Nursery Ideas!

Harper was about 2 months old when people started asking us when we wanted to have another baby. I didn't know the answer to that question back then and I still don't really know it now. I feel like I get asked that same question on a weekly basis. And to be perfectly honest I am not really ready for another monkey. I really want another Mini Australian Shepherd but I don't think I can even handle a puppy right now. Our lives are hectic. We travel out of the state on a weekly basis. I feel like a chicken with its head cut off. And 19 month old boys are a LOT of work.

I spend half of my day chasing Harper around. But I absolutely love my time with him. I love cuddling up on the couch, taking him to the park, going on our date nights... It is so much fun giving him every little bit of my attention. We decided to wait for at least another year before we try for another baby. In the meantime we plan of spoiling Harper rotten and we want to do some traveling with Harper before our next baby arrives. Our dream is to move to Spain for a few months (6-9 months perhaps) and take Spanish classes. They say it is much easier to teach children another language when they are really young.   How cool would it be to teach Harper Spanish in Spain!? Now that is just a crazy dream and would take a whole lot of planning, preparation, and sacrifice. But once we have another little monkey it will be really hard to do a crazy trip like that.

In the meantime, I like to design our future nurseries in my head. I came across these awesome prints on Zulily and I am tempted to grab one and hold onto it until Huffman baby #2 arrives. You can find them here and they are only $19.99 (normally $42)!  

Which one is your favorite? There are a ton more to choose from on Zulily! 

This One is for the Dogs!

Here is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. Our family has adopted several cats and dogs from the local Humane Society over the years. Knowing that I made their life much better and seeing their love for me has shown me the importance of pet adoption. Have any of you adopted your pets from the local shelter? What was your experience? I truly think that animals know when they are being rescued. Not only does it change their life, but it enriches the life of the adopter as well.  Millions of companion animals in shelters across America are just waiting for a special home like yours! 

Allen Stephenson, founder of Southern Tide, will be participating in Pet Project Runway to help raise money for the Greenville Humane Society (GHS). GHS is the largest no-kill shelter in the southeast offering low cost spay/neuter clinics. As a not for profit facility, the cost to run GHS is $10/day per animal. By visiting http://www.petprojectrunway.com NOW and voting for Allen Stephenson, your minimum $10 donation will help animals in need.

Pet Project Runway takes place this Thursday, April 19th beginning at 6:00 PM with a cocktail reception. General admission tickets to attend the event can be purchased for $50 and your donation can be credited to Allen's fundraising efforts.

Allen will be escorting Maggie, a 4-year old Australian cattle dog/blue tick coon hound mix, available for adoption at the Greenville Humane Society. Maggie is housetrained and knows commands such as “sit” and “stay”.

Here is scoop on Maggie:

She is a 4 year old Australian cattle dog/Blue Tick coon hound mix. She is already house-trained and knows how to “sit” and “stay." She is laid back and is very sweet and even tempered, but can sometimes be timid. She has a good nose and loves to walk on leash and explore. She has already lived with other dogs and is very friendly. She is also good with children.

If you are interested in adopting Maggie, please call the Greenville Humane Society at (864) 242-3626.

And please vote for Allan by visiting http://www.petprojectrunway.com and donating $10 to this amazing cause! Your $10 will help save a life!

The Sunshine Ranch- Spartanburg, SC

Today we had a fun trip to The Sunshine Ranch in Spartanburg. It was so good to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city and into the laid back atmosphere of a real farm. And by real farm I mean there were goats, pigs, alpacas, miniature ponies, horses, dogs, chickens, rabbits, and donkeys. To say Harper was in Heaven is an understatement. He loved every second we spent on the ranch. He pointed at the dogs and barked at them, he starred wide-eyed at the other animals and giggled, he ran through the fields, played on the playground, and he had an absolute blast! 

After spending about 15 minutes at the ranch I knew we had to have his second birthday party there. I went ahead and put down a deposit to save our date. Harper's birthday isn't until September but I didn't want to chance it. It is only $175 and it includes 3 hours at the ranch, pony rides for the kids, and use of all of their facilities. That is cheaper than renting a bounce house. And I don't have to worry about cleaning my house for guests. Sounds like a perfect party to me! 

They have a really spectacular set-up. They have an outdoor miniature barn with restrooms and a refrigerator (for the cake and ice cream). They have a ton of picnic tables under a pavilion to eat at and open presents. There is an awesome playground, petting zoo, and a grill to BBQ. Talk about a perfect place for the kids to have fun and most importantly, wear themselves out! Check out their Facebook page here. 

I am excited to announce I am setting up family photo sessions at the ranch next week! It is a special deal for Father's Day/Mother's Day. A photo of you and the kids is a perfect gift. The cost is $50 and includes 25 high resolution images on a disc. You will get rights to the photos so you can enlarge them and make copies of them anywhere you like! I have two spots left. If you are interested please e-mail me at JaimeNHuffman@yahoo.com. And check out my Facebook photography page here.  I am a few "likes" away from 300 so please hook a blogger up! Here are some of the photos I took today. The beautiful little girl is my friend's daughter, Saylor (cutest name ever!). 

Splish Splash!

Harper's favorite time of the day is definitely bath time. He usually screams when it is time to take him out. I just started decorating his bathroom. It was all Lilly Pulitzer. But I decided it was about time to make it look like a little boy's bathroom. I wanted to frame some photos to decorate the walls. And I decided it would be fun to take photos of him taking a bath for decor. Here are a few: 

Phillips Family Adoption Auction Fundraiser!

Joe and Laura Phillips are in the process of adopting their second child. As many of you know, the adoption process is a very expensive. In order to help with all of the expenses, Laura is having a Facebook awesome with a TON of incredibly cute handmade items. All items on this page have been generously donated and all proceeds will go to the Phillips Family Adoption Account. The auction started tonight at 7pm and it will end on April 11th at 7pm.You all have to check it out. I already bid on several awesome items. Check out everything HERE! 

Let me know if you all decide to bid on anything. It is for an incredible cause and the sweetest family you will ever meet! SO pretty please, start bidding!

Carolina Cup- I'm Old

I'm officially old. Every time I go back to USC football games, down to Five Points, or back to USC campus I realize I am far removed from college life. And at Carolina Cup this year I felt exceptionally old.  This year was the first year that I actually watched the horse races. I used to tailgate on College Row. When you stay on College Row, you rarely see a horse. This year I moved on up to the infield. It was fun and I really enjoyed the races! We met up with our friends Jessie, Neil, Krystle, Max, and Corbin. It was so good to catch up and hang out with such a great group of people. 

I used to spend months trying to come up with the "perfect Cup outfit." This year I went straight to old faithful (Lilly Pulitzer) and paired it with Jack Rogers and pearls. You can't go wrong with Lilly and pearls.  Personally, I think Lilly Pulitzer should sponsor a jockey next year and deck them out in a Lilly pattern. Wouldn't that be cute? If nothing else, every female at Cup would bet on that horse!

Erik decided to sport his favorite South Carolina state flag bow tie. He wore his Southern Tide Channel Marker I pants in sailor red, a Skipjack classic canvas belt in navy,  and a Screenporch Check Sports Shirt in surf.  He looked fantastic.

Please take note- Erik decided to use Harper's stroller to transport the YETI cooler.  It was heavy and we had a ton of stuff to carry to the tailgate so he came up with the brilliant idea to use the stroller. Several people stopped him and commented on his "beautiful baby" and others snapped pictures. It was hilarious!

Southern Tide- Carolina Cup 2012

We were lucky enough to go to Carolina Cup this year. I love Carolina Cup!!! It symbolizes the beginning of spring, tradition, and southern fashion. It equates to a gigantic tailgate with a surplus of seersucker, sweet tea, Jack Rogers, pastel attire, and alcoholic beverages.

This year I noticed the majority of young men were sporting Southern Tide. They looked quite dapper in their Channel Marker pants, vibrant sport shirts,  and bow ties. I love a guy in a bow tie! I snapped a few shots of the skipjack taking over Carolina Cup. 

Did you make it to Cup this year? What did you wear? I will share some more photos from Cup this week!