A Girl Named PJ

Being Pregnant with Liz from Say Yes to Hoboken

October 2, 2013

Because every woman’s pregnancy is unique, our Being Pregnant series is a way to share a variety of maternity experiences on the blog.

I’m so excited about today’s interview with Liz Stanley of the hugely popular lifestyle blog, Say Yes to Hoboken. Although I don’t know Liz personally, I’ve taken several Alt Summit classes with her, and she’s always delivered on her promise of responding to questions and emails. That earns her an A+ in my book!

It’s rare nowadays for such big bloggers to take the time to reply to their emails — and it’s not like Liz isn’t busy! Besides sharing inspirational ideas for living a stylish and crafty life on Say Yes to Hoboken, Liz is the Managing Editor of Julep and contributes regularly to Babble.

Besides being an all-around Liz Stanley fan, I wanted to speak to Liz about being pregnant because she’s written so honestly about her struggle with secondary infertility. What a thrill that after four years of trying to conceive, she now has a baby on the way!

Liz was 28 weeks pregnant when we spoke. Read on to learn about her pregnancy experience…… READ MORE!

Maternity jackets and winter coats

October 1, 2013

I didn’t spend much money on a maternity wardrobe when I was pregnant with Levi. Since I was working from home as a full-time copywriter, there wasn’t a need to invest in office-appropriate maternity clothing. I was lucky to be able to wear leggings and sweats nearly every day.

Also, with Levi’s early July due date, my bump wasn’t big enough to warrant traditional maternity styles until the warmer spring months — and maternity tees, tanks, and stretchy skirts are much less costly than pants, sweaters, and jackets.

But now that I’ll be in my third trimester during the winter, I have to start considering maternity clothing for cold weather. My sister, who had a baby this past February, generously loaned me a suitcase full of maternity clothing that my mom brought to Omaha on a recent visit. Unfortunately, my little sister is just that — little. She’s 5’3″ and I’m 5’8″, so clothing fits us differently and not everything in that suitcase will flatter my figure.

My sister has a maternity jacket I can borrow, but just in case the sleeves are 3/4-length on me, I’ve been browsing online for winter coats in my size. Here are some of my favorites so far:

1. Isabella Oliver // 2. Seraphine // 3. Gap // 4. Topshop // 5. Old Navy // 6. H&M

// 7. Isabella Oliver // 8. Olian Maternity

P.S. — The first time I went shopping for maternity clothes, and the pregnancy t-shirts I would never wear!

How to follow your favorite blogs on Facebook

September 30, 2013

Twitter. Pinterest. Instagram. Facebook. Google+. YouTube. Flickr. What’s your social network of choice?

As a blogger and social media consultant, I spend a lot of time online trying to connect with as many people as possible over a variety of channels. I primarily use Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to socialize and network, although I’ve been trying to use Pinterest more frequently. (I have some blogging friends who are Pinterest champs, but I haven’t quite figured out the best way to use it as a promotional tool.)

The one social network I don’t use at all is Google+. I need to take some sort of Google+ 101 class because I don’t even understand the point of it. Do you?

Unless you’re a fellow blogger, chances are you don’t spread yourself as thin as I do across social media. You probably stick to just one or two outlets to update: Facebook and Pinterest. Twitter and Instagram. Instagram and Facebook. You get the idea.

You might also learn about updates to your favorite blogs via social media. Many bloggers (myself included) share links to new posts on Twitter and on Facebook. If you stalk Twitter like I do, you’ll catch all of my blog-related tweets. But you may not be seeing all of my Facebook updates, even if you’re constantly refreshing your feed. That’s because Facebook uses some algorithm that’s beyond my comprehension to filter what page updates you see. Boo!

However, I recently learned that you can change Facebook’s default setting to see all updates that the fan pages you follow post. Here’s how to follow your favorite blogs on Facebook without missing a post:

Step 1: Click the “Like” button on the fan page you’d like to follow.

Step 2: Move your cursor over the button that now says “Liked.” A dropbox should appear with “Show in News Feed” bolded and checked. Underneath that line, click “Settings…”

Step 3: The dropbox now asks “See which updates?” and you’ll see that “Most Updates” is bolded and checked. Click “All Updates” and voila — you’ll never miss a post!

I hope that one of your favorite blogs to follow on Facebook is Bunny and Dolly. There’s always a lot of great conversation taking place over there. If you’re not already a fan, I invite you “like” us Facebook now!

Non-princess Halloween costumes for girls

September 27, 2013

Halloween is still five weeks away, but supermarket shelves have been stocked with miniature-sized candy for over a month. Pinterest is bursting at the seams with candy corn crafts and pumpkin-inspired decor. And my Facebook feed is filling up with questions about children’s costumes — where to buy them and whether they should be cute or creepy.

Levi wore an adorable yellow duck costume from Carter’s last year, and this year he’s going to wear a bug costume I purchased at Pottery Barn Kids last November when all of their Halloween costumes were on clearance. It doesn’t appear as if they’re selling it again this year, so you’ll have to wait a month to see photos of what it looks like! If you can swallow their $60 price tags, PB Kids has some equally endearing baby and toddler costumes like this bumblebee costume and this giraffe costume.

But if you’re bored-to-death of zoo animals and cartoon characters, why not take a page out of photographer Jaime Moore’s book? When Jaime’s daughter, Emma, turned five, she dressed her up as a variety of influential woman from history — including Coco Chanel, Amelia Earhart, and Susan B. Anthony — to take creative birthday portraits. Jaime wrote on her blog that she wanted Emma to know about real women worthy of her admiration, not just fictional Disney princesses.

Have you planned your child’s Halloween costume yet? What do you think about transforming him or her into a historical figure for Halloween? Would you do it?

via Daily Mail

Personalized crayon party favors

September 26, 2013

When Levi turned one last year, I struggled to decide whether we needed goodie bags for his first birthday party. Since most of his friends in attendance were around his age, I didn’t think they needed (or cared about) fancy party favors. Still, I didn’t want to send anybody home empty-handed, so we gave Levi’s guests colorful balloons tied to bottles of bubbles that doubled as table decorations.

Levi’s friends at his second birthday party in July included some slightly older children, so I wanted the favors to be enjoyable for the bigger kids while still reflecting the interests of a two year old. Since Levi was just getting into coloring, I thought crayon party favors would be practical, fun, and, most importantly, age appropriate.

Rather than buying a bunch of small Crayola boxes, I reached out to Katie Gill-Harvey from A Childhood Store about creating personalized crayons for each of Levi’s friends. Kids are always happy to receive something with their name on it!

I had received samples of Katie’s handmade crayons in my Alt for Everyone and Alt NYC swag bags and loved that they were non-toxic and eco-friendly. She uses only soy and beeswax instead of paraffin wax (a petroleum by-product), which create slightly softer crayons than the traditional variety.

Since I didn’t know exactly who would be coming to the party when I started working with Katie, she made a package of name crayons for each child invited plus two additional “L-E-V-I” crayons in case we had last minute changes to the guest list. Luckily, only two of Levi’s friends weren’t able to attend, so I saved their crayon bags to give to them at a future play date.

Katie packages her crayons in small drawstring muslin bags hand-stamped with turquoise ink. From a selection of sixteen designs, I chose the cupcake but also really liked the ice cream cone. To identify which bag contained which child’s name, I labeled each with turquoise washi tape and a silver Sharpie. Finally! A use for all of the washi tape I’ve been hoarding!

Happily, the name crayons were a big hit with Levi and all of his friends, and I know their parents appreciated that they were non-toxic. (Yes, two year olds still put things in their mouths!) Aside from their natural properties, I also love how convenient the crayons are: Simply toss the drawstring bags into your purse or diaper bag for spontaneous restaurant placemat coloring.

Unfortunately, Katie isn’t taking any custom orders at the moment because she’s on maternity leave (hooray!), but she has plenty of pre-made designs for sale in her Etsy shop. I know that Levi would love the Things That Go or Robot crayon sets. And wouldn’t the 3-Month Crayon Club Subscription make such a fun birthday or holiday gift for your favorite toddler?

I’m curious, what are you thoughts on party favors? Are they necessary or a waste of money? And what have you given out in the past?

P.S. — Levi’s FIRST first birthday party and his SECOND first birthday party.

(Ed. Note: Morning sickness and general first trimester malaise killed my productivity this summer. That’s why this post about the party favors for Levi’s second birthday party, which took place in July, is so belated. I’m sorry!)

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