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Nine of the sweetest months of my life all thanks to this little growing girl.

I didn't plan her monthly photos, it just sort of happened when I chose to take a photo of her under her these letters when she was a month old. Life was pretty crazy then, so I think I barely found the energy to get some photos of her. I wish I would have thought through and done something else, but I think being consistent looks the best. Although, when putting this collage together I realized that at 3 months I didn't include all of the letters. Next month I think I'll just use just the R again to even it out. The past few months have been more difficult to get a photo of her staying still. But, I'm choosing to embrace it. I'm sure next month she will barely be in the frame, ha! or standing, yikes! 

This girl is just growing right in front of my eyes. It's crazy. This first year is so, so fun. Challenging, yes, but also so rewarding. I can see all of those night feedings on those thighs and cheeks. This past nine months have not been the easiest, but by far they have been the most fulfilling of my life. Ruby, you continue to make me a more thankful, kinder, and joyful person. I love you, little one.
My mom asked me if I needed any clothes for Ruby, because she has a coupon at BabyGap. I had fun doing some shopping for Ruby for the Spring and Summer. I can't wait until Spring gets here!

Here are some of my favorites pieces that I found: 

As I mentioned in my last post we took Ruby on a special Valentine's Day date, and hopefully the start of a new tradition, to a restaurant that may have not been totally suitable for this nine month old. We knew that it was a nice place, but didn't realize that it would be such a quiet atmosphere, with servers dressed in tuxes, white linens, and fancy china. 

I was debating whether or not to share these photos, because they are really bad quality. I meant to bring my nice camera, but forgot. But, I always want to remember this sweet date with our little girl. It really turned out to be such a nice evening that I will always remember. So, please look past the bad, evening iphone photos.


So, How did we end up at this place on a Thursday evening, you ask? That's a really good question.

You see, I gifted Jordan a Groupon (basically a coupon for restaurants and such) for this restaurant, Giovanni's, for Christmas hoping that it would be a nice date for the two of us. There's an Italian district in St. Louis called The Hill and we love it, so I thought it would be fun to get some good Italian food. Although, we hadn't had a chance to go since the past months have been so busy.

Fast forward to the 11th of February and the coupon I got for Jordan was expiring. That day. We weren't sure if it would work out or not to go. Thankfully Jordan got off early that day, but we still weren't sure if we would be able to make it, or if we really wanted to go. We also didn't get around to getting someone to stay with Ruby.


Everything just sort of came together. I think we both were a little tired and would have been happy to stay home, but there wasn't anything keeping us back. Ruby took a late nap, so she would be able to stay up a little later. Jordan came downstairs dressed in a tie and a red shirt declaring that we were going, so I dressed Ruby and I up in some festive attire as well.

Just look at her.. I think she knew that this was special.
Jordan particularly loved this photo of her eating the table.
They brought out Ruby her own ice cream, so I guess they weren't too offended that we brought her to their fancy restaurant. Thankfully she shared with us.
Just look at her! She did so well. She was quiet and polite and only yelled a few times! :) She definitely proved to us that we can take her to nice restaurants more often! Well, maybe not his nice. 
I kept the photo above because of her little fingers in the bottom corner..
Ruby, We hope that you know that you are incredibly loved. We are so thankful that you add a little more fun to our lives. We can't wait to take you on a little date again next year!

I don't have too many links to share with you this week. Thankfully Jordan got off early yesterday, which was such a treat! And his day off this week is today, so we're currently soaking up our 'weekend'. I'm trying not to think too much about how he has to work the real weekend. boo.

Last night we took Ruby to a fancy restaurant with white tablecloths and servers in tuxes,  somewhat on accident. Thankfully she was very polite and not too loud. I have some more grainy iphone photos if you would like to see more of our evening, which hopefully turns into a little tradition to come.

Well, here are the very few links I have this week, but I added a little story, so I think it's worth it!

The best dubsmash videos I've seen yet

This timelapse of Cincinnati gives me all the feels for the city I grew up in

Back in the day when I told Jordan that "I just wanted to be friends" he would show up at the art library where I would hang out between classes. He would be reading Harry Potter, my all-time favorite. It totally worked and now we often reread the series together.

I love that they are turning the eighth book into a play, and It seems only fitting that it comes out on our five year anniversary this year. I think I convinced Jordan that we need to visit London to see it and celebrate. I mean, we always wanted to visit Europe for our five year anniversary anyway. Reading the book will be cool too, I guess.

I also wanted to say thank you for all of the feedback on this random post. You guys are the best. I seriously just started typing and all of the thoughts swirling in my head just turned into words on the screen. I felt a little nervous and vulnerable after posting, and somewhat ridiculous, but am so thankful for you all. You are so kind.

Are you doing anything to celebrate Valentine's Day this weekend?

Jordan says that he's making me a nice dinner, and he's not bad in the kitchen, so I am pretty excited. I told him about my idea for homemade heart-shaped pizza and he just looked at me a little funny.

I also almost showed Jordan the card Ruby got for him early, but I stayed strong. I did read the book  we got for her though, but she has no idea what's going on. :)

Also, we just booked a flight to Phoenix and Denver... what should we do there??

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photo above from our trip to Seattle


I promise I'm not into Valentine's Day as much as it appears. Though, over the years I have grown to appreciate a celebration in the middle of February. As much as it looks like this cake is for the February holiday, I actually made it for some friend's birthdays. But, neither of those are the point of this post. I have been working on my cake baking skills while still using boxed cake mix, of course, and learned the best cake baking trick to date yet and I am so excited to share it with you. 



I had some candies from my target run this week (remember, last post when I caved and got a Valentine to Jordan from Ruby, ha!) that I needed to get rid of before I ate the entire bag, so I used them to decorate the cake. So, I guess it did turn into a Valentine's Day cake. If that's what we want it to be. 



Enough of this pretty cake, onto the trick I was talking about...


I know that this has been done before and I can't remember where I saw it first years ago. All I did was tie a wet cloth around the pan and THE CAKE COOKED EVENLY AND FLAT. It's a miracle. I still can't believe it worked. Even Jordan, the science guy, was amazed. 


At first I didn't think that this would be worth the extra effort to do this... and is it really worth ruining a towel? Yes. Yes, it is. Trust me, your towel will serve a much, much greater purpose.

It actually ended up saving me so much time and energy. Since, the top of the cake was mostly flat I didn't need to trim the top of the cake, where usually it's rounded. Icing the cake was a breeze since, it didn't need to be trimmed, there weren't and crumbs to get in the way. I was able to stack the layers together, and it looked way better.

I was able to use a large square washcloth to fit both pans. I cut it out in a zig zag like pattern, so that the square cloth turned into a long strand. I wanted it to be long enough to tie at the end and not have to use safety pins.

Also, a quick talk about Funfetti. I can't believe that I forgot about it's goodness. I haven't had it in way too long. I always say it's my favorite, and a coworker even knew on my birthday a couple years ago, but I always forget about it when at the store. But, never again.

Also, I love how Natalie spotted the box in this picture on instagram. Haha.



Here are some tips: 


1. Don't use an old cleaning cloth - as much as you will want to use an old towel or washcloth, don't use one that has been used with any type of cleaning solution. I almost did this, but realized I didn't want to ruin my cake with yucky chemicals, natural or not. (I settled and used a cheap washcloth we bought for Ruby at mealtimes.) 

2. Soak the towel before use and then ring out - You can see where my towel got a little charred. I'm not sure if this would help, but I think I think it may be the safest bet instead of just quickly wetting the cloth. 

3. You can also use safety pins if your cloth isn't long enough, but I think tying the ends is the easiest option, so try to make your cloth long enough! 

4. You can use a square cloth for this! Just start cutting a strip off the end of the cloth, but before getting to the end, leave about an inch and start cutting at the opposite side to make a zig zag to make a continuous strip. Here's an image to help with that. 

5.  Because it helps the cake cook so evenly, it may cook a little faster. Luckily I checked the cake before the timer went off and took it out a few minutes early. So, just set the timer for 5 minutes less than the recipe calls for and begin checking to see if it's cooked all the way.

I will definitely be using this trick for now on. I am saving the cloth pieces I used, so it will even be easier the next time. 

Have you done this before? I encourage you to try it if you haven't! Also, my next goal is to make a taller cake. Has anyone added more layers? or used more smaller pans? I would love to hear your thoughts if so. 

I had not thought too much about celebrating valentine's day with the ruby girl until last night while we were in target. 

Granted, I thought about getting her a book or something, but was still trying to resist the consumerism urge. (She also already has this cute heart rattle thanks to Bannor Toys) But, while standing in the target card aisle, I totally caved. Hard. I never buy cards, I usually make them, but we stopped at the card section at target last night looking at cards to dad from a daughter. I just couldn't help myself. Everything about her relationship with her father makes me a little teary eyed and sentimental. 


I decided to play a little game with Ruby to choose a special card for her papa.

I held up two cards so that she could pick one. I kept switching out the card she didn't pick with another one. I only had to do this a few times, because she picked out the same one each time and it was clear that was the card she liked best. 

Of course for her papa, she picked one out of the 'from son' section, haha. I just know that her papa is going to love it. I may have also thought about picking up some little valentine's for her baby friends, but snapped out of it, and decided that was too far. (ok, maybe they didn't have any cute ones left)


After we got back and Jordan got home, I told him about how Ruby picked him out a card herself. He definitely asked about the details of my little game to see how legitimate her 'choosing' the card was. I assured him, that it was her favorite, albeit she may not know that it's for him, but I like to think so. :)

We both agreed to get her this book as a valentine from us. Ruby loves getting kisses and will sometimes even give me a slobbery one. I read the reviews and thought this would be another great book to add to her collection. I love buying gifts and Jordan doesn't, so we usually even each other out.

Books are always an easy choice though, and he can even justify them. I love getting books for holidays and writing the date and little mementos to continue to look back through the years. Such a sentimental, fun, and practical gift.


and just for fun.. here are some more sweet, pink, and heartfelt gifts for your little:
(all under 20 dollars, because that's how we roll)

more books:

the book I mentioned in this post
the other book I thought about getting for Rubes (I also saw this at Target)
for your princess
romeo & juliet boardbook
hug machine

other fun gifts:

the best baby socks ever
the heart rattle in these photos and this heart teether
this pink flower headband

and i've been eyeing this sweet ballet dress for Ruby (it's on sale! but, i will still wait for a coupon!) and this matching cardigan, and ballet shoes!

I already can't wait until next year when she will actually be able to pick out a card for her papa again. Hopefully this turns into a fun little tradition.

are you getting your little anything for valentine's day? do you have any traditions?

These awesomely, cheesy valentines are from last valentine's day. This is only a handful of all of the puntastic creations I came up (googled) with. I spent the week before valentine's day writing all of these out and went grocery shopping for all of the items and set them out after Jordan went to sleep the night before. He woke up the next morning with a kitchen full of little gifts and valentines with bad puns. There were also some scattered throughout the house. 


Jordan surprisingly loves cheesy things like this. Since he often doesn't love smaller gifts, and I can't quite afford the kayak off his wishlist for valentine's, I decided to go this route and go to the grocery. Because, who doesn't love food? 

I'm pretty sure he loved it. In fact, the soda bottle I got him (Soda, you want to be my valentine?" is still on his bedside table. Chelsey was helping me go through some clothes and tidy our room this weekend, and he wouldn't let her throw it out. I'm glad he has fond memories of this. 

So, if you don't have any ideas for valentine's day to show some love for your hubby, boyfriend, or friend, this is a fun and lighthearted way to show them you care. You obviously don't need to do as many as I did, but I fall into the 'go big or go home' camp. This year, I am definitely going home, but that's ok, because it would be pretty hard to top this anyway. Jordan is working this year, so maybe we will just make homemade pizzas or something, hopefully in the shape of hearts. Handwritten cards also go a long way with Jordan, so I will definitely write one. 


I'm still requesting flowers though. 

Do you have any big plans for Valentine's Day? Would you surprise your loved one with a million ridiculously cheesy valentines? 

I woke up this morning feeling rested and ready to tackle the new week. This hasn't been the case lately, as Ruby has not been sleeping so well at night. This past week she learned so many new things, from climbing up on everything to clapping. She really is working through that milestones list! All that to say, she doesn't have much time to eat during the day and has been waking up at night. I didn't get to bed until late last night, so I was expecting a tough morning, but was pleasantly surprised when Rubes slept in.


Did you watch the Superbowl last night? We didn't go to a party since we haven't had much family time and Jordan was actually off in the evening. We made our favorite taco dip and watched the game. Although, by the end of the game both Ruby and Jordan were asleep and I was on my computer. So, none of us were really interested. 

I got lost in a rabbit hole of reading new blogs. It was the first time that I have done that in a while. It was refreshing and inspiring to see others making and creating. I was so inspired I started a few blog posts, with paragraphs of endless rambling. I hope to sort through some of it and share with you this week. One revelation I did have, was the why behind this blog. So many bloggers have a clear motto, or reason behind their blog and what they post. And I don't. I'm choosing to be ok in working through what I want out of this space. I am working out more and more what I want to look like and what you will expect to see here. Don't be too surprised, it may be a little bit of everything. But, I wouldn't mind some help. What have been your favorite posts so far? What would you like to see more of? Are there some posts that you just don't read? 

Also, for this first time I started to comment on most of the blogs I visited. I don't know what it is about blogs, but commenting doesn't come as natural as instagram or some social media platforms. I've never been one to really mind that I don't get many comments on my blog, because it's been mostly for me. I posted to remember & to share moments with family. But, as I mentioned earlier, this blog is slowly changing. This isn't to guilt trip you into commenting on my blog (ok, maybe a little) but, a call to bring back the blogging platform as a way to communicate and build community. I'm hoping that this is a little space of the internet that puts a little smile on your face. 

& a little shout out to Brittany (Hi, Britt!) and others for taking the time to share some love on the blog! I always appreciate it!  


My brother and his wife were visiting this past weekend and we visited the City Museum here in St. Louis. It was so FUN. all caps fun, yes. I woke up the next morning hurting and with bruised knees. It was fun to feel like a little kid again. Chelsey got some good photos, so I will share more about this soon when I get them, so I won't talk too much about it now. I just couldn't help but to mention it and share these photos that I posted over on my instagram. 


Man, I had more thoughts in my head than I realized. If you're like me and sometimes can't quite handle that many words, here's the recap:

Ruby slept in this morning and I woke up feeling awake and refreshed for the first time in too long.

Ruby is a crazy, fearless baby, and is growing and changing faster than either of us can handle. It's messing up both of our sleep.

We stayed in and watched the superbowl. It wasn't too exciting, but fun fact: Jordan and I's relationship started after he took me home from a superbowl party years ago, or so he says.

I rambled about how I entertained myself during the superbowl by finding new blogs and had some good reflection time on my own blog.

I asked your opinion.. what do you want to see on here? what are posts or things you like about my blog? What bores you? (My endless rambling...??)

I also went off on a tangent about commenting on blogs... so I'm going to feel really uncool if noone comments on this post.

I also mentioned how we visited the City Museum this weekend. It was awesome. You need to go.

That's all. Happy Monday! oh, and text raincheck to 888222 today for a free chipotle burrito. totally legit.

also, I wish I would have bookmarked some of the new blogs I found. If I find the time I may have to go through my internet history to find them. Are there any new or old favorite blogs that you have been reading?

If you have started to realize that my relationship with my husband revolves around sending links and texting, you're right. Because, Jordan works such long hours, that we communicate through mostly text, with an occasional phone call, maybe a facetime here and there, and if we're really lucky we get to see him in person.  I guess this is my way of keeping things light and a way to share in what I am reading and laughing at during the day. I have some screenshots of texts we've shared about Ruby that I have saved that I may share too sometime. They're pretty humorous.

Again, Jordan loves anything with The Office, this one of Michael Scott saying phrases and words wrong is pretty funny. I also sent this gif which is pretty much me anytime I talk.


this is so disgusting and made me gag a little, but was also funny at the same time. babies are gross and funny.

found this one floating around facebook. any settlers of catan fans out there?

i thought this was interesting, but Jordan probably already fully understands this theory without any visuals.  or that's what i tell myself why he didn't respond.

So, I sent Jordan this link this week... and he responded with this one. Such a pessimist.

What are you up to this weekend? My brother and his wife (or Uncle Jo and Aunt JoJo) are currently visiting. We went to a St. Louis Blues game last night. I don't know much about hockey, but it was fun to watch. They will be here all this weekend, and we're dreaming of what we want to do. The city museum may be a good option, think we can just throw Ruby in the ergo? People have explained it to me as an adult playscape. Jordan actually wanted to go as a date in the early months with Ruby. It just sounded way too intense and not my speed at that time.

Do you have any suggestions on fun things to do in St. Louis? It's still a little weird calling this 'our home' when we still feel like visitors.

Have a good weekend!
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The above photo is one of my favorites of these two. Only a day old and already smirking at her papa. I started going though these photos from the hospital again. I hope to share them along with Ruby's birth story, that is if I don't get caught up in nostalgia land.