Planner RE-DO

Last night when I was setting down to plan out meals and things to do, I was reminded again of how much I hate my planner. Its not ugly, but come on, its not that great either.

Again, sorry about the terrible pictures. Tell my husband that we need a new camera, or I will continue taking craptastic pics with my phone. Side note: we DO have a camera, but have lost the charger.....still, its not amazing.

So, I decided to change the way it looked. 

I grabbed a vintage sheet fat quarter, scissors, and some spray adhesive and went to work.

There, nice new planner :) All I did was cut the fat quarter to fit the planner, sprayed the planner with adhesive, and wrapped it up. Easiest thing ever. I could have done a mod podge layer over it to make it last longer, but I like the way the fabric feels. Its so soft.

Think of how many things you can wrap in vintage fabric and make pretty! Etsy has TONS of sellers who will sell you a fat quarter from $1-$3. 

Go here, here, and here for some of my favorites.

 I bought this beauty the other day planning to cut it up. Its a full twin size flat sheet. But now that I have it here, I kind of want to keep it. I think it would be fun to start a vintage sheet collection. 

Also, you know what makes a great pillow?

A cloth napkin from Anthro that I found on clearance for $3.95. I sewed the four sides together by hand over the course of 4 or 5 days while watching TV. Its pretty ghetto, since I used twine instead of actual thread....

but, it works, and it only cost $4 to make!

 Emily and I are planning another craft night at our church, so I am getting project happy! Im really bad about wanting instant gratification with things. Im so impatient that its hard to take my time, so I always pick projects that are quick and easy. Im trying to work on having more patience, but I feel like I use all my patience up with Ryder and Lucy that I have no more to give!

Have you been working on any fun projects lately?

we are off to do some trick-or-treating tonight! Should be fun!

Etsy Love

                                                 

These rings are pretty awesome. There should be a G&K one in my stocking, hint hint George.

From this Etsy shop.

Do you ever have so much to do that you just want to go back to bed? Im having one of those days.

goodnight.

I mean, let me go get started on my To Do list........:/

BHLDN

Yesterday morning when I was doing my usual clicking around online I saw somewhere that BHLDN has a ton of their lovely things on sale!

 In case ya didnt know, BHLDN is Anthropologie's wedding site. 

When the site was first launched I wasnt really head over heels in love with it like everyone else was. Maybe its because Im not getting married, but Im pretty sure its because of the way too high prices. I still LOVE to look at wedding websites and dream of redoing my wedding. 

But, now that they are having a mega sale, I like it a little more, and have picked out some of my favorite things. Wanna see?

Collaged Strawberry Place Cards $12 $20

set of 10

Wedding or no, these would be super fun to use at a brunch for your friends. I dream of one day having a beautiful little garden where I can host such meal.

Polka-Dot Garland. (5) strings, each 8' long

$9 $18

I just love any kind of garland, and this one especially is so pretty.

Cake-to-go boxes, Leaves. Set of 12

$15 $30

Wrap up left over cake or use as favor boxes. B-E-A-utiful!

Cintrine Rose Peplum Dress  $480 $650

This one is my splurge pick. Click on the pic and go look at it up close on the site. The details are the best. Im pretty sure you will fall in love with it too :)

If only I could marry George again, I would have all these lovelies at my wedding. 

Vow renewal in 5 years?? Maybe.

Pumpkin Patch

We had the best time @ the pumpkin patch with our friends Saturday.......I think George had the best time of all :)

 

 Ryder kept picking up these way-too-big-for-him pumpkins, then dropping them. Thats why we came home with 3 small pumpkins. We even got a white one which I am so pumped about. I cant wait til we decorate them. The other two are short and round, like a tire. I dont really know how much carving will be going on...but we will try!

One of Lucy's moments of freedom.

We didnt let her out of the wagon or our arms very much. That place was packed to the gills.....with horses, people, and tractors.

Ryder loves this pic. 

This place was awesome. After we rode on the hayride to get our pumpkins I was STARVING. So Emily and I  stood in line to get some food and the everyone else took the kids to the petting zoo. We were in that line for 10,000 years. And just as we were heading down to meet back up with our friends and husbands, they came walking back up the hill. Bummer. 

I was soooo hungry though. I got a bbq sandwich, a sweet potato, roasted corn, and lemonade.......for $18. WHOA! hello six flags.

We need a new camera. End of story.

All these pics except for the last one were taken by my friend Emily and her husband. Emily is one of my best friends and is one of the kindest people I know. I love her!

Im so glad we have such wonderful friends that all have children the same age as ours. It was such a good day. 

I hope we can go every year together :)

A Night Out

Since the tornado blew George's work away, he has been driving about 45 min away to another location. So he is getting home a lot later and working 14+ hour days......

Which is why I was really surprised that he wanted to go do something after we ate dinner the other night. At first he said GiGi's, which is weird because he doesnt like cake.But,  GiGi's was going to be shutting down soon, and would be super picked over, so we headed to Barnes & Noble instead.

Here is Ryder holding the hot chocolate that we paid $3 for that he took exactly 3 sips out of. Awesome. $1 a sip. Also, lets address two issues with this pic. 

1. Sorry for such craptastic quality, it was taken with my phone. We have a decent camera I just never remember to bring it. and 

2. Why does Ryder do this weirdo smile? Its not his regular smile, but when asked to say "cheese" he decides to whip this one out of the smile bag.

Not sure if Lucy is loving that cookie.

It looks super delicious though :)

oh yeah, we also got one of these things:

Its a lemon raspberry square. One of my favorite flavor combos. George hates lemony things, what a weirdo. Ryder and I ate this up!

 

We do cheers a lot. Its kind of our thing.

Oh man, he needs a haircut. Dont worry, we wont be chopping it all off, just enough so that he doesnt look so much like a women's hair model. 


Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! We are headed out to The Cotton Pickin' Celebration @ this pumpkin patch tomorrow with some friends!


What do you have in store for this weekend?

Chair Obsessed

These beautiful, old, vintage chairs are always in some of the prettiest pictures on the blogs I stalk. I love them. 

*pic from here

There they are in image 8. I really want to sit right down at that table and eat with my friends.

 *pic from here

These maybe seem new, or they just have a fresh coat of paint. Either way, I love them.

*pic from here

I love the red and teal one in this pic.

I have looked on Craigslist countelss times, and nothing ever pops up, and the TTown thrift is not storing any gems like these. Etsy has some......for about $125 a chair. Gonna have to pass on that one.

Also,

 *pic from here

I REALLY SUPER WANT this Eames rocking chair from Herman Miller.

These beauties are $479, but I think they are an investment piece, dont you? First, everyone loves a good rocking chair, and even though Ryder and Lucy are kind of out of the rocking phase, we are going to have two more kids eventually. This could be something that gets passed down. 

Im thinking I will try to scour ebay, or just save up the money and splurge. They are so pretty, and the rockers can come off, which makes it extra cool.

*and attention: I just found one for a little over $100 on ebay! Looks like we might have one in our home next month! YES!

Whoa. Put the phone down.

Yesterday afternoon while the kids were napping(and George was at home) I went to Target to get my weekly groceries. Since I hate doing this I decided to call my friend Ashley and chat her up to pass the time. 

While we had a lovely time chatting it can be quite hazardous shopping while talking to friend. 

I went in for the items on my list people, not these random things I brought home:

 

This pillow was on clearance for $13. For some reason, I felt like I should shove it into my cart.

 These were out of place on a shelf in the juice aisle. These even warranted a comment to Ashley about how I found them. I was at least a little conscious when I put these in the cart. And OH. MY. LORD. these things are soo good.

 

This coffee. Um, I never buy coffee for myself. I really dont even drink coffee unless its decaf. That little green snowman with peppermint buttons drew me in. It was a win though because George opened the bag last night and said it smelled like Christmas. So he can drink it :)

And lastly, I was in the line to check out when I noticed the girl in front of me had some Halloween candy. Oh yeah, Ryder has to bring some to school tomorrow. Luckily for me, there were lots of big bags at the end of the check out lane. I grabbed it and threw it in my cart.

Uh, I went back  to Target today and saw how much that 185 piece bag of candy was. $15. WHAT! I hadn't even noticed! I didn't send that entire bag to school though. I picked out about 30 pieces, put them in a clear little plastic bag sealed with a sticker. So, we now have TONS of candy, and I imagine it will only keep coming.

Do you ever do that? Go shopping while talking on the phone and buy crap you wouldnt normally buy? And not even get everything you need?! That would be why I had to drag both kids back out to Target today. Its like when you are on the phone, you find out what you truly want to buy, and you aren't swayed by the rational part of your brain that says "Uh, do you need this Kristy?"

 

 

Dress Up

I am never on top of it with Halloween costumes. Last year Ryder was buzz lightyear because my mother went to Wal-Mart and got him a costume. The year before that, It was about 4:30 on October 31st, and I ran down to Walgreens. I got him some skeleton costume....for 50% off! 

The only time I actually planned anything was his first Halloween, where he went as an awesome dragon.

This is the first year he has even expressed interest in deciding what he wants to be. He keeps going back and forth between Spider Man and Iron Man.

I know I am supposed to be a good mom and make his costume, or gather up red or gold boots.....depending on who he decides to be. But there just isnt really a way for me to even attempt to make a costume like that that wouldnt be totally craptastic looking. Etsy doesnt even have any Spider Man costumes.

This can only mean one thing. When your son decides he wants to be Spiderman, its totally ok to go to Target and pick one up for $17.

Plus, all that matters is that he loves it right? 

As for miss Lucy, I really want her to be a little girl garden gnome :)

I think I can probably DIY that!

What are you going to be for Halloween? Do you dress up? George and I dont because we dont really have any Halloween parties going on. Even if we did, I would probably be boring and be like Jim from the Office. Not actually him, but I would steal one of his costume ideas.

3 Hole Punch Jim

OR

Facebook Jim.

So funny :)

Branching Out

I have never really been a huge jewelry person. I like jewelry, but small understand things are what I am loving right now. I guess maybe when I was 17 I would rock humungo earrings with rings, bracelets, and a huge necklace all at the same time. Its hurting my eyes just thinking about it.

But, now that I am older (and sane) I have a much more toned down approach. The biggest NO NO ever to me is to wear a statement necklace AND Big earrings. Its either one or the other. Both looks CRAZY.

I love Rachel Barry from Glee's little necklaces.

I have this little heart necklace that I wear everyday. Its small and sweet, and goes with everything.

But recently I have been drawn to statement necklaces. They look great when worn with a Tshirt. Go here, here, and here to see some of my favs. 

Other things I am thinking of trying this fall/winter:

Denim shirt with jeans. I know, earlier in this blog life I swore off pants....BUT I have a feeling that when the cold air rolls around, tights wont always be my go-to option to keep my legs warm. Most of the time, yes, but I will still have some jeans ready to go :)

and 

*pic from here

scarves. I just have never really gotten in to them. Maybe I will find an awesome one to wear this winter.

What are you wanting to branch out and try this season? Anything new? 

*pic from here

Ya know what's not fun? Being sick with coughing, a headache, a sore throat, AND having two sweet kids who have coughs and heads full of snot.

Im not totally out of commission. But walking around with a headache is no fun. Theraflu is usually always my friend, but it puts me to sleep. So none of that for me today.

Thank goodness I went grocery shopping last night. Its a pajama wearing, movie watching, chili eating kind of day.

And, I think I will take a nap at 2:00 when the kids do. 

Oh, on a good note, we are headed to the Old Baker Farm in Harpersville next Saturday with some friends! They have mazes, both the hay and corn variety.  Im excited! Pumpkin Patches are so much fun, are you going to any this year?

Time for an upgrade

This morning when I was unloading the dishwasher I noticed a little trend. We have a LOT of these guys

When George and I first got married we had cute glasses and dinnerware from Pier1. Sadly, NONE of the glasses are still with us, and only 3 or 4 plates remain.

 

While I love the fact that we have a beautiful collection of Newk's cups, I think it would be nice to get some pretty glasses and plates again. I have been keeping my eye out for an old china cabinet and the thrift that I can paint up, but haven't had any luck recently. 

 

Look at these Anthro beauties I would like to fill a cabinet with.

 

Verdant Acres plates. $10-$16 

Kamala dessert plates. $12

Atom Art Bowls. $8

 

Fleur-Dy-Lys Tumbler. $8

 

Dandelion Greens Flatware. $24

Oh, one can dream. Maybe every time I go to the Summit I will buy one plate, or bowl. Then in five years or so I will have a complete set to fill the china cabinet I dont have. Ha!

I would like you to meet....Ron

 No, not this Ron. But he is the inspiration for the picture below.

 

 This is Ron.

I made this guy when Lucy was napping this morning and I am SO glad we now have a designated place for our keys! We used to have a little red table (we call it the "LTR". we like abbreviations) in our entry way where I ALWAYS put my keys. But whenever George drives my car he will put them in random spots in the house and then when I need to go somewhere I spend 30 minutes trying to hunt them down. It is so aggravating! Boom, Mustache. Problem solved.

Here he is on my freshly painted wall.

Oh, yea, he is also a chalkboard!

And guess what people..........Ron has a twin!

And since there are only two drivers in this home, we do not need Ron's twin to stay with us.

SOOO, who wants him?

Leave a comment on this post telling me your fav Parks and Rec character and your email, and I will pic a winner on Friday! 

Im also hoping to have a couple of these guys and some other designs in my etsy shop by the end of this month. 

But,  I will have a booth @ The Beanstalk Music Festival at The Innerchange on October 29. My friend Emily and I are doing a booth together, come check us out!

And speaking of giveaways, my friend Jenny is doing one on her blog too, go check it out!

My three fav characters on Parks and Rec:

Tom, Ron, and Andy. In that order.

I heart Italian food

Last night for date night we went up to my most favorite restaurant ever. Cafe Lazio

But we went to the Summit to shop it up first and didnt roll in to the Lazio til about 9:20. They were done cooking :( BOO!

So since I didnt get my Bake Ziti with Meat Sauce fix I am going to attempt to make it tonight!

Yet another thing Pinterest is good for: Recipes. 

Really, if you aren't already on Pinterest, what the crap are you waiting for?! Design ideas, clothing ideas, party ideas, recipes, craft ideas, hair styles, the list goes on.

So I searched Baked Ziti on Pinterest and this image popped up everywhere

  *pic from here

Looks amazing huh? It doesnt quite look like Cafe Lazio's and I am a bit concerned because in the blog post she said used Sour Cream instead of Ricotta cheese. HMMM, I know for a fact that C.L. uses Ricotta. I hope i like it. Plus, not really sure Target even carries Ricotta. I know they dont carry Marscopone. You know, the amazing cheese thats in Tiramisu. My favorite dessert ever.

I REALLY love Italian food. 2nd in line is Mexican. 3rd is Greek. But I CANT stand Asian food. Sometimes when I tell people that they will say, "Oh fill in the blank restaurant  isn't Asian, it's Japanese." Poor moron. Then I have to tell them that Japan is Asian. 

Anyway, after our dinner tonight we are taking the kids to the bonfire! I am an Alabama fan as I should be living in TTown. I think Auburn fans are gross and I love it when we win. But I just cant get into dressing the part. I dont really care about Alabama t-shirts, and houndstooth can move on. I know, dont shoot me. I realize I am the weird one. I just cant rock the houndstooth. Maybe in a subtle way, like just a small little something. The rest of my outfit would have to be non Alabama though. I did just overcome my fear of leopard print and bought a cardigan. But the rest of my outfit is super casual, like with converse. Im not diva-ish enough to rock leopard print and heels and a ruffled shirt. ps: even if I was a diva, not sure I would rock that combo.

So, wish me luck on my Baked Ziti minus Ricotta. Im hoping its amazing.

Time

 

 *pic from here

 

I am concerned about how I spend my time like most women are concerned about losing weight. I think about it A LOT.

I am constantly trying to find a daily schedule that works for me and my family. Or maybe its a daily routine.

I go back and forth between if I am a routine kind of girl or a schedule kind of girl, I think a little of both.

With the kids sleeping and awake times its pretty much on a schedule. They wake up generally at the same time every day and naps are on the dot at 9:00 am for Lucy and 2-5 pm for Ryder AND Lucy.

Even yesterday I was out running some errands and I had one more stop to make at Target. I only needed 6 things, but it was 1:50. I was passing right by Target and it took everything I had to make myself just run in really quick, grab the items and come home. I was freaking out about not being home @ 2:00 for her nap. So, she was about 30 min late going to sleep, and was a MONSTER in Target. 

 I would like to make a schedule out for my day, and how and what I should clean, and what I should be doing at this certain time, but nothing ever sticks.

I guess I just like consistency. I know that things in life happen that throw our whole schedule out the window, and thats ok. But on the boring, day to day times when nothing special is happening I like having something to guide me.

So, do you have a routine or schedule you follow? Ive heard "meat in the morning" like get all your daily chores out of the way early. And I have tried that, and it works......but if I dont get to check my email, read the blogs I like and whatever in the a.m......well, I just HATE IT!! haha! I guess thats something I need to talk to Jesus about. 

 

Attention! :SALE:

Im sure you all got this email too, but in case you didnt, that little image above is from Anthro :)

Extra 25% off the sale? Oh, Date night will be happening @ The Summit tomorrow.

PLUS! I went to Urban Outfitters Monday night while George and Ryder were at Skate Church and all of their sale is an EXTRA 50% off! WHAT! I had Lucy with me so I wasn't able to thoroughly look through everything, but I did come away with a couple of $40 area rugs for $5! And a pair of dressy shorts for $5! I wore them with tights yesterday, perfect for fall.

In case you didnt know Im the master at finding sales. It really does seem like I always stumble into stores when they are having awesome deals like an extra 50% off.

Aside from my awesome purchases yesterday I have gotten Ryder and Lucy Gap jeans for $2 and $4, socks from the Gap for the kids for 50 cents a pair and Gap leggings in every color and pattern for $2 each. 

I guess you CAN get deals that good or better at the Thrift Store, but they are worn, or you have to DIG DIG DIG. Im not into digging. It stresses me out. My friend Devin can go into the thrift and find brand new GOOD stuff for cheapo, she is a thrift warrior. 

I feel like I have been buying new clothes a bunch lately, but when I can have an entire new outfit, including shoes, for under $30 then its ok right?!

Next on the list for the kids clothes, Ryder needs some new jeans. And some more Toms, his have holes in them. 

Have you bought anything awesome lately that was a super good deal?! Tell me!

Now, I am off to fold my MOUNTAIN of laundry and catch up on GLEE!

ps: who else is sad Sam is gone?

A few of my favorite things

Since fall is officially here in the south I started thinking of my most favorite fallish things.

 

First, MUMS! I  just love mums. I bought two huge pots at Home Depot a couple of weekends ago. I love that they last for forever, are HUMUNGO and are super cheap! 

2nd: Caramel Apple Cider! The best kind was at the coffee shop I used to work at. We had this awesome whipped cream called On Top. It was in a huge bag like a pastry bag and was the perfect thing to put on hot drinks because the drink didnt melt it. Oh, if only they sold that crap in the grocery store.

  3rd: Pumpkins! And Harry Potter is always appropriate no matter what the season. I think I want to do a kind of modern pumpkin this year. Maybe something like this:

I really like the large white one. I mean of course I will let Ryder pick out a design for us to carve. But as far as decorating my porch, I think that one is a winner.

 

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Side note: In the middle of this blog post Lucy started waking up from her morning nap. I decided to let her play in there for a few more minutes. Then I heard a HUGE thud. Ran in her room to find her OUT of her crib walking towards me. Yep. I guess we need to lower her crib again.

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Also, we are repainting our porch, shutters, and front door. Remember how I said they were a dirty red color? Well, I dont know if we should just pick a different shade of red or go with something different all together. Our house is light gray. The red is pretty with a gray house, but just want to weigh all our options. Got a suggestion for me? Tell me now, because I am about to dress Lucy and head out for lunch and then Home Depot for some paint! 

Oh, also, I think I am making a trip to Urban tonight to check out whats on sale. Any bham friends wanna meet me? 

BYE!