BLW: Baked Cinnamon Apples {Easy/Healthy Version}

Since Luca been trying out different solid foods for awhile now, I figured I would start posting Baby Lead Weaning recipes of new foods I make for him to try out. Today I am bringing y'all a super super easy recipe for Baked Cinnamon Apples. And if you do not have a baby, you can even make them for yourself. I was actually eating some while Luca was gnawing away on the apples. 

The great thing about this recipe is that you only need three ingredients which is what I needed. I kept looking everywhere for a simple recipe, and I just couldn't find one that I really liked with what I already had. So I hope y'all find this one super helpful, yummy, and easy to make. Please let me know if you do try this recipe for your babe or even you for that matter.

Prep Time: 5-8 minutes

Cook Time: 20-35 minutes or until they are soft

Ingredients: 

2-3 Apples

1 teaspoon of Cinnamon

1 tablespoon of Butter (or for a healthier version use Coconut oil)

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°. Start by peeling and cutting the apples in bite size pieces. Put the apples in a circle pan. I used the ceramic oven safe dish that I had. Would recommend cooking in it rather than a metal pan. From my experience with baking, use the ceramic dish allows for the food to cook evenly and too perfection. 

Step 2. Melt the butter or coconut oil all over the diced apples. After the butter is poured, use a utensil to mix the apples and the butter together making sure all the apples are eventually covered. 

 

Step 3. Pour the cinnamon over all of the apples, and then once again use a utensil to make sure the cinnamon is covering every apple evenly. 

Step 4. Put apples in the oven for 20-35 minutes depending how quick your oven takes to make them soft. I start with 20 minutes, and adding on an additional 8 minutes. I honestly could have cooked them for 35 minutes to make them even softer. The softer they are, the easier it is for you baby to eat them. 

Y'all Enjoy!

xoxo Megan <3

The Perfect Gift for the Busy Mom & Baby

Where do I even begin with this perfect gift? For starters, let me tell you about where the gift comes from. Parasol is the company that has the perfect gift for a busy mom and baby. They offer products such as diapers, premium wipes, and femme care. Their products are free of heavy metals, irritation free, free of harmful materials, world class standard of quality, chemical-free, sourced from responsible-managed forests, and reduces environmental impact. 

The company is a subscription service that can either be implemented through their website or Amazon. By a busy mom partaking in a subscription service, this will allow her to not have to worry to go out to a store to get more diapers or wipes. Rather it will be delivered to her doorstep every month. Also she can do that for her feminine care as well.  

Diapers 

With the diapers, depending on what size the baby wears determines how many diapers are sent each month. For example: Size 1 diapers will have 216 diapers in the box. They also factor in approximately how many diapers you would use a day, and that is how they came up with the 216 amount. On the website it is stated you will approximately use 7 diapers a day with a baby wearing size 1 diapers. This amount will last you 4-5 weeks depending on how many you use a day. 

Keep in mind, the Parasol diapers do run on the bigger side, so if your baby meets the weight range of a size, they suggest choosing one size lower for a better fit. For Luca, he wears a size 3 in diapers and that is what I ordered from Parasol. I can definitely tell they are bigger on him though, but even though they are bigger they do the job very well. 

The diapers are great because they have an 8 layer design that helps prevent diaper rashes and blowouts. It also allows for the baby to feel fresh and dry at all times. Another plus is that the diapers are seriously the softest diaper you will ever feel in your life. My mother in law mentioned the other day she almost thought it was a cloth diaper because of how soft the diaper was that she felt. 

In addition, there are always two designs in each pack. On their website they have the "Limitless Sky" prints available. One is a hawaiin leaf type print and the other has birds on it.

Now, on Amazon they have more designs available you can choose from. Click the links to go to the specific design. 

Desert Spring Collection

Delight Collection

They also offer what they call "diaper pants" which is their version of a pull up. Their diaper pants come in sizes 3-4, 4-5, and 5-7. The supply on those are to last three weeks, just FYI. 

Click here to check them out. 

Wipes

Parasol offers premium wipes and travel wipes depending on what you are looking for in your monthly subscription. Their wipes are strong but gentle. No chemicals, alcohol, fragrance, or  dyes are in them. For their premium wipes there are 600 ct per subscription and 800 ct in travel wipes subscription.

Femme Care

For femme care, they offer wipes and pads that you can choose for your subscription service. The pads are made with postpartum moms in mind. They are super absorbent and soft as well. In the femme pad subscription box you would get 72 panty liners, 60 regular pads, 40 overnight pads, 50 femme wipes. 

Essential Kit

Now for those of you who don't want to spend the money quite yet before trying out all the products first, the essential kit is perfect for you and baby. It is only $14 and you will get 14-20 diapers for baby, a pack of premium wipes, travel wipes, 2 overnight pads, 2 regular pads, and femme wipes for you to test out. Another great thing about Parasol is that they offer free shipping on every order no matter the minimum. So you will get free shipping on the essential kit as well. The kit is a one-time trial and there is a limit of one purchase per customer.

The Season of Gifting

Parasol has a wonderful incentive on their website that you can partake in. They have a gifting incentive which is so nice. You gift someone something off their website, then they will gift you something in return. Specifically, if you gift someone their referral gift (two diapers, femme wipes, and pads), you will get $20 credit towards your monthly subscription box. (No credit card required to redeem referral git) Click here to gift someone a referral gift. *Must be a subscriber 

All in all, Parasol offers so many amazing products that will keep a busy mama and baby so so happy. We have loved Parasol diapers since Luca was a newborn. We have never had a leak and he always feels dry at all times. Not only that, I don't have to worry about the diapers or wipes harming his skin which is so nice. 

Check out their website or on Amazon, y'all won't be disappointed I promise. And like I said above, you can always buy the $14 essential kit first to see if you fall in love with them first before committing to the bigger subscription boxes. But I promise y'all will ;)

A Trendy Mama's Wishlist (Affordable Version)

Today I am bringing y'all another beloved Christmas Wishlist. But this time for a Trendy Mama. This wishlist is geared towards those who are looking for affordable gifts for that on trend mama you know! So to all of my family and friends that always constantly ask me what I want for Christmas, and I always respond with I don't know.. Well here y'all go! haha! 

So first let's talk about the amazing boutique that I work for, and where I buy 99.9% of my clothes: Shop Stevie! We have so many affordable clothing items that will keep any mama out there on trend for sure! The picture above I am wearing one of our sherpas which is under $40. Like what? That is such a steal. Other current items linked below that we still currently have available. 

Click here for our new arrivals, and some discounted items! 

So that being said, clothes are a definite must have to keep a mama on trend! DUH! Here are some more amazing clothing items/accessories that are trendy but also affordable. 

Electronics can also make a mama feel trendy as well. So here are few electronics and their accessories that are at an affordable price.

Lastly, miscellaneous items!

+Concert Tickets
+Gift Cards
+Massage/Facial/Mani/Pedi
+Spray Tan
+Mini Vacation {Not the cheapest of gifts, but I think experiences are way better than physical items}

"Almost" 8 Month Old Christmas Wish List

{Bonus Blog} 

When Christmas rolls around Luca will be almost 8 months old. So today on the blog I will be listing "his" wish list. Obviously, he is too little to decide exactly what he wants, so these are the items that I think he would love at his age. Now, this is not everything we will be getting him. Therefore, some of the items listed are to give y'all some ideas for your babes as well. I will also be doing two more of these type of posts next week {Gift Guide for Grandparents & Mama's Wish List}. Hope y'all enjoy!

Side Note: Hit the arrow on the right side of products (in between row 2&3 to see more products-if you’re using a desktop). Also some of things listed Luca already has.. Just FYI!

More Wish List Items that weren't on Shop Style

For his play room!! The coolest kid couch ever. You can move the pieces around however you please.

Click here

Removal wallpaper for the playroom 

click here

The Best Mickey Mouse Accessory on the Market

Mickey's birthday was this past Sunday (11/18), and he turned 90 years old. Isn't that crazy and awesome at the same time ?!? He is everyone's favorite mouse, and has brought so much joy and happiness over these 90 years. 

That being said, I wanted to talk about Petunia Pickle Bottom's limited edition 90 years Mickey diaper bag today on the blog. We have been using the Mickey and Minnie diaper bag that they have ever since Luca was born. And y'all I love that diaper bag so so much. Then when I saw they were coming out with this limited edition for Mickey's 90th birthday, I had to get my hands on it. Luckily, I was able to do just that thanks to Petunia, and I also was able to capture the backpacks beauty at Walt Disney World. I thought it was only fitting to also take the picture of both bags in front of the Walt and Mickey statue at Magic Kingdom. 

 

The bag on the left (from the picture on the left) was the one I was talking about that we have been using since Luca was born. It is their Axis backpack, and has a insulated compartment in that bigger lower half section. Which is so cool in my opinion because that means it has a built in lunch box. 

The bag on the right (from the picture on the left) is the limited edition 90 years Mickey bag, and it is their Boxy backpack. Both are amazing in many different ways, but today I am only going to go into detail about the Boxy backpack. If y'all have visited my Instagram page, then you know I did a detailed review of the bag on Insta story. So if you are wanting to see everything about the bag in video form, head over there after you read my blog post of course :) The review will be featured in my highlight section.

Top 5 Reasons the Limited Edition 

Mickey Mouse Backpack 

is the best Mickey Mouse accessory 

on the Market  

1. The diaper bag features every look Mickey Mouse has every had. 

From wizard Mickey to original Mickey and even Steamboat Willie Mickey. But of course they couldn't leave out "current" Mickey, which is how he looks now. The different types of Mickey are featured not only on the front of the bag, but also on the inside as well. Every inch of the inside has the different types of Mickey featured, as well as the changing pad. 

2. You can be well organized with this accessory.

 There are so many different parts all throughout this bag. Allowing for you to stay organized at all times. There are two pockets, one on each side of bag, that you can fit a bottle or whatever you please of course in them. As well as a pocket in the back that can fit more miscellaneous items in. Now for the inside, there is a front pocket where the changing pad velcros to, and still has room for more items which is awesome. I would suggest keeping diapers and wipes in it so the changing pad, diapers, and wipes are all together. Now, you do not have to use this bag as a diaper bag. You can totally just carry it as a regular backpack as well. Just remove the changing pad, and you are good to go. Highly suggest since you can fit way more in it then a fanny pack or a small cross body bag {Which is what a lot of people carry at Disney}. In the main zipper pocket on the inside, there are about six separate pockets and one main pocket which will allow you stayed organized for sure. So you don't have to throw everything in one main area, and then it takes forever to find anything.

3.  The bag is multi functional 

Not only can you carry the bag as backpack, you can also carry it as a cross body, whichever you prefer. How cool right? And like I said above, you don't have to use the bag as a diaper bag. The bag can be used to carry your items in and around the parks or even use it as a school backpack. The bag is a lot bigger in person than what you can tell in the pictures. Meaning, your school supplies could definitely fit in the backpack.

One other cool feature is that it has a snap closure which allows for it be functional for a busy mom, or an individual on the go. I mean for us mamas out there, how difficult can it be to zip your bag back up while holding your baby? Very difficult at times. So the snap closure significantly helps with that for sure.

4. Built in Changing Station

Now, as I stated above, one of the pockets on the inside has a place where the changing pad velcros to. Well there is a reason for it being velcroed to the inside. Not just to keep it in place so you can easily find it, but because it is essentially a built in changing station. Like what? How awesome. 

So if you are anywhere, and not near a changing table (or you don't want to use one)... No problem unzip your bag, and you have changing table right there with you. 

5. Stroller Straps 

The bag has stroller straps that will allow for you to connect to your stroller, and not have to carry it the whole time. Or putting it under the stroller which takes up more space that you may need for something else. 

Bonus Mickey Accessory

Okay, so as you can probably tell I love Petunia Pickle Bottom's bags so much, especially the Disney ones. Well, as a bonus feature, PPB also has a Mickey stroller clip which is the cutest thing I have ever seen. So if you don't have one of their bags that feature a built in stroller strap, you can purchase one of their stroller clips to save room as well. It's pretty dang big and sturdy too, so you know it will be able to hold a stuffed to the brim diaper bag haha!

To purchase any of  PPB's items that were listed in this blog post please click the links below. Highly recommend to add them to a registry as well. Perfect baby shower gift. 

Mickey 90th Birthday Edition Bag

Mickey Stroller Clip

Mickey and Minnie Backpack 

xoxo Megan & Luca ;)

Also stay tuned for my next blog post "How to Travel to Disney World on a Budget"

Trip Guide: Alpharetta, Georgia

About a month ago we traveled to Alpharetta, Georgia to watch our two friends get married. From the rehearsal dinner to the ceremony to the reception, everything was so stunning. Not to mention, the bride was so beautiful and the groom was oh so handsome. 

Since we had just a wonderful time, I have decided to give y'all the 411 all about Alpharetta, such as places to stay and things to do. 

Places to Stay

I highly recommend staying at the Atlanta Marriott Alpharetta. (Book your stay here). We got to stay here, and we loved everything about this hotel. Atlanta Marriott Alpharetta sits right off Ga 400N, and about 30 minutes outside of Atlanta. The great thing is you don't want to travel to Atlanta to obtain a wonderful experience during your stay. There are so many endeavors  you can experience right at the hotel. Or take a short drive to downtown Alpharetta, the Avalon development, or even Top Golf. The Avalon development is a place where you can shop, eat, and have access entertainment all in one area. It is seriously so nice how close everything is from the hotel. 

As we entered into the hotel, John and I were amazed by what we saw. From the lobby to the restaurant, the design was impeccable. Now, stepping foot into our room, we were instantly greeted with a bottle of Champagne, cheese spreads, robes, and the most comfortable bed we have ever laid in. Comfort is key whenever I am staying at a hotel and/or resort, and the Marriott surpassed my expectations. We stayed in one of their King Bedroom rooms which also included a nice sized bathroom with a walk in shower, and large vanity. But let's just back it up to how comfy the bed was that we slept in. Like for real y'all, it felt like we were laying on a cloud. We would just melt into the bed whenever we would lay in it. I have honestly never stayed at a hotel that had this comfortable of a bed. I was just truly mind blown. I mentioned to the staff,and they said they keep getting compliments from everyone about the beds, which is so amazing! 

Another amazing thing about this hotel is that they do an American Girl themed experience. How cool right? I wish when I was little, and into American Girl dolls I could have done this experience. They make the girls feel like celebrities with their American Girl dolls from the start at check-in.

Not only is the Atlanta Marriott Alpharetta only 4.8 miles from the American Girl store, it also offers a total American Girl experience, as I mentioned above. This experience is typically only offered during the weekends (Friday/Saturday). During check-in, your child and their doll will only be checked in upon arrival with a personalized welcome letter. As well as getting to walk the pink carpet that leads up to the front desk. The total experience also includes one pink deluxe room, American Girl sized bed to take home, cookies at check-in, breakfast at 19 North restaurant, and much more. Lastly, the pink deluxe room is decorated with pink duvets, pink towels, pink ametities, and pink bathrobe during their stay. Each girl will also be entered into the quarterly drawing to win an American Girl doll. How freakin cool right?!? 

Things to Do!

Alright, so as I stated early there are so many different things to do and see while you visit Alpharetta, Georgia. Here are some of things that I found amazing/highly recommend during your stay.

1. Downtown Alpharetta 

We constantly drove through downtown Alpharetta multi times during our stay when traveling to and from the wedding venue. My husband was a groomsman, so we of course had to travel there a lot. Alpharetta is such a quaint town, and has so many beautiful homes there. Just driving down through there, and seeing all of the beautiful homes was enjoyable in itself. Pretty much all the homes were custom farmhouse style homes, which is my type of house aka my dream home. 

There are so many different options of places to eat as well. We ate at Smoke Jack BBQ one night for the rehearsal dinner. And y'all the food was amazing, but not only that the inside was stunning. It had a farmhouse modern feel as well. Smoke Jack BBQ is a less than 10 minute drive from the hotel.  

Other recommended things to do in Downtown Alpharetta :

1. Alpharetta Farmer's Market (Open Saturdays.. April-October)

2. Alpharetta Food Truck Alley XL (Every Thursday through the end of October)

3. Alpharetta History Walk

4. Four Fat Cows Ice Cream  -- I so wanted to try their Ice cream, but we ran out of time. But I highly recommend this place for sure. It has not only ice cream but smoothie bowls, milkshakes, floats, puffle cones, and so much more. It's also in the cutest little building. 

5. Jekyll Brewing

6. Verizon Amphitheatre

2. Avalon Development

Avalon development is highly recommended as one of the places to visit that offers great eateries, entertainment, and more in one location. Avalon is a 86-acre development with more than 500,000 square feet of retail, a 12-square all premium theater, full service hotel, single-family residences, and luxury rental homes. This area is wonderful because it embraces a connected community of shopping, dining, entertainment, living, and working.

Some of the shops located at Avalon:

-Crate & Barrel

-Gap

-Fab'rik

-J. Crew

-Kendra Scott

-Lululemon

-PB Kids

-Urban Outfitters

-Dry Bar

Some places to eat at Avalon:

- Bite Burger

- Chickfila

-Jeni's (ice cream)

-Ted's Montana Grill

-Oak Steakhouse

-Starbucks

-Branch & Barrel

During the holidays, they have amazing activities/events going on as well. Such as the lighting of Avalon, the perfect holiday giveaway at Avalon, menorah lighting at Avalon, Santa at Avalon, and Avalon on ice. 

3. Eat at 19 North

The first day of my stay, I started with breakfast at the hotel's award winning restaurant, 19 North. I went with a simple pancakes and bacon for my meal. But it was oh so delicious. 

The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and serves the freshest ingredients from local farms in Georgia. After I finished my breakfast, I walked a few feet to the coffee kiosk that was at the hotel bar for a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. The coffee kiosk also offers other specialty drinks, pastries, and light breakfast items if you ones doesn't want a full meal.

For those of you who like to drink local brews and handcrafted cocktails, the bar at 19 North is the right place to be especially at nighttime. Every time I arrived back to the hotel for the night, there was always a huge crowd enjoying those local brews and handcrafted cocktails. As you can tell the background of my picture haha! 

4. Top Golf

So if y'all have never been to Top Golf, you definitely need to go. Even though I wasn't able to participate whenever we were in Georgia, John, the groom, and other groomsmen got to have a lot of fun there the morning of the wedding. It's a place where it's like you are at a driving range, but you hit the golf balls at targets. You get points, shows how high or low you hit it, the curve of the ball, velocity...it literally analyzes everything which is pretty cool. They also serve food and drinks there as well. I believe the groom and groomsmen ate buffalo wings, potato skins, cheese fries, and salad while they were there at 10:30 am haha! 

5. Attend a Wedding at Little River Farms ;)

Okay, so I mainly put this in here just talk about how amazing our friends' wedding was, and show y'all some of the pictures. This venue is seriously stunning, and the wedding was seriously perfect and dreamy. 

The picture above was from the rehearsal. Luca looked so precious in his little "China" suit, as I called it haha! I ordered it off Amazon, and it was actually made like a onesie where it buttons at the bottom. The tag was sewn on the outside of the suit, so that's why I called it his "China" suit lol. I think it was only like $12.

So a background story, the day of the wedding my day was non stop and stressful to say the least. I dropped John off at Top Golf in the morning, and then back to the hotel with Luca. We at 19 North for breakfast as I stated above, and then took a quick tour around the hotel. Once I was done with that, it was time to pick John up again so he could get all of his stuff together to head to the venue. Once I dropped him off at the venue, Luca and I were exhausted so we took a much needed nap. Well the nap lasted longer than expected, I couldn't get the iron to work, and once it did work Luca started fussing. And it doesn't end there haha! Once we got to the car, Luca spit up all over him and I but there was no time to go back in and change or we would miss the whole ceremony. So if you see a stain on my dress in some of the pictures its spit up lol. Once I started driving I realized I still needed gas,so instead of stopping to get gas I kept driving so we wouldn't be late. Well we made it on time, barely, but after the ceremony was over we ran out of gas haha! So embarrasing, a cop happened to pull up behind us and stayed with us until we could get help. So a crazy day right? haha! Anywho, here are some more pictures from the wedding below. 

I hope y'all enjoyed this post, and get to visit Alpharetta, Georgia really soon. Because I know I will be going back ASAP!!

Also click here to check out the article I did for Buzzfeed!! <3