My First Mother’s Day

This past Sunday I celebrated my first Mother’s Day and it was a great one! I woke up to find gifts “from” Lady M which was very sweet of her and The Husband.

After opening presents and having breakfast, the three of us headed out to Woodbury Common to do some shopping.

Ready for some shopping!

This is a huge outdoor outlet mall in NY – it’s actually a tourist mecca. There are a lot of great stores there but unfortunately for me (and fortunately for the husband), I didn’t find anything that I just had to have. Lady M was on her best behavior, sleeping the entire time!

Pit stop on our way home

Later that day we came home and just relaxed. It was a great first Mother’s Day and now I’m looking forward to celebrating Father’s Day next.

Shopped til she dropped!

Linking up with Kristin at Busy Bee for Baby Talk!

 

The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

I’ll be celebrating my first Mother’s Day this year and its got me thinking about the perfect Mother’s Day gift. I love things that come from the heart and help preserve memories. That’s where Instagram and Kanvess come in – and you can even make something for under $25!

I have a lot of fun using Instagram. I think it’s a great way to share fun photos right in the moment as well as doctor them up – making me feel like I’m a professional photographer, haha! But I’m also old-fashioned and really like to print my photos for posterity. So if your mom/wife, etc. is like me, then what better gift to give her than a memory book or photo collage of her favorite Instagram prints?

I think Kanvess is great because the site allows you to print out your Instagram photos for only 25 cents each. The size of each print is a 3 inch square – perfect for creating DIY photo collages. You can do whatever you like – my next project is to create a large heart of our some of my favorite prints. Another idea is to punch holes in the prints and create a personalized garland to surprise mom with. Or create a photo flip book. The possibilities are endless really.

 

Whatever you decide to make, I’m sure mom will love it, as it will come straight from the heart.

And you can always follow me on Instagram, my user name is (what else?) FancyFunction. 

This post is an entry to NerdWallet’s Mother’s Day Your Way Contest.

 

Images via Pinterest

 

A Very Special Sunday

Well, this past weekend was a busy but good one. Friday night was date night, we attended a communion party on Saturday and Sunday was the big day – Lady M’s baptism!

We put her in her pretty white dress (and matching headband) and headed to the church. She was also able to wear the cross my mother got for her own confirmation as a teenager.

There were 3 other babies getting baptized. She had a bit of a fussy crying spell during the ceremony but when it was her turn to go to the font and have water poured over her head, she did great! Just like getting her hair done in the bath.

Everyone came back to the house for the party. I wanted to make it special and pretty – at least she can enjoy it through pictures when she’s older. I decided to create a sweets table and made Anginetti cookies – you can find my own recipe here.

Since it was Cinco de Mayo – we had to have mango margaritas too! The cake was filled with chocolate mousse and fresh strawberries – yum!

Lady M was definitely spoiled – especially by grandma and grandpa! But she deserved it. All in all, it was a great day!

And today I’m linking up with Kristin over at Busy Bee for her Baby Talk series!

May Day

Today is already May 1 – the flowers are blooming and the nice weather is finally here to stay (I’m crossing my fingers!) Memorial Day is right around the corner, and with that the summer is not too far behind. I’ve been thinking about summer wardrobe options and these are some of the items I’m currently coveting.

Eyelet

Not just for little girls, eyelet seems to be the trend of the summer. And you can get it in an array of colors too. From dresses to skirts, tops and shorts, everyone can wear eyelet this summer.

Maxi Dresses

I never wore them until last year, but I am a new fan of the maxi dress. I think they’re flattering on a lot of different body types and they’re such an easy and effortless look.

I just bought this Calvin Klein dress and love the bright contrasting colors. It looks great with a pair of nude wedges.

White Sandals

You can never go wrong with a pair of white flats. They’re versatile enough to go dressy or casual and are just classic summer style.

This Tory Burch pair is perfection, and the gold really makes them pop.

A sweep of silver on this Cole Haan pair really ups the glam factor.

What’s your go-to summer style?

Fun with Cooking

I don’t usually blog about recipes, but I wanted to share a quick and easy one that I (sort of) made up last night. We had chicken tenders on hand, so I figured I would bread and bake them, but realized we were out of eggs. Feeling lazy, I didn’t want to go to the store to buy some, so I improvised. I present to you:

Baked Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken tenders

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 tsp paprika

3 tbsp mustard

3 tbsp honey

Splash of milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 450. Combine flour, bread crumbs and paprika in a bowl and set aside. Combine mustard, honey and milk in a separate bowl. Dip chicken in mustard mixture then dredge in flour mixture. Place on a non-stick baking sheet and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes, flip chicken over and bake another 10 minutes.

Of course I forgot to take a picture, but it looks something like this:

You can use whatever mustard you like. I’m a fan of Trader Joe’s Sweet & Hot Mustard.

Serve and enjoy!

Images via Google

Five for Friday

Happy Friday! Where are these weeks going? April is flying by – which is so crazy to me! Anyway, I wanted to celebrate the fact that it’s Friday with my Five for Friday countdown. This week I’m looking forward to the following:

A Relaxing Evening

Between myself and The Husband, one of us was out doing something every night this week. So tonight I’m looking forward to a relaxing evening in complete with homemade pizza and catching up on our DVR.

(Another) Brunch in NYC

Just call me one of the ladies who brunch! I’m meeting up with another friend this weekend for brunch at The Brooklyneer and dessert at Doughnut Plant - yum!

Dwell Studio Sample Sale

I just stumbled upon this sale last week and Sunday is the last day. I’d like to go back and see if some of the items I didn’t end up buying are still there.

Mom Meet-ups

I’m attending 2 outdoor mom get-togethers this week. Hoping the weather is nice and Lady M corporates!

Junior League Spring Fundraiser

I’m on the spring fundraiser committee for my Junior League and the party is next Friday. I even convinced The Husband to go! It’s going to be a fun night complete with entertainment, silent auction and oh yeah, open bar.

Hope you have a great week! What are you most looking forward to doing?

All images except first via Google

Scenes from New York

Happy Monday! I had a great weekend – hope you did too. I spent Saturday in NYC where I met up with a friend for brunch, so I thought I’d do a photo essay of my Manhattan stroll. The weather was a bit chilly and overcast, but that’s how I like it. Nothing beats strolling down a quiet city street in the early morning with some clouds rolling above.

I started out in my old neighborhood, the Upper East Side.

Scenes from 72nd street

Fun topiary outside of VBH

Spring has sprung!

Great quote I found outside of a church on 86th street.

I FINALLY stopped by Laduree. Every time I try to go, there’s a huge line outside, but luckily not at 10:30 in the morning. I haven’t had a Laduree macaron since I was in Paris.

I got Pistachio, Strawberry and Lime-Basil macarons

I made my way down to SoHo where I met my friend for brunch at David Burke Kitchen.

Construction on the Freedom Tower

The weather was not as nice as anticipated so I had to stop and buy a scarf from a street vendor but it worked out since I had wanted one with skulls for a while now.

After brunch I just happened upon a Dwell Studio sample sale and scored some great toys for Lady M!

My final stop was to the Little Cupcake Bakeshop where I picked up some treats for myself and The Husband.

Yum!

All in all it was a fantastic day in the city!

Linking up with Join the Gossip for Monday Morning Gossip.