Fab Finds Friday: Tessa's Trunk

Welcome to another addition of Fab Finds Friday's! I know that it is Saturday, but I had a pretty crazy busy day yesterday and my iPad apparently doesn't like blogger and wouldn't let me complete this. So with that it will be posted today! 

Today I'm going to share with you an amazing boutique called Tessa's Trunk. If one boutique wasn't good enough, you're in luck, because the owner of Tessa's Trunk has two! Baby Bloomz Boutique is the second boutique and it is filled with adorable headbands that will compliment the amazing outfits from Tessa's Trunk. 

 

You can find Tessa's Trunk on Facebook and at www.tessastrunk.com, and Baby Bloomz Boutique on Facebook and etsy as well.

This is another boutique that we have worked with for quite some time and adore! The items are all extremely well made and so adorable! I bet you won't check out with just one item!

Some of our favorite items are the ruffled pants and shorts. They are sold in a variety of colors and well, we own about 10 pairs, they are that awesome! Belle loves wearing them with her Toms or boots, they are so versatile! What little girl doesn't want a little extra frill on her pants?!?

 

With Tessa's Trunk you will want to make sure to follow her Facebook page so that you can be updated when her new items come out. Some sizes can sell out quickly, and you don't want to miss these sweet dresses.

One of our favorite items from Baby Bloomz Boutique is the chiffon bow headbands. These come in a variety of colors, and look adorable with everything. 

 

 

Like I said, just adorable! If all of that wasn't enough already, Baby Bloomz also offers a variety of leg warmers and lace rompers. Excellent for milestone photo shoots, cake smashes, and those leg warmers look adorable at dance and gymnastics classes. We have received so many compliments when we wear ours!

 

Whats even better is that the owner of these amazing boutiques has very generously offered to do 20% off for Chronicles of a Momager followers! Seriously it doesn't get much better than that. So go check out her shops, and place a few orders, because what little girl doesn't need a sweet Halloween dress? It's also perfect for those trips to Disney to wear to the Haunted Mansion ride (a personal favorite!) Use code FFF20 at checkout at either shop to receive the discount!

This post is written by me and all opinions expressed are my own. This is not a sponsored post.

A new journey

The sun is up, the birds are singing...actually it is raining, a lot and I'm pretty sure most of the birds have flown south for the impending winter. But in my mind the sun is up and the birds are singing! Today is the day that Chris and I are embarking on a new journey. I am hoping to become a surrogate and today we fly out on a whirlwind trip to do some screening and meet our IP's.

Say What?!? I have mentioned this to some, well quite a few, I'm just a little excited about this. But for those who don't know, this post will fill you in on whats been happening behind the scenes for the last few months and what the coming months will hold for us!

Back in April I applied to an agency, Creative Family Connections. Due to our insurance not having a surrogacy clause we were unable to use it for this process. Because of this I had to wait until June to start the application process to be going in it when their insurance open enrollment started. I know it is nothing compared to the years that couples going through infertility deal with, but that was several long months for me.

June 1st rolled around and you can be sure I emailed right away that morning. With that, the application process got started with reference checks and medical file reviews. Easy breezy right, well then it means more waiting. I'm a very patient person, but I'm so over the moon excited to do this for someone that I feel like a 4 year old waiting for Christmas!

After a little more waiting and a few emails back and forth checking on where we were in the process, (okay maybe more than a few!) I got an amazing email saying that they had some potential IPs (intended parents) for us. I could hardly stand it, but had a busy morning and didn't get a chance to read their letter until the afternoon. After getting a chance to read the profile, our potential IPs sounded wonderful on paper, and sound like someone we would get along with great on this crazy ride.

So after letting CFC know we wanted to move forward, we got to set up a Skype meeting with them and our case manager. We were able to set it up later in the afternoon so that Chris was able to join the call as well. With a meeting in the afternoon, that also meant that all 3 kids would be home! Luckily Belle napped during our call and both boys were super excited to play iPads that we had an uninterrupted meeting. All went well and the next day we were setting up meetings with the fertility clinic in CT and our journey to the east coast was planned.

So here we are today. After a day of travel by plane and town car we are hanging out in our hotel room excited for what the next few days will bring! Make sure to check back and follow the blog to follow our journey!

Fab Finds Friday!

 Isabella has been modeling for boutiques pretty much since the day she came home from the hospital. There is no lack of photos of this 3rd child. Although the photos are all in a studio and not necessarily real life shots, but she's a 3rd child, so I'm not sure much more can be expected!

We have worked with some amazing ladies, that are super talented and create one of a kind items. We have so many that we have worked with on multiple occasions and have purchased items from as well. If you have been on Etsy lately, there are a million different shops. Most with extremely cool and unique items. But sifting through some of it can give you a headache! It can also be an amazing time sucker, but a favorite thing of mine to do! It can be hard to find these hidden gems, and then once found know if the quality is what you are expecting it to be, it can be daunting!

Insert my newest blog series Fab Finds Friday! Fridays I will be showcasing an amazing boutique, that offers some pretty fab finds! Up first for review is Once Upon A Time Creations. You can find them on facebook here, and Etsy here.

 

This was Belle's first booking with Christie and we have been hooked ever since! On a side note, where did my baby go!

 

We have been working with this boutique for over a year and the quality of her items never ceases to amaze me! She makes some adorable headbands and the variety is almost overwhelming. And if by chance you don't see what your looking for (which I highly doubt), she can custom create a piece for you that will match any outfit! Along with the headbands Once Upon A Time Creations also makes tutu dress. Perfect for costumes, picture days and dress up!

These are just a few of our favorites from this shop!

 

 

 

 Be sure to stop by her page and say hi, check out all she has to offer. Then when you find some adorable items you just can't live without, and you will, you can use coupon code Pretty for 15% off you purchase on Etsy.

LLK Pocket Romper Blog Tour

I am over the moon excited that I get to be on the Little Lizard King blog tour! I love LLK patterns and have sewn up lots in the past. They are always easy to follow instructions with pictures along the way. They have lots of adorable patterns to fill your little girls closet with (trust me, I know!) But what we are really here for today is the newest pattern, the Pocket Romper! You can purchase this pattern here, but don't forget to enter to win one at the bottom!

I was lucky enough to get to test the amazing pattern. Originally I made a Disney romper for my little Mickey obsessed girl. Who are we kidding, I might be a little Mickey obsessed too!  I loved how it turned out and Belle LOVED the pockets. She still adores pockets. She has two older brothers, but I am pretty sure that she will be the one coming home with rocks, worms and frogs in her pockets!

This pattern is a fairly quick sew to begin with , but if you skip the optional pockets it could be even faster! (Although those pockets with a ruffle are so darn adorable!!!)

Seriously, in only several months, by baby has grown up to be, well not a baby! We are also in the potty training stage of life with this one right now, so when I was thinking about how to make my romper for this post, I wondered if maybe I could modify it. The pattern comes with instructions on how to sew a snap bottom or a sewn shut. My first I did the snap bottom and it works so well for diaper changes. But now my little one is gaining her independence (some days a little too much) and I knew that it might work best if we could just pull up a dress vs. unsnapping something.

 

Now I will start off saying that I have NEVER modified a pattern, not even slightly! I am a very by the book person when it comes to sewing and cooking. That way I know it will turn out and I didn't waste time and money trying something new. But alas I wanted to try something new. Like I said before I love the pockets on this romper, but with potty training and moving into a size 4t, this pattern wasn't going to work for us much longer. But now problem solved! Which is also a testament to LLK and there amazing patterns!

 

I started out by cutting the bottom part of the main romper pattern off. Right where it starts to angle another way. So essentially from the hip to the crotch. I knew that I wanted to add length to it and from there I added two panels (in the end I wish I only added the ruffle panel and for my next one I will!) I sewed up the 3T version with an added 1" to give some room to my growing girl, so these dress measurements go with that, but it wouldn't be hard to adjust. 

The yellow panel is 4" x 36" (cut 1) and the pink is 6" x 37" (cut 2).

We also have issues with having to raise our arms up and put something on or off. Like serious issues. I'm pretty sure if someone would record us sometime we could win the $10,000 on America's Funniest Home Videos it's that bad! So I decided to also add buttons to the straps to make it an easier on and off. To do this I simply added an extra inch onto 1 end of the strap. Then I only sewed the straps into the back of the bodice and put button holes in the front. Next time I will also make the button holes go horizontal and not vertical for obvious reasons :)

 

 

And you know, everyone needs a little tushy grab in their lives!

It is clear to see that she adores her dress (or maybe it's the pink lemonade I bribed her with). Either way I love how it turned out and I can't wait to make another one with a few modifications. I already have the fabric picked out and this little princess is demanding I make it NOW. We chose some Marvel Avengers fabric and she can't wait!

Don't forget to enter to win this amazing pattern for free below!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Superhero Room

The boys share a room and have had a super hero decorated room for awhile, but this past weekend we completely redid it and switched up some rooms. The current guest room was bigger and had a much bigger closet (which I used to store photo props and misc. other items in), but with 2 boys sharing and their clothes seemingly getting bigger by the day, it was time to swap.

Their current room was blue, picked to match the color in their bedspreads. I had wanted to get some really nice Pottery Barn ones several years back, but my budget just didn't allow for 1 of those, let alone 2 complete sets. I knew the color scheme that I was going for and I ended up finding a bedspread set at Target that would be great. They only had one in store, but when I looked online, they turned out to be on clearance! Score!

We were keeping the bedding for their new room, but changing up the paint color and adding the coolest superhero surprise for them. The old room had tin superhero pictures (found at Hobby Lobby) on the walls as well as 2 lights that hung on the wall. One was Captain America's shield and the other was Thors hammer. I loved these, but Caps shield had been pulled on one to many times and just wasn't going to go back on the wall. I'm a little bummed by this as they are really cool (found those at Target), but the boys didn't seem to mind.

To start this project I first had to clean out everything that was in the guest room. With the kids gone I was able to pile it all in the studio or Belle's room, and let me tell you there was a lot!!!

 Like I said, A LOT! And that didn't include items from the closet. Some of those boxes are the same as they were 3 years ago when we moved. YIKES!!!

Once all the stuff was cleared out, I started taping and getting ready to paint! I really like painting! 

 I have been wanting to paint some things gray, so this was the perfect opportunity to do that. I knew I didn't want to go blue again (just because I wanted to change things up), but there really wasn't any other color that was grabbing me, so gray it was! I ended up choosing a color from Sherwin Williams called Online, but again, got it made into Behr paint from Home Depot. I liked that it had more of a blue undertone and that's what was going to work best with this room.

Once I started painting I knew I had chosen the perfect color for the room.

I had to let the paint dry, which surprisingly didn't take long. While I was waiting for that I started to move everything out of the new closet and then bring everything else in from the old closet. That was a chore! We decided to hang most of their clothes and combine the other stuff into one dresser. We also decided that dresser would go in the closet. There is a certain monkey that sleeps in the room that likes to climb on top of the dresser and then launch himself off! 

Once the walls were dry came the next step. Both Chris and I were looking forward to this. I had purchased a superhero wall mural months ago off Zulily. It is from a company called Room Mates. This is the one we purchased. It was cool all rolled up, but once we got it on the wall, it was AMAZING! It was time consuming to put up, but not terribly hard. I suggest having two people to put it up. You could do it by yourself, but it was far easier with 2. We ran into a few bumps along the way and have a few spot that have creases, but unless you know where they are, you can hardly tell. I highly recommend this product to add a huge statement to a room or just added fun! Chris loved it so much he thought he might sleep in the room that night to admire it. I was right there with him as Thor is on the wall! It looked great with the wall color and I was happy I went with the blue undertone here!

Lastly we were able to move all the furniture back in. There was far more room now, which is good for two growing boys. We hung up 3 of the tin superhero signs by the closet and plan to get some floating shelves and put one above each bed along with a tin sign and some other fun memorabilia to complete the look. 

I think the boys were quite pleased with the new room, and really what 6 and 4 year old boy wouldn't be!

Painting Our Front Door.

Last weekend, my parents were kind enough to take my kids for the weekend (all 3 of them!!) I deal with them daily so I know what a mind boggling event this can be! They brought them home Sunday, so I was still able to see them on Mothers Day. After all they are the reason that I get to celebrate this holiday (or in reality treat it like any other day). It was also our 7th wedding anniversary so we got to go out for supper Friday night without having to find a sitter and pay for a sitter.

But the really reason that we had a kid free weekend was to get a few things done around the house that we had wanted to for awhile, but find it near impossible when there are 3 small children "helping" you at ever turn.

I managed to accomplish 4 of my items on my To Do list, so I was quite pleased with this. The first task I started on right when we got up Saturday was to paint our front door. I have always wanted to paint our front door red. I think it would look nice and match a majority of the holiday wreaths that get hung on it through out the year.

This is the before. I probably should have also cleaned the finger and probably lip prints on the side window and washed off the outside where some birds thought that I might let them build a nest. My kids had fun with the hose that day!

In the end I changed my mind and I painted it blue. Commodore to be exact. I went into Sherwin Williams to get some paint swatches. I was also painting several things gray and I knew I wanted the Mindful Gray color that they had. I have grown to like the Behr paint from Home Depot though and so ended up going there and having them color match it. The price is right there and they offer a military discount, so I will happily give them my business.

 

My husband was around to help me get the door off the hinges, then we took the bolt out, but left the handle on as we weren't sure exactly how to get that off, with still being able to put it back on. In the end I wish we would have found a way, but all's well that ends well! Once the door was removed, I required some good coffee for my long day ahead, so Chris willingly ran to Starbucks for some fuel while I washed the door down. Surprisingly it wasn't that dirty! I also ran the magic eraser over the door heading to the garage, as my daughter decided to kiss it several times one day while eating a chocolate chip cookie. (Just smile and nod)

I then started on project #2 and the largest project of the weekend, while Chris sanded the door down a little and used a tack cloth to clean it up. I was a little worried after painting the first coat on it as you could still see the white (I didn't expect it would be completely gone with one coat, but you know) and the brush strokes. I was worried I had just made a huge mistake and that I would now be investing in a new front door so that we didn't have to have this Pinterest fail as the first thing that guests saw when coming over. 

 The best way I found to paint the door is outlined below. Start with the groves, and the follow the numbers. This helps to show less brush strokes if you follow the flow of the door.

Thankfully once the second coat was applied I was feeling far more confident in my decision to alter the door and was very pleased with my color choice. So was my husband, so then we got to have a lengthy discussion about how there was not going to be orange letters spelling out Chicago Bears or a giant Bear head in vinyl on the front door. (He's a bit of a die hard if you didn't already know)

After 2 coats of paint.

After 2 coats of paint.

 We ran a small tower heater on the door while it was drying in between coats. We only really had one mishap when the garage door was opened and the wind blew some dried grass in an right onto the bottom of the door. I thought I might cry when Chris came to tell me, but luckily we let it dry, then I took the tack cloth and was able to remove the grass without wrecking the paint. Crisis averted! 

Once the door was dry I removed the frog tape from the handle and unfortunately had a little bit of the paint peel up as well, so I had some minor touch up to do there, but nothing major.

The door was dry and we were able to put it back up by supper and it looks fantastic. The next day I added the hello. I simply cut the vinyl from my silhouette and stuck it on. Easy peasy. I really still want the hello to be yellow, but I will need to order yellow vinyl to make that happen so for now it is red and very patriotic!

The finished door.

I choose this image from the Silouette online store for the Hello and just removed the Sunshine.

Vinyl red hello.

I love the different look it gives the house, but I still have to get used to it. Every time I leave the house or come home I instantly think someone left the door open due to it being dark. I then remind myself that it is just the blue door. I think I may have had several small heart attacks.