Lush Decor - You want some, you really want some now.

I love decorating.

I have been known to track down items by calling around to stores in other states.

I stalked a boutique up North for a painting I wanted.

I hounded my hubby to paint the walls of our living room and dining room the exact color of blue-grey I wanted and searched for months to find just the right red curtains for my living and dining room. Both inspired by the sofas I already owned and a pillow cover I bought years ago and kept in the plastic in my basement until I got the other pieces of the puzzle into place.

I love my home to be cozy and comfortable.  Just like you do.

This is where LUSH DECOR comes into place.

If you see something you like right now at their website use the code LOVELUSH1 to get 10% off your purchase. This code will not expire - so go ahead and use it already.

If you want more? Well I have the giveaway for you - seriously this is the BEST giveaway I have had in the longest time people.

$200 to spend at LushDecor.com on whatever floats your boat.

Really this site has romantic items, shabby chic, americana, fun items for a kids room...

You could even refresh your bathroom with a dramatic ruffle shower curtain

Right? I mean fun and drama! And they come in different color combinations. 

Here is how you can win:

1) Visit Lush Decor on Facebook - Like or just check them out.

OR

2) Follow Lush on Pinterest (and their Pinterest boards are AWESOME!!!)

OR

3) Follow Lush on Twitter

4) Leave me a comment with your Facebook Profile Name, Pinterest Account Name, or Twitter handle and Voila!

If you want to tell me what you would get with your $200 in an additional comment I will slip you an extra entry!

You have until the end of the Super Bowl 2015 to enter, I will place numbers representing each comment into a bowl after the Super Bowl and let Boo Boo La La draw the winner at random.  

If you win you will receive a code for a one time use to spend the $200, no value will be held. Product will be shipped to you and you may use your Amazon.com account to checkout!  

Good Decorating!!!!

Enter to Win the GE Lighting Home Makeover Giveaway!

To celebrate the New Year, GE Lighting is offering a giveaway for a home lighting makeover experience!

Anyone remember the amazing results I got last year?

Old Bulbs Right - GE Reveal Left

I have been replacing bulbs all over my home with the GE Reveal and now you can too.

This great opportunity to switch out your old dingy lighting with beautiful lighting options from GE Lighting’s soft white, LED, or reveal® bulb line. I am bringing you the chance to enter to win one of these three great GE Lighting Home Makeover packages:

Beautify House Makeover Package - $200 worth of GE bulbs

Beautify Room Makeover Package - $100 worth of GE bulbs 

                                 Bathroom Makeover Package - $30 worth of GE bulbs 

GE Lighting is providing the product for this giveaway to help you learn about the different light bulbs available as the plethora of options can seem daunting at times. Choosing the right bulb for each room can be easy if you remember these FOUR steps:

1. Pick the right fit
2. Choose the right brightness
3. Select energy savings and lifetime of the bulb
4. Plus the right color and effect. 

GE has created three infographics along with some videos to help you along the way to a brighter home as you compare bulbs and consider the four steps. Please visit the GE website for more information.  

Contest is open to U.S. residents only.

Use Rafflecopter to Enter
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

And be sure to check out more ideas from GE Reveal!

My "not so little" Girl.

Okay children, story time from the big girl has begun...

I watch her at gymnastics, or at daycare, or in groups of children where they gather.

Really, is she that tall?

When did this happen that I could barely carry her because her legs hang down so far?

When did she get so big she can read summer camp descriptions and choose for herself?

Who is this girl who just turned nine?

NINE? How is it nine years since I held her all day long and fed her and changed her and could not bear to be without her?  I would leave for the store and feel my body was not whole if I left her home with daddy.

She is growing up.

She has opinions (I'll say), style, compassion, good friends, and the love of all around her.

And boundless creativity and energy and sometimes a mama can't keep up, but my dear Boo Boo La La - your mama will always give it her best shot.

Enjoy being nine, because your "not so little" but you don't need to be big yet.

Love,

Mommy

You have three days to be done with Christmas Shopping!

Quick, what have you forgotten?

Last night we realized we had forgotten to have our youngest go pick out a fun gift for her brother and sister - sigh.

Are you missing something?

Did you buy a child in your home some type of electronic device?

Do you need these for YOUR sanity? Let your child enjoy his or her favorite tunes with these ReTrak Animalz over-the-ear headphones, which feature 85dB volume-limiting safety control to help protect hearing.

If you live near a Best Buy you can order them online for in-store pickup.  No, Best Buy didn't tell me to tell you this, I just find it highly convenient.  :)

But Retrak did send me* and Boo Boo La La these cool bear headphones to try out.  In fact they were kind enough to outfit her school media center with THIRTY of these great headphones - watch that story here: KSTP - 45.

Boo Boo really got excited to open them up - and they had a cool eraser inside the box.

We are pretty happy with these new headphones - Boo Boo can hear her games or videos AND she can hear me if I call her from the other room.  Boo Boo loves that the cord retracts into the headphones - NO MORE TANGLED CORD!

Plus, how cute are they?

*I got these headphones for free to try out, but the opinions are purely mine and Boo Boo's. 

Happy Shopping and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We have it pretty good, don't we?

Yesterday morning I was pissed off.

I was pissed off and tearing up all day.

I was mad about a lot of things and was wishing things were better.

Then, I realized how lucky I had been yesterday and today this morning.

Something was wrong with my car. >-<

Something was wrong with my car, but I am lucky enough to have a husband who uses a work van - so each day there is an alternative vehicle I can take to get my daughter to daycare and myself to work.

How lucky am I?

I have a working washing machine to clean my daughter's gymnastics leotard so that she can go to the class we can afford to pay for....even if I forget to wash it until the morning of gymnastics.

How lucky am I?

My family is healthy and all have jobs and a warm home to live in.

How lucky are we?

I have a fantastic group of ladies and gentlemen who attend the meetings for our Parent Teacher Organization at my child's school.  Involvement goes up every year.

How lucky are all of us?

I have friends who take me out and laugh (at me and with me) Cookie exchanges, beers, wine, fun, random card games, tears.

How lucky am I?

I got flowers and cards in the mail at work today because some of the people I work with really appreciate what I do.

That sure is lucky.

I should think about this every day.  My problems are typically First World problems.

Woah is me.  Gloom, despair, agony.

My latte got cold. I got cut off in traffic. Someone forgot to EMAIL ME THAT CONTRACT!

None of it is really that important.

But you are important to me.  So in this season I say to you.

We have it pretty good, don't we?

Happy Holidays,

ML

Sentimental Journey

Some days you see things and you wonder... Where did that little girl go?

Today I saw video from Boo Boo's VERY FIRST SOCCER PRACTICE EVER!


 

Where did that little sweet girl go?

She is still sweet.

But, she is no longer little.

She Plays REAL Soccer!

And then this video popped up!

Apparently this kid has ALWAYS liked Freddie Mercury.



Funny how that works out.

We are creative!

My Mom and I went to a glass class a few weeks ago.  I thought we were creative and crafty.

Yeah.

Glass stuff is hard and uses scary torches.

That doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for creativity!  I love taking classes OR just letting Boo Boo La La play.

Like today.

She decorated and decorated with us all day. Christmas, we are ready!

Memories of November 6, 2008

Scene revisited: a bright morning in a small suburb of Minneapolis, mild weather for November 4, 2008, the crowd is lined up in a parking lot waiting for the doors to open - it is just before 7 am. 

Mommy is holding her purse, her child's water bottle, her diet coke, a blankie and the child is absently munching on apple slices from a small ziploc bag. As we zoom in on the small child's cherubic face she begins to speak:

Child: Mommy, why are we standing outside church?
Mommy: So Mommy can go vote.
Child: Boat? Can I boat? I like swim in the lake!

*appropriate giggles from the crowd*

End Scene

*photo courtesy of Faux Martha's July post of our camping trip.

Lost and Found

I like to go bare foot.

Footed?

One of my first jobs I loved involved standing on a beach.  

No shoes, no socks, no problem.

There comes a day in each year as the leaves begin to flame red, orange and purple, that it becomes inappropriate for me to wear my thong-type sandals to work so that I can kick them under the desk if I so desire. That day this year? Yesterday.

I woke up and the weather report on my favorite station showed a temperature that was not to my liking - I was going to wear comfy pants that were "skinny" style and knee-hi socks would be a comfort challenge. I knew I needed socks as I also wanted to wear my red clogs - despite the fact I love bare feet (feeted?) I hate to be chilly! Unfortunately for me - my sock drawer is mostly knee-hi's and footie socks used with my sneakers.

I opened the drawer not expecting much...I pulled out pair after pair after pair. Then...

There they were.  A pair in a color that worked, that would not show my ankles and would not go up past my lower calf.  But, huh?

I do not recognize these socks at all.

Did I buy them?

Not that I recall.

Did the sock fairy bring them?

No, that is stupid. There is no sock fairy. Right?

Wait a minute.

I lose about 6.873 socks per month to the laundry...

Maybe?

Are these yours?  And if they are, can I keep them?

Inspired #ALS #ICEBUCKET

I love my husband.