My Little Man

Handsome is almost two!  He is growing up to so quickly!  Luckily, I have some adorable pictures of him to help me remember this age.

• He loves trains, cars, and airplanes.  He likes trucks, but his poor baby mouth can say the word correctly.  I'm sure you can imagine what he says.
• He is fighting a pacifier addiction.  We call it a sucker.  Anyway, on his second birthday, all the suckers get tossed.  (It's what we did with the Princess, so we plan on following through with Handsome, too.)  He currently only gets one for nap time and bed time, or when he finds one on the floor.  I swear he has a secret stash somewhere.
• Loves to sleep, although, once the sucker is gone, I'm not sure that will continue.  (fingers crossed)

 These pictures were taken seconds apart!

I love my little man, even if he is wiggly! 

PB and O

Last weekend I took some extra time off.  I had five glorious days off work.  The weather cooled down (60ish); and we went to visit my parents.  We had a grand time.  Mom and had went shopping at Target, had Starbucks, and we even sent my dad to pick up Chipotle.  Now, I haven't had Chipotle since we moved, (think 4 months?) so that in and of itself is noteworthy.  And in case you are wondering, it was delicious.  That evening, my parents started a fire in the fire-pit in their backyard and we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores.  I only had one heart-attack moment with my Princess and the fire, so I think it was rather successful.  It was a perfect fall evening.

The next day, hubby and I set out to the Pottery Barn Outlet.  I was beside myself with anticipation and joy.  Seriously, it's disturbing how excited I was.  I really didn't know what to expect, but I felt like I needed to visit to know if it is worth the daydreams.  The PBO is four and half hours from my house and about a hour and a half from my parents house.  This isn't a trip made on a whim.

I planned on looking at every. single. item.  I wanted to make mental notes and even take pictures.  My hope is that it would be worth a second trip.  I needed to score some serious deals.  I had budgeted to spend between 75 and 100 dollars, its just a matter of what I was going to purchase.  Well, I left the camera at my parents house.  I also forgot my ipad and sunglasses.  I was going to have rely solely on my memory.  The good news is I LOVE PBO.  They had a very good selection of kids bedding, furniture, toys, and decor.  I should have done some Christmas shopping.  The store had a little bit of everything.  We saw couches, dining room tables and chairs, media furniture, office furniture, dishes, bedding, lamps, rugs, EVERYTHING.  If you need a lantern, this was the place to go.  Apparently, they just received a large shipment of lanterns.  I was disappointed in the pillow selection.  It was small and boring.  All items were discounted; with the furniture having the steepest discounts.  Some of it was slightly damaged.  Hubby fell in love with a leather reclining armchair.  It was steeply discounted.  We debated and measured and weighed the possibilities of purchasing it.  I mean, it was a really good deal.  Unfortunately, it would not make the trip all the way home.  While we could fit it in our car back to my parents house, once we put the kiddos and car seats back in, it would no longer fit.  Ultimately, we decided to leave the amazing chair and wait for a better planned trip.  The point of this adventure was to scout out the place; we really hadn't anticipated for any major purchases. 

Nevertheless, I feel our road trip was successful.  While I did not purchase anything, (I know, huge surprise) we learned a lot.  I truly enjoyed myself and the time alone with Hubby.  We feel it is worth an additional trip when the time comes to purchase more furniture.  While the inventory will constantly change, some pieces are discounted enough to make the trip worth while.  

Anyone else been to a PBO?  What are your thoughts/comments?

Arm Candy

I've been searching for a new purse for a while.  I didn't really know what I was looking for, so the search has been difficult.  My criteria were rather vague.

• must look grown up
• no visible brand name
• preferably leather
• like the "hobo" style, but not set on it

I struggle with black or brown.  I didn't really want either, but I wanted the handbag to be something I can carry with both colors.  I wanted to love it.  The time had come to stop settling for things I will replace once I'm bored or they fall apart.  Is this really that difficult?

Then I found her.  But she had so many things going against her.  For one, she was in a brand name store.  That meant she was pricey.  Plus, she was bright blue.  Can I really car a blue bag around for the next 10 years? (I have a red one I've had at least that long)  I put her down and told hubby its too much.  I can't do this.  I walked away.

Nevertheless, it was love at first sight.  I couldn't get her out of my mind.  That's how I knew she was the one.  So we returned.  And guess what?  She was 50% off.  Plus an additional 20% that day only.  I had gift cards from my birthday,  so my out-of-pocket expense was only 100 beans.  I scored a good deal plus a beautiful piece of arm candy.

Meet my beautiful new sapphire blue Coach purse.  Isn't she lovely?  I adore the color, the slight sparkle the embossed leather gives, and the fact she doesn't say "Coach" anywhere.  ( I am removing the small tag ASAP)  Plus, she has three roomy compartments and two small pockets.  She fits wonderfully over my shoulder (and advantage to being petite).  I hope we remain friends for years to come.

What do you think?  Anyone else as finicky as me about choosing new handbags?  Or shoes?  Spill the details.

Coffee Bar

Have I mentioned how much I love coffee?  I blame my father on this.  Although it took me 28 years and two children before I made it a daily habit.  Anyway, I found a lovely "pin" on Pinterest a while back about a coffee bar.  I have seen other bloggers with "coffee stations" in their kitchens.  I realize this really isn't anything new.  My own grandmother has a coffee station in her kitchen and had for as long as I can remember.  Nevertheless, I had to see it on Pinterest before I thought of creating one in my house.  What is with that website?

It is actually in my dining room.  I have our old dresser in there because it won't fit in our bedroom.  We call it a buffet.  Maybe "clutter station" is a better term.  I desperately wanted to decorate it and create a beautiful tablescape.  It wasn't happening.  Nothing I placed there made me happy.  So one afternoon while I was supposed to be cleaning the kitchen, I decided to make my coffee bar.  I think it will be functional for when we have guests over for the weekend.  It opens up counter space in our little kitchen and I even relocated the coffee mugs, filters, and beans to the drawer underneath.  I am at peace with my dining room dresser slash buffet slash coffee bar for the moment.

What do you think?  Any of you have a coffee addiction that is carrying over into your decor inspiration?