Photo dump.

1. Dylan fell in love with the display dog at Old Navy.

2. Playing dead on the big boy bed.

3. Swings at the nearby park.

4. Oscar fighting the cat in the mirror.

5. Fun at Thanksgiving Point's Farm Country. Yes, that's a backwards fireman hat.

6. Fun with the train that grandma sent.

7. Craft time.

8. My freakishly great hair day... had to be documented.

9. Happy boy with his ice cream.

A Sight to See.

Alright friends, this is a fabulous and ridiculous story from March of this year...

See the above picture? It's an enormous painted canvas (5 feet wide, 3 feet tall) that matches my basement colors and style perfectly. My mom and I couldn't believe our luck when we found it at Pier 1. A downside? It had a major rip on the left side. Ummmm, who wants a canvas with a big rip in it?

Well, after looking at things a little more closely, my mom and I realized that the rip wasn't that bad at all- if we taped up the back you would really never know that anything happened in the first place. Bonus- it was super marked down as a result of the rip- originally $150 down to $50. I asked the manager if we could have an additional markdown due to the rip (something that I never do- bargaining/negotiating makes me feel like a jerk), and she let us have an additional 30% off! Enormous, lovely canvas for $35? Done and done.

That's the fabulous part of the story, now we're on to the ridiculous part...

So we're all excited about this awesome canvas. We haul it out to my car and realize that it will not fit in my car or my trunk, no matter what crazy arrangement we tried to make. It wasn't going to work. What did we end up doing? We put the canvas on the roof of my car and held onto it on each side as we drove home. 

We had to drive super slow so it wouldn't go flying off, which a huge group of people outside of Outback Steakhouse time to see what a sight we were...They definitely started pointing and laughing at us. We looked ridiculous, no lie. Luckily, our drive home was very short, so the ghetto transport of our purchase didn't last long. Whew.

After a little duck tape help, the canvas looked good as new and was promptly hung up behind my basement couch. 

The End.

Goodbye to the crib.

Since Dylan is almost three, it seemed time to for him to move out of his crib and into a big boy bed. I have been putting this off for some time for various reasons. First, he's my baby and I want to keep him a baby for as long as possible. Second, I didn't want to buy him new furniture when I knew there was fabulous, quality furniture* available-ish to him.

*The furniture that I'm talking about is the bedroom set that I had growing up. It's great quality and my parents wanted me to have it. The bad news: it was in Indiana. 

Through a series of fortunate events, my extremely heavy bedroom furniture made it to my home-- my living room to be exact. That gave me some motivation to get Dylan out of his crib- I didn't want that dang furniture to remain in the middle of my living room for months on end. 

I was a little nervous about moving Dylan to a regular bed, as he clearly loved his crib. Once I tried to take the steps toward a toddler bed by taking off the front rail of his crib, and Dylan had a royal meltdown- lots of tears and shouts of, "Fix my bed, fix my bed!"

Luckily, my nervousness was for nothing- as soon as he saw his new room setup he yelled, "It's my big boy bed!" He has stayed in the bed all night and hasn't fallen out either. Naps have gone really well too- he stays in his bed and sleeps a good 2-3 hours.

Here are a few pictures of the old and the new- nursery to big boy.

His happy little nursery. Pay no mind to the fug carpet- I usually have things partially hidden by a white rug, but it's in major need of a cleaning. Also of note- the windows on the right are blocked by my white trash version of blackout blinds. It's a tin foil sandwich- poster board on each side, foil in the middle. 

Here's a look at is not yet finished big boy room:

Cute, yes, but still needs a little help... I have grand plans including artwork, throw pillows, and decor. Trips to Hobby Lobby and Ikea are in order, so I will definitely show you the finished product when I get to that point. 

This bedroom set also includes a desk, hutch, drawers, and a bookcase... none of which would really fit in Dylan's little room. It's not a problem, though- they've been relocated to the basement and put to good use:

Again, this little corner has miles to go in terms of decor- a few splashes of color and a good looking rug will be a huge improvement for this space. 

You all know me- I love a good decorating project... any ideas or suggestions for either of the rooms?

Friday Favorites.

Today I'm sharing a few of my favorite things... 

Favorite Wish List Item

Pretty much everything at Plum Street Prints

Looking for the coolest iPhone or iPad case in the land? Here they are. They're not exactly cheap, but they're a lovely balance between individual and professional. You bet I'm saving for an iPhone case. 

Favorite Class at the Gym

Body Pump

I've been getting into weight lifting lately, and I just love this class. In one hour I'm able to work every major muscle group through not too heavy weights, but tonnnnnns of reps. The teachers at 24 hour fitness are always great too, and the workout is set to great music. 

Favorite internet sensation

mckayla is not impressed

Ever since McKayla Maroney tushed it and ended up with the silver medal in vault, her "not impressed" face has made the rounds all over the internet. I think it's hilarious- there are numerous websites solely devoted to the "not impressed" picture and are making all sorts of funnies:

Favorite Beauty Buy

Jergen's Natural Glow Foam

I decided to try this out last week after running out of my regular lotion. I love it! It dries much more quickly and there is no stinky smell! Hooray! The results seem to be the same and I feel like the foam is much more convenient, as I don't half to walk around the house with no pants on for 30 minutes while waiting for the dang lotion to dry. Sorry for the tmi.

_________________________

What are some of your favorite things?

July Birchbox

So it looks like I'm a big slackerface with my blogging, especially all things Birchbox. I've loved my two most recent Birchboxes- here's a look at what I received in July:

July's Birchbox teamed up with Glamour magazine and targeted all five senses. This is probably my 3rd favorite box- after my March and May boxes. 

amika Obliphica Hair Treatment- I really enjoyed this one- it reminded me a little bit of Moroccan Oil and made my hair super shiny.

amika Obliphica Nourishing Mask- This was a super rich conditioner that made my hair feel amazing. Loved it.

Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner- This eyeliner was like a fine tipped marker and went on very easily. The only drawback? The eyeliner I received was turquoise blue, which is appropriate for.... not many places. Very fun, but just in too costume-y of a color. 

boscia BB Cream- Oh my, this stuff is a dream. I've been using bare minerals for years, so it felt completely foreign to put liquid anything on my face. I was a little paranoid about making sure that everything was blended in, but I really liked the results- light coverage, kept my skin looking nice, had spf 27. The only bummer? Dylan got ahold of it and literally painted the wall, draining half of my sample. 

LARABAR uber in Bananas Foster- Yeah, didn't care for this one. Main ingredients were dates and walnuts, both of which gross me out. I took one bite and threw it out.

Harvery Prince perfume- This was a nice, citusy scent that is perfect for the summer. I really enjoyed it.

Birchbox earbuds- These were a fun surprise! I usually keep my earbuds in my workout bag, and I sometimes have to get them out when I'm watching a tv show on the iPad while laying in bed. Now I just keep my Birchbox earbuds in my bedside table and no longer have to do the back and forth deal. Score. 

I just received my August Birchbox the other day, and I'll do a post on it as soon as I try out all my goodies. Stay tuned!

This may sound blasphemous and unAmerican...

But there's something about Ryan Lochte that I'm not liking. Sure, he's ridiculously talented and not bad looking, but there's something about him that shouts toolbag to me.

Maybe it's the grill?

Or the shoes?

Maybe it's his mom's creepy one night stand comments?

Whatever it is, I cracked up when I saw this collage:

Did he say any of these things? No idea. But the face + the captions gave me a good laugh. Enjoy :)