Review of Myregistry.com

Two weeks ago we had a big shower that my mom, along with two best friends' mothers hosted.  The shower was beautiful, the food was delicious and a good time was had by all.  For my main registry, I used myregistry.com and had a fairly successful experience with it. But, since this is a review, I have to add a few cons  :)

Pros:

I loved being able to add gifts and desirable items to my registry from all over the web.  I had items from Amazon, Land of Nod, Pottery Barn, Target, etc.  Adding gifts from all different stores allowed me to really get all the necessary items I wanted in one place.  Another bonus...myregistry.com keeps track of all your thank you notes!  It can be a bit of a spoiler in a sense, because you can see who bought what, but it is so nice to have a reliable source to reference as you write your thank you notes. You can also access "inspirational boards" to get ideas about different themes for a nursery or items you want to get.  They also have a tab dedicated to popular items that others are putting on their registries.  This helps you get ideas and see if there are any major things you could be forgetting. Based on my experience, I recommended myregistry.com to a friend who is not using it for her wedding registry.

Cons:

Not everyone invited to your shower, wether it is a wedding or baby shower, will be technically savvy.  I do think there was a bit of a generational curve when it came to purchasing items.  But let's be honest, grandparents are not always going to be the best at using the internet, let alone a registry site.  On myregistry.com you have the ability to "sync" other registries to your myregistry.com page so viewers can see the registries all in one site.  This actually is a pro, but has a con looped into it.  Myregistry.com does not support all other sites.  I was able to sync my Land of Nod and Pottery Barn Kids registries but not my Carter's, which created some confusion with the masses.  Finally, if you wanted to add a bunch of items from one store, make a registry at that store and sync it into myregistry!  This is important because it may be more convenient for some people to go to a store location as opposed to purchasing an item online.

For example, if Aunt Suzie walks into Pottery Barn because she saw a ton of items on your registry from Pottery Barn, she will be out of luck and probably purchase something random for you.  This is because you don't actually have a Pottery Barn registry, you have Pottery Barn items on your registry, which confused Aunt Suzie. Although this point is obvious to some, it is not obvious to others.  So help your attendees out and create several registries to sync into myregistry, it will be more work for you in the beginning, but will help you and your buyers out at the end.

*Why the bottle of Burt's Bee's shampoo?  My mom used some Burt's Bee's baby and Mama Bee items as center pieces on the tables at the shower.  I loved this idea because it gave me practical party favors to take home!

Post Cards

I have a new obsession when it comes to the mail.....post cards!  Post cards have clearly been around for decades, but in the past six months a light bulb went off in my head; post cards are WAY easier to write, they save time (ain't nobody got time for envelopes), and they are cheaper to mail.  Genius!

Knowing that we would have a great deal of thank you notes to write in the upcoming months with the baby on the way and several showers, I went ahead and researched some options.  I chose the post cards about and ordered postcards that could be downloaded, so I would always have access to the pdf.  I purchased the cards above from this store on Etsy. The owner, was sweet and easy to work with.  After purchasing the pdf, I uploaded the postcards to Vistaprint and printed 250 for $32!  I had a coupon code that gave me a discount and provided free shipping, what a deal!  I have already used over 50 of the cards, and I'm sure I will be writing plenty more thank you cards after the baby is born.

Dogs and Babies

Do you have a dog (or two in our case) and have little kids?  What has your experience been introducing them?  We have a baby coming in March and have two dogs....I wonder what their introduction will be like?

 Our two dogs, Boone and Cash, are both sweet but are a tad unwieldy.  Boone is three and has turned into a big lovable boy.  You could squeeze Boone, hug him all day, pull on his hair and he would love you all the more.  Cash is only a year and half and is a bit unpredictable to say the least.  We call Cash our sour patch kid..."first they're sour, then they're sweet".  That phrase describes Cash perfectly.  When you squeeze him, he makes a groaning noise like he is annoyed and hates you and then stares into your eyes and gives you a kiss.  But he is such a little dumpling.

These pictures give me hope that the intros will go well. I can't handle the cuteness.

And this is what I am untimely hoping for. Best friends.

Thank You Notes

We are so thankful to already receive gifts for the baby!  Books, mittens, toys and now Clemson socks (thanks Christie) theses are just a few of the adorable items we have received. Now that we are half way to the due date, being proactive is key.  One thing that I want to cross off my list are thank you notes.  I'm trying to order something cute, unique and inexpensive in bulk.  I want to decide soon-ish so I can start writing!

I've decided to go with a postcard version of a thank you note...the hard part is picking a design! Also, if I choose to order them now, I have to stick with a gender neutral look.

Here are some of my options:

• I do love this printable note....could be a more economical option to just pay for printing?  I will have to price that out
• Another cute option 
• For the tandem bike lover...which I am
• Possibly my favorite

Noonday Collection

Have you heard of the jewelry/accessories company called Noonday Collection?  They have unique and beautiful items that are all made in third world countries, creating opportunities for people to provide for themselves and their families when there may be no other option.

The business has a truly incredible story and is worth reading. I am actually hosting a party at my house in 2 weeks so you can come over and buy something OR buy something through my party online.

If you can't attend, please feel free to shop online using the directions below.

• Go to www.amandawommack.noondaycollection.com
• Shop and add items to cart.
• On check out, type Meghan Newman into Trunk Show Name at the top of check out page.
• Remember, this show closes on, November 7th so be sure to place your online order on time!

I love the cuff above, below are a few other items I love!

Planners

So I was desperately in need of a planner for work.  I have currently taken on the new role of managing my work website and blog which will require a great deal of organization and scheduling on my part.  Obvious solution: get a cute planner.  

I stopped by a local paper store, Paper Skyscraper and picked up an incredible planner/calendar made by Peter Pauper Press.  I already adore it!  On their website there are several fabulous designs, I may have picked out this one if it was at the store.  Anyway, the calendar starts in September 2014, and can be used till December 2015. I highly recommend this if you are in market for a planner.

Remember when?

Remember when....

I didn't write a blog post for about 4 months???  Oh yea I do!  Aside, from being a bit lazy, that vacation from the blog would mainly contribute to the fact that I am pregnant and have been too tired to do anything but go to work!

Luckily I have begun to feel better in the past few weeks now that I have reached 19 weeks.  Overall I have felt reasonably well, except for easily getting exhausted.  We have our big appointment on Wednesday where we can find out the sex of the baby- but we have decided to wait and not find out!  At this appointment the doctors also looks for any health issues that may be present, so keep us in mind and pray that our little babe is safe and healthy!

SO what have I been up to?  Well since I felt nauseous for the first 14 weeks on my pregnancy I did very little cooking which was odd seeing as I normally cook every meal in our house. When I have felt up to do anything, here are some things that are worth while to share....

• Have you ever checked out the blog Oh She Glows?  It is a fabulous resource for quick, easy and simple meals.  I recently made this recipe and loved it.  I'm looking forward to making this treat.
• I was so thrilled to find out the J.Crew has a maternity section!
• Love this jacket and this dress
• We have been discussing parenting styles of the french with this book.
• I very rarely spend money on makeup, but this item is on my wish list.
• Have you read this article about the Pumpkin Spice Latte...makes me sad even though we all know the truth deep down. Sadly I still want a PSL.
• Interesting article on raising your child gender neutral.
• Baby names by decades...I love the early 1900 names
• Finally, I started to create a registry and am using Myregistry.com, this is the best for weddings and baby registries, I highly recommend it.