Naptime Piles...

SCENE: Post afternoon "naptime". Mother traipses up the stairs and into her son's room to discover a problem, and proceeds to confront him regarding the problem.

....and....ACTION!

Mama (angry look on face), "Uh Bubbalu? WHAT. IS. THAT?!?!"



Bubbalu (matter of factly) , "It's a shirt, Mommy."

(Mama rolls eyes)

Mama, "Yeah, I KNOW it's a shirt, but what is everything else on the floor?"

(Bubbalu looks down at the problem)



Bubbalu (once again matter of factly), "Those are ALL of my clothes, Mommy."

Mama (growing in exasperation), "I KNOW those are all of your clothes, but WHAT are they doing ALL OVER THE FLOOR?"



Bubbalu (with a "well DUH Mama" expression), "I made a pile of my clothes, Mommy".

(Mama once again rolls her eyes.)

SCENE closes with son picking up clothing and Mother supervising.

Moral of the story: If you take all of your son's toys and books out of his bedroom to encourage resting during naptime, he WILL find SOMETHING to play with.

A

How to Sassify A Plain Dress...

I went shopping and purchased a clearance rack dress. It is a super comfy, flattering cut, knit dress.

With one problem.

It's BORING.

OK, time to sassify!

Here is the dress BEFORE:



Just yer basic knit black dress. With side tie straps that really don't do anything as the empire waist is already fully elasticized. They just make it look more maternity-ish. NOT cool.

SNIP those useless straps right off!

OK, next up, some BLING BABY. BLING. I found my bling at the local fabric store. Didja know you can buy lace and blingy trims by the yard? Yeppero! Here's what I found:



And I also bought some lovely blue-tealish taffeta that matches my snazzy new shoes.

First up, pin and sew blingy trim around entire neckline of dress:



Then wait a few days because you got too busy with the sick children. In between wiping snotty noses cut and create a lovely HUGE blue-teal flower pin:



Wait a few more days.

Wipe more snotty noses.

Finally, pin and sew a few more rows of sassy bling onto the front of the dress:



Use up extra bling trim to bling up your HUGE blue-teal flower pin and throw it on your now sassy dress:



Ahhhh. That's better.

I can't decide if I'll wear it like the above picture of if I will wear it pinned on my new thick elastic black belt (Megs, my beautificationist/style consultant, just fell out of her chair. Yep Megs, FINALLY bought a thick belt!).

I kinda like it on the waist:



And yes, I'm going to wear my new teal shoes with my newly sassy dress:



Hello gorgeous shoes. I've missed you.

OK now, get out there and start sassing up those boring dresses!

A

Sassy Shoes...

I just bought these shoes:



They nearly jumped off the shoe display and injured me in their eagerness for me to purchase them.

SO sassy.

SO very TEAL.

I'm SO loving them. I may need to break them in tomorrow while going about my normal day at home. Won't they look lovely with my faded-to-gray-but-used-to-be-black yoga pants and oversized t-shirt?

I skipped with joy over to the fabric store and purchased a half-yard of perfectly matching teal taffeta...matching flower pin embellishment here I come! Pics to come. Hopefully. IF I can actually finish my list. Completion of list will require giving up exercising, eating and sleeping. SO not happening.

Anywho.

Then while walking through Kohls to get back to my car I spotted these little beauties:



(*SIGH*) Oh Vera Vera Vera, WHAT are you trying to do to me?

And yes, I DID say that out loud in the store. The shoe salesguy kinda glanced over at me strangely, but who cares, the shoes deserved it.

A

Sassy n Stylin' Bedroom Paint Color...

So, you want to actually SEE my bedroom? With it's sassy new color?

Well. You'll have to wait a bit longer.

See, my camera is having some identification issues. It doesn't photograph colors well. Bad representation of the glorious color infusion that I injected into our blah bedroom. I'm going to beg for someone with an awesome colorly (is that even a word? My spell check says no but I don't care.) accurate camera to come and snap some pics. But that also means I must clean my bedroom. AND finish decorating it. Hmmm...it may be awhile.

However.

I DID find some pretty true color matches online. And while searching I discovered something else TRULY amazing.

I may have a pinch of style. REALLY. Who woulda guessed? Some STYLE. Even better, there's PROOF.

I've got to learn to trust my instincts a bit more. To just GO with it when in my head I say, "hmm, it just looks right".

OK, drumroll please! The sassy color I painted our bedroom IS:



A SASSY Teal!

OK, so LOTS of you guessed correctly...and MANY of you cheated and looked online even AFTER I told you not to. So glad to know you listen and follow directions so well. Punks.

I purchased my paint in town here at the local True Value because as I mentioned before, the day I painted I was all twitchy and needed it painted yesterday so I chose the closest paint carrying store possible. I COULD NOT find the paint color online (and neither could YOU, suckers!) but the closest match is Sherwin-Williams Maxi Teal 6769.

As I was searching for the perfect teal, guess what I found? Pantone's color of the year selection for 2010. Guess what it is? Do I even have to say?

Yep, a sassy TEAL.

Don't believe me? Go to Pantone's website and check it out.

While searching, another paint site called Charles & Hudson came up and guess what they said:

Pantone 2010 Color of the Year: Turquoise

From runways to furniture showrooms to home interiors, the 2010 color the year, as selected by Pantone, will exert its pervasive influence on a variety of fabrics, objects and surfaces.

This year's pick, Pantone 15-5519 Turquoise, is a bright, tropical hue that combines "the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green," according to a Pantone-issued press release. "Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of well being."

To inject turquoise into your abode, consider any of the following paint colors: Behr's Jamaican Sea (510B-5), Sherwin-Williams Maxi Teal (SW 6769) or Benjamin Moore's Un-Teal We Meet Again or Harbor Side Blue.

Yes! I'm not a crazy woman! (Well, only partly crazy...OK, MOSTLY crazy....well, crazy in every other part EXCEPT for choosing one paint color.)

So go on now, paint your bedrooms TEAL. Why not? It's just paint. When Pantone selects a different color for 2011 just paint right over it!

C'mon and join the sassy fun..

A

***Didja know you can find me HERE on facebook? True story. Become a fan and make my day***

What Color Is INTENSE MARATHON???

I did some painting therapy this past weekend.

No, not interpretive painting or painting my feelings. Goodness gracious what would THAT look like? Can't even go there.

Anywho.

I finally FINALLY painted my master bedroom.

Our new construction house was painted decorator chosen custom colors before we purchased it. Better than stark white, that's for sure.

However, the reddish brown color painted on the window wall in the master bedroom was NOT my fave. Actually, I hated it. I LOVE me some red. I LOVE me some brown. Don't mix em together. Chocolate brown looked yucky with it. Red looked yucky with it. Finally I just gave up.

Until last weekend.

Husband rolled his eyes when he saw me get all twitchy and demanded a child-free afternoon to paint our bedroom. But he indulged me, and having finally chosen my scheme of sorts I rid myself of the reddish brown wall.

I chose a new color as an accent wall and I. LOVE. IT.

LOVE!

Here's the thing. I'm not quite done with the room, but let's have a guessing game of sorts while we all wait for the unveiling.

The accent wall paint color is called: Intense Marathon.

So, what do YOU think that color is???

Start guessing!

A

p.s. This contest with no prize is NOT OPEN to Megs, Laura, Joanie, Mom VG, Mom B or my hunny...or Bubbalu. Got it?

p.p.s. And don't even THINK about Googleing it. It doesn't even come up anyways. Cheaters.

Phanty III...

If you are an elephant you might want to think twice about living in my house.

Poor Phanty. Poor poor Phanty.

He just can't catch a break.

Or rather, he keeps catching too many breaks.

That's right, Phanty got the ole Bubbalu treatment (AGAIN!) and has now been lovingly recreated (AGAIN!) by Moi.

I'm going to just choose the glass half full perspective (yes, it IS a choice) and just say this:

Phanty got a makeover!!! SURPRISE!!!

At least someone in this house should have a makeover. Why not an elephant?

Introducing the NEW and IMPROVED Phanty III :



Elmer has been altogether ignored. Bubbalu seems to fancy Phanty. (Fancy Phanty...say that 10 times fast. *snicker*)

But watch out Elmer, he may get you next!



A

Who's Who Who?

Remember Wally the Whale? No?

OK, here ya go:



We liked Wally the Whale. He was a cute addition to the kiddos sparsely decorated bathroom.

Yes, I AM using the past tense.

I bought an adorable new shower curtain for the kiddos bathroom at Tarshay':


And have I actually hung it up? Of course not. Did I actually remember to purchase shower hooks? Of course not. I may improvise with coordinating ribbons and just tie it on. Currently it's just thrown over the shower curtain rod in a big heap aquiring even MORE wrinkles. Lovely.

I had the hardest time finding with a shower curtain in their bathroom that was TRULY gender neutral and, ya know, was adorable.

Sadly, Wally the Whale was greatly confused.

"Uh, I thought this was an oceany-type of bathroom, but all I'm seeing are trees, squirrels and owls. What's going on here? I'm feeling out of place!"

Yes Wally, you ARE out of place.

Buh bye Wally.

And yes, we're all sad about that....

... but Hello Who Who!



Yes, Bubbalu named it Who Who. Not Hoot hoot like I had hoped he would name him/her/it but Who Who. Whatever.

To create Who Who I repurposed an already thrifted and repurposed frame and dug into my scrapbook paper stash. I copied the trees and owl from the shower curtain and just freehanded it onto scrapbook paper and cut em out.

The background is muslin fabric which gives it a bit more texture (like you can even see it, sheesh. I would LOVE to upgrade our camera...and maybe actually read the directions on how to use it. That might be helpful?).

Welcome to our home Who Who. Be warned, we have a high destruction per decorative object ratio in our home. I do hope you survive for more than a week or so. You're too stinkin cute...

A

Hair, There and Everywhere...

Bubbalu was looking a tad scary. His overgrown locks only magnified that impish grin...and may contribute to his mischievousness:



In an effort to hopefully reduce the impishness....Haircut time!

We're officially ready for summer. We've shed our winter coats and have our summer 'do on and ready to go:



Guess what? It didn't work.

He's still impish. And mischievous. And destrucive.

In other hair there and everywhere news, Lil Chick is now officially sportin' her very first ponytail. The word "Ponytail" is kind of a misnomer, as tails usually hang DOWN. Like a pony's.

Not so with Lil Chick.

She has a spurt of a pony"tail" that for the life of me I can't get to hang down. It defies gravity without the use of any haircare product:



But that's OK, she doesn't seem to mind:



A

***Didja know you can find me HERE on facebook? True story. Become a fan and make my day***

The Flouncy Skirt...with Tutorial!

Mama made me a Flouncy Skirt. It's nice and sassy, just like me:



It's flips and flounces as I walk and crawl:





or when I'm standing, just being me:



The Flouncy Skirt:

Step 1: Purchase or repurpose xx-large (as large as you can find) clearance with extra 50% off lowest price jersey t-shirt with bottom elastic ruching, or banding, detail. I found mine at an Old Navy clearance and paid under $2 for it. For this project it works best to have multiple layers of banding/elastic ruching to create your easy skirt waistband. Here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about:



Step 2: Measure your little girl's waist and add about two inches. Using this measurement, cut through one layer of the shirt to cut your new waistband. Leave an extra fourish or so inches on the length, like so:



Step 3: Put shorter right sides together and sew, creating a tube. The skirt waistband is already finished so no fussy finishing needed there. Yippee!

Step 4: Find a complimentary fabric for the Flounce main part of the skirt. I choose some leftover pink flannel that I am LOVING right now. I cut mine 6 inches wide by 30 inches long. Add extra width for a longer skirt or extra length for a flouncier skirt. Subtract inches in the width for a shorter skirt or subtract inches in the length for a less flouncier skirt (WHY anyone would want a LESS flouncier skirt, I have NO. IDEA).

Step 5: Finish (or leave raw, you rebel you!) both edges on the length and sew right sides of the width together creating a big tube of fabric. This will be your FLOUNCE.

Step 6: Gather and attach the flounce to the waistband. You can sew a basting stitch an inch lower than the top hem and gather the skirt before sewing the flounce to the waistband or you can be lazy like me and just hand gather and eyeball it, shoving folds of fabric under the presser foot as you go. I realize this sounds confusing, here's a diagram:


Sew the RIGHT side of the bottom edge of the waistband to the WRONG side of skirt flounce along the dotted line ( yes, leaving an inch or so of finished edge fabric out) attaching the flounce to the lower elastic edge of your already made waistband, gathering as you go. Here's a pic of mine:



Step 7: Cut a 4 x 4 square of fabric from leftover t-shirt and attach to under skirt making it a boyshort. Diagram:




Step 8: Try your Flouncy skirt on your daughter and giggle at the cuteness of it all:



Step 9: (optional) Dig through fabric stash and plan for 5 more FLOUNCY skirts...

A

The BOYS...

Yeah yeah yeah, I KNOW urine is sterile.

I KNOW bathrooms are the place to empty thyself of urine.

I KNOW toilets are supposedly the place to put the urine INTO.

But.

Can I just say???

Boys are disgusting.

Thank you,

A

We're Going Swimming, Retro Style...

Guess what? I can't think of anything sassy to say.

The meds are really starting to affect me. Or it could be lack of sleep. Yes we are on day #8 of illness in our house (as in everyone) and this bug is a DOOZY. Even though my sense of taste and smell are on vacation (A.K.A. the most effective diet on the planet) I am still able to shop online and share my picks.

I am DIGGING this retro 1940's style swimwear thing that's been going on. I myself found a cute, adequately covering, retro-inspired black with white polka dot bikini swimsuit. SUPER excited about my find. The only problem? I can't find it online to show you. (Hangs head in shame.) And don't even think about asking for a pic of me wearing it. SO not happening.

However, I've had fun finding some vintage/retro'ish swimsuits online. Here are some of my fave's found online for under $100:

The Jantzen "Vamp Maillot" for $98:



It also comes in black or fuchsia.

The Coco-Rave "Beach Blanket Stripe" Bandeau top and Ruffled Skirted Bottom, $44 for the top, $50 for the bottom:


(Don'tcha just love how I look in this picture? I always pose like this on the beach, don't you? You should. And HELLO! There's a huge flower pin in her...er...I mean MY hair!)

Oh, and for uber-cheapo polka dot fun, here is the Norma Kamali Bandeau Tankini Top and Dot Skirted Bottom from Wally world for $15 each piece:


(hello, awkward space in between pictures! I'm pretty certain they aren't in proportion, but it looks mightly familiar to what I see in the mirror.)


Also from Wally World, a Red Shirred Halter for only $30:



But, of course, if you really truly want vintage inspired swimwear, each one under $100, you need to go HERE:





SO cute.

And you betcha I'll be making a ginormous red flower to wear in my hair with my black and white polka dot bikini. Throw on some huge Jacki O. white rimmed sunglasses, paint my lips red and I'm good to go.

But the wedge patent leather red heels? I think I'll pass. I'd just trip in them anyways. The last thing I want is to do is introduce my face to the deck floor in front of hundreds of people. Especially while wearing a bikini. And a huge red flower in my hair. I'd probably break my huge Jacki O. white rimmed sunglasses and smudge my red lipstick. See? SO not worth the red shoes!

Happy swimsuit shopping!

A

A Blossom Here, A Blossom There...

A bit o' retro red and white stripe:



A SASSY bright yellow:



Polka dots are never fail:



Two new reserved baby/toddler headbands:



Two sets of Custom Reserved Bridal Flower Hair pins:





And an unveiling of the adult flower headband in gold:



And deep plum:



with more in the works. Mama's been busy!

A