Biggest Baby Shower in San Francisco

You guys, this event is seriously selling out soooo quickly! What is it, you ask? It's called The Biggest Baby Shower Ever and it's hosted by Big City Moms. It's never come to San Francisco, but it's coming in April-- to that I say "lucky you, pregnant bay area ladies!" 

I WISH I got a chance to attend when I was having Sophie... or Maggie for that matter. All the big baby brands will be there showing the ins and outs of strollers and baby products that can be sooo overwhelming for expectant parents. There are tickets for couples, or tickets for individuals if you'd like to go with some girl friends and make it a girls night. I'm not even pregnant and I'm going... included are swag bags that are overflowing and other perks based on the ticket you choose! 

Write down the details!

DATE: April 25, 2013, 6-9:30pm

LOCATION: St. Mary's Cathedral (Patron's Hall), 1111 Gough St, San Francisco

Register HERE and hey! Readers of StyleSmaller get a discount!!! $20 off especially for you. Use the code: biggestsf1 and be sure to get your ticket ASAP. 

Hope to see you there!  

xoxo, 

Kate

Bits of Life

Something crazy happened this week... Brian and I discovered what 3:00pm looks like. Yes, we got a babysitter last Saturday in the middle of naptime lockdown and had a date. The air felt perfect with a few puffy clouds but mostly blue and we felt like it was 2006 all over again. We sat in an outdoor cafe without an agenda and chatted. You guys, daytime dates are way underrated! Seriously. 

Sunday we got to celebrate one of my favorite holidays of the year because we're celebrating that:

this is Love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10

It was a perfectly beautiful day, in spite of all of the predictions of downpours and thunderstorms.  Thankfully, the girls were able to play "it's raining mud!" in the tiny square of dirt in the corner of my mom and dad's backyard before taking any fancy Easter pictures in their pastel dresses. Two years in a row my children have had white Easter dresses and I haven't learned... Got all the chocolate stains off, though, so no biggie.

So Maggie was a good little egg gatherer, until one chocolate-filled egg dropped. M&M's were everywhere and she realized she was wasting time hunting for real eggs when she had a couple plastic ones filled with goods right in her basket. She dropped all the plastic ones as fast as her little hands would let her, and stuffed all the chocolate in before it could be stopped. The rest of the hunt was spent finding those chocolates on the floor, and me trying to empty her over-full mouth of mushy chocolate. SUCH a funny girl, that Maggie is. (These gorgeous Easter shots were all taken by our great friend Manus of Manus Chau Photography :)

And now some other pics from the week... 

One last thing: Sophie is crazy proud of the wreath she made basically by herself. It's made of fabric scraps and she tied almost all of them. I suggested we hang her Easter wreath in her room so she could see it, but she wanted it on the front door so everyone can see it when they come over. I love it. We're about to pack it away with the Easter baskets so I thought I'd post a picture to show everyone before we do. 

Happy Weekend! GREAT links coming this weekend! Be sure to check back.

XO, Kate

A Post About Laundry

Sooo, how do you feel about laundry? I'll tell you how I feel about it: womp whommmmp... Currently, it's under control in my house, but that's saying something. Here's the thing: when Brian and I got married, we had coin operated laundry in basements. We moved a couple times: same deal. We had Sophie & decided to move to a place without laundry completely- if you saw the views from every window, and the natural light, you'd understand our lapse in judgment a bit better- oh wait, I still have a picture handy:

See? So yes, you'd want to move to a place without laundry if you got that view too, right? Okay, maybe we're not on the same page here, but back to it:  by the time Maggie was about 4-months old and we had one kid in a closet (a super CUTE closet at least) and the other sharing our room, we realized it was time to move... with the move, we got a place where the laundry is free. 

Now, wouldn't you think that the place where laundry was most under control would be our current place? Granted we have plenty of stairs to climb up and down, but it's free. And handy! Nope. The laundry was always done... when we had to do it at a laundromat. When I took a stroller, a toddler, a pregnant self and walked six blocks, up and down three flights of stairs every week... THAT is where my laundry was cleanest. Weird, I know. I mean, granted, there was no real space to PUT the folded clothing, but at least it was folded, right?

(this is an actual picture of folded laundry on a changing pad... efficient, right? we've come a long way baby... now we each have these newfangled things called dressers!)

SO, along with all my other spring cleaning resolutions, I've included laundry. And my children are required to participate now. And it works!! I mean, Maggie does take her dad's pants and put them in their play kitchen refrigerator, and my socks have been found in her pajama drawer... but as long as my eye is basically following the girls as they "fold" and put their laundry away, it goes in the right direction!  

I think sometimes it's too easy to stick kids in front of screens and say "hey, I need to do the laundry for 15" and get myself worked up about the fact that they couldn't actually sit for 15 minutes, then toss the laundry into the basket in the corner of a room and let it marinate until all is peaceful and hope I can catch up with the rest at some point or another in this life of chaos.  Now suddenly, it's a family, FUN affair and it's a teaching opportunity too! 

Who knew?

(clearly I'm a mother if I'm here writing posts about laundry... sheesh, I need to get out more!) 

Tips & Tricks for Stylish Kids (Budget-Conscious!)

To be honest, most of my girls' clothes are gifts. Brian and I have very generous family who love to spoil our children... BUT I'm fully aware of the cost of keeping kids dressed stylishly. 

Rules & Tips for shopping for Kids:  

• Spend very little on the basics but be sure to stock up on them. This includes leggings in black & grey, and solid colored tank tops. Leggings I can usually find for $5 or less, and tanks for $2- $4. Peruse sale racks! Go to discount stores... go thrifty for basics! (Carters, Target, H&M & Zara sales)
• Accessories make and break an outfit. They're not costly, but they provide the impact to take an outfit up a notch. Scarves and hats are a hit in our house, so we have a few in bright colors to liven up any look. Belts aren't practical for my girls' ages, so I skip them entirely. Headbands, barrettes, you name it. We love them in patterns and brights and avoid neutrals here. Stay tuned for a post on accessories coming soon.

• When you buy jackets, buy them slightly big, and let your kids wear them until they're too small. Jackets tend to be more costly than other pieces, so be practical and keep the jacket's lives going and going. Sophie is still wearing a 2T denim jacket that looks cropped and adorable, and Maggie wears the same one with the sleeves cuffed. No shame in that game! ;)
• Don't go too conservative for your kids. Let them make fashion calls for themselves when you're shopping for the fun stuff, so when you get home you have fewer wardrobe battles. Maybe tulle and sparkly isn't your thing, but paired with your neutral basics (above), it'll be a match. Clothing is a perfect way to let them express their creativity, and there is plenty of time down the road for them to wear serious adult-like clothing.

• Shoes choices are key! You should love them and they should love them. They should also be comfortable. Sophie wants "princess shoes" or rain boots every day. Princess shoes for her include any type of ballet flat. She has a pair in blue and brown, so one or the other will go with nearly everything. 
• If your child puts up a fight every time you try to put them in something, ask yourself if it's worth it. We tried a pair of wide-legged jeans once and she was mortified whenever she had to wear them because "these jeans are so funny!" If they have an aversion to a style, for me it isn't worth it to force it.
• Jeans are expensive! Buy one or two really good pair, then use leggings for park time and everyday activities. My girls have either a black or grey pair, but most of theirs are really bright and playful colors and patterns. 
• HAVE FUN!  

XO,

Kate

Photography by Silvana di Franco. Sophie's outfit: H&M Vest. Old Navy Leggings. Gap Shoes. 

Make It: Avocado Mango Tacos

Domesticity is not something that comes naturally to me. I have to force myself to become motivated to make something and my ideal scenario is basically the dinners with the fewest ingredients that I probably already have in my home.  

THANKFULLY, it's almost mango season!! I think I can officially declare mangos my favorite fruit. Generally I just squeeze lime all over them, add a few sprinkles of chili powder, and eat... and eat... and eat. Mangos have this magical ability to motivate me to make a fresh and beautiful dinner. Gone is my aversion to cooking when mangos come into the picture. I love being a bit creative with them and making dinner that we all love, rather than the kind we tolerate in an "I wish we were eating takeout" way.

We were at a farmer's market in the north bay the other day, and picked up some avocados and mangos for the week. I never tire of photos of fruit and veggies, especially at a little side-of-the-road market, so yes, I have plenty of shots of the market.

One of these days I'm going to print some of these pictures and hang them excessively around my kitchen. It will be beautiful. (have I ever told you? My kitchen has been renovated twice it seems- since its creation- partially, in two different decades; consequently, I have one original tile countertop where the sink resides, one 90's tile that's fortunately all white, and that is where all the shelves are, and the oven side is dark granite countertops with wood cabinets. It's given us plenty of laughs. These SF landlords can definitely get away with whatever, and we'll still pay their crazy rents because we heart SF so, so, so much and let's be honest: it's worth it). 

Anyway, back to it. Last night I made tacos with the mangos and avocados we picked up at the market. It was DELICIOUS. I just made chicken using a basic seasoning we have in the house, but I think I would be best with shrimp. Next week I'll try it. SO here's the recipe... I use the term "recipe" loosely, because people who really love going by recipes will be totally lost at my estimations here: 

MANGO AVOCADO MIXTURE: 

• At Least One Mango (I like my mango cut really tiny so that every bite has some)
• One or Two Avocados... I used two.
• About 1/2 Tomato, depending how much or little you like tomato.
• About 1/4 an onion chopped into tiny pieces so my kids don't notice.
• Garlic Salt, Salt, Pepper to taste (I like a lot of all).
• A Sprinkle of Chili Powder. 
• At LEAST two limes... more if you're our family.  

Stir everything together. Heat corn tortillas (I heat mine over an open flame to avoid adding extra oil, but you need a gas stove if you prefer to do that). Add your seasoned chicken, shrimp, pork, or whatever you like-- I seriously think grilled shrimp is the way to go here for ultimate spring/almost summer freshness- and spoon your mixture over the tacos! Add extra lime juice if you're so inclined. 

If you want to add a little sweet/spicy zest, we added a bit of Sweet Chili Sauce from Trader Joe's over ours and it was just right... PERFECT.  

We started our week with them, but I think "Taco Tuesday" has a nice ring. Try it!  

XOXO,  Kate

Mama Profile: Natalie Gordon of BabyList

Natalie Gordon is the founder and CEO of the most brilliant concept for moms who are registering: ONE place to register from all the stores you want! I know before I had Sophie there were things I wished I could add to the registry that were not from one store or another, and even for my second I would have loved to register for practical things like meal deliveries, monthly clothing plans, etc. Natalie felt the same so she created BabyList especially for people like us (which is everyone, I think). Thrilled to have her talk about life, balance and motherhood today. 

Babylist Website || Instagram || Twitter || Facebook 

---

What is your favorite thing about being a mother?

In the first couple of months, it was really hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that “I was a mom”. It was a huge change in self-identity. I obviously love Max with all my heart, and I’ve loved watching my husband become such a great dad. In the day-to-day, I love how excited Max (2) is about the little things. It makes me notice more. Airplanes, stickers on apples, dogs, tall trees, motorcycles, cranes are all things that we stop and notice. Seeing the world through a child’s eyes makes absolutely everything more interesting. He keeps on getting more and more fun. He’s crazy physical, loves to wrestle, play ball and he recently discovered stuffed animals.

What is your favorite part of your days and week?

I love my job. I love getting to work, turning on my computer and drinking my first cup of coffee. It’s usually after hours of morning chaos. The best part of the week is when we have our weekly weeknight dinner with friends who also have young children. We order in food and the kids sit at the kid’s table.

When do you feel most relaxed/content/peaceful?

When I'm hiking. We recently moved to San Francisco, and it’s so close to amazing day hikes. It’s the ultimate remedy to living in such an urban, work-filled environment. I also love a good date with my husband to enjoy drinks and dinner together.

 What is BabyList? 

BabyList is an online baby registry that helps expectant moms discover and ask for everything they need for their new baby. You can take a quiz and get a personalized baby registry checklist and then one-click to quick-start your registry. 

What motivated you to start BabyList?

I was pregnant. I was creating my baby registry and I was completely overwhelmed. The thought of going into BabiesRUs with a scan gun gave me a panic attack. There were these things that I really wanted to ask for. For our family they were a diaper service, someone to watch our dog for a week or two, and home-cooked meals. I tried using about 3 different registries and they were all wrong.

I’m a software developer and I knew exactly what I thought the ideal baby registry experience would be. I met up with a designer online and we collaborated and created BabyList. We launched the site two weeks before my son was born.

Where were you working before you started your own company? 

I worked at Amazon as a software developer out of college. My dream was always to quit and travel the world before having any children. So my husband and I did that in 2008. We spent a year and a half living in a couple of different cities in Latin America. During that time we started a Spanish-English language exchange start-up. Eventually, it became obvious that that business was never going to make money and we shut it down this past summer. It was a major learning experience.

When I had the inspiration for BabyList we were living in Vancouver BC. I was doing some contract work and working on our language-learning start-up. I have to say that I have very low aspirations for BabyList. I thought that it could maybe make some passive income for us. But once it launched, we had a handful of users and they were crazy about it. I was definitely nervous launching it, but that’s because putting anything out into the world is scary.

How do you balance your home/personal life and your work life?

I take it day by day and constantly prioritize and then re-prioritize. My husband and I aren’t afraid to try different arrangements and then see how things are working. Right now we have a staggered schedule, a great child-care arrangement, and we’ve gotten serious about having our parents come and stay with us and help out.

A year ago we spent two months living and working from Costa Rica, literally on the beach. Working on the internet has major pluses!

Do you have any tips for people starting their own businesses?

Two things. I talk to women all the time who are building a business and they feel like they have to do a million things to actually show it to the world. This is because launching things and putting them out for the world to see is really scary. You have to get past these emotions and realize that the sooner you put your project out there, the sooner you’ll start learning from real users. Or you won’t have any users and that will teach you something else.

The other thing is the power of doing one thing every day to move your business forward. If you do just one thing every single day, in a year you’ll have done a lot. Start today.

What has been your favorite opportunity or collaboration through BabyList?

BabyList was in the past 500 Startups batch. That was an amazing opportunity for me. It was really, really hard but it pushed me and BabyList forward. It was great being with other entrepreneurs from all over the world, who were incredibly passionate about what they were working on.

What makes you most proud of your business?

This is going to sound cliched, but I’m really proud of how happy we make our users. I love our users. They’re pregnant. They’re overwhelmed. I email or talk to them on the phone every day. BabyList is actually helping families and making people happy. I love that.

What is your style uniform?

Jeans, t-shirts, boots. My uniform needs to work on a bike, be easily washed and work in the SF climate.

What are your favorite Etsy shops and small businesses?

I literally look at amazing, original baby products all day: Sweet Pea and Tots - Kathy makes gorgeous, luxe, hand-knit baby hats. Wooly Baby - They make beautiful, soft-soled baby shoes that are upcycled from wool sweaters and leather jackets. Culture Baby is one of my favorite online store for original baby finds. Natalia sources the most wonderful baby products from all over the world.

Sticky Bellies, Wittlebee, The Push Pack, the Milk It Kit are all amazing shower gifts from small businesses. We have more favorite Etsy baby items in this list HERE.

What are your favorite brands and stores to shop?

I’m pretty thrifty, which is also necessary while working on a start-up. I love Thredup for my son’s clothes and I love Everlane for myself. 

---

Natalie thank you sooo much for letting us have a peek at your life, and for creating such a fabulous tool for expectant mothers! xoxo, Kate