Today…was a very big and fun day in so many ways.

1) I went to the giant Ikea store for the first time. Oh. my. gosh. Designer heaven. Did I ever mention I used to want to study to be an interior designer?  I wouldn’t want to be responsible for some one else’s house now, but I so enjoy decorating our house! There were so many ideas popping in my head, I almost wish I had more rooms left to decorate. Almost. And what’s even more amazing than the various products and styles is the prices. See, Mark gave me a “budget” of only $20 (go ahead and laugh, we did too) and I went $12 over. I came out with:

-3 round area rugs to make polka dots on the floor I paid $4.50 each (technically they are bath rugs, but they don’t look like it to me!)

-A taller step stool for Savannah $5.99 (Now that she is potty trained, she obviously needs to wash her hands more and it has been frustrating for her to not be able to reach with the typical stools places like Target have),

-A throw pillow that matches the new paint color for $1 (looks great in my glider!)

-Blue/fallish napkins for my baby shower $2.50

-And get this…a $5 twin duvet cover (better picture of fabric is below). FIVE DOLLARS!

Grand total: $32. Can we say score?

2) I actually spent time with other ladies my age. It’s not often I get kid-free social time. Fantastic day.

3)  Jaxson’s room is quickly starting to look like a nursery! Today we not only got paint on the walls (thanks uncle!), but the crib, bedding, etc. and added the new Ikea finds to finish it off for now.

See?

It’s a light tealish blue that matches the crib sheet. Of course, there is still much to do, mainly involving a huge project of refinishing old furniture (two dressers, a night stand, and a head/foot board). Also, I  need to figure out what and where to put things on the walls. Oh, and curtains. And…lots of washing and organizing once I have a dresser finished. Still, it’s a good start for one day, huh?

Now, who’s excited for November when there is a cute baby boy along with all the cute stuff?! That would be me…

…and why I’m up until 1am writing about it.

We decided to go ahead with the dance class.  The studio’s open house was this past Saturday so we were able to meet the teachers and hear more about it. Savannah’s class will include ballet, tap, and creative movement (which is like dancing games) with other kids her age one day a week. She is so, excited as are we for her!  She starts next Monday so I’ve been scrambling to find all the things she needs like shoes and leotards without breaking our budget.

So, can I just make a recommendation here? Consignment shops: use them!  At the dance store the studio suggested I use I would have paid about $15 for ballet slippers, $22 for tap shoes, and about $16 for a leotard. For a 2 year old…that will out grow them in months I’m sure.  Our small town has two consignment ships near by and I was thrilled to find ballet slippers her size for–get this–$1.00!  I also go her two leotards for $7.00 (that’s two for half of the price!).  I could not find white tap shoes however, so I ordered those online for $21 including shipping (still cheaper and doesn’t require me to drive 30 minutes away).

Now…she just needs a bag to carry her shoes in.  *sigh* She’s growing up so fast.

1) Winners of the Land’s End and Cleaning Products are announced over on the Review blog! Is it you?

2) Snapfish is having an awesome deal today if you’re looking for cheap Christmas presents. 50% off collages! I ordered 3…but I shall not say for who since they all read this blog. hehe.  The site is having a new deal each day so sign up for the notifications if you haven’t already.  (I know, I just dissed Snapfish, but this redeems them in my book. Cause the code actually worked for once and it’s a great deal!)

3) My complaining to Blurb (again) paid off!  They still maintain that their promotion isn’t misleading (what?) but they created me my own code to take $10 off my order no matter what I spent. Which basically only paid for their ridiculously high shipping price of $10 (for a softcover book?!). I won’t ever use them again, not just because of my experience but I didn’t like their design program. It was very limiting design and layout wise.

4) It’s getting that time of the year, folks. School is attempting to make me go insane with all the projects, papers, speeches, and exams that are all due in the 2 weeks. So, I probably will be lacking in real blogging content and very sporadic until it’s all over.  Unfortunetly all my writing will be focused on Brit Lit right now. Ick.  Don’t miss me too much.

One of my dearest friends, Breanna, is wanting to become a consultant of Lia Sophia Jewelry and needs some help getting started. Unfortunately, we’re not in a financial place where I can justify buying this kind of stuff to Mark right now, but I thought I could at least help by passing the information along to you ladies! Or guys, Mother’s Day present for that Mom or special lady? Birthday?

This looks like awesome jewelry, with even a life time replacement guarantee, nice! Also, every third item is 1/2 off (your most expensive item getting this). You can view the catalog online here (the spring collection has some super cute stuff).  Then, email  Breanna with the page number, style number, and name of what you want and she will place the order for you!

Bre’s email: breanna.conner@gmail.com

Thanks!

If you were me, what would you buy at Kohl’s? I have a $20 Kohl’s cash and I have no clue what to spend it on. It’s funny when it’s some FREE cash I get all picky about how I want to spend it (very carefully).   But my own money? Psh! I’ll buy whatever looks good!  Not that I/we splurge a lot but I wouldn’t be acting this careful with choosing what to buy.

I went yesterday and found nothing. I thought about some new work clothes (since summer is coming up soon, meaning I’ll have a job and I have to look decent). Nothing. Nothing appealed to me, couldn’t find anything to match, or didn’t have my size. No shoes. No purses.  Nothing.

So I looked a baby clothes.  There’s always something there, right?  I did find several cute, extremely on sale things ($1-$2 shirts!) but it felt like such a waste because she’s already got a whole closet full of clothes for a whole ‘nother year.

I thought about putting it toward something Mark and I could use later when we have our own house, like a toaster oven, but how boring is that?  I’m thinking that’s just what I’ll have to do though since nothing is working for me in the other departments.

Part of the issue is that I don’t even know what I need.  All our house stuff has been packed up for over a year, and it’s still at least another year before we move out on our own.

What would you buy?  Link me some ideas from Kohl’s!