Daytime Morning Show: Mother’s Day Brunch Ideas

Happy day friends! Hope all of you had a great Mother’s Day!! We have been busy bees here and recently had the amazing opportunity to appear once again on the Daytime morning show. I love the platform that Daytime provides and as much prep that goes into each segment, I have to say that this part of my life and work is truly one of my favorite things.

Enjoy friends–and note, even though, this is “Mother’s Day,” a lot of these ideas can easily be translated to Valentine’s Day, birthdays and even Father’s Day (that is quickly approaching).

Daytime Morning Show: Springtime Celebration Ideas

Can I get an Amen for Friday?! 

Hope all of you are having a great week! Wanted to share a segment we taped for the Daytime (WFLA) morning show, covering Springtime Celebration ideas. It’s always an amazing pleasure to work with the Daytime staff who are always so gracious and patient (especially for somebody that doesn’t go on television too often).

Despite the nerves I have to say it’s always fun when I get on set and I never get tired of it–I seriously could just stand there and watch all the different television personalities–Cyndi Edwards and Jerry Pennacoli–they are so funny!!

Enjoy friends! And if you work from home and have a chance to catch the show on a regular basis, it’s a must. Daytime Morning Show (WFLA, channel 8). In Tampa/Sarasota/Clearwater, it’s on channel 8, after the Today Show.

LINK BELOW (Set to the Chic Sweets You Tube Channel where you can also see our previous Daytime Segments). 

The Chic Sweets’ Shop and a Little Story about the Shark Tank

Hello friends! Hope all of you are having a great summer. I’m a little sad it seems to go quicker than I’d like. Today I decided to be super ambitious and a did a video blog for today’s post (yes, I know…wow). Please note, I did this in one take, messy hair and five minute make-up so please cut me a little slack on this one. If you would like to see all our Daytime segments and our Shark Tank audition video, please click here.

And here are a few shots I could not help but share (I’m notoriously impatient, as the boss man likes to remind me). More details will be coming in the next few weeks as we announce a shop date and a giveaway, all wrapped up in one.

I’m….so….EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!! HUGE thanks to Shay Cochrane for the images–I love you Shay!

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT: SHAY COCHRANE PHOTOGRAPHY

Our Sunshine and Welcome Baby Girl Box which is part of our “Everyday Collection”

And a glimpse in our “Wedding Collection.” I LOVE this collection!

Yippee! Here it is! Mother’s Day Segment from Daytime!

Happy Wednesday everyone! Hope everyone is having a great day! Happy to share the Mother’s Day segment that aired on Daytime. This is a link to  our You Tube channel that also has all of our Daytime segments.  I could critique myself to no end but then I stopped and saw Baby P look at the television and yell out “Mama!” “Mama!” Thank you, Baby P, for always reminding me to NEVER to take life too seriously!

Enjoy everyone and have a wonderful Happy Mother’s Day. And don’t forget to visit our previous post with a freebie printable!

Mother’s Day Segment on Daytime and a Little Freebie!

Hello everyone! Hope all of you are having a great week!!! I’ve been a busy bee prepping away for a Mother’s Day Table for the Daytime show, which airs on NBC and is hosted by Cyndi Edawards and Jerry Penacoli. Cyndi has not only a big supporter of our work, but she’s someone I consider a very dear friend with one of the biggest hearts EVER. I reached out to her in the very early stages of Chic Sweets, and from the get-go she believed in me and always told me it was going to work out…crazy, right?

The segment will air on Monday and I’ll be sure to share a link to the video when I have available.

Also in honor of Mother’s Day and all the Daytime viewers out there, a little, tiny gift from me to you. Below is the link for the printables that were used for the segment which I hope you will be able to use for your own Mother’s Day table.

Jar Labels-Mother’s Day-Chic Sweets

This is the first time I’ve shared the printables we create on our blog, so hopefully none of you have any trouble opening up the link. Any questions, just send us an email!

Thanks and be on the lookout for the segment…coming soon.

Natalie

Preston George Clamp…20 days

So here I am with, laying in bed and staring at the most beautiful, bundle of goodness you can ever imagine. Can everyday be like this? It’s been almost 20 days since Baby Preston came into our world and it’s been a mixture of total bliss and exhaustion.

I gave birth about a week early before my due date. It’s amazing, the process of child birth. This is my third son, and you would think I would be an ol’ pro at the this, but every experience was so very different. My last birth was very quick, labor was under five minutes and without an epidural. So this time around, I was very much on board  and determined with going “all natural.”

So finally, on October 28, I was induced at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital. My little guy didn’t waste anytime because within the hour, I was grabbing the rail, drenched in sweat, both my husband, Steve and mother becoming a painful blur in the background. I could see their mouths moving, but was just completely lost in my pain that I couldn’t hear anything. My wonderful nurse, Sandy, gave me a knowing glance and said, “Natalie, you are at 7cm. This is it, if we don’t do the epidural, it will be too late. Don’t worry, you have nothing to prove by trying to do this without the epidural.” “Okay, she’s totally right. Let’s do this.” Now, this is where it gets slightly funny. By the time my epidural was put in, my stubborn-self was already pushing. And within 20 minutes, Preston came into the world. Ironically, since the epidural takes about 20 minutes to take full effect, it only really kicked in, once he was born…yeah…I know…too funny. So there I was, holding my bundle of joy, but with no feeling left in my legs!

After the labor, Steve and I settled into our hospital room and examined every bit of goodness, that I call Preston. I mean it. Serious. Perfection. There is just no way to describe it.  Although it was a two-day hospital stay, I truly cherished the time alone with Preston and with Steve. Then it came time for Spencer and Carson my little boys to meet Preston. Wow…10 months of preparing them is nothing when they got to hold them for the very first time. The look on their faces is something I will never forget. And of course, there just aren’t any words to thank my parents for holding down the fort at home while we were at the hospital…I know it wasn’t easy!

So since coming back from the hospital, our lives have been a total whirlwind. Adjusting to life with Baby Preston, introducing Preston to Spencer, Carson and Brendan (my stepson), breastfeeding, trying to not to feel too bad about still walking around in my maternity sweatpants, having a few whytheheckishecrying moments. And oh yeah, still running Chic Sweets. Is our life crazy? Um, yes. Would I have it any other way? No, in fact, I can honestly tell you as sleep deprived as we are right now, I could not feel more blessed than I do right now. This pregnancy and this past year, have been unbelievably difficult, yet, Steve and I have managed to come out of this, stronger and more committed to making our lives work. God is definitely GOOD.

On that note, instread of  turning this blog entry into an epic-novel, I opted to give all of you a slideshow of a few photos, played alongside a song that literally brings tears to my eyes everytime I play it.

Enjoy and THANK YOU so much for all of your support and sweet messages on my facebook page. My family, Steve’s family, all of our amazing friends…Love. Love. Love.

Natalie and Baby Preston

Halloween Inspiration: Daytime Segment

Hello Everyone!  This will be one of the last weekends before wedding season hits us in full force, so I can honestly say it feels beyond amazing to have a day, with minimal plans and with my family. BUT (big BUT) being the woman whose wheels are always turning, I’m gearing up for a Halloween Dessert and Fall dessert table in the next two weeks for a wonderful corporate client, which brings me back to a few segments I did for the morning show, Daytime with Cyndi Edwards and Lindsay MacDonald.

This was the first of a few segments that we did and it was an amazing, amazing experience that I will forever be grateful for.

So on that note, enjoy the segment and your weekend!

World: Meet Baby Preston

This picture was taken by Baby Preston’s big brother, Spencer right after we found we were going to be parents to a BOY. I seriously still can’t believe it. A boy!! My third!! Spencer, was so excited the whole week, just knowing he was to the doctor with Mama. Funny part is that although he was in awe at first… after 10 minutes he was so ready to go and get out of there. That is just how our Spence can be, Baby Preston will meet him soon, five more months to be exact.

Life these days has taken a whole new level of balance. As I’ve finally seem to come out of my first trimester morning sickness, I’ve learned to give my body some rest and just take some time out to pause and step back. That is a whole lot easier said than done since my whole life to this point has been running, working on Chic Sweets, being a mother and wife. But trust me, even in the midst of feeling exhausted with feet more swollen than I’m willing to admit, I could not be more blessed and everyday I look in the mirror and I’m still in awe that I taking care of something so precious.

So before (we) rest our head to sleep, just want to share some thoughts for my little nugget.

*My Dearest Baby Preston: I cannot wait to hold you, cover you with TONS of kisses and have you share in our crazy life. I can’t wait to tell you that you can be ANYTHING you want to be in your life. I can’t wait to show you that will grow up to do something that drives you, that sets your heart on fire and that you can be just like your crazy Mama and graduate from UF doing one thing only to find that your path leads you to something else. Preston, we love you so much and in 5 months I will get to tell you everything that fills my heart and so much more. 

Have a good night, my little nugget. Watch those kicks 😉 

Life Interrupted

So when I started this post, I thought it would be about where I was in my life, Lara Casey’s Making Things Happen workshop and how my path has taken a lot of twists and turns as a business owner, wife and mother. I even made a video–can you believe that? It was hard but I felt only I could explain best in my own words. Then a few days before I planned on posting this video, my grandmother (the center of my universe) suffered a major stroke. And while I felt my world closing in, finding it hard to breathe, let alone get through the day…I was dealing with morning sickness.

Yes, that is right, along with the deepest lows, there can be incredible highs which can totally catch you by surprise. Yup, your’s truly is pregnant and in my second trimester. We were excited and nervous but in the end, we cannot wait to bring another “Clamp” into our home. So with a lot of things happening (understatement), I think it would have been easy for me to turn the off button, close the door, and hide under the covers. A few months ago, that would have been the case, but one of the biggest lessons I learned from Lara Casey’s Making Things Happen, is that me, and only me has the power to make. things. happen. And in the end, I took a deep breath and realized that I can do this. That despite the circumstances and hard lessons, I’m going to get through this and come out of it a better person.

So while I’m still struggling to understand my grandmother’s current health situation and doing everything we can to make her better, I’m reminded every moment of the day that I’m going to be a mommy to another little one, sooner that I can imagine. I guess I can say that today my thoughts are simply to take what life has to give you, whether it be wonderful, great, awful, terrible and find that strength deep inside of you to keep on moving forward. Making the choice to open your eyes, get out of bed and live your life everyday with just love and faith, which is what I seem to be holding onto, everyday. Sorry, if that was a little to preech-y.

Every Last Detail TV: Candy Dessert Tables

This was a video posted for Every Last Detail’s shoot. Enjoy!

Behind the scenes:
1.  Humidity+Natalie’s hair=not good. Thankfully Lyndsey Does Makeup was able to pull me together.
2.  Loved how many times I said “um”