; World of Dennifer: Bargain Finds
Showing posts with label Bargain Finds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bargain Finds. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

What I wanna buy Wednesday - 02.29.12

See - I'm trying to get back to posting regularly - at least a few times a week! It's late though, so I'll update more later, but for now...I'm here to bring you this week's installment of WIWBW!

1. A cool tunnel for the munchkin:


My little baby is growing up so fast! In fact, she's so big, she tells me "baby, baby, baby" & lays in my arms when she wants to be cuddled like a baby. :) So cute, but bittersweet of course since she's growing up too fast for this mama! Anywho, I have been eying this cute tunnel in my most recent One Step Ahead catalog because her latest & greatest is crawling through & under stuff - like our ottoman (it's a big one with an open bottom for extra storage), like under our legs, etc. Maybe the Easter bunny will bring this along for her?!


2. A new sectional for my living room:

Ever since we purchased a sectional for the basement, I've been lusting after this one for our living room. One problem (besides the obvious cost issue) - I don't think we have room in our teeny living room. Sigh. Maybe in the next house. :o/

3. A pair of gray jeans:


Ahhh I actually have a pair of gray jeans, but ever since having the munchkin, these hips & booty will just not fit back into my size 7's. Ugh. So, I went to gap & tried these on - loved them, but wasn't loving the $70 price tag. So my awesome friend & neighbor bought these for me as a gift (she works for Gap & got 50% off, woo) - LOVE her to pieces! And I'm also loving my sweet new pair of gray jeans! Thanks Pam...xoxo!

4. A striped cardigan:

I saw this pinned on an outfit on Pinterest & just had to have it! Luckily, it's on sale at Abercrombie, so I got it in Navy because that's even cheaper & I like navy more than red. For some reason, I am loving stripes right now - it must be a new spring trend because I'm seeing them everywhere lately!

5. A new dog tag for the dog:


Having a blog, I sometimes get marketing emails from a variety of companies asking em to feature their products on my blog & this is one of the rare times I actually accepted because I'm really digging this product! It's a pet ID tag with GPS Notification Services by Pet Hub. I cannot tell you how many times my mom has had to put up signs for her lost cats (they are indoor/outdoor cats & wander off from time to time, which worries my mother sick!) & I always worry one day that our dog will get out or run out of the door & keep running. This tag provides peace of mind that both my mom & I will always be able to find our treasured fur babies. They run away, you can track them online or someone can scan the code on their tag with their smartphone & your information will come up! Such an awesome idea - and if you're intrigued, they have a Groupon running right now for a tag + a one-year subscription to their gold service for only $14. And...I may be offering a giveaway of one of the tags here on my blog soon - just trying to work out the deets!

And that's all I have for this week's WIWBW. 'Till next time!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

What I wanna buy Wednesday - 01.18.12

Hi! This week has been crazy with work & what not as usual. I have soo many posts that I have planned & I just can never find the time in my day to get them up. Starting next week though, I am going to be in class for work for two weeks, so I'll {hopefully have more free time to blog}. :) Annnywho, here's this week's installment of WIWBW:

1. Tiny Toms

I got a couple pairs of Toms courtesy of the hubbs & ever since I've been lusting over a pair for my mini me! Aren't they just freakin' adorbs?! I think I'm going to wait until she grows into the next size, then I'm definitely going to buy a pair for my little cutie!

2. Birth Stats Print:

I'm in love all the cute birth stat prints I've seen lately. I was recently introduced to the birth stat prints from The Bear's Wares, which is actually a new company started by a mommy friend of mine (go check out her stuff whenever you get a chance). I'm totally gonna buy one of these cuties soon! I have no clue where I'll put it yet, but it's so cute...who could pass it up?!

3. A gym water bottle 

I go to the gym for Zumba all the time & could really use something like this since I'm always running late or just on time for class to start. If I had a water bottle like this that held my gym ID, car keys, etc. it would be so convenient & I'd never have to worry about leaving anything behind.

4. New bedding:

I love this bedding from West Elm & am gonna try to convince the hubbs that he should let me buy some new bedding for our master bedroom! I love the ruffly circles - I just have a thing about ruffles & can't get over how cute this set is! And it's on sale too. :)

5. Art frame for munchkin's masterpieces:

Now that my big girl is in the young toddler room at school, she's always making pretty pictures & I think these would be great to have around to display her art! 
And that's all I got for this week's installment of WIWBW. 'Till next time!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The big par-tay...Part I

OMG, I am embarrassed b/c I am THE worst blogger ever in all of blogland. Okay, maybe not all of blogland...but I have been sorta MIA. No real reason, just life got in the way - first the mad dash to get all my DIY crafting & cooking done for her party, the party, the other birthday weekend activities, oh & did I mention I'm now on our HOA's board of directors :oO (?!),  catching up at work, a sick beh be, etc. etc. And I am STILL exhausted from all that...but I do apologize! And now, I give you...

~*The Birthday Girl*~


The party was an awesome success & my little mama had a great time! I got a professional photog to take all the pics & I haven't gotten the photos back from him yet, but I did get a chance to snap a few myself...


Obvs I took these after the party because you don't get the full affect of how cay-ute they are in the sunlight. Made these lil guys based on Emily's tutorial over at Not So Idle Hands. I had this bookmarked for quite some time now & I'm happy I finally tried them out! They are super cute, cheap & easy to make. They take some time, but I made a BUNCH & for this year at least, we aren't carving pumpkins so these cuties are it!

Here are some pics during the party...

{favor table} 
 
{paper lanterns used to decorate in the living room}

 
 {the eats spread + dessert}

The Decor 
As I mentioned in a previous post, Ciao Bambino made most of the paper for the party (the banner, the confetti minis, the favor tags, the cupcake toppers & stickers that I used on the plastic ware rolls - not pictured). I think I mentioned before that I basically bought the paper stuff sight unseen, but I rightly placed my faith in CB because the stuff turned out super duper cuteee! I was so excited when I got my box with all the stuff, it was like Christmas! I got the black & orange polka dot balloons from Shop Sweet LuLu's Halloweenery shop for $3! The black & white paper lanterns are from Luna Bazaar and the totally adorable pumpkin lanterns are from Party City, but they are only available online. If you're feeling crafty, here's a link to a DIY version of them - equally cute & I actually bought all the supplies to make them, but then I gave myself a reality check & returned the stuff, then bought these...I was already overloaded with projects, so I was happy to find these! The paper table cloths were also from Party City.

I DIY'ed the place cards on Power Point & the cake pop stand using a cardboard box & piece of styrofoam wrapped with polka dot wrapping paper & pretty orange ribbon. Speaking of ribbon, I got a lot of the ribbon you see in the photos from the Ribbon Retreat - great prices & they ship fast! All the other ribbon I got from Michaels & Jo-Ann's.

The Food
Instead of getting the party catered, I opted to make everything myself...which was SO much work & thankfully one of my close friends came over the day before the party to help me get a head start on some of the baking/decorating & then another friend came the morning of to help us finish up the cooking. It was ex.hausting, gah. But it was worth it because I think everything looked fab & it all tasted great too! The menu included: a veggie tray, cut up fruit in these adorbs polka dot candy cups from Shop Sweet Lulu, "mummy" dogs AKA pigs in a blanket, scarecrow crunch, Chick-Fil-A nuggets, cheese dip made by my awesome bestie Britt, sandwich roll-ups & pumpkin dip.

The sweets were the stars though! My girl Britt & I made pumpkin brownie pops, which weren't super pretty, but tasted awesome! The cake was made by my BFF Becky's MIL, who also made my bridal shower & wedding cake...she did such an awesome job! And finally, the cupcakes were from Cupcakes Actually - I had a Groupon for these that I had purchased a while back, so I just sent the hubbs to pick out a dozen the day of the party! I was hesitant to try a new cupcake place because we are pretty hardcore cupcake snobs in the Dennifer household, but these were actually very yummy. The munchkin had one of their pumpkin harvest cupcakes as her "smash cake" & she loved it too. :) Hopefully the photog got good pics of her eating/smashing/making a huge mess of her cupcake because I was in full clean-up mode when she was eating it & had no chance to get a pic, bahahahaha.

And pics in the basement/present opening area (excuse the horrible lighting in our basement)...

 {yeah, I totally forgot to cut the extra ribbon on the right end of the month banner}

{And my cutie living it up amongst all her presents}

I wrapped the picture frames the hubbs had up over the mantle with orange tissue paper & polka dot wrapping paper. On the mantle - I framed her invite using a frame I got via Freecycle that I spray painted black...side note: I really wanted to spray paint the frame a pumpkiny orange, but couldn't find one at any of the stores I checked. :o/ I placed a large professional shot of her in the middle of the mantle, then my DIY #1 ribbon topiary {tutorial with photos coming up soon}. Finally, I hung my DIY monthiversary banner from the mantle to show how my munchkin has changed throughout her 1st year. Love her! I got the inspiration for the banner from Ciao Bambino, but figured I could just make a really cute one rather than buying it & I'm so happy I did because I loooove how it turned out! To make one yourself, just take a long piece of ribbon, get a 2 inch scallop punch & colored card stock, design some {less than 2"} circles with free clip art online & printed on white card stock. Use mini glue dots to attach them to the scallop circles, hot glue a paper clip behind the scallop circle & attach them to the ribbon using hot glue.  Make sure to space them evenly apart & then slide your photos into the clips & wha-la! I was planning to take photos & do a photo tutorial, but I was pressed for time & rushing to get this done. If I do this again, I'll be sure to take step-by-step pics.

For her birthday, she received so many generous gifts from our family & friends that attended the party. Everything from casual to dressy clothes, music toys, books, a portable DVD player + DVDs, her PBK Anywhere Chair {that was our gift}, balls for her ball pit, and I could go on & on.

Oh & to complete mama's birthday weekend, we headed to the local pumpkin patch! She loved the animals, the slides & especially they hayride! She loved it & we had a great time too, so we decided to make it an annual birthday tradition until she says she's too old to go with good 'ol mom & dad, lol.


So those are pmb (pretty-much-basically) the good pics I got. Once I get & select the professional pics I want, I'll share them with y'all of course! And, now that Miss Amaya has had an awesome party, got tons of cool stuff & turned the big O-N-E, what's she gonna do next?! DISNEY...next week, eeek! Wish me us luck, it'll be the first time we take the bambino on a plane. I still have lots & lots to to do...with not a lot of time to do it in. I'm sure I'll be talking more about it here before we head out. Welp, that's all I got for now. 'Till next time!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

What I wanna buy Wednesday - 08.17.11

Hi there friends!! Hope everyone's week is going awesome - mine is pretty good, just trying to get thru the next 1.5 months at work, then I'll {hopefully} have a lot more free time, which = more time to blog...he he. :) I am still hard at work trying to get one of my biggest projects more the office/craft space makeover done & am waiting on an order I placed on Etsy to reeeally finish it. Once it gets here, hopefully I'll be able to finish the project up & share it with y'all...in the mean time, I'm going to share some of my inspiration pics for the office/craft space makeover. Also, I will be posting Baby AJ's 10 month update, my top mommy must haves for 3-9 months, and finally, I wanna tell you guys about the big birthday bash we're planning for our little munchkin!!

Anywho, today I'm checking in with my latest installment of WIWBW! Here are the top 5 things I need wanna buy this week:

1. Fall clothes {for me}:



I've always loved the fall & everything about it - it's my favorite season!! One of the things I look forward to every year is seeing the new fall clothing trends! I love the comfy, stylish cardigans & sweaters, the dark wash denim & the muted colors fall brings! I can't wait to do some fall shopping - I need to clean out my closet first, lose about 5-10 lbs, then I'll be stocking up on some of the new fall items to supplement my {already pretty large} wardrobe. :)

P.S. - anyone who wants to get a deal on some great new fall looks, Gap is offering 25% off your entire purchase - TODAY ONLY - code: GAPGEM!

2. A new iPhone cover:


I mentioned these cute iPhone covers sold by one of my favorite Etsy Shops, Pretty Smitten, in my chevron love post. Sigh. I really, REALLY want one, but I just can't bring myself to pay $55 for one...I mean, the phone itself was over $200! I follow the Pretty Smitten blog & last week, Elizabeth (the shop owner) hinted at the fact that there will be something coming up this week for those wanting an iPhone case (me, me, me!) - I hope it's a discount because I'll definitely jump all over that!

3. A couple long, white IKEA wall shelves:


I'd seen these shelves in IKEA before, but fell in love with them once I saw them in John & Sherry's living/dining room on Young House Love. When I was re-doing our living room though, I went for three small, dark brown wall shelves. After living with those for a couple of years, I'm ready to make a switch again to the IKEA shelves & I'm trying to talk the hubbs into the idea - I think it'll brighten up the space & provide a nice spot for family photos/decorating pieces that I own & have no other place to display. I'd LOVE to have these installed before the munchkin's first birthday party on October 15th (more deets on the big day later), so we'll see if the hubby will relent. :)

And speaking of IKEA...

4. IKEA's Tullsta Armchair:

I love the look of this chair & it would fit perfectly with the hubb's new furniture set in his mancave (pics coming soon). And have you seen the price?! $100 for a nice armchair & only $50 for extra covers if you'd like to change up the look - gotta love IKEA! We need to make a trip to our local one soon!

5. Fall clothes {for munchkin}:
{photo credits: sweater & outfit}

Y'all know I can't get enough of baby clothes! Sadly, my baby is about to be a toddler ::sniff, sniff::, but there is still an abundance of cute clothes for 12+ months! And her birthday is in the fall too, so maybe she'll get some cute outfits for her birthday?! Woo. The hubbs & I went to the outlets the weekend before last to grab a few things & I picked up some stuff for the munchkin, but there's definitely still more shopping to do!

So there you have it - my top 5 things I wanna buy this week. How about you?! What do you wanna buy today? 'Till next time!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

What I wanna buy Wednesday - 07.06.11

Hola friends! So now that I finally got my workload partially reduced, it's our busy time at work. But, I am committed to blogging more regularly. I miss it & miss interacting with all my blog friends. So, I'm back in full effect. I even have a new project makeover series (kinda like I did with munchkin's nursery) coming up later this week or early next, so excited to tell y'all about it!! But, for now, I'm checking in with another installment of WIWBW, woot!

So here's what I wanna buy this week:

1. A cute, colorful, modern & funky lamp:


I dunno if it's because it's summer or if it's just my love of aqua, turquoise, teal & all other colors close to those that family of colors, but I am lurving all the funky, colorful  table lamps I've been seeing lately. Love! And today I just happened to wander into good 'ol HomeGoods & found a little beaut that I couldn't resist - more on that lata because it's going to make an appearance in my new project makeover series!


2. PBK rolling luggage:


In November the Dennifers are heading on our first *family* vaca & I want to get the munchkin her own little rolling suitcase. I'm sure she doesn't actually need it, but how freakin' cute, right?! We shall see if the hubbs will let me buy it, ha!

Uhhhmmm, side note - 

Dear PBK, please make luggage in your newest to-die-for pattern, "Chocolate Bird": 
 
 I REALLY L-O-V-E it & would like to get my little AJ some rolling luggage in that pattern please!
3. A lacy, vintage looking headband for Baby AJ:


I plan waaay too far ahead,  but I already have munchkin's outfit for her 12 month photo shoot. It's one of those cute lace rompers - it's cream, got it on Baby Steals a little while back for a great price! Anyways, while perusing one of my favorite Etsy shops for headbands, I saw this little lovely, it'll go perfectly with her outfit! Hopefully it'll still be available once I get around to purchasing it. ;op

4. LON Low Rider Bookcase:


I've been drooling over this bookcase ever since I saw it. It's such a perfect bookcase for a certain little wee one's nursery! She has this one from Target, but I'm kinda over it. The bottom cubby shelf that extends out has never stayed put despite what my hubby does to make it stay there. so hers only has the one cubby section. And besides that, this one from Land Of Nod is super duper cute with lots of storage space...something I predict we'll be needing more of in the near future!

5. A cute, whimsy throw pillow for my new project:

Bahahaha, IDK why I'm being so tight lipped about my new project, I guess I just don't want to take away from my first post in the project makeover series...I want it to be good for you guys, lol. But anyways, this little darling would sure be a cute accent piece for my newest project! I may be making my way to Pier One this weekend. 

And that's my list for this week. Stay tuned for the intro on my newest project makeover series coming up soon + I promise to post some pics from my Jamaica trip too! My laptop charger died, so I had to get a new one before I could upload the pics, which we just got yesterday, so I promise...they're coming soon! 'Till next time!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Amaya 6-7 months!

Wowza. Did I type that right, 7 months already?! She's actually almost 8 months & I tell ya what, every passing day she's doing something new & getting big sooo quickly. It makes me sad my little baaay-be is growing up so quickly, but of course, I'm happy that she is doing well & healthy. I can't believe that in a little over 4 months, my munchkin will be ONE YEAR OLD! Ugh. I can't believe it.

Side note - sorry I missed WIWB Wednesday yesterday (yeah umm, I def started writing this on Thursday :o/), I was SO busy at work this week because we have this crazy re-organization happening next week & we JUST found out on Tuesday, so we are scrambling to get lose ends tied up. It is pretty drastic & I don't want to get into all the details because I'm still absorbing the news myself, but basically that rotational I am/was doing for that possible promotion, well let's just say I'm still doing the work but I'm preeety positive that the promotion is not gonna happen for me or anyone else that was in the running. It sucks because I busted my arse working hard on the rotational, but hey, I'm trying to be positive & just see it as a good learning experience & something awesome for my resume. Note the word trying, it's a process. ;)  But back to WIWB, I actually bought a couple things for the munchkin yesterday from my fave spot - PBK!

I got her this really teeny personalized preschool backpack for her birthday {yes I realize it's over 4 months away, but they have a great sale right now!}:

Isn't it adorbs? And at $19.99 (without personalization), I couldn't resist! I got it personalized for $7 more. More on her birthday party plans & other possible gifts later, but I just wanted to share this cutie & the deets on the sale.

You may just think I'm a little crazy for the next thing {lawd knows my husband does}, but I couldn't pass up the deal & I'd been wanting this next thing. Spring/summer crib bedding. Yep, seasonal bedding, for my 7.5 month old lol. Well, this is how it happened - so I was buying the little backpack & decided to check out PBK's sales & saw their super cute "Spring Bouquet" set {bumper, sheet, crib skirt} set that will coordinate well with the colors in her room for $59.99. Yes, you read that right, under $60 for a PBK bedding set. And, of course, I couldn't pass it up:



Under $60! ::dies:: Annnywho, I digress. Back to the original purpose of this post...

So last time I did one of these updates, I mentioned that we had begun searching for daycares to enroll munchkin in when she turns 1, but we (along with my sister) decided to actually get her started at just about 9 months now, so that's NEXT MONTH. I am so nervous, but I am just hoping she takes to it well. We finally did find a place that we both really love & feel comfortable taking her, and it is not gonna break the bank so that's good. We get one free day before she starts full time, but I haven't decided when to use it...likely closer to her first day, which is...drum roll please ::cue drums::...July 11th. I'm excited, but scared. I just hope she does okay & doesn't completely lose it when I leave her for the first time. Sigh. Talk about major anxiety provoking event!

Here are her 6 & 7 month pics - she's getting so big:


And her 0-5 months for comparison's sake...


{6 month outtakes}

{And 7 month outtakes}

In the last pic, it looks like she's saying, what mama?! I love that baby! But seriously, can you believe how big she is now?! She looks like a little lady now, haha. I feel like she's starting to look more & more like her daddy, booo. I mean, he's cute & all, but I want her to look more like her mama! Ha!

So since I never updated after her 6 month appointment, her official 6 month weight was 14 lbs. 4.5 oz. (50th %tile) & she was 24.5 inches (15th %tile)!! She is catching up on the charts, woo! My little chunker as I like to call her. I'm guessing she's about 16 lbs. or so now. She shortly wore 3-6 month clothes & is now fully in 6-9 months or 6-12 months in certain brands, like Gymboree & Gap. She wears a size 2 shoe now & we are starting to stock up on cute little shoes between my sister, my friends who gave us hand me down shoes & her daddy & I. She also got her second pair of earrings recently! Little "diamond" butterflies courtesy of her daddy. :) Speaking of "that guy" as I say to AJ, they are SO cute together, it seriously makes me melt when I see him talking & playing with her....love them!

Her night time sleep is still pretty good on most nights, but her napping hasn't gotten much better unfortunately. Ideally, she'd take a decent nap (1 hour or so) in the morning & a long (about 2 hours) nap in the afternoon, but it rarely happens that way, sigh. Sometimes she'll do something close to that, but more often than not, she takes about 3 40 min. or so naps. It sucks b/c it's hard to plan stuff or get anything done while she's napping when her naps are so.freakin.short. Eh. Oh & my hypothesis about darkening the room - not correct, they didn't help much to lengthen her naps. too bad we found that out after dropping over $400 on custom shades + installation! So, I hope once she starts daycare that her naps will be better since I'm sure she'll be exhausted. I know it won't happen at first, but I'm hoping they get better after she adjusts. Annnd speaking of daycare, she starts July 11th. :( My sister is getting burnt out driving all the way to our house every morning & quite frankly, I kinda want her to start, for lots of reasons, one of which being because I'm nervous that the older she gets, the worse her {or my!}separation anxiety will be. We really like the center we chose for her though & I plan to visit often at least at the beginning. I just hope she adjusts quickly & likes it there.

As for her nighttime sleep, she is now going down between 7:30pm & 8:30pm - sometimes earlier or later, but I try to keep it in between that window of time.  She normally (unless she's not feeling well or if she's having an off night) sleeps between 9-11 hours at a time, then sometimes we'll give her a bottle & she'll fall back asleep for another hour or so. I'm nervous to see how/if her night sleep will be effected when she starts daycare. I really really want to avoid having to wake her up in the mornings (especially since nighttime is her only really good sleep), so I may end up changing my hours so I can go in to the office a bit later. We have a flex time option, so I may look into it. One thing I really don't want to give up is my every other Friday off since the hubbs has the same day off & we normally get to spend time together as a family on those days.

Another big "first" over the last couple months is that she started solids! She started right around 6 months & her first food was apples, homemade by her mama. I make all her food, except cereal & snacks. I don't think I have the patience to make baby biscuits or rice/oatmeal cereal, so I just buy it. Everything else, I make! Maybe I'll do a post about that one day soon, but it saves us LOTS of money & I actually really enjoy being able to know exactly what's going in my kids mouth. I make mostly organic, unless I read it's unnecessary to buy organic. So far the munchkin has had (in no particular order): apples, avocado, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pears, plums, peaches, green beans, peas, bananas, plus oatmeal & rice baby cereal, mum mums & puffs. And she's doing solids 3 times per day + 24-26 ounces of formula per day.  I give her little bites of my food here & there as well, stuff like bread, waffles, etc. She is teething hardcore, so she loves chomping on frozen fruit in those mesh feeders - loves it! And she got her first set of teeth - the middle 2 on the bottom!! Right around 7 months, I felt inside her mouth & felt the sharp tips of teeth! They both popped out about the same time! She's getting so big. Sigh.

As far as milestones, she sits pretty well unassisted, still hates tummy time. She still doesn't quite roll from back to tummy when laying on a flat surface. If she's slightly elevated, then she can do it, but not from laying flat. And she lifts herself off her tummy, but definitely doesn't even try to crawl. We still don't do much tummy time because of her reflux, which is getting better, but still not completely resolved. She still "talks" a lot & even raises her voice when she gets sleepy, ha! It's so cute when she yells! I'm sure it won't be for long, but it is now! And I think that's it for this go round - more next time & hopefully I can get back to doing these monthly. Only a little more than 4 months left till her first birthday, guess I should get planning. Sigh. 'Till next time!