Mother's Day Shopping & Gemvara Giveaway

Holy moly, its already May! Mother's Day is in less than 2 weeks.. start your shopping now so you don't scramble last minute. A few ideas.

Cards
Treat.com, I always rave about this site. These cards are the same price as you would find at Target or CVS.. plus you get to customize it. Moms lose their shit over pictures of their kids or grandkids in it. Trust me. Heck, I might even use these two happy people below in my treat card. BTW, is that a grandmother with a nose ring?

Again, the key is to order soon since you have to deal with shipping. Etsy is another place I always love for cute original cards. My mom doesn't watch Mad Med (I've told her many times she is missing out) or else that would have been 'the one'.

Arduosity "Mad Men Betty Draper inspired card", $5.25

HenPenDesigns, $4

JulieAnnArt, $4

Moms to little ones
Passes and Memberships!!! For real, nothing like being able to get out of the house and go explore to the kid friendly places around you.

Lil C enjoying a local farm and a local Miss Piggy

Whether its play gyms for tots, museums, farms, zoos.. its such a treat to get a yearly membership as a gift or even a few day passes. Most likely there are enough toys already in your house, these gifts do not take up any room thankfully!

Jewelry
We all know I love me some pretty jewelry! I was recently invited to a Mother's Day sneak peak for Gemvara.com and unfortunately my little guy wasn't feeling well the day of the event. That still didn't keep me from checking out all the pretty things on their website. For moms especially, Gemvara is great because all the fine high-quality jewelry is sold just the way you want it in your choice of gems and precious metals. I picked out the pretty 'Pure Pave Pendant' that included both Lil C & Royal's birthstones, and even got their names engraved on the back! I must say-- their customer service is outstanding. Always worth mentioning that when you come across it these days..

To get mom's present shipped in time, you can order online at Gemvara.com by midnight on Sunday, May 5th.

Gemvara would like to gift a lucky JQ Lounge reader with a $250 gift certificate! 

To enter, just leave a comment with what your dream piece from Gemvara would be. I'll pick a winner next Tuesday! 1 extra entry if you tweet it as well.

I wonder what these two knuckleheads are going to get me this year...

Tough Guy's reaction to this pic? "Out of all the things.. why the sailor suit?!"::::::: I think he looks dashing :)

Excited to see what Gemvara fabulousity you pick in the comments! Happy shopping!

UPDATE: Congrats Lara of Good Cook Doris for winning the giveaway! Just send me your email and I will get the Gemvara gift card out to you!

Boston

I packed up my little kiddos to go watch the Boston Marathon on Monday. We drove to Newton to meet up with some friends and walked to a nice little area to start cheering on runners.  The two hours I was there flew by chasing Lil C around, clapping for all the runners, feeding Royal under the hooter hider, all while tracking my friends who were running via the Boston Marathon iPhone app. I packed up the children and headed back home. No sooner than 5 minutes in my house did I get a frantic phone call from my mom "You didn't go to Boston did you to watch, did you?" "There was an explosion"

the day was cheerful and bright before the afternoon's tragic events

You just get that confused feeling deep in your gut. I got the same feeling that chilly Friday in December when I turned on the news after reading some confusing tweets about Newtown, CT.

An hour then flew by refreshing Facebook every 10 seconds to see if my friends updated their status to say they were safe. Not just the runners, but all their friends and family that were in town meeting them after the race. Freaking out at Instagram seeing a few friends who had posted pics near the finish line just an hour earlier.. Wondering if your friends who work downtown were in the office today, or if they had the day off.

You then start trying to figure it out in your head.. was it an electrical explosion? There has to be some reason for this. Its never a good sign when even the newscasters can't keep it together. And then there was the loop of video they kept showing over and over of the first explosion. Its hard to even type 'bomb'. Not in Boston. Not on Boylston. Not on Marathon Monday.

Its absolutely heartbreaking. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who was effected by this act of evil. It was such a beautiful day out and its so near and dear to people from all over the world to be able to go cheer on runners on Patriots Day. Most of these runners running for a cause.

There have been so many lovely blog posts and facebook posts about Boston that have made me smile and tear up and smile again. We may be Mass-holes, but we take care of our own.

I will hold my babies a little tighter after Monday's events.. but feel much better knowing there are so many kind people in this world, especially in this great American city.

Lilly

Its funny, I didn't really appreciate my love for preppy until after my days as a sorority girl. I purchased my first Lilly Pulitzer dress years ago when Ruelala was a fun new website that had the ability to drain your 'secret' bank account.

After that, I was in love. From totes, notecards, to picture frames, iPad covers, to coffee mugs and beer koozies. Things were just more enjoyable when dipped in a Lilly pattern. Its bright, fun, youthful and cheery. It just makes me happy whenever I see it.

One of my favorite gifts for when Lil C was a lil baby

was a Lilly summer ensemble

Everything from the packaging to the little tags on the items inviting you in and telling you about how it all started with young girl and a juice stand, you feel like part of a secret club. And yes, I do feel an extra ounce of sass and confidence when rocking LP!

Sipping a tasty cocktail in Charleston, SC in my first Lilly dress.

Meeting Mayor Menino in Lilly. Holy short hair, Julie!


So a pink champagne toast with your pinkies out to Lilly Pulitzer..  thank you for making the world a brighter place.

Oh.. I had a baby!

Meet Mx! That's his blog name for now because I'm crafty like that. He's now well over a month old and has been soaking up all of my free time (well.. him, Lil C, Tough Guy, Bravo television and twitter of course)

Lil C has been the most fabulous big sister and she takes her role very seriously. She loves to point out his eyes, nose and ears..  as well as trying to take over his bassinet, pacifier, and anything else newborn related. 

I also finally perfected how to cut her bangs perfectly.. many thanks to my Yiayia's advice of twisting it first and then cutting it so it falls messy but straight. 

If only Suri Cruise had Lil C's mom for hair and styling advice...

Excited to be back blogging. Cannot wait to share the adventures in parenting two little kiddos..

Ocean Bump

If you've noticed, I rarely take pictures of myself (or have them taken of me) during the last month(s) of pregnancy. Some friends are so good documenting it.. and they always look FAB! I just feel blah.. and its always the last few lbs are the killer ones for me: with this pregnancy its 23, 24 and 25.

But today I had such a nice time on the North Shore this afternoon celebrating my brother and his lovely fiance's upcoming nuptials and even snapped a couple ones since my car was parked to the most gorgeous view ever!

 The happy couple, MQ and Lexi!

So there you have it. Pregnant face and all! Alright little man, let's get going now :)

Nesting + Etsy

Ohhhh, nesting! It sounds so relaxing and sweet. But when you have a toddler around, its not really nesting as its more constantly being on your (pregnant and tired) toes.

If I'm only going to get 4-5 hours sleep each night because said bump is taking over the house, at least the Internet has pinterest and etsy to keep this night owl company! While I've been blessed with the most amazing boys clothes from fantastic friends with baby boys, I've had to get a little shopping out of my system.. I mean, I'm still Julie from the block. Blonk.

I bought a few things for Lil C on etsy back when I was nesting with her- but it was mostly sweet little prints for her nursery. This time around, I was craving Chevron. Lots. Of. Chevron.

Baby Boy Q update:  This guy is ready to arrive! Hit full term last week so who knows what will happen within the next couple weeks. Have already encountered a contraction (boy, have I missed those wonderful things!) but baby is still chilling.. my midwife thinks he'll be a little big bigger than his sister was, so remind me to pack a big fat bottle of white wine in my hospital bag for after.. kidding kidding. Because the sad thing is, I'd totally settle for a turkey sub instead at this point!

Getting back to etsy fabulousity, here are my a few of my favorites that I've purchased << also makes great gifts too! >>

Handmade Set of 3 Chevron Burp Cloths, via mimikinsboutique ($15)

Chevron Swaddler Baby Blanket, via lippybrand ($24)

Nursery Print, via mindyink ($15)

Baby Month Stickers-- Preppy Green Gators, via preppychick ($12)

 

But we can't forget our darling Miss C! Was so excited to find these little girl bows that are made in Lilly Pulitzer fabric! Perfect for spring. Check them out at looking4lilly ($4.95)

And since I was on an etsy spree, the last item was a cute adorable heart scarf at FashionScarvesforyou for the pregnant chick. ($9.95) Even though its destined to be covered up by newborn spit up in the near future.

 What's been your favorite Etsy purchase recently?

Queen of Hearts

After the last Christmas decoration is packed away, hearts immediately flood my mind. I love hearts, they are so girly and fabulous.. and much like Chevron, they just make me happy whenever I see them! I'm not even that into Valentine's Day. I think its more exciting during the dating stage and childhood phase (my mom always got me the prettiest things for V-day!! But hearts should not be saved just for that Hallmark holiday! Although I do consider it an added bonus when you can let your freak flag fly with your hearts obsession during the first couple months of the year.

1. BW Prints Chevron Heart, $14  /   2.  J Crew Factory Printed Hearts iPhone 5 Case, $16  /  3.  aden + anais Muslin Heart Swaddle Wrap, $14  /  4.  J Crew Heartbreaker sweater, $79.99   /  5.  baby Gap Heart Printed Skinny Jeans, $34.95  /  6. Anthropologie Hopeful Hearts studs, $32   /  7. Red Hearts Print Scarf, $12.95

Do not worry, there's more amazing hearts-ness coming to the JQ Lounge.. and it involves the ridonculous present Chels got for Lil C but we'll save that for its own blog post ;)

Happy 2013!

Hope everyone had a lovely new year! An awful cold has struck the JQ Lounge, and mama bear, papa bear and baby bear have all been coughing up a storm. Hopefully its passing VERY SOON, because one thing you should never cross paths with, is a very annoyed, very pregnant Julie because someone got us sick! Nish. Nish.

But instead of focusing on the bad, let's focus on the good.

How do we get the Yule Log on demand all year round?!

Tough Guy and I had an awesome Christmas with our little lady. Since we're throwing a new sibling into the mix next Christmas, she got spoiled a little more than usual.

Good news is, she didn't really notice that, so we actually haven't opened up half of her presents yet! I figure we can introduce a new one every other week from now on, and she'll be happy as a clam! We made some yummy things on Christmas morning, courtesy of Pinterest. I wish those cookies above were something that I created, but no, I just drooled over them at Layla Grayce's blog!

December is such a fun month, but what's not fun? The hiatus that all television shows take during the holiday month!!

But luckily, I was able to check out a little show on ABC called Scandal, and lets just say.. I am absolutely HOOKED. This show is amazing. I dig it. And if you dig me? You'll dig it to. Trust.  Plus, there are only 7 episodes in season 1, so you don't even have to be that much of a psycho to catch up to season 2 that's currently running now on Thursday nights after Gray's Anatomy. One more thing-- if you like Revenge.. I think you should just switch to this show all together. Revenge has been absolutely terrible this season!!! I keep tuning in thinking it'll go back to the bad ass days, but its stupid and confusing now. Poop to that.

I also rewatched Season 1 of HBO's Girls to get ready for Season 2 starting next week. Holy crap, that show is great. Its even better watching it the second time.. also, the Season 2 preview just freaking makes me so happy. If you haven't checked it out, here ya go. It also features Ellie Goulding's 'Anything Could Happen' song that I'm also obsessed with at the end.

Hopefully January will be a nesting month getting ready for the new baby boy (due early February!) I just want to spend the next month giving Lil C a giant bear hug, but I'm sure she'd just tell me "Listen lady, just let me go play with my toys" Speaking of, we're starting to get some chit chat out of C these days! She's like the happiest little creature on earth, its so funny to all of a sudden hear her bust out these new words! My favorite? Whenever there's a dog present in a room, she immediately throws her hand up in the air and commands them to SIT!!!!! I think its the attitude she shows with it that makes my sassy little heart melt.  I forget that babies always be growing up. Too fast, man. Too fast.

A Tiffany Christmas!

Tiffany & Co always has one of my favorite Holiday cards every year... had to share!

 

But wait, there was MORE.

Tough Guy always stops what he's doing to when there is a Tiffany & Co box waiting for his wife on the counter.

 

Oh la la! What a special treat! J'adore this beautiful Elsa Peretti Color by the Yard necklace. The perfect accessory for the holiday party this evening. 

Thank you Tiffany & Co and Happy Holidays! Hope Santa is good to everyone this evening!

Happy Holidays!

Just a few more days left of shopping for Christmas! Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday! Here is one of the Christmas Cards we used this year (Tiny Prints kept sending me amazing deals so we ended up having a couple different pictures in the mail currently)

*names have been changed to protect the celebrities of the household

And what is a non professionally shot Christmas Card without some outtakes...

Luckily there were only 3 diva storms off the set..

PS. C's amazing faux fur vest was a present from Auntie Caroline. She totally gets her.