Canadian Thanksgiving

Our boss is Canadian and very proud of it. At work, we celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving every year. Since Canadian Thanksgiving was on Monday, and James and I took the day off at work to have a "personal" day, we celebrated it yesterday.  Everyone brought in a traditional Thanksgiving dish. We had turkey, cheesy potatoes, pumpkin and apple pies, veggies, cranberries, green bean casserole, and other great and wholesome side dishes. James made candied yams (so good!) and I made our family wassail. We set up our lunchroom to look like thanksgiving dinner and we all sat down together to "feast" in the meal. It was so nice and it felt like family. And to honor Canadian Thanksgiving even more, we all dressed in red and white. 

Like Always, we had to take a group picture.

So to all you Canadians out there, hope your Thanksgiving was grand!

TV Console Ideas?

So right now, our laptop, dvd & vhs player sit on a sofa table that is against our wall under our mounted tv. If you don't know what a sofa table is, it is skinny tall table that typically sits behind a sofa or sits in an entry way.

Sofa Table on Overstock
ours looks just like this but white.

 We have 6 decorative boxes filled to the max with dvds that sit underneath said table. They are pretty wedged in under the table so Chloe is not able to pull them out... until now. And she loves to play with these boxes, and pull herself up using them and try to climp up them. I am really afraid she will pull one out and land on her.... And she has gotten tall enough to reach ontop of the table and grab at the laptop and almost reach the dvd player. YIKES!

We got these boxes from Ikea
Although they are super great for storing dvd, not so great for baby climbing.

 SO now we are on the hunt for a tv console.... the reason we waited this long is because I really haven't found anything I like. I am looking for something that has doors and cabinets so that way we can "conceal" everything. Less clutter for me = less stress.

Jessica at Tart's tv console
I really want something like this.

 We need to find one that will look good with our 2 tall bookshelves that flank the side of the tv and the soon to be console cabinet.

This was from our old apartment set up... I loved it!

Can anyone give me any ideas of where to look? I have tried Ikea, Overstock, Target, Cb2. I want one that looks a little more modern than traditional. And I don't want to shell out the big bucks for as I hate to spend money on something that I am not sure I will be able to take with us when we move to Portland. (you never know what furniture will fit where when you apartment hop as much as we do).

Date Night

It's funny before James and I had Chloe we really didn't have "date nights" it seemed that most nights were a date night. Now, I realize how precious those 2 little words really are. My mom will be taking Chloe over the 3 day weekend to see my Grams in Phoenix, AZ. Leaving James and I to catch up on those much needed "Date Nights". I am so excited, but also kinda bummed that I will be missing Chloe's first flight. Oh well... I can't experience every one of her "first".  I know this is good for Chloe to have some special bonding time with my mom and my Grams, so I am super excited for her too.



Tonight, I get a date night with MYSELF. And I am quite looking forward to it! I have so many things I want to do that I don't think I will have time for.... take a long bubble bath, catch up on a book, work on some sewing projects I have been not finding time for, playing with my hair and watching hair tutorials on you tube. Actually getting a chance to shave my legs... haha I guess I could have left that last part out... but it's true! I took for granted all the time I had to actually do things before I had Chloe and it is so nice to get some ME time in! YAY! Who knows... I may catch up on some blogging as well... :)

Then I get to go on a date night with the hubs. We are going to Sushi, strolling around Balboa Park (our fave place), going shopping (finally using my gift card from my birthday 10 months ago) and watching 50/50. And getting some quality face to face time in (my love language). So stoked !!!!



Hope you all have a good weekend and try to get some quality time with yourself and your other half too...

Fall/Holiday Treat (Recipe Included)

Since marrying James, I have been privy to 3 amazing family tradition foods.
1) The best mashed potatoes I have ever EVER had. And I LOVE mashed potatoes
2) Chocolate Mousse Pie. James dad will not reveal his recipe just yet. But someday I will get it. It is seriously AMAZING. This is the single most exciting food that I look forward to for the Holidays.
3) Wassail. seriously, this drink makes me feel like I actually get to experience fall and winter.

These foods are always expected around the holidays. And although they can be made all year round, it just isn't the same. It's the same reason Starbucks waits to have Pumpkin Spice, it's just not the same if you were able to have it all the time.... although, these foods would definitely not be taken for granted if I were to have them more often throughout the entire year. These foods just make me feel like "ahhh, the holidays are here!"

After getting James approval I am going to share our wonderful Wassail drink recipe. And although I am sure you can probably find this recipe on the world wide web. I have not tried all those recipes, and I can't suggest something I haven't tried... So take my word, this Wassail recipe is THE BEST and you should definitely try it out! It's simple and hearty and just ohhhhh sooooo goood!

Schmitz Wassail Recipe:
Ingredients: 
1 32 oz Crandberry Juice
2 32oz  Apple Cider
3 Cinnamon Sticks
1 Orange
Whole Cloves

Directions:
Pour cranberry juice and apple cider into a crock pot. Turn crock pot on medium and let sit.
Take 1 orange and slice it it, leaving the peel on.
Push whole cloves through the peel on each slice. 
Put  orange slices into crock pot.
Put cinnamon sticks into crock pot.
Heat for 15 minutes. Then Enjoy!

It's super easy and ridiculously yummy! Let me know if you get a chance to make it!

Halloween Decorating

Halloween is hands down James favorite holiday. He usually gets free rein to do whatever he wants to our house for Halloween. He usually goes all out with scary (and I mean scary) figurines, wall, window and door hangings, skulls that drip red blood candle wax, full size skeletons, all the works...

Spooky Couch Cover from Target
If it were up to James, our house pretty much would look like this

 hand from Target
usually we have things like this

Spider Skeleton from Target
I am sure if James saw this there, he would have tried to convince me we needed it.

Zombie from Target
I know James would have loved this!

 However, now that we have a baby, things have changed. We have to be careful not to make it too scary for her and we have to make sure that everything is put up on tall shelves and countertops that she cannot reach. We can't put out a spooky table cloth or fun spider webs all over the place because I know she will find a way to 1) pull them down and everything else with it or 2) eat it.

  This year we had toned it down quite a lot and have gone more the cutesy "Martha Stewart" route instead. And you know what, I like it. James thinks it looks more like a "moms" Halloween and it looks cheesy and I am a-okay with that. I for one, do not love being scared every time I have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water. Plus, I really do like the cutesy stuff.  This year we just ended up going to Target to get additional Halloween Decor. I was surprised that there was a lot more there that I wanted then I would have expected.

Candelabra from Target
We put a bunch candelabras like these around our house with orange and yellow candles

Orange Berry Wreath from Target
I don't know why I really like wreaths hung on front doors.
And this one would work for both Halloween and Thanksgiving!

Frankenstein Nutcracker from Target
This would looks so cute on my bookshelf!

Vintage Wall Hangs from Target
Target even has vintage designs that they made with real wood. I LOVED these!

So it got me wondering, did anyone else changed the way they decorated for a "scary" holiday like this when they had kids? Also, anyone have any ideas for cutesy Halloween decor that James might like? Can anyone give me some suggestions of other places to get some fun Halloween decor?

Chloe is 10 months! (Moms, I need some advice!)

Chloe is now an independent little one crawling around everyone. Never sitting still. She "cruises" around all the furniture and has stood on her own a couple times. I know her first steps are near. She still only has her two bottom teeth in, but I see 3 top teeth that are coming in fast and should be here anyday. Her blonde hair is coming in thicker and I can finally put barrettes in her hair! yay!

I cant believe how big she is! She laughs and smiles all the time. She loves her little "lovey" (a small square blanket about a square foot that has a little rattle giraffe attached) and carries that around all the time. She loves to blow raspberries and show "how big" she is. She claps and dances and gives me "kisses" (which are really just an open mouth kiss). I love it so much!

Here is where I need the advice. Lately, about the past 3 days, she has not been wanting to eat while at home. She will eat fine at the sitters everyday, but has refused food every time I try to feed her.  I don't know if it is directly related to her teething or not, but it is so hard to see her not eat! She does want to feed her self little snacks like her yogurt chips or little oat puffs, but she won't eat an actual meal!

To make matters worse, she has been throwing tantrums. If we take a toy away, she falls to the floor and starts screaming and crying. It is hard to deal with and I really just don't know what to do. I feel bad that she cries and I have been trying to just let her throw her fit then she will be over it, but it is so hard when you are in the midst of it. I thought this wasn't supposed to happen until she is a toddler! I just bought the Happiest Toddler on the block VHS and will be watching it tonight (yes I still own a VHS player, it comes in handy when the price difference is $20 from dvd to vhs.) I will have to let you know what I have learned from the program and how it works....

I don't know what to do! Anyone else have any suggestions or have they gone through this phase?

My Memories Digital Scrapbook WINNER

The winner of the My Memories Digital Scrapbook 

Breanne from resting on your love

(Breanne, make sure you email me at shesaidblog@ymail.com)

Breanne wins one My Memories Suite Version 2.0 digital scrapbooking software (a $39.97 value) for free.

For those of you who didn't win:
My Memories is offering a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value FREE! Just go to My Memories and copy and paste this code in the promotions code area at checkout : STMMMS48680

Halloween Preview

So James and I decided to be something really fun and different this year. We are making our costumes with whatever we have in the closet and only a $15 limit from the thrift store. This should be interesting.I actually didn't buy anything from the thrift store, my costume is made with my clothes I already owned and a hat I made with some craft supplies already on hand! Here is what I came up with so far... It's creepy enough for Halloween with the adults at work, then I can take the makeup off and be a non scary clown for Halloween with Chloe. We are making chloe's clown costume too!(does anyone know where I can buy a black and white striped long sleeve onesie/bodysuit for Chloe?)

Anyway, hope this inspires some of you to come up with something fun and original this Halloween!

New Items added to shop!

I have now included some of my handmade mini top hats and feathered hair pieces into my shop. Click She Said Shop on the right then go to the "handmade" to take a look! I have also included them on my Etsy Shop, Ruby Darling, that is finally being re-opened!

If you go to my blog shop, I have offered these at a discount cost, just for my readers!!!!

Chloe learned something new!

So I haven't update you in a while on Chloe's stats. She is now almost 10 months. She weighs 21.5 lbs and is 28 inches tall. She eats all sorts of food, but loves to play with it even more. She still drinks formula, but she likes to drink water from her sippy cup too. We have started making 1/2 of her food at home and I hope to make 100% of all her food by the middle of October.

Her favorite thing to do is take a bath, she LOVES the water!!! She loves to GROWL, seriously, so cute! She claps when you say "yay" and knows how big she is (hint: watch the video below). Her blonde hair is coming in thicker and longer now, but she hates to wear headbands and pulls them down around her neck when we put them on. She crawls pretty fast and wants to stand up and climb on everything. She loves to cruise around and I am sure she will take her first real steps before she turns 1.

Here she is as of this morning. You might have to turn the audio up really loud, I guess I was too quiet for it to capture what I was saying.