rustic and romantic girl's room

obviously, i've started the hunt for the new baby's room, as this is my second post this morning about nursery decor! 

this is a strong contestant for the direction i might head in for my little girl's room. i love how eclectic and rustic and romantic it is. just beautiful.

Check out this link for more pictures.

if i were having a boy...

...i'd want to decorate his room something like this! figures, on my search for baby girl nursery inspiration, i find a baby boy's room i'm in love with! maybe we'll just have to try for a third... ;)

and i might have to give matt a project after seeing this armchair turned rocker. how smart? i've been really disappointed in the glider we got when we had noah...i can't stand the way it looks, and the slider mechanisms often catch. i'd love to have a rocker that's as gorgeous as this one!

see tons more inspiration at oh dee doh.

couponing; the new way to shop (new to me at least)

 (photo source)

last week, my life changed! no really, it did. ok, well at least the way i shop changed. i took a coupon class. yes, yes i did. i channeled my mother-in-law's deal-finding ways, and signed myself up for this class that would put me right alongside those women who are constantly facebooking and twittering their "i bought 50 items for $0.23" shopping excursions. after taking this class, i now have one of those experiences under my belt, and feel as though i must shout it from the rooftops! actually, i can't shout too loudly yet, because i'm still figuring it all out, but here's the bulk of what i learned with a lot of details in-between.

stack your coupons. which means use multiple coupons on one item that is already on sale. revolutionary!

of course there is so much more to it, so i highly recommend taking a similar class, but if you live in the st. louis area, i am in the process of figuring out how to host a class at my house. let me know if you're interested in coming.

as a stay-at-homer, i've been convicted recently that part of my responsibility is to figure out how to get the most mileage out of our finances. i haven't always (ok, never) been great at doing this, so i'm pretty pumped about becoming a little better.

some handy resources: (i'm sure there are millions of others, but again, i'm new to this, and this is where i'm starting!)
Coupon Kadie
Money Saving Mom

old fashioned ice cream party

my baby boy's 2nd birthday was on saturday and we had a party to celebrate! i was going for old fashioned ice cream shop party. the colors were orange and teal. homemade food and homemade decorations and lots of friends set the scene!

homemade sliders and mac and cheese; homemade vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream, accompanied by tons of toppings in mason jars; orange slices and cheese balls in glass jars on each table; homemade bunting hanging from the ceiling; playful balloons; photo garland of noah's 2nd year; lights above the yard; kids with ice cream faces and wet heads from swimming; and loving grandparents, all equal a really special and memorable birthday party. 

i still can't believe i have a two year old!

baby girl shower

friend, kristin is having a baby girl in october, so we had a little shower for her last weekend. I hung pink poms poms from the ceiling, set out my pretty china tea cups and made several pink little treats to munch. we had a lovely time and kristin received a lot of girlie gifts!

peach creamsicles

after finding these adorable popsicle molds at ikea this summer, i committed to making noah lots of frozen treats. i've made various forms of berry and banana concoctions and a watermelon and lime mix (given to me by friend sandra), and just last night, i came across an orange creamsicle recipe.  i felt an immediate impulse to make them because they sounded so delicious; but i didn't have any oranges or orange extract (which is apparently necessary).  what i did have though, were lots and lots of peaches, so i decided to substitute. i blended together ripe peaches, milk, vanilla yogurt and honey. 

i love how easy popsicles are to throw together. whenever we run out, i look in the fridg, see what i have and go with it. i especially love that noah thinks he's getting a real treat, and i know that i could actually serve them for breakfast!

Sewing Room

has it really been since june that i last posted something?! good gracious, i'm a slacker! i'm going to try to be "back!"

in june, i took a trip with some girlfriends to ikea in chicago, and bought these new shelves, along with a few other organizational type things to help get all of my sewing gear in order. i feel so much better about the room now. a simple change, but it has helped so much!

duke charm

i was telling friend shanna that my sis-in-law, marsa` did a fabulous job decorating for my brother's graduation party. she made the comment that all marsa` had to do was breathe on whatever she was doing, and it would come out great! i agreed.  

the duke colors are white and royal blue, which would have initially posed a bit of difficulty for me, but marsa` tackled it with charm. she made royal blue pom poms and royal blue bunting and combined them with beautiful flowers and candles. wa-lah, it was gorgeous.

the happy couple.

UPDATE:  go here for a tutorial on making pom poms and here for a tutorial on making bunting.

sweet tooth

why do i keep finding these delicious recipes while i'm in the depths of project skinny??? surely there's a reason i can come up with to cheat and make these dishes!

these are congo bars. a combination of a chocolate chip cookie and a brownie!
(photo credit: bakerella)

this is my granny's chocolate cobbler. well, not my granny, but somebody's.  really, whose granny it is, is so beside the point though, because look at that ridiculous amount of gooey chocolaty goodness.  don't you just want to jump through the screen and stick your finger in that? looks so delicious!
(photo credit: tasty kitchen)

table-scape

i need to have a party so that i can set up a table like this:

 

amazing!

(photo credit: once wed)