An Awesome Giveaway

Hello everyone. Today I have teamed up with a couple of talented ladies to bring you this awesome giveaway, of which I am so excited to be a part of. We are giving away, to one lucky winner, a necklace of your choice from Tiny Dazzles, $50 cash, $50 credit to Avon and a $25 gift card to TJ Maxx. Exciting, right? please follow the rules in the rafflecopter and I hope one of you guys wins this wonderful giveaway.  While you are at it, please check out the blogs of these beautiful ladies. Wishing a very Happy Birthday to Kemi from Beauty Style Growth.

Ladies in Navy / Tiny Dazzles / Kaylie Marie / BeautyStyleGrowth/ Effortless Lady

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Flamingo Pillow Cover

I came across some really cute fabric and couldn't resist but make me some pillows. You can not go wrong with white fur, floral and flamingos. It is the perfect trio.

This is the easiest tutorial on a throw pillow with a zipper. It seriously took me less than 10 minutes to make each pillow.

Don't mind that cute little hand. I always have helpers that are eager to rend a hand. My pillow is 18" X 18" big

You will need:

2 pieces of fabric 18" x 18" long
Coordinating thread
A zipper. Mine was 14" long, you could use something smaller but big enough to let your pillow insert through
18" X 18" Pillow Insert
Sewing machine

Turn your fabric so the 'right' sides are facing each other. At the bottom of your pieces, make 2 marks the length of your zipper

Sew from the edge of your fabric to your mark then back stitch. Repeat on the other side as shown above

Press with a nice hot iron

Your work should look like this

Place your zipper facing down at the marks you made earlier

Open the zipper and pin it down to the fabric

Sew around the zipper using a zipper foot (I need to learn how to sew in a straight line, haha!)

Using a straight stitch sew around the pillow like above

Snip your 4 edges, turn your pillow inside out. Using a not too pokey object, put your edges in place so your pillow is nice and square looking

You can purchase the Flamingo 18" x 18" pillow cases in my store here

My kids share a room and I am in the process of making a "Frozen" themed room for them. That project is going on slowly because we recently decided to get them a bunk bed. Eli HATES his crib now. He falls asleep in our bed or Diana's bed then we carry him to his crib while he is fast asleep. I think he is ready to have a big boy bed. My original plan of the room will have to change a little to make room for the bunk bed seeing the room is tiny.

P.s So, this is Diana's bed, it is not how it's going to be. I added the pillows just for the pictures. These pillows are going into the tee pee tent I am making for them. I must admit that I love the way the room looks with these pillows, but they look even cuter in the tee pee. So, what do you think? Are you a fan of the trio?

 

Disneyland - What's the fuss all about?

Two months ago we sat down to plan our vacation when my husband brought up the idea of Disneyland. After we figured out how much it would cost us for a one week trip, I quickly changed the subject. I knew that plan would interfere with what I wanted for Mother's Day, a new couch and a Cricut machine. I know! I sound selfish right now but my idea of a vacation wasn't going to cost as much as Disney. Anyways, 2 days before our departure date, my husband finally convinced me to go. We quickly booked our hotel, made arrangements for a car rental and off we went.
I am so glad that James 'forced' me into going. We had such a wonderful time there. My favorite thing was watching my kids' happy faces, the joy and excitement they displayed when they met a Disney character or got off a fun ride. My husband on the other hand was in total bliss. He was like a little child and it was fun to see that side of him...
Now I can I say I know what the fuss is all about. Disneyland is surely a happy place.. The thrill and excitement in the air is so contagious. I am grateful for the wonderful memories that we made there. I can't wait to go back.

So, here are some pictures we took.

It's always so hard to take pictures with my kids. Most of the time, they hate the camera

It may not show on Eli's face, but he had a great time

So, this is us entering Disneyland and Diana was doing the happy dance

Then this is 5 hours later, they were wiped out

Eli was hilarious, he got so excited to see the characters but he never wanted to go any closer

This was my favorite, he loves Woody and he is the only character he allowed to touch him

Diana painted this picture and asked Jessie to give it to Bullseye

Same boots as Goofy

It was fun meeting Minnie

Diana has always loved Cinderella, you can tell from her smile that she was so excited to meet this 'mouse' haha, I don't remember her name

Eli is obsessed with the show Frozen. It's the first movie he saw in the theater and when we finally got the movie, we watched it e-v-e-r-y s-i-n-g-l-e day. Seeing Olaf was a truly threat for Mr Eli. We didn't get to see the rest of the movie characters because the line was crazy.

Diana loved the Tea cups, Winnie the Pooh ride (which she went in with her cousins), Dumbo ride, Autopia, Tarzan's tree house, the jungle ride etc. She was in heaven

This little ride was Eli's favorite, Minnie's house, the tea cup ride and dumbo ride. My favorite rides were the Indiana Jones ( which I got to ride by myself because our kids couldn't get on it so James had to watch them) and the Jungle ride more especially because the kids loved it. A few other rides I wanted to see like the Nemo submarine and the Pirates of the Caribbeans were closed

We got to see the parade and it was fun for the kids. Diana said, 'now I know they are real (the Disney Characters) and they are made of fabric.' Since we have been home, the Disney movies are a lot fun to watch. The kids get so excited, Eli even cheers. They met them right? That makes all the difference in their world. It's so funny to watch

This reminded me of an old show, 'Chariots of Fire.' The show starts off with people running of the shore

This was my first time ever at the beach. I could totally live here. It was so calming and relaxing. The weather was perfect too. I got so jealous of all the people that were riding their bikes just a few miles from the beach.

My husband's sister and her family joined us at the end of our stay. They made our vacation a hundred times better. It really was fun to have them with us. When Diana learned that she was going to see her cousins, she said, 'this is the best vacation ever.' It sure was and the other highlight at least for me, was seeing whales and dolphins in real life.

Yes, I am converted. I am afraid I am turning into one of those crazy Disney Americans, haha! What is your favorite thing about Disneyland? The places, food, and rides?

 

Nursery Chair

 

We have had 2 nursery chairs in the last 4 years. We got both of them from KSL, like this one. They were in excellent condition when purchased and I liked them because they were comfortable, they reclined, swiveled and rocked perfectly. The only issue for us was the vinyl would wear out just within months. This time, I wanted something that would last 'forever'. So, I went online and diligently searched and read every customer review. Here are some nursery chairs that we fell in love with:

Wingback Rocker

Dove Grey Glider, similar here

Charcoal Glider

Natural rocker, featured in this nursery here and here

Swivel Chair - featured in this nursery

Wood glider

After much research, we ended up getting the Glider in Dove Grey. I have never bought furniture online because sometimes, what you see is not what you get. We did however get our old loveseat online. We checked it out in store prior to purchasing it online, so that made me feel comfortable with the idea. Anyways, even though I loved this glider and the price, I didn't like the color portrayed on the website. One of the reviews said it was a lighter grey and since that's what I wanted, I went for it. It arrived within a few days and I am in LOVE. The fabric is micro fiber and the shade of grey is exactly what I was hoping for. The actual color is closer to the image I have included in this post (found on target.com), its a lighter shade of grey (like the zinc here) and the piping is pearl grey.

If you can't find your 'perfect' chair, you can add rocking chair runners to the chair of your choice like this brilliant Ikea hack here

I will post pictures of my actual chair soon. I love my glider because it's comfortable, and big enough to hold me and both my kids. I love the color and the fabric seems easy to clean. I only wish it reclined:(
What do you look for in a nursery chair?