fun stuff friday :)

Shop 'Til You Drop Market $199.00
This is by far the most highly recommended "market" out there. Our friends have it and even their eight year old still plays with it. My peanut is still too small for it, but perfect for 2-8 year-olds!



Schoenhut Children's White Classic 30-Key Baby Grand w/Bench 125.00
My peanut LOVED this piano, she was glued to it when we were a the store. It is so stink'in cute and it is actually a usable teaching tool. It was the perfect size and i can't even tell you how cute the pink color was.



Pottery Barn Kids Wooden Vehicles on sale $29.99
Eco-friendly rubberwood and natural, water-based paints made this a must have for us. We got the recycling truck(they are bigger than they look in the pictures) and peanut has a great time with it. The back actually lifts up like a dump truck and things fall out the back door. These are very interactive and have a lot of fun features.



IKEA VIRRE Slide with ladder and guard rail $149.00
We played with this at Ikea and thought it was pretty nifty for a playroom. If we had the space, we would have bought it. It was a ton of fun, solid construction and kind of mod-cute.



Plan Toys Walking Elephant 180.00
I love Plan Toys, we have the crawly caterpillar and some other nice wood things. It's hard to find fun wood toys that are reasonably priced. I was looking at their site to see what was new and I came across this elephant. It is so cool!! Mod design and it actually walks like an elephant! Your peanut moves it by rocking side to side, like they would on a real one. Looks like hours of fun.

All natural paint

I have been trying to do things healthy and non-toxic, that usually is referred to as "going green," but my greatest concern is limiting my peanuts exposure to chemicals.
I have been doing some blogs on green home materials for my work blog and while I was thinking about peanut's new high chair project, I thought I would also share some info about milk paint here.
I like milk paint because peanut puts her mouth on everything and it is environmentally safe and non-toxic. The paint is safe for childrens' furniture and toys, and can also be used for interior walls for people who are allergic to modern paints.
Milk paint is an organic material that gives surfaces a distinctive color-washed finish. Milk is a principal ingredient in the material, it binds the pigment instead of laytex or oil, like other paints. It has been used for centuries and has been found on artifacts dating to ancient Egypt. The fact that the material doesn't give off noxious vapors (often called VOCs) accounts for its continued appeal within today's green building community. Craftspeople, meanwhile, value its saturated colors and translucent finish, which can be used to give wooden furniture, terra-cotta pots, and other textured surfaces an antique look.
Althought the available colors are some what limited, because they are derived from natural elements, you mix it yourself so you can add white to lighten or another color to blend.

You can buy milk paint from:

Old Fashioned Milk Paint www.milkpaint.com
They have nice colors, but not a really great rich royal blue. Buy their non toxic sealer if you are planing on using it on a work or food surface.

Real Milk Paint www.realmilkpaint.com
This company has some great blues and blue-greens.

These are some tips from Dan of dans-woodshop.blogspot.com on mixing milk paint:

" highly recommend the Anti-Foaming agent. With our water, things ended up more like milk paint mousse until I started using this stuff.

I like using quart sized, wide-mouth mason jars for mixing and storing the paint.

If you just mix the powder and the water by shaking, you get a much more textured (gritty) paint that has a very interesting look, but will need some work (rubbing down).

If you use some kind of blender/mixer (I use a mixing wand – corded no less! I am so ashamed…) you get a very smooth and even paint.

Remember to stir the paint often as you use it – there tends to be a subtle shift in the color/consistency as you use it up. I probably extenuate the situation by always trying to mix up “just enough” to get by – sort of like Kramer and the fuel light.

It dries fast! You can do a second coat or top coat with oil/wax in about 3 hours! "

I found this DIY video on youtube that shows you how to use it for furniture:
http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Use-Milk-Paint-for-Furniture-172972241

Thank you's

I just finished all of the cupcake's "thank you" cards. I think they turned out pretty cute.

High Chair project

I found this great wood high chair. Its missing the tray(I found a replacement on Amazon for 34.95) and a fresh coat of paint. I can't decide on the color, but I have until the tray arrives to figure it out.
I love taking something discarded and giving it a lovely new life. I wonder how many kids did their "firsts" in this chair. I can't wait for Ameliah to create new memories in it and hopefully pass it on to the next happy baby when she is done with it.
This is my favorite kind of recycling. It keeps things out of land fills, it's wood not plastic and it is everyday usable item. Last, with a fresh coat of paint, it should be nice to look at too!
Stay tuned to watch this chair evolve from junk to treasured.

Birthday Pics

We had to move the festivities inside due to weather. Here's a little peek!

Nothing Trashy about this

Babies are smart. They are also trouble magnets! My peanut took longer than most to show an interest in the trash can, but once she did, she was obsessed with throwing things in it! In our old house, the trash was a slide out cabinet, but in the new place there is not enough precious cabinet space to spare.
In true "monkey see, monkey do" fashion, Peanut figured out how to push down the foot pedal on the trash can and open it. So, just a covered can doesn't cut it. However, after much searching, I found this Simple Human can that has both a foot pedal and a lid lock. They are narrow enough to fit 2 in our small kitchen: one for trash and one for recycle. They don't have fancy colors, but at $39.95, I can't complain!!



Crate & Barrel simplehuman ® 10.5-Gallon Slim Step Trash Cans

Shopping fun

We were looking at an open house last weekend and I saw some great ideas. First, the house looked like it was a page from the Pottery Barn catalog. Everything in the house was from the distinct retailer. It was cute, with a lot of white linen, leather and seashore details.
What was really neat, both the peanut and I agreed, were their toys! They had a really sturdy shopping cart and large felt fruit and veggies in it.
I love felt toys! They are eco-friendly, non toxic and easy to clean. Millie already has some felt animals, cupcakes and strawberries. But, when I saw the cart, I was in love and peanut didn't want to leave it either!
I scoured the web and found the cart and set of fruit at The Land of Nod(crate&barrel's kids store). However, the veggie set is gone, so I did some more looking and found a great store on Etsy that had several different kinds of felt foods.

Shopping cart and fruit available at Land of Nod
Extra fruit and veggies at Etsy

Time is a chang'in

Birds of a feather

Birds are the next "it" for nursery themes and rightly so, they are fun and can grow with your peanut. The other nice thing, is there are a so many ways to flaunt your feathers.
I put 2 rooms together:

Sweet Coco Birds:

































































































Birds a go-go:

cool playroom furniture

Leander Convertible Crib

Nursery Ideas

I was in a mode tonight, the "I want to redecorate everything" mode. I thought of all the amazing rooms I have done, but I wanted something new! I found these inspirations for great cribs, decor and nursery. More to follow tomorrow....

OMG I love this animal crib by ninetonine

HELLO I blinked and my baby is a walker!!!

Ok, so I know I have said that I want to put my peanut in the freezer before, but I tell 'ya today was one of those days!! She has been dabbling in walking, a little bit here, a little over there, but today she went to 100% walking mode.
We went up to see her Gigi and Spoody up in LA and they took us to the Descanso Gardens, which if you have a peanut and live in SoCal, is a MUST visit place. She was toddling around at first and then just went into full on walker mode. No more drunk monkey(if your cupcake hasn't been through this phase yet, you'll laugh when you realize what I'm talking about) and into self confident, "I'm going to walk where I want to" mode.
She must have walked at least several baby miles around the place and hasn't stopped since.
I can't believe how right before your eyes they change. In an instant they are in a whole new phase, just when the old one was starting to feel comfortable. I am in awe at how totally different things became for her. She could suddenly go where she wanted and reach what she wanted and exert a little independence(yikes!) I had a panic attack that I would fall asleep and in the morning she would be driving...I know I'm over reacting....but in all seriousness, I'm wishing I could freeze her.

HELLO Baby

Today was a baby day at the red circle boutique( ie Target). There was a zillion babies everywhere!! Peanut met a new friend and I was happy to have an adult conversation with her mom, a nice attorney.
Babies are the best introduction. If you are having a hard time meeting other moms or see a mom you think you want to chat with, use your kid as a opening topic "how cute! How old is he/she?". Unless she is a total snob(I leave room for this because I do live in San Diego and it's a possibility) they will always be happy to talk about your common interest: the kiddos.
As the peanuts get older, they make the introduction for you with a cute smile or a squeal. It just gets easier.
Being a new mom is hard. It kind of leaves you in this friend limbo because mom AND baby personalities have to match. It's nice to meet new mommies/babies even if just in passing. Sometimes, your brain just needs to say grown up words, my 3rd language is peanut talk and I'm afraid it's taken over!

Birthday Brain

I know, I'm obsessed, but it is her ONLY first birthday ever. I have been contemplating some kind of circus theme and then my friend sent me the link to local party planning guru, Jennifer Sbranti's web site: www.hostesswiththemostess.com
and I was inspired:



The feathers are awsome, but outrageously priced for my taste(I'm trying not to be totally nuts-o) Like $200.00 to do it right. I'm looking for a better resource, I'll let you know if I do, otherwise modifications will be made.
Fabulous Feathers


I found this great paper at Michael's that inspired my invites. I'll post them tomorrow, I need to borrow a friend's cutter to make the letters. They are Anna Griffin Riley collection. They were in the loose paper racks and had tons of coordinates. Note,I just posted this and realized the colors are WAY brighter than actual paper*

Cute birthday Ideas

I like how these are all different. Cute...

From Country Living

Edible Flowers from Martha Stewart


These are very Pop on top!



Bake it Pretty is a good resource for cool sprinkles and molds, etc

http://www.bakeitpretty.com/

More birthday on the brain

Papyrus Happy Birthday Words Candles $3.95

One of my favorite things

I used this throughout my pregnancy and after on my belly. I would get really itchy and it helped a ton. Now, I use it on everything for both the peanut and myself . Dry winter skin, teething rash, chapped nose and rough crawling knees. I love it for my elbows, hands and chapped lips.
It is truly worth every penny and a pot goes along way. They also have a smaller size, if you want to try it before you make the investment.

L'Occitane en Provence Shea Butter Mom & Baby Balm $40.00 for 4.9 oz

Healthier party cup cakes

Along my journey, I came across these applesauce cupcakes. I plan on trying them out this week, I'll let you know how they taste.


Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1-1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1-1/2 cups sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup applesauce
* 1/4 cup buttermilk
* 2 16-ounce cans white frosting
* Liquid food coloring or food coloring paste in desired color
* Candy sprinkles, nonpareils, and candy-coated chocolate pieces

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line twenty-four 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with foil bake cups or paper bake cups. Set aside.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, apple pie spice, and baking soda. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. In a large measuring cup, combine applesauce and buttermilk. Alternately add applesauce mixture and flour mixture to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.

5. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about one-half to two-thirds full. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers of cakes comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans and cool thoroughly on racks.

6. Tint frosting with liquid food coloring or paste as desired. Frost cupcakes and decorate with candy sprinkles, nonpareils, and candy-coated chocolate pieces, as desired. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Birthday Wishes

The idea of my peanut's first birthday is daunting. First, I can't believe she is going to be 1. Second, I wonder if I have done everything I can to help her become an amazingly thoughtful, kind, smart and loving person? Third, I really don't want to screw up her first and most important birthday party ever!
I have been scouring blogs, websites and magazines for ideas. I'm not sure if I just not looking in the right places, but it's either lame-o or spend as much as her wedding is going to cost! Yikes, I mean if you have an infinite budget, I guess it makes sense to spend 22.00 each on party favors...Uhm Yeah..NO.
I try to be creative and crafty and I'm hoping to do something fun and original, but we will see...More to follow