Shoes, Lashes, Sinful Cookies

I have not experienced second or third trimester in winter yet.  I am quite accustomed to being pregnant in summer and all that comes with, swelling, lots of dresses and of course the pregnant woman staple...flip flops.  I have liked being pregnant in winter. I like wearing pants and not having to look at my enlarged calves.
By the way...Doc, I swear the bottom half of my legs are swollen and that is not weight gain. That goes for my rear too!  I guess some things never change, winter or summer, exercise or not, fruit instead of cookies.
With seven weeks left, I have noticed the foot swell. Joy.  But this is not a rant, this is a confession of love.  Since I can not wear flip flips quite yet, and could not the last few months, I needed to find a shoe.  This is also my first pregnancy not working...so comfort could lead the way.

Esme took this picture.  See her knees in the bottom half?  Cute little knees.  She loves my shoes because they match her red sparkle shoes. I love my shoes.  As I have begun to swell, the bow ties are getting smaller and smaller.  Built in expansion.

My make up staple is mascara. I will leave the house, go to a store, with just mascara and basic chap stick.  My favorite mascara is Lancome.  I do not spend money on Lancome mascara anymore. But it is still the best.  (Lindsey, you reading?)  I find the best that I can at Target, it typically runs a quarter of the price of Lancome.   I'm okay with that. Then, I looked down the other day and saw this...

I was melting with love and growing green with jealousy all at once.  Stella's are just as long but blond.  

They get these from their Daddy.  Born with Lancome lashes. Lucky girls.

Ok, one more piece of random.  Do not make these cookies, if you lack control or on a diet.

NUTELLA STUFFED PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

This is not even the final product.  There is one more layer of cookie on top.  I know they are all over pinterest in different forms.  But I love getting things from bloggers I have followed over the last few years.  This recipe is from Joy's Hope.  AH-MAY-ZING!

I love PAINT

Paint can do wonders. I just love it. LOVE IT.  I have lots of little paint projects going on.  I'm so third trimester tired.  I am so in nesting mode.  I am making this temporary space feel like "us" as much as I can with as little investment as possible.
Our previous nursery set is black.  I love it.  It was Stella's, then we moved her to a big girl bed and kept it as a crib for Esme.  Esme was using the crib as the converted toddler bed but we recently converted it to a full size bed for her.  We needed to buy a new crib for this baby.  I decided on white, which meant that the changing table would need to be painted.  I guess it didn't need to be painted, but do you really think I would let that slide?

The dividing inserts in the changing table have such a glossy surface.  I did not even want to take the time to test these with paint.  My solution is white contact paper.  It was easy and went on beautifully.  If it does get scratched, or peels over time, who cares?! It was inexpensive and I still have three quarters of a roll left.  Woo hoo! 

...and Voila!

Uh huh, it looks that good in person too.

Ok, one more piece that I have done for the nursery

Every nursery needs a book shelf.  Ben has had this piece since college.  He recalls a fraternity brother giving it to him?  It has been in a closet for organization and also a basement the last six years.  Recycle, reuse, redo. Perfect for now!  I started by sanding it down a decent amount.  This is the cheap laminate, so I needed to create some teeth, and took the priming step as well.  I was going to paint the backing a different color, but then had a thought...

 You can buy half sheets of bead board at Lowe's.

I like it.

Museums and Castles

Over St. Patrick's Day weekend, Grammie came to visit.  It was a weekend of beautiful weather, green, KU winning basketball and even a little joy in the Mountains.

 The bubble room in the Children's museum - always a favorite.

 If Esme could spend the bulk of her time in the fire safety room, she would be one happy two year old.

We have been wanting to take the kids back up to the mountains for a while now but just needed some incentive.  The Ice Castles at Silverthorne did it.

 Ummm...Gorgeous.

You will notice that a lot of my pictures are not as crisp or focused as usual.  I have been using my camera phone a lot. A LOT.   Let me share a couple reasons why.  One, when you are carrying a baby that is currently gaining a pound a week on front, you don't really want the extra weight on back (at least I don't...I can barely handle wearing a coat).  Two, I run into walls when I am pregnant.  No seriously.  My fingers are greased with butter, I stumble as if intoxicated, and peripheral vision is a come and go thing. Of course, I am exaggerating, but you understand.  I have dropped my camera once...not going to risk it again.  Any one else experience the lack of grace when pregnant?

Happy Birthday Dr Suess!

“From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!” 

(One fish two fish red fish blue fish)

We tried to celebrate Dr Suess' Birthday.  We read Dr Suess books all week. 

 Stella even read "Hop on Pop" to Esme and me!!

Our Dr Suess art project.  Yes..."funny things are everywhere!"

My favorite thing about this movie...Esme laughing every time Horton runs into trouble. Stella has the classic look of worry on her face while Esme is laughing, saying "Look Mama! He fell!!!"

“I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. 

I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues.” 

-The Lorax 

More Favorites

 Amazon.  Yes, I have admitted this to be a favorite before.  If you do not have this app on your phone - get it.  You can scan items wherever you are shopping and it will show you if they can sell it cheaper.  I use it frequently for toys (especially Melissa and Doug).  I used it for our new coffee pot too, which was cheaper with the 20% coupon at Bed Bath & Beyond.

 But...then this arrived in the mail for my Birthday (thanks Grammie and GP), and now I really love Amazon.  It was also the culprit for my absence earlier in February.  Those 99 cent books will get you!

Esme's favorite is the puzzle app.  Note, the Fire should not be compared to the ipad, if you are interested.  It is really for media consumption.  If you already have a computer, it is definitely a great bonus!

IKEA $2.99 frother.

Ummm...you had me at $2.99?  I know I shared Martha's home made latte technique a while ago, but I have sold out to this little guy.  It works beautifully, with less work.  I mean, with enough practice I could probably make a design? HA. The girls love it for their hot cocoa too.

Speaking of IKEA...I bought this wood dispenser and role of paper for less than $15.  

I actually like it better than the one at Pottery Barn kids too. We have used it for all kinds of art projects.  I think Stella's favorite was the self portrait.

Hoop-La Earrings, an etsy shop. OMG.  I want these in every color.  If you see me lately, these are in my ears.  They have so many beautiful designs and colors.

BURT'S BEES' lip shimmer...ummm from Target

I know I am late to this one.  All of you probably already have this in your purse.  I have always been a fan of their chap stick, but just started using this a month ago.  I know gloss had been "out" this last fall/winter, but I do not care for stains or lipsticks typically, especially because they dry my lips out.  This moisturizes and provides color.   This is Fig, it reminds me of Cliniques Black Honey (one of my favorites).

J.R. Watkins Lavender Hand Soap

From Target of course.  It is next to Mrs. Meyers in our stores (which is one of my number one products).  I mention this because I really like this particular Lavender. It is not too sweet like most. The Green Tea in this brand is really nice too.

Play Foam.

 One of my favorites from Christmas.  I just like that is provides a different creative outlet in the play-doh/clay arena.  The girls use it with their sorting trays and pretend to bake.

Lastly,
Photos with Sunbursts...and childrens' profiles...Sigh.

p.s. I may have deleted the iphone 4s from the list.  I only posted it because I was so excited about Target's trade in program going on this week.  Basically the trade in value on my white 3Gs enabled me to upgrade to the 4s for $86 (before tax). I KNOW! Right?!