Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Brown paper packages tied up with string
These are a few of my favorite things!
Just kidding. Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes are a nightmare. And I hate snow. But as I sat down to write this post I found myself singing this song, so there you have it. Can we talk for a sec about the infuriating brands that pop up in my Instagram feed tempting me with the cutest little dresses and swim suits I've ever seen for AMAZING prices? Well they are in fact, too good to be true. I start clicking and adding to cart and then I realize it's some Australian brand and they don't ship to the US and even the ones who do only offer store credit and not returns. How is that a thing? Store credit for a brand I've never tried? Nope. I hate you. And I still want that dress.
That aside, I've found some really awesome brands/products/blogs/things, etc. on the Gram, and as I talked about all of these glorious finds with a friend recently I realized that the list is quite extensive and deserves a blog entry of its own.
Chatbooks: this is my favorite, so it's first on the list. The gist of it is, you download the app, sign in to your IG account and it prints you a cute little book for every 60 posts you make. I like it because it's out of sight out of mind. I have IG accounts set up for both of my kids @babybellesworld and @instarosiejames and my own @thebellecurveblog so we have quite the collection. Each book has your handle, the dates, and Vol. 1, 2, 3, etc. on the spine, which is also adorable. You can select hard or soft cover and you even get reminders right before it prints to go in and select any photos you don't want included. Plus, with every book you receive 5 free prints from that collection of photos. I do the softcover books and they're $11 each. The girls love getting them in the mail and you can go back at any time and reorder one if it gets ripped, chewed or peed on. Don't want to exploit your kids on Instagram like I do? That's also fine. You can create an account just for them, set it to private and post photos for the sole purpose of your Chatbooks account. Use it as the worlds easiest baby book. You're welcome.
Social Print Studio: high quality prints of your favorite photos. They come on super cool card stock that has this awesome finish that's hard to describe but I'm obsessed with it. I print a huge batch of these every year for the girls birthday parties and then stick them to the tables so we can see how much they've grown in the year. It makes for great conversation and super simple bday table decorations. The girls carry them around like trading cards and stuff them into all of their purses. They're basically indestructible and come in all sorts of sizes. The posters (think baby's first year, engagement, etc.) and framed pics also make excellent gifts. And they make stickers too, which are super cute.
New England Loom: I found this little gem about a year ago when I was searching for a rug for our living room. I actually discovered them through another one of my favorite IG guilty pleasures, @younghouselove, who tagged them in a post after purchasing a rug from them. How it works: @newenglandloom (an adorable couple named Lindsey and Josh) post photos every Sunday at 8pm of their most recent batch of vintage rugs. They travel all over to find the most gorgeous colors, unique patterns and high quality rugs and they'll even keep their eyes peeled for specific colors and sizes if you ask them. They're super responsive over email and DM and overall just joy to work with. I'm obsessed with the rug they found for me and now I just have to finish actually decorating the room so we can enjoy it. Also, their prices are VERY reasonable.
Truvani: I discovered this brand only a few months ago after pre-ordering the new book, Feeding You Lies, by Vani Hari, otherwise known as @thefoodbabe. Long story short, Vani Hari started Truvani to create the products she wished she could find in stores. I use their vanilla and chocolate plant based protein powder for shakes because they contain only a handful of non-GMO ingredients with no preservatives, and no artificial sweeteners. They're also gluten, dairy and soy free. And they're 100% organic (actually organic, not just claiming to be) and vegan. I'm also LOVING their marine collagen.
Zoe Lev: I got my B necklace when I was pregnant with Belle and wore it every single day until Rosie was born and I switched to my new one that included both of their initials. I never take it off. It's so subtle that it goes unnoticed most of the time, but when someone does notice it, they always ask where I got it. They're not cheap, but neither is the quality. Also it makes for a great gift from husband to wife upon the birth of said children...if carrying his children for 10 months isn't worth two hundred dollars and change, than I don't know what is.
Artkive: I haven't actually ordered anything from here yet, but I CANT FREAKING WAIT. I have major mom guilt about throwing out Belle's art work. Mostly because she KNOWS when I do. She'll be like "mom, where's that picture of my swings I drew 87 days ago? The one with the purple flower and the yellow sun and the glitter? It was on pink construction paper." So at the beginning of the school year I set aside an empty box to start putting all of her school stuff in after it had run its course on our art board. I'm keeping this box strictly for stuff she makes in school - anything she makes at home is fair game for the trash IMO. I plan to send in said box to Artkive at the end of the school year and order one of their super cool books that will showcase all of her work. The pricing seems pretty high, so I'll likely go through another weeding out process before I send all this shit in, but it's a cute idea and I already told her about it, so at this point I'm pot committed.
Smallwood Home / Sweet Honey: I love this sign that hangs above our bed and the prices are awesome. Although, I'm a little pissed I did not pay the sale price. Their line of girls clothing is TO. DIE. I can't get enough. I think it's safe to say that I've officially purchased too much for this upcoming spring season.
Dapper Darling: See previous post which captures the entirety of my newest obsession. And follow them on IG @dapperanddarling_
In other game changing news: I recently learned (from @sydneyraebass) that you can buy bags of Sonic ice. WHAT. IS. HAPPENING. And now I'm googling how long it'll take me to get to the nearest Sonic. So there you have it. One can learn lots of valuable info from the Gram.
*none of these are paid endorsements. I just genuinely like this shit.