Addicted to Pinterest

Image via The Idea Room

First pinned by Cindy Cloyd via Pinterest

So if you haven't checked out Pinterest yet then go...now!!  

I'll wait...

It is a completely genius site that is creative inspiration to the extreme.  As you are browsing the web and you come across images that are inspiring, beautiful, useful, creative, insightful, etc. you "pin" the image to your board.  The image will link you directly to the site that contains that picture so you can come back to it at any time.  I have become completely addicted and can't wait to start making a lot of the ideas I have pinned.  These are 2 of my Halloween favs using Oreo cookies.  I can't wait for Ava and I to make these for her little friends.  I have a feeling that sharing Pinterest ideas will become a weekly post for me.  As I mentioned, totally addicted!

Sweet, Sweet Honey

image credit

This morning Ava and I finished up the last of our Savannah Bee Company honey.  We've been on a kick of sharing a toasted bagel with a little butter and this yummy honey drizzled over it.  While we were in Savannah with some friends this past September we came across this little honey store.  We sampled several different types of honey and even munched on some honeycomb.  I came home with the tupelo and black sage honey.  Now I'm wishing I had bought more.  Somehow Missouri honey just doesn't taste as good.  Steve says it's just because I know it's not as expensive...he might be right :o)

Parents Shouldn't Text

My darling husband sent me a link to www.parentsshouldnttext.com.  Being less than 2 weeks away from giving birth, I should not have browsed this site.  I came very close to peeing my pants...multiple times!  Too, too funny!!!

Warning: some of the messages are a little inappropriate but still really funny.

Winter Hands

Every winter my hands get so chapped and dry.  They even start to bleed at times.  I know that was probably too much information but it happens.  I am in love with this hand lotion.  Yes, it is expensive ($19 a tube) but a little goes a long way and it keeps my hands in great shape all winter long.  Steve and I opened presents early this year from each other and this was in my pile of goodies from him.  Love it!  Just thought I would share in case you had some last minute person who you never know what to buy.  Steve uses some of their men's line too.  It's all around good stuff.  Check it out if you feel like pampering yourself or someone you love.

Free Holiday Tag Printables

 

Seriously cute *FREE* tags to print off at www.welovetoillustrate.com.  Just in time for all that wrapping you have to do this holiday season.  I just started wrapping this past weekend and with a 2 year old helper it takes just a wee bit longer than usual.  Oh well, she's having fun wrapping and that's what matters.

Chilly Day

Image: Pinterest

Our furnace stopped heating today so lets just say we are busting out the sweaters, warm socks, blankets, etc. until we can get it fixed.  If I had a sweater for our bun like this little guy I would have him in it.  Here's to hoping you're spending your Friday nice and warm! 

Go check out the cute little pig in red rain boots on Pinterest, too.  He made me smile.

Family Pictures

I am in love with our family pictures this year.  Ashley and her sister of LeLe Photography work together and take amazing pictures from weddings to births to little ol' families like us.  After rescheduling twice due to weather and Ava being sick, we finally had a gorgeous day to take some pictures with Ashley.  Ashley was amazing with Ava.  She did a great job telling us how and where to look and smile. She even did a great job of not making me feel like the giant blob that I am right now!  Steve and I joked that she is now permanently on our calendar for at least the next 10 years.  If you live in the St. Louis area I would highly recommend these girls for your pics of any kind.  They were awesome!!

Beautiful Books

Image Source: Anthropologie

Penguin does a great job of making their books attractive.  Their classics are beautiful and now they have a line of children's classics that are just as stunning.  It's hard to resist buying the set for my little one to enjoy down the road.  Who am I kidding?  They'd be for me to enjoy, the kid's 2 right now!

Anthropologie has them now.  Gotta love that store!

Gifted Magazine

*Image from Creature Comforts

I am a sucker for presentation and packaging.  Gifted, a new holiday online magazine from Creature Comforts, knocked this one out of the park.  The EZine is well thought out, organized and easy to navigate through on the computer.  There are loads of inspiration ideas, projects, free printables and even the occasional recipe.  There are so many great packaging and gift-giving ideas in this magazine I don't know where to start!  The gift guide at the end I love, love, love.  All you have to do is click the name of the company and you are taken to their website.  How much easier can shopping be?  I also like that a lot of the companies involved are small businesses and bloggers.  It always makes me feel good when I support small business.  They have thought of everything including gifts for your pets.  Do yourself a favor and go check it out.  Trust me you'll love it and come away with at least one idea to use this holiday season.

Fall Crafty Goodness

Mums Wreath Kit from Paper Source

Fall Leaf Wreath Kit from Paper Source

How great are these kits?  I love the soft warm colors of the mum kit.  This is a store that I can get lost in for hours.  It's probably a good thing that the closest one is 3 hours away in Kansas City :o)  Have a great weekend!

Easter Banner

I love decorating for the holidays and now that we have a kiddo it makes it even more fun to go all out. 

I wanted to make a banner to hang on our mantel, so I started with my monsterous pile of scrapbook paper in my closet.  I have a weakness for all things with crafty cuteness such as paper, fabric, fonts, etc.  I cut out 12 4x4 squares of various papers that coordinate.  I used my corner round punch to make them a little softer.  I then typed out "Happy Easter" on my computer in Word using this adorable free Kwekel font from Free Scrapbook Fonts.  It's a good block type font with a little pizazz.  The little chick clip art came from Discovery Education which I used a lot as a teacher.  I then cut each letter into a 3x3 square, rounded the corners and used double sided tape to afix the letters to the paper.  Hole punch each corner and pick out a ribbon to tie them together.  Ta-da!  You have a great springy banner to hang from your mantel, across a doorway or even a window.  Super cute, cheap, and adds a little color to the room. 

Feelings for Fabric

It's quite possible that I love the fabric that arrived in the mail for me yesterday.  I bid on this Moda Eden Layer Cake by Lila Tueller on Ebay not expecting to win and I did!  I was actually the only bidder.  There is quite a rush to winning something you really want on Ebay. I got the fabric for under what I was willing to pay and less that all other sites I had checked so that made the buy even better. 

I decided to make a throw for Ava as my first large project.  I thought a Layer Cake by Moda would be good because they are already cut into 42 10x10 squares with all the coordinating fabrics selected for you.  I fell in love with the Eden set and knew those would be great fabrics for her.  I am going to start cutting the pieces over the weekend using these instructions from the Moda Bake Shop for the Snuggly Layer Cake Throw.  It looks like an easy and cute quilt to start with.  I adore the Moda Bake Shop website.  If you are a fabric junkie and haven't checked it out, you should head over there...now!!  There are loads of free "recipes" for all types of projects.  I'll keep you updated on my throw progress.  It should be interesting to say the least.

Spooky Spiders

The great thing about reading blogs is finding new resources which I love! I say read but really I am a visual person so I look at the pictures. There are a few really well written blogs that I do read but most that a peruse daily are more for visual ideas. I can't remember whose blog I was browsing but they mentioned a website that they found, so naturally I clicked to check it out. I was so glad I did because it has so many ideas!! The website is called Bright Ideas and contains so many cute and creative ideas using candy. How fun, right? Most of the fun recipes call for the good stuff too. You know like Twix, Snickers, M&Ms, etc. All candy that is easy to find and not hard to eat the left overs. I made these adorable spider cupcakes for the soup party which seemed to be a big hit with the kiddos. This was my first little guy and I goofed on his eyes. The M is facing out when it shouldn't be...oops! I'm sure the kids didn't notice my one eyeball goof. I'm trying to come up with a reason to make the cute pumpkin cookies on the front of the website now. Just too cute!

Bored with Lunch???

I have been searching for new things to serve Ava for lunch that are healthy and fun. Well I stumbled across this website and it totally made my day. I am a very dedicated mom but you won't see me going this far with lunch. Thought it was too cute not to share though. Check out their website here.

Coupons

Just thought I would pass along a good source for coupons. Now that we are down to one income I have really started to watch where we spend our money and who doesn't like getting a good deal anyway, right? http://www.coupons.com/ has great coupons to download and print off on your own computer. You do have to install a coupon printer but only once and then you are on your way to saving money. There are a lot of coupons I don't print but several that I always do. Right now there is a coupon for $1.50 off a bag of Starbucks coffee. Target is the cheapest place in our area to buy it so it makes a 12 oz. bag around $5.50. Way cheaper than actually going to Starbucks for a cup! You can print the same coupon up to 4 times too. I know I printed 4 Starbucks coupons and gave 3 of them to my Dad, who goes through more coffee than I do. If you shop the ads, you can combine coupons and weekly ad sales and get some items really cheap or free. Happy shopping!

Family Photos

We are finally getting some professional photos taken of our little family. Steve did a great job taking pics of Ava at the house during her first week home, and we have taken plenty of pictures of Ava. Trust me the kid thinks the camera is her other sibling! The problem is Steve and I are never in the pictures. I want Ava to be able to look back and see her parents when she was young. After all, every kid needs to be able to laugh at how goofy their parents hair and/or clothes were. The photographer looks amazing. She took pics of a friend of mine and the photos turned out great. She does all natural light photos which I think makes all the difference in the world. Using the flash seems to make people look unnatural. Check out her website at http://www.emilysoutherland.com/ . In the mean time here are a few pictures of Ava that Steve took. I can't believe just how fast they grow!