I'm in love.

When we moved into a house with a "formal living room" I knew that I needed just the perfect couch to go in it. For months I scoured Craig's list, trying to find the one. But, to no avail. Then when my sister was here, we went to one of my favorite antique spots, at which time I spotted the perfect couch. And lucky me, it was on sale. After sending a picture to juC to ask his permission, it was purchased. Then, as the cushions were getting loaded into my car, I saw that the antique dealer had left the "Salvation Army" sticker with the original price on it, for considerably less than what I paid. Oh well, I guess all that extra I paid was the finders fee...and I truly don't feel bad about the price I paid at all.

And now I have the perfect couch (for me) for our "formal living room". Or as I like to call it, our receiving room.

And I don't care what anyone thinks, I'm in love with it.

It WAS my birthday, and now it's almost Halloween!

Nearly two months ago, on August 9, the whole world celebrated the anniversary of my birth. Some people didn't even know that's what they were celebrating, but that's beside the point.

Nearly a month after that, using the money my mother and mother-in-law so generously gave me, I bought one of the best birthday presents ever.

You see, back at the beginning of the year I was out shopping for some antiques (I know, shocking!) and I came across a fabulous brown wool coat. I wanted it. Ohhhh how I wanted it. But I knew my husband wouldn't be very happy with me for spending the money on it when I already have plenty of coats.

Every.single.time. I went back to that antique store, I would go see if that coat was there. And every.single.time. it was still there and I thought "This must be a sign that I should have this coat." But my husbands voice kept popping into my head: "You don't need that coat!"

But when I went, equipped with my birthday money...there was NOTHING to stop me. And miracle of miracles...about 8 months after first spotting the coat, it was still there! (I'm so glad other people weren't cool enough to realize how great this coat was!)(No offense.)

And not only was it still there, but the lady working there called the owner of the coat and let her know that I had been eyeing it for 8 months, and she knocked 20% off the price! So for only sixty bucks I have this:

Check out those buttons!

It's from Woodward and Lothrop. Which, according to the lovely lady at the antique store was THE place to shop in Washington D.C. back in the day. It was like D.C.s own version of NY's Macys. Her dad would take her there around Christmas to see the huge window display they'd do. And the sentimental part of me thinks it's even more awesome that it's from right here in this area.

But, back to the coat.

I love it. And I almost don't even look pregnant when I wear it. Almost.

Now on to a completely different subject, have I mentioned the best part about my antique mantle?

Decorating for holidays!!And thanks to my favorite antique spot it Buckeystown, MD, I have these cute blocks someone made using vintage Halloween pictures to decorate it with.

Having a mantle to decorate truly makes this time of year so much better. Let the holidays begin!!

what a girls gotta do

saturday while making dinner for friends, i realized something. i needed an apron. how did i not have an apron? sure, i don't cook very often. but i'd like to. and perhaps if i had an apron i'd cook more.

so this week i was on a mission. i was on a mission to find the perfect apron. it turned out to be simple to find the perfect apron. a little too simple. so simple it was easy to find more than one perfect apron.

i went to marshalls, and there i found two that i loved. tell me people, how is a girl supposed to choose between this...

and this....

since they were only $7.99, i decided a girl shouldn't have to decide. so i got both.

after i was done in marshalls, i walked next door to bed bath and beyond. the aprons were $30 there. thank goodness i dodged that bullet. and they weren't even nearly as cute.

but almost as exciting as the aprons was the book i bought at marshalls. his poems and drawings make me feel happy inside.

thanks

i love craig's list. (apparently this is my week to post about loves)
but seriously, craig's list has been amazing to me. it is, after all, where we have gotten jC's crib, car seats (yep, infant car seat and big boy car seat), stroller, bumbo, high chair, and the glider and ottoman i use in his room. so what is there not to love? really good condition baby items for much less than buying them new. thus allowing me to not feel quite as guilty when i buy a new skirt or a pair of shoes.
right now we are looking for a baby backpack carrier. you know, for all the hiking we do. i have a specific one in mind, and it hasn't been easy because apparently everyone else has decided they want one too. but as i've searched for one, it's reminded me of the other reason why i love craig's list. humor.
yes, that's right, humor. because of posts like this:

Graco BABY Stroller -- GREAT for parts /strength training - $5

Baby Stroller in good condition -- BUT -- it's missing the rear wheels.
This stroller would be great AS-IS for pushing your kid around while increasing the strength of your hands, arms, legs, and back muscles. Since it is missing the rear wheels but still has the front wheels, you would be able to push the stroller around while supporting the weight of back end of the stroller and thereby increasing your strength.
If that doesn't appeal to you, then it is a great parts stroller. You can cannibalize this stroller for parts to replace on another stroller or custom make your own stroller.
If it had the rear wheels it would be one hand steering, but as it is, you need two hands and arms, or one really strong one, depending on the weight of your kid.

thank you craig's list. thank you for appealing not only to the bargain shopper side of me, but also the part of me that likes a good laugh.

my everything

as i mentioned in my cincoversary post, things have been crazy busy for a week now. last wednesday my friend megan and i packed up our babies in her car and headed down to n.c. to visit her grandma. we had a fabulous time shopping for pottery, visiting an old covered bridge, antiquing. and not to mention megan teaching me how to crochet. that's right people, i'm trying to learn how to be crafty. and guess who we ran into while we were down there....

my mom!! so we picked her up and brought her up here to va. and on our way bringing her up to va, we had a happy accident and ran into a sonic. actually, we ran into two, but megan and my mom would only let me stop at the one.

my mom and i have been running around doing all sorts of things! on monday we went to gettysburg.

yesterday, for my cincoversary we went to harpers ferry. nothing says romance like sending your husband off to work then going to a historic site with your mom and baby.

when juC got home from work, it was really awkward because we found out we got eachother the same thing to celebrate.

flowers.

he got me these:

and i got him these:

so awkward. except not. because i got him a flower on this:


isn't that the coolest bonsai ever?! juC has been saying he wants a bonsai tree for a really long time now. so i figured our 2 year anniversary was the perfect time to get him a looooove bonsai!

look at those cute itty bitty flowers. i took a picture of it by my finger to show you just how small they are.

i love our love bonsai...probably more than juC does. cause i'm more girly than he is.

after we exchanged our flowers, and he told me that he hadn't got an anniversary gift for me yet, we posed for a picture...

then we went to the japanese steak house for dinner. ohhhhhhhhh! ahhhhhhhh! and oh so delicious! at dinner, juC informed me of what he'd be getting me for our anniversary. a gps system. how sweet! no really, it is. because in the last several weeks i've had to call him a lot for him to give me directions! i was reminded again of how thoughtful he is. (except....you'll have to wait and see what happens)

after dinner we came home and got little jC ready for bed, then we went out for dessert. it started out well. but it ended like this.but i'm not allowed to tell you why it ended like this, because juC made me promise not to post about it on my blog. seriously, right there in friendly's after we had a conversation about something i'm not allowed to tell you, he then said "and you aren't allowed to blog about this." and i was all "oh, i'm gonna!" and he was all "no, you always post mean things about me." and i was all "nuh uh, i just post the truth. and i haven't signed a contract with you saying i wouldn't post about you." and he was all "well maybe you should right now." and i was all "whatev's!" but, i'll refrain from repeating what he had the nerve to accuse me of! i won't shed any negative light on him. no way, i won't do that!

at any rate, it ended up being a GREAT anniversary. partly because of today. ohhhhh today. ohhhh what a day.

my mom and i headed up to the ribbon outlet i'd been telling her about. while we were there we stopped at an antique shop in a place called funkstown. i kid you not.

and as we were perusing the store, my eyes came across a dresser. a dresser that is just like one my mom owns that i've been begging her for. it was beautiful. they'd refinished it. if only this store wasn't so expensive. so i walked up to it, looked at the price tag, and i couldn't believe my eyes! it was a lot less than i'd expected. i immediately grabbed my cell phone, called juC and told him that i needed a dresser for our anniversary, not a gps system.

isn't it great?!?! i love it! and love my husband for letting me get it! and i love that it cost way less than the $290 that the lady said it started out costing!

the end...of the past week of my life.

wasn't it fabulous?!

shop happy

there are 3 main reasons why i like grocery shopping at bloom.

3. they have parking right up front marked as "quick 20 minute shopping" and "shoppers with children" which FINALLY applies to me!
2. they sent us 5 coupons for 5 weeks. $10 off a $25 or more purchase.
1. they have the most awesome commercials.
here's my top 3






you have no idea how hard it was for me to just pick 3.