Miscellaneous Finds and Surprises!

So, as I mentioned before, January had not been a month full of things to blog about. I have had plenty to do- but just not things that are particularly interesting in the blogging world, or things I feel I want to write about. But I found a few, so here are some things that I have found/purchased/discovered/finished this month:

New cute brown shoes- Mudd- my favorite trendy brand (that I can afford)- normal price $49- clearance for $9.99 and I saved 15% more- love them!
My curtains in my kitchen- the green in the pattern totally goes with my green walls and adds so much depth to the room. Sorry that the pic does not do them justice- oh, and my wonderful mom made them for me!
So, the girls have separate beds in their room, right? Well, Celeste would get cold in the night, so she would climb in bed with Leah- her bed is a full size. Leah was complaining that her room was too small, so last Saturday, I pushed in the trundle, (Celeste's bed), and cleaned off Leah's big bed and now the duo share this big bed! They love it, and don't stay up late either- they have been threatened!

Just another view of the room- but notice the white bookcase- try not to pay attention to the clutter on it (I asked Leah if she knew what a "hoarder" was- she answered, "yes, it's 25 cents!" I said, "NO, a HOARDER". Love that girl- anyway, I told her I would absolutely NOT let her become one! ) She would save everything if I let her- I go through her room now on a regular basis- you'd be amazed at what I find and then THROW AWAY! So, the bookcase, I found at Target- the "do your room" brand- regular price $89.99- it was repackaged and on clearance for $30.00! Love it- so easy to assemble and not missing a thing! Great deal, I think!

The last view of their room, where Celeste's bed used to be- now the vanity has a home! Yah!
Here is my project I worked on for my friend Laura's baby shower- she is having a boy, but won't tell his name, other than his first initial that I dragged out of her- I think it turned out pretty cute. If you can't read the center, it's because I couldn't get a great view- but it's on vellum, over brown paper and it reads: Welcome to the world, little one...You are so loved! The embellished brad in the center says, "brand new". I put the glass behind it, so when she is ready to frame a picture of him, she can take out the paper and put the picture in. Hope she likes it!

Another shot- The lion kind of hangs off the side. Another shoe find- love these bone colored sandals for fall- normal price $49- my price $3.49! Gotta love Kohl's- right?!

And finally, my new door!! I love this door- seriously, it is the little things, I swear! I have wanted a new back door for a very long time- we finally decided it was time. I looked and looked for a simple style- this one is just like the one we had as our front door at our condo. It is just a white steel door- pre-hung, so they had to cut out my old door completely, including our hideous black wrought iron door that I hated....so that wasn't all bad! Anyway, Lowe's had it for $184- I saw it on sale at a competitor's store I thought for $148. I asked the guy at Lowe's if they matched prices- long story short, they called the other store, and they actually had it marked at $124- so, that is what they gave it to me for!! So, after locks and other things I needed, I got it all for $155! Installed by our good friend, who happily hung my curtain rods (pics of the curtain to come later), and fixed my floor trim that you can see in the corner, and happily hauled off the crappy doors that I no longer have to see!! Since this is the door we use as our "front" door, it is perfect, just perfect- and today I painted the trim, so after the curtain is done (another one from mom), I will be smiling every time I walk into the kitchen!
On a side note, Alex has been playing basketball every Saturday this month, but today had his best game ever!! It's not even about the points he scored, either- but that he had more assists and passes to others that made it so awesome. A mom came up and told me that he was a really great player, but more importantly, that he took time to give other kids an opportunity to score, even when he knew they probably wouldn't. I told her he knows what those boys feel like, because last year, that was him. He is a great boy- we love him and love that he is so kind- oh, and he got "offensive player of the game" this week.