Monthly Archives: August 2011

Turning 30 Isn’t So Bad

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I turned 30 earlier this year, and it was the first time in my life I didn’t feel like celebrating. Truth is, I wasn’t all that excited about leaving my twenties. It kind of felt like turning 30 really meant my young adulthood was gone. Which is silly because, let’s face it, my youth was over well before my 30th birthday.

Three of the best friends a girl could ask for also turn 30 this year. We had big plans to celebrate (think girls weekend in NYC), but they fell through as life got in the way.

I’ve been friends with these girls for 20+ years. In fact, most of the childhood memories I have involve each of them. I wanted to do something extra special for them, but couldn’t think of the perfect gift. 

I finally pulled something together – a little reminder of the good ol’ days…

{Emergency Essentials for the Young at Heart}

 

{Play Dress Up}
Jewelry

 

{Give yourself a makeover.}
Lip gloss, nail polish & eye shadow

{Have a slumber party.}
Pajamas

 

{When all else fails, have a glass of wine.}
A bottle of our favorite wine

 

My only regret is not making one for myself! 

Oh, and being 30? It’s not so bad. It sure beats 20.

Nursery Number Two

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Baby number two is scheduled to arrive in a little less than 13 weeks. We still haven’t decided on a name yet, but the room is beginning to take shape. It’s been fun to see our “let’s-shove-everything-that-doesn’t-have-a-home” room transform into the beginnings of a nursery, so I thought I’d share the process with you!

(Of course, there are no before pictures because that would have required forethought.)

First, we chose a color palette.

Browns, oranges and blues.

After that, I scoured the internet for nurseries in the same color scheme. Bingo! I found The Sweet Survival blog and Trisha’s beautiful nursery for her son. Seeing that nursery, I knew we’d made the right decision, so theBOY got paint swatches and made it official by painting the room a nice Classic Taupe.

We couldn’t find bedding that we liked. Anywhere. So, we did the only thing left to do. We searched Etsy for someone who could help us out. That’s when we stumbled upon the Fingers & Toes shop and her Orange All Star custom bedding.

We chose the fabrics for the bed skirt, fitted sheet, the bumper and ties. Here’s a (lousy) sample of what it will look like.

Next, it was time to decide on a theme for the room. I’ve never been a fan of cutesy stuff for baby boys (think teddy bears), so it took some time to settle on something. In the end, I’m SO excited about our decision to go with a vintage beach theme. I may want to move into the room myself!

With the theme decided, we moved on to artwork. More great Etsy finds:

theBOY even found this pelican living in our basement during another baby-number-two project (clearing room for another human in our home). It came from his mom’s house, and I’m thrilled it will find new life in our little guy’s room. theBOY already sanded the high gloss finish off of the bird and plans to paint it. Maybe blue? Is that weird? Hmm….

Please forgive me for the quality of this photo.
My iPhone can only do so much at 10 o’clock at night!
Also, note the new lamp with the perfect orange shade from Target!

I’ll share more pictures of the nursery as all of these pieces and parts come together! Did I mention we have less than 13 weeks until the little guy is due to arrive? And no name? “Baby Brother” rolls off theBABY’s tongue at this point. Maybe we’ll just go with that.

Happy Friday!

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So after a couple of weeks of useful posts, it’s time for a completely useless one! Enjoy.

First of all, this week Ellie G. from Less Cake {More Frosting} featured my yummy Newton Fruit Thins ice cream sandwiches on her blog!! If you haven’t visited her site, go check it out. I just love it. (With a name like Less Cake {More Frosting}, what is there not to like!? Plus, she loves Diet Coke as much as me…check out her latest score!)

Second, theBABY is growing so fast (mentally more than physically at this point…she’s still a peanut) that I think she might be asking me for her own cell phone before too long.

Sample conversations she has with a phone up to her ear: 

“Hello? Yes. No, later. Bye.”

“Hello? Daddy. Doing? Okay, bye.”

That’s it! See? Totally useless. Happy weekend to you.

Money-Saving Tips for Moms: Going Generic

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We’ve come to the end of my money-saving tips for new parents! I hope you learned something useful along the way.

Today we’re talking generics – gasp!

Buy Off-Brand
One of the best ways to save money in life in general is to buy generic brands. From medication to cleaning products, generic brands can help keep money in your pocket. It’s no different when it comes to baby supplies. 

Here’s the thing, if you find a generic brand that works for your babe, go for it and don’t look back. I’m talking everything from formula, diapers, medicines and laundry detergent.

I know this tip may be a tough one for new parents, so here’s some reassurance. When theBABY was six months old, Tylenol had a huge recall and there was none to be found – anywhere. There were potentially SHARDS OF GLASS in the bottles of medicine for precious babies. We had no choice but to buy generic at that point, and really, why would we ever go back?

More ways to save money every time you shop for your little cutie include……

  • Skipping Dreft. Go for a brand like All Free & Clear. You’ll save more than half of the cost!
  • If you plan to use formula, do your research. You may not have a choice but to buy what my friends and I refer to as “liquid gold,” but if it’s up to you, consider generic. When I finished nursing, we switched to Up & Up brand and saved $6 a container over the name brand alternative.
  • If your baby turns out to be a Miralax-needing prince/princess like ours, Target’s PowderMax works like a charm.
  • I’m not a fan of generic diapers, but if they work for you – more power to you!

So I’m curious, do you go generic on anything I’m missing here? Or do you have certain things (like diapers for me) that you just can’t buy off-brand? I’d love to hear about it!

Money-Saving Tips for Moms: Diapers

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Not all of my tips will fit into your way of doing things, but I hope you’ll find at least one thing over the next few days that will help you save a little money!


Diapers

As the slogan goes…you live and learn, then get Luvs.

That’s totally what happened at our house. We registered for Pampers and used them until we ran out of the diapers that were given to us. We tried a couple generic brands, but really didn’t like them. Then we found Luvs. Yay for Luvs! 

That’s not the end of the story, though. This tip is one that I’m just recently learning.

To get the best price on diapers, you have to….

1)      Buy the kind that’s on sale

2)      Use coupons

3)      Buy them at a place that gives you money off your next shopping trip

I haven’t paid full price for diapers since I started using coupons/store rewards!

Potential Savings
To illustrate your potential for savings, here’s an example of a recent purchase:

  • Sale: One box of Pampers on sale for $16.99, regularly $19.99 (saved $3)
  • Coupon: One manufacturer’s coupon (saved $1.50)
  • Store coupons from previous purchase: $8 in rewards money

Final price:  $7.49
Total savings: $12.50
Multiply that $12.50 by the number of times you’ll be buying diapers over the course of the year and you’ll save around $325, so stop paying full price!

Do you have other ways to save on diapers? Please share!