tell it to your neighbor!

KEA-I-AY (pig latin)

2013-05-16T07:31:00.000-05:00

Most of my friends do not enjoy Ikea like I do. In fact, I brought Table Topics "Not Your Mom's Dinner Party" to dinner a little while ago and the question was "What's your personal hell?" My friend's answer was hilarious, "Ikea." He described the maze and feeling trapped and I completely understand and I still love the place and that's why I found it so funny.

Let's make a deal, I'll shop Ikea in person so you don't have to. I had a few minutes to breeze through Ikea on Monday and here's what I found:

Ikea's sand toys are amazing! I'm surprised they're not $10 each, they're a thicker plastic than the sand toys you might find at target or toys r us. They hold up, I've had these same toys for 2 years. And the sets are creative, an Ice Cream set with cones and everything. They're called SANDIG, they're in the kid's section and they always go fast at $1-$3 each:

I'm going to have to add this new ALMSTA chair to my Bistro Chairs post. It's so cute and it has arms! One of my Design instructors once said it's better to have ALL armchairs at a table for a dinner party because your guests will be more comfortable and want to hang out longer. I think this chair would look great with just about any table in a breakfast area or casual dining room.

Check out this fantastic vintage looking metal and glass cabinet. It comes in 3 colors. I would love this in a kitchen or bathroom. If I had a retail shop, this would make a great display case as well. It's called FABRIKOR:

Oh how I love this sketchy black and white fabric. It would be great in a kid's room or playroom as drapes or even a pillow. There's a whale, ballerina, dog, letter C, bicycle, a light bulb, camera, cake... what kid wouldn't like fabric with a cake on it? Even a shower curtain would be cool. It's called JULITA:

Look at all the colors in this high pile, wool rug. I want it! I'd want it for a cozy rug in a modern nursery, or maybe it would be nice on the foot overlapping something in my master? It's supposed to be "naturally soil repellent and very durable" and it's called ORSTED:

These spice mills are officially on my Grown-Up Wish List pinterest board. My kitchen wants them as art. :) They're called KRYDDIG:

Did you know Ikea sells plants? I didn't really start paying attention until I started stalking the store in anticipation of the topiaries I learned about from Little Green Notebook. Haven't seen the topiaries but look at these succulents:

Here's a cute vintage looking clock for your kitchen. It comes in green or cream and it's pretty big @ 2 feet in diameter. It's called SKOVEL:

I always wanted this play kitchen for my kids. It's compact, real-looking and it's now at a lower price! It's called DUKTIG:

I picked up a few of these solar powered lanterns in the color orange for my son's birthday party and they are awesome! Just take them out of the package, switch them on, hang and they automatically light up when the sun goes down.

Solvinden

I have no time to write about these last things that caught my eye but I still wanted to include them:

There you have it, a trip to Ikea without going into the store! I hope you enjoyed it this time! I did, while I was there I heard a woman ask a sales associate, "Ummmmm... Ma'am, can you just tell me how to get back to the parking lot???" More hilarity about the maze!

Quick link to a great dinner party game!:

For My Mom

2013-05-10T01:14:00.001-05:00

In honor of my Mom this Mother's Day I would like to give her something. I think she'd love how much fun my sister and I are having with our blogs. After all, my Mom was excited and using Prodigy before any of us thought about using the internet on a regular basis and I'm pretty sure she beat me to shopping online. She died (sorry, I have a hard time saying "lost" or "passed away" when it comes to her) in 2003 before our kind of blogging and social media took off and I think it would have been a dream of hers to have her art exhibited online, floating on the information super highway and inspiring others. So without further ado, I would like to feature an exhibit of my Mom's amazing talent, tell it to your neighbor!

Tracy Kranz Sundstrom: Painting, Drawing and Collage

The Aborigine

Ice in a Glass

Collage, my daughter says this is a map with bridges over water.

Old Man drawing, I'm thinking of doing something cool with this in my Master Plan.

Ladies Fashion by the Pool, she said she painted this from a fashion photo shoot pic she found in a magazine.

Still of the Forest, Gouache

Potter

Jackie O and Her Sister Lee, this painting is older than I am and I cannot believe I just found this!

Wasn't she an amazing artist?!!! And there's so so so much more to her I hope to tell you about someday. I love her and I miss her so much. Below is a picture of me (on the left) from La Jolla, my mouth dropped when I saw it because I knew there was a similar picture of my Mom (on the right). I went digging and found the picture of my Mom and my mouth dropped again because it was freaky similar, the visor, the swimsuit, the sunglasses... like history repeating itself. We were around the same age but her pic was from 25 years ago, crazy!

Me and My Mom around the same age.

I hope you enjoyed the exhibit of my Mom's art, she would have enjoyed getting to show it to you. Happy Mother's Day to you all. Celebrate a mom and/or anything else you want this weekend because life on earth is short!

Dining Room Rug

2013-05-08T23:45:00.004-05:00

My sister said her dining room was stale and boring and she asked me what she should do to fix the problem. I had been looking for her a dining room rug for a long time and I had also been trying to get her to add pink as an accent in her home. In case you don't know us personally, we are each others consultants. It is a great relationship we have! Anyway, I had just seen a rug that would be perfect! We looked at it online, she loved it, we went to take a look at it in person and the rest is history. Here are before and after pictures:

BEFORE

AFTER

The rug is from west elm. Isn't it so pretty?!! I just love it and better yet, she loves it! It's flat woven so the chairs can slide easily across it. It's affordable, kiddos dine here all the time so if something spills, no one will cry. It's graphic and bold, love this quality in a rug to spice up an interior and make it interesting. It's pink, the color is unexpected and complements her home so well, beautiful!

I'm thinking I should get 2 runners and sew them together for my hallway. Wouldn't that look lovely?! It's a masculine pattern in a feminine color, perfect! Here's west elm's photo of the product:

west elm, phoenix wool dhurrie

I've been collecting rugs on my Flooring board on Pinterest, here are a few I'm loving for the same reasons I love this one from west elm, click on the images and I'll take you there:

Also, I collect things for my sister, Carly, on my board called For CD.

Minnie Mouse Birthday Party, Part 1

2013-05-06T23:36:00.001-05:00

I'm going to start backwards for sharing our daughter's 5th birthday party, starting with the cake. Minnie Mouse was the theme and this was way back in October.

My daughter caught a glimpse again of elaborate cakes on Pinterest while I was planing her party. She was in awe of the tiered cakes covered in pink and white fondant and topped with Minnie Mouse ears. I had seen this beautiful cake and I loved the bunting topper. Also, I'm still Hooked on Bundts. So I thought I'd try to marry the three and do so very quickly and easily. Here's how I did it:

I started with a tiered cake ordered from Nothing Bundt Cakes with a hot pink bow and wrapped in cellophane. I stored it in the fridge until I was ready to add the accessories.

For the Minnie Mouse ears, I wanted to make sure the proportions were right so I traced them from my daughter's costume onto Black Adhesive Foam Sheets and cut them out. These ears are double sided so I needed 2 of each side.

Then I scored and removed all but a strip of the paper backing so that I could slide these onto a wood skewer.

Then stuck the two sides together, trimmed it a little to tidy it up and slid it onto the skewer.

For the mini bunting, Mama Moonlights rocked the house again and shrank the regular size pennants from her party packs for me. I printed the mini Minnie pennants (ha!) at home on sticker paper and cut them out. Then I laid it out for spacing before I peeled the bunting stickers and folded them over pink and white baker's twine.

After I stuck the ears in, I tied the string to the top of the skewers and wrapped it all back up in cellophane and stuck it back in the fridge.

We cannot forget the candles, I found them last minute at Target. Pink and white polka dot!

After a successful transport to the party place, here is the Minnie Mouse cake on display (couldn't help myself with that link):

And with the candles lit!

And a happy kiddo making a wish:

Oh and I almost forgot, I ordered an extra cake for the adults and I obviously should have ordered a pink bow for this one as well:

Bonus, I kept the ears and get to reuse them for our little boy's "Orange Mickey Mouse" party!

Waiting for Wind

2013-05-03T15:28:00.000-05:00

I didn't realize I was waiting for wind. I ordered these cute kites for my son's birthday coming up later this month, he loves Mickey Mouse and we all love Mary Poppins. The adorable kites arrived a couple weeks ago and as soon as it was windy I said, "Let's Go Fly a Kite!"

So we gave our almost 3 year old an early birthday present because I couldn't wait. :) And I'm so glad we did because it turned out to be a really fun family date, tell it to your neighbor! It just so happens I also picked up CRAVE cupcakes earlier that day (I'm still addicted) and we brought them to snack on at the park.

Going to fly a kite is not exactly the first thing families think of when they're looking for something to do on the weekend and if you do think of it, the wind has to be cooperating. Well, this weekend in Houston, the wind is here!!! Please let me help you remember this pastime of kite flying because it was so much fun and the memories are already in my brain forever.

It was a lot less of a hassle than you might think. All you need is a kite (I saw a new display of them on an end cap at Target today) and a field without power lines. We went to Colonial Park, there are power lines at one end of the field but luckily the wind was blowing in the opposite direction. Just hop out of the car and send it soaring!

We would help them get their kites off the ground and then they'd run around like the happiest kiddos on earth.

We took a break and ate our cupcakes.

Then went to fly some more!

I bought the Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse SkyPals nylon kites by Wind N Sun on Amazon, they're made of ripstop fabric. The company has a bunch of cute kites, check out the otter ones. ;)

And check out this cute Nemo and Dory combination I found on Fab.com, they're huge!:

I wonder if Anthony Yanez can tell us how long this kite flying wind will be around and I wonder if the weather people have a log of safe places to fly a kite in H-town. I'll tweet him to find out and I'll let you know on facebook if he responds! In the meantime, go out and get a kite and make memories while we have this wind!

Floral Workshop

2013-05-01T07:09:00.000-05:00

Time to share pics from the Moms Group get together last week! I am so grateful to Karen of the Braeswood Place Moms Group for asking me to be a part of their monthly meeting. It was so much fun meeting everyone and I hope I get to see these moms again! I am also grateful to my sister for hosting it. Normally I would have been nervous, but her house is my 2nd home. :)

I like to "do" something when I'm getting to know new people so we thought it would be fun to surprise the moms with a floral workshop. I went to Southern Floral to brainstorm and came up with the second Welcome Home Baby idea (julep cup with baby's breath). This idea was simple, affordable, beautiful and I could offer a few tips.

Guess how much I paid for these supplies? Julep cups, scissors and a ton of Baby's Breath (there was a 3rd container full of flowers sitting to the side). Just $104!

The secret to the affordability of this workshop is the julep cups, they're plastic. Can you believe it? The ladies were surprised! These plastic julep cups are used by florists for million dollar weddings!

Now here's the fun:
1. Gather about 5 stems of Baby's Breath in your hand and align the tops like a bouquet.

2. While holding the flowers in your hand, cut the bottoms of the stems all at once to your desired height. Always cut too long because you can always go shorter.

This pic makes me so happy!

3. Pour water in your cup (with just a tiny bit of floral food) and add your flowers!

Aren't they beautiful?! And I love the size of this arrangement because it can be transported home in a cup holder.

Everybody went home with flowers and a shopping pass to Southern Floral's wholesale shop. Thank you, SoFloCo!

Thank you again, Carly for hosting such a great evening!

And here's one last arrangement for the memory file, this one would be pretty for a baby girl:

Don't forget about these real julep cups from the last post, they're on sale for Mother's Day! These you can drink from, they are not plastic. The skinny one is silver plated and the other two are nickel plated:

Welcome Home Baby

2013-04-28T22:47:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple sweet ideas for welcoming home a sweet baby to the neighborhood.

Idea #1: If you are hosting a baby shower, make a wreath out of Baby's Breath to welcome your guests. Then after the baby arrives use the same wreath on the couple's front door as a quiet way to say, "Welcome home baby!" Baby's Breath dries amazingly.

Do you see the wreath on the door in the back ground?

We did this for my sister four years ago and she loved it! The idea of Baby's Breath (a.k.a. Gyp for Gypsophila) for a baby shower came from a book I have, Real Simple Celebrations (here's a pic). I figured this flower was crazy affordable but I didn't know it was also crazy fragrant! And I LOVE the way it looks when used in crazy mass abundance!

(this was my living room four years ago)

Idea #2: If you're visiting a new Mom and baby, bring them a keepsake julep cup filled with a mass of beautiful Gyp. A beautiful gift for both: flowers for Mom and a silver cup to keep for baby. This idea was the basis for the workshop at the Moms Group last week. Here's one pic from the night:

And for a little something extra, the julep cup could even be engraved. I love this hexagonal julep cup (engraved or not) from the new M&G. And it's on sale for Mother's Day!:

I'll have more pics from the Moms Group hosted by my sister at her house in the next post. In the meantime, I can't stop thinking about this Gyp wedding arrangement I found while brainstorming on Pinterest:

Source: stylemepretty.com via Erica on Pinterest

Quick links from this post:

Southern Floral

2013-04-23T23:57:00.003-05:00

Today I got to go to a happy place of mine. My husband has family ties to Southern Floral, a floral wholesaler to the trade, and I LOVE it there! The people there might be the nicest people on the planet! So, I was preparing for a Moms Group I'll be speaking at tomorrow night and I thought it would be fun to do something DIY like a simple floral workshop! You'll have to stay posted to see the outcome of that but for now, here is a peek at a floral wholesale operation:

Pallet of Peonies, gorgeous!

This is apparently a new color/species? of Hydrangea.

Julep cups.

Pass the mic? So that's what the inside of my wedding bouquet looked like!

Let's take a step into the fridge, these photos are a little blurry, I must have been shivering:

Beautiful!

Gorgeous!

Wish you were here!

I should have bundled up like these Tulips! I always forget how cold it is in this fridge!

Here's the assembly line that will soon be packed and busy making Mother's Day arrangements places like Kroger:

I wish I had a workstation like this! Maybe someday I'll work here.

the end

I love you, Susan, Scherry and Michael! Thank you for always being so kind every single time I stop by Southern Floral!

Quick links:
SoFloCo website
SoFloCo facebook

Travel Edition: Punta Mita and The St. Regis

2013-04-18T09:49:00.002-05:00

A friend on facebook was asking about ideas for a 10th Year Anniversary Trip. This reminded me of our Anniversary Trip last June and I can't believe I haven't shared it with you yet! If you're planning a momentous or luxurious trip like a Honeymoon, Babymoon or a trip for an Anniversary, Punta Mita and The St. Regis is a dream, it's paradise, tell it to your neighbor!!

Here's why I would recommend this place to the President of the United States:

#1 Location. Fly into Puerto Vallarta and The St. Regis Resort's transportation service will pick you up in a Navigator at the aeropuerto and drive you an hour north to the peninsula and gated community of Punta Mita.

#2 The Rooms. I believe the sleeping conditions on your vacation can take your experience from amazing to amaze-balls. So when we wanted to change rooms for a better "ocean view" our butler was more than happy to let us choose from three rooms. I thought, "it doesn't hurt to ask." And it payed off, here's our Deluxe Room, Ocean View:

And here's our big patio where we ate breakfast every morning:

#3 The Pools. This is my love language. An infinity pool speaks to me and they had 3 separate giant ones, tell it to your neighbor! And if it looks like we were the only people there, it felt like it. The lounge chair to guest ratio must have been 100 to 1!

#4 The Spa. Remède was the name of the spa at the St. Regis and it may have been the best spa experience I've ever had, beyond relaxing. Each day they had different treatment specials and we took full advantage of it. Have you ever had a Vichy treatment? So cool! And am I dreaming or did we really get a couples pedicure in this setting?

#5 St. Regis Rituals. Every Friday evening at sunset there is a champagne sabering ritual where champagne and cocktails are complementary! Also every morning a small Bloody Mary is served with your breakfast.

#6 The Beach. Cabanas, paddle boarding and one woman selling handmade jewelry, just right! The water was a little chilly so I got in only a couple times. I just enjoyed the sweetness of doing nothing here! Here's the necklace I bought from the jewelry maker:

#7 Golf. The Punta Mita Golf Course is a Jack Nicklaus creation and it has 8 ocean-facing holes. It was perfect for me because we could take our time. It felt like we were the only people playing. Nothing could beat the Tale of the Whale hole, it was fun to hit the ball across the water to the green!

#8 Dinner at Sufi. We almost cancelled our reservations to this "off the resort" restaurant because we didn't want to "get ready" on our last night. But the person who recommended to eat here said it was the best restaurant they'd ever been to so we had to go! And they weren't lying!!! This was a WOW! The food and the setting! We cannot stop talking about the Cucumber Margaritas and the Three Tomatoes Salad.

#9 Dining at The Resort. We loved dining casual at the Sea Breeze Restaurant with a view of the ocean. When we were by the pool we liked ordering from the Las Marietas restaurant. I still think about the cucumber, watermelon and jicama salad we ate by the pool!

#10 Sunsets and Service. Everyday, extra-special, above and beyond.

Please put The St. Regis Punta Mita on your list for a once-in-a-lifetime romantic vacation! You'll feel like a celebrity who's rented the resort all to yourself! We want to go back!

Quick Links:
St. Regis Punta Mita Reservations
St. Regis Punta Mita Blog

Jumping For Joy

2013-04-16T00:19:00.001-05:00

This spring I am loving this backyard energy burner we got for the kiddos! It was the big "Santa Gift" we debated over for days. If we could have sampled it, there would not have been a debate because now we know:

It's a blast!

It's outdoors.
It costs a fraction of a playscape.
It burns the energy of a 2 1/2 year old boy.

It's not too big for the little ones.
Our kids can help themselves and play independently.

See how low it is to the ground!

It's easy to install (my husband put this together on Christmas Eve in the dark with only the patio light and a head lamp, ha!)
It stays up all the time, always ready to go! (no inflate and deflate time like a bounce house).
It's easy to move around the yard so the grass doesn't die.

It's easy to clean, I just tip it over and knock all the leaves down and tap them out.
It has great safety features: netting and a padded frame.

We are loving it! And I think it's changed my life! My little boy is happier because he can go somewhere to get all that energy out. Our kids go back and forth between this special trampoline and our big folding slide. I love this fantastic outdoor toy, it has us jumping for joy! It's the Little Tikes First Trampoline (7')!

Quick links:

FYI - I should take the balls out and Little Tikes says this is for one child.

Round Top Report Spring 2013

2013-04-12T11:21:00.000-05:00

Here's a report on our trip to Round Top this spring. It was a little different than our usual routine because we went the weekend before the majority of the shows were open. The consensus is that going early is worth it! The pictures tell the story.

Parking is usually a breeze, but we didn't see the sign and we were so close to getting towed!

I'll be updating the How To Round Top, Part 2 post because I had my favorite guy's name wrong! His name is Ken Bizzell of KB Design located at Excess. I love talking to him and I wish I could spend a day working with him wherever he works. These are keys from a piano that had been destroyed in a fire. I'm kicking myself that I didn't bring this home for my wall!:

I did bring home a several of these piano hammers(?), hopefully I can create something cool for my master bedroom with them, I thought the colors were pretty:

Also at Excess, I thought this sideways clock was cool. The coffee mug gives away it's size:

In Warrenton, I should have taken this big linen flag for $50. I hope I find another one someday:

We discovered an awesome rug source in the North Gate Fields. Nomadic Trading Co.:

They basically bleach old rugs and dye them in a single color. Love!:

My next rug will have to be a hemp rug. The fiber is supposed to be super strong and this guy says he throws it in a commercial front loader to clean it. Awesome for dog owners! Hemp rugs:

Another new source from North Gate Fields for lamps made of relics, Peter's Lamps:

I thought these he made were cool for my friends with ties to NOLA:

From Blue Hills I found this cloche that was priced too high for me. Ever since I saw this cute post from Inspired by Charm I've been wanting one:

Also at Blue Hills, I purchased this table from Bull Chic for my Master Plan! We negotiated and settled on $200, great deal I think! It's going to be my nightstand (I'll find a new spot for the trunk):

These awesome tall antlers at Blue Hills were SOLD when I went back for a 2nd look:

More at Blue Hills, a silver Art Deco tea set and a beautiful pine chest from Antiques of Dallas:

The best part of going early was being able to watch Lone Ranger Antiques unload his Swedish furniture! Here we are loading up purchases:

Someday:

Zapp Hall wasn't open yet so we found a new place to hang, The Stone Cellar. I don't think they were expecting the crowd but I bet they will next time! Fun band to listen to:

Last but not least we stopped at Leftovers and picked up a few things:

After the eggs, I was so excited to find this paper marbling kit! Can't wait to try it!:

That's it! I wish I could have gone back a few times before it was all over, but there's always next fall!

Best Slip Ever

2013-04-09T22:43:00.000-05:00

This is the most amazing slip ever. I had been wearing a slip from high school (my sister was too, she posted about it here) until last spring, my sister pointed out my white slip hanging 2 inches below my dress. Ha! It took a moment like this to put a new slip at the top of my shopping list. I needed one, I just never thought about it when I was out shopping. I didn't know something so revolutionary existed. The brand is called Commando. Here's why it's so amazing, revolutionary and why I love it:

1. It has no elastic waist! The edges are raw (just cut fabric) so no lines or bumps are created by wearing it. Also, the comfortable dress you're wearing can stay comfortable because you don't have to wear a slip with an elastic waist underneath. No lines at your tummy!

Commando

2. It's microfiber fabric! It's soft, cool and it doesn't stick to your skin or clothes. I've washed and dried this slip a ton and it still looks brand new:

3. It's weighted at the side seam! There are tiny weights sewn into the side seams to prevent this slip from riding up. And you don't ever have to pull the slip down, the weights do the work! It took me 6 months to discover this feature. Genius!

Save yourself from discomfort (or embarrassment like me) this spring and summer and just order this slip now. Nordstrom.com has free shipping and returns, beats driving to the mall and standing in the dressing room! I have the Half Slip and now I want the Commando Tailored Slip for under my tank maxi dresses.

Best Slip Ever, Quick Links:

Seriously, Best. Slip. Ever.

The Headband Bowl

2013-04-08T17:56:00.000-05:00

My little girl is a headband girl. I find this funny because I think I wore the same black headband for a year in Jr. High. You know, for the poof in the front and the air perm in the back. Anyway, I'd been searching for a solution for storing her headbands for a while and I hadn't seen anything functional or nice looking. As a last resort I went to BB&B to buy a wall mount paper towel holder like this one but they didn't have the selection. Then I went to Home Goods to check out the baskets my blogger friend Shelli of a' la mode told us about a couple weeks ago. I was so excited to find the baskets on clearance! This cute basket was $5, tell it to your neighbor! Have you seen these similar ones from Serena & Lilly for a lot more $$?

And so it came to be, The Headband Bowl. It's holding about 16 headbands and we still have room for more. It's about 10" in Diameter and 4 1/2" Tall. I think it's pretty and functional!

Here are few similar bowls I think would do the trick as a headband holder:

If I find more bowls, I'll add them on Pinterest. Follow me and we can share more! Click here.

On another note, my whole family has had the stomach bug except me and now we're on to croup. So I haven't had much time to post. Can't wait for everyone to get better!

HC by JA at JCP

2013-04-02T01:23:00.000-05:00

What's going on in the world right now? I have no idea because I've been living at Downton Abbey for the last 2 weeks and we are just now getting to Season 3! Anyway I got on Pinterest yesterday and saw that Emily Henderson pinned an ottoman by Jonathan Adler available at JCPenney. Jonathan Adler has a line at JCPenney?!!!! Yes, tell it to your neighbor!!!!!

Ever since I picked up this desk lamp by him for forty bucks on HSN, I've been stalking his Happy Chic line and watching it dwindle. I guess he was making a shift...

I've known of him and his products for a while but after I discovered this hotel he designed I became a fan. The hotel is The Parker Palm Springs. I've never been to it but it's on the bucket list. If you go exploring on the website you'll end up smiling.

So I have no idea how new Happy Chic by Jonathan Adler is at JCP and I don't want to Google to find out. I just wanted to share it with you! Here are some of my favorites:

1 coffee table / 2 pillow / 3 rug / 4 lamp

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1 pillow / 2 bath rug / 3 panels / 4 bank

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1 rug / 2 lamp / 3 tray / 4 lamp

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1 vase / 2 bookcase / 3 book ends / 4 flower pot

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Go check it all out! There's so much to see, it's waiting for you! Click here: Happy Chic by Jonathan Adler at JCP. Also, Downton Abbey is a great reason to get behind on the latest and greatest in home goods!

Quick links:

Fresh Flowers for the Door

2013-03-28T23:44:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we went to Round Top before most shows were open and it was amazing! We stopped at Leftovers Antiques in Brenham a couple times and I picked up this hanging basket for the door for $18.95. I was hoping to create something special and fresh for my door for the Easter weekend.

I love Ranunculus and Central Market had them on sale! And I thought they'd look pretty with the aromatic Seeded Eucalyptus.

I put sandwich tupperware in the bottom of this basket to take up space. Then I taped gallon size freezer bags, triple thick, to the top of the basket. The tape is clear so you can't really see it. I also took 4 strips of tape across the top to serve as a "frog" and hold the flowers up (not shown). Then I filled the bag about halfway full with water and a little sprinkle of the flower food. Be careful to add not too much of the food because I think it sometimes bleaches the flower petals.

I hung it on the door with the upside down Command adhesive hook still there from Valentine's Day.

Now, this is my first fresh door hanging so I had no idea how it would do outside. The weather has been amazing here in Houston, so I think I've been lucky! Here is a pic of Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

I can't believe how well they are doing outside in a ziplock bag even if the weather is amazing. There will be many more fresh flowers hanging on my door in the future!

So based on these results you could hang fresh flowers on your door on Good Friday and they'd still be beautiful for Easter Sunday! (as long as it's not scorching for freezing)

Master Plan and Inspiration

2013-03-27T00:34:00.001-05:00

Inspiration struck at Club Monaco...

Our master bedroom has been bothering me for a while. It feels like a hodge podge of leftovers. And it doesn't feel like us, in fact I shut the door when people come over because it's not a reflection of my style and I don't want anyone to see it. I'm not even ready to post a "before" pic for the same reason. So to get the ball rolling on solving this problem I started a Pinterest Board called Master Overhaul, you can find it and follow it here.

I use Pinterest for brainstorming and inspiration and it helps me with direction. When I can see everything I'm considering in one spot and at the same time I can make decisions without having to purchase anything. So, it was happening, I was beginning to find a way to marry the unchangeable parts in our room: the cobalt tile in our bathroom, our red leather chair, silver bed, white dressers and my night stand area. The look of the room below seemed to be the most inspirational image I could find. I like the chambray sheets, the overall presence of white and cream and the touch of floral. This room is a great balance of masculine and feminine. I also liked the dark walls but I wasn't sure if I could do black...

Source: markdsikes.com via Erica on Pinterest

Then I walked into Club Monaco and saw this "navy black" accent wall, I knew this could be our wall color. It would look great with the cobalt blue tile in our master bath! I also loved the touch of floral here and it reminded me of a duvet I'd had my eye on... and so it all came together.

Here's the Master Plan:

Paint Color: I asked the manager of Club Monaco and she said Raccoon something and I found it! (Benjamin Moore, Raccoon Fur, 2126-20)

Touch of floral for color: I thought I'd said good-bye to floral 6 years ago but I think I need a little bit back in my life. The plan is to fold this duvet at the end of our bed and use when we get cold. It's from Urban Outfitters, it's a great price point and I'm so impressed! (Romantic Floral Scarf Duvet Cover, Urban Outfitters)

The Main Bedding, A White Quilt: This was a splurge, I've been waiting and waiting for it to go on sale, but Nordstrom Triple Rewards days did me in. It will arrive next week, love the circles! (DKNY 'Pure Romance' Quilt, Nordstrom)

Sheets, Chambray Looking: Nate Berkus has a set of Chambray Sheets in his Target line and there is a price cut so I thought I'd try them out. And if I like them, I'll mix them with these Ralph Lauren blue and white sheets, also on sale for just one more day! (Nate Berkus Sheet Set, Blue, Target and Lauren Ralph Lauren, Villa Martine Queen Sheet Set, Macy's)

Bed Skirt, Linen: If you follow TITYN on facebook then you know there was a 20% off sale at Serena & Lily and I ordered this Linen Bed Skirt. It arrived today! (Linen Bedskirt, Serena & Lily)

As everything arrives, I'm getting excited! Here's a peek into the future:

And I don't know what I'm going to do about a rug. That big purchase will have to wait a little bit. Stay posted for a reveal as soon as we get this room painted!

Quick Links:

Let's share more, follow me on Pinterest, click here!

Gorgeous Easter Eggs

2013-03-21T00:16:00.002-05:00

"Aren't these eggs gorgeous? They're amazing! Have you seen the Easter eggs?" This is what I keep repeating to my Husband and Sister. The reason I'm so impressed is because our kiddos (ages 2, 3 and 5) painted them! Maybe I'm excited too because this Easter activity was about to be a bust and it turned into a beautiful success!

This art activity was inspired by my egg dying mess and failure last year. It was also inspired by my son's Motor Class activity, laying on the floor and making balls move by blowing on them, he kept reenacting it so I knew it had to be fun! So, this is how we painted these swirling Easter eggs. Here are our supplies:

Paper Mache Eggs, found at Michael's (wooden eggs would work too, found it the wood section)
White Acrylic Paint
Acrylic Paint Set, found at Michael's (I liked this set because it had a wide variety of colors, no mixing needed to make pink)
Shoe box tops
Popsicle sticks
A shallow cup or bowl

Step 1: In a wide shallow cup or bowl (mine was too small) add a good amount of white acrylic paint (thin the paint by adding water). Then, dip baby dip to cover the Paper Mache Eggs white.

This is big time messy with helpers so you may want do this as prep ahead of time. I had tiny white dots of acrylic paint splattered everywhere on my granite!

2. Let the excess paint drip off into an egg carton. Then allow to completely dry on foil or plastic baggies. Don't stress about nicks in the paint, the colored paint will cover it up. For faster drying, flip the eggs every now and then.

3. Once the paint dries, the fun can begin! Pour rows of colored paint onto a shoe box lid. Like this:

I liked the results of the rainbow color combo the best but we also played around with an Easter looking combo:

4. Get the kiddos READY TO ROLL! My original plan was to blow the egg with a straw across the stripes. But I really wasn't thinking because when the egg reached the paint it came to a halt. I thought this whole activity was a bust!

The kids didn't think it was a bust. They just used their straw to tap and roll it through the paint. They sure knew how to roll with the punches:

To prevent the paint from getting too stirred up we had each egg make 1 to 1 1/2 trips through the stripes before we picked it up to take a look.

The kids loved watching the paint mix onto the white egg. Even the dude with a short attention span had fun:

We placed these on big Ziploc baggies to dry and then for faster drying we flipped them over every once and a while. Here are a few more pics of the finished product:

I've always wanted to attempt Japanese Paper Marbling (click here to see it in action, it's called Suminagashi), but I had no idea we'd sorta be doing it to decorate Easter eggs!

They are works of art made by little kids. And I can get enough!

Last pic. Suminagashi Easter Eggs standing at attention!:

If you get inspired by this post, please please post pics on the TITYN facebook page! I'd love to share and post them in an album. Have fun with this Easter Activity for Kids (or for grown-ups like me)! I'm keeping these eggs forever!

An Easter Basket For the Years

2013-03-19T00:22:00.002-05:00

Our Mom hand-painted our Easter baskets with flowers and our names. And we used the same ones every year. They were special to us. I wish I could have done the same but I just couldn't find the time. Anyway, I still wanted my daughter's Easter basket to be somewhat personal and made by me. So I came up with the easiest personalized one-of-a-kind basket on earth. Here's how to do it:

1. Find a basket from a craft store with an open weave, like this one from Michael's:

Or these:

2. Find a ribbon you love or a ribbon you think a kiddo will love (I've seen ribbon with trains at Michael's). I found this ribbon in the wedding section and I thought the die-cut look was pretty cute and Easter-y:

I'm a little Mommy Dearest-y about wires in ribbon. Ha! I thought these were cute non-wire options at Jo-Ann's:

3. Weave the ribbon through the basket:

4. Tie it off with a bow:

5. Add crinkle to the bottom, this gives everything a little lift:

6. Fill 'er up!

This year I'm considering an idea I saw on Pinterest to fill the baskets with art supplies (I'm obsessed with the Kid Made Modern supplies at Target). The basket is pretty cute but I think that might be more of a gift for myself than a gift for them. So I might stick with the essentials: a bunny, books, Crocs and treats.

7. Lastly and most importantly, if these baskets are going to make it through the years, store them the night before where the dog can't reach!:

In just a few minutes these baskets became personal and special to us. Just like my Mom's hand-painted baskets, we plan on using them for the rest of our egg hunting years!

Free Advice

2013-03-15T08:47:00.000-05:00

Last week I had the chance to take a last minute trip to New York City and for some crazy reason I had anxiety and I didn't easily change my plans for the weekend. But with the help of my cheerleaders I flew to New York and had an awesome trip! One of my favorite moments from the trip came from this guy hanging out at the Union Square Farmers Market:

He was giving out FREE ADViCE (donations appreciated). I loved everything about this, his confidence, him giving something to get something, the pure entertainment of whatever he would say, the pure entertainment he probably gets from the questions and the serendipity! So I was all over this, I just couldn't think of a question. I asked my friends to ask him something and then finally I just spit something out, "How do I get my little boy to stop hitting his sister?"

He probably doesn't get many requests for advice on parenting a toddler so I explained that my son is 2 1/2 years old and he just wants his big sister to give him attention, play with him and she's not always game. Then he seemed stumped, we even suggested asking a different question, but he said no, he just needed to think. Then the good stuff came out, he said, "Be firm... be gentle... but be firm... and be consistent." And then he said, "From what I know, consistency is the main thing." Firm, gentle and consistent, sounds like the man knows what he's talking about!

His name was Felix and I took away more than parenting advice. He was warm and kind as he offered his advice and he didn't care what we thought of him. He was confident sharing his feelings with strangers in hopes to help them. Now, no one is asking me for advice, but I was reminded of something helpful last week and it made such a difference that I want to share it. When I was feeling overwhelmed and thinking too many "what ifs" it was helpful to change my thoughts by living one step at a time.

One Step At A Time by Emma Margaret of Doodle Designs on Etsy.

Usually I am reminded of this and need this when times are bad. But times are pretty good and I still need help. Juggling the fun stuff is even a struggle because I still have work to do! I don't want to miss a trip to New York because the house is a wreck and I'm worried about stuff. That's crazy talk! So I prayed about it. Then I remembered, ONE STEP AT A TIME, and so I did. And it's helping me live in the NOW and absorb these fun times.

Now the cherry on top of this NYC trip was a reminder from Justin Timberlake on SNL. On our last night there I was watching him live from our hotel room perform his new love song (and my new favorite song), Mirrors. He says, "Show me how to fight for now... Yesterday is history, Tomorrow's a mystery." Here he is for your entertainment:

So, I'm fighting for now, one step at a time, trying not to worry about tomorrow.

How To: Round Top, Part 2

2013-03-07T00:03:00.000-06:00

So now that we've covered (and hopefully simplified) how to survive Round Top (food, water, shelter) in Part 1 of this post, let's talk about the purpose, shopping! The antiques fair is so big that at my pace it's not possible to see it all. However, I've seen the Kuhl-Linscomb owners out there a few times sprinting through the fields and at their pace they probably do get to shop it all! Anyway, these are our "must go" places to shop. This list will be geographical starting north of Round Top and heading south on SH 237. Here's an interactive custom map I made just for you:

View tell it to your neighbor: Round Top in a larger map

1. Blue Hills: Oh I love you, Blue Hills! This is where I purchased my coffee cart (click here) and my globe (click here).

2. Old Henry Farms: This is where Mr. Turney, the Lone Ranger of Swedish antiques, is located. I'm still looking for a Swedish clock with a "ghost" of the old paint. Also, Legendary Lighting is here, they build lamps and their attention to detail is amazing! I picked up this lady from them last fall, it's a replica of a Cadillac hood ornament:

Old Henry Farms, Legendary Lighting, Cadillac Hood Ornament

3. Arbor Antiques: This is where they have the luxury "port-o-let" as my Aunt Nancy would say. The shopping though is better than the restrooms, so many great vendors here and several have margaritas! One of my favorite booths is Olé San Miguel, my sister has posted about their shirts as one of her "favorite things"(click here), love them:

4. Marburger Farm - This show is the best. They are only open at the end of Antiques Week. It costs to get in and parking costs as well. My theory for Marburger is that they've been shopping the rest of the shows in the wee hours of the morning grabbing the best stuff before their own opening. So, if you don't feel like weeding through the fields just go straight to Marburger. Their stuff is pricier but it's a great place to find art, get ideas, spot trends and buy one of a kind.

5. EXCESS Fields - This is where my favorite vendors in all of Round Top are located. Strangely, I can't remember their names. I've tried to decipher the business cards and I think my main guys are Dave, Walter and my fav, Lanny (he built the lamps in my dining room, click here). Good thing EXCESS is small, so just make sure to see the tents in this field! I promise to figure it out on our next trip. Here are a few things from our last visit there:

I think this is Dave, he has great collections.

I think this is Walter with AtticTurnovers, I love the scale of his stuff, giant.

I think this is Lanny, this is my favorite booth to see in all of Round Top, can wait to see something new he's built!

6. Warrenton Fields - On the South East side of 237 there are fields starting from the #5 EXCESS and and a little past Legal Tender Saloon from the Part 1 of this post. Find a place to park and just walk this big area, this is where you do the best digging to find gems (if you're into the hunt). My Aunt and I thought this booth, Suburban Outlaws was pretty cute:

7. Leftovers Antiques - This shop is not along the stretch of SH 237, it's a great place to hit on the way home if you're headed back through Brenham on 290 (if you zoom out on the map you'll find it's location). Love this store, it's where I found our 5 arm wall hook (click here to see it). So if you didn't find anything in Round Top and you don't want to head home empty handed, stop at Leftovers! Or head here if you're tired of the rain:

Before you go, let's talk parking. Most of these shows listed have free parking. Sometimes you have to drive to the back of a field or to the side of a field or straight through a field to find parking. If you see a place to park and you're not blocking anything and it doesn't look like anyone can block you, then the spot is yours, own it. :) I've never seen any designated "vendor" parking, so no worries of breaking the rules.

So, book it Dan-O, you'll have a blast!

If you need further assistance check out the Show Daily's website here or Antique Weekend's website here. :)

How To: Round Top, Part 1

2013-03-01T00:03:00.001-06:00

It's been a while since we got back from Round Top, Texas last fall. So it's been forever since I promised this post, sorry! We have a pretty great routine for Round Top and I'd like to share it with you. The Round Top Antiques Fair can be overwhelming, so much so that you might avoid it. I'm going to try and simplify it for you so you won't miss a thing!

When to go? Any chance you get! "Round Top" is made up of many many many different "shows" and they all begin and end at different times. Check here on the Show Daily's website to get the general (Spring 2013, March 27-April 7) and the nitty gritty dates. This chart from the chamber of commerce is also helpful. Now here's a real humdinger, we're planning on going the weekend before most of it starts. Last fall all our favorite vendors said they sold the best stuff the weekend before everything opened. So we're going March 23rd this spring.

How to get there? By truck! If you're making the trek, be ready to haul something big back home. Borrow a big vehicle or rent a u-haul.

Where to stay? I dream of someday staying at The Prairie by Rachel Ashwell. My friend from college, Kaci, wrote about it here on her blog, Patina Green Home & Market. Someday... But for now, I love staying at the Hampton Inn! Great funny funny memories had at the inn. At breakfast we always see a couple decked out, head to toe to luggage, in Louis Vuitton. Can't wait for the reunion this spring! The Hampton Inn & Suites in Brenham, Texas is booked right now but as we get closer to the date, people cancel. Click here to check on it.

What to bring? Cash, wellies and layers! Bring cash so you can negotiate. Bring wellies because you might spend all weekend in them like we did in the fall, it rained the whole time! Wear layers because the weather is so unpredictable in Round Top. You might be freezing and wet in the morning and then hot and wet in the afternoon.

Do you see the woman in the above picture in the teal top? She's wearing a Men's Columbia Fishing Shirt with leggings and rain boots, we thought she was genius! The fishing shirt is great for the elements, it dries quickly and keeps you cool with the built in ventilation.

And apparently this is a trend, check out my cute friends last week at BBQ:

Where to eat lunch? Legal Tender Saloon. OMGoodness the egg salad, the chicken salad, the pimento cheese! Just trust me and go. And this is not a drama-free workplace so you may get a little free entertainment while you dine. It's right on the main road HWY 237 in Warrenton.

Where to eat dinner? Zapp Hall. This is my favorite part! Order dinner at the counter of Royer's Cafe (my mouth is watering for the Texas caviar!), sit and listen to live music at the Beer Garden while you eat and get a glass of champagne from the Bubble Lounge. A great way to relax after a long day of shopping! These three are clustered at Zapp Hall in Warrenton just off HWY 237 behind the Warrenton Grocery Gas Station.

Where to potty? Take your breaks at Arbors Antiques, they have a luxury mobile potty and hand washing station. It's right off the main road HWY 237 in Round Top and it's easy to drive up to and then drive off. I'm mentioning this potty because a lot of the time you're on the road and just need a quick clean stop.

Okay so this is a lot of info! I'll have to break this up in parts, Part 2 will be the important stuff: Where to Shop?! And I might need to draw my neighbors a map. Stay posted!

Oscars Party

2013-02-26T13:52:00.000-06:00

For the past 5 years I've had a very small and casual Academy Awards Watch Party at my house. We always have a blast and I look forward to it all year and I'm pretty sure my friends do too. I usually have no time to throw it all together (it's usually right after I volunteer for a week at the Rodeo BBQ) so it's all very simple and I wouldn't be able to do it without my Husband and my Sister. Here's how we do it:

I email a save-the-date on the same day the academy announces the nominees (later I send an email with more details). To get everyone excited the email comes from a leading man:

To greet my friends, this is my attempt at a red carpet. Click here for the better one I've used in the past, I couldn't find in my closet this year.

There is no time for flowers so we cut a few leaves from the yard to set the mood.

For our libations, I found these up-cycled trophy wine stoppers from Annette's Touch of Class at the Nutcracker and I thought they'd be perfect for this party, love them:

I took a last minute trip to Target for cupcake ingredients and so I was also looking for anything Red, Black or Gold to help set the stage. I found Twizzlers, Sprintz Napkins, Rolos and Oreos.

Everybody flips for the Red Velvet cupcakes I make every year. So, I'm going to have to do a separate post on how I tweak the "from the box" cupcakes, they are TDF!!

I love to toast, who doesn't like to say Cheers?! The black and white paper straws I had in a drawer helped to make it festive! Click here for the straws.

My friends come in their most comfy clothes and they graciously bring an appetizer. We snack on them for dinner the whole time, yummy!

They also bring $10 for our Oscars Pool.

We either print ballots to fill out or this year we filled out our ballots online at RunYourPool.com so we could have a live leaderboard! Click here for the gadget I used to display our iPad onto the 2nd TV with an HDMI cable.

And the winner of our pool gets to go home with the cash and also our Oscar we've been passing around since we started this tradition.

Next year we're adding earrings to the tradition. My sister and I felt like we were channeling our Mom when Carly walked in my door and we both had the idea to wear our fanciest earrings with our comfy cozy attire.

I can't forget my friends, they make this party fun. Someone in the group is either 9 months pregnant, has a newborn at home, is exhausted from a busy weekend or just finished a week of volunteering for BBQ and they all come to play. Thank you for wonderful friends!

This Is Why I Love BBQ, Day 4

2013-02-23T22:24:00.000-06:00

Judging Day!

Aprons for the judges.

My table ready for the first round of judging.

My friends and fellow Judge Coordinators.

Finalist announcements! I spy with my little eye, Aggie Coach Sumlin!

A finalist turning in their meat. So cool to watch this, they are so proud and everyone is cheering for them.

Final Round. I spy with my little eye, Aggie Coach Sumlin again!

Empty Cab line when I was leaving at 7:30pm, the police officer said by 10:30 it would be a 2.5 hour wait!

This is 8 years of Show pride!

It was pretty cool to see the Aggie Coach in our HQ. I worked up the guts to ask Coach Sumlin for a picture with him, I wanted it for my neighbors, but I was rejected! Another guy asked at the same time as me and Coach chose the guy and then split, I was so embarrassed! I don't ever ask celebrities for pics and that sealed the deal on never wanting to again!

Click here to find out who won the contest.

We cleaned up early this year so there will be no Day 5. Let the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo fun begin!

This Is Why I Love BBQ, Day 3

2013-02-22T22:21:00.001-06:00

This is why we volunteer for the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, FOR THE KIDS! Click here to find out more.

Meat tagging demonstration.

My friend's beautiful boots. For boots with similar stitching click here and for boots with a similar height click here.

You gotta know I love the solo cup chandelier and photo booth back drop!

Even better!

Now this was a fancy pit, 5 flat screens! By PITMAKER.

Dutch Oven Dessert turn-ins.

Love all the flair people wear!

You could smell the sugar from a mile away!

Dutch Oven Dessert finalists!

Is this new this year? To replace the fried Twinkie? Can't wait to try it!

Tomorrow is the big meat judging day, stay tuned for more "this is why I love BBQ" pics!

This Is Why I Love BBQ, Day 2

2013-02-21T21:34:00.001-06:00

Breakfast of Champions

Me and my friends, Laura and Kathy.

Contestant booth Dusty Bones.

Mayonnaise

Our signs were a team effort and they turned out great! Easy: foam core, duct tape and a sharpie.

Very cool invitation design.

Back in the day, this was my very favorite ride at the Rodeo.

Come back tomorrow for more "this is why I love BBQ" pics! Tomorrow is the Dutch Oven Dessert Contest, can't wait to see what all the contestants come up with!

Check out the intro to this post: Be A Hero