Little Miss M's Microphone

...sorry about the title, that's what M wanted to call it...

We did a little rearranging of furniture when Pamma (my mom) came to visit last week. First up was Little Miss M's room. Here's a before pic (this little photo tour is mostly for Kristin, who otherwise might not have the opportunity to check out my digs).

And some afters. Yes, the paint job is bad. Looks even worse since I spackled all the nail holes but never washed the walls down afterwards. And please pay no mind the cloudy blue ceiling that bleeds down onto the walls. It was going to be one of the first things to go when I moved in but the Little Miss M. found her way back to me just a couple weeks later.

That sideboard had been in the living room with my TV on it but my mom thought it would look better with the other pieces in M's room. Please note the bargain valances bought at Goodwill for $2 each! We tried to tuck the the kitchen away as best we could but you can't really get around it.

Wasn't sure where to hang the netted canopy a friend let us borrow. So we put M's table and chairs under the existing hook in the ceiling. The armoire holds all her dress up clothes and the majority of her toys, games, and coloring supplies. Her microphone is probably somewhere inside!

The collage of frames I purchased at Goodwill. Just put scrapbooking paper in them. You can't really tell but I cut out M's silhouette in the purple and turquoise one. Bought the turquoise ballerina picture at Big Lots. Stamped "Oh Happy Day" on a blank canvas board and clipped it up. The dog decal is from Target via Goodwill. Have the others that I still need to slap around the room.

Moved the bookshelf to the stubby wall. I tacked a couple lengths of ribbon on the wall and hung her artwork and photos from decorative paper clips on them. Her table and chairs used to be on that wall so it was a nice way to display her art. But with the taller shelf there I'll probably take the ribbons down and then hang a larger bulletin board over the sideboard.

I'm not really sure where all the purple came from. Cindy let me borrow the comforter and canopy and I guess it took off from there. Just trying to figure out what color to paint her room when the time comes. Planning on painting the rest of the house fresh white.

Isn't She Lovely?

My mom did end up coming to visit us at the end of the week. We made some changes to the living room and M's room. And although I didn't get around to my craft room, mom brought me a little sumpin' to spruce it up a bit...

I always end up with my mom's cool stuff. She gave me this dress form a year or so ago and she's just been sitting around fairly nekkid (the form, not my mom!). I had that leopard print scarf tied around her neck until I finally unearthed the beaded bolero jacket a month or so ago. I've always thought she needed a cancan. And wouldn't you know my mother happened upon a garage sale of a former square dancer. So she picked up three. This off white one (which I'm debating whether or not I should dye it hot pink) and orange one and a black one. She said there were others but she didn't think I wanted them all so she picked these because she thought it'd be fun to decorate her for Halloween. True. But how fun would it be to do something like this in M's room?

I'm a bad, bad blogger and have absolutely no idea where I found this photo. If I had to guess I'd say it was from one of the kids' room tours on ohdeedoh.

I found it, I found it! Click here to see more of this lucky kiddo's room.

I Shopped Till I Dropped

I bought a new toy on Wednesday night. I was at Wall's, one of my favorite bargain stores here in town, and noticed some dslrs in their display case. 25% off. Even though it was just about time to pick up Little Miss M from daycare I got someone to unlock them and compared the Sony Alpha a230 and the Canon EOS Rebel XS. By comparing them I mean I called Carrie who purchased a camera last fall. All I know about them is that I want one. So I can pretend to be P-Dub or Ashlely. Or at least look cool.

In the end I bought the Sony because there was only one of them left and it was quite a bit cheaper. I figured I could do some research and do a switcharoo if I needed to. I think I'm going to keep it, mainly because of the price difference. I wouldn't really have to pay much more if I bought it online or at Walmart but I'm all about saving what I can. Even though this wasn't exactly a predetermined and/or budegeted decision. I blame it on Spring Break. In my experience it's when I'm at my retail weakest.

Without further ado, here she is:

No name yet. Any suggestions? And no idea on how to operate her. I'm open to suggestions here, too!

And, yes, I did pick the kid up from daycare on time!

Airstream Love

For those of you who might not know me, I have two obsessions: Airstreams and weddings. Imagine the sheer bliss I felt as I was catching up on my wedding blog reading and happened across this engagement shoot by Leslie Mitchell via the Green Wedding Shoes blog.

So then I had to search for this wedding I found several months ago on OnceWed, another wonderful wedding blog.

See more here, here, and here. Photography by Steven Meyers.

Airstreams + Love = Wedding perfection. Ahhh. Now I just need to find myself an Airstream. And a man. Hmmm...

If anyone has a lead on either of the two, please let me know!

Pugalicious

According the the AKC standards for pugs, it is "desirable" for them to weigh between 14 and 18 pounds. Another site I visited said they could be between 17 and 24 pounds. Hmmm...you don't say? Keep in mind that females are supposed to be on the lower end of the spectrum.

Well, I finally took my woofies into the local vet for their yearly checkup and vaccinations. It was the first time I've taken two pets in at the same time. But they did surprisingly well.

Here they are waiting for the good doctor to visit them.

Wilbur, weighing in at 27.8 pounds. I can't be sure, but I think most of it is tongue!

And Bijou. Sweet Boo. My fattie. She's a whopping 32 pounds!
Yep, double what the AKC recommends.

The good news is that the vet thinks they are both in good health (minus the weight factors) and their teeth are fantastic...considering dental issues common in the breed. And he was thrilled with Miss Fattie's teeth especially because she's 5 1/2 years old. You go, gurrrl!

I Hate Puzzles

Okay, so it's the night before you return home from your Spring Break shopping extravaganza and you begin to survey the spoils of the trip. And you see that it is good. Very good.

You are pleased that you finally decided to buy that frame from Ikea.

And you're thrilled with the foldable(?) Barbie house you found at Thrift Town.

And your new owl. The cutest little owl. But will it live indoors or outdoors? That is the biggest question on your mind.

Until the fear sets in. Because you must find a way to make all this material goodness fit into your car. Your compact car. And don't forget about your luggage! And you think about how much you dislike jigsaw puzzles, because that's really all this is. And you wish for an SUV yet again.

Especially when your trunk already looks like this. Always. It's okay, just take a deep breath.

First, you must empty it all out. And then you ought to borrow a Dustbuster to finally suck up the broken ornaments that have been in the car since last year.

Then you lay down your oversized dog crate, golf umbrella, random decorative twigs (that have been in the trunk since moving out of your last office - 9 months ago!), and your What-A-Chair.

Why, yes, I did indeed say What-A-Chair.

Next, you add your Ikea goodies (black baroque frame and Calypso light fixtures) and the stroller you borrowed for "Baby Lilly" (the baby alter ego of your foster daughter).

Then you just start cramming in everything else and hope it all fits. Games, an Ikea poster, a throw you've been meaning to return to TJ Maxx since before Christmas, a lamp from Home Goods, and your Christmas tree hat. Because you never know just when it might come in handy.

When it doesn't fit and you finally come to grips with this realization, you stuff what's left into the front seat and hope to heck that the kid and the two dogs will travel nicely together in the back seat. And that you're tall enough to see over the mound and into your side mirrors. And then you promise yourself that you won't stop at the outlet mall on the way home. But if you do give into temptation, you promise to limit yourself to just two bags. Three max. You can probably squish it all in there. Probably.

Once home, you schlep all of it all onto your living room floor and hope the decorating fairy (aka "Mom") comes to visit soon! Then you sleep. Or drink. Or both.

The Dump

I experienced The Dump for the first time last week. It was like Ross for high end furniture. If only I had more money and/or space (and a stinkin' SUV) I would have gone crazy!

Okay, they weren't for sale but how great are these light fixtures?!

If only I had more than a foot above my doorways. Oh, Loraine, how I miss you!

LOVE this dresser. Can't get enough houndstooth! But it was still over $3,000...

...so I'd settle for this one. So pretty! But can you imagine the fingerprints?

I really did almost buy this picture. Carried it around with me for almost an hour.

I thought it would be great in my kitchen but it was still a little steep for me.

Several other pictures had a 30% off sticker...drats!