Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Mother's Day.  I got a few texts and well wishes for a Happy Mother's Day for the first time and even though baby Jude isn't here yet, I still felt special.  I look forward to many more to come and can't wait for the homemade cards and gifts from my little one.

It's back to the grind and that means a little inspiration is due to help get us through the week.  Without further ado, here are some of my awesome finds from Pinterest.






















Side Ponytail with Interest

I actually did this the other day for work and loved it!  My hair isn't as pretty as hers but it stayed out of my face all day at work and kept my hair interesting at the same time.  Plus, it's super easy which is a must if I'm going to do it.


Almond Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

I don't have an ice cream maker but boy do I want one now!  This chocolate ice cream is made with almond milk which is my favorite and seems super easy to make.


DIY Jetpack

This was just too cute not to Pin and seems pretty simple!  I imagine my son in four or five years getting one of these and wearing it as part of a Halloween costume.  Or just around the house for fun.  I think it's marvelous and can't wait for him to be here so I can torture him with all these cute ideas.






Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Um, can we talk about how genius this idea is?!  It's literally just your run of the mill cinnamon rolls from the can put in a waffle iron and then drizzled with the frosting from the can plus a bit of extra frosting mixed in.  When I'm no longer diabetic, I'm going to have one or two or ten of these babies.



No Bake Healthy Oat and Peanut Butter Balls

I tend to find a lot of unhealthy things on Pinterest so when I find something that is healthy and still sounds delicious I feel the need to share.  These seem super simple to make and sound super tasty.  Baby Jude makes me hate the smell and taste of peanut butter so these have to wait until I'm not pregnant anymore.  Just add it to my already gigantic list of "Things to Eat and Drink When I'm Not Pregnant."  Sigh.

Happy Monday everyone!  Or as happy as a Monday can be.

High Five

Today, I'm linking up with Lauren over at From My Grey Desk blog to bring you five good things in my life from this week because let's face it, there just isn't enough joy in the little things in this world right now.

1.  My nails!  My nails are super awesome and strong now that I'm pregnant and I just don't pretty them up enough.  I have had this idea Pinned for eons and just never got around to doing it.  It's super easy and fun.  You can find more information on it here.

2.  Appa, my oldest "son"!  He thinks he's a dog--plays fetch, growls at intruders, chews on things he shouldn't...and sleeps like a human.  He loves to lay in this spot at the end of the couch when the lamp is on and then cover his eyes as if it's too bright.  I have no idea why.  He's weird.

3.  This note pad holder was given to me at Christmas by my mother-in-law.  It's been collecting dust on a bookshelf since then, but I'm going to keep it by the computer now so I can write down my random ideas, lists, whatever and stick them the notebook I keep in my purse without having to get the notebook every time I have a thought.

4.  My son's bedding!  I absolutely LOVED The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle as a kid.  Ask any of my family about it and they will launch into stories about how I used to recite it to friends, family, strangers.  I was a shy kid so it was kind of a big deal.  Anyway, my Aunt Lynette, who I will always credit for making me into the reader I am today, got this for me from The Pottery Barn Kids and I love love love it!!

5.  This picture.  My husband and I went on a cruise for our honeymoon back in September and we got to Florida early enough that we spent some time on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale before finishing the trek to Miami (yes we drove from Lexington to Miami.)  I found it today as I was searching the photos on the computer for something else and it made me happy to just see and be reminded of vacation.

What are 5 good things that happened to you this week?  Here's one for you: It's Friday!!

It's Pinterest Monday!

Hello all!  I hope that the Monday blues have not dragged you all down.  I must admit that even though I just finished day 3 of my work week, today was rough.  I work in a used book store that actually buys books (and DVDs and CDs and video games and magazines...) from the public and I spent most of my day flipping through boxes pulled from attics and basements and barns and garages and car trunks.  Let's just say that pet/human hair, dust, hay, mold, and general dirt do not make your merchandise worth more.  Ew.

Moving on.  Here are some of my awesome finds from the past week to help you shake off those blues and get ready for the week ahead.




Banana Cream Pie Milkshake

Chik-fil-A has one of these for sale and my mouth salivates every time I see their advertisement.  Unfortunately for me, I have gestational diabetes and cannot have one.  I know, sad face.  However! this may be the thing to save me.  I have found a carb smart ice cream that does not kill my blood sugar levels and with a little substitution of unsweetened almond milk for the regular milk, I think I might be able to have one of these beauties.  I'm going to try to make a more diabetic friendly version of this on Thursday so I'll report back and let you know if I'm still standing after it.

 

DVD Coloring Case

I always see so many cute things on Pinterest that require sewing skills and I can't sew worth a darn.  More sad face.  This craft perked me right up though because it requires adhesive glue and is needle free!  I am not much of an artist either but I love this idea of paper and pens and markers in an easy carrying case.  I see tons of DVD cases we have to discard at work because we can't sell the DVD inside and I'm excited to see that perhaps those don't have to go to waste any longer!  I think this would be a perfect DIY gift for kids!




White Texas Sheet Cake

I don't think I've mentioned all the blogs I follow, but the number is starting to rise the more I get on Pinterest.  This cake comes from one of my favorite food blogs, The Girl Who Ate Everything.  Christy always seems to know exactly what I need, and on this particular day she took me home to Texas, to my grandmother's kitchen.  Grandma was a wedding cake maker and the smell of cakes, especially white or yellow cake always takes me back to her.  I'm unsure if this recipe will be anything like hers but I'm willing to give it a shot.



DIY Cleaning Supplies

Jillee over at the One Good Thing blog has compiled some of her best, most effective DIY household cleaners.  I'm not much of a house keeper (although that nesting instinct is currently kicking my butt) but I love all of these ideas she has for more environmentally friendly and cheap cleaner alternatives.  I have not tried one yet, but it's on the list of things to do.  I want to compile a list of the cleaners that use the same ingredients so I don't have to buy a billion different things.  Look for an update on this soon!




Freezer/Bulk Cooking

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I was going to tackle this freezer cooking thing that has gotten super popular on the internet.  If you don't know what that is, you can find out more here.  I will admit that I'm not going to be making an entire month's worth of food because I'm not that ambitious yet, and I haven't quite figured how to get that much food into my freezer.  I like making the food in two week intervals.  The moms over at Once a Month Mom have created all sorts of menus for different types of people including, Gluten-free, diet, traditional, and whole foods.  My plan is to mix and match the recipes from different menus so that we can get some real variety and I don't have to worry about my blood sugar going crazy.  OAMM has created all sorts of templates for you to use that include grocery lists and recipe organizers so I'm hoping for success!  Look for an update on this as well where I will go in depth in my experience with this.

I've got some awesome things lined up for myself to tackle while I wait for this baby to come and I hope this inspired you to get out and line up some projects of your own.  Or at least inspired you to make that cake.  Who doesn't need some cake?

The Nesting Instinct

So I am officially 36 weeks pregnant which means we've come to the 9 month mark and nearing the end of this pregnancy!  I can't tell you how excited I am that this is nearly over.  I won't sit here and pretend that this has been a real hardship because as far as pregnancies go, mine has been easy sailing.  I have not been constantly harassed by nausea or crazy mood swings (minus a few breakdowns here and there).  I did get gestational diabetes and that has added stress for sure, but even that has been manageable and I have done well with it.  I think that I just miss feeling like myself.  I miss being able to do and eat and drink things that I could before getting pregnant.  And what I really want is to actually see and hold my son.  I can't wait for my little family to finally grow and be complete.

Anyway, so this nesting instinct that everyone talks about is really starting to hit me.  I decided to clean up the hall closet that holds our towels and toiletries and random other crap and then tackle the bathroom.  My husband used to run a suit store and therefore accumulated a ton of ties and two tie racks.  Since he no longer needs the ties we haven't had a real use for the racks so they have been collecting dust in closets and boxes for the past few years as we moved from apartment to apartment and finally this cozy little duplex we have now.  And sadly for me, the bathrooms seem to keep getting smaller and smaller.  Now we have this tiny little closet of a bathroom with little counter space and no shelves.  It struck me a while ago that we could build some small shelves and then we came across the tie racks.  They have been sitting in the bathroom just waiting to be hung up and today we finally put them up.

 Ta-da! The little tie pegs make perfect holders for necklaces, bracelets, and headbands.  And the tops provide perfect little shelves to hold the little items that used to clutter the tiny sink.

 Here is the before picture of my hall closet.  I find that I can't part with any shoe boxes but I put them to good use!

I used one for all my travel sized sample things.  I read in someone's blog that they use them for overnight guests as well as when they travel.  Over the next few months I am sure that we will see plenty of guests so this is the perfect place to keep things that my guests might have forgotten like shampoo, lotion, shaving lotion, etc.

I used another for my diabetic and pregnancy supplies.  Instead all of those paper bags the pharmacy provides, I put them all in a shoebox so I can now find things in a timely manner.

Here is my after picture!  On top of the shoe boxes I found uses for all the cosmetic bags I seem to have accumulated over the years.  Now everything is neat and organized and I can find what I need when I need it.  Let me tell you, there is nothing like the peace of mind a little organizing can do for you.  I think tomorrow I shall tackle the bedroom.

Someone Has a Case of the Mondays

Okay, so I don't have a case of the Mondays as this is technically my Wednesday but I know everyone else returning to the grind of work probably has some form of it.  Well, I'm here to save you or at least give you something to look at.  I'm going to call this series Pinterest Monday.  This is where I share some of my fabulous finds from Pinterest to hopefully inspire the creative juices to flow.  Or to at least satisfy your foodie needs.

Here are some of my awesome finds from the past week from Pinterest.

 
Homemade Samoas (Caramel Delights)

Girl Scout cookie season may be over but that doesn't mean that the deliciousness has to end!  I plan to make these very, very, very soon.  Especially since my husband doesn't like coconut so I can have these all to myself.  Which might not actually need to be a good idea...





Best Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ok, now this is not your average chocolate chip cookie.  It's a bit more complicated than the normal recipe but comes from chocolate master Jacques Torres so it HAS to be amazing.  It has chocolate chunks instead of chips and pastry and bread flour instead of AP flour so these are definitely more for special occasions.  But if the results are anything like the picture, I just gained 10 pounds.

 
DIY Neon Shirt

Here's a little easy DIY project for you.  These shirts are super popular right now and with a plain white (or I like the idea of a black tee), some tape, and neon spray paint, you too can have your own trendy shirt!

 
DIY Animal Bookends

These bookends are super cute and super easy!  My late grandmother loved elephants and I really want to make some of these for baby Jude's room so that he can have a little piece of her with him.





Braid Secret

First of all, I have to admit just how much I love Lauren Conrad.  I think she's super fabulous.  This braid is super easy and adds interest.  My hair isn't long enough to do a single side braid so I usually do this with two pigtail braids.  Basically, you braid one of your sections of hair before braiding all the sections together.  It helps to keep the front of my hair from falling out and getting in my face and it literally takes less than minutes.

There you are.  There are some things to hopefully keep you entertained on the last Monday of April.  I hope you enjoy the images and that you think of those cookies all day.  I know I will.