Hiya, mamas! It’s Kristina popping in here to share my daughter’s nursery that I miraculously finished just a few weeks after her first birthday. Even though she is my third, this is the first time I’ve designed a real nursery for one of my babies and I’ve had so much fun putting together a sweet, calm space for her to explore during her first years. Thankfully I did actually get it done before she’s out of the crib and onto the next phase. #goals, right? I had Marisa Vitale over to photograph it a few weeks ago and I’m excited to share the photos with you all today.

This is our original crib! It was a bit of splurge when our eldest was a baby almost 8 years ago but I’m so glad we bought a really solid, high quality crib in the end. It is by Oeuf and while this style isn’t available anymore, the current Rhea crib is very similar. (Their sustainability mission and environmental sensitivity is great too!) It has lasted beautifully through all three of our babies (and a friend’s in between!), and I hope to be able to pass it on when Louella has moved into a real bed. We also have the Oeuf bunks for our boys and they are equally awesome. And must point out that perfectly blush crib sheet from Parachute. I’m a neutrals all the way type, but something about a baby girl makes you want all the pinks.

Our changing table is also Oeuf but came to us through Milk & Honey Babies, a really sweet beautifully curated online boutique. It’s so nice when someone has gone to the trouble of picking all the best things for baby and putting them in one place, don’t you think? I spotted that rainbow print by Hartland Brooklyn years before I was pregnant with Louella and stashed it away in my brain *just in case* we decided to have a third. It ended up being the starting point for the whole room, which I hoped would be nature-inspired (rainbows are nature!) with a modern vibe.

Louella Moon clearly needed at least one tiny nod to her middle name someone where in her room. Also, nature!

I made her little toy bench from finish grade plywood (It’s so easy! You could do it too!) so she has a place for her toys at her level. Every morning she walks directly to it and proceeds to throw everything onto the floor like it’s her job. Which, I mean, it’s basically her job.

My oldest son knitted the wall hanging using super sized knitting needles and chunky yarn (we were testing out a larger upcoming class project) and it ended up fitting perfectly in her room.

The peace print was photographed by my friend Jamie (also an A-list member round here, just sayin’!) that she sold through her Instagram account to raise money for the ACLU. Isn’t that so awesome? And it’s still available, now on Eventide Collective, with all profits still going to the ACLU.

Instead of a rocking chair or glider in her room (our rocking chair is in our master bedroom actually), we decided to purchase a daybed that turns into a queen sleeper so we can use her room for guests when necessary. It’s been an ideal addition to our house and her room. (Print: Eventide Collective / Bunny: Walnut Animal Society / Alpaca: BlaBla Kids / Mexican pillow: Lola y Tula / Black silk pillow: The Citizenry / ceramic chimes: Mudpuppy Ceramics)

When IKEA nails it, they *really* nail it. Those wall shelves are $12.99 each!

My husband thinks I am CRAY-ZEE but I drag plants and found nature things home from every single trip we take. I made him drive a whole bag of dried grasses home from Oregon this summer (I flew home with the kids), so I could use them around the house. SEE?! So worth it!

Just the girls reading books, as we do. She loves looking at the books on her shelves, even if her attention span isn’t quite long enough to listen to the stories yet.

She loves her bunny loveys so much. She only has three. Totally normal.

Thanks for touring her space with me! It’s so satisfying to have a room totally DONE. Now I need to move back to her brothers’ room to update it for their ages now, not their ages 2 1/2 years ago when we moved into our house. Design really never ends. Which I guess is kind of fun since there’s always new inspiration out there to be had too.

View The Gallery For More

Nursery decor sources…

Furniture
Crib: Discontinued Robin crib by Oeuf NYC, similar to the Rhea crib available now.
Dresser: Oeuf Rhea dresser from Milk & Honey Babies
Changing table tray: Discontinued but made by Oeuf NYC
Day bed: Duet Daybed from Design Within Reach (converts to queen bed!)
Rug: Palma Hand-Knotted Rug from Serena & Lily
Book shelves: IKEA
Toy bench: DIY

Art/Walls
Rainbow print: Hartland Brooklyn
Waves print: Eventide Collective
Peace print: Jamie Street, available on Eventide Collective. (All proceeds go to the ACLU!)
Wall hanging: DIY
Alphabet print: Discontinued Rifle Paper Co.
You will leave… print: Lisa Congdon
Ceramic chimes: Mudpuppy Ceramics
Moon ornament: General Store

Decor
Pink pillow: Loom Goods
Black silk pillow: The Citizenry
Mexican woven pillow: Lola y Tula
Cream pillows: Crate and Barrel
Basekets: Serena & Lily and IKEA (also these for little things.)
Wooden fish mobile: Flensted Mobiles
Curtains: Urban Outfitters
Cream baby alpaca throw: Meridian
Linen crib sheet: Parachute Home
Crib blanket: Lace Heirloom blanket from Willaby
Wood stacking rainbow: Grimm’s Spiel and Holz
Wooden animals/figurines: Ostheimer, available lots of places but I am loyal to The Wooden Wagon
Alpaca stuffy: Bla Bla Kids
Magnolia the Bunny: Walnut Animal Society

Photography by Marisa Vitale.

The post Louella’s neutral, nature-inspired girl’s nursery appeared first on 100 Layer Cakelet.

Hiya, mamas! It’s Kristina, popping in to share the newborn photos Heather Kincaid took of our baby girl, and new family of five a few weeks ago. We’ve never done newborn photos before (sorry boys!) and truthfully I almost skipped them this time too. It just seems like a lot to coordinate in the first few days after your baby arrives, you know? And it’s not like as the mom you’re super pumped about having your photo taken one week postpartum! But oh wow. I am soooo happy that we did. And so grateful to Heather and her beautiful talent for capturing families. These are so special to us already.

My former littlest, with my littlest. This boy was SURE she was a girl from the moment we told him he was going to be a big brother. He is going to be such a good one.

Still wearing my Doen dress that I wore for maternity photos. Works so perfectly for both!

Her little face! I send so much time staring at it every day. She is my last and I am just holding on to every minute of her newborn-ness.

Sweetest big brothers, ever. Though OMG it is such a constant struggle to keep them out of her face. We’re just trying to make it through the first month (ideally six weeks, please) without her getting sick. It’s been challenging considering it’s November and we have two older kids in two different schools. Raise your hand if you feel me!

All of their faces together!!!

Note… good idea to get a manicure before newborn photos! Oops.

I love the spirit of this photo so much. The big kids being their crazy selves, the baby sleeping… I know we’ll look back on this photo with so much fondness when they are grown.

Seriously wish we could frame all of them!

Thank you so much to Heather for capturing this most fleeting and sweet moment for our family. So worth it to manage hyper older brothers to have these photos forever!

View The Gallery For More

Photos: Heather Kincaid / Kristina’s dress: the Caravan Dress from Doen / Kids PJs: Chasing Windmills Kids / Swaddle: Willaby via Midland Shop

The post Lifestyle family newborn photos in Los Angeles by Heather Kincaid appeared first on 100 Layer Cakelet.

Happy friday, mamas! It’s Jillian here, the real weddings editor on the 100 Layer Cake. I’m popping over to share a really special maternity and family session I did a few weeks back with Alissa Noelle. We’ve featured a few of her sessions here and here , and I really loved her natural style and desperately needed to document this magical moment within my pregnancy before I got too large, ha! We’re so excited to be expecting another little boy at the end of July.

The session began up in Topanga Cayon and ended on Topanga State Beach. In just under a few short hours, I was amazed at all the beauty Alissa was able to capture at two locations. Especially because all my son really wanted to do was play in the dirt and sand. Typical boy!

My heart is so full, it’s hard to fathom that it’ll become even fuller in just over a month with the birth of another little boy. We’ll be sharing some peeks of our sibling nursery soon. Thanks for reading and have a sweet weekend with your families!

View The Gallery For More

All photos by Alissa Noelle Photography / Green knit dress and pale pink dress from H&M

The post Sunset maternity + family session in Topanga appeared first on 100 Layer Cakelet.

Happy friday, mamas! It’s Kristina here, the editor-at-large on the Cakelet front. Popping in today to share these beautiful photos that Katherine of Max & Friends shot of my family last month. She is so good, you guys. And even better, she is the nicest, most genuine person. I am so beyond lucky to have had her in our home to photograph us just as we are in the moment. And to call her a friend.

My big guy. The light of my life, my sunny sweet first born.

And my little one. The mayor of our family, the most creative, exasperating, charming little person there ever was.

They are such buddies. Mostly.

We spent the better part of a year planning for and remodeling this house. And while it is far from “done”, it is so lovely to have photos of us here, where we live (and spend most of our time!), doing just every day stuff.

The obsession with ice cream is strong for these two.

Forrest hasn’t quite mastered the clean-up lick.

I love this photo of the two of us. It’s nice to have reminders that it all started here.

So this is my family! And this is our completely and utterly in-progress backyard. You can see the plants still in pots behind us. Luckily those are now in the ground! Thanks for reading and happiest weekend to all of your families too.

View The Gallery For More

All photos by Katherine Rose of Max & Friends.

The post Family photos at home in Los Angeles by Katherine Rose of Max & Friends appeared first on 100 Layer Cakelet.

In August our family took our yearly trip to Saugatuck, Michigan. If you’ve never heard of Saugatuck, you need to look it up. It’s a small town 2.5 hours north of Chicago on Lake Michigan. My husband’s family has lived and owned property there for over a century, and I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to visit every summer. As soon as you step foot into Saugatuck, you want to roll down the windows, and take in the fresh country smells and lake breezes. You instantly slow down and feel relaxed.

This year marked a special milestone in my father-in-laws life, he turned 70, so naturally as a blogger and designer, I wanted to have a pretty dinner on the beach. Luckily Scott’s family is super talented, and always up for a party! As our vision began to take shape we couldn’t of planned for how beautiful and impactful that moment on the beach would be.

The Clark family cottages are decades old and rich with history. At the end of everyday we sit on the porch, cocktail in hand, reflecting on the day as the sunsets over the lake. The sunsets here are always a high point during our trip.

This scene above has been the pinnacle spot for many of the Clark family wedding celebrations, but no one had created a dinner, like this one, on the beach. To create the moment we carted down all the vintage chairs, glasses, and dishes. We didn’t have a table large enough to fit 12, so my architect brother-in-law, constructed a table using sawhorses and storm shutters. It was brilliant! He also handmade these poles, for our lights, which were originally used for an arbor at his sisters wedding. Yeah, he’s a good guy to have around!

Our menu was simple and seasonal, and everyone chipped in to create a dish. Since we were visiting at the end of August, it’s the perfect time for fresh blueberries and peaches. Naturally we handcrafted a blueberry cocktail, yum! All the flowers came from a local market, called Summertime Market.

Looking back on these photos and remembering how we felt in this moment makes my heart explode. This moment was priceless, and so important. I think we can all get busy, and set in our routines of life, and forget that we need to create a really special, really *real* moment to enjoy together. You don’t have to wait for the holidays to have an excuse to take out the good china, move a table outside for a change of scenery, and invite people over for a magical moment under the stars. You might just surprise yourself, which is exactly what happened to us. As we sat watching the sun set over the lake and the stars pop out in the sky, we were suddenly amazed by a surprise firework display. But, the best part was that this was my son Liam’s first firework display. While the fireworks were amazing as they always are, Liam’s reaction was the moment we all relished in together.

Now that we’re thinking about Thanksgiving and the upcoming winter holidays, we’re looking back on these photos as a family and remembering that with just a teensy bit of extra effort from everyone, we can create a memorable meal that will be all the more enjoyable because we created it together.

Photos by Scott Clark Photo.

The post Saugatuck, Michigan family vacation appeared first on 100 Layer Cakelet.