A room fit for Monsters!

The kids' bathroom is finished! This room still had cheap contractor paint from when the house was built and I was more than excited to get kitchen and bath paint on those walls! The color is Toasted Wheat- Lowes Valspar of course. Eventually the flooring will get replaced, but for right now this room is perfect for my little monsters. I was going to get hooks for their towels and install it on the wall adjacent to the tub, but I really do not want to look at their towels, so for now they will stay behind the door. I am on the hunt for art above the toilet.

Bathroom Before:





Bathroom After:




Here is the updated pictures of this room with our Monster art!

Menu Planning

Cooking is not my thing. I grew up with a working single mom that did not have time for elaborate meals, but quick and tasty ones. Although I am a stay at home mom I do not have the desire to spend a lot of time or energy on cooking. I want quick, yummy, and something that every one will eat. With the help of my sister I planned out 11 meals for the next 14 days. Here is my menu. See, really simple, but do-able. Each meal will also have veggies, salad, and rolls if appropriate. Today we are having the roast with carrots and potatoes. I will throw all of that in a crock pot with and onion soup mix while we are at church. My favorite part of roast is the leftover open face roast with cheese sandwiches. As I cook the meals I will cross it of my list. This was also handy grocery shopping and keeping me on budget.

Toy Story anyone?

Here is my listing for the DillyDally Cruise launch. We wore this dress when we went to Hollywood Studios. Size 4/5. See it here!

Also, those picture were taken indoors and although I had a hot shoe flash, boy was it hard. I can not achieve vertical bounce and I did my best.

Stop messing with me already!

That is my piano talking! I found these awesome mini globes from The Christmas Tree Shop for a $1.29 a piece! Can you believe that! I decided to tackle that jute twine one more time and create a jute wrapped vase. I bought the vase on clearance at Target for a couple of dollars and because I detest hot glue I used white craft glue and applied it with a brush. Here is the before in case you missed it.

Hanging out!

Here are some pictures from the weekend. I do not know how Luke did not get captured, but here is a rare photo of Matt! And, no I do not usually let my daughter lick knives.

Happy Birthday Wyatt!

My first born is six today. Last night we went out to eat and picked out his new bike. He is upgrading from a 14" and boy this one is a lot bigger! He also received a lot of cash-ola from his grandparents and aunts in Alabama so he is dreaming of what he is going to buy. Love you Wyatt!

What is your worth?

This past weekend the family went sectional shopping to finalize our decision and when we found the "one" we decided to finance it with a great 0% interest deal. It will really be ours next year (ha, ha). Now I know that I said that we were going to pay cash, but after looking and looking we realize that leather sectionals were a lot more than we thought. The problem with saving for me is that something will always come up and I like the idea of making payments. This will force me to pay for it each month, kind of like my car, so that is what we did. It will not arrive until the end of April. The application asked for my occupation and Matt wrote "sahm". The salesperson apparently did not know what that meant and asked for my yearly income. When I explained what "sahm" meant she asked her co-worker what she should put for income and he replied "one dollar". So according to them I am worth $1 a year. I know that my worth is much more than that and it can not be measured in dollars and cents. I am watching my kids grow in every sense, every day and my reward is looking in my rear view mirror and seeing my younger kids spontaneously hold hands on the ride home. Priceless!

Dining Room

Here is my "new to me" dining set. I am in LOVE with the sideboard! This room will be painted the Colony Sand as the living room. Oh, and all three walls be painted. I am not into color blocking. I am going to put 95" curtains on the window. I am thinking horizontal stripes...

Craigslist Find

I found a fabulous dining set on Craigslist and we are picking it up today! There has been some drama with price negotiations... I was accused of "stealing" it, but hey, I live with a salesman! Plus we had to figure in the cost of a truck rental. This is the set I wanted at JCPenney's, but shipping was the killer. I plan on painting this set black. Here is my inspiration- can you believe the transformation?!

More Pink?

Could I put any more pink in Madeline's room? I was inspired by this blogger to use what I already have on hand to decorate the rest of the room. I had three shadow box frames that were in storage and I used fabric and buttons that I already had on hand to fill them. I actually hung the name plaque... it only took me over six months to do that, and I used cardboard to create a wreath with fabric and tulle that was in my scrap bin. The princess fabric was leftover from Madeline's first birthday outfit. How time flies! I believe that her room is finished and time to move on the kids' bathroom!

Best $39.99 ever spent!

I bought this light fixture from Ikea for Madeline's room. I had been eyeing this Tadpole one, but there is a twenty dollar difference before shipping so I decided that cheaper is better! Matt had to make it shorter, but that did not take too long and it looks FABULOUS!!! Madeline loves it and I am amazed how the room changed just by swapping out the light fixture. She had a brass "boob" flush mount previously. So pretty and it will look good with any color changes that this room will go through throughout the years.

Personal Goals

I had started a diet back in August, and I had lost 8 pounds in September, but what do you think happened since then? Yep, I gained it back! Well, I am back on the wagon, but this time I am determined to exercise rather than just reduce calories. I need to lose inches! I am motivated by an online friend who is transforming herself! When she posts her story I will post links! Today I am at 146.3. I have to be brutally honest in order to make a change. Tuesday will be my weigh in dates so next week hopefully I will be lighter :)

My other goal is to be a better steward of my time. Enough said.

Finishing Touches

My mantle is pretty much the same pre fall, but I added the sea grass baskets from Ikea- a set of three for $4.99!




I found a set of three apothecary jars for a little less than $20 shipped. I filled them with beachy stuff that I have collected over the years. I just LOVE the puffer fish "floating" in the one jar!




Remember that I wanted some jute balls? Well, I tried to make some based on this tutorial.Let me just say that I hate any project that requires hot glue- my ball looked horrible so I just unraveled the jute to create a "nest". I want to make some of these birds to put inside.

Cupcakes and Cherries!

Here is a customer photo of my birthday set, which can be purchased here! What a sweetie!