Nesting ...

Remember that pretty little nest pendant I posted about a few days ago? Well, I couldn't get the idea out of my head. A nest is such a pretty little thing, don't you think? All deconstructed and branchy and loaded with meaning. Think about it - it's sort of a perfect theme for just about everything that I love - babies & weddings! Love Birds, Love Nest, Momma's Nest, Nesting Instinct ... and it's natural, wild beauty lends itself so beautifully to a theme party -- which is where I step in! Hello Nest parties!!!!

In my search, I came across the most beautiful wedding, like, ever over at Style Me Pretty. All the amazing pics are too much to go through, you'll have to see the whole gallery to really appreciate it, so I'll just post a few of my favorite highlights:

I absolutely adore this sweet (tweet!) little cake topper. How stinkin' cute is this?!

What a charming idea for seating cards!!!!

I love how the birch candles and luminary compliment the birds nest in this stunning centerpiece idea.










Moving right along --- dishware anyone? Why does your nesting theme have to stop at the party? You can (ready for it?!) dress your nest with the nest theme too (oh god I'm hilarious). This absolutely beautiful faux bois dishware, available at Room Service at Home, would make any table drool-worthy. (Faux bois, for those who don't know, literally means false wood, and refers to an artistic technique designed to imitate wood)

And a close up:

I found these pretty little nests, which would be really cute with a little seating card nestled in them:

Invitations? OK! There are two that are totally to die for - only one is actually still available, so it should make your choice easier - these little beauties from an etsy seller who seems to have closed up shop (WHY!?!), which I found randomly on OnceWed:

I am such a sucker for letterpress. If I had been able to afford it, I absolutely would have chosen letterpress ANYTHING for my own wedding. Sadly, invites were where we chose to save some money - while I think this was a wise choice on our part, I still wish that I had been able to afford something a little ... prettier. Like these:

OK, and are you ready for this PLT (pretty little thing)? This bride chose to use it as a cake topper, but I think I would have put it on my tables. And my cake. Heck, I would have worn it on my head. Not only is it this beautiful little nest, but - ready - it weaves in one of my favorite elements: damask! Thank you, Glittered Nest, one of my new favoritist blogs!

Today, I will leave you with one of my favorite things - after all, that is the point of this blog, isn't it? What is one of my favorite things, you ask?

.... Well, chocolate of course. And in this case, a chocolate nest. YES PLEASE!!!!

Later, amigos!!! Happy nesting!!!!

Happy Birthday to You ...

No, silly, not mine!!! Can you believe that Chloe is turning 1 already? That is just crazy nuts!!!! It seems like just yesterday my husband was driving me to the hospital for the third time, wondering if this was really it (it was). Man ... in some ways I sort of miss those days - there's something about a teeny foldy baby that is just so sweet. Mine, however, was not so sweet - Chloe had colic basically from day 1 - she was never that baby who just slept and ate, she just cried and ate - she rarely slept and it made mommy's maternity leave quite difficult (which is probably why I love Adele's blog, Mila's Daydreams, so much. I wish my baby girl slept like that.)

Anyway, I digress. Everyone keeps asking my what Chloe wants for her birthday. Its actually sort of difficult shopping for a soon-to-be 1-year old. All the toys really seem geared for older kids or for babies - but I am now realizing that Chloe really is at the cusp of being an "older kid". Now that she's walking (or tentatively walking) her interests and the toys she likes and the things she does is probably going to change pretty quickly. So, after a lot of thought, the hubs and I compiled a list of a few things we could get for her for her birthday. The item we ended up choosing does NOT appear on this list - you'll have to either come to party or check back on the blog after 8/7 for an update - and yes, I promise I'll post some Chloe pics!!!

Without further ado, I now present Chloe's wishlist.

She's all about stuffed animals these days. She points to them, and when you give them to her, she gives you the biggest smile like you just gave her the world, and hugs it super tight and buries her adorable little face into it. She's also doing this sweet little shoulder-shrugging thing these days when she really likes things, burying her chin into her neck and raising her shoulders as she hugs her lovey tight ... its OMG cute, and must be seen to be appreciated. So it's no surprise then that Mommy thinks Miss Chloe would love these adorable little (personalized) pillows from Makaboo. They are just the kind of softness that she loves, and the animals are just so cute! What a sweet little lovey for my little lovey!

Now that the Peanut is able to stand on her own, it would be nice to be able to track her growth so we can look back and think, remember when you were this little! We bought our house a year ago, and while we love it, it's definately not our "forever" home. We'll probably be moving in about a year, so it's important that the growth chart that we use is portable. They have all these adorable vinyl wall decals that I love, but they just wouldn't work for us (which is too bad, because I just LOVE this one). Chloe's room is an owl theme, so I lie how this wood growth chart will fit in nicely with the existing decor, plus it too can be personalized (I have a thing for personalized items, can you tell?)

From Etsy seller Get Ready Set Grow

Chloe is just starting to understand crayons and coloring, but she can't seem to hold the crayon properly in way that it hits the paper so that she can do it. She understands the concept, but can't make the crayons do what she wants them to. Enter these super cute stackable crayons from The Lakeside Collection. They're wide enough for her to hold with her clumsy little hands, plus they're super cute looking, and can even help her with one of her developmental milestones: stacking!

Another item on Chloe's wishlist has to be Megabloks. Essentially they're giant legos, and again, help Chloe to learn how to stack things. Apparently this is one of her favorite toys at daycare, so of course it just had to make an appearance here. You can buy Megabloks just about anywhere - Walmart, Target, ToysRUs, etc, but our daycare provider let us know that the best way to get them is used - craigslist, baby!

One of the things that Hubs McGoo and I really wanted to get for her was a water & sand table. She loves water - has since she was first introduced to the idea of water as recreation. These water & sand tables are great because she can play with them during the summer and fill them with the requisite water & sand, and then during the winter months if mom feels like freezing her tushy off and letting kiddo play outside, she can fill it with snow. There are lots of them out there, but I just think this one from Step2 is super cute - available at Walmart & Target!

And finally, for my baby who turned into a walking toddler overnight, mommy is going to have to start stocking up on shoes! She's in a 3/4 now, so I don't really know what to say for winter - maybe a 5? I guess it's better that shoes be big than small, right? Anyway, soft-soled shoes are where it's at for new walkers, and Robeez just about wrote the book on soft-soled shoes. Plus, they're super cute!!!

When I was a baby, my awesomely hippie parents put me in handmade moccasins just about every day. In fact, I still have them, and Chloe wore them a few times last fall. She's since outgrown them, I'd love to get her a new pair. Bobux also makes great soft-soled shoes, so of course here they are on her list!

OK, so I know I said that soft-soled shoes were best, but really, what self-respecting toddler SHOULDN'T own a pair of pink Chucks?

From Piperlime


And, finally, last but not least, this one is for Aunty Corinne, one of the loyal followers of Whiskers on Kittens - baby New Balances, also from Piperlime. How stinking cute are these!!!!

OK, folks, that's all for now - more to come tomorrow!!!!

Attack of the Mom Jewelry!

We've all seen them. Those horribly tacky giant gold rings, with the different gemstones representing each of your darling children. Moms wear them because they want people to ask about their children (I know because I have one now - a kid, not the ugly ring), but they don't really look at it and think, wow, this is one beautiful/stylish/awesome piece of jewelry - at least, I hope they don't.

But, "mom jewelery" has come a long way. There is a new way to "wear your pride", and some of the options out theere are actually pretty super duper cute - and sure to prompt lots of questions about your darling children!

To start: I absolutely love bangles. Adore bangles! Love that you can dress them up or dress them down, you can wear 100 of them or just a few, you can pair them with another favorite bracelet and they STILL look chic! So it's no surprise then that my favorite mom jewelery HAS to be these gorgeous initial bangles from Alex and Ani. You can pair them with the birthstone bangles (2nd pic) and your whole darn wrist can be a tribute to your kiddo! Love Alex and Ani - all of their jewlery is made from re-used and recycled materials, which just makes my little heart happy. Wish they weren't so darn expensive ....

Next up: hand-stamp lovelies. These are probably the biggest trend in "Mom Jewelry". Some are sweet, some are basic, all are pretty OK, but in my opinion, the cutest are coming from PeaceofMind over at Etsy. I adore her ALL of her pieces (some GORGEOUS fused glass pieces!), but this is just so sweet any mom would swoon - and, any mom can afford it! I guess I do have to admit that I have a thing for little baby feet though, so I may be biased..

Last but not least, for that mom that just NEEDS to have the birthstone jewelery, but maybe has a little more fashion sense than those hideous rings? Muy In Molly has these really sweet Mom "Nests" that you can put all your baby bird's birthstones in, and wear it in this sweet little pendant with pride knowing that you're just a little more stylish than the lady in the cube next door ....

Welcome to My Blog!

Well, I suppose there is a first time for everything ... I decided to create this blog after years of collecting images, links, text, etc that inspired me or moved me or simply made me go, "Ahhhh ..." And so Whiskers on Kittens is born! My obsessions often fall in the realm of all things baby and everything wedding-related, but I certainly won't limit myself to that. Oh no! You will probably be privy to some home decor posts, some fashion faves, some rants/raves, some photography/art posts ... you name it, it will be all over these whiskers!

So, lets start things off right! My current obsession is black & yellow, especially black & yellow that manages to weave in damask - I am all about damask these days .... and so, some photo-pretty for you from Kim Byers over at the Celebration Shoppe:
And this lovely baby shower over at Half Baked:

Can we all just take a moment to drool over this black & yellow damask area rug over at NurseryCouture.com:

And this A-M-A-Z-I-N-G fabric collection over at Carousel Designs which you can you to DESIGN YOUR OWN CRIB BEDDING. I absolutely ADORE this concept: And, oh-dear-god this hat box-turned-card box (I don't remember where this one came from! Oh no!):

OK,OK, last one I swear. I just absolutely adore these invites from the amazingly talented Sara at CrescentMoonPaper:

OK, is your head spinning yet from my crazy eclectic mind? So sorry! Expect more just like this, as often as I can ....