a pretty cool life.

instagrammed.

2013-05-21T01:08:00.000-05:00

Here's a tiny peek into what we've been up to over the past week through filtered iphone pics.
If you'd like to follow along on instagram, I'm @aprettycoollife
xoxo

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a little online shopping

2013-05-20T01:56:00.002-05:00

I've always loved online shopping.
No pressure.
No crowds.
No one to see me pick up the same item and put it back and then put it in my cart and then put it back....over and over. ;)

But since I've become a mom, it's become almost a necessity.
No matter how prepared I think we are to go to the store...
someone has to pee.
someone is hungry.
someone is thirsty.
someone doesn't like sitting in the cart.
someone doesn't like walking next to the cart.
someone wants to look in this aisle...
or that one...

And if we somehow manage to get through the store in spite of all that...
I usually forget something.
Ha!

Seriously. Online shopping is so perfect for me!

Enter Walmart's new Spark Studio.
I thought I knew everything there is to know about shopping online, but this is a whole new experience.
It's Pinterest and online shopping all in one!

Now I know sometimes Walmart and their shoppers get a bad wrap...
so not the case with Spark Studio.
Since it's set up like Pinterest, you browse items that are the best of the best.
You can even see how many times an item has been pinned.

I love this set up!
I really think {hope??} it's the direction other websites will go in the future.

I set up a Pinterest board of many of my favorite finds...

An aqua cruiser? I'm so in love.

I would looove an instax camera!

This red bistro set is calling my name.

And in addition to the fun dreamy items, I also pinned the practical.

My fave cookie gifting jars.

We use these cracker jars for everything, especially for parties!

This is our beloved green smoothie blender.

I always like to stock up on flour sack towels for gifting and other rainbowy projects!

And saving my best find for last...

A Jenny Lind bed!

From Walmart!

I love it.

Big Brother has a Jenny Lind bed like this, and as much fun as the hunt was for that one...having this pinned for when I need to upgrade beds for my two youngest is going to be so helpful.

So...
head on over and check out Spark Studio for yourself!
Tell me what you think...what are some of your favorite items??
And if you're interested, you can check out all of my pins right here. :)

xoxo

This post is sponsored by Walmart, but all opinions and references to uncooperative children in shopping carts are my own.

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recipe: our favorite chocolate chip cookies

2013-05-15T23:00:00.000-05:00

I feel a little silly even posting this recipe since I'm sure everyone already has their favorite cookie recipes, but whenever I post a picture of chocolate chip cookie making here or on instagram, someone usually asks what recipe I use. :)

I'm happy to share...and it's never let me down...so here you go!

2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 sticks butter, softened to room temp
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
as many chocolate chips as your heart desires

Preheat oven to 375* and line baking sheets with parchment.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl and set aside.

In your stand mixer, beat butter, sugars, and vanilla until creamy.

Beat in eggs one at a time.

Gradually add in flour mixture.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Using a cookie scoop or big spoon, drop dough onto cookie sheet and bake 9-10ish minutes.

Let cool and dunk in milk!
xoxo

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instagrammed.

2013-05-14T00:14:00.000-05:00

A tiny peek into our week before Mother's Day {I'll share more deets from the weekend soon} through filtered iphone pics.
If you'd like to follow along with me on instagram, I'm @aprettycoollife
xoxo

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Happy Mother's Day!

2013-05-12T00:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there! I'm so grateful for my mom, my mother in law, and the three little monkeys that call me mom. :)

Hope everyone gets a chance to sleep in and enjoy the day!!

xoxo

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the bright side.

2013-05-09T23:55:00.001-05:00

I mentioned yesterday how we've been working hard to get our yard prettied up and in summer shape.
We were due for fresh sand in our sandbox too, so on one of our trips out for mulch I picked up a few bags of play sand.

Sister couldn't wait to get right in, so we dumped the sand into our turtle the second we got home.
And just like dumping out the cereal box and finding the toy, we found rock after rock.
So it really wasn't like a prize in the cereal box.
It was more like finding a whole bunch of rocks in bags of sand.
Grumble, grumble, grumble.
I wanted sand, not rocks.
Grumble, grumble, grumble.

The two younger ones went inside for naps and my 6 year old and I sat and sifted through the sand like a couple of miners panning for gold.
He thought it was pretty much the coolest thing ever.
He had a mission to get them out and he took his job seriously.
No grumbling.
Just fun.
Just looking at the bright side.

Another lesson in mothering {and life} learned.

And to make things even sweeter, we found three new heart rocks to add to my collection. :)
xoxo

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the return of yardwork

2013-05-08T23:56:00.001-05:00

I'm finally feeling like our spring weather is here to stay.
Maybe?
Please?
I hope so.

So for the past few days I've been hauling mulch and gravel and building tomato cages and trellises {trelli??} around our yard.
I've managed to get my gardens simplified into almost all perennials over the years, but I can't help just a few flower pots filled with pretty flowers.
Plus, I love having a vegetable patch.
So today I ventured to the nursery with all three of my littles in tow to pick up our last plants.

They all behaved so nicely.
I think they were a little amazed by the overflowing greenhouse after greenhouse?
Maybe because the boys have been learning about seeds and plants at school?
I don't know, but I didn't expect it to go so smoothly and left my camera at home.

Here are the photos from my {solo} trip last year...I promise everything was just as beautiful today as it was then. :)
xoxo

All photos taken with my very favorite 50mm lens.

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gifting: a brand new baby boy

2013-05-07T01:19:00.001-05:00

Good friends of ours welcomed their second little boy into the family a few weeks ago.

We gifted them with a little handmade, a little homemade, and a little store bought.

You can download the free superhero brother printable right here.

sources:

bunting: made by me

turtle pull toy: toy store

Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton: Target

outfit: Old Navy

printable: made by me, printed on glossy heavyweight paper at the office store

And since I've brought home a new baby a few times before, I've learned that I love and appreciate the itty bitty newborn outfits and baby gifts, but practical is really, really nice too.

So I made a quick little dinner for the family.

on the menu:
cheater cheater baked ziti from Julie
salad
garlic bread
chocolate chip cookies

Welcome to the world, baby Charlie!
xoxo

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instagrammed.

2013-05-05T22:23:00.000-05:00

A teeny peek {blame the beautiful weather for my lack of picture taking! :)} into our life over the past week, all through filtered iphone photos.
Follow along on instagram! I'm @aprettycoollife
xoxo

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May the 4th...

2013-05-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

be with you.

Haha.
I crack myself up!
Happy weekend, friends.

xoxo

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HGTV fabric at JoAnn's, coupons, and indecision

2013-05-03T00:27:00.000-05:00

So I've confessed before how I overwhelm myself with projects and things I want to make...
and instead of making something...

anything...

I do nothing and take a nap on the couch.

So a few weeks ago JoAnn's sent a couple of yards of their new HGTV home dec fabrics and some trim for me to try.
They said I could make anything I wanted with it.
Anything.
Just try it out.

And I did what I did every time one of my professors gave an open ended writing assignment...
immediately had a million ideas...
and at the same time had no ideas...
because I didn't want to waste my new fabric.

So after looking at it for this long...
and getting over my nervousness of wasting it on a "bad" project...
I took my indecisiveness and decided to change up our family room pillows that I made so long ago {3 years?! Seriously??}

Totally taking the safe route...
But I hate to waste pretty fabric!

And now I can finally update the pictures in my 10 minute envelope pillow tute!
Updated pics and tutorial coming soon. :)

If you'd like to check out the HGTV line of fabrics {or anything else in the store!}, here are some JoAnn's coupons to use this weekend...

...coupons have expired...

And here is a whole bunch of ideas...because maybe you make decisions easier than me! ;)

Happy shopping and happy sewing!
xoxo

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gifting: a DIY gardening kit for kids

2013-04-30T00:35:00.000-05:00

We celebrated our niece's 3rd birthday over the weekend.

Knowing just how much my own children love digging in the dirt and watching plants grow, I put together a little gardening set for the birthday girl.

Everything I included can easily be found in stores this time of year.

I labeled the potting soil bag by running a brown lunch bag through my printer.
Directions for how I did that can be found here.
The template for the potting soil bag can be downloaded here.

I separated the flower seeds from the veggie seeds and tied them up with twine.

And then I started loading up the box with gardening goodies, starting with a layer of tissue and grassy paper shreds.

It was snug, but everything fit!

sources:
rake and shovel: JoAnn's
garden gnome: Walmart
plant markers {tongue depressors because I forgot to order actual plant markers!} and pencil: JoAnn's
seed packets: Walmart
potting soil: Walmart
seed starting pots: Walmart
garden gloves: Target
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle: Amazon
crinkle paper "grass": Party City {left from this project!}

Happy birthday Violet! Happy gardening!
xoxo

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instagrammed.

2013-04-28T20:50:00.000-05:00

Little bits and pieces of our life through filtered iphone pics.
You can find me on instagram as @aprettycoollife
xoxo

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Earth Day craft: a kite from packaging materials

2013-04-26T15:13:00.001-05:00

thredUP recently asked me to participate in an Earth Day craft challenge using their polka dot packaging.
Of course I said yes to polka dots!

I thought and thought about what would be a good way to re-use the packaging...and of course thought of something I knew the boys would love.
A kite!

If you'd like see how you can craft one {in only 10 minutes!} too...visit the thredUP blog for the full how to.

And...if you're feeling really awesome...
go on over to their facebook page vote for your favorite project! {I hope it's mine!!}

If I win, I get a $200 gift card to my fave craft store! Yay!
Plus, readers of my blog will get a coupon code to thredUP to use themselves and two random voters will get a $25 gift card to thredUP! Double yay!

High fives for voting, friends! Happy Friday!
xoxo

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kcw: day 1

2013-04-25T23:00:00.000-05:00

Like I already mentioned, I have a few projects to sew in mind, with my Mini Boden catalog close by for inspiration.

When I posted this pic on instagram/facebook, I got a few questions about sources, so here goes.

Blue stripe and yellow stripe...both shirts. The blue was once mine...from Land's End...and yellow was purchased last year with the intent of upcycling...from Walmart...I plan on making them both into leggings

Coral...also a shirt purchased just to refashion. Also from Walmart. I plan on making it into a tunic/dress.

Violet gingham...yardage from my stash. Super old, but I know I bought it online. {I'm no help!!} Also going to be a tunic/dress. I plan on pairing it with the blue stripe leggings.

Blue gingham...also yardage from my stash. Purchased at the same time as the violet gingham. This will be a bubble skirt.

Floral...vintage yardage. This became a dress.

Anywho, even though I'm a little late getting started, I did make a dress out of the vintage floral last night.

The pattern is my often-used sweet dress by Leila and Ben.

I'm very comfortable with this pattern, and I've said it before I don't care for the directions, so I just make it my own way.

This is a really quick sew with a serger and it's a cute, flattering fit on my girl.

Sister got a ton of wear out of her gingham and floral ones last year.

This morning I was questioning whether I like the fabric for this dress after all.

As cute as I thought it looked in my head, I started doubting it.

Like it looked just a little too much like my grandma's housecoat...

Haha.

I got a whole bunch of suggestions from instagram and facebook friends and I think once I add pockets to the front it'll lose the grandma thing it has going on right now.

Tonight I'm going to spend my sewing time cutting {so not my fave part!} so tomorrow I can crank out those leggings!!

Have you made anything for kcw??

I'd love to see it!

xoxo

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around here: the laundry

2013-04-24T16:51:00.000-05:00

It probably doesn't surprise you that I have my work cut out for me when it comes to washing clothes around here.
I do A LOT of laundry.
Like a lot.

Two boys.
A toddler.
A husband who spends a ton of time on muddy golf courses.
Dirt and messes just seem to find us.
Ha!

So when Method contacted me about trying their ultra concentrated detergent, it got me thinking about how much time {and money and energy!} I spend on laundry. I probably wash hundreds of loads a year.
Hundreds!
Yeesh.

That's a lot of detergent going down the drain.
That's a lot of manufacturing.
That's a lot of packaging.
So that got me thinking again...

Now "going green" and doing right by the planet is important to me, don't get me wrong...I have three children that will be living on this Earth long after I'm gone. But I'll confess that I don't like to compromise on effectiveness and I don't want to add any extra steps to my life.
Cloth diapers?
Not for me.
Packing my car and driving to a recycling center?
Not gonna happen.
Getting rid of that SUV for something more fuel efficient and friendly to the environment?
Nope. Sorry.

But I can do little things.
Like switching to concentrated laundry detergent.
It uses less packaging and I know it's manufactured responsibly using sustainable materials.
THAT works for me.

So for the past few weeks I switched detergent.
I'm happy to say it's fantastic.
All of the things I liked about my old detergent...the scent, the effectiveness of getting out THE CRAZY NUMBER OF STAINS that happen in this house...all there.
Doing the right thing for the environment? Check.
Not sacrificing convenience or function? Check. Check.
I'm so glad I made the switch.

Want to try Method for yourself? How about winning a whole year's supply of detergent??
Click here and enter.
Good luck!!

xoxo

This post is sponsored by Method. Method provided product for me to try, but opinions and photos of unfolded laundry are my own.

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earth day, kids' clothing week, a whole bunch of links, and whatever else I'm forgetting.

2013-04-22T23:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Earth Day!
{is that even something people say?? Ha.}

The weather was finally decently springlike around here today so we spent the afternoon working in the yard.
I'm longing for the hot days and blooming gardens of summer!
We mainly spent our time pulling leaves and the mess left over from fall/winter out of the garden beds, but while the boys were digging for worms and the other grossness that little boys love, I was plotting.
This year is going to be the year I actually build a cucumber trellis. With a deck and wanting enough grassy areas for our littles to play, we're really limited on space for gardens.
We have two raised beds and I've heard plenty of good things about square foot gardening, so I've been researching these like crazy.
A trip to Home Depot for supplies is on the schedule for tomorrow. ;)

I saw this darling little succulent terrarium project last week and fell in love.
We took a trip to the nursery this morning to pick out a few plants.
I'm really looking forward to making it and putting it in the boys' room!

Kids' Clothing Week started today. {Well, yesterday I guess...}

I haven't even started thinking about what's on my list to make.

I'm feeling that way a lot lately.

Life will slow down soon, right?!

I took the fall week off, but last spring I was pretty productive.

I'll definitely be making leggings and maybe a few dresses/tunics. Sister got a ton of wear out of these last year and they're a really fast sew.

Method offered me the opportunity to try their concentrated laundry detergent a few weeks back and I've been using it ever since.

I have a draft of a post about what I thought about it for {hopefully} tomorrow.

And psst...if you didn't see me post it on facebook or twitter...you can enter to win a year's supply of detergent for yourself. Go here to enter. :)

xoxo

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instagrammed.

2013-04-15T01:14:00.000-05:00

An update of my instagrams is way overdue.
Here's a little peek of what we've been up to in the past 3-ish!! weeks.

If you'd like to follow along, I'm @aprettycoollife :)

xoxo

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Our kitchen, 4 years later

2013-04-11T02:27:00.000-05:00

One of my first big projects to post as a blogger was our remodeled kitchen.

{I totally cringe linking back to my early posts!} But I'm happy to say I'm just as crazy about the improvements we made today as I was back then. I've tweaked a few things here and there, but for the most part I've left it alone.

Back when we remodeled, I had a newborn and a 2 year old. I made a few meals a day of finger foods and then dinner for my husband and me. Now...I spend SO much more time in the kitchen. Those little babes are now growing boys who eat like growing boys!! {And their sister follows me around like my shadow :)}

So after all the time I've spent in the kitchen, combined with my spring cleaning fever, I'm ready to make a few changes.

Nothing crazy.
Nothing major.
Just some things to freshen up the space I spend the most time in.

For starters, I plan to...
give my step stool a fresh coat of paint
add another plant or two {or maybe an herb garden?} to the windowsill
line the cabinet shelves {with a pretty color liner for the cabinets with glass fronts!}
finish reorganizing my pantry...starting with spices in mason jars like my collection of sprinkles!
rework our chalkboard into an entire chalkboard wall with a proper hanging system for artwork
get a new rug for the back door!

...and of course anything else I may think of along the way!

Keeping it real...this is what the dining room table usually looks like...

And in case you're thinking of revamping your kitchen, Home Depot has this video about updating your kitchen to get you started. :)

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Easter weekend, a week late

2013-04-08T00:53:00.000-05:00

Spring break was this past week and I guess it applied to my blog, too...
Oops.
So here is our Easter weekend in many pictures and not too many words. ;)
We had a beautiful and full weekend with family.
I hope yours was just as lovely!

Egg dying. Every year it's our day before Easter tradition.

We hunt for eggs filled with treasures the bunny left on Easter morning.

We headed to my parents' house for Easter dinner, which also ended up being a little birthday celebration.

Bunny jars in action. :)

These little bunnies have become an Easter joke in the family.

Every year my mom decorates the table with these little guys.

And every year my grandpa and husband think it's funny to point their little bunny butts towards me.

We're all a bunch of weirdos, I know. ;)

After we were home and the littles were tucked in my husband and I finished the last episode of History's The Bible, which had me all emotional. Did you watch?? I thought it was so beautiful!

Anywho, this was only a week ago, but it already feels so long ago.
Spring break is over, but it feels like just now the weather is just starting to turn to feel like spring and we are thrilled!
We've been cooped up for too long and I've been itching to do some serious outdoor spray painting. :)

Have a good week, friends!
xoxo

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Happy Easter!

2013-03-31T13:42:00.001-05:00

Happy Easter, friends!

Enjoy the day!

And if you don't celebrate Easter...have a super Sunday! :)

xoxo

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Easter bunny treat jars

2013-03-28T21:39:00.000-05:00

I made these little bunny jars full of chocolate eggs as Easter gifts for the boys' teachers and a few other friends and family.

I made them the same way that I made the giraffe barrette jars over the summer.

Really simple and easy.

Although I think I prefer jars filled with candy to jars filled with barrettes.
Haha.

When I instagrammed/facebooked pics of these yesterday I got some questions about my sources.

Here is where I found everything, but I'm sure after the Easter rush little toy bunnies will be more readily available.

Teeny photo bomber back in action. :)

sitting bunnies {Schleich} found online from Toys R Us
leaping bunnies {found locally at Michael's}, also available here
green paper shreds from Party City
jars are emptied Smucker's peanut butter containers {I think jars that don't "pop" when opened work best for this project since the surface is more even...these peanut butter jars come shrink wrapped and don't pop}

spray paint by Rustoleum, satin finish

strawflower {yellow}
French lilac {violet}
sweet pea {pink}
green apple {green, haha.}

Happy Easter, friends!
xoxo

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The cake.

2013-03-26T23:07:00.000-05:00

Sunday, I made a cake for my husband's birthday.

I instagrammed this picture and got a few questions...so here are the deets:

Chocolate cake.

Whipped cream cheese frosting.

It's fantastic.

And I am not a chocolate cake kind of girl.

But for this I make an exception. ;)

The cake is a Devil's Food, prepared from a box.

I usually bake it in two 8 inch round pans and then slice them into four layers, but I could only find my 6 inch pans the other day, so this cake is extra tall.

For the frosting:

Whip 1 pint of heavy whipping cream and set aside.

Combine....

a softened 8 oz bar of cream cheese

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

...in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment until smooth and creamy.

Fold in the whipped cream.

Then just alternate layers of cake/frosting/cake/frosting/etc...

I wrap a piece of waxed paper around the outside of the cake to prevent it from drying out and put it in the fridge for a good 6 hrs (but overnight is better!) before serving.

And my fabulous foodie friend {who has spent the past few months travelling around Paris and the rest of Europe...swoon!} taught me that a cake frosted like this is actually not my lazy girl solution to uneven layers and messy frosting on the sides of my cakes...but a cake frosted in between the layers but not on the outside is a tomboy cake. I really do learn something every day! ;)

xoxo

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instagrammed.

2013-03-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

***************************************************************************
***************************************************************************
A tiny peek into the last two-ish weeks in our lives through filtered iphone pics.

If you'd like to follow along on instagram, I'm @aprettycoollife :)

My little shopping buddies.

At our favorite store.

Again.

New shoes.

They all fit their little personalities, too.

My old 50mm lens found itself a new home.
I just had to send it off in washi style. ;)

Bunny sprinkles!

Working on some bunny crafts.

Plates with compartments are big around here.
Taco dinner, deconstructed.

I waited too long to order jars for my little bunny craft.
So we are now the proud owners of 12 lbs of peanut butter.
Fave pb recipes very welcome in the comments. :)

My two patient children doodling away.

My washi collection...

That I used for this.

Target popcorn.
It's like a food group around here.

Rainbow fun at the party store.
Hunting for anything green.

Ikea straw colors making me happy.

I'll never be too old for a Hello Kitty bandaid.

...but I may still not be old enough to handle a knife properly.

Ouch.

'tis the season for Shamrock Shakes!

Have a good week, friends!
xoxo

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Organizing: sprinkles in mason jars

2013-03-20T23:30:00.000-05:00

This is one of those things that I can't believe took me so long to come up with.

My embarassingly huge collection of sprinkles was getting way out of control and unruly...not only do I have lots and lots, but they all seem to come in different shape and size packaging.

Tubes, tubs, jars, Target Dollar Spot containers...they were really messy.

So I turned to mason jars.
I have a ton.
They're stackable.
Perfect!

If you follow me on instagram, you already saw this pic this morning and know that this was the start of my spring cleaning.

Most cabinets weren't too bad...plates, cups, mugs, silverware...the kinds of things that don't stray too far from their places. But the cabinets with the miscellaneous items {like this one!} were getting out of hand.

Tomorrow I tackle the spice cabinet...fingers crossed for long naps!

xoxo

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