Archives for April 2014

What I Wore Wednesday– Boho Aztec Shirt and Jeans

April 29, 2014 34 Comments

A nice big hello to everyone visiting for my SITS day! Welcome!

I promised to show you some of my fabulous Goodwill finds from the other day. This shirt was $4, originally from Forever 21. It’s so comfy and light, perfect for summer! Also, check out the purse, another $4 Goodwill find. And, of course, you already read about the great deal I got on this watch.

Shirt: Thrift, originally Forever 21/ Tank: Thrift/ Jeans: Target on sale/ Shoes: Vintage/ Purse: Thrift

Linking up with: Plane Pretty // Funday Monday // Little Miss // Manic Monday // Mix it Monday // Join the Gossip // Stylelixir //Trend Spin // Because Shanna Said So // Pleated Poppy // All Things Pretty // Fashion Informant

My 1 Year Pin

April 29, 2014 11 Comments

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a Diet Coke addict. I mentioned this to a friend yesterday, and he supplied me with this picture from HIGH SCHOOL, 13 years ago. See? Proof. My college roommate claims that I used to wake up and drink a soda with breakfast. Soda instead of water, basically.

Deep down, I always “knew” that diet sodas were about the worst thing I could put in my body, but it wasn’t until I watched this documentary that I was scared straight. Scared, as in, quit cold turkey the next day. I realized that the “DIE” in Diet is more literal than I had thought.

And it was HARD. I mean, for the first month after I gave up Diet Coke, I actually had dreams about driving through at McDonalds just to get a cold icey soda. Seriously?!

It has now been 1 year since I have had a DROP of Diet Coke. I think that I have had one or two diet sodas over the past twelve months, and that’s even enough to get me craving it again. It’s crazy how addictive diet soda is (spoiler alert: it’s not the caffeine that’s addictive!). I know that diet sodas are a slippery slope for me, and that I have to stay completely away from them.

Here’s to the rest of my life, remaining diet soda free!

Do You Shop At Goodwill?

April 28, 2014 7 Comments

It happens like this– my mom and I say that we are going to Goodwill “just to look around”. I vow not to buy much, because I am in the active process of cleaning out and giving away.

Just. To. Look. Around. Those famous four last words. (Also, do not ever say them if you are headed to Target. MAYDAY!).

Shocker. I found quite a few things, unfortunately. I can’t wait to share them and they will be coming up in the next couple What I Wore Wednesday posts!

Here are two sneak peeks:

I have ALWAYS wanted a leather cuff watch. This one is a great brand and only cost FIVE DOLLARS!!! Can you believe that?

These shoes were exactly my size, looked like they’d been worn once, and fit like a GLOVE. Can high heels be comfortable, or is that just a myth? I think these could be “THE ONES”. I’m in a wedding this weekend, and these will be much better than the ones I have.

And, not to make you jealous…but they were half price. So I walked away with them for only $3!

Bargain hunting is in my genes. I can remember going garage sale-ing with my mom, aunt and cousins almost every Saturday. We did chores during the week just to save for our shopping! Yes, there have been some duds and grosser moments along the way, but I grew up with an immense amount of respect for bargain shopping.

But I also know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

So now I have to ask– do you shop at Goodwill? Or do you find the prospect of digging through clothes gross and not worth the savings?

Can A Toddler Learn to Read?

April 25, 2014 4 Comments

First of all, I’d like to shout loud and clear that I was NOT paid for the following review. What you are about to hear is my unbiased praise. Also, another disclaimer: I do NOT approve of allowing TV to be the only one to educate my kids. If you don’t believe me, check out some of my Montessori homeschooling posts. Also, we do NOT push reading or the alphabet in our house. We belong to a classical/Montessori approach to education that includes a lot of free play and discovery.

But TV is bound to happen for 20 minutes here or there, let’s all be honest.

As a result, I’m always on the lookout for childrens’ DVDs that are educational AND tolerable. I have a rule that if the show makes me want to throw and break things, usually because of annoying music, it’s out. I don’t care how much my kids love it.

For instance, my 3 year old received a set of Leapfrog DVDs for Christmas. While I loved the fact that my kid instantly learned how to count and then count by 2s, the little gopher character has a voice that would make your skin crawl. But the tunes aren’t that bad (for a kids’ show). So it stays, but it comes out less often.

And then, a friend of mine posted a Groupon deal for these Preschool Prep videos. When they arrived, I popped out the first one: “Meet the Letters; and put it in.

I felt tricked and dismayed. There weren’t any words, just letters popping up on the screen, saying their names over and over again in various ways. Then there was some half-hearted animation that followed.

No music. No characters. No flashy colors. Just the letter “A”, saying his name over and over again, then turning into an airplane shooting up into the sky.

My husband walked by as we were watching it together, and he said, “Whoever made this was on crack.”

I thought for sure that Gregory would be bored, since nothing was getting in his face and trying to make him pay attention.

But he didn’t get bored. He LOVED it. He wanted to watch the entire alphabet on repeat for an hour! And I realized that the lack of music and character voices made it easy to go about a few chores without feeling like the TV was taking over our lives.

Fast forward two weeks. At Chipotle, unprompted, Gregory started sounded out the letters on our bag. In fact, he hasn’t stopped pointing and saying letters wherever we go.

And then my just-turned-2-year old came up and recited his ABC-s for me. Perfectly, with enunciation.

What the what?

Just a few days ago, we started using the 3 “Meet the Sight Words” DVDs that came with the set. This morning, as my husband and I drank our coffee, we saw our toddler recognizing and shouting out words such as, “OF” and “YOUR” and “PLAY”, before the word was said on the DVD. He was even acting out the different words as he watched them.

So, needless to say, we’re SOLD. This stuff is low-key, because that’s how kids learn. They don’t want to be entertained with flashy lights and music, they want to be involved. So much is going on in their brain, that all the normal kid-animation stuff would be overload.

TV happens, right? So why shouldn’t it do some good in the process?