The Greatest Invention Since the DVR

I found it my friends!  I found something that cost $12 and changed my life.  Here it is......

Right?! I know.

So some of you totally get it - and some are like "yea, a cut off cami...big deal."  Yes, it IS a big deal. And this is why....

For those of you who don't know me personally, I have boobs.  Big boobs.  34 DD boobs - and I didn't have to contribute to the GDP to get them -  just good ole genetics from my grandmothers.  When I was pregnant with Evelyn they were up to my chin - you think I'm kidding but I, for once, am not exaggerating. 

Because of the boobs, a lot of V necks shirts and dresses that most other people can wear normally, I have to wear a cami under so that I'm not inappropriately dressed.  There's nothing worse than having that extra cami fabric under your (example) dress roll up around your middle and look all bunchy and make you uncomfortable. 

I had been looking for something like the above and came across a bra from Soma (my fav undergarments place) that had a panel of fabric across the cups that serves the same purpose.  I hated to drop $45 on a bra that I couldn't wear everyday though.  And then a few doors down in a little boutique I found this.  I figure I'd give it a try for $12 and I love it.  It's seamless and has elastic around the bottom so it doesn't ride up and eliminates the bunchy fabric that rides up problem completely.  It's made of the same material as my camis I wear under stuff from The Limited (which are horrible roller-uppers). 

Comfortable elastic band around the bottom

 

So I could buy more of them here. But you know me - instead I'm converting my old camis into this same concept bra top!

 

Step One:  Cut the old cami's excess fabric off using the new Ah-mahzing bra top as a guide. I left an extra inch on the cami's so I can fold it up and place the elastic inside. 

 

 

 

Step Two:  Sew in elastic.  Start by sewing it directly onto the side of the cami. Make sure to start sewing the elastic about 1/8th-1/4th from the edge of the fabric.  (I used Dritz' 3/4th Inch Non-Roll Knit elastic bought at Joann.) 

 

    

 

After that, fold up the elastic encased in fabric and pin it on the outside of the elastic band.  The idea is to encase the elastic completely and make a tube.  You don't want to sew directly on the elastic or it won't stretch. 

 

 

Leave about an inch unsewn at the end, and sew the "tube" all the way around.  When you finish - Put it on and pull the excess elastic to a comfortable "tautness" and pin it so it won't move as you take it off.  Then you trim the elastic, reposition and pin the elastic in the fabric, sew the rest of the tube, make a 90 degree turn and sew the elastic to the fabric.  Here is your finished product!

 

 

That took about 15 minutes and saved me $12.  Worth it! 

Monogrammed Clutches

Hello Friends.  It's been a long day and it's got the good, the bad, and the ugly.  We've been transitioning Evelyn to her big girl room at her request.  Is it ready? No.  But the boss says she wants to sleep upstairs so we do what the boss says. 

 

At 4am this morning the boss had a bad dream about falling and requested Mommy to sleep in bed with her.  I did - it was nice and cuddly, and then I woke up at 7 and my neck was stuck in one position for like, all day.  The chiro was called - going to see him Thursday.

 

We get our day going and E goes to school.  I hit the Grease Pig to get my rear brake pads changed out.  THEY wrote my appointment in for Saturday instead of Monday.  So I waited for 30 mins and was like "we gotta reschedule.  I got sh** to do." So I'm going back next Monday.  I made sure to stay and watch them write it down on Monday this time. 

 

Then there was some good - had lunch with Kerry and Sarah and baby Grayson at the Green Bean - UM, fabulous? Why is just my first time to eat there?!

 

Then visited my fav shoe store, Warrens, and went to visit my future furniture at IO Metro.  Ended up buying the end table I'd been eyeing for the new couch because it takes 10-14 weeks to get it in.  Get this, they make it in the USA and then ship it to England to be painted.  Does this make ANY sense?

 

Then I shopped the mall in Rogers - bought nothing - and then went to Fresh Market.  Bought dinner.  And after all that shopping I did.  I came home SO empty handed.  *Sad Face

 

So I just visited my Etsy wish list to dream about actually buying things, and I have a great new item that I'm for sure getting.  I'm having a hard time narrowing down the color - but check it out.....

 

 

 

 

Um, yes please.  It's an oversized clutch - AND it comes with a gold chain to work it crossbody.  Hollar!  Let me tell you, these pics aren't available on the Etsy shop.  I saw these and immediately wrote the owner for additional pics.  You saw it here first folks.

 

 

 

 

The owner was totally sweet - they are based in Austin, TX and her dad went to U of A.  So it's like it's meant to be.  These would make great Christmas gifts too if I do say so.  At first I was leaning toward the kelly green, but I'm digging the white, red and mustard yellow now. Just need to narrow it down!

Oh - and I almost forgot to mention they are $40!  I think it's a great price point.  Better than dropping $350 on one at Coach (This doesn't mean I won't let my MIL or Mom drop that on me for Xmas though). Here is a link to the Etsy shop Drake's Corner.

Um, did I forget to share pics of E from Halloween?  Silly me.  I'll leave you with those to end the day.  Master Bath and Den updates tomorrow! 

 

 

Fanatical Friday

I've been a little all over the map this week.  I keep starting posts with my projects I'm doing and then don't finish them.  I have a bad habit that if something else interests me in the middle of something I just over to that instead of finishing the current project.  Joe says I have a fear of success - um, no.  I just have a high functioning ability to multitask and change gears easily.  It's what made me really great at my last job - I could move from one building to another in a matter of seconds if a property manager called unexpectedly with questions.  What made me great at work - hinders me at home.  I think it's because I don't have deadlines like I did at work.  Hence - my first purchase:

Courtesy of SincerelyYoursPaper

Bought this 20x20 inch personalized puppy from Etsy.  It just happens to be made by a lovely lady named Amy here locally.  What a surprise!  It's dry erase and just the right size - but doesn't fit on our fridge.  Made the mistake of assuming it would fit on ours as I didn't measure before I purchased.  Naughty Beth.  I also have nowhere to put it right now on the walls because I assumed it would go on the fridge.  I'll let you know what we come up with over the weekend.  It might be going on the pantry door after I frame it and make it pretty.  These come in different colors and patterns - I just ordered the same one as the pic b/c the green matches our kitchen walls perfectly.

Today I WILL finish my last curtain panel for the kitchen/den area.  I just have to blind hem stitch the top and bottom and add the grommets and hang and voila!  Finally that project will be completed.  I promise - pics on Monday.  Actually, I might post over the weekend in an attempt to catch up.

Did I ever mention I'm painting our master bath?  I am.  Got the separate toilet room painted last Sunday and have taken a painting break since then.  There's a lot of taping off to do and it's hard to paint during Evelyn's waking hours.  Joe has been working late too so it's best if I just hold off until he's home over the weekend to tackle the rest of the bathroom.  That post coming next week too - I'll need help with my decision for window treatments over my bathtub.  You readers are always such a big help!

The fabric for Evelyn's window treatments for her big girl bedroom also came in - in up to my ears in window treatments this week.  She and I are going to discuss options today.....should be interesting.  She'll most likely be discussing elephants with me the entire time I'm trying to lead her in this serious conversation. 

I've been distracted from work on the house by blankets for Rita's baby - again, an ongoing project because I then got distracted from that by this on Etsy:

 Courtesy of byrdlegs on Etsy

 

 

Yep, Etsy can eat it - BOOM!  This lil momma made it for half the price they sell it for.  I was actually going to buy it - but I wrote and asked if she preshrunk the fabric before having it monogrammed and she never wrote me back (it's been 2 weeks).  So I found and bought the fabric, preshrunk it, had it monogrammed, and just made it myself. 

 

Perfect for Hogs games. Evelyn thinks it's for her - since we have the same initials.  I had to take it from her room and sneak into the guest bathroom just to do this pic.  Here she is with it on.  She looks pretty cute, so I might have to do another for her.

 

 

 

Well after that I became scarf obsessed, so I went to Hancock's and bought this fabric

 

 

I love the ivory lace and fuschia stripe.  So this time round I made an extra long infinity scarf so I could "tie" it different ways - here's how it turned out.

 

This is it wrapped around 3 times...

 

I call this the high and tight....

 

 and here it is just lose and casual

 

I'm ordering more fabric today - I definitely need a mustard one for my winter wardrobe!

 

 

Last but certainly not least - Rylie loved her new shirt and headband (discussed here) and here is a pic of her wearing them!  She's such a cutie! 

 

 

Next post is about my new obsession (other than scarves) - monogrammed anything!  Be sure to come back and check it out for some great Christmas gift ideas. 



Fancy Smansy Nursing Cover

Monday's are always such a wasted day.  I do laundry and get the house back in order from the weekend (since E's at school), and run errands and next thing I know - it's time to pick up Ev from school!  Crazy.

I spent today also listing a bunch of stuff on Ebay to sell.  We had some sort of wild animal get in our garage last week (maybe a raccoon or possum) it ate through the wiring for the sensor on my side of the garage and used the bathroom on both sides A LOT.  We decided this was a great excuse to clean out and go through all the boxes of stuff in our garage. 

Emptying the garage and cleaning only took an hour - and No, we didn't find an animal.  Then going through the boxes and documenting our charitable donations and throwing away and putting away and deciding what to sell took about another 8 hours!  It was crazy, but the garage looks great!

So I listed some stuff on Ebay but also had an amazing 2 hours (tops) project I just jumped right into.  I had a person contact me through Etsy to see if I could make a nursing cover for her friend with my flannel monkey fabric.  So I got out my Hooter Hider from when I was pregnant and decided yep - looks pretty easy.  It's essentially a blanket with some straps with attached D rings.  So poor Rita agreed to be my test run - and ya know what?  It turned out great!  I love the fabric I used so much that I want one now!

I did a regular cotton fabric on one side and used minky on the other side.  It always bothered me the hooter hider didn't have anything soft on the inside since that was the part that touched the baby.  I made it 35" wide by 25" tall and here it is!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow I'm posting about another sewing project I did this weekend for a friend's little girl - OSU fans will want to check in for sure!

 

Somebody's Having a Baby! And it's not Me.

I love me some babies.  LOVE! 

I worked in my church's daycare for 7 years - throughout high school and college. So I knew a lot more than the average bear going into this motherhood thing.  Mostly the grossness and noise making abilities. 

When Joe and I found out we were pregnant, I was pretty bummed - for like 5 months.  Evelyn was unplanned, but she's pretty awesome and can't imagine life without her.  Back to being bummed - Once we found out the sex of the baby and could start planning a room and picking a name things really started to come together for me emotionally.  Then the physical pain set in.  I had a ligament that wrapped the right side of my body from ribcage to spine that had me in so much pain I just wanted to scream bloody murder at my desk most days.  Nothing helped.  It was quite simply, awful.  Not to mention we had some personal problems with some immediate family that took over our lives for a few months and added to the emotional and mental strain Joe and I were already suffering.  When I look back on pregnancy, I get the chills.  So it's BIG that getting pregnant again is even a consideration.

But, I'm not there yet.

But, one of my best friends Rita is!  She is pregnant with her first baby and we already know that it's a boy!  Just because I don't want to be preggers - doesn't mean I don't want everyone else around me to not be.  Pretty much since the day she told me I've been sending 20 texts and emails a day with name suggestions, baby bedding, craft ideas for the rooms, and yesterday it culminated because I couldn't stand it any longer and just had to make that future bundle of joy something tangible.

I have a stock pile of white onesies at the house for baby gifts - usually I just get them embroidered with their names, but I wanted to do something else personal as a gift.  Rita's husband, Bryan, is really proud to be a Texan.  He loves Houston so much he told Lauren and I when we were visiting a few weeks ago "It's the greatest place on earth."  I beg to disagree (THE HEAT).  Anyway, I'm also painting this week a Home is Where the Heart Is painting and thought I could definitely apply this to clothing.  So I hit Joann and grabbed some fabric and thread and a button and VOILA!  Insta-gift.

I think Bryan was more excited than Rita!  But I think I was more excited than them both.  After sending out pictures of my proud accomplishment I was encouraged to put them in my Etsy store.  So I did.  You can view my store over on the right hand side of the blog menu bar at any time and I included a link here as well.  Next up, I'm doing an Oklahoma one for a special little lady I know! (not E) And an Arkansas one for the cutest most adorable little girl in the whole world! (I'm talking about Evelyn this time) ;)

Let Me Catch You Up

Remember the abstract wall art posting?  It was really no contest where we were going to hang it.  Above the couch in the den won!

UGH - I cannot wait to get this room completely done.  I've got the curtain rods and I've started shopping for a new couch.  I think the curtains are really going to transform the room.  I need to get on finishing E's room and then wrap this one up too!  After I get the curtains up we'll definitely be adding more art to that wall.  Did you notice the two lampshades?  We had to move the floor lamp because of all the new surround sound equipment - which I also desperately need a cabinet for.  SO MUCH TO DO!!!

I'm still loving my gold leaf pen.  I jazzed up the double mat in this frame with just a few minutes of effort!  The framed print came from Delivered by Danielle on Etsy.  She has a great shop if you are looking for wall art; she totally worked with me and came up with the color for the print in minutes with very little direction!  I think I said "Raspberry/Dark Hot Pink" and she was like "BOOM!" I'm done. Buy It. And I did.

 

While playing on Pinterest I came across this pic and thought "Oh what a cute chair."  Then I took a closer look.  Do you recognize any of the fabrics on the chair?

Photo courtesy of paigekudsen.blogspot.com

It's got my den curtain fabric AND the zebra fabric I used on the ottoman in E's big girl room!  Love.  Paige has great taste and the cutest family - you should really check out her blog. 

Etsy wise, I'm waiting with bated breath for Lauren of Lala Design Studio to return from vacation so I can purchase this necklace.

Photo courtesy of Laladesignstudio shop on Etsy

I spotted this on a treasury list before I logged in and immediately showed Joe the iPad and said "I want this for our anniversary next year." But I'm not sure I can wait!  I'm also on the hunt for something with Evelyn's birthstone in it.  I've spotted a few necklace on Etsy I like - but not love.  If anyone spots a piece of jewelry with Citrine in it I need; let me know.   

I bet you are all wondering why I haven't said anything about the Olympics yet.  Don't worry - an entire post is coming.  And last night's men gymnastics meltdown had me downright depressed, yelling, and in bed about 2 hours earlier than normal.  I will say I was so happy for Great Britain to win a medal, and so sad Ukraine got bumped by Japan and the rock star Tokyo-Go-Go hairdo guy.

I'm off to see my parents progress on some redo's they are doing for the house.  One of which is the bathroom I used growing up.  I SO wish I had taken before pics.  Maybe mom did.  Hope everyone has a great day!

Great Find! Shapely Wood Picture Frames

E and I hit the jackpot today on our weekly trip to Hobby Lobby today.  I had been seeing cute shaped wood picture frames on Pinterest for months now and had them on my to-do list.  But for 50% off I can just buy them now!

Look, I've already snatched one, added a precut double mat and hung it on my in process art wall that goes up the stairs.

I encourage you all to run and get them ASAP because I predict they are going to run out of them fast!  Everyone please have a fun and safe 4th of July and I'll see you after the holiday!

Giveaway! Gold Movement Earrings

In honor of my romantic weekend getaway I'm taking with my hubs, I'm doing my first giveaway! This giveaway is for a pair of gorgeous gold movement earrings from Premier Jewelry. These earrings are so versatile they make me wish my ears were pierced! My friend Laura (she has great style), had them and I admired them so much I started giving them as gifts to others! I promise you will love them too.

I suppose I must address why my ears aren't pierced....

When I was in 2nd grade all my friends already had or were getting their ears pierced.  I begged my Mom to let me get mine done too, but she said no and that I was too young (by the way, her ears aren't pierced either).  I was so upset and kept asking for months because I just wanted to be like everybody else.  Finally, in 6th grade she said I could get mine done but by then no one was wearing earrings anymore - it was no longer "a thing". 

As the years went on, from time to time I would consider having them pierced but I would psyche myself out as I'm not a fan of pain.  Then in high school, I was sitting next to Bobby O'Bryan in Health class and he said "Your ears aren't pierced." I responded "I know" (I was a smart ass back then too).  And he said "How refreshing."  What a compliment!  This gave new confidence to the rebel portion of my personality and so now here I am today, with my ears still not pierced. 

Enough about me, on to how to win!

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post (as a Blogger member or else I don't know who you are) and describe in that post what your perfect summer outfit would be to pair with these earrings.  If you want to build something on Polyvore and send me a link - go right ahead.  The contest starts NOW and will end at Midnight on Thursday, March 22nd and the winner will be announced Friday morning.  Only one entry per person please.  Good luck!   

My New Black and White Chevron Rug!

I am over the moon excited!  I indirectly came upon the website AllModern.com last week. Within 5 minutes I had ordered a rug and then sent it to Joe with the "Do you think this will look ok...." email asking permission. 

Here is the rug:

Image courtesy of allmodern.com.  nuLOOM Kinder Chevron Ivory rug

It's a 5x8 and I got it for $75.  What the what? you say?  I know - I did the same.  Brace yourself for this though - - - shipping was free!  I read the purchase summary like 10 times before I actually believed it. 

You know how much I love chevron if you know me.  You might have noticed the blog background and header and read this post here about the obsession.  A little goes a long way.  But this room needs a punch of fun since it's suppose to be the room my family congregates in for movies, games, and Wii time. 
All Modern is really great.  While you can run into some items that are kinda pricey, they also had really great stuff that is within my price range.   

This rug is going to go in our bonus room upstairs.  The room is carpeted, so this is my first venture into the rug-on-a-carpet look.  But with the coffee table I'm refinishing for the room, which is on casters, I was worried it would tear up the carpet.  So I chose this rug to sacrifice for the greater good of home resale value.

I bought the rug last Tuesday so I'm hoping it comes in by the end of this week.  I'll be sure to post pics!