Hello.

At risk of sounding like an Adele song, hello, it's me (for the record, I'm not an Adele fan, but you're welcome...that song is officially stuck in all of our heads now).

 

But HELLO! It's been awhile, right? I've missed this blog so. Our lives have gotten so busy these last 2 years (has it been that long?), it's been nearly impossible to sit down and take the time to write. If you don't know me or aren't following along on Instagram, here's a quick recap of what we've been up to since I last checked in.

 

 

We sold our house in the city and jumped ship (quite literally) to the 'burbs.

 

 

We had a baby!

 

Who looks a bit more like this these days...

 

Our sweet Caroline was born last May, and to say we are obsessed with her is a bit of an understatement.

 

We also sent a certain someone to pre-school this year (who subsequently turned three while we weren't looking)...

 

 

When time allows, we are working on house projects. We landed upon a completely renovated cape, which made moving in & living life easy (I'm trying to wrap my head around our original idea of buying a fixer upper, all the while managing our little circus?!). Fortunately--for me!--the style of this house was not our taste at all, so I'm getting to change rooms one by one, slowly but surely. Some days I look around and feel like we still live in their house. But then I take a step back to look at the bigger picture, and we've definitely put our mark on this place. I can't wait to start sharing pictures with you soon!

I'm also taking a leap of faith and working on a little side project which will allow me to help you (my dear friends) to spruce up your home, style it & organize your spaces. Because your home should make you happy, right? More info to come! And if you're feeling a little impatient...in the meantime, let's chat, shall we?

Speaking of restyling, this blog will soon be getting a new look. I love it, it's fun...but it's just not me anymore, you know? I've also toyed with the idea of ditching the City Dwellin' name, but at the end of the day that's how you've come to know and love me. And quite frankly, city love will always be in our hearts (also, we live literally 10 minutes from our old house). Between the husband and I, we lived a total of about 15 years in the city. I guess we'll always be city dwellers at heart.

Well that's it folks! Hi. Hello. I'm back. This feels good.

 

 

Additional ramblings (otherwise known as "Remember when I used to DIY?")

Anyone remember when I started this blog and talked about DIY, décor and all the fun stuff we were doing around the house?

Yeah, me either.

The truth of the matter is that stuff just isn't happening anymore. With a toddler, it's practically impossible. Not to mention I've lost most of my motivation when it comes to making any changes or updates to this house. Folks, we've pretty much done it all. And at the recommendation of our realtor, it's wise of us to stop. We're currently still (very much) on the house hunt. But it's slow going, and slim pickings these days. And did I mention we're picky? I'm pretty sure our realtor sits in his office & shakes his head with each house we turn down. You know, when he's not out selling houses to clients who aren't lunatics.   

 

So since I don't do anything décor related anymore and some people seem to enjoy when I ramble (or maybe that's just me), let's do this again, shall we?


So my beloved Dayton Flyers didn't advance to the Final Four. I'm sad. Who doesn't love a Cinderella story? It was a good run Flyers, good run. Does anyone else have any weird superstitions? Because I do. I made a conscious effort not to wash Emme's UD t-shirt during the tourney. And yes, I can see all of you think-a-lots out there examining this one. I let my child wear a dirty shirt three times over the course of two weeks. What's impressive to note is that I'm remarkably good at keeping a clean child, so no one was really the wiser. But last week I decided it was a little gross to keep up this charade. The husband was like, "no, you can't wash it!" and I was all, "ahh, whatever...our child's not a hobo" (or something like that) and into the wash it went. And believe it or not, deep down, the crazy woman inside of me thinks that washing the shirt had something to do with Saturday's loss. I know, have another cocktail Katie (don't worry, I did).

My child. Wearing a clean t-shirt.

 

So the day prior (the same day as the 'Great T-shirt Wash of 2014') my lovely came down with a cold. She recovered in time for her bestie's 1st birthday party the next day (whew), but after a horribly long, painful day (for me), I decided she needed a little Triaminic to help her sleep. The two night's leading up to that evening weren't pretty. So some cough meds were really the only answer at that point. Anyway, the administration of the medicine didn't go so well, and most of the Triaminic ended up on the back of her head (don't ask). Let's just say this, the following night I decided the "come out of nowhere and pin your child down while she's watching Disney Jr." method wasn't the correct approach. The following morning, her head was a crusty, grape scented mess. And this is what she looked like after I attempted to comb her hair:

Which brings me to my next point. I've heard this stuff is great. I'm thinking about trying it.

It says, "For curls, tangles, frizzies and bed head". SOLD. If all goes according to plan & this stuff works, I'm thinking to convince the company that this should be their before pic:

And! Because at some point (in 2014) I'm planning to share pictures of Emme's playroom, I'll leave you with this sneak peek...

And no, my princess isn't sitting pretty and having tea parties all the live long day. But for the short moment that this room appeared put together...ahhh, it sure was nice. More to come!

Is this thing on: The Sequel (and other random musings)

Oh hey.

Is this thing on? I think the last time I said that I was sleepless in Seattle and navigating my way through new mommyhood. But now I have a toddler, I work, I manage a household (and all it's members), and I have no time for this blog. I love it & I love to write--really, I do. It's just that sometimes at the end of the day, I just want to zone out and watch an hour of whatever Housewives season we're currently in. And sleep. Yes, sleep.

I'm not totally sure how you pick up and start blogging again after being away for almost three months. So I think I'll just start talking as if I never took a break in the first place.

First up? We have a toddler, folks. One with really bad hair when she wakes up from a nap.


Exhibit A:

On a good day she looks like this:

And on St. Patrick's day she looks like this:

She's just shy of turning 17 months and wow...that was fast! She keeps us on our toes, that's for sure. She's so awesome & I know every mom says it, but I don't know what we did before her arrival (my guess is that I was watching way more reality t.v. than you could shake a stick at). She's talking & mimicking A LOT these days. Which means I have to watch my god damn f*&!ing mouth now. Great. Which, by the way, is really hard to do when you have a dog who never stops barking. And half the time he's barking at air. (And now you just got a glimpse of what our household is like on a daily basis. Your welcome.). Which would explain why this sometimes happens:

 

Anyhoo. Moving along.

I've been meaning to do a post on toddler meals for so long now. When I started (and never finished) the original post on this topic it was months ago. And since then, we've been all over the board. It seems teething--as well as a very opinionated 17-month old--are the reasons why mealtimes can be a down right challenge at times. I will say this--Emme is a pretty good eater on most days. I'm sure this is likely to change over the years (or the next 10 minutes), but for now it's all about providing a protein, grain, fruit and veggie with every meal (as well as striving for variety...something I struggle with on the daily). That doesn't mean all of those things actually make it into her mouth during each meal. But at least I'm holding up my end of the bargain.

 

Right now I swear by the Weelicious cook books. They're the bomb. If I was in the business of writing cookbooks (of which I am not) I would have written these for sure. They're typically my go to cookbooks when I'm trying to meal plan for the week. Which I usually do on Sundays. And then I head straight to Wegmans where I go to battle with the entire city of Buffalo (who also thinks shopping on a Sunday is a greeeeaaaaat idea).

I often sometimes get anxiety trying to put meals together for a toddler & two adults. The family cook book is right on...I can usually find something that's interesting, healthy, and pleases the three of us. Usually. So to sum things up, I love these books. Also, I need Xanex to grocery shop or pack lunches.

In other news....

So after we had a child, the old scrapbook room/office/store all my junk room turned into Emme's playroom. And I know, I still have not shared pics of the space. But for right now you should know that it is finished, it's awesome, and it helps keep our living room from looking like a daycare facility (most days anyway). The husband has his room/office, but for whatever reason he wasn't super welcoming when it came time to find a place for my stuff. So I purchased (with the help of my in-laws--in the form of a birthday gift) this shelf/cabinet:

It's awesome. I found it on Amazon. It came a little nicked and battered, but nothing overly noticeable. It was super easy to put together too (i.e., it didn't require the use of the husband or a drill). Also, I finally have a place to corral all my stuff (that isn't on the dining room table)! And since all my belongings are on display, I have no choice but to keep things looking good and organized in there. Unfortunately--and it didn't take long--little hands have figured out a way to get inside this thing, so I don't know how long things will stay looking like this. The other good news is that this thing replaced the stupid wine fridge...that we still have yet to get rid of. Anyone want to buy a wine fridge? Anyone?? Please? I've been reduced to begging.

Sources:

Cabinet: Amazon

Wire baskets: Hobby Lobby

File folder storage & turquoise box: HomeGoods

Horsehead book end: thrifted

And if you're not too busy this evening, think about tuning in to watch my alma mater, the University of Dayton, take on Stanford in the NCAA tourney, won't you? I know someone who won't be watching. In fact, she could give a crap.

Whew...this was fun. It's good to be back!

Around here lately...

Well, it's September! The unofficial start to fall & a regular routine. I have no clue what I'm going to do when I have children who will go off to school. Routine + fancy school supplies + back to school clothes = I lose my mind. Anyway! I'm kind of pumped that fall is here. A little sad that summer flew by so fast, but meh...I guess I'm over it. Upward & onward!

We've been taking advantage of our local farmer's market. Only two more months left (sniff, sniff)! Man, are we going to miss all these great fruits & veggies come winter. It's so easy to feed Emme when we've got so much fresh stuff on hand.

 

 

And no trip to the farmer's market is complete without a stop to listen to whatever musician is playing that day. In this case it was a fiddler (who's been there the last 2 weeks). We take our live music very seriously! Either that or she's totally unimpressed.

 

 



 

 

Lately, we've spent every last waking hour saying the word NO. Like, 9,291 times a day. Seriously, you think I'm joking. This child is going to grow up thinking mommy only knows one word! Some days I get to the point where it's just easier to remove a problem all together...

 

 

 

 

 

I mean, seriously. I had pretty much had it that day. And this was all before 9:30 a.m. Good thing she's so cute, it's hard to resist this face!

 



 

We celebrated the last weekend of summer at the wedding of the husband's childhood friend. The husband was also in the wedding, so it was a busy weekend of rehearsals, celebrating, brunches, etc. The wedding was so much fun & just gorge. In this day & age of Pinterest, it's hard for weddings not to be!

 

 

 

 

 

That weekend was also our first overnight away from Emme (thanks to my mom who babysat)! The wedding was local, and we stayed only 15 minutes from our house. But ahhh....it was awesome. I was totally looking forward to catching up on sleep. But we're parents, so you just automatically wake up at 7:00 a.m....baby or no baby. And we didn't get to bed until late since we were some of the last people to leave the wedding. We danced all night like we were 21 years old (and then woke up the next morning to find out that--surprise!--we are in fact, not 21 years old). We practically had to be escorted out of the place.

 

 

 

And while we were out celebrating, this girl was busy turning 10 months! I took this pic a few days late, but getting her to sit still for any sort of picture these days is just impossible. She's over it.

 



 

 

It's hard to believe I've already begun to plan her first birthday party! I know every mama says it, but when did this happen? It seems like just yesterday she was born!

 

 

I hosted a play date for Emme & her "friends" this past weekend. These girls are going to be the bestest of friends when they get older (because their parents told them so)!

 

 



 

 

Emme was kind of over the whole play date thing shortly after it began. I guess that's the hard thing about hosting in your own home...it's the same old toys & tricks. Eh. Anyway, she and baby Brynn are the same size & Emme has a whole 5 months on her! I swear, she is such a little peanut. She had on 9 month jeans that day, and they were sagging off of her. If she wasn't wearing diapers, she'd be sporting major plumber's crack. 

 

We also broke out the Bills gear for the season home opener! My girlfriend gave us this outfit (so cute, right?), and I figured we should wear it now...because our excitement for the team will likely fade by game two. And wouldn't you know, they lost to the Patriots that day! They were winning for most of the game too. The husband was running around the house declaring that the Bills were this year's "team of destiny". And by the time I had come home from a Wegman's run, they had lost (evidently they were no longer a "team of destiny"). Oh well, you win some, you lose some. And if you're from Buffalo, you continue to hold onto hope...because this.just.might.be.the.year. Or something like that.

 

 

Emme also started with a new sitter last week! I'm officially back to work four days a week, and home with her every Friday. I'm a little sad about the transition, but this is a great thing for both of us. She gets to socialize 2 days a week (she's with my mom the other 2 days), and I get to go to work and do adult things like, working without interruptions & having adult conversations and blogging. See? A win-win for everyone!

 

I also think I mentioned it in my last post, but I'm just about finished with Emme's playroom! You should know better than to expect I'll post pictures when I say I will (soon, I promise!), but just a few more finishing touches, and this room will be 100% Emme's. Which is pretty awesome since she already loves it in there. And it's pretty much a worry free zone (for the most part), since she can't get into too much trouble in there (it keeps her away from touching the dvd player 800 times a day). We just need to get a baby gate to keep her from escaping, and then mommy can happily (or so they say) tend to the laundry and/or other assorted house chores. You take your pick.

 

So bye, bye for now (says Emme in the new playroom)!

 



Oh, um...

....hi blog! Nice to see you again.

It seems I took a bit of a blog sabbatical. I guess that's to be expected when you're busy enjoying the summer and chasing after a 10 month old who does.not.stop. Um, like ever. And yeah, our house should have been baby proofed ages ago.

So anyway, I'm back! It's hard to believe the summer is almost over. We just got back from our annual trip to Cape May where we learned a cold, hard lesson that vacations are no longer about working on your tan & reading the latest US Weekly. No, no it's not, my friends. Vacations are now all about occupying your baby on the beach (while she gets sand in every imaginable crevice), still trying to honor a nap schedule, and eating dinner at 5:00 sharp in an effort to be in bed by 7:30 (parents included!). And to think next year we'll be chasing a toddler down the beach. Hold onto your swim trunks folks!

the baby tent that we used all of an hour...and then it took 17 hours to figure out how to fold it up

 

 

yep, we carted ourselves to the beach everyday with that thing behind me...all 827 lbs. of baby gear

 

 

 

first day at the beach...meh (meltdown to ensue in 5, 4, 3....)

 

 

playing in the town fountains was WAY more fun (and a daily must-do)

 

 

 

 

lobster salad sammies at the Lobster House (touché)

 

 

second day at the beach, much more successful...that, and we got her to keep a hat on...finally.

 

 

 

 

for the record, I hadn't even noticed him.

 

 

 

 

day 3: beach living is easy

 

 

 

 

 

And...because I couldn't go without including this pic from this past weekend at the husband's family cabin....

 

 

 

OMG. What in the world?? She looks like a toddler in this picture!! I can barely believe my girl is almost a year. I know, I know, every mother says that. But seriously, I still can't believe it! Miss thing & her eight (yes EIGHT!) teeth. She polished off a steak last night.

Just kidding (obvs)!

In other news, I've been working on Emme's playroom. It's coming along, and we are SO freaking happy to have a place to contain all of the toys! Not to mention the room is adjacent to the living room, so it could not be more perfect. I never thought I'd be that person who required a toy/playroom in our next house. But would you look at that, I've become her. I'll share progress pics soon!

Or in 4 months, or whatever.