Thursday, May 29, 2014

My Favorites from Hunter's Alley

Framed 1958 Four Roses Society $64

Have you heard about Hunter's Alley? 
It's the young hip sister of One King's Lane. I directed most of my shopping emails to unroll.me but every now and then when there is nothing on TV I'll go troll a website or two. 

Hunter's Alley has picks from all price points and tons of great items. I feel like I'm walking through the Tobacco Barn or Sleepy Poet but right from my couch.

Here are the items I have in my cart.....but be careful...you get a warning..."Better hurry, this is in 9 other hunter's carts!". So think of it as Hunger Games but for Chinoiserie.

Framed?

For my mother-in-law. She married a Swiss (so did I!) and always uses their traditional linens in her kitchen. 

You can't have enough pitchers. Example: Christmas. You need pitchers for OJ, Water, Simple Syrup, Bloody Mary Mix...the list goes on.

Our last name in German means Fox. Yep, we were before the trend folks. Now move onto something else...like porcupines. Let's make that the next big thing.

I adore cheeky signs/cards/pillows

Still in shock I got this exact same item (Brazil instead of U.S.) for $45 in Asheville. Would love to have a 2nd and hang above headboards. 

This is for the BBF Team. You know who you are.


I would order this as a gift for my friend Sarah! She loves Babar and this would be a wonderful present. Go visit her site over on OKL. 

Swiss things again...

Blue and White Obsession. I found one of these at Goodwill for $5. A knock-off I'm sure but still on the hunt!

For my travel loving Sagittarius husband.

My cousin is a flight attendant on Swiss Air and these would be so cool in her apartment in Aarau!

Obsession continues.

This guy is silly but I love him. They show a candle on top of his head in the pictures but does anyone else get paranoid your house will catch on fire? Maybe a tealight or flowers? Or maybe beside my bed and he can hold my pills. HA!


I've been on the hunt for one of these but galvanized. I know Pottery Barn has one but if you are anti-PB like Phoebe in Friends you could get this one.

There are multiple prints like this available. Would be great in a kids room!

Happy Hunting!
K

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Backyard Parties


We have a kid-friendly Backyard BBQ coming up and as much as I get the itch to go over the top and plan plan plan...I just don't have the energy. So here is what I dream of doing when in reality I'll toss out some blankets and bubbles and call it a day. (Please tell me your energy comes back soon! I don't remember being this tired the first time. Yes I know having a crazy three year old is also to blame but damn.)

So you're asking.....then why throw a party? Because I love to entertain. And I love parties. And we have NO Weddings on the calendar and not many birthday parties either. I also miss my friends and when you have kids the easiest way to see them is to invite everyone!


via Lancaster Lane

An Outdoor Movie Party is definitely on my list once the kids are older



I miss alcohol.




For a Goonies Movie party...Brilliant!



My attire

Anyone have a good recipe for this?

Also, I need a Canoe.



Damn I love Banana Pudding. 

I see you liquor bottles....

My next house will have an outdoor area like this. (With a huge obnoxious plasma for Football above the fireplace) Come on. Art? SMH.







All pictures via Pinterest (Which sucks for the owner's of the pictures)

Happy Summer Entertaining!
xo,
K

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Potty Training Tips from a Non-Expert

I am by no means a Potty Training expert. We started on Mother's Day and have daycare during the week to pass the torch to.

That being said (and knocking on wood) am I really impressed with my little guy!
Here are a few tips I have learned along the way..

Your first step is to go shopping. We bought potty seats, potty books, toys as incentives, candy as more incentives and lots of underwear. Here are the items that are working for us so far.

Potty Seats
I know lots of people have had success with the smaller on the ground potties but I had one friend tell me to just skip those and go straight to the actual toilet. She had this in her powder room downstairs and it was seamless for adults and kids alike. Ours downstairs has little cartoon fish on the child seat (not ideal) but it has been working for us! 

Potty Seat with Steps
The kid bath upstairs has only kid clients so I felt it was okay to put this up there. I love that he can climb up himself with out teetering off the stepstool. We bought one for downstairs too but my fat pregnant ass almost got stuck in it. (I'm THAT lazy...thought I could go with it on the potty)

Underwear
Daycare was thankful we bought these because, well, potty-training is messy and no matter what the socks and shoes are going to get soaked with accidents. These are working great for us just make sure you look at the weight on the label. The 2T size is plenty big for our 3 year old. I think we have 21 pairs at this point. *Stick a clean pair with a pair of elastic shorts in each car as well as your purse.

Character Undies
I have had several friends tell me me the these are actually better because they feel wet immediately and it is very uncomfortable. I think we will transition to the character underpants in June if all is still going well. Except no the minion ones. A one-eyed yellow oblong character on the "man-parts" is just too giggle inducing.

Incentives
I found this bad boy through Pinterest on this blog and it is genius. At first we were doing a car for every poo/pee but that got expensive FAST! Now he gets a sticker for each time and we have just earned our first car!

Cars Characters
Disney Pixar Cars Toon KOMODO 2014 Exclusive
Yep, they keep churning these suckers out. Komodo is from Mater Tales. A "new car" is our reward for a sheet full of stickers.

Portable Potty
My friend grabbed one of these still in packaging at the YMCA sale (Thanks MS!) and said it is a must have for the car. You just flip the bottom part out and put the bag in and voila...you have a potty on the go!

Car Seat Saver
Books
We love this one. I think the potty seat is the winner here. It doesn't exactly give step by step instructions but gets them ready for using the big boy potty. Bonus-He LOVES the reward stickers! (Way cheaper than buying a car each time)


Another great story about the Potty!

When to go 
In the beginning School suggested to keep him on a timer for every 25 minutes. He gets asked if he needs to go or they just have him go if it hasn't been awhile. We used this at home the first day we started and we were in there every 10 minutes. It gets better I promise! Now we ask but for the most part he tells us when he needs to go. I'm surprised he learned so quickly but we did wait FOREVER to do potty training so maybe the older age helped! *Update-we just went on our first out of town trip and not 1 accident!! I am still preparing myself for some setbacks but this kid is very good at letting us know!

Drawbacks
My son is still in a crib. (Stop laughing) He has never tried to climb out so I figured if it ain't broke....
Now he wakes up at midnight or 3am to let us know he needs to go. This is AWESOME progress but I wasn't ready for him to be that alert! It is probably good practice anyways for the newborn that is arriving in November. Guess it's time for the big boy bed??
We also try not to yell at him. He still hops off a tad too fast which causes several trips back for #2. (trying to get him to read books to extend the sitting experience) Yelling can cause them to hate the whole potty training experience all together, can cause them to hold it...tons of things can go wrong. 

Fun Fact: I don't think I have ever cheered for poop as loud or as exuberant as I have the past two weeks. You go little guy!
xo,
K