Life and Loves Lately

Whew. Who knew having 2 kids would take up so much of my time - in the best kind of way.

Whenever we welcomed Jack into our family in April, we hit the ground running with all family of 4 activities and haven’t really looked back - and (be still my heart) I can’t believe we’ve been running at full speed for 5 months on Monday.

Abram has adjusted to life as big brother, thankfully, and has been really great in helping with Jack. At first, he wanted nothing to do with baby brother, but thankfully he got used to this new comer quickly. We started potty training him late summer and if you have any tips on how to get him to go #2 on the potty - I’d be so grateful! We’ve tried bribes and rewards, and even consequences - no luck. Hopefully we will cross that hill soon!

While coming to grips with the fact that we now have two tiny humans to keep alive…

I have been taking notes on which items I’ve used and loved now that I have two kiddos… Hopefully this helps any parents who are in, or just about to join this season of life that we are in as well. My thoughts and prayers are with you :)

THESE ALSO MAKE GREAT GIFTS!

1 - The Nanit Monitor - Nanit FINALLY offers a split screen for parents who need 2 separate feeds! Praise the Lord! We were having to switch from app to app using two different brands, but once they came out with this software update we dumped the other brand and bought another Nanit. Worth every penny!

2 - Muslin Burp Cloths - Jack has days where he will spit up (what feels like) everything he just consumed in his bottle. Some days are perfectly fine, others are a fountain of half digested formula… these are so absorbent and a great size!

3 - Plastic Step Stools - These step stools come as a 2 pack, which is perfect if you have multiple potty situations in your home like we do! They can wipe clean, or be hosed off easily. Multiple colors available, and we went with Gray.

4 - Bulb Booger Sucker - Once I used this clear bulb, I will never purchase another one again. It comes apart in 2 pieces, that’s right, friends, so you can pop it in the dishwasher to sanitize… it is GENIUS, and worth every penny.

5 - Road Map Rug - We purchased this for Abe’s 3rd birthday and I have loved it. It is 3’x5’ and Jack loves tummy time on it too! For the price, it is definitely a great quality and I love that it isn’t ugly primary colors :)

6 - Star Lamp - This has been a lifesaver for us with Abram. He loves all things space and he gets to choose what color stars get projected! We also plugged it into a smart plug (see #10), so Alex has it scheduled to turn off at 10:00pm every night. So fun!

7 - The Story of God - Abe is loving all things books and puzzles lately, so it’s really important to us that we are infusing a great message into his brain and heart from a young age (hello amazing gift idea!). These books come as a set of 5 and in a beautiful gold-foil keepsake box - which is almost as beautiful as the messages inside! They are jam-packed with gospel-centered Theology, written for kids to understand and even gives activities at the end of each book to apply the ideas to your every day life. AND - bonus, it’s on sale this week! They are even having a facebook party to celebrate the launch of being on Amazon Prime, and giving away a ton of amazing prizes… you won’t want to miss out!

8 - Fisher Price Infant Chair - Abe loved this, and Jack does too! I love to think that not only is he practicing sitting up, but also it’s like vertical tummy time - did I just create a thing? It comes in a few color ways, and would definitely be a fabulous shower gift that not everyone thinks to put on their registry.

9 - Snuggle Me Organic - I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it a million more times - we love our Snuggle Me. I bought another one for Jack when he was born, knowing that Abe wouldn’t want to share his “boat” with baby. We even fold it in half against the couch and use it as a “chair” for Abe and Jack to sit in. So fun, and lots of colors!

10 - Smart plugs! We live and die by the smart plugs in our house and use Apple Home Kit for pretty much everything. These plugs are great quality and a great price!

11 - Color Block Backpack - We have a running joke in our family, because I call it a book bag, and Alex calls it a backpack… which team are you on? Either way, this bag comes in so many fun color ways, and it a fabulous price! We switched Abe over to this bag for Church nursery and fits pretty much everything in it - could easily be used for a daycare or preschool situation!

Looking for more gift ideas? Check out my
other blog posts!

If I was having a baby girl...

If I was having a baby girl, let’s just say we would be broke. HA. They say that clothes shopping for baby girls is easier because everything is so darn cute - but what I have found, is that “cute” comes with a price a lot of times.

This pregnancy we took advantage of the fact that I had already met my deductible and went ahead and got the DNA testing done early. Whenever you do this, the doctor’s office puts the results of the bloodwork, including the genetic make ups (odds of genetic disorders), and the gender all in one little cute envelope for you to open. I am not a huge fan of gender reveal parties for myself - although I love going to them for friends. I don’t like the pressure of being excited or disappointed either way in front of a group of people. This pregnancy, I am not going to lie, I truly wanted a little girl. My symptoms during the first trimester were so different than when I was pregnant with Abram that I thought for sure that is what the envelope said. I got the call that the results were in and so I drove like a mad woman to the office and picked up the envelope - only to wait for Alex to get home to open it together… and there it was… a bright blue heart over the words “it’s a boy”. Whomp whomp. We called our families and celebrated that there were no genetic issues shown on the test - but I would be lying to you if I told you that I was immediately thrilled about being even more outnumbered by the boys club in my house. It took me a bit to fall in love with the idea that Abe would be a brother to a brother - and now I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Whenever I did the round up of clothes for boys (a personal area of expertise I might add), a few girl moms asked if I would do a round up of girly options too. After polling my instagram community, you girl mommas came out of the woodworks with a unanimous “YES” to seeing a girly option from my perspective. Please keep in mind that I don’t have much (if any) experience in what type of hair bow is best, or if bloomers or leggings are vital to an outfit. What I CAN show you is what I would dress my daughter in if the good Lord ever smiles down upon me and gives us a girl one day. We aren’t talking about that possibility now, though - let’s get through delivery #2 before that topic comes up again LOL.

Baby Boy is on the Brain!

I went for my 31 week sonogram on Thursday and our mammoth baby is weighing in very large and in charge! We scheduled my c-section, and the stage is set - only a handful of weeks left! The closer we get, the more excited I am to get all the baby cuddles and snuggles again. I know my toddler will instantly feel like a teenager, and I am really pumped to welcome our second son to get some fresh baby smells (IYKYK).

Our baby shower is coming up next weekend - which makes me feel all the feels as people surround us in support and excitement. I feel so honored that others would pitch in to help set us up for success as we move into the next season of life - building community is so vital, friends.

[Backstory: Whenever we moved from Atlanta to North Dallas at the end of 2020, I was in a really hard place mentally and didn’t know how to get out of the hole of loneliness - a feeling that many are familiar with, thanks to the pandemic. Since we didn’t have any family that lived in ATL, we got to choose our family by establishing our friend group. These 10 or so close friends did LIFE with us, y’all. They were there in emergencies, in grief, in the highest of joys, in the mundane. I am so grateful for the season we experienced there, and for the friends that we still carry with us. Moving to a brand new city, I knew Alex’s family, a few of my own family members, and Alex’s childhood buddies - but didn’t really have community to call my own. This is something that I am still working on to establish, because let’s be honest - making friends as an adult is freaking hard. I’ll expound more on that in a later post.]

Whenever I was prepping my registry this time, I started by going through all of Abram’s old baby clothes to take inventory on what we actually needed. Turns out, our first son was very well clothed and we don’t need much on that front this round - just a few seasonal items since Abe was born in August and this little man will be born in April. Whenever I purchased clothes for Abe last round, I tried to focus on solids and neutrals, just in case the good Lord would smile down on us one day and give my heart a baby girl. She would wear the same neutrals, but with a distinguishing “girly” bow. I know that most people prefer the pinks and purples and rainbows and all things glittery for girls, but my heart says all black, all the time - HA! In the spirit of handing down clothes, even from boys to girls, I have included some of my favorite neutral baby clothes to really give you an idea of the cuteness I was pulling out of my tubs for this impending butterball-sized miracle. As an additional bonus, I was chatting with my sister-in-law, Katie, and she requested some baby boy Easter outfit ideas as well - these are fun to have on hand for not only church functions, but also weddings and other festivities that need a bit more pizzazz than the average loungewear.

Let me know which outfit you love best - I’m honestly all gushy over every single one.

Don’t Forget: We also carry several onesies in our Etsy shop that have fun sayings on them!

Welcome to Our (in progress) Kitchen

One thing I love about my husband is his keen eye to always picture how to make our lives easier and simpler. Alex sees a need and does the research to make it 100x better - what a blessing to our home! Even when he was pursuing me in dating, he hardly ever came over to my apartment empty-handed. He would see needs that my roommate and I had and the next time he would come over - he would bring that item with him to fill that need… even a new microwave after seeing we didn’t have one! He’s a keeper, folks.

It seems like a weekly occurrence that someone reaches out to him to ask about a resource or product that he’s found or what he recommends for a problem area in the home… I’m telling you - if Alex Miller recommends it, you know it’s GOOD.

Whenever we moved to our home in North Texas at the end of 2020, we inherited a kitchen that was far from my ideal dream scenario. I am a huge fan of light and bright - and this space had dark counters, dark cabinets, bad tile floor, no natural lighting - I mean, the list goes on and on. While we are still saving our pennies for some improvements (like painting the cabinets), we’ve really made headway in quite a few areas that improve the functionality of our kitchen and I wanted to share some of our favorite upgrades we’ve made so far!

NUMBER ONE - As a lady who is well into her third trimester of pregnancy now, I will vouch that these lower cabinet metal sliding pull out drawers are worth every single penny. These pull outs are super durable, but not too heavy - and come in a few different sizes to get the most sliding square feet you can for your particular lower cabinets. Alex also surprised me at Christmas and got a sliding spice rack for our upper cabinet as well and let’s just say - I totally felt like I was on the very nice list after that!

NUMBER TWO - One of the first things that we did for our kitchen whenever we moved in was replace the boring pantry door with this beautiful metal and frosted glass barn door. I do wish it was a bit more frosted, but I have plans to add some paper to the back to reduce the opacity a bit. Alex also installed a motion sensor light switch inside the pantry so his loving and sweet wife (cough cough) wouldn’t forget to turn the light off (over and over and over again). We also discovered that we needed a guide on the floor to help with stability. This was a need that we had because we live with a toddler who figured out pulling the door and swinging it was the most fun thing to do in our home. We stopped that real quick!

NUMBER THREE - Let me tell you about this faucet y’all. Alex Miller has installed this faucet in four different homes now - our home in ATL, my parent’s home, his parent’s home and now in our new home in TX. We cannot recommend this enough! The look is streamline and fabulous, sure - but the functionality of it is the biggest selling point. It has a strong magnet to hold the sprayer in place, and the two-function spray head goes from normal faucet status to amazing sweeper style high powered spray that gets all the things off of all the dishes. We will never go back.

NUMBER FOUR - You may have seen this bottle sprayer on tiktok - but Alex Miller purchased this for our ATL house long before it’s debut on the app. We found ourselves knee deep in formula-coated bottles to wash as new parents, and in our sleep deprived state came a beautiful ray of sunshine in the form of this bottle washer. We had an extra hole in our counter top that was being covered up by a faucet base plate and the rest is history. We loved it so much, that we’ve already installed one of these bad boys in our new home. Big enough for yeti cups… powerful enough for the deepest gunk.

NUMBER FIVE - If you have a sink in an island with a garbage disposal, you know the pain and suffering of taking your sloppy wet hands and having to open the cabinet to get to the switch to turn on said disposal. Not in Alex Miller’s house! He found a solution to make life a ton easier - this Cordless Air Switch Kit and quickly installed it himself. The got the finish to match our sink, and today? No more crouching, no more struggling with those darn child safety locks with wet hands - just a simple, easy to use button that sits atop our counters. We live a beautiful life.

NUMBER SIX - Looking for one of the most practical ways to upgrade your kitchen? Start with the garbage disposal. We upgraded ours from a teeny-tiny-will-barely-fit-a-grape disposal to this beast and never looked back.

NUMBER SEVEN - We couldn’t do a kitchen post without giving a proper shout out to our most favorite kitchen accessory, like, ever. Our Opal ice maker has lived in our home for years now and with the proper regular cleaning, will be with us for a long time. Listen… we have some friends in our life that have admitted to swinging by our place just for our ice. If you’re looking for a splurge kitchen item, look no further… and while you’re at it, pour some Dr. Pepper over your new favorite sonic-stye ice and remember us.

If you’re wanting a photo of our kitchen - feast your eyes! We’ve come a long way, and still have a few task items to do: painting cabinets, vent hood installation, cabinet pulls, pennant lights above the island, etc. By no means do we have this extravagant kitchen that you see on instagram, but boy is it starting to feel more and more like home.

Let's Chalk It Up

One of the best things about the home we left behind in Atlanta whenever we moved to Texas was our chalk wall - located right as you walked in the front door. All of our walls around the house were a beautiful creamy white, but after thinking about it for a couple of years, I wanted to really make a pop in our entry. I went back and forth about the color of chalk paint I wanted to use - going between a green and a charcoal, and after decided charcoal - I never looked back! I loved it so much.

The charcoal chalk paint we used is made by Rust-oleum, and loved the quality and finish. Because our wall was on the smaller side, we only needed one quart, but it did require 2 full coats in order to have full coverage.

Whenever I host parties at my home, either for birthdays, showers, going away parties, etc, I always do my best to make the honoree feel the most special with the details. Having a chalk wall to write on really makes a great first impression and sets the tone for the occasion! I posted a video of a timelapse of me creating a piece of art for a going away party. Here is how I make large scale artwork easy:

  • Step 1: I take a photo of the wall that I plan to work on.

  • Step 2: Using an iPad and an apple pencil, I bring the photo into the app “procreate” and start drawing my vision on another layer placed on top of the photo so I can get the correct scale.

  • Step 3: After finishing my artwork on the iPad, I plug my iPad into our projector using an HDMI cable. This mirrors the screen of my iPad and I project the artwork on the chalk wall!

  • Step 4: After I get the perspective of the projector lined up with the wall, I start copying the artwork onto the chalk wall and boom! Your artwork has come to life!

  • Pro Tip: I only use good old original white chalk whenever I create my artwork. If you choose a chalk pen, it will not come off of your wall easily (if at all!). To erase, I use a beach towel to wipe the wall down and it makes it super fast!

Here’s a short list of supplies I use:

Chalk Paint

Chalk

IPad

Apple Pencil

Projector

HDMI Cable

Valentine's Day Favorites

Whenever I think of Valentine’s Day, I think of love (obviously), but also ways to spoil the people in my life who continuously pour into me and my family! Whether it’s one of these fun items, a hand written note, or an act of service - choose a way to show the love this month. Here are some items from Amazon that have quick shipping that we love and use often in our home!

11 VALENTINE’S DAY GIFTS FROM AMAZON

  1. Towel Warmer - we seriously use this every day during the winter and it is pure luxury! It fits both of our bath sheets inside and comes with a timer so you won’t forget to turn it off ever.

  2. Volcano Candle - you cannot go wrong with this signature scent! It comes in a variety of sizes and price points and is perfect for Galentine’s Day too!

  3. Barefoot Dreams Throw Blanket - I actually got this for Alex for Valetine’s Day because he always steals mine! It is a great size, not only for me, but also for my 6’5” hubby.

  4. Eye Mask Massager - This eye massager is a GAME changer, friends. Alex got me this as a gift and if you struggle with headaches like I do, this baby is going to be your new BFF. It has heat, air pressure and vibration modes to alternate through.

  5. Egg Cooker - Not only do we own this, we also have given it as a gift to multiple people! It makes hard boiled eggs easily, and even will cook omelets - YUMMO.

  6. Toddler Two Piece PJs - I am a sucker for themed PJs for Abram, and Carters launders so well!

  7. Outdoor Scavenger Hunt - We have the indoor set for Abram and he loves it! We can’t wait to get this set as well and try it out once the weather is a little warmer. Great quality and price.

  8. Apple Watch Band - Looking for an inexpensive upgrade to your apple watch? This band is so cute and dresses up your watch for a more special occasion.

  9. Oh Snap! Game - We pulled this game out whenever we have company over all the time! It is high quality and simple enough to have easy conversations while playing it.

  10. Stoneware Mug - Who doesn’t love a neutral stoneware mug? Perfect to throw a coffee gift card in and give as a gift to friends and neighbors! Big perk: it’s dishwasher and microwave safe.

  11. Scout Pocket Rocket Bag - One word: Pockets. This bag has 6 external pockets, and zips close and has an interior packet that zips closed - it’s perfect for new moms because the material is wipeable and water-resistant, and it has a sturdy hard bottom to literally take everywhere.

We hope you enjoy these products and gifts as much as we do! Let us know below what you think.

A Fresh Start - Looking Forward to 2022

To all of our faithful friends and customers,

As Alex and I have been praying and chatting about how to move forward in 2022 with Emily Can Letter, we can’t help but have this overwhelming feeling that 2022 is going to be a benchmark year for our family. Pivoting our business can be scary, but we are excited to have a fresh start.

Here’s the back story:

Whenever we were engaged to be married in 2015, I was approached by a major manufacturer about my hand lettering art that I had been posting on social media. In short, we signed a licensing deal with them to get a cut of whatever they produced and sold to stores all over the country - both to other small businesses and to big box retailers. It was a glorious check that came every month. After about 1.5 years of partnering with this company, they dropped us with no warning. It was pretty devastating to my mini muffin heart, but little did I know, it was actually a blessing in disguise. I was finally free to do my own thing! To create whatever I wanted! But what now?

Fast forward to Summer of 2018. Alex and I had been talking about getting this thing called a “laser cutter”… it was way above my pay grade at the time - I have never been blessed with the gift of being technology minded… in fact, the thought of spending thousands of dollars on a machine that I didn’t really know what to do with or how to use was super scary for me. Although Alex is not the biggest dreamer, he is is really big doer. He takes risks where I cower in fear. He stretches me to actually try, and not just be content with my life. Thank heaven for him, because little did I know the leap of faith we took would be one of the best financial decisions we’ve ever made. That first little laser cutter only lasted us about a year and a couple of months before Alex was already researching bigger and faster options. I will forever be thankful for that season, but boy whenever we got the upgrade, it was like a night and day difference! It was another big risk for us financially, and Alex had to arm wrestle me about it a couple of times (again, wallowing in the contentment), but we did it. DID IT. In October of 2019, just shortly after our first son was born, we received our “as expensive as a car, so it lives in the garage” laser cutter - the size of a queen mattress, mind you, and we hit the ground running harder than ever.

I’ll never forget those beginning days of figuring it all out - thankfully with Alex’s handyman skills, and his gift for technology, he got us all set up and trained this granny brain to work it well.

In April of 2021, I was able to quit my full time job and stay home to work on my mental health (another blog for another day), and work on our lasering business full time instead. This was the first chance I’ve ever gotten to work for myself, and it was a hard transition at first, but boy has it been a blessing to have the freedoms of being a stay at home momma with our son.

Fast forward to 2022 and here I sit, typing out this blog letter to you and looking forward to all that 2022 can bring us. We’ve come so far, and by the grace of God, we are excited about what’s to come. Personally, I am pregnant again with our second son, and due in April - fun days ahead! We are also pivoting the business to be an umbrella of different facets. We will still be doing our making and creating and designing and selling of ECL goodies - creating more new items than ever before. We will also be adding partnerships with several companies that are like minded to our company - both with quality products and with excellent customer service. We want you to know that if we recommend it, we truly believe in it. We will also be promoting items from amazon and other big box stores that we use everyday and LOVE. It’s not only going to help our family financially, but also build our community with offering lots of different items, not just what we make to order.

As I look ahead, I am truly thankful for all of the support over the years. Some of y’all have been with us since the beginning, and what a wild ride it has been! Thank you for sticking with us and hanging on for the seasons to come!


xoxo - Emily


October 2019 - the day we got our big laser cutter (the biggest business investment yet!)