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2017 WENDY CORREEN SMITH. Powered by Blogger.

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Little Girl Birthday Gift Ideas: Ten Hooded Bath Towels


Maggie Mermaid is obsessed with bath time when her imaginary magical tail appears in the tub. On her first birthday & Christmas last year she received hooded bath towels. We use them daily & she loves them. Hooded bath towels are the cutest + easiest gift that will be used time & time again. I know I'm always searching for non-toy gift ideas for kids & this one I just had to share. I've picked my favorite little girl bath towels to share below. The majority are below $25!

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Master Bedroom: Chantilly Lace Paint + Beaded Chandelier + Organic Linen Bedding


For my birthday all I wanted was to wake up in all new bed linens! I decided on a blanket from West Elm & organic sheets + duvet cover from the Hearth & Hand - Magnolia Collection at Target. I debated back and forth on the linen, as I had never slept on it before, and I wondered if I'd prefer a really soft Egyptian cotton instead. I'm so happy I went with the linen, it has this airy + cool feel to it at night, and it's very refreshing yet cozy. If you've never used organic linen bed sheets before I highly suggest it, especially for the warmer months. And what a great Mother's Day idea, wink wink.

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There's Always Sunrises, Rainbows & Babies


I had a good cry this morning. I watched a FB Live post by a high school friend that is volunteering as an ER nurse for 21 days at a hospital in the Bronx. Her real life experiences about what is happening within the walls of NYC hospitals just ripped out my heart. It's one thing to hear stories on the news, and while they are painful stories to listen to, it really hits home to hear it from a personal friend. The semi-truck morgues on the side of the road, her friend nurses Facetiming relatives of ICU patients while they die alone, & the risks they take each day as they reuse PPE - it's hard to hear. I have no idea how she does it, or how any nurse or doctor can do what they do. They are angels on Earth.

Then I watched Magnolia put on a swimsuit & run around pretending she was at the pool with her cousin Ollie. I overheard her saying "the people are sick" something she says daily. Watching her play alone every single day with imaginary friends & pretending her cousins are over is taking a toll on me. Yesterday, Ryan & I were talking on our way home from our nephew's parade birthday party, where we saw all of our family but couldn't even hug them, about how serious this is for the children. This is an entire year (or more) of their childhood they'll never get back. In my last blog post I talked about how hard we are trying to be fun & even more involved in her play, but I'll never be able to be her four year old cousin Ollie. That's just the sad reality.

We've been listening to the Willie Nelson station on Spotify lately & the song Bring My Flowers Now by Tanya Tucker always comes on & stops me in my tracks. "There's always sunrises, rainbows and babies........So if you've got love, then you're sittin' on a gold mine" 



Sorry, I like this little spot on the internet to be a place of inspiration & happiness, but also real. And today, on this rainy Monday morning, I'm not feeling as cheery as I normally do. I know I'm not alone as I feel sad & worried for the world and our children.

Ending with......there's always sunrises, rainbows & babies. 

xo
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Magnolia * Maggie * Mermaid


Our sweet Maggie girl, still called Magnolia by her mommy & daddy, her aunts + cousins call her Maggie, & if it was her choice everyone would call her "mermaid!" Ryan & I are corrected on a daily basis, we can't even say she smells like a strawberry without being told very firmly that her name is in fact Mermaid. Her personality has blossomed just like the spring flowers. She plays with her imaginary friends all the time, and her best friend is named Anna (probably from Frozen). I hear her talking to her friends often saying "my mom" this & that, and I'll often giggle out loud, to which she'll ask me why I'm laughing. Not only does she make me feel like the luckiest mommy in the world, she also makes me feel like I have super powers. My kisses, on her injuries, are magic! She's in love with T-wift aka Taylor Swift. Ryan & I cannot bring ourselves to correct her name pronunciation & therefore we now call her Twift also. I'm fully aware that encouraging mispronunciation might not be the wisest, but we are loving the cuteness too much right now to push her language too far into little-girl-hood. Her new scooter arrived, the reward for using the toilet full time, and she rides it back & forth from the bathroom now. By the way, she basically taught herself how to use the toilet. Once we got over the hump of going the first time, it was one million times easier than I expected. We are just so proud of her & her little butt in underwear is quite precious. TIGER KING, can someone please tell me how she knows who he is??? We only watched a little bit of it once, I hated it so we turned it off, and then weeks passed & she was talking about him. She even pointed him out on my phone when I was scrolling on Instagram. Like, what in the WORLD is going on!?!? She is a freakin' sponge & it's a little scary to know how much she is picking up on nowadays. On that subject, she's been making face masks out of toilet paper. She also asks me almost daily "are the people all better yet?" And we have talked about that subject & why we can't go places right now. She seems to understand better than I would have thought. We are still doing music class once a week on a Zoom call & we do quiet time with deep breathing during class. Now if I'm stressed out about anything she'll stop me & basically help me deep breathe with her. My little angel she is! Her prayers before bed melt my heart into one million pieces. Not one single night has passed that she doesn't pray (all on her own) for a little girl named Eva that we have been following on Instagram for months. You can follow her dad here & join us in prayer if you'd like. This sounds crazy, but I dream about Magnolia getting to meet her someday, when she is all better & healed by our Lord in Heaven. Magnolia just loves her to pieces & wants to check on her all the time. Last night in her prayer she thanked God for her new helmet, some nights she'll pray about dinner & one night she even prayed about her daddy's pizza that didn't make it in our Walmart grocery pick-up. Magnolia does all the modeling for my sister's clothing boutique Little Lucca Love & I have a phone full of the most adorable photos of our girl. I decided to share the last round of styles & her sweet little poses here. She is quite the hoot with her natural modeling abilities.

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Bring the Pool Home


I have a pretty good feeling most pools will not open this summer. And trips to the beach probably won't happen either. Hopefully I'm wrong, but it's something we've surely all wondered. Magnolia & I are already looking at cute ways to bring all the summertime water fun to our backyard. We have a thing for pink & bringing that pink inflatable pool to our patio has to happen. We might even need a rainbow sprinkler for the front yard & every child needs a slip n' slide! I'm daydreaming about a glass of wine under the string lights with our girl's favorite Taylor Swift jams playing while we soak in the pink puff pool. And a hammock! I need that in my life. I found the perfect matte coral bistro set & had to share. A few other favorites, like our beach towels & even beach chairs for the backyard, because why not? All linked below.

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My 39th Birthday During Home Isolation


At the age of 19 I was a freshman in college, I had just switched from a nursing major to business. If you would have asked me what my life would look like in 20 years, I would have said with complete confidence, "I either have worked my way up the corporate ladder or I own my own my business, I wear fancy clothes to work everyday, I drive a small little sports car, my paycheck is six figures!" If you would have told me that in 20 years, my boss would be three years old, that I'd be lucky to get out of my pajamas somedays, all of our stuff would never fit in a sports car, and my paycheck is actually one zero, I would have laughed in your face. Birthdays always make me reminisce. Never in my life have I ever felt so strongly that I'm right where I'm supposed to be, doing what God put me on this earth to do. Being Ryan's wife & Magnolia's mother is the greatest gift of my life. There is so much peace in my heart that I never felt before I met Ryan, so much happiness in the life we have made together. And of course we have big dreams for our future too, but each day is cherished like never before. Before I always felt like I was chasing something else, and now I am thanking God every moment for the life we have been blessed to call ours. I grew up admiring my grandma. She was the best homemaker I'll ever know, and now I get to take care of Magnolia the way she took care of my sister & me while our mom worked. I'm grateful for the years passed that I was able to work for a big corporation & own my own business. I'm grateful because now I know that all of that would never ever bring me the happiness that I have now. So there is that, my reflection on life at 39, and how crazy different it is than what I would have thought 20 years ago.

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Happy Easter Bunny, Mama


"Happy Easter BUNNY, Mama, Happy Easter BUNNY, Daddy" Magnolia said those words to us all day yesterday, and even before we went to bed last night & the first thing she said this morning when she opened her pretty blue eyes. Her sweet little three year old voice, with the addition of bunny, to her Easter greeting is the memory I'll store in my heart forever. On my IGTV I shared a nine minute video clip of short recordings I got of her on Easter morning & I'm so happy I took the time to hit the "video" button. I watched her reaction to her basket several times yesterday. It was so fun to watch her darling reaction to every little thing all over again, and I had even missed her talking about the "rain" when she noticed the umbrella she had picked out at Target months ago. She's been playing with her luggy basket, umbrella, & baby doll non-stop, also changing in & out of her new swimsuits. We did an Easter Egg hunt inside since the weather was quite chilly & rainy, perfect weather for her new umbrella though. She impressed us with her ability to find all the hidden eggs. The magical jelly bean lollipop garden popped up overnight & the Easter bunny stole carrots from our refrigerator and made a big mess on our front porch. We watched church from our living room & Magnolia participated with most of the singing & prayers. Before lunch we took some photos outside & Magnolia splashed around in the rain puddles. The thunderstorm made for the best napping weather & she took a nice long one before we FaceTimed with grandma & all of her cousins.

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Easter Belgium Waffles


Easter isn't cancelled.

I've heard & read that so many times! The way we celebrate He Is Risen will certainly look different this year, but that is okay. For our little family we still plan to plant our jelly bean lollipop garden on Easter Eve, the bunny has an adorable basket he will drop off for Easter morning, for brunch we will have spring floral Belgium waffles with mimosas + coffee, church on the sofa wearing our Sunday best, photos on the front porch using our tripod, and of course an Easter egg hunt for Maggie girl.

We usually host Easter & my heart is sad that we won't all be together. I had big plans for this year being in our new home. We will miss our family dearly & especially the sound of all the children's laughter as they run around barefoot in the cool spring grass searching for the eggs. Magnolia will miss them the very most, I just know it. I want our Easter to be just as special as always, and I want our girl to have the fondest memories stored away in her heart.

This morning Magnolia & I did a test run of our Easter brunch waffles. Sharing them here in case you need a fun idea for Sunday morning. Adding some pastel touches to pancakes or French toast works too!




I know this year is different for the whole world, but I just hope we can all make the day just as special, if not more, as we celebrate our Lord & Savior.

Happy Easter, friends. xo
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Ten Ideas for Potty Training a Princess


I stood watching her on the toilet, heart swollen with pride & eyes full of tears, half proud half sad. She did it, only about five days in she was fully transitioned from diapers to the toilet. At that very moment I could recall the last diaper I changed, but I had no idea it would be the last. Oh my heart, relieved & proud & broken all at once. More of a little girl & less of a baby every single day.

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The Best Banana Bread Recipe


I think we're all baking & cooking more these days. We always end up with extra bananas. I freeze some for smoothies & I've been making this delicious banana bread. It's so easy & the best afternoon treat with melted butter on top.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees & lightly grease loaf baking pan

What'll you need

2 cups Kodiak Cakes - Power Cakes Mix or all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup of melted butter

1 cup of brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

3 mashed overripe bananas

Splash of Vanilla

Pinch of cinnamon

In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together & then pour into prepared loaf pan

Bake for 65 minutes

Enjoy hot with melted butter on top.
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Week Three of Home Isolation & Making the Ordinary Magic


We are right in the middle of week three of home isolation & I have to say this week has been much easier than last. Week one I had the mindset of "I can do this, no problem" excited about all the memories we'd make, week two I thought often "how on earth will we get through a month or more of this?", and now here we are on week three & I have to say I'm used to it. Now next week might be a new story, but this week has been pretty good so far. The warmer weather has made everything a millions times better. Being able to go for walks every single day, along with wine on the front porch & fires on the back patio has been a very welcomed treat. All the bushes, trees, & shrubs around the house are blooming & it is a little surprise every morning to see what awaits us in the yard. I'm almost certain we have several peony bushes popping up from the ground & my heart might explode from excitement. It's a dream come true to have a yard full of flowering shrubs! We have plans to add more flowers & a little garden that I'm determined to bring to life with herbs & veggies.

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