The Florida Girl

𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕪𝕝𝕖 𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕘𝕖𝕣 • 𝕞𝕠𝕞 • 𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕣 • 𝕗𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕠𝕟

Come dance with me, I’m 3!

Baby girl, you ARE the party!

Tutu & Jacket by IlovePlum Shoes by Vans

Our daughter, Hendrix has always been the life of the party so naturally a dance theme birthday was the perfect way to celebrate her, and she was all for it! Plus, there’s nothing like getting all dolled up, blaring music, and dancing your butt off, am I right?

I’m not sure what you might expect at a 3-year old’s dance party, but I think it had to include tons of frills, endless sweets, and a tremendous amount of bling. Hands down, the disco ball had to have been the most widely used décor item of 2020, needless to say, it was the perfect accessory to create all the magic and bling.

One of my biggest tips when planning party is to create several zones. One way to tie décor together from each zone is by using various hues of your color palette. Danielle, owner of The Stylish Detail, created this gorgeous custom fringe backdrop for the dance floor area by using desaturated colors that tied in with the florals and the wooden divider.

Yup, that is the face I made too. I know baby girl, it’s true, we made the divider wall from scratch. It actually wasn’t that hard to make (says the one who designed it and wasn’t really the one who “made” it). I did paint it though (that counts, right? LOL) This simple DIY divider will forever be the best idea. It blocked and hid our sliding glass doors. I plan to use it time and time again to hide things I don’t want to visually see and add texture and color. I need to paint the blush panel out now for my son’s first birthday in a few weeks! I have a DIY Backdrop highlight reel on my Instagram about how we made these!

Setting the table and creating the backdrop in that zone was an event in itself! It was an incredibly windy day… like 10-20 mph gusts crazy…all day! Mama was slightly freaking out (aka a lot)! One would never know from these photos though! My hubby created a PVC miracle and mounted it to our hurricane shutter pegs! Yes, you heard that correct. I had visions of hanging disco balls and handmade pompoms from “something”. After many hours of brainstorming together he made it happen!

Modern Birch Co. nailed it with this custom acrylic name for the backdrop wall. Scroll to see the custom drink stirrers she made us also!

Table setting is all about layering and creating lots of texture, levels and movement. So many details of a tablescape get overlooked so here are some amazing angles and close-ups!

The DIY Candle block centerpiece was probably one of the most talked about and asked about item of the party! I saw this idea on Instagram and knew my hubby could make it for me for just a few bucks, and he sure did! Check out the IG Highlight Reel about the Party Deets where I cover all the details of how we made it.

There are those Modern Birch Co. drink stir sticks! Pro tip: Mix real tableware with paper goods and use a cute accessory like a mini disco ball to hold down paper cups (especially on windy days)!

My closest girlfriend Shauna of @stayinghomesawyer made these adorable music note cut-out placemats for me with her cricut! If you remember, she made me some of the same ones with lemons for our Blogger Summer Soiree.

That sign though!! Floral Dust knew exactly what I wanted when I described my vision to her! This 18″ diameter custom acrylic sign with hand painted background and gold leaf was the perfect showstopper! She also created our gorgeous cake topper.

When we do sweets, we go big or go home! Our local bakery, Two Fat Cookies, always knocks my vision out of the park! This custom cake was the sweetest part of Hendrix’s day!

At every great party, there is a V.I.B (very important babe) lounge, right? We took our little outdoor seating area and dolled it up with some cute pillows, a cozy blanket & some florals, of course! (PS., these décor & home accessories were all things we previously had – that is the best and easiest way to decorate a party and add tons of texture & color – shop your own home…bring the indoors out!)

Needless to say we are all looking around dumbfounded how we already have a sweet 3 year old (Ummmm, actually 3-1/2 year old now due to how slow I was to get this blog out)! Where did that year go!?

Hop in and get excited! Simple DIY bunny headband

These simple DIY bunny ears are sure to get you egg-cited! Follow along to make your own DIY Easter Bunny ear headband!

What you’ll need:

  • Plastic bunny ear headband
  • Yarn to wrap around headband
  • Felt – two colors (I used classic brown and pink – you can use any set of colors)
  • A pen
  • Hot glue gun
  • Scissors
  • *Opt. decorative “fuzzy fur” yarn” & other ribbon or embellishments

Instructions:

  1. Use a piece of scrap paper to cut the shape of a bunny ear.
  2. Trace onto brown felt.
  3. Use that same piece of paper and trim it a little smaller to make the template for the inside of the ear.
  4. Trace onto pink felt.
  5. Use hot glue gun to glue the pink cutouts onto the brown ones.
  6. Start by placing a small bit of hot glue on the end of the headband and begin wrapping the headband with yarn.
  7. Continue until the entire headband section is wrapped and covered. *No need to cover the ears.
  8. Use hot glue to attach the felt cutout ears onto the plastic ears of the headband.
  9. Add fuzzy “fur” yarn as an accent on the ears if you would like.
  10. Add embellishments like other decorative ribbon or flowers if you would like.

Some bunny thinks they can get away with slackin’ & snackin’.

Well, I guess you can when you are this cute!

What do you mean Easter carrots? I wanted Easter candy!

Easter Basket For Kids

Easter is no longer just about candy for me anymore since having kids. I love to see the joy and excitement on their faces when they see their holiday gift baskets. Last years Easter basket had huge meaning for us! Check out the blog post here, Easter Basket Gender Reveal. I knew it would be hard to top that set of baskets, but these come pretty darn close! They are filled with all the best goodies!

These are my top 4 simple tips in order to create the perfect holiday basket:

1) Buy items you would already be purchasing or need anyway.

2) Purchase shoes in the next size to get longer use.

3) Purchase one seasonal/holiday item.

4) Add a little sweet treat or novelty item for a special surprise.

When it comes time to staging them and having all of the items show (especially if you are photographing them) use old rolled up hand towels and filler to stuff and fill the baskets. I used brown construction paper to fill the bottom of the baskets and bring all of the goodies up to the top to be more visible. I rolled hand towels and used them to fill and prop the items up as well.

Here are all the items I snagged for Bodhi’s basket:

And check out all the goods for Hendrix:

For more holiday basket inspiration, head to these posts: Valentine’s Day “Love Day Gift Basket” or “Let Me Love You Valentine’s Day Basket” , St. Patty’s Day “Ultimate St. Patty’s Day Basket Guide”

Love Day Gift Basket

One of my favorite quotes is “Love always, in all ways”…and I’ve got nothin’ but love so I sprinkle it like confetti!

Are kids Valentine’s Day baskets necessary? No. Are they fun? Yes! My babes are only so young once and I love spoiling them when I can and spreading the love. That is why I enjoy creating and giving special gift baskets like these for the holidays.

Some of the basics I like to include in my holiday themed baskets are:
An original/unique “basket” of some sort
Cute name tags
Books
Pajamas
Flowers
Sweet treats (this year hot cocoa bombs were all the rage!)
Holiday Pennant Wands (see my Instagram highlight reel for DIY)
Themed Cups or Tableware
*The links to most all of my items in our baskets this year are below*

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13

Here are a few other holiday baskets I have created in the past! Happy viewing! Hop to it, Spring! Easter Basket Gender Reveal Ultimate St. Patty’s Day Basket Guide

We’ve Been UPPA-Graded

We are riding the newborn high over here! It has been four fast months since we welcomed our 2nd IVF miracle baby into our lives. Meet Bodhi Croix! He joined our family on 7/27/20 and we couldn’t be more excited.

Complete Versatility

We have been long-time consumers of UPPAbaby and have owned the UPPAbaby VISTA since we went through IVF to have our first child. It is our pleasure & honor to be working with UPPAbaby and showing off all of the additional features and benefits of why we chose the VISTA stroller.

Why We Love UPPAbaby

Our daughter, Hendrix Rae is nearly 3 years old and has been enjoying (and we have done a lot of enjoying) the VISTA stroller since we brought her home from the hospital. Our stroller is just as amazing as it was on day one! We knew we wanted to invest in the best quality stroller, have the ability to upgrade & transition from a single stroller to a double, as well as have the most beautiful stroller on the market and the VISTA nailed it! Speaking of beautiful details, here are some close-ups of what set the VISTA apart from other strollers. One of the most iconic parts of an UPPAbaby stroller, to me, is the adjustable premium, full-grain leather handlebar.

The Bassinet, RumbleSeat, & Toddler Seat all feature a canopy with UPF 50+ protection! Super important and perfect for this Florida Family!

The UPPAbaby VISTA has a super light-weight frame and even with the Toddler Seat installed is still a mere 27lbs combined. The Toddler Seat is reversible, includes a five-point, no-rethread harness, an adjustable footrest, and a one-handed, multi-position recline.

The oversized, easy-access basket is hands-down my favorite feature! It has a 30 lb weight limit for all the mama & baby things!

Reality

This year has certainly been crazy and has thrown many of us for loops but I will say, welcoming baby Bodhi has made it one of the best years ever. Going for family walks has been one of the saving graces for us. We love that UPPAbaby has thought of it all with so many different configurations. For the first few months, we used the Bassinet but we have recently transitioned Bodhi to the Toddler Seat and upgraded Hendrix to the “driver seat” in the RumbleSeat upfront. UPPAbaby has a great tool on their site showing all the various VISTA expansion options. Click the link HERE to view.

Magical Everything

As if what I have outlined above wasn’t enough, UPPAbaby offers several additional accessories for all-weather, terrain, and lifestyles to make their strollers even sweeter. From rain additional car seat adapters to infant snug seat inserts (shown in the previous image), to cup holders to kids snack trays, they have it all, and it’s as magical as Christmas!

We, as native Floridians know cold temperatures are fleeting so, naturally when they dipped we rushed out for a coffee (hot cocoa for the babe) & a family walk. The air was crisp and the sky was clear! It made for the perfect night to see the Christmas tree our city installs each year.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of UPPAbaby. All opinions are 100% mine.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

How many trees are too many? Asking for a friend (just kidding, I am asking for me). I saw these cute Christmas tree cupcakes by Preppy Kitchen on Pinterest and HAD to make them! They were a hit, obvi!

Ingredients:
Homemade Red Velvet Cake (See Preppy Kit Link above) or store-bought
Dinky Dippers Mini Cones
Homemade White Icing (See Preppy Kit Link above) or store-bought
2 Pastry Bags
2 Cake Decorating Tips (1 standard round opening, 1 star tip)
Cupcake Baking Pan
Cupcake Liners
Confectioners Sugar for Dusting “Snow”
*I cut one corner and made a box kit of red velvet cupcakes! Sue me! LOL

Directions:
Make cupcakes per Preppy Kit instructions or box
Pipe or spread white icing on cupcakes
Coat mini cones with green icing using a butterknife
Set green iced cone on top of the iced cupcake
Use a pastry bag with a star tip to create the tree texture
Dust with confectioners sugar for a “snow” look
Eat your face off!

These little Christmas tree cupcakes fit right in with all of our bottle brush trees…but only for a very short time before they were scarfed down. Not only are these cuties easy to make they are super yummy!

And who doesn’t eat cupcakes with an I Love Plum tutu on? I know I would if they came in my size! LOL, Our new favorite tutu is the L.O.L Tutu dress in Pixie Pink! Look at the little cut-out shoulder detail! So cute.

Nothing to see here…just a girl dressed adorably eating a delicious cupcake.

It’s the nature of the beast

It’s part of parenthood and life our kids grow up and get older, whether you want them to or not, am I right? I can’t believe my baby is in a big girl bed.

We recently welcomed our 2nd miracle baby into our lives and it was time for Hendrix to hand over the crib and she was more than ready and excited. We have been long time consumers of the Naturepedic brand. We have a Naturepedic EOS Classic mattress in our guest room and love it. When we determined we were transitioning Hendrix we immediately knew we wanted a Naturepedic mattress for her.

We chose the Naturepedic Verse Mattress for her. It is certified organic and is designed without glues, adhesives, flame retardants, or other questionable materials. It has multiple layers of thick organic cotton batting that provide cushioning over a premium glueless encased coil support system for a comfortable design that promotes airflow to reduce overheating. It was a no-brainer. Only the best for our girl!

Not only are the mattresses super comfortable and ridiculously high quality we love the fact that Naturepedic is committed to protecting the environment through the materials sourced, products created, and business practices they use. They source organic materials certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).

We are all happy and in love with Hendrix’s new mattress and big girl bed. We can sleep rest assured we made the perfect decision for her.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Naturepedic for Naturepedic. All opinions are 100% mine.

DIY Fall playhouse decor

Florida fall…it’s is a real thing. Well, it actually might require asking a friend to mail you some fall leaves but, hey. This year I was determined to bring all the fall feels to South Florida and deco out Hendrix’s new playhouse! Here are the steps to creating this gorgeous fall boho wreath & boho initial door emblem.

Brand New Iloveplum Pearl Ivory Tutu & Plie Twist Crop Sweater
Items Needed:
-fresh Fall leaves 
(or store-bought fake ones here)
-hot glue gun
-scrap cardboard
-decorative yarn
-floral wreath hoop
-scisscors
-boho dried flowers, pampas, palms or pinecones
-twine
FALL BOHO WREATH
Directions:
-Use hot glue gun to glue dried flowers & palms to floral hoop
-use twine to wrap the stems (this is decorative and functional,
it helps keep the flowers on tight)
-keep the design very asymmetrical and simple
-use fall leaves for final accent
BOHO INITIAL DOOR EMBLEM
Directions:
-use scrap cardboard to draw initial (can be in script or print)
-use sciscors to cut out the initial
-use hot glue gun & start wrapping the cardboard initial with decorative yarn
-use a piece of twine as the "hook"
-add a few leaves as an accent to conveal command hook

I layered the boho wreath with some cool textural pumpkins on the ledge of our playhouse and used the initial emblem on her front door!

The most fun part of it all was seeing Hendrix’s face as she threw the leaves up in the air like confetti!

Very cooky, not spooky, boo-nanas

Items Needed:
Baking Sheet w/ cooling rack
Parchment paper
Fresh bananas
Meltable chocolate
Popsicle sticks
Sprinkles
Decorative googly-eye candies

Directions:
-Melt chocolate according to package directions
-Cut bananas in half
-Dip a portion of the stick into the melted chocolate to act as a “glue” and insert into banana
-Dip banana into melted chocolate
-Decorate with sprinkles as cooky as possible 🙂
-Refrigerate for 2-4 hours to set
-Enjoy

DIY Ghoul-friend Bowling Set

Hey ghoul-friend, hey! This year’s holidays look a little different. We are not only getting creative with designs we have to get creative with activities that keep us entertained! 🙂 Que the ghoul-friend ghost bowling set!

This Halloween season may not be filled with trick-or-treating, costumes, or goblins, but it can still be loaded with fun! This simple DIY sure did keep Hendrix occupied for weeks.

A quick order from Michael’s craft store and some things I had around the house and strike, we have the perfect game.

Acrylic Paint
Plastic Mason Jars
Sponge Paintbrush
Sharpie or Black Acrylic Paint

Optional: Tulle Ribbon for decor, interest & texture as well as a filler for inside the jars to make them heavier in order to make it harder to knock them over.

Step 1: pick your favorite paint and let the little hands help you paint the plastic jars.

Step 2: After allowing the main color paint to dry, use black paint or sharpie to draw a ghost face.

Step 3: Allow all the paint to thoroughly dry and then return the lids back on the plastic jars. You can fill the jars with crinkle paper, candy or leave them empty. *I added a tulle ribbon and tied it around a few of the jars to create more texture and interest. We also made those with the ribbon worth more points if she could knock them over.

What’s so great about this little craft is, they are dual-purpose! These jars would make the perfect little gift for neighbors, family, and friends once you are done using them as bowling pins.