Sunday, November 7, 2010

Play Kitchen

Being that I am a boy mom, I noticed that I haven’t really posted anything for all of you out there with sweet little girls. However, when I stumbled upon this kitchen, I knew that I had to share. Cat and her husband JT from Kiwi Wood Werks built this darling kitchen for their daughter’s first birthday. I love all of the details (check out the real faucet and great knobs on the stove) that the pair put into the kitchen. Move over Pottery Barn Kids, I think this is the kitchen to get!

You can check out more photos here and also see KWW’s line of fabulous frames.

images via Kiwi Wood Werks

Saturday, November 6, 2010

The Best of Both…

I just recently joined the rest of the world and purchased an iPhone when my trusty phone finally died. I tried desperately to keep it alive, even using it still when the screen was blank and I couldn’t see who I was dialing or who was calling me. Since I never texted with the old phone (what’s the point when you can’t see anything?!?!), I have not been a big “texter” with the iPhone. However, those days may be changing thanks to my new iPhone app. As people say in Blog land “I am *swooning* over this!!

The iPhone app is called POST and is from GADABOUT. It only costs $0.99 and allows you to send the most adorable text messages. Your friends will be so impressed when they get one of these messages from you! Each one looks like a personal invitation and there are many designs to choose from.

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images via Katie Armour and POST.

There is nothing better than sending (or receiving) a handwritten note. Unfortunately as my life becomes busier, I have not been as good as I could be about sending them. If you are like me and prefer to send correspondence the old fashioned way, GADABOUT also has a line of super chic stationery for women and for men.

Sitting Pretty

Life Starts All Over Again When It Gets Crisp In The Fall

The Devil is in The Details

Puttin on the Ritz

A Horse of a Different Color

A River Runs Through It

images via GADABOUT

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Shout Outs #2

This week I had a lovely lady mention my blog on her website.

Lili of Swanky Chic Fete is a one hip party planning momma. She has everything on her blog from dreamy parties to fashion to great food finds. She was so kind to feature Jack's birthday party and has the most extensive list of party links you will ever find! For all of you Houstonians, Swanky Chic Fete also lists great events that are going on in town. Check out her blog for an event happening this weekend at Michael's Cookie Jar.

Cardboard Playhouses

While furnishing our house over the past two years, we have gone through more cardboard boxes than one can imagine. I ordered a bench over the summer and we turned the box upside down, cut a window out, and made it Charlie’s Superhero Headquarters. I think he ended up playing restaurant and serving more food out of it than fighting crime, but nonetheless he had a blast! These designs are a little more sophisticated than the one we made, but guaranteed to provide countless hours of fun!

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Barn, $29.95

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Cottage, $28.99

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Schoolhouse, $24.95

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Condo, $275.00

 

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Space Shuttle, $75.00

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Or….. Create Your Own! Instructions found  here.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Hey Jealousy

As reported last week by Shop Girl in the Houston Chronicle:

H&M to open first Texas store at Dallas' NorthPark Center in 2011

“This news stopped me on deadline: H&M is coming to Texas. The affordable fashion retailer plans to open its first store in the Lone Star state in late 2011. H&M, or Hennes & Mauritz, will open a new 24,000 square-foot store at Dallas' NorthPark Center. According to the release, "H&M believes strongly in the Texas market and looks forward to bringing fashion-forward style to consumers in the area."

H&M has been expanding across the U.S. since the company's New York debut a decade ago. There are approximately 200 H&M stores in the U.S. and close to 2,000 stores in 37 countries around the world.

While there is no mention of a Houston store, we can only hope we're next in line.”

{image via photobucket}

I first fell in love with H&M in the summer of 2001 while in Europe. I have since frequently checked their blog in hopes that they may one day make their way to the Lone Star State. Well, they are finally here. I just wish it were in H-Town. So until then, like Shop Girl, I can only hope….

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Candy Experiments

I was reading Parent’s magazine last month and they had a section called “Play With Your Food”. I flipped through it, not paying much attention until something at the bottom caught my eye - a rainbow made with Skittles. I liked the idea of this because it looked really fun, but mainly because I really like Skittles.

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Here is how it works:

Take five cups and pour 2 tablespoons of water into each cup. Divide skittles among cups: 2 red, 4 orange, 6 yellow, 8 green, 10 purple. Skittle will dissolve in water. *I might warn you that this takes longer than you might expect. The directions say to heat if they are not dissolving fast enough. I found this to be a big mistake. Plan on it taking a good 2 hours to dissolve*

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Once the skittles are all melted. A waxy film will develop on the top. Microwave for 5 seconds and stir.

Pour the purple liquid into a glass cup. Don’t use anything too big. Remember you are using 2 tablespoons of water. Next pour the green mixture. The instructions say to pour slowly over the back of a spoon. Again, this did not work for me. I used a medicine syringe and it worked perfectly. The idea is that the less dense liquids will float on top of the denser ones. Repeat with yellow, orange, and red, respectively.

And, viola! You have your own candy rainbow!

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(should have found a cleaner glass!)

You can find this experiment plus many others here.

Or, if all else fails, do what my mom suggests and make a batch of cookies. Cut up all the Halloween chocolate, and throw it into the mix. Yummm…sounds scrumptious!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Happy Halloween

Thanks to the Dynamic Duo, our  little town was safe last night.

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We scored way too much candy. I usually throw it all away, but this year I have a plan. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s episode to see what The Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder (along with Super Mom) have up their sleeve…..Same Bat Time. Same Bat Channel.