Loving It: Spin Pins

When I chopped my hair off last fall, I almost immediately regretted it. I swear I was in mourning. I love having short hair, but when it's short, I can't do much with it. So now that it's finally long(ish) again, I'm excited I can actually pull it up again.

Enter my new fave thing: spin pins.

The ones I have are made by Goody Goody, they come in a two-pack and I got mine at Walgreen's, but I'm sure you can find them at any drug store. They are about $5-6.

They're perfect for buns of any kind. I generally stick to the lower side of buns (my hair isn't even long enough to rock the high bun) and these are perfect.

All you do is wrap your hair in a bun (however you normally do), then take a spin pin and simply twist it until it's all the way through the bun. Since my hair isn't super-long, I still add in a few bobby pins to nip and tuck pieces away, but it's waaaaay better than the 20 pins I normally use on my buns.

So this is after a long day of work and laying on a couch for an hour, so please forgive the messiness, but my spin pin is still secure!

I'm all about giving credit where credit is due, so shout-out to my pal, Whitney, who originally suggested these to me. (This is also the same gal who first introduced me to the Lime Cucumber Vodka Drink. Pretty smart lady.)

House Drama

I've been just mildly MIA lately as we've been trying to deal with a little house "issue" over here. Nothing so dramatic as ripping off a sink faucet while the water still running nor having your AC break in the dead heat of July like last year, but an issue nonetheless.

The weekend before last, we went over to my sister's to visit (pre-baby) with her, my bro-in-law and Mom. We got back to our house around 5:30 p.m. and found this:

Someone nailed our mailbox with their car and drove off. No note! Pretty sure when we came upon the scene we were all like:

So, then the hubby started calling around to get quotes to have it fixed. Ugh. After getting the no-go from several handymen that were recommended, we got a few quotes from masons. Like, bricklayer masons. When the hubby called to tell me the damage, I was suddenly all like:

$575. Hang on. Five-hundred-and-seventy-five dollars. There. I felt like you got a better understanding when I spelled it out. Luckily, we keep a special home account where we save up to do home projects/room re-do's/emergencies/etc., but my effing mailbox was not the way I would have chose to spend this money.

We're just hoping that the person's car was jaaaaacked up. For some reason, that gives us solace.

Master Bathroom: 50 Shades of Green

You've heard it. I know. We absolutely can't stand the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Secret of the Ooze" mint green paint color in our master bathroom. The hubby especially hates it with the fire of a thousand suns. So, after over a year of steaming about it, we've decided to repaint. You want to know the worst part? We're totally thinking about going bold with another crazy shade of green. Ugh. I KNOW! It's crazy stupid.

But ever since I saw YHL paint their guest bedroom a sort of peacock green/teal, I've been kind of obsessed with it.

Then, I came across some other great examples of teal paint:

(1 / 2 / 3 / 4) 

The other option is to go with a warm neutral (probably the same shade that's in our bedroom) and throw in some pops of teal color via DIY no-sew curtains and other accessories.

 So, are we totally crazy to paint another bold color?

Auntie Edition: Eli's Here!

Well, if you didn't see on Facebook or hear me shouting from the rooftop of the hospital, my sister finally had her baby and now I'm an aunt!

Here are the deets:

Eli Christopher
8 lb 3 oz
Born 7/9/12 at 8:46 p.m.
Mom, Dad and Eli are all doing really well

I don't have any pics of the new mommy yet, but here are just a few that I've taken.

Just a few minutes after his arrival. Looking at daddy :-)

Probably my favorite picture of Chris & Eli

Ok, actually this might be my fave. :-)

My first time holding this little one.

Did you know they have entire social networks devoted to aunts? Crazy. Well, while I can promise that I won't be joining SavvyAuntie.com, one thing I probably can't promise is that I'm not going to be the crazy aunt who obsessively posts pictures of their nephew. Love!

Hungry Lady: Going for a Dip

When Greg and I went to Key West last month, we found this great little seafood shack. It's called DJ's Clam Shack and their lobster roll sandwich is like, whoa. But to accompany the sandwich, we split a side of sweet potato fries and it came with a little dipping sauce. It was totally new to us - it's called maple mayonnaise dipping sauce. Sounds gross, but is so good. (Editor's Note: If you despise mayo, there's a good chance you might not like it, but definitely worth a try! Me? I love any condiment or dipping sauce.)

So, we asked how they made it but they were pretty vague. Once we got home, I googled a few recipes, made a tweak and made our own. Very yummy!

Maple Mayo Dipping Sauce
1/2 c. mayo
1/8 c. maple syrup
1 tbsp brown sugar (though I'd probably do 1/2 tbsp next time)

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate for at least 15-20 minutes. (Or you can eat at room temperature, if you prefer!)

Here's what it looks like, although I'll admit it doesn't LOOK like the most appetizing thing we've ever made... But paired with some baked sweet potatoes, it's quite delish!

Now, I'm off to spend the day with my sister - she's being induced tomorrow so it's her last day pre-Eli! :-)

Master Bedroom Re-Do: The For-Now Finale

OK, this has dragged on for long enough. Trust me: longer for me than for you. I've had so many distractions in the last 2-3 months that I had to put the last bit of our master bedroom re-do on hold. Well, we've added in a few finishing touches and am officially sticking a fork in it - for now. We added some wall art, including a framed monogram above our bed and some shelves. (We're not sure how we feel about the frame, so may potentially paint it.)

The room isn't staged, it's not perfect, but I'm not a home decorator. This is where we live, so imperfection is totally OK with me. :-)

I  love the idea of a framed monogram over the bed as a simple way to personalize the decor.

We'd still like to eventually add a trunk or ottoman at the end of the bed as well as hang a floor length mirror, but like I said, we're done for now.

Here's the full run-down of the room:
Furniture: Weir's
Headboard - JCPenny.com
Comforter - Target
Coverlet - Target (scored this on clearance!)
Sheets - West Elm
Throw Pillows - Etsy
Rug - West Elm
Lamps - West Elm
Navy Quatrefoil Wall Art - DIY
Bedside table trays - DIY!
Shelves - Bed, Bath & Beyond (in store only)
Frame - Hobby Lobby
Monogram - Etsy

As I do in pretty much all things in life, I tried to mix inexpensive items (like the on-clearance bed coverlet and on-sale comforter) with more quality items that will last us a long time (such as the lamps, rug and new bedroom furniture - all of which I scored for 20% off). And just to be sure this had my name written all over it, I had to throw in a few DIY items.

Have I shown you how the room looked with the previous owners? Here she is:

Please note God Awful baby blue paint. It still sends a shiver down my spine.

Quite a change, I would say...

Of course, I'm all ready to jump to the next room, but this time I'm not committing to too much; just a simple "refresh" of our living room this fall. More to come on that later.

Hope everyone has a great 4th!