Category: Raves

It’s All in the Jeans

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Somewhere between gaining baby weight, maternity jeans and post pregnancy jeans, my favorite pre pregnancy jeans have become woefully out of style. I wore them for the Scottsdale Moms Blog photo shoot and when I saw the proofs, I was sad to see that my old stand by pair were now a little too baggy. What were once the perfect cut, look almost like the oh-so-hip carpenter jeans I was so fond of in 8th grade.

In my defense, it’s not for lack of trying. Somewhere in my denim transitional phase over the last 3 years, JCrew had changed the cut of their jeans. I bought several pairs (I have to order online because apparently no one with an inseam over 32 inches shops in the stores) and each one was either just a little too tight or just a little too big. And for $130, I’m not paying to have the damn things altered. Plus altered jeans never come out right anyway. So I ventured out to other styles and other brands. And nothing. Nada. Nothing was quite right. It was the right fit, but the wrong wash. Right wash and wrong fit. Wrong wash and wrong fit. ARG.

In addition to finding a new go to pair, I also needed (read wanted) a pair that I could wear tucked into boots – meaning jeans that would STAY tucked into boots after many rounds of stand up, sit down, pick up kiddo, squat down and pick up dropped toy, etc. Which is a struggle all in itself. Oh, and in case anyone hasn’t noticed, I’m not 16 and wearing anything too skinny or low cut or faded just makes me look sad in a I’m-too-old-to-wear-this-but-I-think-I-can-so-I-did kind of way.

I went to an unlikely source for some new dries, Victoria’s Secret. I ordered the Siren and the Pencil fit in several sizes since you never really know what will fit. But if you use Retail Me Not and find a few coupons, the shipping is free so it makes it a little more cost efficient.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised!  The Siren jeans are jeggings – they are a little too tight to wear by themselves, but they are great with boots. They stay tucked in and wear the entire day. I have to say, I even caught a nap in them this weekend…which made me think of Pajama Jeans. The Pencil cut are very cute, but they do stretch a little after a whole day. But for $60ish bucks, I don’t mind having them taken in a little – I’ll even take my chances of them coming out right..

Also, I like to think that these fit so well because I’m built like a Victoria’s Secret model. True or not, it’s a happy day dream.

**And don’t forget to enter The Hall Girls~Bows, Tutus and Everything Girlie giveaway!!! The winner will be chosen tomorrow at 5pm!

The Hall Girls~Bows, Tutus and Everything Girlie – GIVEAWAY!!

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I am very fortunate that I have some crazy talented friends. I’m so excited to post about Ashley and Amber, the creators of The Hall Girls~ Bows, Tutus and Everything Girlie! Together they make bows, tutus (duh), headbands, wands, etc. They have a huge selection to choose from and make custom items too (think holidays, sports teams, college themes and perfectly matched to any of your kiddo’s outfits!). And they are very generous to offer a giveaway  to The Goon Room readers! But first, a preview.

I won the BTEG “Favorite Halloween Costume” contest and recieved this adorable Halloween wand for Ms.B. I think our last name played a roll in winning…we taught Bay to say “boop!” and tap your head with the wand. She’s smitten.

I also ordered a UofA themed bow. I told Ashley to just do what she does best and I was so excited when I recieved this:

If this isn’t enough to convince you her stuff is amazing, check out her youngest, Ellison in her headband and tutu:

So here’s the best part: Ashley and Amber are giving away two Thanksgiving themed bows!! All you have to do is check out The Hall Girls~Bows, Tutu’s and Everything Girlie’s etsy shop and then comment on this post what your favorite item is. Bonus points if you visit and like their Facebook page. The winner will be chosen by Random.org on Thursday 11/10/11 at 5pm MST (or whatever timezone Arizona is now).

Look how cute! Who new turkeys could be so adorable?

Step by step:

1. Go to the etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/thehallgirls

2. Check out all the fun things Ashley and Amber have to offer.

3. Also take a peek at their Facebook page and “like” it: http://www.facebook.com/AllTiedUpBowsAndTutus

4. Make a comment on this blog post about your favorite item.

5. Win! One winner will be chosen at random on 11/10/11 at 5pm MST.

6. The winner will be announced on Friday 11/11/11 on The Goon Room.

That’s it! Go! Browse! Comment! Win!

Grass Between Your Toes

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Due to the extremely hot Arizona summers and a slight to severe allergy to Bermuda grass, I don’t spend much time in the green stuff. But this time of year is a different story. The winter Rye grass seeds are all coming up and after two cuttings, our back yard looks like it has been redone with a lush, shag green carpet. But in a good way.

See what I mean?

Bay and I have spent many afternoons laying in the grass, looking at the sky or down into the ground. Kicking a ball or rolling around. Taking pictures and chasing each other. Just enjoying the simplicity of such a lovely thing.

(and yes, I know my Yellow Bells need trimming)

Fresh cut today…if only you could smell how good it smells!

Will You Be My Neighbor

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Saturday night we hosted a neighborhood party. We decorated our front patio with the straw bales from Trunk or Treat (which were actually quite handy), iced down the drinks and set out snacks and set out to chat with our neighbors for a longer stretch of time than it takes to walk by their homes with Bear.

I was a little nervous about it because we know and like a good 70% of our neighbors, but we’ve never had a social setting where we were all together. I was worried people wouldn’t get along or wouldn’t talk – and I was totally wrong. Everyone had a ball and stayed until the wee hours of the night (thank you MH for the delicious wine, however my head did not thank you on Sunday am). The kids ran around like banchies and there wasn’t one fight or tear. They were all having a fantastic time playing tea party, pushing baby strollers and dressing up in capes.

As usual, I got great before pictures, but I was having such a good time, I didn’t get any during the party! But here’s our lovely patio:

{I love the lime green and the orange together}

{Straw seating – we also used it to corral the kids and keep the Bear from running away}

{Our newest Halloween decoration – Baylor shouts “BOO!” at him at least once a day}

{I couldn’t get over how beautiful the Yellow Bells were against the blue sky}

{Looking down the street for her buddy, Britain}

{I always complain that I’m never in any pictures because I’m always taking them – but my little lady was not in the mood to cooperate (I’m literally hanging on to her). Oh well!}

One Pretty Place

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My friend Kristin is one of the most talented people I know. She can make anything pretty. And not only pretty, but cohesive, organized and functional. Her wedding? Spectacular. In fact, I wrote about it almost exactly one year ago!

Now Kristin has started a new blog called One Pretty Place (www.oneprettyplace.com). It is a collection of all things wedding and particularly for Southwest Weddings. It will also someday be a place that will promote her design studio on Etsy.

So if you are getting married, like weddings or just want to read about something…well, pretty! Check out and subscribe to One Pretty Place and get ready to be wowed by beautiful things within your budget and DIY skills!

Fall Crafting

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I always find this time of year that there is a little more quiet time in the afternoon. Too late in the day to go do somthing…but not quite time for dinner. This is the perfect time for a little craft project. Like these little pumpkins.

I hate things that are too messy, too difficult or take too much time. I like something quick and simple that the kiddo and I can do in 20 minute time frame. If you’re like me, then you’ll love my post on Scottsdale Moms Blog this week: http://www.scottsdalemomsblog.com/.

This week I featured three crafts; two are simple and fun to do with even small kiddos and the third is all for the moms, but the kids get the benefit! Check it out and let me know what you think. Happy crafting!

Fall Has…

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Fallen? I guess if Spring has Sprung, that makes sense.

Anyway, it’s finally cooled down a little and we’ve been so happy to have all the doors and windows open all the time. This also means we’ve been playing outside as much as possible. We broke out the water table and toys, the sidewalk chalk and the paint brushes. Yes, I said paint brushes.

We discovered at the Children’s Museum one of the simplest and most fun activities – painting with water. Yes, you read that right. We get out the paint brushes, rolers and sponges, get a bucket of water and head out to the patio to get our paint on:

No clean up. No mess.

Also another all time favorite, the  sidewalk chalk. And PW showed Bay how to make a hop scotch pattern and jump around:

 

I love this…

So if you’re looking for us, we’ve gone chalkin’. Be back soon.

Picnik Your Pics

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A founder and contributor of Scottsdale Moms Blog just turned me onto a site called Picnik. They suggested I check it out and use it for my upcoming Halloween Craft post.

I looked into it and it is awesome. You can upload your pictures and then make them into collages of all sizes and layouts. It has picture editing capabilities too. The best part is that it’s crazy easy to use. I was on the phone when I clicked on the site and without actually reading or doing any trial and error, I snapped off a good 4 collages.

It is a free service (yea!) but  with purchase (it advertises it’s about $2 a month) it allows you to upload more pictures at once and offers more option on editing and also creating the collages.

Here’s one I did of Ms.B:

So get on Picnik and see what you can create with your pictures. Happy collaging!

Interest in Pinterest

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My friend Kristin turned me on to a website called Pinterest. I consider myself a pretty hip, happening and tech savvy person – and yet Pinterest baffled me. What the hell is it? How do I make it work? And why do I need to use it?

I decided to get an account, mostly so I could see what my friends were doing. They all post beautiful pictures that either they have taken or have found on the web somewhere. Again, I was left feeling left out. At one point in my life I would troll the internet looking for pretty things and fun ideas while chained to my desk during a conference call – but that ship has sailed. I barely get a check in on Facebook and fire off emails before it’s time to actually get to work, pick up the munchkin or get an errand run.

I met with the creators of Scottsdale Moms Blog last week and I am happy to say that I will be their DIY/Craft/Home project contributor starting in October! I was energized after our meeting and started to make a list of the things I wanted to write about and research to be done. I began Googling as fast as my fingers would type crafts, Halloween, kids crafts, easy crafts, no mess crafts, etc. I was bookmarking all the lovely ideas – but later when I was trying to find a picture again, I was stumped and guessing at each of the random bookmark titles to find what I was looking for…and then it hit me, Pinterest! How silly of me to over look such a useful tool…and just like that, I got it. Pinterest. I can take the picture from each of the sites I’ve bookmarked (better known as pinning) and put them on to a board (also fancy for category I create) and they will all be in one place!

So I spent a good hour going through all of the things I’ve felt were important enough to bookmark: books, recipes, pictures, craft ideas, home improvement ideas, funny blog posts. You name it, it was in my bookmarks. I created new boards on Pinterest and then sorted out all of the little Easter Eggs of ideas. And the result was a beautifully organized and visual account of all the things I think are worth hanging on to. Fun craft ideas for Halloween? Noted. Delicious recipe ideas? Pinned. Great books and blogs? Done. All of it right there and best of all, now friends and readers can see my ideas too. You can also steal them and pin them to your boards if you love them.

Check it out: http://www.pinterest.com

Search for me under Beth Wand

See what you think of what I’ve done and look around a little at what other are doing. I guarantee you’ll find something you like or worst case scenario, it will be a fun way to waste a few minutes. Happy Pinning!

Best. Neighbor. Ever.

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The first time I met Melissa, she came by on a sunny afternoon. As I answered the door, Baylor and her cousin Zoe were having a hair pulling / screaming match in the background. The pretty lady at the door said “Hi. I’m Melissa. We met a few weeks ago – but I was wondering, do you drink wine?”. My sister-in-law and I burst out laughing. My response? “Do you hear this shenanigans? Of COURSE we drink wine!!”.

Flash forward a few months and PW and I have become friends with Melissa. We’ve gotten to know her and it’s been a blast!

The other night, I realized while making dinner for friends (who were due in less than an hour) that I was totally out of balsamic vinegar. Despite my obsessive list making, the vital ingredient in my balsamic reduction for the caprese salad was no where to be found. Thankfully, in addition to working for a wine supplier, Melissa is a trained chef so there’s a good chance she will have whatever item I’ve forgotten at the grocery store.

Sadly, she too was out of vinegar. I hung up the phone and began dialing PW to ask him to stop on the way home when my phone rang:

“I felt bad that I didn’t have any vinegar so I’m running to the store. See you in a few minutes!”

And not 10 minutes later, there was smiling Melissa with a full bottle of vinegar. She explained she didn’t want me waiting too long to make the reduction as it leaves the house smelling quite pungent and she didn’t want our guests to arrive and immediately fall over from the smell.

seriously, who does that?! Best. Neighbor. EVER!!