About

About Me

Warm hot chocolate is a favorite drink request from our 3 (now 5) -yr-old son. As my husband describes, it’s “a drink with a built-in serving suggestion.” My son likes everything exactly the way he likes it.

On warmhotchocolate.com, I post about what inspires me: my family, design, crafts, cooking, travel, photography and the color pink. We live in the DFW area, so I also try share ideas about the many things to do with children in the metroplex.

Comments, questions, suggestions? Contact me at juleed [at] gmail.com.

Warm Hot Chocolate Elsewhere

Honest to Nod

Apartment Therapy

Poppytalk

Babble

43 thoughts on “About”

  1. Hi,

    I really like you site. In a few weeks my daughter turns 3 en she loves Charlie & Lola. When I was searching for some pics for her inventation I discovered your site. Very nice :)

    Greetings from Holland,
    Majella

    Reply

  2. Hi,

    wish my little ones could come and have warm hot chocolate with you guys for an afternoon, I have found your website a perfect fresh of breath air, especially since my creativity gets stifled by PND and I am 1 year on from havng my 2nd son William, Barnaby will be 3 in November. Inspiration you are…and I am in awe of the ability to create fun activities for your beautiful children and then have the fine quality of capturing your life in a snap shot and being so kind in sharing your natural ability of motherhood and still bringing new flair to what can be mundane and frustrating job at times.

    Strange that I should find your blog whilst making a photo book for my neices 1st birthday and your charlie and lola frame was perfect for cheeky snap shots, but even odder due to the fact that my husband and I watched ‘Motherhood’ on SKY last week.

    I logged on last night at 4am when i was losing in the night time slumber that everyone else was enjoying in the house. And I am looking forward to following your blogs.

    Thanks again for writing, as my sewing machine has gathered dust and the bias binding and fabrics i have stacked in the corner of the dining room/dining room in our tiny victorian terrace in England hopefully will be put into some creations and my little project ‘Made With Love’ that I sell at a farm shop will perhaps start to manouvre again.

    Little bit at a time…. enjoy yor week!

    Reply

    • Wow, thank you so much!
      Motherhood can be hard – mundane and frustrating as you’ve described – but I have found blogging and crafting to be great ways of celebrating the simple moments every day. Don’t give up on your creativity!

      Best wishes,
      Julee.

      Reply

  3. OK, it’s time to post. I stumbled upon your blog 4 weeks ago by accident and I’m hooked. Your ideas inspire me. I, too, love crafts, paper, etc. I have been swept away by life + my ridiculous schedule and I often forget how to make time to be crafty. I have two kids (AND yes, another Jenna age 3 1/2). We made a spooky house just like yours. OH how she loved it. I can’t resist a good deal. I love all your budget friendly finds and how you pull together the most adorable look alike outfits. Happy Anniversary (we just celebrated 5 years in OCT).

    Best,

    Lisa

    Reply

    • Hi Lisa,
      Thank you so much for your nice comments. I’m glad you and your Jenna are sharing in our craftiness!
      Take care,
      Julee

      Reply

  6. Hi Julee,
    Just wanted to say thanks for creating the first blog I’m actually interested in reading! I’m excited to read every new post and inspired to create my own (once my photography and craft skills have had a few months of practice!). My little boy Aaron (nearly 2 and about to have a Charlie and Lola themed party) loves all the new things we’ve been trying as a result of your inspiration. Thanks again so much!
    Anna

    Reply

    • Hi Anna,
      Thank you so much! The site is a great way for me to remember all of the little moments in my children’s lives, but I have to admit, I love hearing that other moms enjoy it too. Best wishes on your upcoming Charlie and Lola party. Maybe you could share a link to some of the pictures? I’d love to see it.
      - Julee

      Reply

  7. Dear Julee
    Thank you so much for posting our guitars. I found them by accident and I really like It!! I found super cool the the section Holidays and parties.
    I have 2 little monsters that are growing really fast and I wish I could keep them little,
    congrats for your blog mucha suerte!!
    gabriela from berlin

    Reply

  8. Hi Julee! I love your blog… very pottery barn for kids with parents! LOL! I’m a long-time old friend of Joe’s and he pointed me in your direction since I’ve got 3 boys of my own. We”ll be adopting some of your ideas very soon! – teri b.

    Reply

    • You are so sweet!! Thank you. Totally agree with you on the fast food issues, btw. Look forward to reading more on your blog.

      Reply

      • Thank you. It’s been a struggle to get my husband on the same page. He’s great with her in so many other areas, so I tend not to make a huge deal out of it. And I do so look forward to reading your blog, which make me feel like I am reading a design journal with a mommy edge. It reminds me a lot of Creature Comforts blog (http://www.creaturecomfortsblog.com/). Are you familiar with that one?

      • Yes, I love that blog. I don’t know EZ (who writes the blog), but she’s in the same photography class that I’m taking. Her photos are always gorgeous. So inspiring.
        Thanks for your kind comments about my blog. Sometimes I feel like I’m just writing for myself, which isn’t so bad because I love looking back at all of the things we do with J+J, but it’s also very nice to hear from other moms.
        Take care,
        Julee

  16. Fantastic blog Julee, I’ve been wanting to visit it ever since Joe mentioned it during our rendezvous in Cologne. The only bummer was that you weren’t there to join us :-( Wonderful design elements and i must admit: “impressive photography.” i love your vision! Photographers who can also successfully style their own still-life images are rare. You’ve made a fan out of me as I have an avalanche of art work from Serena and Isabela that I’ve been archiving for potential future display. Thanks for your inspiration and we hope to see you on future trips to the Old Country!

    Miss you guys! Scott and the girls

    Reply

    • Hi Scott,
      It’s great to hear from you! Joe had a great time in Germany and I hope to tag along on a trip soon. I’d love to see you guys. Joe showed me a bunch of pictures of the girls when he got back – it’s hard to believe how much they’ve grown up. Thank you so much for comments about my photos – a huge compliment coming from you!
      Please tell everyone I said hello. Hope to see you soon!

      Julee

      Reply

    • Hi Kristi – thank you so much!! It’s very kind of you to nominate me and I look forward to learning more about your blog. On a completely unrelated note, I grew up in OP, KS and my parents still live in Kansas City. It’s a great area and we love to visit.
      Take care,
      Julee

      Reply

  21. I adore your Toy Story Mania birthday ideas…so much so that it will be my son’s 4th birthday theme this year. I was wondering if there was a way I could make more of your game signs using Photoshop. I downloaded the ones you had, but was hoping to have one or two more. Any help would be really appreciated!

    Reply

    • Hi Christina,
      Thank you so much! It means a lot to me, especially coming from a photographer. I look forward to seeing more of your site too.
      Thanks, again!
      Julee

      Reply

  24. Pingback: Taking Care of Business… Some Thank You Notes | The Retiring Sort

  25. Just wanted to let you know I have nominated you for the One Lovely Blog Award. I hope this will be welcome news for you. If you prefer not to accept the award, I certainly understand, but I hope you will visit the other nominees, and they will visit you, just the same. To see more about the award and accepting this nomination, please visit my post at http://wp.me/p2ekZU-E4. All the best!

    Reply

  26. Hello,

    I saw your West Elm table online that you painted orange. I think that was a super spectacular idea. Can you tell me how tall the table is. Wasn’t a fan of orange….until now :)

    Carrie

    Reply

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