Tomorrow's To Dos

Super Sidney

Posted on August 26, 2013 by tomorrowstodos

Two days just aren’t enough for the weekend, don’t you agree? Thank goodness we have a longer one coming up!

I did a lot of running around this weekend, but the main event was the Sunday morning brunch. I still salivate when I think of the Cinnamon Raisin Baked French Toast I made. Luckily for me, there were leftovers so I am having it every day this week for breakfast – SCORE!

[somebody is ready for brunch]

[is it fall yet?]

[cinnamon raisin baked french toast = heaven]

This recipe was a huge hit and would be perfect for family visits during the holidays.

Sunday evening I put the finishing touches on Baby B’s baby shower invites and will be delivering them to the grandmas this week to be sent out. Can’t believe it’s almost a month away. Where did August go?

Now on to the next design job: Sidney’s 3rd birthday party invites. My sister is going with a superhero theme and our crafty mom is making capes for each little attendee. I mean, how cute are these?!

[photo from my sis of Sid testing out her cape]

Posted in Birthdays, Parties, Recipes | Tagged baby shower, birthday invitations, breakfast, brunch, The Pioneer Woman | 1 Comment

Tasty toast ahead

Posted on August 23, 2013 by tomorrowstodos

I’m pretty sure we’ve been talking about wanting to reno our bathrooms since we moved in almost four years ago. Lo and behold, the day is finally here and the bathroom remodels are complete. To say we are thrilled with the outcome is a major understatement.

The weeks have been flying by for me which is a good thing when you are 25 weeks preggers. Our little guy is extremely active now and spends a lot of his time perfecting his karate chops. His nursery continues to get filled will darling gear, as evident in the photo below:

[ready for winter]

And as far as cravings go, nothing exciting to report. Although we did make this delicious fresh pizza tonight for dinner complete with tomatoes from my sister’s garden and basil from ours.

I am so excited to try out a new recipe that made its way to my inbox earlier this week. It is The Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Raisin Baked French Toast and it looks amazing. Some of my high school gal pals are coming over to the house on Sunday for a little brunch and I thought it’d be the perfect time to try something new. Bonus: you can make this recipe the night before and pop it into the oven the next morning! Photos (and reviews) to come.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Posted in Baby, Decor, Friends, Recipes | Tagged Baby B, bathroom remodel, brunch, french toast, pizza | 1 Comment

Tease those taste buds

Posted on August 20, 2013 by tomorrowstodos

I am by no means an artist, but I’m pretty pleased with how my Pollock-esqe canvas turned out. It’ll be a nice addition to the other artwork I have planned for the nursery.

Marcus and I decided to have a little pre-baby date night this evening to try out the Restaurant Week menu at Alba. I went with the Iowa Sweetcorn Soup, Pan Roasted Chicken Breast and Sticky Toffee Cake and they did not disappoint. If you haven’t hit up a local spot yet, you still have until the end of the week to partake in the prix-fixe festivities.

Posted in Baby, Decor, Local Spots, Restaurants | Tagged art, Baby B, Des Moines Restaurant Week, DIY art, nursery | 1 Comment

Gettin’ artsy

Posted on August 17, 2013 by tomorrowstodos

Here are my feather prints all framed up and ready to be hung over Baby B’s desk-turned-changing table.

I also found this awesome saying online and decided to trace it for the little guy’s room. Now I just need to find the perfect frame and hang ‘er up.

I’ve even decided to put my artistic skills to the test by creating my own DIY abstract painting for the nursery. I’ve had these old canvases laying around the house that the previous owners left, and have always planned on repainting them. Now is the time.

[the before]

I found this great tutorial from the blog, Natalme, that I’m going to use as a reference – we’ll see how it goes…

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Posted in Baby, Decor, Design | Tagged abstract painting, DIY art, feathers, nursery | Leave a comment

Birds of a feather

Posted on August 13, 2013 by tomorrowstodos

This past weekend I made my annual trip to the Iowa State Fair and it did not disappoint.

[me and mo]

[pretty old orange tractor]

[this year’s fair square: graham champion]

[hello little friend]

[beautiful fair grown flowers]

I’ve been doing a some searching for artwork for the wee one’s nursery and came across this amazing site, The Graphics Fairy, that has all sorts of goodies to reprint and reuse. I fell in love with a few vintage feather prints that I think will look perfect in Baby B’s new abode.

Posted in Baby, Decor, Local Spots | Tagged Baby B, feathers, Iowa State Fair, nursery | Leave a comment

What have you been up to

Posted on August 8, 2013 by tomorrowstodos

A few little updates for all of you on what has been going on around our house.

The bathroom remodels aren’t quite complete yet, as we’ve run into a little snag. When taking out the old 80s style light bars, we realized that the hole behind it wasn’t centered. This just isn’t going to cut it for my OCD self, so we are looking into other options.

[we are loving our completed tiled shower]

I can’t make it past a kids clothing store without wanting to buy our little guy something. Here are a few of my recent (adorable) purchases:

[darling outfits from Old Navy]

I’ve started to brainstorm and design my baby shower invitations. I know that isn’t really my job, but I like to be in control of everything. Think our little one will have that trait too?

[two looks that I like]

I’ve been out-of-town a lot lately and I’m really looking forward to spending some time around the house the next few weeks. I have never ending piles of laundry and dust to tackle…

Posted in Baby, Decor, Parties | Tagged Baby B, baby shower, bathroom remodel, Invitations | 1 Comment

H & oMg

Posted on August 5, 2013 by tomorrowstodos

Fresh off our trip from Milwaukee and what a great time we had. Here are a few highlights:

[Branstad fam takes the field at Miller Park]

[me, my hunny and my belly at Jelly Belly]

[beautiful architecture at the Milwaukee Art Museum]

[all sorts of goodies at the Milwaukee Public Market]

[say cheese]

If you’ve been anywhere near the internet and are a shopaholic, you might have heard the news that broke out late last week: you can now shop H&M online!

Yes, their cost-conscious clothes are amazing, but what I’m freaking out about is their home collection. It’s definitely worth checking out. Here are a few of my favorite pieces:

[pillow // storage // jars // teddy bear // hangers // blanket]

Posted in Decor, Family, Travel | Tagged H&M, home, Milwaukee, National Governors Conference | 2 Comments

On the road again

Posted on July 30, 2013 by tomorrowstodos

The trip to Hays was quick but it’s always good to catch up with family and indulge in a few local treats.

[a little patriotic Rock Chalk outside of Lawrence, KS]

[convenience store staples: snoballs and big hunks]

[homemade sweet treats: herzen cookies and peach cobbler cheesecake]

[only in Kansas: wizard of oz themed party]

[baby B on the tracks in downtown Hays]

Marcus’ grandfather, Edward, passed away while I was gone and we attended his funeral yesterday. He was a hard-working man who we will both miss dearly. I thought this photo that I took on our way back to Des Moines was a perfect tribute to a man who spent so many years tending to the land.

The Branstad Family will hit the road again bright and early Thursday morning to attend the National Governor’s Conference in Milwaukee. We have all sorts of fun activities planned – looks like another short work week and busy weekend ahead!

Posted in Family, Travel | Tagged Baby B, Hays | 2 Comments

Hays America

Posted on July 24, 2013 by tomorrowstodos

Over the past weekend I made a trip to my parents’ house to go through my mom’s baby bins. Yes, she has been purchasing baby clothes that she has found deeply discounted over the past couple of years for our future kiddos. God bless her! I walked out of there with bags full of darling little boy outfits, blankies and so much more.

Baby B is going to be one well-dressed little boy:

[Baby B’s first of many Christmas outfits]

Baby B will technically be making his first trip to Hays, Kansas tomorrow. We are hitting the open road due west to visit my family for a long weekend. I’ve shared my Hays faves before (here and here) and can’t wait to revisit them. Start the polka tunes!

Posted in Baby, Family, Travel | Tagged Baby B, Hays | Leave a comment

Boy, oh boy

Posted on July 22, 2013 by tomorrowstodos

I can’t even begin to tell you how excited we are (if it wasn’t evident enough in the video by Marcus’ series of fist pumps) to welcome a little baby boy into the family. Being from a family of three girls and having six nieces, it’s safe to say that we will be treading into foreign territory. And we can’t wait!

Thank you all so much for the outpouring of kind words, congratulations and excitement. The fun is just beginning!

Here are a few more photos from the gender reveal festivities:

[blue or pink? my lucky bracelets from Florence + Bauder’s ice cream]

[he or she?]

[all the ladies]

[It’s official]

[proud future parents]

Posted in Baby | Tagged Baby B, baby boys, BaByQ, gender reveal | 2 Comments