what's Ben up to?

ben is a little man. he is doing so well at school and in the nursery. i am so looking forward to this christmas, and hoping he will take an interest in opening his little packages. this year, he is getting a wheel barrow, train table, and tractor.
this is what he's been doing:
-stringing two words together "Uh-oh, mama." "Hey, Lola"
-jumping
- spinning around until he's dizzy
-smiling on command
-loving us. he'll rest his head on my shoulder in the morning when I get him out of bed, give big hugs when I pick him up from school, blow kisses to people when we have to say bye bye. he actually gave Will a real kiss on the cheek a few nights ago.
-he loves to share (mainly with the dogs). he teaches georgi about his elbow, and likes to try to give the dogs his water bottle.
-he is transitioning out of his high chair.
-he is really learning how to challenge us, as well. he fights naps, fights baths sometimes, fights carseat.. and this is all so new to us (like this past week, new). he always loved those things.
-he is having some trouble with his night time routine. meaning he fights sleep until 11pm. we put him to bed, and he'll wake up
-he listens intently during prayers.
-he calls my dad, Pop Pop, even though we were trying for Grumps.
-he calls my mom Mimi, even though we were trying for Grammi
-the thing that hurts him more than anything is when something is taken away from him. i mean, you'd think someone took his eye out.


Each day brings a new joy and a new challenge, but we are loving every minute. if he doesn't sleep, we try to think how blessed we are to have a healthy boy, and just count that extra time with him a blessing.
There is literally not one day that I don't just stop and think how much this little human amazes and moves me to love like I never knew how before he came along.

the new blog

Hello lovely people!

I want to formally introduce you to my new blog, the ink crowd!!!

I will still be keeping up (the best I can) with the family blog with the latest happening in Ben's life.

enjoy your day!

Take it Personal

Happy Friday!

I am in a big dorky mood today, hence the title to this post... in reference to the 90's hit, "Don't take it Personal" by Monica. What, what!

oh dear.

No, seriously. Wouldn't you agree that the best gifts are one's that the giver put some time and consideration into? What better way to say, "Hi, I like you. So much in fact that I am giving you a gift with your name on it."

I love personalized gifts, especially for those people like teachers, co-workers, and neighbors who you want to share the love with, but sometimes aren't sure how.

Here are some of my favorite personalized gifts this season:

personalized recipe boxes
perfect for extended family gifts. Fill it with homemade cookies and a recipe card!

Personalized Coasters

perfect for your Christmas Hostess gift.

Personalized Ice Bucket

I am just in love with these. A little on the pricey side for the above mentioned recipients, but man oh man, these are cute. This would be a perfect Laura Thompson gift! :)

Personalized Note Sheets

great teacher, co-worker, graduate gift!

Photo Magnets

Stocking Stuffers!

Personalized Placemats

What a great way to teach your little one how to set the table!

Clipboards

Featured on The Today Show and in O Magazine!

Contact me with questions or inquiries about custom orders!

Have a lovely day.

finders, keepers

Today I ventured into one of my favorite spots in all of Houston during the Christmas season. The Nutcracker Market. Love the place. Aisles and aisles of beautiful finds for home and holiday. I found a really neat display for my stationery at Paul Michael that I am really excited about.

On the home front, I'm in the market for some shelving/hooks for the entry and also Ben's room.

Both of these are vintage finds online from etsy.


{via blue bird heaven}


{via old new again}


and then there are those vendors you stumble upon that will give you nightmares for weeks. Really, is there a market for this? Gross!

My space: kitchen edition

This past week, I have been in nesting mode. NO, I'm not pregnant. I think this incredibly strong pull towards making my home more ME comes from the fact that our home still feels temporary to me. In the back of my head I thought we may not be living here for very long. But, really I love our humble abode, and it deserves all my love. Right, babe? :) I didn't think our little 1900 sq ft. could handle another baby much less all the decorating ideas I had in store, so I never took a plunge. Yes, we painted here and there, and I slowly made a great playroom space for Ben. But our bedroom and kitchen specifically could use a little love. Even if I don't actually do an extreme home makeover, I can at least put together a portfolio of dream ideas. Let's start with my favorite room of the house: the kitchen. This is where the magic happens (well, you know what I mean). It's where we come together as a family and enjoy meals, it's where friends stand around the island and chat, it's where I feel most at home. I created a small inspiration board for your visual enjoyment. I love mixing different chairs around the table. And the mix of white and dark...heavenly. These are some of the most beautiful spaces. I absolutely adore a white kitchen. Someday, when I build my dream kitchen, I will have a white, oak, and grey palette.


photos via {livingetc, graham&green}

Once you have an idea of color, style, and placement, the first step in creating this amazing look would be to hunt and find the perfect table and chairs. Other items that MAKE a kitchen for me are the little nuances around the countertops. I love going into someone's home for the first time, and seeing what they choose to display on their counters, whether it be a fun cookie jar, a bread box, a fruit stand, electric mixer, or maybe nothing at all.
In my kitchen, my favorite countertop item is my fruit stand from Pottery Barn.


I love coming home from the grocery store, cleaning off my fruit, and putting in it's place on the stand. Before I thought to buy a tiered stand, I would put my fruit in a bread bowl in the center island. This was an okay idea, but sometimes fruit would get lost at the bottom, and by the time we got down to it, there would be a slimy, moldy mess.

What is your favorite kitchen find? Would love to hear what you love about your kitchen.

via {maya made}

i resign to design

today i'm swooning over these goodies from {serena & lily}

a sight for sore eyes

Why is it that when my husband is out of town, I get this surge of energy to be productive?? I very rarely give myself time to work on me, and this morning I changed that. I went to a reformer pilates demo class at Lifetime Fitness. My trainer, Victoria, was amazing. With pilates, you really have to focus on so many different things. I kept hearing Victoria say things like, "imagine there is a string tied to your belly button, and you're trying to pull it toward the back wall," or "squeeze the little acorn in between your shoulder blades." I don't quite have the muscle memory developed for these movements, but she said I did very well for my present condition. Thanks? She meant that I am tight in so many places that I have never heard of, and it all manifests in my lower back. After our session was over, I felt so energized and flexible (and sore).... Ready to conquer the world (or at least blog about it)! I went ahead and signed up to try 8 weeks of classes, so I'm committed folks. I'll let you know if it ends up being worth the time and money.
In other productive news, I chose to read last night before bed instead of giving into the endless temptation of Hulu. I think I am going to start making this time before bed a quiet time. I have always been a good sleeper, scratch that GREAT sleeper, but I don't know what has happened! I'm not sure if it's the hormones or having Ben's bedroom right next door to ours or what, but I have been having trouble falling asleep at night. And, unfortunately the only thing that helps me fall asleep is cereal. But, when I get up to have a 12am bowl of cereal, I am breaking my rule of not eating anything past dinner time. Can we say predicament?

Speaking of sleep, let's talk about where I sleep. It's drab. I am really wanting to paint our bedroom and add some other beautiful touches. The other day I grabbed a few color swatches at Home Depot. I am drawn to anything and everything gray. Gray and greens are my absolute fav. So, here's the plan. I am going to paint our room Bedford Gray from Martha Stewart.
and here are some other items on my wish list

matelasse from {Peacock Alley}


L&W, please. {via mr&mrswhite}


do people dream of benches? i'm weird. i love this bench from one of my new favorite designers. i need to plant a money tree out back. {Katrin Arens}

have you ever seen anything more adorable in all your life. goodietrueshoes


well thanks for stopping by. have a great rest of the day!

Happy Monday

There is a lot to blog about today. First off, this is a very special Monday because it is my sweet friend, JULIE PROTHRO's, 27th birthday! There are really no words to describe how grateful I am that Julie is a part of my life. Even though, we live miles and miles away, she is the friend that calls every week to catch up. Julie, I am so proud to call you friend. Love love you!



Secondly, I am so happy to announce that I am now a Paper Concierge! I am so excited about all the fabulous designers and products that we carry. Check out my website, and stay tuned for specials and giveaways!. I am also in the throws of launching a new blog dedicated to paper and gifs. Cannot wait. Here are some pictures that I used for inspiration for the new design.




My small group is reading Max Lucado's new book entitled Outlive Your Life. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who is trying to learn how God can use you for His divine plan. I wanted to share with you a prayer from the book that really encouraged me today.

My Father, I desire that the attitude of John the Baptist {the chapter used examples from the life of John} might be my own---that Jesus would increase even as I decrease. Give me an even larger picture of you so I might see myself with ever-increasing clarity and reveal each day in your amazing grace. Keep foolish pride far from me, and give me the sense to humble myself in healthy ways that bring strength and joy to everyone around me. Remind me constantly that you hold my life and breath and eternal future in your loving hands and that every good thing I have comes from you. Never let me forget that although without you I can do nothing, in Christ, I can do all things. The difference is you.

~Max

What do you have that God hasn't given you?
And if everything you have is from God,
why boast as though it were not a gift?
(1Corinthians 4:7)

Praise God for those perfect words. Praise God for my friend Julie on her birthday, adn praise God for new opportunity.

Have a happy Monday, friends!

FALLing in love

Fall is in full swing around here. For the Thompson family that means hanging up my fall wreath, being a hostess, cooking chili and cornbread, watching really good television, enjoying the outdoors, and then having to take allergy medicine, scarves, dark nail polish, jeans, the color orange, and of course pumpkin spice lattes. I could go on with all the simple pleasures fall brings. And for Will it means hunting season. I love how he loves this time of year...when the deer are out and about and ready to be shot. ;/
This past weekend he and his dad and brothers went up to the ranch for the 1st Annual Thompson Doe Scramble. Clever, eh? He even made shirts to mark the occasion.
Fall reminds of college. It reminds me of walking slowly to class just to soak up a little more sun. College Station in the fall is very nostalgic for me. I like going back to that place sometimes. I don't know if it's just me, but sometimes when I have certain memories, I can actually smell what it was like. All my memories tie very closely with smell. Like, there is this one floral outdoor smell that I get a whiff of every once in a while, and it immediately takes me back to my preschool playground. Weird.
Sunday, we met a few neighborhood friends at Dewberry Farms. It was fantastic. We picked pumpkins, drove a tractor, saw a bunch of farm animals; Ben was in his element. If only they were opened in March for my two year-olds birthday. Eesh...I cannot believe I will start thinking about his party in just a few short months!!! Enough about that...I'm not ready.
This evening I finally met Erin Woolsey of EE-Photography in person. I have been stalking her blog for around a year now. She drove in from Dallas to do our family photo shoot. We also have a session with my side of the family tomorrow! She is so incredibly gentle and sweet... everything you want in a photographer and friend for that matter. :) We talked about everything including our faith, and I love that she so openly represents Christ in the work that she does.

Happy Fall Ya'll!!!

Pictures to come...my uploader thing isn't cooperating.

If you're Happy and you know it Clap your hands!!!

Hello, again!

It's time to dust off the ole blog.

We have been very busy since March. Once Ben started walking, the world as I knew it, would never be the same. And, I say this with the most positive tone. Ben is a lot more active these days, but I love it because I too love staying busy.
It is extremely HOT outside, so our routine of going on morning walks obviously had to change. Mornings are pretty low key. We go and explore the house, play in the playroom, and then make our way to my bathroom where Ben turns the bath tub water on and off, tries to put Dada's shoes on in the closet, or rummage through my makeup drawer in search for some kind of bottle with a lid on it. Taking lids on and off water bottles, hair spray, tupperware, cans, you name it IS his little thing right now. It's amazing how such a small task can hold his attention.
Today we were having lunch at a nice restaurant with my cousins who I haven't seen in over a year. Towards the end of meal, someone started getting fussy. I gulped down the rest of my peach tea, so I could give the empty bottle and lid to Ben to buy us some time. Sure enough, he was hard at work and quiet once again. This trick also works when I am trying to feed him yogurt in the morning. He doesn't like me to really feed him anymore, but when it comes to yogurt, I am not brave enough to let him loose with the spoon. So, I just give him one of his old baby jars to play with while I feed him his yogurt.
It is a challenge to find stuff to do indoors for Ben during the summer. Well, not hard, but it is usually far and expensive. Which is why we usually find ourselves outside despite the heat.
Ben loves being outside. Rain or shine or sauna he wants to be "ouk." Besides the typical baby's first words, in the last week or so, he has started saying out, good, and Laura. However, "ouk" is his favorite. We have to be very careful when we walk to the door to throw some trash away, run out to the car to grab something, or let the dogs out because when Ben hears the door open, he is grabbing my hand, and wanting to go out. And, how can I say NO. I mean, he learned a new word because he loves it so much! Going up to the pool, or riding our bikes around the hood are some summer favorites.
My absolute favorite is watching Ben's face light up when he hears "If you're happy and you know it." It is his favorite song, and mine too because I get to see that adorable smile!

Oh my, they grow up fast.

Here are some recent pictures of B. Enjoy!

Best Bread Pudding EVER!!!

I made this bread pudding for my dad's birthday the other night. It was PHENOMENAL...and easy!!!



Bread Pudding Recipe
INGREDIENTS
Bourbon Sauce:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup Kentucky bourbon whiskey
Bread Pudding:
1 loaf French bread, at least a day old, cut into 1-inch squares (about 6-7 cups)
1 qt milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
2 Tbsp vanilla
1 cup raisins (soaked overnight in 1/4 cup bourbon)
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
METHOD
Bourbon Sauce:
In a saucepan, melt butter; add sugar and egg, whisking to blend well. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. (Do not allow to simmer, or it may curdle.) Whisk in bourbon to taste. Remove from heat. Whisk before serving. The sauce should be soft, creamy, and smooth.
Bread Pudding:
1 Preheat oven to 350°F.
2 Soak the bread in milk in a large mixing bowl. Press with hands until well mixed and all the milk is absorbed. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, and spices together. Gently stir into the bread mixture. Gently stir the raisins into the mixture.
3 Pour butter into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan. Coat the bottom and the sides of the pan well with the butter. Pour in the bread mix and bake at 350°F for 35-45 minutes, until set. The pudding is done when the edges start getting a bit brown and pull away from the edge of the pan. Can also make in individual ramekins.
Serve with bourbon whiskey sauce on the side; pour on to taste. Best fresh and eaten the day it is made. Makes 8-10 servings.

Lately

I have been meaning to jot a few things down that I want to remember.
Ben is a year and a couple weeks. He is fascinated with fans. Every time we enter a room, he points at the ceiling as if to say, "Where's the fan?" He also loves wheels and water. He can sign "more" and understand my signing for other things like "bath," "orange", "walk." He plays a pretty good peek-a-boo too. I really should post a video of that..Adorable!

His favorite foods are turkey, chicken, oranges, pears, blueberries, and bananas in that order. He dislikes babysitters and church nurseries.

At the Little Gym, when it is explore the gym time, and ALL the other kids go and play and roll and the mats and walk around, Ben goes straight for the knobs on the equipment. Today he actually unscrewed the knob and handed it to me, which freaked me out thinking the entire gym was going to come crashing down. I was assured this would not happen.

When Ben meets a new friend, he will either pull their hair or stick a finger in their mouth. Nice. He loves sleep like his mommy.

He's giving us around 13 hours at night and will take a 2 hour nap at 1:00, or no nap at all depending on what we do that day. If he even gets as little as a 10 minute nap in the car on the way home FOR nap time, forget it.

Our favorite activity at the moment is riding our bikes with Ben. We got a Croozer trailer for him, so he gets to settle in and enjoy the breeze while mama works her tail off. it can be a pretty good workout, especially if there is wind.

These are pictures from the day we experienced our first "poop disaster." Little did I know when dressing him in such a cute outfit that hours later they would be ruined, and he would be strapped in his car seat NAKED due to the mess. Two things I learned from that experience: ALWAYS have an extra set of clothes in the diaper bag AND never leave your husband to change a dirty diaper in the back of the car without bringing your phone in the restaurant.



Those are my snippets for this week!

Have a good one my friends!

My kid is 1!!!

Yesterday something very special happened. My baby boy turned ONE. This year has been so full; full of love, newness, learning, change, adaption, growth. Ben is one of God's ways of teaching us who we are and who we NEED to be. Plenty of mother's could second that.
A year in the life of a mother goes by really fast...I mean it ZOOMS. I remember the day we brought him home like it was yesterday. I was thinking that may be a reason why mothers are always "mothers." They always see their children as the babies they once were. We "baby" our babies because we love them and want to keep them safe. That is one thing that I am learning right now with Ben. I have to let go. By let go, I mean I have to literally let go of his hand and let him try to walk by himself. It's hard to do. There is a part of me who really gets excited about the next thing that he will be doing, but there is also this part of me who wants him to stay just how he is right at this moment. Next year we'll have to let him go to preschool, and let him go to his first sleepover at Grammy's house. Throughout his little life, we will have to let go, and it all starts with these first few steps.







Ben has experienced a lot in 365 days. He has gone on two vacations to Denver, CO and The Cayman Islands. He has visited our ranch many times throughout the year. His first ranch trip was way back in May when we had our Family Reunion. He has gone to Austin to visit his Aunt Julie and Gina a few times too! Some things we look forward doing this next year are going to the Houston Zoo, taking some swimming lessons, learning to walk, taking another family vacation to a beach somewhere (suggestions welcome), drinking whole milk, eating with utensils, saying DADA. Now he says, MAMA, BABA, and Hi, but no DADA. Poor Will. We will say DADA and he will immediately say MAMA and smile, as if he knows and it's a big joke.
I am so excited to celebrate B and this oh so special milestone along with some friends ad family this weekend.

A LITTLE VIDEO FROM MY PHONE: