| Sweet Orange Fox

Teeth. Suck.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

I'm scared to even look at the date of my last post. I'm sure you all assumed I was off completing my half bath makeover "project of the month." As much as I wish that were true...sadly, it couldn't be further from the truth. No..I have been stuck deep in the pits of teething hell.

I have had my fair share of tooth problems...seriously, going on root canal #6 here! And having a child has taught me that teeth are just one big problem for your entire life. Starting around 3 months. What a crock.

Trent's two bottom middle teeth came in within one day of each other without much fuss while he was cutting them, but the weeks leading up to that were awful. This time around, the two top middle teeth are just on the verge of cutting, and I think this past week has been even worse than the last time. We don't use any teething tablets, and Trent is not a big fan of any of the cold teething toy products or pacifiers, so we are forced to just suffer through it! Motrin has been our best friend for the past several nights. Oh, and we give Trent some, too! I have been avoiding baby Orajel like no other, but I may have to cave in a try a tiny bit if this doesn't get any better.

It is such just a helpless feeling...and it seems as though it will never end. Grandma came to the rescue on Friday and gave us a bit of much-needed relief at least! I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel...I just hope the tunnel isn't too much longer! Looking forward to getting back to "normal" life and my happy baby soon. Yea, this guy!

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Project of the Month

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

July is finally here, and I have decided to finally get around to a project that has been on my list for a while. While there are countless "makeover" and redecoration projects I want to tackle, I tend to get overwhelmed thinking about ALL of them and end up blowing them off rather than just focusing on one at a time. So my new plan is "Project of the Month." It just can't physically (or financially) all be done at once!

So like I said...the first days of July seemed like the perfect time to kick off the new 'one thing at a time' approach. This month: half bath makeover. I really want to do the master bath, but it would be a much bigger project...so that will wait. Our downstairs half bath is so sad, and I have been wanting to give it a makeover really since we moved in. After all, it is the bathroom that any company we have over uses, and it is right off the front door of our house so it is one of the first things you see. I don't have a super clear direction yet, but it will come together as I go...I'm hoping, anyway. First things first, some before pictures. I cleared all of the non-essentials from the bathroom and walls which makes it look even sadder. I am using that as motivation to get the project underway ASAP!

I know what you're thinking....eeeek, that awful mirror! eeeek, that horrid light fixture!! eeeek, that Spongebob soap pump!! Well, I've got news for you.. Spongebob is staying, but everything else I agree with. I can't wait to get started. A few pieces of inspiration:

I picked up this crown at a local boutique/antique shop a while back, and it has just been hanging out in the living room getting no love at all. I love the way it looks with this glass jar/rope combo...very Restoration Hardware-ish, no? Plus a MUST for the half bath is this wooden accent wall which will go perfectly with these two accessories.

So..that is about as far as I have gotten. Cleared out the bathroom and poached two accessories from the living room. But I'll get there! Stay tuned for progress updates!

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Weekend Recovery

Monday, July 1, 2013

Okay, this time I SWEAR. This week will be so full of posts, you'll get sick of me! :) Life threw us some curve balls this week, but we are moving forward (and getting back to blogging)!

This weekend was one of the most "relaxing" weekends we have had in a while, although our version of relaxing is pretty different these days. We made an impromptu trip to my parents' on Saturday to visit and swim for a while, and on the way there we stopped in Target. Of course. We had been wanting to get Trent a little car/push-tricycle sort of thing for a while, and we decided to just breeze through the toys to see what they had. And as usual, Target totally delivered. Behold:

Before Matt had even seen the box, I knew he was going to INSIST that we buy it, and I knew we would be putting it together the moment we got to my parents' house. Since coming to America, Matt has become obsessed with pickup trucks, and he finally took the plunge for his dream F-150 when we moved to Texas. Pair that with his love of matching with Trent (outfits, accessories, hair styles), and this was just too perfect to pass up.

The Cozy Truck is totally awesome, I have to say, but it is the biggest pain in the butt to put together. We spent an hour and a half struggling with it (mostly the roof joints), and by the time we had it assembled, Trent was down for a nap. Figures. We lounged in the pool for a while until he woke up, let him "swim" a bit and then took the truck for a test drive. He LOVES it! More in depth info on the next GooGoo Review!

On Sunday we ran some errands and did some chores around the house..took Trent's truck around the block...and had a fab dinner. These days, cooking gets totally pushed to the back burner. No pun intended. So I am all about easy and quick meal ideas. My mom told us about these new bagged salads, and we decided to try them out last week. I don't usually like the bagged salads or salad "kits," but these are ahhhhh-mazing. I think we have literally eaten one like every night for a week now. They are chopped salads, which I love anyway, and they come in several different varieties. One bag is more than enough for two people as an entree, and you can dress them up a ton OR just leave them as is. I honestly think I like them better without all the additions I keep trying out. A few nights ago, we had the Southwest Chopped (Matt's favorite), and I added some chicken I had already cooked and frozen, corn and black beans. Just tossed everything, added the dressing and tossed again. And last night we had the Asian Chopped (my favorite) and grilled some salmon to put on top. OMG...drooling just thinking about how good it was. I could go on forever. Anyway..my point is. Try them out. You won't be sorry. So far I have seen them at Target and Kroger.

After eating entirely too much, we tried to just have a relaxing evening watching some TV, working on some Etsy orders, perhaps playing some Candy Crush... And then I realized...OMG...it was June 30th. Which meant tomorrow was July 1st. Which meant the day I had waited for for seven months was finally here!! The release of Crate & Barrel's 50th anniversary July teapot. Try to contain yourself.

So naturally..we set our alarms for 11:55pm, went to bed, and woke up to purchase the teapot when it went on sale at 12:01am. Score. I absolutely can NOT wait for it to arrive. Intact, I hope.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. We just have to get through a few more days, and then it is time to PARTY for the 4th!!

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Weekend Recovery

Sunday, June 23, 2013

I have been the world's worst blogger this week..I am so sorry! I will make up for it with loads and loads this coming week, promise! Hope everyone out there beat the heat during this first official weekend of summer. It isn't too bad here yet, but I know we are getting there.

As usual, this week and weekend absolutely flew by. Thursday evening kicked off our weekend activities with my dad's foundation's (UREF) annual dinner and lecture benefiting men's health and prostate cancer awareness. It was held this year at the Frontiers of Flight museum, and as usual there was a short talk by my father and grandfather followed by the featured speaker. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen a glimpse of the mystery VIP... On this occasion we were all thrilled to have Colonel Joe Kittinger as the guest of honor. He has had many accomplishments throughout his military career, but you may have encountered his name more recently as an adviser and capsule communicator to Felix Baumgartner of the Red Bull Stratos project.

Dad, Grandpa, Kittinger

It was a fun evening catching up with family and friends and listening to some very interesting stories from Col. Kittinger. Trent stayed up a little past his bedtime but handled it much better than expected, and we are already looking forward to next year!

FC Dallas came back home after being on the road and played Sporting KC on Saturday, and of course we were all there (including Mr. Giraffe) to cheer them on. Unfortunately we had to leave early to put the munchkin to bed, though, and we missed the big comeback.

Other weekend highlights are few and far between. It was a pretty standard few days around here. We did a few errands today, and I got these fab new shirts that I am dying to wear. Loose-fitting racerbacks with a bright colored string-strap sports bra are my new favorite thing (for running, day to day, errands, anything), and I was in heaven when I came across all of these at the Adidas outlet for a great price plus an extra 30% off...I might have gone a little crazy, but 1) they are going to look amazing with my Mavi Bandz, and 2) I promised myself (and Matt) I wasn't buying anything else the rest of the day.

But then..I wandered in the Carter's outlet and wouldn't you know it....they came out with a huge line of fox clothes, and I had to buy every piece..in multiple sizes. Credit card balance, we meet again. I just broke up with you, dangit!

And yes, I DO realize these are the world's crappiest pictures. I don't have a good excuse...just letting you know that I know. I will get it together next week.

We stopped by my parents' house and then to see my brother and sister-in-law, and here we are. Like I said...nothing too exciting to report. But I DO have a lot up my sleeves for this week, so stay tuned! Happy Sunday, everyone!

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Weekend Recovery

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

After my first post-baby hangover, I titled my weekend recap post "Weekend Recovery," but I think I am going to stick with that for every weekend recap from now on. It seems like whether I have a hangover or not, I always have to recover from the weekend...physically and emotionally. Weekends are magical...you are on such a high and feel like you have all the time in the world...and then BOOM! It is Sunday night, you haven't done the laundry, and you realize you are down to your last K-Cup which is just not going to work for Monday morning.

I hope everyone had a fab Father's Day weekend and did lots of celebrating and relaxing! On Saturday morning we ran the DadFest 5K, as we do every year the weekend of Father's Day. My Dad's foundation, the Urology Research and Education Foundation, puts it on for a great cause - men's health and prostate cancer awareness. This year the run moved locations and was just down the road from us which made it super convenient. Trent did fantastic, and we had surprisingly cool weather for the occasion. Sophie the Giraffe only took a few spills out of the BOB along the way...which is obviously why I ended up with such a slow time. Obviously.

Matt and Trent participated in the father/son look-alike contest afterwards (didn't win), and Trent did the diaper dash (also didn't win). However...since he could barely crawl like two days earlier, we were actually very proud of him. Our secret weapon? The iPhone. He totally went for it.

We had a great time celebrating Dad & Grandpa at DadFest and are already looking forward to it next year!

On Sunday we went to my parent's house for Father's Day lunch, and Trent had his first pool day! I know his swim outfit totally doesn't match, but he had already outgrown most of the swim stuff I had bought him a while back. He didn't seem to mind and had a great time splashing around. I see a lot more pool days in our future this summer!

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Hot Diggity Dog

Sunday, June 16, 2013

If you follow my Instagram, you may have seen that we had one of my favorite dinners on Friday night, and as promised..here is the full report!

I don't know where my love of hot dogs began, but I know it really set in when we were living in Chicago and going to Cubs games at least weekly. They had the MOST amazing hot dogs at Wrigley field. I am always on the lookout for a great dog, and I often can't have just one. Example..here, at Pink's in Vegas a few years ago. Where, by the way, they also serve jello shots. Just FYI.

Several weeks back, I posted about how much I was looking forward to summer and grilling out season, and all the sudden it arrived! Once I realized the beginnings of summer were upon us, I decided that we needed to kick it off with a bang - a hot dog party, immediately! So on Friday morning I texted Matt and said "clear your schedule...hot dogs tonight." And then I watched the clock the rest of the day. Trent was in the spirit, too, even though the action didn't start until after his bedtime.

Hot Dog Onesie

Because it was very impromptu and just the two of us, I tried to limit the toppings so we wouldn't have a ton of food leftover, but choosing which dogs I wanted proved harder than I thought. Ultimately I settled on a quasi-Chicago dog, a Cobb salad dog (to make use of the leftovers from the night before), a "Texas" dog (Matt's name...it was really more of a Tex-Mex dog) and a BLT dog.

Food Picks/Cupcake Toppers

Sauces/condiments are my weakness, so I brought out just about everything I could find..and I think we actually used them all. The Nutella, whipped cream, chocolate syrup and sprinkles were for the dessert banana hot dogs which didn't get photographed somehow...what?? Guess we will just have to have them again asap. PS how cute is the little patriotic hot dog DOG on the bar? I waited (impatiently) for him to go on sale for MONTHS, and it was so worth it.

Then it was time for drinks. We love candy in this house..almost as much as we love margaritas. So I decided we needed both. I felt slightly bad impaling the gummy bears but quickly got over it once I saw how cute they were hanging out in my drink.

We had these straws left over from our baby shower BBQ last summer, and I decided to dress them up a bit for the occasion.

Star Straw Toppers

Finally....the hot dogs! When I was pregnant I was missing hot dogs almost as much as I was missing a good night's sleep, so I was beyond excited when my sister-in-law, Renee, brought me these nitrate-free Angus hot dogs. They are still my favorite even now. Matt got some different kinds of chicken sausages from Market Street, and we grilled up way more than we could possibly eat.

I went for a Cobb dog with all the fixins followed by a plain dog with mayo and ketchup. And I have to say...as much as I love all the fancy schmancy hot dogs and creative toppings, I still think there is nothing better than traditional. Just call me old-fashioned. We threw in some Sun Chips, of course, and chowed down.

Baskets and Liners (in stores at Target)

One last quick tip before I head out. For some reason, our neighborhood is like fly central. There are so many flies. We have tried a ton of things, and this is by far the best at keeping the flies away. Just slice a lemon, stick some whole cloves in, scatter the slices around the table, bar, back yard, etc...and I kid you not, no flies. I could not BELIEVE how well it worked. I was totally skeptical, but Matt insisted that we try it..and I have to say he proved me wrong 1000%. And they can actually look pretty, too, as opposed to some of the other contraptions out there. Perfect for a summer party or wedding!

I am already craving some dogs again. We are headed to my parents for Father's Day this afternoon, and of course I already put in my hot dog request. Hope everyone has a great Sunday and end to their Father's Day weekend! Up next...weekend recap with several firsts for Trent Fox.

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Amazing Product Alert + Sponsor

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Keep reading for a super duper BOGO offer!

I have so much to say today, but one of the things I am most excited to tell you about is our new sponsor, Mavi Bandz! If you are a loyal reader, you already know of my obsession with Mavi Bandz, and it is even stronger now that we have partnered up with the lovely Jordan, creative genius extraordinaire behind the idea and company!

If you haven't heard of Mavi Bandz..let me just fill you in. You know how annoying it is when those elastic headbands slip off your head five minutes into a run and you end up having to hold back your bangs for the next 30 minutes until the sweat kicks in and sticks them to your head? Well...Mavi Bandz solves that. Seriously. Over the years I tried every freaking elastic headband out there, and whether I was exercising or just sitting around the house (usually the latter), they would always slip off and end up around my neck. I was sure I had a weird shaped head or something, but the more I talked to other women, the more I found out that just about everyone was having the same problem.

Then came Mavi Bandz. I ordered my first one a few months ago, and you rarely find me not sporting one these days. They are the only non-slip, adjustable headband out there...so they fit perfectly (no headaches!) and will not, I repeat..WILL NOT...slip off of your head! Plus they are actually cute and come in a zillion styles/designs that are good for a ton of different occasions...not just athletics. My current faves are this red, white and blue chevron one (hurry up Fourth of July!)...perfect for FC Dallas games...and this gray quatrefoil print...great for everyday with jeans and a cute top. The best part? They totally make up for the fact that I never have time to actually blow out my hair anymore. Okay...maybe that isn't the best part, but it is certainly a huge plus! Here I am a few months ago with my first band..and when the addiction began!

Anyway...I could go on for hours about their greatness, but I will let you find out for yourself. You can just go ahead and thank me now :) Speaking of thanks...a huge thanks to Mavi Bandz for giving Sweet Orange Fox our very own coupon code to pass along to y'all! Use the coupon code FOXBOGO for buy one get one free. Yep...you read that right! Get a couple for yourself and a couple of FREE ones as a gift (or just keep them all for yourself). I didn't even know they had this neon reflective running band yet, but I am going to buy it RIGHT now. And I think I'll have to get the orange one as my BOGO.

Hope everyone is having a fantastic Father's Day weekend so far! And don't worry...it's not too late to put together a few of these gifts for Dad!

So...which Mavi Bandz are you going to be rocking this summer??

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Sweet Orange Fox

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Teeth. Suck.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Project of the Month

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Weekend Recovery

Monday, July 1, 2013

Weekend Recovery

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Weekend Recovery

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Hot Diggity Dog

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Amazing Product Alert + Sponsor

Saturday, June 15, 2013

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