Play Rooms

I vividly remember my playroom from when I was little. My sisters and I spent countless hours playing barbies, "house", "school", dolls, etc...I remember the shelves along one wall with all our toys. 

I was looking online at party-kitchens for the little one for Christmas and came across playrooms I would have died for. I mean I loved our playroom but these are quite a step up from what I grew up with!

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Favorite Things- All over the place

There have been a few things lately that I've fallen in LOVE with, no rhyme or reason I just think they are fabulous. Here's a few of them:

Bitty Bags from Whisker Graphics. I'm using them for the big ONE year birthday {they are looking so cute I can't wait to share}. They are also the perfect size for a gift card. You could wrap them so cute. I was totally inspired by this picture:

They have a bunch of other cute stuff. See what they have here. 

Look how cute these headbands are:

They happen to be made by my much more creative best friend, Brittany. I want to go buy felt today and make some. Although we seem to be in a "no bow" phase right now. You can see the tutorial here.

I'm a big fan of Italian, and Mario Batali just opened up this restaurant in our area:

Look at the fabulous menu here. My family are kind of pizza snobs {my dad has his own starter that is over 10 years old} and this pizza is definitely up to par. 

Grandma watched the little one one night this past weekend and the husband and I did a spontaneous date night here:

If you were curious, even if you show up at 7:30 at night you still pay the $80. 

How's that for some random favorites! Happy Weekend!

My 1st attempt at chalk paint

I have been wanting to paint a side table in my family room for a VERY long time. It had a nice lacquer finish that was saying "sand me". And it was the sanding that was keeping me from wanting to paint. And then yesterday, while reading my friend Brittany's blog, I was informed of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint {apparently ASCP for the hip folk}. So I googled and searched and soon knew this was going to be my paint solution. 

I searched some more and on her website there was a list of stockists and one happen to be not too far from my house. So the little one and I drove down and bought what we needed. It also helped that the lady in the shop had used the paint numerous times and had examples of many of the colors in her shop. She gave me pointers on how to do it and I left feeling confident. You can visit Truly Tattered's blog here. 

The goods:

1) Clear Soft Wax

2) Chalk Paint in Paris Grey

3) Dark Soft Wax

4) Two brushes

**Note this paint is not cheap, it was $130 when I walked out the door. But from what I've read it is worth it and after completing the project I would definitely agree. 

The before:

The After:

Yes there is a baby gate in the background and a baby book on the table. Welcome to my life. 

A few things to note:

1) You use very little paint. I did two coats of the Paris Grey and I used about a 1/2 inch of paint in the can. 

2) You have to work quickly with the wax. I would paint some on a small area with a brush and wipe it right after with an old t-shirt rag. 

3) I was initially afraid of the Dark Wax, and after using it on a spot I knew wouldn't get too much attention I gained confidence and learned it was actually quite easy to use. 

4) There are endless options of what your finished project could look like. No dark wax, lots of dark wax, mixing colors, etc... the options are endless. 

5) It dries very quickly. I only had nap time to complete this project and I can say from start to finish it took me approx. 2 hours. 

6) They were right, no sanding or priming necessary. Which to me made it worth every penny!

Now to that book case I need to paint....

I've linked this to Miss Mustard Seeds Furniture Friday. See her blog here:

And others great furniture posts here:

How often do you clean?

My mom watches my little one every Tuesday for a couple of hours so I can run errands, go to the dentist, etc.... When I came home a couple of weeks ago she was cleaning my coffee maker, running vinegar through it over and over. And it was clean when she was done and the coffee tastes a lot better. But I soon realized that was only the 2nd time in 3 years {!!} that I had cleaned my coffee maker. 

So I googled "how often should you clean your coffee maker", apparently at least once a month! So I searched some more, and here's what I've found. 

Coffee Maker- At least once a month

Sheets- Every two weeks {there are a LOT of differing opinions}

Microwave- weekly

Toilets- weekly

Countertops- Daily

Windows- monthly

TV- weekly

Shower- weekly

Dust- weekly

Appliances- monthly

Ceiling fans- monthly

Now I LOVE and clean house and really can't function without one so I'm pretty good with most of the timelines above {husband definitely considers it OCD}. But with "Hurricane Morgan" stopping by every afternoon some things get put on the back burner now that I have a child. 

Tiny Prints and Costco

Did you know that Costco members get 20% off their orders at Tiny Prints? I wish I knew this a couple of years ago! Just go to Costco's photo website and scroll all the way down to the bottom. Or you can just click here. 

They have so many cute invites, note cards and thank you's! I know I still have a little more than 2 months before the little one turns the big ONE, but I feel like I need to start planning now before the holidays come. 

Look how cute these note cards are:

and these Christmas Cards:

or these birthday invitations:

all images via tinyprints

Members also get 20% off at Wedding Paper Divas for any of you planning a wedding. 

A Real OC Housewife

I made a late night run to our local CVS pharmacy to grab a digital ear thermometer as I have quickly found that a 9 month old is not okay with you sticking something under her arm, let alone somewhere else! And who did I run into, but Gretchen and Slade from Bravo's Real OC Housewives. 

But then it got me thinking, how is she a housewife??? Not married and no kids. Just a thought. 

In case you were curious here is the Webster's official definition of a housewife:

: a married woman in charge of a household

 Oh, and just so you know the ear thermometer from CVS didn't work either so I had to go back and return that one and just ended up ordering one through Amazon instead. Oh the joys of motherhood. 

I tried it...

If you are on Pinterest, I'm sure you have seen this:

That's it. A box of yellow cake mix and a can of pumpkin. My sister made them and said they were delicious. I was a bit skeptical but decided to give them a try. I also added ingredient no. 3, pumpkin pie spice. I wanted a bit more pumpkin flavor. And to be completely honest, they were a bit dense and the dough was really thick. Next time I think I'm going to stick with the eggs and oil. They'd be even better with some thick cream cheese frosting and if I'm going to splurge with the frosting why not go ahead and add the eggs and oil!