Christmas Cards

I do this every year.... think I should be crafty and Martha-esque with our Christmas cards. I make one too many trips to the craft store, spend way more than I thought I would spend and the entire project takes entirely too long. I always end up saying "next year, I am just going to order our cards." Yet, when the next November rolls around I fall back into my old habits.

BUT, not this November. I have finally learned! This year, I will be ordering our Christmas cards from Shutterfly. And I might even get extra fancy and order the coordinating address labels.

I should also say that I am super picky when it comes to our Christmas cards. I want the design of the card to match the look and feel of the picture and I want it to not be too cheesy or trendy. Or one that everyone else might have. And, I don't want our card to be the one that ends up on the bottom of the pile. Heck, I am sending you a picture with a super cute toddler - keep the card on the top! Lucky for me, Shutterfly has about a zillion choices for me to pick from.

I have yet to decide which family picture we are going to use, but I am pretty sure I will be ordering one of the designs below.

Aren't they nice?

As much as I already love Shutterfly, they sweetened the deal by giving me 50 free cards for this post. And since our Christmas card list has more than 50 people on it, I will be ordering even more cards from Shutterfly. Are you a blogger? Would you like to get some free holiday cards or invitations? Just go here.

Sneak Peak

We had our family pictures taken a couple weeks ago with the wonderfully talented Erin Woolsey. I just got a little sneak peak of the pictures today and I AM IN LOVE!

Head over to the Baby M blog to see more.....

(Want an invite to the Baby M blog? Just let me know.....)

Recent Projects

By now, you all know that I love a good project. I love to transform a piece of tacky junk into something chic. Or, I see something in a boutique and I try to figure out how I could make it myself. Over the past couple weeks I have done 3 little projects.

1) A growth chart for Miss A.

I started looking online for one of these, but all of the ones I liked were $$$. So, I made a trip to Home Depot and Michael's and got to work. All it took was some wood, paint, painters tape, wooden letters and a tape measure...voila! This will be hung in her big girl room.

2) A cute name hanging for Miss A.

My dad found this super take display box a while back and grabbed it for me. It was on mega clearance, and he knew I could transform it into something fun. The rectangle was navy and each of the cubes were colonial red or cream. Each cube had a letter on it and spelled out something really cheesy. Not. my. style.

I spray painted everything white, covered the inside of the rectangular cube with wonderful paper and then decoupaged the top of each cube with shabby chic paper. I have white letters that spell out Miss A's name.... those are glued on the top of each little cube. This will also be hung in her big girl room.

3) A side table for the living room.

I was trolling the local Goodwill a couple of weeks ago and came across this horrible awful table. The legs were dinged and scratched and the top was a lovely navy floral print. I recovered the top in a black and white stripe and then spray painted the legs apple green. It now serves as a little end table in the living room. And when there are not little ones running around, a tray sits on top and you can place your glass of vino or Diet Coke there.

I always seem to have 2 types of projects going on at all times - ones that only take a couple of days to complete and then others that seem to drag on for weeks.

Have you done any home projects lately?

The Foundary

I know - another daily deal site. Just what you want.

This one looks pretty good.... The Foundary. From what I can tell, they have everything from home decor to baby items.

Want to join?

Click here to join

Your Baby CANNOT Read...

... Is a load of BS

Have you seen these commercials on TV? Chances are if you have a little one if your house, you have seen the commercial a zillion times on one of the toddler channels.

Basically, it claims that through flash cards and DVD's, babies can learn to read. I had always thought it was a load of BS, but this morning The Today Show aired a little expose about the whole system. They spoke with a variety of experts at some of the leading universities and hospitals and came to the conslusion that it is a false claim.

Link to The Today Show article and video clip

Their experts said that the best way for a baby to learn is through their parents or caregivers - read to them, talk to them, sing with them, play with them -- basic interaction. Not rocket science, just common sense.

So, if you are thinking about purchasing that expensive reading system - DON'T! Save yourself the pennies and make a trip to the park instead.

Hey Good Lookin.... What Ya' Got Cookin

Miss A and I made some yummy Halloween treats for her Preschool teachers and Sunday school teachers. This bark recipe has been floating around the blogosphere so we decided to give it a shot. I am not the biggest fan of candy corn, so I made one tray with candy corn and another with Reece's Pieces instead of candy corn. And then I sprinkled sprinkles all over the top.




Doesn't this make your mouth water?

The recipe is super easy - sprinkle Oreo pieces, pretzels, candy corn/Reece's Pieces/M&M's, etc all over a cookie sheet and then cover everything with melted while almond bark. If you want, you can then top the bark with a little more candy and sprinkles. Let harden and then break up into pieces.

And now onto the main course.

Creamy Pesto Bow Tie Pasta

I have to admit, I completely stole this recipe off the back of a Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup can. It was fast, easy and pretty tasty. I used my homemade pesto, but the store bought stuff would also be great. The next time I make this I am going to toss in some red pepper flakes to give it a little kick. Also, I baked the chicken insteasd of cooking it in the skillet.

2 tablespoons butter
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound), cut into cubes
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1/2 cup pesto sauce
1/2 cup milk
3 cups bow tie pasta, cooked and drained

1.Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until well browned, stirring often.

2.Stir the soup, pesto sauce and milk in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the pasta and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

**New pictures on Baby M**

My Favorite Things

Somehow life always gets in the way of blogging.... but, here I am!

I have been busy with lots of fun little projects.... a couple Goodwill before and after projects, some fun Halloween stuff and some yummy dinners.

But, since my camera is in the other room and I am watching How I Met Your Mother from last night all you get is this wonderful new commercial.

First, let me say that this has to be the best movie ever made. I have loved it for as long as I can remember and I can't wait until I can show it to Miss A. Also - have you seen that the entire cast is going to be on an upcoming Oprah episode?!?! I cannot wait.

Isn't it great? And, I love that black and white dress.

Shabby Chic

I have mentioned before that I am constantly decorating something in our house. Home ownership is a never ending process - right? Right now I am working on Miss A's big girl room. I have no idea when she is going to transitioning into a big girl room or even a twin bed, but I know that as soon as she does the room will be ready.

I was lucky enough to inherit some wonderful vintage wrought iron beds from my grandparents house. Growing up, I would always sleep in these beds when we would visit them, so there are lots and lots of great memories surrounding these beds. All I need to go is give them a fresh coat of white paint and they are good to go.

Here comes the fun part - bedding. Using the beds as the starting point, I decided that a shabby chic look would be best. Plus, this is my opportunity to go all girl when decorating a room. (Her nursery is pretty gender neutral since we did not find out the gender) I already have a pink and green stripe fabric that will be used for her curtains and I am gradually picking up accessories here and there.

Aren't these sheets cute?

And mix in a rug like this.....

With light pink walls...

And some fun accessories and you have an adorable shabby chic room for Miss A!