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Millennial and Parents/ Parenting/ Side Dishes/ Sponsored

Doona Unboxing First Impression

May 23, 2018

We purchased the Doona at a discounted rate in exchange for this post and video. You can now purchase one from Amazon! All of the strollers we looked at were too bulky and hard for one person to manage on the subway. Then I saw the Doona at work. One of my coworkers uses it with her kid and had wonderful things to say about it. After a bit of…

May 23, 2018 By Fatima and Brian

Her Style/ Millennial and Pregnant/ Parenting/ Side Dishes

Fatima’s Maternity Shoot

May 9, 2018

Happy almost Mother’s Day to all moms, mother figures, and soon-to-be moms! Knowing the baby could come this month is surreal. As we get closer to our due date, the word, parent, is starting to set in. But before my wife brings our little one into this world, I organized a maternity shoot for her. A few weeks ago, Fatima said that she never got to enjoy looking pregnant. Besides her bumpies…

May 9, 2018 By Brian

Millennial and Pregnant/ Parenting/ Side Dishes/ Sponsored

23 and Me

April 25, 2018

Over the last two years, we talked about wanting to order an ancestry kit. As our pregnancy progressed, we thought more about our ancestry, health, genetics and how all of this will affect our kids. We reached out to 23 and Me and they sent us two complimentary Health + Ancestry kits. In my senior year of high school, we had to compile a life story (well the first 17…

April 25, 2018 By Brian

Garden Thyme/ Side Dishes

Killing Our Succulent

April 11, 2018

What is happening? Our poor succulent, Sophie, has taken a turn for the worst. Over the last year, Sophie has been deteriorating. We thought she was being watered too much, then too little. We changed her position in the window. But nothing changed her outcome. We intervened. This is a before and after. The first photo is from January, the second is from this weekend. When we first bought her,…

April 11, 2018 By Fatima

Blogging and Small Business/ DIY/ Side Dishes

DIY Light Box

April 4, 2018

When I take photos for our blog, I love using natural light. It’s my preferred lighting and it should be yours, too. We have two large windows in our living room that let in a ton of light. To take advantage of this light, we setup a makeshift studio in the corner of the living room where we style and take photos during the day. However, we can’t always take…

April 4, 2018 By Brian

DIY/ Side Dishes

DIY Metallic Alphabet Magnets

March 14, 2018

I wish I could say that these metallic alphabet magnets were made on my first try. I’m not that perfect. This is my second go-around. The colors don’t quite jive with our space, so I gave them a touch of gold spray paint. Before I get yelled at and judged by other parents out there, I have a second set of letters that I did not spray paint. The baby…

March 14, 2018 By Brian

Cleaning and Organization/ DIY/ Side Dishes

Bathroom Cleaning Hacks to Make Life Easier

February 28, 2018

I’ve successfully avoided cleaning the bathroom on a regular basis until October 2017. I will literally do all other chores before having to clean the bathroom. But every busy season and especially now, I find myself taking 95% of the household chores. I needed to figure out some bathroom cleaning hacks to save time. Growing up, my sister and I had a set list of chores. My main responsibilities would…

February 28, 2018 By Brian

DIY/ Garden Thyme/ Side Dishes

DIY Spring Flower Arrangement

February 21, 2018

I love flowers. They make me happy. They also make the space they fill brighter and happier, too. When it comes to gifts, I am a very simple person. Gift me flowers. For Valentine’s this year, Brian gave me a homemade spring flower arrangement. When we first started dating, Brian sent me a beautiful bouquet of Peruvian (alstroemeria) lilies to my dorm. They were gorgeous. I swear, they lasted for two…

February 21, 2018 By Fatima

Side Dishes/ Travel

5 Steps to Planning a Short Vacation

February 7, 2018

arAt the end of a vacation, no one wants to say they wished they had more time to see [insert tourist attraction]. However, the last thing you want to do is jam pack your itinerary and not experience your destination “in the moment.” But, Brian, how can I do this? Plan, plan, plan. Is it that easy? No. You need to research your destination. Figure out what you want to…

February 7, 2018 By Brian

Celebrations/ Garden Thyme/ Side Dishes/ Valentine's Day

Flower Arrangement for Galentine’s Day

January 31, 2018

I love flowers. I wish I could have a new, beautiful bouquet every week. Instead, I fill up our home with succulents, aloe, and cacti. Brian always gets me flowers for anniversaries, birthdays, and sometimes ‘just-because’. However, I wish I got more ‘just-because’ flowers. After a visit from our friend, Tammy, I felt like an expert florist. I wanted to try to put together a flower arrangement all by myself.…

January 31, 2018 By Fatima

DIY/ Side Dishes

DIY Sea Shell Wreath

January 24, 2018

This post was originally published on June 11, 2013. After four years of dragging it in and out of storage, some of the shells went missing and others needed to be secured. We updated this post on our DIY Sea Shell Wreath with new photos. Lilies and Loafers has affiliate relationships, so we may get a small share of revenue from your purchases. Items are sold by the retailer, not…

January 24, 2018 By Fatima

Maui/ Side Dishes/ Sponsored/ Travel

Hot Mana Hot Sauce Giveaway

January 17, 2018

This Hot Mana Hot Sauce giveaway ended Wednesday, 1/24/18. Thank you to everyone who entered! You guys, we’ll never be done talking about Hawaii. My cousin (the one living in Hawaii) starting crafting a deliciously-hot hot sauce a few months ago. Her first few batches sold out faster than you can say, “Maui”. It was hard for her own family to get a bottle of this stuff! But we were able…

January 17, 2018 By Brian

DIY/ Side Dishes

DIY Instagram Photo Collage Refresh: 2017

December 27, 2017

We put together our photo DIY Instagram photo collage two years ago. Since then, we print updated photos and replace older ones as new memories are made. This year, these are the photos that made the frame. Memories with our DIY Instagram Photo Collage Travels How could we not include our amazing trip to Hawaii and LA? We’ve been talking about it for what seems like 365 days, yet it’s…

December 27, 2017 By Brian

Christmas/ Gift Guides/ Side Dishes

Our Holiday Gift Guide For Everyone in Your Life

December 15, 2017

It snowed last weekend so we didn’t leave the apartment. We did, however, blast Christmas music on repeat. Fatima was about to kill me. We did go outside for a few hours to run errands, go to the gym, and pickup a package at the post office. Never again, do I want to go back to the post office. With the holiday season in full swing, we put together this…

December 15, 2017 By Brian

Celebrations/ Christmas/ DIY/ Garden Thyme/ Side Dishes

DIY Holiday Flower Arrangements

December 6, 2017

Our friend, Tammy, flew in for a quick visit over the weekend. We had her over for boozy brunch and later that night went out for pizza at Pizza Beach and margaritas at Sweet and Vicious. Before she got to our apartment, she asked us if we wanted to do a post on flower arrangements for the holidays. Obviously, we couldn’t say no. One of Tammy’s many master talents is…

December 6, 2017 By Fatima

Celebrations/ Christmas/ Side Dishes

A Very Merry Lilies and Loafers Christmas Playlist

November 24, 2017

Thanksgiving is over. Santa made his appearance at the Macy’s Parade. The Rockefeller Christmas Tree is about to be lit. The Christmas season has officially begun. Now I can play Christmas music out in the open and no one can tell me otherwise. Oh wait, I’ve already been doing that! When we decorated our apartment, I blasted this Christmas playlist. It was the perfect jumpstart to get into the holiday…

November 24, 2017 By Brian

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