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Friday, May 27, 2016

DIY Vintage Fabric Kites



So I know I am going at a snails pace with Little Love's Nursery Design but I just haven't put enough effort to get it completed since she is still in the room with us. I know I do need to get the ball rolling though, the last you guys all saw I finally cleaned up the room and had the crib and bedding perfectly styled. Since then, we found a beautiful vintage dresser that needs a makeover, added a large (unusual) "art" to the wall and I finally hung the kites I made months and months ago. I'll eventually get to sharing the other stuff but today I wanted to share a tutorial on how I made these kites for her room.
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Thursday, May 26, 2016

Life Lately


Hey guys! So I know I'm veering a little off schedule by posting on a Thursday and missing Wednesday but it's been crazy busy over here the last few weeks. Last week Sophia and I spent a few mornings attending my pre-k classes graduations and end of year parties. Our water heater broke (yay for cold baths, not), however it did get me out the house to go for a run. I was hoping I would sweat so much that the cold water would feel good, kinda worked, kinda not but thank God we have hot water again and I was finally able to shave my legs. And Anthony will be starting school again come this fall so things are gonna get more crazy around here while we try to figure out this parenting gig. But you know, life happens so quickly or at least it seems so now that we have Little Love. I mean come on how is my little baby already almost three months?!? I just can't deal right now so moving on.
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Monday, May 23, 2016

Book Review | The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding


Hey everybody! How was ya'lls weekend? Anything new or exciting? We decided to surprise Anthony's parents with a visit and I finally finished up one of the books I have been reading which brings us to today's post, a book to review. 

Now I don't know when I made the decision to breastfeed but whenever I did, I knew I wanted to give it all I had to be successful. I heard from multiple people about how hard and challenging and uncomfortable (even painful) it could be so I began researching and researching once I found out we were pregnant. I was so terrified of not being able to produce enough milk (which is a common misconception of breastfeeding as only 2% of women in the ENTIRE WORLD actually cannot produce enough milk, if you are struggling with breastfeeding, it is highly suggested you seek help from a LICENSED lactation consultant as they can troubleshoot what is really going on) or being uncomfortable. Honestly, it wasn't that hard or as bad as everyone kept making it seem. Yes, the first few days were a struggle waiting for my milk to come in and having to supplement because Little Love had low blood sugar those first few days but more so emotionally because of that fear of not being able to produce enough for her BUT once my milk came in, everything else just came naturally. 

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Friday, May 20, 2016

What I Wore | May Houston Blogger Meetup


I was initially planning to do a Memorial Day Inspiration outfit for today but the weather did not cooperate with me last Saturday so since I loved the outfit I wore to the Houston Blogger Union Meetup so much I decided to share the details in it's own post instead of waiting for my next edition of stormieariel style (check out my first roundup here). However, it rained Sunday as well and we were only able to quickly snap these photos on our porch.

About a week before the Houston Blogger Meetup, I started wondering what I should wear as I have seen on Instagram from other blogger events, bloggers typically dress to impress and since I typically stick to my mom uniforms, I will take any excuse to dress up when I can. But what is a girl to do when all her clothes are last season and she is still sporting a baby pouch and doesn't have the money to buy new clothes? Well, I went to my spring pinterest board to see what styles I have been loving and how I could recreate some of those looks by remixing my closet.  I knew I only had two options for pants unless I wore my maternity pants since most of my pants still don't button. It was either my white crop pants or my olive crop pants but knowing my white crops have a small stain I opted for the olive crops. Than came pinterest inspiration:
1 | 2 | 3 

I was so worried about looking out of place but this outfit came together so perfectly (similar items linked at the bottom of this post) and now I am trying to figure out where I can wear it next!!

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Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Salvaged Garden Box


For as long as I could remember, I have always wanted a garden; filled with flowers, vegetables, fruit, you name it. I tried my first hand at gardening a few years ago when we were living in a tiny apartment. I bought lettuce seeds, jalapeno seeds and green bean seeds and I planted them in containers. My green bean plant was the only one to grow but I only harvested two green beans. TWO. That was it. To be fair, our porch of the apartment was very shaded with no sunlight at all so I gave up.

When we bought our first house, I was excited to carve out a place to garden and when my dog Olive died we made a remembrance garden with flowers but our other dog Bella decided to dig all that up so I gave up again.

Well now with this house, Bella hasn't been digging as much and Anthony decided he wanted to build something with some of the old fencing I have been hoarding. You can guess by the title of what he decided to build me, right?

So I'm gonna share the pictures and process he took to make me this little ol' box. There are no specific measurements involved as he made use of the pieces we had so you can customize this to whatever size you want.


Once he gathered all the pieces he planned to use for our box, Anthony cut down the pieces so they can be the same length, 7 long pieces (2 sides, 5 bottom supports) and 2 short pieces for the other sides.


Once he had the pieces cut to size, he laid out all the pieces in how he planned to assemble them before nailing together.

Since he (and I) was satisfied with how everything looked, he nailed the pieces together.  


It took me a few days but I finally found a place for Anthony to put my garden box and we filled half of it with soil and three plants: basil, cilantro and jalapeno.


Although Bella has already eaten the jalapeno plant and trampled over my basil but my cilantro is thriving!



Do your animals destroy your chance at having a successful garden?




Sharing at: Remodelaholic
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Monday, May 16, 2016

What to Take From the Hospital After a Maternity Stay


I have been following Chelsea from Two Twenty One for a few years now. After she had her son Owen, she posted a lot more about baby products, tips and tricks and what to take from the hospital after popping out a kid. I'll be honest, I loved her blog for the home improvement and DIY tutorials and her famous peonies. So when she started sharing more baby talk, I was like "great this is turning into a mom blog. I just want to see pretty pictures of her house and crafts I can create for my house." Well lo and behold, I got pregnant I needed to know what the heck to pack in my hospital bag so I asked my friend and she sent me Chelsea's link. Well well well, here we are again and I needed her help so I'm glad she shared her advice. And here I am sharing what I took from the hospital. 



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Friday, May 13, 2016

stormieariel style | ed. 1


Hey Guys! Who is glad it's Friday?! I know I am!! Not because we have plans but Anthony is off on the weekends and it's nice having more quality family time with him and Little Love. I love seeing their interaction with each other and he is so amazing in helping with her as much as he can especially after last weekend. I had a horrible crick in my neck that had me in tears. 

Anyways...

Last year, I began taking daily photos of my outfits as I was learning how to mix and match the clothing items I already had, to create new outfits. I was also learning to step out my comfort zone by breaking some old fashion rules that I stuck by (check out that series here) but now those rules are out the window. As I was venturing into my new fashion style I was constantly sharing my outfits on Instagram (#stormiearielstyle). 

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Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Summer Camp | Advice for Camp Directors


Last week, I shared summer camp advice for parents when choosing a camp for their child to attend. While writing about ratios and asking questions on the camps policies and procedures for keeping all children accounted for with high ratios, I decided to share advice for the directors of those camps.


However, whether you run a summer camp program or your just a staff member of a summer camp program, these tips and tricks will help you make sure you keep all the children in your staffs care accounted for and it decreases your chances of losing a child (unfortunately it does happen).

1. Always have each staff member keep a roster of the children in their group. I created a roster template that had spots for the staff members name, the date and slots to write the childrens' names. Each staff member would write the children's first and last names on their roster that was in their care for that date. Also, if a kid leaves early have the staff member mark it next to the kid's name.

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Monday, May 9, 2016

Two Month Update | Little Love



It seems so unreal that our babygirl is now two months old. There we were all those years dreaming and wishing we could have children and here we are with a beautiful babygirl in our arms and she is already two months old! How can this be?! I feel like I'm living in a dream. 

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Friday, May 6, 2016

Beef Strips & Broccoli with Vermicelli Fideo


A few weeks ago I saw this recipe on the Chew and I tweaked it to work with the ingredients we had on hand at the time. This time I tweaked it a little more and I love the way it came out even more! My husband even said it is on top of his favorite dishes list.

Ingredients
5 ounces vermicielli noodles
a package of beef strips
1 jalapeno
1 head of broccoli
1 red (or green) bell pepper
1 onion
2 carrots
1 clove garlic
1 lemon
Chicken Stock
Soy Sauce
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive oil
Ground Ginger
Red Pepper Flakes
Salt
Pepper

Beef Strips
beef strips
1 jalapeno (sliced in half)
1/2 bell pepper (sliced)
soy sauce
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
salt & pepper

Place a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the beef strips. Season with salt and pepper. Add jalapeno and bell pepper. Saute. Add soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a simmer.
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Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Summer Camp | Advice for Parents


With school coming to a close, many parents are trying to figure out what to do with their kids for summer so I thought I would put together some things to question and consider when choosing a summer camp for your child to attend.


When considering a summer camp to send your child to the first thing you need to consider is what type of camp will they go to. Will they attend a specialty camp that will help further develop their hobbies such as dance camp, football camp, etc? If so, are those camps in session all summer or for only a few weeks? Or will they go to a childcare camp that lasts all summer long?

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Monday, May 2, 2016

3 Ways | Mother's Day Dress


Hey guys! How was y'alls weekend? Ours was so relaxing, we lounged around most of the day Saturday and yesterday we got some chores done around the house as well as photograph this lavender lilac purple dress.


I have had this dress for years and have used it in numerous types of occasions. I  wore it to my graduation, our gender reveal party, etc. and now it's on my radar to wear for my first Mother's Day. I love that this dress has this beautiful sleeve and back detail. 



So I thought I would create three different ways I can style it by simply switching out the shoes and adding/removing necklaces.

For my first look I went with the obvious and paired the dress with wedges (perfect for spring and summer) and a statement necklace. I love how a statement necklace alone can transform any outfit.




My second look was toned down a bit by trading the wedges for cute sandals (a more casual but still cute option for spring and summer)  and adding a simple pendant necklace. Although my accessories are a little more simple with this look, doesn't mean my outfit is simple. The detailing on this dress is more than enough and becomes the focus.



My final look takes this dress down a few notches and makes this look more casual but still like I put effort into it. I don't know about y'all but I've been watching this trend and have been skeptical of it but I think I like it. Dresses are so comfy (but don't get too comfortable that you aren't sitting like a lady) and pairing them with tennis is kinda genius. 



If only I didn't have to worry about the bending over situation and sitting lady-like and let's not forget nursing my sweet little babe, I'd probably have a lot more dresses in my closet. I was also hoping the v-neck wrap bust area would make nursing possible while wearing but it doesn't so I will still be on the hunt of what to wear but that doesn't stop you from using these outfits as inspiration. I have linked similar versions of the dress below.

Which is your favorite look? Are you a dress fan? 

Shop the Look
Wedges | Guess (similar)
Sandals | Academy (similar
Tennis | Ed Hardy (similar)
Pendant Necklace | Gift
Statement Necklace | Charming Charlie (similar)
Car Seat Cover | Carseat Canopy Get 100% OFF your Carseat Canopy purchase (a $49.95  value) with promo code PJBABY 

 Steals & Deals
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