Wednesday, August 28, 2013

NEW ITEMS FOR FALL

I'm so excited to share a couple new items in our Etsy shop for fall. They are now available and there are very limited quantities so if you like what you see, please hurry over and snag them before they're gone!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/cutecravings?ref=search_shop_redirect
Fox Knotted Headband

Jack-O-Latern Knotted Headband


I'm working on new items for the Christmas Holiday season as well, so continue to check by our shop for new items.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

HAPPY TUESDAY

I know I'm a little slow, but I finally join bloglovin! You can now search for Sprinkles On Top and follows us through there. I also have a Pinterest board and you can follow us on Instagram at rachbraden. 
We're gearing up for a great Labor Day weekend with good friends. I'm so excited to say 'see ya later summer' and 'well hello there fall!' 

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Sunday, August 25, 2013

THE COUNTDOWN

The final fall countdown. I've been falling for fall as long as I can remember, hands down my favorite season of the year. I always get the itch early so a few years ago I had to restrict myself to September 1st as being my first official day of autumn. If I really had it my way, pumpkin in all forms; bread, pie, decor & beer, would be coming out in mid-July! Okay, confession.....my pumpkin candle has been lit for over a week and the fridge was stocked with pumpkin beer on Thursday. 
Delish by the way, make sure you don't miss out! 

But if you don't enjoy each season, you'll never appreciate each season. 
My pumpkins and fall decor may be packed away this year since we're in temp living, but that doesn't mean I can't do some small things. I've been busy pinning during nap time since you can literally hear every movement in this apartment. If you follow me on Pinterest, check out my Fall & Winter Board and my Halloween Board. There's some good stuff on there.
Football season is just around the corner as colleges are gearing up to cheer on their teams this coming weekend. We won't be able to watch each Husker game this year, but Kensi will show her spirit with her super cute headband made by her mama. Check out our Etsy shop Cute Cravings to find your favorite team's colors.



We can't forget fall also brings H-A-Double L-O- Double E-N and I am so excited to share our family costumes as we will be taking our little walking machine trick-or-treating for the very first time....mama & papa will be pirates and baby girl Kensi will be our parrot! Can you believe it's already been a year since I made and Kensi's sushi costume? I know I'm her mama, but she did make one heart melting sushi roll!

I will again be creating our costumes from different items combined with a little sewing. Stay tuned as I will be sharing how I'm putting these costumes together this year.
 Arghhh you ready for all the crazy booty kicking fun fall will bring this year?!!?

APPLE ANNIE'S

Each week we find a new treasure in Wilmington. Yesterday we made our first visit to Apple Annie's, a delicious local bakery. They make bread, cakes, cookies and pastries. 
This shop is so clean and simple and the staff is beyond polite, like much of Wilmington. 

Kensi has developed a sweet tooth just like her mama and daddy. She left her mark at Apple Annie's with her itty-bitty finger prints as she walked up to the glass display case filled with so many different sweet delights. She had her eyes fixed on their miniature chocolate topped cookies with mini M&Ms. Not only did they look scrumptious, they were one of the kid friendly cookies at her eye level and she was fixated. 


For our afternoon munchies we chose a sprinkle topped mini sugar cookie for Kensi, a cream cheese Danish for myself and Mike had to try one of their lemon pastries. All of course were divine and a perfect way to take care of a sweet craving. 



Saturday, August 24, 2013

BEACH BABE

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon chilling on the beach. Just a normal Friday afternoon activity that I have to get use to. It feels very surreal now that Mike has every Friday off since he works a 4-10 schedule and knowing we live in a beach town. This would be surreal for any land locked native. But I'm definitely not complaining :) 
This wasn't Kensi's first time visiting the beach, but it was the first time that she could actually explore the sand and water. 



Baby girl, 
You were so excited to see the ocean. You've become a very good listener and although not always patient, you wait for mommy and daddy for everything. You were confused by the sand as you didn't know how to move in it. It was hot on your little toes and you jumped into our arms to be up. 
The three of us walked down to the water. It was a calm day for the waves which put me as ease as I'm so afraid of the dangers water brings. You had no fear. You sat down right on the edge where the water and sand met and squealed with excitement as each wave crashed and the water slowly chased you and touched your little body. 
You also found joy in chasing the seagulls and watching the pelicans dive into the water. Daddy showed you how to play in the sand. You became confused when the sand was all over you, you didn't know how to get rid of it. We found sand in your ears, under your arms and on your eyes. 
When it was time to go home you waved goodbye to the ocean, the birds and all the people. It wasn't long and you feel asleep in the car. You looked so content and we knew it was a great day. 

Thursday, August 22, 2013

NEW PLACES, NEW CHANGES

Since moving to the east I've felt more and more of an urge to make some big changes to our blog. Not only are we starting fresh in a new city, but we're also starting brand new adventures. We've decided to build our house (super exciting!!!), but that also means many rooms for decorating. I've also decided to throw myself even more so in my sewing and revamping my Etsy shop as well. Ambitious I know, but if I don't go for it, when will I? 
Now that we're back on our own, we can feel our old selves slowly coming back and we are so happy and feel content. Kensi is adapting well and we're starting our weekly rituals which include our trips for a special treat once a week which usually ends up being the ice cream shop. Mike and I love going and starting our own little family traditions because we know it will be something our children will remember, but Kensi couldn't really care less about the memory part at this point, she just knows that she gets sprinkles on her ice cream and she squeals with excitement every time. This girl has shown us to enjoy all the small things in life again. She's more than a cherry on top of our world...she's a whole bunch of sprinkles...constantly making our everyday life that much better.
We'll continue to post great recipes, DIY tutorials, and Kidlit fun activities. We're also excited to share how we will be turning our new house into our home each step of the way along with our crazy everyday life. We hope you'll continue sharing each adventure with us as we welcome you to Sprinkles on Top!

Happy Friday Eve!

Monday, August 19, 2013

WELL HELLO THERE SUNSHINE

We ran into an old friend, the sun! It decided to come out and play for the day which was great for a trip to the pool. 


Ah, do you see that beautiful blue sky? It was a gorgeous hot and once again very humid kind of day. I'm so ready for the humidity to leave and bring in some cooler weather, but I really don't know how soon that will be. Not soon enough! 



Sunday, August 18, 2013

RAINY DAYS

Each day this past week we've had rain, rain and more rain. We were lucky enough to sneak in a couple walks and a trip to the park in between thunderstorms. 
We spent our rainy evenings over the weekend vegging out on the couch with homemade min-e pizzas and lots and lots of movies. 

Saturday night we wined and dined on a cheese plate. Have you ever done that? We tend to do this at least a couple times a month. Pick out some of your favorite cheeses, crackers, olives, fruits and veggies. The Hubster and I love trying new cheeses and we've found the best place to pick some up is from Whole Foods. Usually you can find a barrel of small chunks of cheese that are more or less leftovers from the larger blocks. But they're priced well and it's the perfect size for trying something new. 
I always snag a few items from the olive bars at the grocery store too. Some of my favs are dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), green olives, roasted red peppers and marinated bocchini. 
What are some of your favorite rainy night food indulgences? 

Monday, August 12, 2013

HOT SUMMER DAYS & SOUTHERN BBQ

Our first official weekend in North Carolina was spent fighting the scorching heat and scarfing down good ol' southern BBQ. Did I mention we had a three day weekend? And the fact that with Mike's new job EVERY weekend is a THREE DAY WEEKEND? I'm not going to lie, it's pretty awesome! 
All week we've been exploring our new area and neighborhood and spent time in the pool and parks. Kensi loves to swim, but she gives me a heart attack every time since she has no fear of the water and will end up learning the dangers of it the hard way. 
She learned how to climb and go down the slide on her tummy. It makes my heart BURST with joy as she runs over the wood chips and wiggles her little monkey body up each step. 

We've also found a great little frozen yogurt shop close by which makes for a great cool down treat. Kensi adores it and loves to get her own bite with her own spoon. Where did my little baby go? She's such a big girl now. 

This weekend Wilmington held their first BBQ Rib Fest at Battleship Park. With several competitors, we tried delicious finger lickin' food from three different teams. 
Kensi was hating the heat, but was quickly distracted by 'the pig'. This girl loves all things animal like, that aren't real. She totally spased when she saw this pig trophy and had to pet it. 
Not long after meeting her new pig friend,  we dove into all the BBQ goodness they had to offer. Kensi's favorite however wasn't BBQ at all, it was a South Carolina peach! 


If I do say so myself, anyone who doesn't like BBQ, cough-cough-Matt-cough, (Mike's younger brother) are just crazy :)
Next weekend we're hitting the beach! Pray for some great weather for us! 

Happy Monday! 



Friday, August 9, 2013

HAUNTING BABY FINDS

I just stocked up on a few items perfect for Kensi and the whole month of October this year. I swear if I had a boy, I'd shop just as much if not more. I think the trends for boys this year are to die for!

| Boys: 1 - 2 - 3- 4 |
| Girls: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 |

Happy Friday All!!!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

FABULOUS FINDS: HONEST REUSEABLE SWIM DIAPERS

We have had many opportunities to dive into the pool this summer and this weekend we plan on visiting the beach. With a 13 month old we've used the only swim diaper we knew about, you know the name brand swim diapers that you can find at your basic store. They work fine, but if something reusable would come along, I'd be the first to try it.


The Honest Company has done it again, earlier this summer they designed a great swim diaper in two adorable prints: red/white polka dot & blue/white whales.....and of course I snagged both of them. 
I really like their swim diapers because Kensi can wear it under her swim suit or just the diaper by itself and still be super cute at the pool!
I know pool season is slowly coming to an end, but you can still snag one! 

Happy Friday Eve!!!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Jungle Living

We realized early this week that we definitely are not living in Nebraska anymore. From the size of bugs and types of critters we've seen, it feels more like we're living in a jungle because I'm telling you these suckers are huge. The only time we've seen bugs this big is at the Henry Doorly Zoo. 
The lizards and frogs are not big, but they're everywhere. 


They must just grow them big down here :) 
Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Monday, August 5, 2013

Road Tripping to Our New State

Whew! I am so glad to finally be writing a new post after such a hectic couple of months. House hunting and moving are exhausting and have kept us very busy with very little free time. 
We said 'see you soon' to all our family and friends in Nebraska on Tuesday as we drove away with a trailer in tow to our temp living in North Carolina. We spent three days on the road and way too many nights in hotel rooms. Although since we were driving through several states we took at least one photo in each state on the fly from my phone, mostly of this cute munchkin. 
Kensi crashed out minutes after hitting the road the first day. 


A blueberry picnic in Missouri. 



Annoyed in Illinois. Kensi was not happy getting back on the road on day two. 


Coffee break with dad in Kentucky. 

Miss independent loved her Tennessee grits! She couldn't get enough of them! 


Kensi took it upon herself to drive through North Carolina while we stopped for gas. 

We finally arrived to our destination and we can officially call ourselves east coasters again, although we will always be Midwesterners at heart. 

Until we return to The Good Life, We will be enjoying our little bites of Nebraska. 
Bakery's Candies Meltaways, Greenwood, Ne 


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