Home Decor

If I could afford it, every single square inch of my house would be decorated by Pottery Barn. I love it! However, since I cannot afford that, I pick up things here and there as I shop.

Today I thought I would share with you some of the fun things I've picked up lately and since I posted the progress on Alaina's nursery, I thought I'd share the final product as well.

I've had this vase for years but I picked up these branches from Target for .68 cents each! I got them yesterday. Just a deal I couldn't pass up! 

This was actually a gift from my mom. She bought this frame like 30 years ago. Once I had Alaina's newborn photos taken, she framed one of me and her and put it in this old frame. I love this.

I don't have a lot of things to pass down to my kids, my house burn down when I was 12 and we lost everything. So things like this, I treasure!

I picked this little bowl vase up from Hobby Lobby for $2! Crazy, right? I love it. It's a really deep plum color.

I also picked up this vase from Hobby Lobby. I think it was like $7 and I got the flowers when they were half off. I love a good deal!

Last weekend I was digging through a box of my baby stuff, to prove that Lainey looks more like me than B, and I found this photo. This is my mom and her older sister staring out the window of the house they grew up in in Galveston, Texas.

I bought these stems from Hobby Lobby as well...half off, of course. I just stuck them in an old pitcher I had around the house.

 And now for Alaina's room

I bought this decal to put above her crib and I just love it! The quality is so good ! It is really thick and looks painted on but so, so easy to apply.

I got this piece from Babies r Us. I love it! I'm not typically a mobile fan so this was a great alternative. Plus, I put it in the corner as opposed to directly above her crib.

We also bought a few more panels for her windows from Target.

Finished product from the doorway.

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway! It'll make a great gift for a friend or yourself!

Chicken Spaghetti Ripoff

My aunt has always been a really good cook. Like the kind of woman who could go into the kitchen, pull stuff a pantry and throw together a fabulous meal. 

I am not that woman.

My aunt always made the best chicken spaghetti. It was one of my favorite meals! When I was in college I attempted to make it based off of what it looked like...And it actually came out pretty good.

Nothing like spaghetti, but really good! It's one of B's favorites, it's so easy to cook and best of all...it only requires one pot!

This is what we had for dinner last night so I thought I'd share the recipe with you all. 

1. Boil chicken (I use chicken strips because they boil really quickly and are easy to shred)

2. Remove the chicken from the pot and use the same water to boil your spaghetti noodles

3. Shred your chicken while you are waiting for the noodles to boil

4. Once the noodles are done, strain them.

5. In the same pot, combine noodles, shredded chicken, cream of mushroom and Rotel.

*I do this part differently every time! I usually use a can and a half of COM and one full can of Hot Rotel. We like ours spicy so I will typically take a second can of Rotel and drain the juice and just use the chunks.

6. Add in a handfull of shredded cheese...I use the Mexican mix. Because, let's face it, I am a little bit Mexican.

7. I usually serve it with garlic bread...B likes it with tortillas as well.

Enjoy!

 Don't forget about this!!

Are you expecting a little one? Or do you know someone who is?

Well, Emily at Purple Possum has offered one of my lucky readers a set of these cute onesie stickers of their own!

To enter for the giveaway you must do the following:

1. Become a follower of my blog.

2. Visit the PurplePossom Etsy boutique and tell me in a comment which design you like the most and would like to receive.

3. Like PurplePossum on Facebook.

For extra entries:
1. Blog about this giveaway 

2. Follow me on twitter at stevycurbow

Travelin' Tales and Giveaway Winner

We are still making our way through Texas visiting B's family. We are currently in San Marcos, Texas. Does anyone know what that means? SHOPPING!! San Marcos is home to the Tanger remium Outlets and ohemgee, it might just be my favorite thing in Texas. I am so excited because we are getting a Tanger Outlet about 15 minutes from our house in just about a year. Can.Not.Wait!


The Lainey Bug is doing great! She's been a bit fussy, but we got into San Marcos late last night and she went down about 10 p.m. and slept until 9 a.m. Thank you, Jesus! I think Christmas may have been a bit much for her and we just added on with this little Texas roadtrip.

Despite it all, she's hanging in there and being a trooper! We are headed out today to do some shopping and have a nice little lunch, then we will spend the evening visiting with B's family. I always love coming to San Marcos. I love this part of Texas and, if you aren't from here, you should visit. There is so much to do here in town and more just an hour or so in every direction.

So, remember my post about the Kindle, Nook or plain 'ol books? Well, I think I've decided on a Kindle Fire. My birthday is next Friday, January 6 so I think we may just go ahead and get it today.

Do you do this? We never wait until Christmas or birthdays for our gifts. We also never surprise each other. We tell each other what we want and we just go buy it. Kinda takes some of the fun out of it, but eh, at least I get what I want, right?

Well, today is the day! Congratulations to Emily Duncan on winning the My Memories giveaway! Emily, I will contact you with the product key and instructions on downloading the software. I know you will just love it!

Don't forget, If you would like to purchase this program...My Memories is offering my readers a discount. Just click the banner below and enter in my promotion code for $10 off!



STMMMS79657



I am working with an Etsy boutique owner and will have another giveaway to annouce soon. Hopefully tomorrow! So be on the lookout friends!

Regifting...Yes or No?

Such an ugly word this time of year, but be honest do you regift? 


I will admit that I have. And I will again.


I think the trick to regifting is that the gift still has to hold meaning and be something that the recipient would actually want.


For example: My mom got a Chanel clutch from her well-to-do boss. My mom would prefer a power tool. Her daughter (ME!!!) was the proud regiftee. I mean, it actually came with a certificate of authenticity and everything! 


Technically this wasn't a regift as she just asked if I wanted it, but it would have made a wonderful regift, right!? Be honest, you would have accepted it in a heartbeat!


That said, I think that you should always  add a little something else to the item you are passing along.


I was give a bottle of perfume from Bath and Body Works, however, with a newborn, I'm not wearing perfume. So, for Christmas I put together a little "pamper" gift for my younger cousin who is in junior high and who I know would love it! I used the perfume, added two bottles of VS body spray that I purchased for her during the semi-annual sale, a brush, some girly hair pins, a lip gloss and a purse mirror all from Target...for less than $15.


See, it makes sense for the one receiving the gift.


Another thing I always regift is wine. I looove wine, but I am not a fan of Merlot or Cabernet. So, anytime I get a bottle, it often gets taken to other events as a hostess gift. 


Obviously, as a new mom, I recently had lots of baby showers. One of those showers was a diaper shower. I also recently hosted a baby shower. At my diaper shower I received a lot of Huggies diapers...which didn't work for us. For some reason, they never fit Alaina the way they should. We are a Pampers family. At the shower I hosted, the momma-to-be was requesting Huggies. So, I regifted a box of 96 Huggies. And diapers ain't cheap! However, I would never give her that alone. I also purchased her changing pad and two covers, as well as an outfit. So, for a $90 gift, I only paid about $60. Works for everyone, right?


So, yes, you should always be grateful for every gift you receive, and believe me, I am extremely grateful anytime anyone thinks of me, or my precious little one. But there is no reason for money to go to waste, right?


So tell me, do you regift? What are some of the things you have passed into better hands?


Don't forget to enter my giveaway! And be on the lookout for another one next week! :)

Product Review and Awesome Giveaway!

Hey there friends and readers. If you've been reading my blog you know that I am a new mommy. Could it be more obvious? ;)

As a new mommy, I love documenting every second of my little one's life! I constantly have a camera in her face and I love sharing her pictures with others. I can be creative, but I am far from crafty. I am not a scrapbooker. In fact, I kinda hate it. I hate the mess. I hate the time it takes to put together one single page. It's not for me.

But I love working on the computer; I'm a fan of InDesign, Quark, iStudio...all of that wonderful electronic "stuff".  And I love taking pictures and I love being able to show them off. 

Well, last week I was asked to do my first product review. I was both excited and nervous. I mean, what if I hated the product? Well, I didn't! I love it! This product is RIGHT UP MY ALLEY!

Have you heard of My Memories ?  To be honest with you, I hadn't. But girl I went to college with always posted digital scrapbooks of her and her kiddos and I always wondered how she could create such cuteness.

So, last weekend I downloaded a version of the program and got to work. 

Likes:

The program is a BREEZE to figure out. I am used to more complex programs like InDesign and such but this program would work for anyone who is a beginner to a more advanced digital design fan. A big perk for me is that I didn't have to read a lot of instructions to figure it out. I hate instructions. :)

I love that there a really cute, free downloads to create a scrapbook. Like I said, I am not typically a fan of scrapbooking and all of the work that goes into it but this makes it so much easier and quicker. There are also templates you can purchase but I appreciate, as someone trying to watch her budget, that they are extremely reasonably priced. I've seen some ranging from .99 to $2.99. 

You can also add video and music to your pages and the program is compatible with Mac or PC computers. Big time bonus for this Mac girl!

There are several themes to choose from and I love that you can use it to create other things like invitations.

I blurred our last name and church location for privacy.

I could have printed this page out on square card stock for at Office Max. Seriously. The last baby shower I threw, I spent $56 on invitations! This would have been a great cost saver...And the best part? It took me about 15 minutes to put this together. 

I also created a little starter scrapbook of Lainey.

I love that there are so many templates to choose from! You can also add music and video to your pages.

Dislikes:

Really the only things I disliked were

1) The program took forever to download. Like, so long I thought it would be one of those programs that freezes often. Rest assured, I've spent about 7-8 hours playing on the program and it has yet to freeze. The program is rather large so, if you purchase or win it, be sure you are in the best area of your house for internet connection and be sure to have your screensaver disabled. That tripped me up.

2) I could not figure out how to upload images from iPhoto. However, on the website there are "classes" you can take to get to know the program a little better...So, I'm signing up!

So...here's the good news for you! My Memories is offering one of my readers a free download of the full program! I am so excited to share this with you all because I know you will love it. No matter if you use it to document your kids, travels, college days, wedding, Christmas...it is an easy way to get professional-quality scrapbooking done by your own hands in reasonable amount of time. I am honestly so happy I was asked to do this because I can see it being used for lots of invitations in my future, not just scrapbooks!

If you would like to purchase this program...My Memories is offering my readers a discount. Just click the banner below and enter in my promotion code for $10 off!

STMMMS79657

If you would like to win your own copy of My Memories you must do the following:

1) Become a follower of my blog
2) Link this post to your blog

3) Visit My Memories and tell me in a comment that you have done #1 and 2 as well as what your favorite layout or paper pack is

For additional entries:

(doing each of the following will get you one extra entry for a possibility of 4 total entries.)

1) For one extra entry, follow me on twitter at stevycurbow

2) Like My Memories on Facebook

3) Follow My Memories on Twitter

I will draw the winner next Tuesday, December 27. 


If this isn't enough...check out this awesome giveaway from a fellow blogger!

No, I didn't Die...I became a grown up!

What a week this has been! Spent the weekend in NY with some of my best friends ever, ate too much, walked too much, and had too much fun! Seriously, I didn't want to come home, I wanted to tell Bobby to just move up there. The weather was absolutely perfect! I'm a rare person that detests summer. I hate sweating when I walk to my car, there is just something unnatural about that. But in NY it was probably 73 the entire weekend = PERFECT!

Here are a few pictures of my wonderful trip!

This is my new favorite picture of Ginny

Us girls out on the town

Me and G at Serendipity for her Bday snack

This is my sweet friend KBiggs that we went to visit

And this is me...begging for a job.

So in other and awesome news, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! Can you believe it!? They are townhouses, 2,2 1/2, roof top terrace, patio off the living room and outside patio on the first floor. Best part, we have a very small grassy area and we DONT have to the lawn! OR take out trash! I didn't get very good pictures so you'll have to check out the website, hopefully I can run back over to take some more but here are a few.

Sideways picture of my amazing shower/bathtub

Rooftop Terrace

Kitchen with my sales lady in the way and no appliances yet...

View from the terrace

Ahhh, it's love....

So, I am forced to comment on American Idol. I am so happy that Kris won! Yea, Adam was good, but I would actually buy a Kris Allen CD. My nephew, on the other hand, was an Adam/KISS fan...Check out this video of him.

Finally, I know I'm supposed to announce the winner of the giveaway today, but I've decided to push it back a week. So, tell your friends and be sure to enter as many times as possible!