pink vs. blue

Sure do wish I knew what heat this baby in my tummy was packin!  Everyday I think/dream (oh pregnancy dreams) whether or not this baby is a boy or girl.  But mostly I want to get my shop on and start working away on the nursery!

I saw these prints on zullily.com the other day for 50% off and was so sad that I couldn't purchase one for our new nursery.

Prints from Etsy shop-Trafalgars's Square:

I love how sweet these prints are and might have to splurge after next Friday and pay full price for one of these!  That's right we find out what we are having next week!!!

I definitely didn't feel this anxious to find out what we were having with my first pregnancy.  While Blaine definitely had his sights set on a boy and I had a slight preference I really was just over the moon at the mere fact that we were having a baby.  Well this time around I have my boy so I think you all know who wins in the pink vs. blue battle for me.  But it turns out I got a pretty awesome baby boy the first time so if this one is a boy I know I will love him just as much.  And so will my bank account!

oh target

I interrupt what will be a long string a Christmas posts to bring you some amazing Target finds.  The other day Karen and I were walking around Target when out of the corner of my eye I saw mustard yellow home decor.  I know many (including Ms. Karen Turnbow) think mustard yellow is sick, but it's somehow my favorite color and  I seem to incorporate it in my life as much as possible.  So when I saw this aisle of adorable home decor I dragged Karen down it.

First thing that stole my heart was this pair of mustard lamps:

I would love this pair for our living room.  We currently don't have any lighting in this room and I've been searching for the perfect lamps.  Unfortunately at $50 a piece I might just buy some cheap ones and spray paint them.

Then I saw this lampshade and thought it would go perfectly in our bedroom on our night stands (on top of a lamp of course): 

 At 20 bucks a pop this one is more manageable.

And then this is the part that my sweet sister-in-law thought I had lost my mind.

All of these items were sitting  on the shelf and I quickly threw them together and started screaming, "How cute would this be for a little girl's nursery!!!"  Karen reminded me I wasn't pregnant and who knew if I would have a girl next.  Her comments weren't registering and I seriously (and maybe still) contemplated buying this combo and saving it for the day I have a little girl.  Luckily I left my wallet at home so that's as far as the crazy went.  And since these pictures were all taken on my iTouch the colors aren't coming out as pretty, but I promise this combo is sweet in real life!

They also have these adorable pillows right now:

Cute right?  I couldn't believe all the awesome finds in just one aisle!  Unfortunately, these are just seasonal items and I'm sure they will go quickly.  But if nothing else I've been inspired!  You've really out done yourself this time Target! 

welcome to denver

Oh what, you're sick of reading my Halloween post over and over?  Fine here's a new one :)

The mid-west might not have beautiful mountains, fresh air or tolerable winters but one thing it does have is good shopping!  This, next to family & friends of course, is the one thing I miss most about Illinois.  I mean it was definitly an upgrade in the shopping department coming from Logan, UT but I was a little dissapointed when Denver (or Colorado--hey I'm willing to drive for some good deals) didn't have some of my favorite stores.  But with the recent opening of IKEA, Stake n' Shake and now H&M I'm feeling more and more at home with each grand opening!

I do have to take some credit for the new shopping additions to Denver seeing as how I wrote a letter to both IKEA and H&M and they both wrote me back saying they would look into opening a store in this region. 

I was so excited when H&M announced they were opening a store on the 16th Street Mall downtown.  I would have prefered it to be in an actual mall, but I'll take whatever I can get.  I love H&M for their great prices, unique yet simple style and adorable and affordable little boys clothes (it's so hard to find cute boy clothes for babies/toddlers!). 

So a few weeks ago I dragged Karen to H&M with me.  Here our our adventures:

 

Karen and I were SHOCKED when we walked up to the store and there was a line around the block!

the pretty new store!



the actually do sell cute clothes there despite what these pictures are displaying!



came out with some goods!



and finally....

...IKEA opened here in Denver!!!  I've waited a long time (almost 4 years) for this store to open and it did not disappoint.  I grew up with IKEA so it's not like this is a new and exciting store to me.  But lately I've been seeing cute/cheap design ideas on blogs and it killed me that I didn't have the same inexpensive options that my fellow bloggers had.  Well not anymore!

I wasn't brave enough to go opening day but I did go 2 days later.  I prepped myself for the Disneyland-like madness but it actually wasn't that bad.  Sure there were a TON of people but there were also a lot of parking lot attendants and police and I was really surprised at how fast everything moved.  In fact I was able to park right next to the elevator and there was only one person in front of me in the check out.

Kash also enjoyed himself.  At first he was in awe of the hundreds of people.  And then he was in awe of this train.  We spent 15 minutes at this table while Kash just said "choo choo" over and over again.  Needless to say that one came home with us!

A sucker did come in handy when the store seemed to never end.  But I was surprised at how good he was during our TWO HOUR trip!

We ended up with some good stuff.  Now I just need to save my pennies so I can afford to go back.  Welcome to Colorado, IKEA!  It's good to have ya!

dear ikea,

IKEA I-25 & County Line Rd. Denver, CO

I was wondering if you would be willing to open a little sooner than this fall.  Don't get me wrong I'm very excited about your arrival to Denver...but I just wish your grand opening was a little sooner.  You see we just bought our first home and there's lots of new space that needs your touch and your ginormous sign is kind of a tease!

For example I have big plans for this rug in my living room.  Think something like this rug.


ERSLEV Rug, flatwoven


And this rug would look pretty cute in our basesment. 

GISLEV Rug, low pile

It would have been nice to have had you around last weekend when we bought our new couch, because this one looks a lot more comfortable than the one we got...


KARLSTAD Sofa

Oh and I need about a million of your frames for a gallery wall up my stairs. 

RIBBA Frame

So if there's any chance that your grand opening could move to June 1st I would be one happy customer.

Sincerely,
Desperate new home owner who wants her house to become a home

boots

I interrupt Kash's birthday week for this very important announcement...I need these boots.

I know, (Blaine) you are saying why they are just normal brown boots and you already have enough boots!  But check out the back of these boots...this is why I need these boots!

Size 7 needed.  Let me know if you need my address for shipping.

portable high chair

I got an email that this cool portable highchair called the Go & Grow Chair was half off and I almost bought it (I'm a sucker for anything baby + sale).  But then I remembered I didn't really have a need for it, see I'm improving on baby impulse shopping.  I thought I would still share it because it's a clever idea and maybe one of you need it.  

groupon

I'm sure everyone has heard of Groupon by now (I heard about it from my friend Kiera), but if not...it's a website that will email you daily coupons for local restaurants, events, spa's, etc.  I've already purchase two deals from the site and the coupons are usually around 50% off.  I've discovered a lot of new shops and restaurants through the emails too.  It's pretty cool...sign up!

happy cyber monday

I don't know if the deals really are better on the Monday after Thanksgiving, but I'm a sucker for any kind of gimmick (aka buy things online on a Monday because they call it "Cyber Monday"). Either way I got half of my Christmas shopping done today and I'm kinda excited about it!