A few of my favorite things {shabby apple giveaway!}

You may have noticed that I've been a little absent from the blog this month. The main reason being that I've been filling my time loving on this sweet little guy.

That precious newborn stage is so hopelessly fleeting so I've been soaking up every moment. 

Ain't he cute? ;)

On another note, I wanted to share some things that I have been loving recently. These are just a few random favorites of mine that have put a smile on my face. Enjoy!

John Mayer - Born and Raised

Have been listening on repeat. Love his new album!

Homemade popsicles

Popsicle molds are perfect for summer! It's fun to experiment with flavors and come up with your own yummy recipes. This one in particular is nonfat plain yogurt, a bit of apple juice, frozen strawberries and canned peaches. Yum! Talia loves them and I like that they are a happy, healthy treat.

Clear
This is one of the apps on my iphone that I could not live without! If you are an avid list-maker like me, you will love it too. It is a must have to stay organized and it is fun and simple to use. Head over to the app store to check out Clear for yourself.

Shabby Apple

I love to ohh and ahh over pretty clothes and Shabby Apple is one of my favorite places to check out awesome vintage inspired and classic clothing and accessories. Just look at how gorgeous these dresses are!

{Left to Right: Bon Voyage, L'amour, Palatine Hill}

Now here is some great news for you, the wonderful people at Shabby Apple have offered to give away a $75 gift certificate to use towards anything on their website! How awesome is that?

To enter, you just have to do these two simple things:

1. Like Shabby Apple on Facebook (tell them I sent you!)

2. Go to Shabby Apple's website, take a look around and come back and leave a comment telling me your favorite thing.

The giveaway will end May 31, 2012 at 11:59 pm pst. A winner will be chosen randomly and notified via email and announced on the blog. Contestants must have a USA shipping address to be eligible for entry.

In order not to leave anyone out on at least a simple deal, Shabby Apple is providing my readers a coupon code for 10% off a purchase at Shabby Apple for a month! Just use the code: "ortega10off" at checkout to access this great deal.

Good luck and have a happy Friday!

diy {birthstone jewelry}

With Mother's Day just around the corner, I thought it would be the perfect time to share a tutorial on birthstone necklaces. These make such lovely and personal gifts that any Mom or Grandma would love. I tried out a few different ways to display the birthstones and each method is so easy that you can give all of them a try!

Birthstone Charm Necklace

- nose ring pliers

- wire cutter
- birthstone beads (I used glass beads)
- a charm/pendant
- head pins
- chain
- jump rings (4mm and 7mm)
- lobster clasp

 

Take a bead and slide it on to the eye pin. If you have excess wire, cut it off with the wire cutter. You should leave about 1/3 inch of wire to make a loop. 

Next, grab the end of the wire with your needle nose pliers and start rolling towards the bead until the end of the wire meets the other end and forms a loop.

Attach a 4mm jump ring to the beads and to the charm/pendant.
(Tip- never open a jump ring by pulling the ends apart. Instead, pull one end towards you and the other away from you. Push the ends back together to close)

Slide the chain through the jump rings then attach a lobster clasp and a 7mm jump ring to the ends of the necklace.

Simple and oh so lovely. 

I actually made this necklace for myself and used the birthstones of my two kiddos, November (citrine) and April (diamond.)

 Birthstone Bar Necklace

- nose ring pliers

- wire cutter
- birthstone beads 
- eye pin
- chain
- jump rings (4mm and 7mm)
- lobster clasp

String the beads onto the eye pin. Leave about 1/3 inch of wire to make the loop. Cut off any excess wire with the wire cutters.
Grab the end of the wire with your needle nose pliers and start rolling towards the bead until the end of the wire meets the other end and forms a loop.

Using a 4mm jump ring, attach a piece of chain to each end of the eye pin. Attach a lobster clasp and a 7mm jump ring to the ends of the necklace and you're done! Does it get any easier?

Classic and stylish.

You could also use the same concept for a pretty bracelet.

Birthstone Bird Nest Necklace
This necklace is probably my favorite and it uses the tutorial for my bird nest necklace. (Click here to check it out.)
Using birthstone beads, you can personalize the pendant and create a beautiful necklace that represents a mother's nest holding her loved ones.
I made this necklace as a gift for my mom. Each birthstone represents one of her four grandchildren.
Have fun making your own birthstone jewelry!

**You can purchase a custom birthstone bird nest necklace via my online Etsy shop, Poppy & Pine. Cheers and happy shopping!

Liam Rafael

He is finally here! Liam Rafael arrived April 12 at 4:07am. He weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds 1.5 ounces and was 21 inches long.

The labor and delivery went great. The night before, I was out having some dinner with my in-laws when I started to feel some light contractions at about six in the evening. We headed home just to wait things out as long as I could before heading to the hospital. After putting Talia to bed, I laid in bed to see if I could get some rest. I was able to manage the contractions and then just a little after midnight, the contractions suddenly became so intense and painful and I told Aaron we had to get to the hospital NOW! We arrived just after one in the morning and I was at 6/7 cm. While they were getting a room ready for me I was in so much pain that I threw up and after another check the nurse told me I had progressed to 8 cm in just 5 minutes! They got me all set up in the room and not long after, my water broke and before I knew it the nurse was telling me to push! After about 10 minutes and a few pushes later my beautiful son was born! The moment I laid eyes on him I instantly loved him so deeply and so fiercely. My Liam. My love.

We are enjoying him so much and savoring every moment. I am just so happy that he is finally here!

ps- if you're wondering, Liam's middle name stands for San Rafael de Heredia which is the city in Costa Rica where Aaron and I met :)

 Talia meeting her little brother for the first time

 Big sis and little bro

 three days old

 one week old

Talia

I took Talia to one of my favorite parks yesterday to do a little photo shoot with her. It was something I have been meaning to do for a long time and I am so happy that I finally got around to it! Our little guy is about to make his arrival any day now so I figured if I wanted some nice shots of Talia then I'd better do it now ;) I am so happy with how they came out and I am definitely going to be doing this more often. Enjoy!

 After lunch and a nap we continued the pictures in the backyard

 Talia & Bob