmade by Oh My Deer Handmades
Terrarium: made by my sister Desiree of Ophelia Terrariums
Book page wreath: see my DIY how to blog
Vintage toy piano: antique shop
Paint color: Heavy Goose by Martha Stewart

Isla Harper Lutito has arrived

On April 27th at 2pm, my life changed forever when our sweet Isla came into our lives. Words can't describe what happened to my heart at that moment, but suffice it to say there is nothing sweeter. I feel so blessed to have had a wonderful pregnancy and birth story, which was seasoned with the incredible support of loving friends and my amazing husband. Isla was 7 lbs 10 oz and 19.5'' long at birth. When she was being weighed and measured, she lifted her head up from the nurse, looked around the room and cracked a little smile. This was so telling of the little girl she is and the woman we pray she will grow up to be: strong, curious and joyful. Her timely arrival, just one day after her due date, made for a wonderful first Mother's Day for me that I will never forget. Here's to much joy to come, laughter, crying (her and I both), sleepless nights, sweet baby breath, unconditional love, utter confusion and pure bliss. We love you sweet Isla!

My Dreamy Handmade Baby Shower

I have the most incredible, loving and creative friends in the world! Here are some of the photos my friend Missy Wood took of the lovely shower my girls threw for miss Isla. Crafting for the shower was headed up by the lovely and talented Chelsea Petaja of Oh My Deer Handmades. The beautiful terrariums were made by my wonderful sister Desiree Pillsbury! Gorgeous job ladies!

Handmade Shower hostess gifts

This weekend was a wonderful whirlwind of blessings and fun preparing for Isla. I have the best friends in the world and can not say that enough. Twelve of my friends threw a baby shower for me and it was so much fun! I wanted to do something special and handmade for each of them to show them how much I love them and appreciate their support during this season of life. Here are some bags I created for my ladies and filled them with chocolates and homemade grapefruit lip balm. The bags are made of felt, embroidery floss and vintage buttons. Pictures coming soon from the shower, but it was beyond dreamy...handmade and dainty. Perfect in every way!

Isla Harper Lutito

It's intimidating to name a human being...really intimidating! We kicked around a list of names since the beginning of this pregnancy, then once we found out we were having a girl, it at least narrowed it down a good bit. So, after much discussion we ended up coming back to the name we have LOVED since before we even found out about this little lady coming into our lives. Isla Harper Lutito will be the newest addition to our family and we couldn't be more excited. Isla is a Scottish name and we think its just beautiful. Many people may struggle at first to know how to pronounce it, but I think its pretty easy once you hear it. It is pronounced "eye-la". It's really not that hard, just say island and take off the end! Yet, some people really have a hard time. That has been my main concern, but I'm not going to let it overshadow how special that name is to us and how lovely it will suit her. Harper, her middle name, is after Harper Lee, the author of my favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird. This book had such a profound affect on me and I just saw so much love and redemption in the characters. There are so many lessons in that book about love, childhood imagination, true sacrifice, and what equality should look like.

So, there it is. Miss Isla Harper Lutito will be coming into our lives late April and we couldn't be more happy. We're in the process of preparing for this little one the best we can, but are well aware that there is only so much you can do to prepare before our lives get totally rocked in such a beautiful way.

Also, these photos were taken by my incredibly sweet and talented friend Mandy Mann. Check out her blog! Thanks Mandy! I love them!

xoxo
Kellie

My Funny Valentine

I thought I'd get a little crafty this year with the valentine for my hubby and this is what I came up with. Easy as pie to make and a sweet way to show someone you love them in a handmade fashion!

Materials
pink or red felt
embroidery thread of any color
embroidery needle
toilet paper or cotton balls for stuffing
scissors

Start by cutting out 2 identical heart shapes. Thread your needle with the embroidery floss and sketch out where you want your letters on your heart with a pen or pencil. I just eyeballed it, but it may help to sketch it out first. Working from back to front, thread your needle in and out in the shape of your letters using a double running stitch. Once you're through with the letters, knot it in the back, so it will be on the inside of the heart.

Use a whip stitch to sew together both hearts at the edges. Once you have completed about 75% of the heart, stuff some toilet paper or cotton balls in to make the heart puffy. Complete the whip stitch all the way around until complete and knot off. This part was tricky so the knot wouldn't show, but I was able to tuck mine on the inside.

Think my handmade heart and some Olive & Sinclair chocolate will do just the trick this Valentine's Day!

xoxo

Amazing reads

I don't know if it's the weather, but I've been devouring books like they are candy these days. This week I read two incredible books that I highly recommend!

Madeleine L'Engle A Wrinkle In Time
It's a classic that is actually part of a children's series. I've always wanted to read it and when I finally sat down to, I couldn't put it down. It was so nice to runaway in my mind and I felt removed from my adult mindset of having to feel grown up these days.



Sara Gruen Water For Elephants
I got wrapped up in this story about a traveling circus in the 1930's during the prohibition and depression. There is a movie coming out soon, but I doubt it can be as good as the book! Usually isn't :(

Dreaming of Spring...

and a tall, cold adult beverage. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to wait about 3 months for both of those to happen. Came across this ginger lime margarita recipe on Design*Sponge today that made me salivate, both for its lovely pictures and the drink itself.

Chic & Cheap Nursery Give Away!

One of my favorite blogs Chic & Cheap Nursery is doing a load of give aways from now until Feb 13th and one of them is a gorgeous cylinder pendant light from Olio Studio. I am in love with it and hope I can win it for little lady's nursery! Think it would go perfect with her color scheme. Go to the event page on Chic & Cheap to check out all the goodies they are giving away!

DIY Book Page Wreath

I came across a beautiful wreath made entirely of old book pages online and decided to make one for myself. It made for a fun Sunday afternoon DIY project! Here's my how-to instructions. The whole project cost me $15 and that was just because the punch was expensive. Well, I guess I should count the $0.25 I purchased the book for at a garage sale!

Materials
scissors
cardboard
1 book
Elmer's glue
EK Sucess Diamond Lace Slim Edger Punch



Begin by tracing a circle on your cardboard and cutting it out. Once you have your larger circle, trace a smaller circle inside and cut out the center to make the backing for your wreath.

Tear out all of the pages of the book. The edges don't need to be straight where you tear, as they won't show on the inside of the wreath. Punch along the edges of each page with the scalloped punch.

Fold each page into accordion shapes about 2-inches in width. Fold over the edge where the page was torn and glue the flap to secure the layers staying together. Glue that same edge to the outer rim of the cardboard circle. Continue this all the around the cardboard to complete your first layer.

Continue adding layers all around the circle until you have come to the center. Make sure you layer enough pages to add depth to your wreath. Once you come to the center layer, glue the inside of the flaps at the bottom of your pages around the inside circle so that it sticks to the back of the cardboard to cover seeing any of the backing. That's it!
Happy crafting!

Nursery in progress!

I've been working on gathering my ideas and items for little lady's nursery and I'm so excited with how its turning out. My friend Chelsea of Oh My Deer Handmades is helping me gather my thoughts and here is direction it's headed. *Note the nursery shown below is NOT my nursery, just an inspiration as I embark on this process!

The Civil Wars

My sweet friends Joy Williams and John Paul White make up a band called The Civil Wars and they were on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night!! They were incredible and I'm just so proud. Everyone should check their music out because its amazing. Period. End of Story....

Here is a link to purchase their new record Barton Hollow on Amazon.

Also, check out their video below and friend them on facebook!

Harira Moroccan Stew (ala Pam)

This delicious winter recipe came to me from my friend Pam who has traveled/lived around the world and experienced many different cultures. Here is her recipe for a Moroccan stew with a couple of tweaks by yours truly.

Ingredients
4 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 celery stalk including leaves, chopped
3 tbsp butter
3/4 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne (or however spicy you like it!)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup lentils (optional-I didn't include)
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup angel hair pasta broken in small pieces
1/2 cup arborio rice

Saute spices in butter and a little olive oil on medium high heat. When they are done, they will separate back out from the oil. Add celery and onion and saute until tender. Add all other ingredients except rice and pasta. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes to thicken. Drop in rice and pasta and cook until those have become tender and stew has thickened. Stir in chopped cilantro and parsley at the end and serve!

Let it snow....

What a beautiful day it is here in Nashville! I'm sitting back relaxing and enjoying the snowy white view from my window, sipping hot cocoa with marshmallows. I have a sleeping pup at my side and a baby kicking strongly in my belly. Happiness is mine! In between sending work emails, I'm working on a baby blanket for our little lady. Yep, its a pretty good day indeed.