Living Room Updates

I have made a few updates to my living room. I stripped everything off the tables and gave them a good dusting. Then started fresh with arranging the accessories. I would love some new throw pillows to update the space but have such a hard time rationalizing spending money on them with my kids still so young and messy!

Still loving my coffee table from Class and Trash. Read more about that here and the tray I picked up a while ago at Diversity Thrift. The silver box is old and from Pier One. 

 Picked up the green matted frame at Home Goods last week. I had all the other frames and the dog and silver face are from my grandmother. 

The chest is from my grandmother and it is one of my favorites. 

I got a new frame from Home Goods for my wedding picture and all the other items were things I already owned. 

I picked up the gold hammered box at Marshalls on clearance for $7.50. 

I would really love to have new shades for these lamps. And it is on my "to buy" list. 

Not much different here but birds instead of dogs! 

Dining Room Updates

I have been making a few updates to my dining, living and family room. First up the dining room, on a whim I decided to paint the back of the china cabinet a bright deep pink. Here is an older before shot....

And now after.....

The paint is Behr Tropical Smoothie from Home Depot and one sample size was the perfect amount. I splurged on the knobs from Anthropologie. Did you know that World Market also has some cool knobs? I just couldn't find any that were right for my space. Also, do you spy the owl bookends that I talked about here and here.

Here are a few more pictures of the entire dining room space.

I finally found a place for the candlestick sconces from Thrifty Sisters.

Menu Planner

Happy Sunday! We had a dinner party last night and here is what I threw together for my centerpiece. Not my finest work but it did the trick.

Here goes with this week's menu planner....

Sunday - Italian Sausage Soup, Grilled Cheese

Monday - Kickin Chicken with Crunch, Vegetarian Re-fried Beans, Corn

Tuesday - Tinga Tostada

Wednesday - Stuffed Pork Chops with Stove Top, Sauteed Squash & Zucchini

Thursday - Baked Gnocchi with Ricotta & Marinara, Salad

Favorite Etsy Shops

Favorite Etsy Shops

Pepperjack Home

I ordered 4 of these cute snack bags for Camille & Clyde at the start of this school year.  They were running a 50% off sale at the time but they are still super affordable. We love them. I sometimes rinse them out with warm soapy water or have washed them in the washing machine many times. The snack for our preschool is supposed to be labeled. So I printed pages of labels that said Camille and Clyde and a write in spot for the date. It sticks fine to the fabric. 

lemonseedandco

My sister Kate ordered me cute stationary from this Etsy shop for my birthday this year. Tons of color combinations and customize however you would like.

Libbie & Winston

I got my iPhone case from this site. Love it! She also has tons of other cute stuff like this cuff. 

Which are your favorite? 

Made from Pinterest

Pinned and made! Both were a success. Clyde & Camille loved the muffins. Camille & I loved the cookies. Clyde apparently doesn't like chocolate chips. Very strange for a 3 year old or any year old for that matter.

Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins. Can be found here or here. 

Peanut Butter Monster Cookies. Can be found here or here.

I have to say my new iPhone has been life changing in terms of pictures. I can add them to Google+ from my phone and then upload them straight to Blogger. One of my least favorite part of blogging was uploading and saving the pictures. Also, I love instagram. You can follow me at alysonstoakley.

Weekend recap & menu planner

Michael had a 3 day weekend! Woohoo! We completed a few projects and I have a couple still in process. We touched up a bunch of paint and I washed all the cushions and pillows on my living room couch...feels so good to get the marker and food stains off!

Before

After

I am also in the mood to switch things up at my house so was shopping in my attic in an attempt to not spend $$$$!

Here goes with this week's menu planner....

Tonight's dinner

Monday - Salmon, Sauteed Squash & Zucchini, Wild Rice

Tuesday - Cheesy Sausage Tortellini

Wednesday - French Dip Sandwiches, French Fries

Thursday - Turkey Salisbury Steaks with White Bean Mash

Friday - Night off

I won!

How fun to wake up on Saturday morning and be checking my normal social media channels...Instagram, Facebook etc and discover that I am the winner of a Stella & Dot Julep Bracelet in Ivory! 

So exciting! This is going to be great for spring. I liked stylist Lee Edmonds page on Facebook and was automatically entered. Check it out here! Lee and I went to high school together and she has had great success as a stylist.  Lee can help you with any of your Stella & Dot needs. 

One of my favorite things....

Have you seen this? Vino2Go! I gave them to my mother-in-law and a few friends for Christmas. Also, kept one for myself. Who doesn't love a wine sippy cup!? 

Cheers! It's Friday! 

Liebster Award

A few weeks ago, I was nominated for a Liebster Award. This is given to bloggers who have less than 200 followers. Blogs are nominated by fellow bloggers, and there are no winners (just hopefully more followers). It’s a great way to get our names out there and have our friends follow or discover other blogs.

The Liebster Award Rules:

1. Post 11 random things about yourself.
2. Answer the questions that the nominator sets for you.
3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.
4. Nominate 11 blogs that you follow (also with less than 200 followers). Link them to your post and let them know that they have been nominated.
5. No tag backs!

So, without further ado, here are the 11 Random Things about Me:

1. I met my husband, Michael, in high school and we have been together for 17 years...married for 8.5. Michael transferred to my high school as a sophomore and we became friends and then started dating our senior year. We went to separate colleges and continued dating through out. We got married about 4 years after college. 

This is actually before we started dating but one of the earliest pictures of us. What babies! 

2. I have twin sisters who are almost 3 year younger than me. We all live in Richmond and I see them and my mom often. 

3. My dad was diagnosed with a rare cancer when I was in sixth grade. He had ups and downs throughout the remainder of his life but always remained positive. He passed away when I was pregnant with Camille 5.5 years ago. 

Picture from the surprise 30th anniversary party we threw for my Mom and Dad. 

4. My favorite show growing up was Three's Company!  I have seen every episode probably twice! Ha! 

5. I love a bargain. I have shopped at TJMaxx and Marshalls for as long as I can remember. My mom used to take us there growing up. My idea of a perfect afternoon would be browsing one of these discounters without kids in tow of course! 

Image Source

6. My daughter, Camille was born 3 weeks early. I started having contractions at 5 am but didn't know if they were real. I called my doctor and didn't speak to my usual nurse,  she said it probably wasn't labor so I went in to work. At my desk, I tried to finish up a few things but the contractions started getting worse and worse so I went home around 11 am. I called the doctor again and this time they told to come on in! Camille was born that night. Side note...Clyde was born 2 weeks early and the 37th week seemed like an eternity since I was expecting him to arrive just as early as his sister. 

Camille on her first day home from hospital in a dress my mom and I both wore.

Clyde on his first day home from the hospital in one of the outfits  my dad wore.  PS...comparing these pictures they almost look the same baby! 

7. I have never been ice skating and don't really have any desire to try it. I was a horrible roller skater and hated birthday parties at Golden Skate World. 

8. I am not a big exerciser but LOVE my Richmond Barre class. I go once a week and wish I had the time and funds to go more. 

www.richmondbarre.com

9. Even though I do weekly menu planners and I feel like we have tons of variety in our meals, my favorite foods are still pizza, turkey sandwiches and hamburgers! 

10. Michael comes home for lunch almost every day and I love it. It is so nice to have him pop in during the middle of the day and I miss him on the days when he doesn't come home.

11. I love wine! Chardonnay is my favorite. I am currently buying Naked Grape in cases from Kroger so I can get the 20% discount. 

Source & Review

Questions from The Doyle Dispatch:

1. What is your biggest frustration with other people’s grammar? I don't get frustrated with grammar. I know there are a million grammatical mistakes and typos on my blog. 

2. Germophobe or germophile? Germophobe for sure and who would admit to being a germophile. Have you seen the urban dictionary definition of that word? It reads "somebody that always does disgusting things, such as eating things off the ground." Gross! But seriously, I am a major germophobe and one of the earliest skills my children learned was hand washing! 

3. Glue gun or sewing? A little of both! I am just learning to sew and I find it to be really gratifying. 

4. What was your favorite grade in school and why? Senior year was by far the best. I started dating my husband and really had the best time with my friends. I didn't want to go to college! 

5. If you could do anything other than your current job, what would it be? I would go back to event planning. I worked as a meeting planner for Circuit City and loved it! I currently still do some contract event planning work in addition to real estate. 

6. If money were no object, where would you live? Richmond, VA but just in a bigger house! We are out growing ours. Although I love our kitchen, I would love a master bath and a playroom! 

7. Describe your dream house. 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms with a large kitchen, living room, dining room, small den space, home office, basement rec room and large laundry room. 

8. What is one thing on Pinterest that you would absolutely love to make/own/do? Gosh, that is a tough one. There are so many awesome things on Pinterest. Maybe I would say, paint the brick on my house to look like this or perhaps this? 

9. Where is your favorite local place to shop? Clementine & Clover for clothes, Diversity Thrift for housewares. 

10. What is your worst habit? I don't know. I am sure there is one but I don't think that I will come out with it on my blog. 

11. What book, TV,  or movie character fits you to a T? I am stumped by this one...I probably need to ask Michael. 

Questions for my nominees....

1. Describe the best vacation or trip you have ever taken?

2. What is your favorite drugstore makeup or beauty item?

3. Social media you can't live without?

4. What is your favorite meal to prepare?

5. Television show you can't miss?

6. What is the last book you read?

7. What is one skill you wish you had?

8. Why did you start blogging?

9. Favorite season?

10.Three words that describe you...

11. What is your favorite dessert?

And now, the Nominees:

1. the little black door

2. Tufts and Stuff

3. Refresh & Repurpose

4. BELLADWELLA

5. Spark!

I know that isn't 11 but a lot of the blogs I follow already have many more than 200 followers so I went with ones above that I really enjoy reading. 

Fresh towels....

I am loving my new monogram towels. For Christmas, I asked my mother-in-law to give me four new white towels. Ours were in horrible condition and I love the freshness of new towels and sheets. I debated on whether to do a monogram but at the moment we all share one bathroom and I thought this would help us keep things straight. I took the towels to Atlantic Embroidery Works and have to say got a little carried away with the design. It adds up you know ($$$$$) but I love the finished product. I went ahead and got Michael his own monogram instead of doing both of ours with my initials.

Also, thought I would share this project from back in November.

I bought this painting at thrift store for $3 or $4. I blogged about my bathroom artwork switch out here. I kept starting at the unfinished edge and after seeing a post on A Delightful Design, I decided to gold leaf the edges. Better I think.

Menu Planner

I worked this weekend and have actually had my menu planner done since Friday. I wanted get ahead of the game on planning...sorry I am behind posting on the blog. You can't win them all. We had taco pizza last night and it was delicious and easy to make. This is an actual picture of mine. It turned out well.

Sunday - Taco Pizza

Monday - Moroccan Beef

Tuesday - Seven Layer Gratin

Wednesday - Zatarain's Jambalaya with Chicken, Green Pepper and Turkey Sausage added

Thursday - Kelly's Overnight Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Friday - White Chicken Enchiladas

And here is one more quick pic from our weekend. This is Friday night fun now...oh how things change. I swaddled up my little monkeys....they thought it was hilarious. They love to look back at pictures and see themselves all swaddled up as babies so they wanted me to do it now. Ha!