Fabulous Friday Finds - Inchbug Name Tags

So its been awhile since my last Fabulous Friday Find. But I'm back now! I honestly can't take the credit for this find, because I have several friends that already have them, but at the same time, I can't not write about them, because they are so awesome and there are still a lot of people who don't know about this awesome invention.

Are you tired of writing on your bottles and sippy cups with sharpie?? Or tired of being worried about your child coming home with the wrong bottle or cup from daycare or the church nursery. Here is your solution:

Aren't they so cute! And his whole name fit on it. These are dishwasher and sterilizer safe. They can be left on the bottle while they are in the sterilizer! They also fit most bottles, sippy cups and even water bottles!

They come in all different colors and you choose how you want them personalized. Check them out here. And don't forget to search for a coupon code if you decide to order some - I found several for 10% off. These are going to be just perfect for when James Bradford starts Mother's Day Out in January and will be great for the church nursery!

Happy Fabulous Friday!! Hope you have a great weekend!!

Fabulous Friday Finds - Toy Chest

I know, I know . . . Once again I have been a slacker in the world of blogging! And several of you have made me aware of it! (Man, Yall have high expectations of my blog updates!)

It's another Fabulous Friday! And I am so thankful - all day yesterday I thought it felt like Friday, wish it had been. I'm ready for a fun weekend - it is my 10 year High School Reunion. I have been waiting 10 years for it and am so excited! More to come on that next week!

Today's Fabulous Find is James Bradford's toy chest.

Several months ago I was doing shift work for Junior League's Bargain Carousel. I was helping Emily out in the book department - getting ready for the big sale. She didn't crack the whip on me to bad, so I decided I would take a look around and see if there was anything I couldn't live without and needed to purchase at the upcoming preview party. As I wandered through all the departments, I finally stumbled into the heirloom department and came across the toy chest.

It was pink and had wooden raised flowers on it. (at that time we didn't know if we were expecting a boy or a girl) But it was a great size for storage and it had locking hinges - no way of slamming precious little fingers in it. And we knew we could paint it to fit our future nursery decor.

Of course though I couldn't purchase it then. I had to wait for the preview party that was coming up in a couple weeks. But of course my mom and I stood in line and were some of the first to get into the party and walked straight up to it and it was a done deal for me (after Cory arrived and I had his approval a few minutes later - wanted to make sure he liked it)

We stored it at my parents for several months and kept our accumulating baby stuff in it. Then when we started making progress working in the nursery - Cory began making improvements to the toy chest.

He popped the wooden flowers off and painted and painted and painted. - It took numerous coats of white to cover the "baby girl pink" it was. Another labor of love!

We decided it needed some personality. So we decided to look for a vinyl decal on Etsy. I found a great person to work with for vinyl stickers - if you are in the market, check out Lola Decor on Etsy. Jamie of Lola Decor is so helpful and wants to get everything just right. She and I emailed back and forth numerous times getting the color, font and size just to my liking. And then less then a week later the decal arrived at our house! And this is what the toy chest now looks like:

Happy Fabulous Friday!!

Fabulous Friday Finds - Pampers Diaper Deal

I am in diaper stockpiling mode. Trying to get the best deal out there on diapers now - so we aren't left running out and us having to pay full price for them.

My sister, Ellen, is helping me lots these days - with finding diaper deals and telling me what coupons to use and when. She is a pro - me not so much - I'm a diaper dealer in training.

Well this week, there is a pretty good diaper deal at CVS. Boxes of Pampers are marked down from $23.99 to $21.99. Then you get $10 Extra Care Bucks (ECBs - money to use in the future at CVS). Plus there is a $1.50 Pampers coupon from a past Sunday's paper and there is a CVS coupon where if you spend $30 you get $5 off. And if you have some ECBs to use (which I had $1) - its a pretty good deal.

Ultimately, I got a big box of 84 size 2 diapers for $9.49 - well actually a little less then that since I bought a couple more things and got $5 off.

If you have a CVS and are in need of some diapers - you should do this diaper deal - its good until Saturday.

Happy Fabulous Friday!

Fabulous Friday Finds - Certificate for One Painted Room

This is one of those blog posts when I am glad our blog is private. Because I would hate for our painter to know how much we really paid for all of his hard work in our nursery. (I will say this though, even though I purchased it at an auction and did not purchase it at retail value, he will still receive his full donation value amount in his tax deductions.)

Back up to several months ago. I was working a shift for an organization I am a part of. The kickoff fundraiser party was well underway and I was working the 8-11pm shift at the "auction" - although, this year it wasn't really an auction. They had priced their donated items at "grab and go" pricing. Meaning you pay what they ask for. Well about 10pm there were still a lot of items left and markdowns were beginning to be made and people began bargaining. I had my eye on some things. Specifically this red crystal necklace from a local jewelry store - at the beginning of the night priced at $150 - at about 10:15 / 10:30pm sold for only $30. If only I hadn't been working a shift and had my bargaining game face on - it could of been mine! Ugh, oh well!

As the clock slowly ticked closer to 11pm (close of the party and auction) the crowd was fastly clearing out. At about 10:30 they said make any offers on anything left. Basically at this point most of the people in attendance were only the shift workers. Then at 10:45 there was a big announcement: ANYTHING LEFT THEY WOULD SELL FOR $10! I grabbed the 2 closest items. One: Five 1 hour personal training sessions (can't wait to use this after James Bradford's arrival) Two: 1 Painted Room by _____ Decorating - including all labor and materials.

Yes, you read correctly - $10 for someone to come and paint a room, plus the cost of materials! We couldn't buy the trim paint for $10 (they were originally asking several hundred dollars for this item- remember this was a fundraiser and this item had been donated). I couldn't get over that I would only be paying $10! I of course immediately thought it would be perfect for the nursery.

By far that was the best $10 I had spent in a long time!

Here is a sneak peak of our painter's work. Almost finished! He came back this morning to finish up -just needs to paint the trim and the doors and it will be finished. Oh - and under that drop cloth is our new nursery chair! - Where I plan on (and can't wait) to spend hours and hours with James Bradford.


Happy Fabulous Friday! Hope you have a great weekend!!

Fabulous Friday Finds - Vintage Dress

Wednesday is called "Wacky Wednesday" at one of the local thrift stores. The meaning of "Wacky Wednesday" is that all clothes are 50% off. Like anyother thrift store, it's always hit or miss on what you will find, but I like to go in and look at the children's clothing. A friend of mine and I used to go in and look for smocked and boutique clothing and then sell it on ebay. That's how I got my start in looking for clothes for my future children. Anyways, this past Wednesday I had some time to waste before going to my sewing class, so I decided to venture in - after all it was"Wacky Wednesday!" I browsed the children's clothing to see if there was anything cute for James Bradford, but nothing caught my eye. I still had more time to waste so I continued to browse the store - never knowing what kind of "fabulous find" I might find.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted this:

I thought it was so cute. And for $2.49, I couldn't pass it up. I thought to myself, even if it didn't fit - I could use the fabric for something. It's a little short right now with my pregnant belly, so I paired it with a pair of fitted jean capris and high heels and I was ready to go. I also added a ribbon as a belt, so it wouldn't look like a moo moo. I received numerous compliments on it. Little did people know that it was almost a steal!! Once I get back to pre-pregnancy weight though, I think it will make an great dress.

Happy Fabulous Friday! Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!

Fabulous Friday Finds - Bumbo Seat

After you read this post, some of you may think I am crazy and most of yall will think I'm cheap and loony! But Fabulous Friday Finds are all about a good deal right?! - Even if it means dumpster diving or digging through someone else's trash -right?!

That's exactly how I got my Bumbo seat! Last fall, Sabrina and I were out on our morning walk (when James Bradford was just a dream of ours) It was early and that time in my life - I was in an exercise prime of walking 4.5 miles every morning. On our route we would go past lots of houses. This particular morning it was recycling day. I was walking by one house, and something caught my eye that was sticking out of their recycling bin. I walked right up to it, and it looked like a Blue Bumbo seat - sure enough it was. I looked around to see if any one was watching - pulled it out of the bin and examined it. Perfect condition - just a little dirt on it. WHAT?! I couldn't imagine why someone would throw this out. Well, they had it in their recycle bin, so that's exactly what I was going to do - Recylce it!

I walked that last mile home as quick as I could - just knowing that the people driving down Overton Road were probably wondering why I was carrying this odd shaped piece of plastic! Finally home. I got out some cleaner and washed it down. Good as new!!

Who would of known that the dream of James Bradford would come true several months later and that the Blue Bumbo was going to be perfect for him?!

Happy Fabulous Friday!! Have a great weekend!

Oh - update on yesterday - just in case you were wondering. Dr. Stradtman told me yesterday, if I didn't receive a phone call that afternoon, it meant that all my blood work was normal. No phone call. Yippee!!

Fabulous Friday Finds - Starbucks Ice Cream

I know, I know - this probably shouldn't be considered a fabulous find. But last night - it was a fabulous find! - Especially to the pregnant girl grocery shopping at 6:30pm who hadn't eaten dinner yet! And I know - I didn't need to buy this at all (esp. with my glucose test coming up next week!) But it was calling my name and I couldn't pass it up.

I love Starbucks and I haven't given into any type of coffee drink since I have been pregnant. And to yours and mine amazement - I have only visited a Starbucks one time since January, and it was last week and I got fruit smoothie.

This I just had to give in on! First of all - at Publix this week, they are Buy One Get One Free. And I had a $1 off coupon from the paper or you can get one here. Leaving the final price of the pint of ice cream at $.96! Thats a bargain!! Plus I was craving something sweet and the Caramel Macchiato flavor sounded delicious! So hurry to your local Publix to try this ice cream - its amazing!

Happy Fabulous Friday!!

Fabulous Friday Finds - Iron Crib

I always knew I wanted an iron crib whenever the time would come for us to have a child. When we found out we were expecting in January - I immediately started checking Craigslist daily to see if someone would be listing a used iron crib because I knew they would be much more pricey then I wanted to spend. Days and Days and Weeks and Weeks went by with no luck of finding an Iron Crib. So we went to a baby furniture store and looked around and - Yeah, we were right they were expensive! We didn't order anything, we decided to wait, but had picked one out that we liked.

About a week or so later, I was doing my daily looking and searching on Craigslist and there it was "Bratt Decor Venetian Iron Crib" at half the price of a brand new one. And it had only been used for one baby! (almost new!) I immediately picked up the phone and called Cory and told him to contact the lady. And he did. SOLD! - Sight unseen - exactly what I wanted!

This lady had never listed anything on craigslist before - so she thought we were crazy when we asked to pick it up that night! And she responded that her child needed a few more weeks before he moved to his big boy bed. (What?! - Why would you list it, if your not ready to get rid of it?!) So we had to wait several weeks before picking it up. But we were so excited when we finally had it in our hands.

Right now its being stored at my parents house - along with a lot of other stuff of James Bradford's! With our house on the market, it was just to much to go ahead and move all that stuff to our place. But it was a fabulous find. At less then half the price of a brand new - we were so thrilled with our purchase.

Soon, very soon though - whether we are still in the townhouse or we have moved out - we will have it all set up and ready for James Bradfords arrival in just a few short months!

Happy Fabulous Friday!!

(FYI - obviously, this is a stock photo, Ill be posting pictures of our nursery when we have it all set up)

Fabulous Friday Finds - Vintage Alabama Seat Cushions

So some of y'all may not think think this is a fabulous find - especially all you Auburn fans. But to us (esp. Cory) we just couldn't live without making this purchase. Several weekends ago, we found this Fabulous Friday Find at the Children's Harbor Thrift Store on Lake Martin.

2 Vintage Alabama Seat Cushions. Ok to be honest - we will most likely never carry these to a game - it would be just one more thing to carry, keep up with and carry! They are just added to the rest of our "Alabama Stuff" - but we thought they were a great addition to our collection, especially for only a buck! Happy Fabulous Friday!! Hope y'all all have a great weekend!!

Fabulous Friday Finds - Smocked Swim Trunks

I love reading people's blogs. And I look forward to reading people's blogs when they have a special day - such as Flashback Friday or Weight Watchers Wednesday. Its something I look forward to and know there will be a post that day of interest to me. So I decided to start my own and call it Fabulous Friday Finds. I have been trying to come up with something since I started the blog, and this just all the sudden popped in my mind.

So what is considered a Fabulous Friday Find? To me, a Fabulous Friday Find - will be something that I purchased or found that was on sale, a bargain or free and that I personally think is Fabulous!

So here we go! I hope I can keep up and find something fabulous to post about each Friday!

Fabulous Friday Find of the day: Smocked Swim Trunks for James Bradford.


Several months ago, I was reading a blog and there were pictures of the blogger's daughter in an adorable smocked swimsuit. I told one of my friends, who is close friends with that particular blogger, "If I have a girl, I have to know where she got that smocked swimsuit" - I was in love with it.

Yesterday I went to the long awaited Lili Pad children's clothing store sale in Cahaba Heights. Just about everything in the store was 50% off - have to make room for the fall arrivals! I was so excited about getting some adorable things for James Bradford. The store was opening at 8:30am - so I told work I would be in late. (got my priorities straight!) and arrived right when they opened. The store was packed and people were everywhere.

I found several great things that I'm excited about, but the smocked swim trunks was by far my favorite - when I saw them, I just had to have them. I didn't know that they made boys smocked swimwear. So now on this nasty day in Birmingham - I'm dreaming of being at Lake Martin and in SanDestin next summer with my little family and envisioning James Bradford crawling around in the white sand, getting lots of kisses from Sabrina and splashing around in these darling swim trunks.

Happy Fabulous Friday!! Hope y'all have a great weekend!