We bought some second hand furniture for my daughter's room  a little while back. It looked pretty good at first, but after a while we noticed that the previous owner had touched it up. Whatever they used was impossible to clean. Every mess my daughter made just seemed to stay there, I was rarely able to wipe it clean. I was so tired of looking at it in this condition so I started exploring the option of buying new furniture. I quickly decided that I didn't want to spend a lot of money for furniture that will more than likely have a lot of wear over the years (She will be 9 in Jan). I have seen plenty of painted furniture on Pinterest.com which is where I got this idea.

I used a Black and Decker electric hand sander on the top surface of the desk because there were a lot of imperfections and I wanted a smooth surface to paint.

     Last April our youngest child Alyla turned 4. Most of the time our children want their birthday's to take place at Chuck E Cheese or Pump it Up but she wanted to have her birthday at home. She loves Minnie Mouse so I decided to get creative, but since I have 5 children there is not always a lot of time to create my vision.
      I love the traditional colors for Minnie Mouse and I wasn't  thrilled about going to the store and purchasing all the pink and white polka dot Minnie items which most stores carry. So with the help of Etsy.com I was able to order a printable kit to use for her party. It had banners, water bottle labels, circle labels (which I cut out and taped to toothpicks for the cupcakes), etc.. I then ordered some balloons, table clothes, and ribbon on amazon.com ( I am a Prime member so I get free two day shipping on any Prime products).

Etsy.com party kit can be purchase now at www.printablepartydesigns.com

      For the Candy buffet I picked up random sized glass containers and scoops from Marshalls, Home Goods, and Party City ( I later repurposed some of the glass containers in my powder room, they now hold cotton balls and q-tips). I also cut out some of the pintable labels and glued them to some candy bags I picked up at party city. The kids all filled up a bag of candy to take home with them. The Minnie Mouse faces are die cuts I also ordered through Etsy.com

       I also found this dress through Etsy.com but they have now relocated to www.RocknBabyBoutique.com . That is my mom in the picture with Alyla.

   I started picking things up and ordering about 6 weeks prior to the birthday. Purchasing everything at once would have been difficult for my budget.  Everything for this party was very easy to put together and all of the guests, big and small, really enjoyed the dessert buffet!

     I cannot believe Thanksgiving is next week! Here are a couple ideas for your Fall tablescape that won't break the bank!

Thanksgiving Place Card and Party Favor:

How To Make A Ship Centerpiece For Thanksgiving:

My son is 6 now and really needed a space to do homework, write, play with Legos, etc. I finally made it to Ikea recently ( the store closest to me is 2 hrs away). This is what I found.

Book Shelf approx. $50
Desk approx. $30 and the chair approx. $20 grey metal cart approx. $50
Atlas canvas approx. $120

This was a quick update with minimal costs and he loves his new space. (Comforter is from Pottery Barn Kids and the sport picture is from Target)

Fall is here and there are so many beautiful trends for your closet and your home...

 Michael Kors Blouse $175 http://www.michaelkors.com/
 Tory Burch SADDALRINA OVERSIZED HOBO $595 http://www.toryburch.com
Kate Spade Montreal Boots $398 http://www.katespade.com/
Nate Berkus Taper Candleholder $19.99 http://www.target.com
Bar cart from Target $129.99 http://www.target.comPerfect for entertaining during the holiday season
Clarke Queen Headboard in Walnut $249.99
http://www.pier1.com/


Grande Luxe Glass Lamp $150 http://www.pier1.com/
I have this Lamp in My living room and it is so much prettier in person. It is a mercury glass and the shade is white with an alligator skin type texture.

      Happy Fall! We recently went to the Fall Festival at my children's school. Here is a picture from that night.

From Left to Right: Alyla 4, Landon 6, Ava 7, Chyla 6, and Madison 8 is in the back. She wasn't as excited about getting her picture taken. I really love this time of year! We live in southern Florida so it doesn't get real cold, but it cools off just enough. We should have our 1st cool day tomorrow with a High of 72 and a low of 54. All of our children especially like roasting marshmallows this time of year. What is your family's favorite thing to do in the cooler months?

I hope everyone had a festive and fun Halloween! It's so fun finding out what your children want to be. We had a Ballerina, Cinderella, a Repunzel Bride, Thor, and Ariel.