Thursday, February 26, 2009

Thursday Night Picks


Thursday night 10:43 p.m.


Okay, so I am sounding a bit like Luna...."Thursday night picks" sounds suspiciously like football lingo. But fear not! This post has absolutely nothing to do with football....or sports....or ESPN......

Before I forget, here are some photos of our master bathroom, bare bones. Luna says we are at a "stand still". We still need to make a few decisions about the design, so I will post more photos when there is progress.




In my last post, I mentioned that one of my co-workers will soon have a baby boy. So, this post will be dedicated to my "Thursday night picks" for the perfect gifts for a new baby!

A bit of shameless promotion....here is a photo and listing of my personalized onesie at my ETSY shop...too cute!



And, now for my top three picks:

#3: This is called a NOONIE (tm). Use it to swaddle your newborn baby...it's lined in a luxe minky fabric. It's been awfully cold around here (smile). This is such a great graphic print!





#2: Kind of a hip, cool onesie. Perfect for my co-worker.




And my top pick....


#1. Find me anyone on the planet that can possibly resist the cuteness of these. The photo says it all.






Well, I'm going to call it a night. It's exhausting, this window shopping on ETSY. I'll be back this weekend with more of....something! And back next Thursday for another edition of Thursday night picks!!!

Monday, February 23, 2009

The Evening Siren


Monday night, 11:53 p.m.


I've heard from many parents that their children get fussy in the evening. My now 14-month old son is no exception. Luna and I call this the "Siren"; that loud, impossible wailing coming from your little angel, who, for those evening hours, makes you want to pull all your hair out.


So, needless to say it's been tough to get anything done around here. It's difficult to be productive when you are working with fussy AND toddler. You know what I mean. Despite only having a tiny bit of time to do anything at all, I had a semi-productive weekend.


One of my co-workers is having a baby soon! Another co-worker, ("Marie") and I were put in charge of the baby shower favors. Our expectant Dad and his wife are the sophisticated type...no baby blue cutesy here! Marie had a great idea: instead of doing the same, tired shower favors, why not incorporate style and function? We wrapped a washcloth (yes, a washcloth!) in paper strips and ribbon, and finished it with a monogram stamp. Skeptical? Here is what the finished product turned out to look like:



It turned out to be a hit! The favor was easy to make, useful, economical, and most of all, very pretty.

Here is an tutorial on these favors (along with a list of where we purchased the supplies):

1- Purchased a set of 15 washcloths from Costco. Set comes with 5 brown, 5 tan, and 5 white washcloths.
2- Cut cardstock and layer white cardstock (1" W x 8" L)* over tan cardstock (2 1/2" W x 8" L)*. *Measurements we used
3- Roll up washcloth and secure layered tan/white cardstock onto cloth.
4- Stamp desired initial onto Avery 1- 1/4" diameter metal rim tags (purchased at Wal-Mart--it comes in a pack of 50, but keep these handy as they are great to decorate practically anything....cards, gifts, etc!). Remove the attached string.
5- Tie the tag onto the washcloth with ribbon (Offray Dippy Dots in Turquoise/Aqua dots 3/8" wide grosgrain ribbon).
6- VOILA! Your beautiful favors are done! Thanks to Marie for such a wonderful idea!

I didn't have a chance to browse Etsy for my picks for baby shower gifts for my co-worker-- I will do so in a future post.

Since it's now very, very late, I'll be signing off. Good night!



Thursday, February 19, 2009

Your Thursday, My Friday

Thursday night 10:36 p.m.

Kids are asleep, dishes washed, bags packed and ready to go for tomorrow morning. Time to write my first blog entry!

I get a respite every Friday from my cubicle (day job). I have been thinking for a long, long time that I would like to create my own blog, and since today is my Friday, it is the perfect night to start...


Did I mention that we renovated our entire house? The house is 80% complete, and now we are working on the master bathroom. It's completely stripped down, so stay tuned for updates on the master bath makeover. Here are some photos of the bathroom when we bought the house:




Hubby (from now on we'll call him "Luna"--more on this later) has great ideas and vision for the master bath. If he can put it all together, it'll be fantastic. In fact, I can hear him upstairs at this very moment taking measurements with his tape measure dragging against the floor. I'm charging my trusty Fuji Fine Pix Z5 (in pink!) to take photos of the renovation in progress to upload tomorrow.

In the meantime, here are some things I'm seriously lusting over for my house.....


1- For a while, I've been wanting some way to memorialize our first home (two homes ago). Luna and I built this home together in 1998 and sold it in June of 2008. I found a listing for a "Custom Watercolor House Portrait" by Kauaiartist that would be simply beautiful.


2- An updated, modern way to display your past and present. What better way to show off your family tree?
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_4&listing_id=21274138&ga_search_query=family+tree&ga_search_type=tag_title_all

3- I am a serious collector of cushions. Ask my Mom--I give them to her when I'm done with them. I buy them seasonally...here are some beautiful cushions from Robins Egg Pink to brighten up my living room for the spring!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18471597

If you haven't already noticed, the featured items are all found on www.etsy.com: the place to buy all things handmade. Here, you'll find a marketplace full of crafters from all walks of life (including me @ www.liko18.etsy.com) creating lots of unique treasures!

Well, since technically tomorrow is a weekday (and my son needs to get to school on time), I will be signing off from my first post. Good night!