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6 gift ideas for new moms

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The clock is ticking. Just over 48 hours to go until Christmas Day. This year, Hanukkah is as well! Still have some presents you haven’t bought yet? No worries. I’m the last person who is going to judge you this year.

If you’re looking for something for the new mom in your life, you’re in luck. There are a number of great options that can get to you pretty quickly, some of which you can even have in hand and ready to go. Here are some of my favorite items I’ve found especially useful as of late to get you thinking.

Lalabu Soothe Shirt. This is one of my favorites! Moms with a new little one will love this option, which allows you to keep your wee one snuggled up to you while they are between 7 and 15 pounds. The shirt is available via their site or also via Amazon (and yes, with my favorite – Prime shipping). They even have a version of this one available for new dads!

Lara Ziobro - Grits in the City - Food Blogger - Mom Blogger - NYC Blogger
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holiday recipe round-up

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This year, I’ve been behind on holiday prep on all levels. If you’ve found yourself right up against the holidays and haven’t begun to think through some holiday recipes, here’s a round up of some of my favorites to get your thoughts going. These have been some favorites for our family and friends. Hope you’re able to enjoy some of these as well!

Lara Ziobro - NYC Lifestyle Blogger - Food Photographer - Food Blogger

manhattan holiday must dos

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There’s nowhere like New York City during the holidays. Once we pass Thanksgiving, all stores start to decorate for the holidays. Decorations range from cheap drug store style to bigger operations, like the stores along Fifth Avenue and Macy’s flagship location. It all adds up to one magical city.

There are so many things that go on around NYC during the holidays that it can be hard to check out even the few that you’ve decided on for a given year. With our move continuing to creep closer, this year’s plans have even more significance. Here are some of the top types of holiday activities with some thoughts on which one is the best in each.

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snow brunching at la loteria

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Grits in the City - Lara Ziobro - Food Blogger - NYC Blogger - Mom Blogger

This weekend, we had our first snow in NYC. It didn’t matter how much snow accumulated Friday night, I knew that come Saturday morning I was going to be making my way to the West Village to La Loteria. It was my friend JB’s birthday, which also was the first time I was getting out with a group of friends since Q’s arrival. So. Excited. I can’t even begin to summarize how much I have been looking forward to this. This photo sort of begins to get at it though!

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holidays at chelsea market

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This Polar Vortex business really managed to put a kink in today’s last minute holiday shopping. As opposed to prior years where I wrapped this all up by Thanksgiving, I’ve found myself scrambling at the last minute, having been distracted all these weeks with getting into a routine with Q. Thankfully, I knew there is one spot in the city I could go to and have quick access to a number of vendors under one roof.

Grits in the City - Lara Ziobro - Food Blogger - Lifestyle Blogger - Mom Blogger

Chelsea Market quickly became one of my favorite spots in the city. I think I was a bit inclined to like it a lot from the get go, seeing as so many of the vendors there are food-related. I really like their spice market and I can spend forever, if allowed, sampling all of the amazing olive oils, balsamic vinegars and salts at The Filling Station. [Read more…]

a wintry afternoon in the east village

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I’ve said it before, but I’m getting super nostalgic for all my NYC favorites. Every day that passes is another day closer to our move out of the city. Being back in Manhattan has made it even easier to revisit some of my faves with Baby Q in tow, even if sometimes getting there is a bit of a walk. I bundled up Q, put him in our Ergobaby 360 carrier zipped up inside my new Modern Eternity 3 in 1 coat and we were off!

While it might be chilly, I find everything in NYC even more enjoyable while NYC is dolled up in its holiday best. You’ll find “Christmas tree farms” sprinkled across NYC’s street corners and every store from boutique to bar decorated with all things red, green and sparkly. [Read more…]

overnight oats

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After two months home on maternity, I’ve learned that making a proper breakfast with a hungry baby is harder than I’d thought. I also figured that my maternity all-carb diet needed to change somewhat post-baby. I was reading about the fabulousness of overnight oats. The idea of prepping something at night that can just be pulled out of the fridge and that’s healthy? Win-win! [Read more…]

last minute brunch at greenwich project

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This post is from a few months back, but just now getting to sharing it. Makes me ready for brunch, round next!

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I’ve been doing lots of “one last” this and that’s, just so I did a few little things for me before Baby Z’s arrival. Being in NYC, one of those was obviously a nice weekend brunch. The question is not if there’s somewhere good to brunch, but where. I felt compelled to use this opportunity to try another new spot out of the pages upon pages of options from OpenTable.

Greenwich Project - West Village

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the art of surrender

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Lara Ziobro - Grits in the City - NYC Blogger - Mommy Blogger - LIfestyle Blogger

Seven weeks. What a difference seven weeks can make. There’s nothing magical about seven weeks aside from that’s where we are in our journey. It was just over seven short weeks ago that our little boy made his way into the world 10 days early (or one day prior to the induction planned with my OB). Even before he arrived, he was calling the shots.

I knew that things would change once he was here, but I didn’t even come close to estimating all of the ways. Since early this year, we’ve been reading books. So many books. And taking classes. Long classes on topics such as feeding, infant CPR and childbirth. I even joined a weekly expectant mom’s group through The Moms Groups just to talk through all of the ongoing things we were sorting through in the months leading up to the big day. In general, T and I spent as much time as we could to prepare.

Nothing though fully prepared me for that first moment when everyone left the room and it was just me and baby Q in the hospital. I remember being so sore and tired post-delivery – and absolutely terrified, having never even held a baby younger than 4 months. And while I know we’re supposed to help to teach him a number of things along the way, here are four things he’s taught me in these first few weeks. [Read more…]