I want a new drug.

Tonight began innocently enough, a simple trip to the ATM and onto the grocery store. It wasn't time for my next fix, not even close but as I pulled away from the ATM a thought crossed my mind. Maybe I should do it. I'm so good at it, so quick. Nobody at home would be the wiser, a quick in and out if you will. So, against my better judgement I went. I went for my fix even though I had just gone 2 days earlier. Hello. My name is Suburban Momma and I'm a Target junkie.

Like any good Target junkie worth her grain in salt I know where to find the goods. The goods with the little red sticker. Oh how that little sticker can make my heart race, my step a little quicker as I push my rickety cart towards the object of my desire. I vie for cart space at the end of each aisle (where many of the items wearing that brazen little sticker can be found). You know you're amongst other hardened Target addicts when you see random milling around, hovering at the end of the back aisles. I like to think of them as an instant friend. Someone on the same mission as I. Someone with like minded goals.

Tonight was different though. I was stronger then usual, I put items in, let them ride around in my cart for a bit while I reasoned with myself. Eventually the majority ended back on their perspective shelves, right where they belonged. I'm proud to say that Suburban Momma pervailed and walked out with a few great items, several of which bore that little red sticker, but all rang in at under $20 total. That never happens. I don't know ladies but I'm feeling strong like I can conquer anything!

Suburban Momma 1; Target 0

(Psst, has anyone checked out the Old Navy 40% off kids and baby sale??) :)

My take on tassels

A month or two ago stumbled upon a great blog, Nesting Place. 'The Nester' has a great sense of style and she's great to share with us some of her fabulous decorating ideas. In addition to her great decorating skills she makes adorable tassels which she sells on Etsy. Check her out if you've not already!

Several months back while wandering aimlessly around Hobby Lobby I came upon some tassel caps. They are unpainted wood caps that were marked down to .25 cents each. Not ever having made a tassel before they sat untouched in a jar in my office, waiting for inspiration. Inspiration was found after stumbling upon 'The Nester's' cute tassels. I did some googling and found instructions on how to make them and here's what I've done so far.

My tassels aren't nearly as cute has her's but it's been fun to make them and I intend to perfect my technique!




Handsome Hubby thinks I'm a goof, watching me as I try to find different places to hang my little tassels, and Aidan finds the tassels funny. Hmmm, not sure why but for whatever reason they make him chuckle. :)


Another blog that you have to check out if you haven't already is Kari & Kijsa. These two sisters are beyond creative and inspirational. They provide decorating tips, helpful hints and creative projects.

Laney gets her dollhouse bookcase

Hello blog world friends! Another month has passed and I am finally getting around to post. I've been busy with life in general, oh and reading everyone elses' blogs. :)

We finally completed the much anticipated dollhouse bookcase. You may recall I've talked about this 'infamous' bookcase several times over the past few months and after what seems like forever it's finally complete. Handsome Hubby built this from a PDF format plans I bought on eBay for around 4.oo. I know you can buy one similar at Target but it I didn't like that you could see the screws on it plus it was a bit less expensive to do it this way.

Dollhouse bookcase in progress...

and now completed!

I'd like to decorate it a bit differently but for now I just threw these things in it to dress it up. If you've got a keen eye you may notice the Strawberry Shortcake doll and horse. Oh I wish you could smell them! Yummy! I was a HUGE fan of Strawberry Shortcake so of course Santa had to make a point to bring Laney her own this year. (Even though she's nowhere close to being able to play with them!) :)

The cute little green chair is a 1.00 junk store find that I painted. So cute!

Just have to share!

We had professional pictures taken of the kids just after Thanksgiving and this is the one we chose for the Christmas Cards.

Stocking Stuffer Ideas - a few of my current faves

I've recently found a couple of great products that I thought I'd share with you. (In case you're looking for some last minute stocking stuffers!)

Cover Girl's LashBlast mascara - drugstores approx 6.99

I've been reading in several magazines great reviews about this mascara but it took looking at 3 different stores before I finally found it. It's pretty new so I don't know if the issue was that not all stores have it in stock yet or if they're just selling out that fast. The wand is big and a bit hard to get used to initially but I really like how it works!

Bare Escentuals - bareVitamins Prime Time Foundation Primer - approx 21.00

A friend who also uses Bare Escentuals products recommended this primer and I think it works great.

Sonja Kashuk - Kashuk Tools Bristle Hair Brush - 14.99 at Target

I read reviews about this brush a while back and had to try it. The reviews were comparing it to the very pricey Mason Pearson brush and raved about how great it worked. It's from the Sonja Kashuk line at Target and although it too, took a couple of trips to different Targets to find, I have been using it for a few weeks now and am impressed. In fact, I've received several comments on how soft and shiny my hair looks, it just feels healthier after I brush it.

MAC lipglass - Lustreglass in Lustrewhite - approx 14.00

The color featured in the picture above is not the color I've been using but all of the MAC Lustreglass shades seem great. The one I'm using right now is Lustrewhite and it's the perfect neutral lip gloss. Instant Gold is one that I'd like to try as I have a friend that uses it and it really looks good.

The HomeGoods Store

I just love Marshall's HomeGoods store. I could spend hours just milling around there. Here's a find from my last 2 hour trip to the store. I have a little Santa collection going and I love how he has a vintage look and was only 7.99!

Misc Projects in the works

Busy as usual around our house with Christmas shopping, decorating, celebrating and a couple of projects underway in the midst of it all.

One of the projects we've been working on is an old dresser my Mother gave us that she had in storage which will be in Aidan's room. We decided to paint the dresser in a dark brown color called 'Burnt Tile' by Valspar at Lowe's. I picked this color based on a changing table Lowe's featured in their Creative Ideas magazine.

Taking a 'before' picture was a bit of an afterthought. As you can see, the 'before' picture was taken after work was underway! Sorry, some of these pictures are a bit blurry.

I already painted the dresser in these pictures but as you can see the bottom had a scalloped edge which, although it would have been cute had we painted it white, we decided the dresser needed a cleaner line with the modern brushed nickel hardware and dark brown color.

This picture is a bit blurry but as you can see we pulled the front scalloped piece of the dresser and replaced it with a piece of wood handsome hubby routered to create a beveled edge to match the rounded edge on the top of the dresser.

And ta-da! Here is the finished look! I'm very pleased with how it turned out. The mirror will be hung above the dresser and I have yet to put my decorative touch on the top but I'd like to get a small brushed nickel lamp (I LOVE lamps!) and a few other accessories added soon.

Handsome Hubby also built the dollhouse bookcase which I've talked about in previous posts. I'm finishing up painting it and hope to have it done and pictures to share by the end of this weekend. It's really turning out cute!

Since I have some vacation time to use up before the end of the year I am taking tomorrow off to do some running around. I have some Christmas shopping to do and then a hair appt. I'm trying to work up the nerve to cut some of the length off, maybe to my shoulders but there's a good chance I'll chicken out once I get there. I just need to do something different with it.

Tomorrow night we're going with some friends to see a theatre performance of A Christmas Carol. We plan to grab a bit to eat beforehand down at the Plaza which is just beautiful this time of year. I'm really looking forward to some adult time.

More updates soon!