The battles of learning to feed yourself...

You win some.

You lose some.

And sometimes, you just climb on top of the highchair because it's fun. :)

Smiles,

Courtney

Goodwill SCORE!

Hey Guys!
I hope your week is getting off to a good start. With such a busy, but fun weekend behind me, my Monday is shaping up to be a relaxing day. As relaxing as a Monday can be anyway. I wanted to share today a recent thrift store score with you. Let me tell you I am SO excited about this!
I recently went thrifting with a group of girlfriends. I wasn't looking for anything in particular (always dangerous for me when thrifing!) and when we walked into Goodwill we all meandered over to the clothing. And then it happened. While waiting for two of my friends to try on their selections, I spotted them. I knew immediately that I had to have them. I practically ran made my way over to the home section and grabbed them off the shelf as fast as I could! This my friends, is what made my heart beat a little faster that day.

Aren't they fabulous?! And that color? I die! And they were brand new! They still had their tags hanging from them and their cords were perfectly wrapped up in their twist ties. And at only $15 a piece- pure awesomeness! I was too excited to check if they worked- thankfully they did! As a side tip- always remember to test a lamp before buying at a thrift store because often there is a no-return policy on electrical items.

After bringing my lamps home, I sat down and began to peruse Pinterest for the perfect lampshade inspiration. You will not believe what I found! Are you ready for this??

www.potterybarn.com via Courtney on Pinterest

THE EXACT SAME LAMPS! Of course I clicked over to potterybarn.com to check them out. Since mine don't have any stickers, stamps or any other indicators as to what brand they are, I can't say for certain that they are PB, but boy they pretty much are exactly the same. Both are milk glass, both are the exact same shape. They only difference I can find is the color of mine is darker blue than theirs and where mine has a chrome-colored riser, their's looks like antique bronze. Oh, and one other teeny difference....their's are $130 EACH! If you remember, I paid only $30 for BOTH! With that kind of savings, I can afford to buy PB lampshades! But, who am I kidding, I'll probably thrift those too! 

What have you found thrifting lately? Any incredible finds?

Smiles,

Courtney



Our "other" neighbors

Good Morning and happy saturday!

Do y'all have anything special planned for the Mother's Day weekend? The kids and I are excitedly anticipating picking up Daddy from the airport this afternoon. He's been gone most of the week for work and we can't wait to have him home!
 The weather is supposed to be beautiful in Southern CA this weekend and we plan to spend as much time outside as possible! Which means we'll get plenty of time with our "neighbors."

Yes, that's a parrot! Our street is lines with palm trees and there is a large flock (probably 40-60) of wild parrots that take residence in them. How cool is that?!

What's interesting about these guys is their predictability. Every morning at 6:30 they start their day (and often ours) squawking and talking like crazy. And let me tell you they are loud! And then at 6pm they're back at it again. You can almost imagine them all telling each other about their day or something. :)

So what do you think of our neighbors? I hope y'all have an amazing weekend!

Smiles,

Courtney

What do you pack for vacation??

It's no secret among my family and friends that I love to cook. It's probably my most passionate hobby. I just love it. The thing about it though, is that I have a hard time sharing my passion with my kids. Quite frankly, the kitchen is my happy place and well, they make it harder and not so fun when they want to "help." (I KNOW I'm not the only one!)

You're probably wondering what that first paragraph has to with the title of this post. Well, I was delightly recently to see a craft Trinity made in child care while I was in Bible Study.They made a little paper suitcase and glued inside various items they cut out of magazines.

 You'll notice, that she's got the basics covered, jeans, t-shirts and a swimsuit. But move over, shoes, extra clothes and sunblock, she's packing her Le Creuset dutch oven and Cuisinart food processer! Hahaha! She is SO my daughter and apparently my kitchen influence has been greater than I've previously given myself credit for.

I'm absolutely convinced that her wooden spoon and rubber spatula are packed in her carry on. :)
My only concern is if she'll make the 50lb weight limit??

So, as the title of this post says, What do you pack for vacation??

Smiles,
Courtney