Window Shopping

So, I don't need anything. As in the my-house-was-overflowing-already-and-then-I-added-a-baby kind of not needing anything (Except perhaps clothes that fit my nursing boobs... but that is another topic entirely). I still love to dream though. Since I have a baby shower to attend tonight I simply HAD to head to Target for a gift, and once I was there what was the harm in a little imagining?

It's sort of inevitable, actually. 

It's not uncommon for my daily dreams to have a coordinated color scheme. Granted, that is probably because of the way colors are either coming in or going out at any given time so there is a plethora of one at any given time. I find I love them all, so I'm in danger whenever I set foot in the door. 

How great are those jars? I love the dark teal one on the middle shelf.

I have been wanting this bath rug for a while now. Isn't it fun? It makes me think of flowing water and not in the way that screams "my whole family must have just showered."

Plus it looks awesome with my orange shoes. 

Then there was this awesome fuzzy blanket to match! Seriously, who doesn't love a fuzzy blanket, especially coordinated to a bath rug not visible from where you snuggle? Seriously, in northwest literally two thirds of the year is sweater weather. It wouldn't surprise me if placing blankets in powder rooms became a thing.

These shoes look way fun, especially with the fairly neutral jean and tee shirt days that I am living. Hahaha! Who am I kidding? Jeans are dressy. It's more like yoga pants and old maternity tee kind of days. Some fun and funky kicks are always delightful and make me feel I have a reason to wear real clothes. 

This may have been the most painful clearance find to leave behind- at least since the marble cake plate in December, the lovely, lovely marble cake plate. I'm still weeping over that one. The only reason this didn't come home with me was the thought of trying to make room for it in our little kitchen. It's was very heavy duty and full of possibilities. I must stop thinking about it before I hop in the car and go back to get it. 

Ohmygosh is anyone else obsessed with White Collar??? I don't crush on celebrities but that Neal Caffrey character is something else. This hat was in the infant section- YES! The INFANT section and all I could picture was a darling little photo shoot with my bubs. I even texted the hubs a picture partly wishing he'd suggest I get it even though it's totally impractical and the awesomeness of it would be completely lost on him. 

So. Cute. 

If the bubs hadn't been peacefully sleeping I would have laid him on the floor and had a mini photo shoot with it right there in the middle of the store. 

...And then I would have died from how cute it was. 

Which made this one all the more tempting... After all, it's adorable AND on clearance AND likely to be worn more than once. 

I made the smart choice however.

Boo.

Target has a way of making me think I need things there is not a chance on this green Earth I would have ever known I was missing. Now that I'm home I remember that bringing anything else into this house might qualify us for an episode of Hoarders and I'm glad to not have to go through that. Oh, the humiliation.

Does Target do this to you too? Please tell me I'm not alone. What do you do when you find yourself most lured by the desire to have pretty much everything you see?

MIA

Well, I've been a little busy lately.

Having, and then constantly loving on, this gorgeous little boy.

He's totally my favorite.

My favorite son anyway. I have to be careful saying things like that. His older sisters are still a little sensitive about their place in the family even though they love him dearly, so I have to make it clear that I don't actually have a favorite. I've always been a baby person and never thought I'd get to have another, so I'm extra sappy about it this time around.

Finally after 5.5 weeks I'm starting to feel like myself again. I've been baking and attempting to clean my house. Today I even did my hair!

It's a miracle.

MIA

I have been quite absent lately. I want to believe that will change, but I've got one week left in my next to last class (EVER!) for grad school and so I'm really hoping I can stay focused for 6 more days... which means I will likely not be around much. However, I have a question...

For the three of you who actually read this, what age was your child when you stopped telling them what they had to wear? 

I'll explain why I'm wondering in a few days. Until then, enjoy your leftovers and the {hopefully} happy memories built this Holiday week.

Embracing Chalk

Flashback: It's Algebra class, sophomore year. At the start of class my cute little nerdy Grandpa teacher would have several members of the class write math problems from the homework on the board. For most, there was anxiety over being given a problem that they'd actually finished, let alone done correctly. For me, there was anxiety over having to hold a piece of chalk. The gritty, rough, powdery surface left my OCD self feeling like I needed to take a shower. I did not like it, not one little bit.

Fast forward to today and the years-long trend now of chalkboard everything and I have had an internal battle. I don't like chalk, but those projects are all so cute!!! I don't want to have to hold chalk in my hand, but I want a cute memo board like that!! I don't want loose powder in the air or grungy erasers or the smell or anything else that goes with chalk, but I want to be able to make cute chalkboard messages that can change on a whim!! When it all comes together, 1 + 1 = I made a chalkboard. 

It's sort of my equivalent of selling out, just on a crafting level. Should I feel bad about that? 

I used this frame, that I have used many times before for my front door. I had to peel off some hot glue from a Valentines "wreath" and replace some scraped off paint from floral wire, but this little can of paint + primer spray paint by Krylon was just the ticket to take care of that.

Since a frame clearly needs something to go in it, I decided to use the glass for the base of the chalkboard. The chalkboard paint can said it should go on a smooth surface, but I was worried the glass was tooo smooth. I sprayed a super light coat of the white as a primer so the chalkboard paint would adhere better.

No need to worry getting perfectly even coverage, it's primer! We're going to cover that baby up.

I already owned a can of the brush on chalkboard paint, so that is the route I went. I think the spray paint would give a better final surface, but if you haven't figured it out yet, I tend to work with what I've got. Using a nice Zibra brush helped get thin, even coats. I love those brushes.

I let it dry, then added two more coats.

I absolutely do not love washing paint brushes, especially when I want to use them again soon, so I slapped that puppy into a sandwich bag between coats so the board would dry but the bristles wouldn't. It works famously. You probably knew that already, but I seriously do this all the time.

Long story short, or short project long, that's it! Then it's just a matter of making sure the paint is fully dry, slipping the glass back into the frame, and replacing the back. It's almost embarrassing how easy this is and how long I've debated making one.

Man, I wish I could paint these doors.

It's only taken two whole months to find chalk, and I finally found it for $0.47/box at Walmart (despite the fact that I've looked there at least a dozen times already). It's kind of frustrating to look for something for so long and then have it be so very cheap. Not that I'm complaining.

Squirt had a great time writing on it and I can't bring myself to erase her note.

 You can see progess is being made!! It's sure not done, but it's so much better.

It's going to live {for now} on Baby Boy's door. I figure it can hold messages like "Baby's Sleeping" or "Last ate at 3:42 a.m." so I actually remember in the morning when the boy had his midnight snacks. Most likely I will slave over making some sort of cute typographic saying, and then freak out when it gets smudged, but that is a topic for another OCD counseling session.

Now that I've sold out to chalkboard-dom, I think I'm rapidly getting addicted. I have more projects in mind with no end in sight. Now if only I could talk myself into not minding the feel of chalk...