Here’s some of our favorite finds we’ve seen featured on Momegranate:

Just while browsing to write this post we picked up a couple products to buy later, it’s a little dangerous! Whether it’s self-tanner, or the unbeatable Moroccan oil for you, or a simpler way to grow fresh vegetables, carry your groceries, or remove a splinter, or even just a pop of color for your computer desk, it’s all perfectly curated and we can’t wait to see what they post tomorrow!

Follow along via their blog, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter pages.

I grew up in southern Indiana in a very, very small town and headed to university to pursue a career in Media Relations (I wanted to be a news reporter, but my plans were foiled when I quickly learned that most news is bad news and I didn’t have the heart to stomach the delivery of sad stories. It took only one visit to the animal shelter for a personal interest piece to make me flee the news scene altogether!) I met my husband during a semester-long seminar where we filmed a documentary for American Red Cross and American Cancer Society. He was the director; I was a producer, and although we disagreed on everything at first, we slowly agreed on one thing: we were crazy in love.

He was a year older and moved to Los Angeles to pursue film (he won an Emmy!) and I stayed home to finish school. And although it was hard, I credit that nearly-two-year long distance relationship with developing the communication skills that keep our marriage strong to this day. Shortly after my graduation, I moved out to Los Angeles and we married. We bought a house, adopted two dogs and lived six years footloose and fancy-free a few blocks from the beach. I worked a lot of jobs in media, fashion, music, entertainment, advertising and PR before realizing that my dream job didn’t quite exist, so I might have to create it. Meanwhile, I had started Design for Mankind at a job where I’d become an impromptu (highly untrained!) art director as a place to catalog my visual inspiration and share ideas with the team. The blog skyrocketed after I shared our Los Angeles bedroom makeover (this was in 2007) and I’ve been writing and sharing and creating ever since.

A few years ago, we made a difficult decision to move from L.A. to the midwest to help take care of my husband’s father who had been recently diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. It was a turning point for us – choosing family over fortune – and it’s been a cornerstone for our life decisions ever since. We lost my father-in-law a short year-and-a-half later and we still miss him daily, but are so very grateful for the presence we all had in each other’s lives during the hard months of his slow decline.

Since then, we’ve been making an effort to live an intentionally creative life here in the midwest, renovating a home for HGTV.com and partnering with various websites to generate creative content via film, photography and writing. And, of course, I’m still blogging at the same site that launched it all, although I’ve recently added Design for MiniKind to the mix – a place for me to channel my love for kid’s design and modern parenthood.

Although I love-love-love my job, it can easily take over my life. There are no office hours on the Internet – no security guard that locks the doors at night. And I’ve always been a worker bee that has a hard time saying no to projects that sound exciting or emails that ask to be answered. So earlier this year, I made the decision to “slow blog” – maintaining regular hours during the day to answer emails/style photo shoots/freelance write, but to no longer blog just for the sake of blogging. Instead, I’ve been posting when I’m inspired – and only then. It’s been a welcome change, and a change that was fueled in large part with my daughter’s birth. I didn’t want to spend a minute away from her doing something that I wasn’t proud of or inspired by. I realize that not everyone has the chance to choose where they place their creative efforts, and I wanted to honor that choice by focusing on things that truly inspired my heart.

It’s been an amazing change, and I’m really grateful for the way my readers responded. I felt loved and embraced and encouraged, and I love seeing fellow bloggers adapt a similar pace. There’s a real world out there – a world without Instagram or Pinterest or TeuxDeux – and I’m on a mission to re-find it.

We had a little e-Sit Down with Erin, read what she had to say about life, motherhood, and tiny baby Bee after the jump!

1. What was the most unexpected surprise (hard or wonderful or both) about motherhood?

If you would have asked me this when Bee was a newborn, I would say it was the sacrifice of our bodies and minds and spirits to this tiny being. When newborns arrive, they bring bags that they promptly drop off under their mother’s eyes, scattering remnants of onesies and car seats and diaper creams all throughout their mother’s mind. It was a terribly difficult adjustment for me as I realized I could no longer form a sentence that didn’t involve breast milk or soothing or reflux.

But now, Bee is nine months old and forming a personality, and the newborn days are long gone. There are less tears, more laughter. And yet, it’s still hard in a different way. The surrender of control has been the hardest for me these days – walking the tightrope between making good decisions and realizing that all of the good decisions in the world can’t control the outcome. Accidents happen, no matter how many ways we attempt to babyproof our lives. And when you love someone as much as you love your child, it’s a harsh reality to face. So I suppose I’m surprised by how much love can sometimes look like gripping anxiety – and how a simple baby giggle can wash that same anxiety away in a heartbeat. It’s a very complex love, this parenting thing.

2. How do you balance work and family? Some moms call it a balance, some a juggle, and some just make trade-offs, what’s your take on “having it all”?
You know, my mantra these days has been to set priorities for the things that matter and to set realistic expectations for the rest. I wrote a bit about this here, but I’ve been making a serious effort to delete the phrase “I don’t have time” from my vernacular. Time is surprisingly malleable and we all have schedules we adhere to – some “busier” than others. But I’m a firm believer that if you set priorities and manage your expectations, there will always be enough time in the day for the things that matter most (as long as we remember to focus on them!). Our home has plenty of dust bunnies and I’m in dire need of a haircut, but I’m choosing to put my time elsewhere for now. And I think, for me, it’s important to make that distinction that how we spend our time is a choice. We’re not shackled to our inbox or office or calendar – unless we choose to be.

My priorities right now, this very second, are to maintain a healthy relationship with my husband, care for (and find enjoyment in) the early months of my daughter’s life and end the day feeling fulfilled, restful and at peace. So if Bee’s avocados aren’t always organic or I haven’t made time to plan the perfect 1-year-old birthday party for her, that’s OK. I’m choosing where to focus my time and energy – and that, to me, is the only way I can “have it all.”

3. What’s your diaper bag necessity, or must have item for Bee?
Oh gosh, I am such a first-time mother that I’ve stuffed my diaper bag to the brim with toys and snacks and outfit changes. It’s nuts, really. But I’d say if I had to choose just one diaper bag necessity, it would be a board book. She loves this one, and it almost always buys me a good 10 minutes of Bee Entertainment at a restaurant or church.

4. In 60 years what do you want Bee to remember you for?
I’d love for Bee to remember a mother who set boundaries with love, responded with grace and handled with care. I want her to remember a woman who would happily offer her hands to help and words to encourage. And I think, most of all, I want her to know what every mother wants their child to know: that they were loved unconditionally.

See more of Erin via Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest / Instagram and
A peek into Erin’s day-to-day that we loved via So How Was Your Day?

Photography by Woodnote.

More Moms You Should Meet: a writer, an artist, a designer, an ex-pat, and a magazine editor!

There are so many awesome products, but we really love these colorable invitations for a party. How darling would it be to receive a hand-colored invite by the birthday boy or girl?

See more Draw Me a Lion here.

Check out this sugary sweet Danish company right here at Poppy Rose’s website. We also caught wind of their awesome sale via their Facebook page.

As parents, Dane and I are well aware this is simply a result of our poor eating habits. The kids are just doing as we do. But, even as we change our ways and focus on healthier eating, they are asking for chips and dip. I’m certain most of you have success stories, healthy tips, and tricks to help your kids fall in love with veggies? Please share! Thanks in advance, and of course, Happy FRYday!

–Nicole

We are all prepping for this weekend as it is Father’s Day and a wonderful excuse to shower the fathers in our lives with love. Our husbands have especially earned some extra recognition, as we’ve undertaken running this site, they have been so supportive and encouraging. They deserve the world, but here’s a small little token we think they’ll love, too.

When guest designer Amy of Ink’d Designs approached us with this idea with the qualifier , “Don’t all dads love ice cream?” we laughed, because in our lives that seems to be pretty spot on! So if the fathers in your life fit into this category, we’ve got the perfect gift and printable!

You’ll need the triangle waffle cones and a 1.5 quart container of ice cream. Send it to your favorite printer and you’re good to go!

Thanks for this awesome printable, Amy! She also created a super cute ad-lib printable for Father’s Day here. See more of Ink’d Designs on her blog, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest pages.

Check out Salt City Emporium:

You can see the whole collection on Salt City Emporium’s Etsy page, and of course follow along via Instagram @saltcityemporium. They have some exciting things coming down the pipe soon, like tops, dresses, skirts and baby accessories! This upcoming fall season you can expect to see an adult line too, Salt City is definitely a company to watch!

Photography by Cee Bee.

We played with the saturation levels of the dye, usually Rit brand would suggest you dilute the dye into gallons of water, for this tank we just dyed it straight into the mixture. It gave it such a rich color and is something to keep in mind when you’re looking for that ombre effect: diluting as you go can help to create that effect in less time! (Note: dye yours in a large tote, sink, or bucket, we used this too small bowl for the sake of the pretty picture and it was humorous to say the least!)

We love the messy look of this one, and are excited to tweak the saturations on more dyed projects!

Have you crafty readers had any luck with Summer clothing upgrades? We’d love to see! If you have a tutorial let’s link up! Just comment below or email us: hello at smallfryblog dot com.

Thankfully when we brought this idea to our friends at Caravan Shoppe, (Melanie designed this very site!) they caught our vision and created this beautiful free printable for us! The concept is simple enough for a toddler to understand, and we’ll admit, it is pretty darling to watch them setting the table. Although, keeping those elbows off may take a few more tries.

They’ve created four awesome designs, all free for everyone to download! Thanks Caravan, you’re the best!
You know we’re going to ask, what successes have you all found at teaching manners? We are ALL ears!

Tip: Laminate these babies for multiple usage.

See more of Caravan Shoppe’s printables for kids here.

Now don’t get me wrong, Hayes is one of the most incredibly sweet and amazing kids I’ve ever known, and I am insurmountably proud of him everyday. It’s just that when those all too familiar frustrating personality traits witness themselves in him, it sort of throws me back to my childhood. To a time when those same things got me into trouble, caused me heart ache, made me feel sad or small. I simultaneously want to hug him and tell him it will be okay, and also run and hide, because seeing how hard it is to deal with a Mini-Me shakes my self-concept to the core.

Now back to this Instagram picture. I was reading the comments on the feed, another friend said something that sort of changed my life. (See darling husband? Instagram isn’t a complete waste of time!) She said that she believed we are sent children that are just like us as a way to teach us to more fully love and accept ourselves. Even now, a month later, reading those words sort of paralyzes me into a deep reflection. I am constantly holding myself to this invisibly high and unattainable standard. To do better, be better, lose the pride, forget the need to be right, say “sorry” first, be less critical, be more fun, be less self-absorbed, be better understood. A never ending game of personality addition and subtraction. I picture it like those cartoon accountants with their green visors, never-ending calculations and miles long strips of receipt paper, and it’s exhausting.

So what does this mean for Hayes and me today? It means nurturing the noble qualities, and teaching him better ways to cope with the frustrating ones. It means asking myself everyday, “How would three year old Emily have wanted to be treated in this situation?” and trying my darndest to do that. To picking my battles, to saying “yes!” and “sure!” and “of course we can, Hayes!” as much as I can in a day because positivity means everything to the both of us. After a few short weeks of this, I almost can’t recognize myself as Hayes’ mother, and I am seeing more of the amazing Hayes, and less of the frustrated short-tempered Emily. It has been absolutely wonderful, self-healing, and my Fryday breakthrough.

–Emily