Friday Fun Finds

Happy Happy Friday! We love Friday's around here but who doesn't right?!

This weekend is fairly full. Tonight we're going over to visit some friends. Tomorrow dental appointments then my Dad, Stepmom and Grandmother are all coming down for an overnight visit. I'm looking forward to it all. Yes, even the dentist appointment. I LOVE going to the dentist! I'm slightly teeth obsessed (white teeth matter!) so going to the dentist is a pleasure for me. (Keep in mind this is coming from a girl who's never had to suffer through major dental work. i.e a root canal, sorry hubs!)

My fun finds/wish list runs the gamut today...

I am convinced that with this little kit I could build any of the projects on my 'to do' list. I've already advised Handsome Hubs of this and in fact asked him to start teaching me how to use more tools. If I felt more confident in my building skills I'm quite certain that I could whip up the dollhouse bookcase, home office desk, and the little tike wooden picnic table projects all by myself. All these projects have been sitting on the back burner while handsome hubby works on the hardwoods and it'd feel great to do them myself.

Everyone needs a fairy door. I've enjoyed reading the Red Shoes blog and would love to visit her store in person someday. Until then I've enjoyed perusing through her little online store and recently came across this, a fairy door! Yes, you heard me right! How cute would this be in a little girls room? I'm quite positive my little Laney Lou needs one. They come in a couple of different colors. Fun, fun! She really has some neat things and I love the pictures from her store. Makes me wish Ann Arbor, MI wasn't so far away. Apparently the little fairy doors are a phenomenon as they've been 'subtly incorporated into cafes, retails stores...' in the area. Honestly, I just think that's so cute.

And something fun for Big Brothers room...original artwork from Etsy. Love the colors and the fact that it's a way for him to learn the planets. Cool!

Last but not least, another Etsy find...because we all know most things look best monogrammed. ;)
This little 'cafe latte' brown night light would look great in my hall upstairs.

Hope to be updating with a project I made soon!

Well snap my bowtie and call me whiplashed!

I know, quite shocking isn't? Me? Posting again so soon? I'm on a role folks.....

This weekend has been pleasant so far. Went up to the 'Northland' as we like to call it around here to visit a friend this morning. She recently moved into a new home and it's beautiful. I took the kids while Handsome Hubby worked on the hardwood floor. Oh yes, the hardwood floor project continues. Getting the last coat to go on smoothly has been nothing short of a nightmare. Anyway, I made him take this picture of me with the kids as up until now I've not had one with them. (I'm always on the other side of the lens it seems.)

I finished up the front entryway project the other night. Well, as with any project in my home, it's never really finished. I would like to add a few smaller black flower pots next to the urns and fill them with some colorful flowers to make the area pop. I'm also on the hunt for a wreath but

I've not found anything I just love yet.

We added the wrought iron piece above the door and I think I like it. I'm just not 100% positive yet. We live in the 'burbs, hence the 'Suburban Momma' and many of the houses look similar, I'll admit it. In fact, we get static sometimes from our non-suburban friends about how we live in cupcake land, all the houses look alike. Adding the black iron piece is kind of my little way of making my home more distinctive. :)

What do you think, should it stay or should it go?

Me = Bad Blogger

Seriously, where is the time going?

I've had to drive up to the office this week for a team meeting and I've had work related functions the last couple evenings. Happy to say tomorrow is the last day for the meeting so things can get back to normal around here. It is nice to see my work friends since we're all virtual we don't get together but a couple times a year. The team is spread throughout the US so it's a big production to get us all together.


With time to kill between meetings a friend and I went to a new(ish) outdoor shopping area near the office. They have a GREAT little children's store there called Marshmallow Kisses. I've shopped their store online but getting to go and see everything in person was a real treat. They have such adorable and I do mean ADORABLE stuff. If you're in or around the KC area you should check the store out at the Zona Rosa. I found several things I'm quite certain my kids can't live without :) as well as several great project ideas. One of which I hope to make this weekend and will have to post about if it turns out like I think it will.

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We've needed a new clock for our living room for quite awhile now. I wasn't sure what I wanted but during one of my weekly trips to Target I found this one on sale and just loved it.

I'm a big fan of using larger, more over sized objects to make statements rather then a bunch of tiny little pieces. I've found that sometimes the smaller pieces can looked cluttered if they're not grouped together properly. The shells on the top shelf are from Jamaica and are just seasonal. I'm constantly changing out my displays and I can say that this isn't one of my most favorite looks. Unfortunately I've not had time to get too creative over the past couple months. (Imagine that!)

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I'm still working on my front entry projects. I painted the door black to match the urns but I need to do a few more things before I can call it done. Here's a little peek at one of the urns I talked about recently. Probably not new to you gardeners out there but my new favorite potting plant is the bright green sweet potato vine. As you can see from the picture it is such a vivid green and it's great for draping over pots. LOVE IT! I took this picture probably about a week ago and it's amazing how much the plants have grown since then.

I'm hoping to get the front entry project pretty much finished this weekend so maybe I can get some more pictures posted then.

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And since I haven't posted any pictures of Big Brother lately here's one of him enjoying some some pool time last weekend.

Yes, mothers lock up your daughters this one's going to be trouble! :)

A Potpourri Post

Forewarning: this is a bit of random post...


So I'm not sure what my deal is but lately I've been tearing up at the silliest things. I don't really think it's postpartum depression because I don't feel depressed when I get teary. (If that makes any sense.) I've just noticed that I get teary more easily and just as quickly as I tear up it passes.





For example, while reading this book the other night to Aidan I got teary. Seriously, I teared up over this book. Although this may be a touching story with a good moral, I don't think most would be moved to tears after reading it. I must say though that boy is so selfish. Poor tree!


Here's another example, every time I listen to the song 'Goodbye My Lover' by James Blunt I get teary. I have this downloaded and have heard it a million times before so why do I still tear up? In fact, although handsome hubs is not a James Blunt fan I all but forced him to listen to, then download this song onto his ipod. Curtly informing him he needed to be more sensitive. LOL
OK, to my defense though I have heard that this song is played at funerals more then any other song at the moment. Who knew?



Completely switching gears, I did not get much in the way of projects done over the weekend. I did manage to get the black urns placed at my front door. I'm really pleased with the plant selection I used and how they've turned out. Tonight I hope to get a start on re-painting the front door. I'll try to get some pictures taken once I've got the door painted so you can take a look. I really think it's going to look sharp.


For good measure I'm throwing in this funny picture of Delaney. I was busy snapping pictures the other day, so tickled to have her hair adorned in some girly way being as none of her bows will work (due to lack of hair) when I took this one. So adorable until you look down to discover her sending the most unladylike gesture.





Nice. What can I say? That's my girl!


More later!

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

I have decidedly resorted to desperate measures. But really, is it so weird that I've taped a picture of Jessica Simpson to my desk? After reading through the ever informative Us Weekly magazine I decided to pull a page from it to serve as inspiration. The picture is of the newly trim again Jessica Simpson (as if she was ever big). I have taped my inspiration up near my computer monitor so that I may be constantly reminded of my goal; LOSE THIS BABY WEIGHT! My hope is that having the slim, trim Jessica Simpson staring me down all day will make me less apt to bring snacks up from the kitchen.

I am headed in the right direction on the scale. I have been losing but not nearly as quickly as I'd like. My goal is to lose 15-20lbs over the next couple months. Secretly I'd love to lose 25-30 but I'm trying to maintain realistic goals so that it's not too overwhelming. I wish I could get back into running again. There was a time that I was running about 20 miles a week but that just seems way way way to ambitious. I'd be happy to be going for regular walks at the moment.

Last week over a lunch hour I made a quick trip to Steve & Barrys. Since I'm in transition with my weight I don't want to spend a lot on clothes but I do need a few wardrobe pick-me-ups to get me through the next month or two. If you have a Steve & Barrys nearby and are looking to pick up a few inexpensive pieces I suggest you check out Sarah Jessica Parkers 'Bitten' line. It's very inexpensive and I was able to find some stylish tops. I also found some flip-flops that are very similar to JCrew's but sooo cheap. They are having a sale right now 2 for $6! Word of advice though, they seem to run big, I bought 8's and should have gone with the 7's.

Here's a not so great picture of them.

This weekend we're going to spend some time out in the sun and handsome hubs and I are going out for a date night. Just dinner and a movie, just the two of us. We desperately need some adult time so I'm really looking forward to it. If I'm feeling inspired I think I might re-paint our front door and switch out the pots on either side of the door. I purchased two urns a few weeks back that would look nice. Just need to pick up some flowers from the nursery. Gosh though, it's been so hot here I'm wondering if there's anything left alive to choose from!

iPod download recommendations for the week: Hey Delialah, by the Plain White T's, The Boys of Summer (acoustic version) by The Eagles-Don Henley, and for more laid back fun in the sun don't forget Bob Marley's 'Stir it up' (nearly anything of his fits well)

Back at it....

I've missed you my blog friends! It has been far too long since I've posted but over the past week or two I have been trying to jump in and read your blogs. Everyone seems to be keeping quite busy with summer activities!

I started back to work on Monday after only 6 weeks off. I know I should feel fortunate to have even had that much time off but I'll admit it's a bit difficult. Legally I could have taken a full 12 wks but unfortunately it would have been 6 wks unpaid and with the addition of my dearest Delaney we really could not swing it right now. It's going to be an adjustment getting used to paying for 2 kids in daycare.

Oh my darlin' Delaney

Delaney (aka Baby Sissy, Laney and Laneybug) was 6 wks old Monday which is hard to believe. She has started smiling at us and cooing which has been so fun. She'll have her 2 mo check up in a couple weeks and I'm anxious to see how much she weighs now.
Big Brother Aidan is adjusting well to having Baby Sissy in the house and likes to give her pecks on the cheek.

Project Updates
My home office project has been at a bit of a standstill as adding the hardwood floor into the dining room, then finishing it as well as re-finishing the existing has been a huge undertaking.

Here is a 'before' shot of the dining room. This was after Handsome Hubby laid the new hardwood down but before it was finished. As you can see the room is not very large so when it was carpeted it really seemed to cut the room off since it was surrounded by hardwood in the entryway and kitchen. (Not sure what that little bubble in the upper right hand corner is but it's something goofy with my camera.)

Here it is nearly finished. If you look closely you'll see that we still have to re-add the quarter round trim to the baseboard and then touch up the molding with a fresh coat of semi-gloss white paint.

The table is an antique my mother bought for me. It was originally a walnut color which I generally like but I decided to paint it black. Since I just brought the table back with me on my little jaunt up to Iowa last week, I've not yet had time to find chairs for it.

Here's what I have in mind...

This is one of my faves. I like the texture, and the mix of black and browns. I've tried to intermix blacks and browns throughout my house and these have received great reviews. They're from Target and are only $79.99 a piece.

This chair is at Amazon.com and is also a steal. I like the distressed black and think it too would compliment the table.

I like this one as well however I'm a bit concerned it'd be too much black.

I'd love to get your input on which you think would look best!

In my next post I'll have to share pictures of our living room. We had new carpet installed and I think it's looking quite nice if I do say so myself. :) 'Til then happy hump day!!

***Update: Just noticed Head Hen from Runnin' the Roost asked in a comment earlier what I do for living that allows me to work from home. I'm a Project Manager and fortunately due to the nature of my postion I am able to work full time from my home office. I wake up everyday feeling so fortunate for my job and being able to work from home.***

I'm still alive!

Hello all! So sorry for the lack of updates. The past 2 weeks have been crazy around here. Lot's of projects plus a trip up to Iowa to see family has taken my attention temporarily away from my blog. I go back to work this Monday (boo hiss!) so I will be back on my computer more often and will start posting again.

I'll have a lot of pictures to share with you all! Until then take care!