Summer Birthday Gifts

 Last weekend we had several birthday parties to attend so I thought it would be fun to put together  unique gifts for Ava's friends. Who doesn't love summer and everything that goes along with it?! I do, so off I went to pick up summery items. 

Beach towels, beach balls, bubbles, water bottles, and chalk were all stuffed inside sand buckets and wrapped up in clear cellophane bags. The girlies got summery note pads, pens, and stickers. 

I created personalized notes on my favorite site Pic Monkey, and attached them with ribbon. 

Hopefully Ava's little friends enjoy their goodies this summer! I sure had fun putting them together. 

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IKEA+Gold Spray Paint =

Fabulousness!

Have you seen this? So brilliant in all it's gold glory! Mad hacking skills at its best!

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To think it started as this:

And now:

I'm in love once again with IKEA, and Rustoleum gold spray paint!

Don't forget to enter the My Memories giveaway here. The winner will be announced Wednesday, July 4th!

3 Gold Things...

Here are 3 things worth owning:

A Pretty Catch All Tray

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A Versatile Bracelet

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A Chunky Watch

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Don't forget to enter the My Memories giveaway here. The winner will be announced Wednesday, July 4th!

It's Giveaway Time

With Ava's 2nd birthday extravaganza coming up this weekend I needed some personalized tags for her party favors. I knew My Memories Software was just the key to making something cute and quickly! I spent less than 10 minutes creating these:

This is a shot of the program. It was easy to add a shape, then choose my own font, colors, and embellishments.

This program is awesome for making digital albums and much more! Not only is it much easier than some programs out there, but there are endless options! I see myself using this quite often.
What's even better is that you too can have the opportunity to try My Memories and create away because they are giving away one free copy to my fabulous followers!


Here's the skinny on what you have to do to enter to win:

 You must be a follower of A Lived in Home. So, follow me if you don't already, then leave a comment telling me you did so. If you already follow me, then that of course counts too. Plus, visit My Memories, browse around, choose a favorite digital paper pack or layout (good luck choosing just one!) and come back here and comment on which one was your fave!

For a bonus entry: Follow A Lived in Home on Facebook  or Twitter and let me know you did in a SEPARATE comment.

 Another bonus entry: Follow My Memories on Facebook or Twitter and let me know you did in a SEPARATE comment.

Another bonus entry: Facebook or Tweet about the giveaway and let us know you did in a SEPARATE comment!

That's 4 ways to enter to win this great scrapbook software!

The giveaway will be open until midnight on Tuesday, July 2nd!

AND...because My Memories wants to give everyone a chance to try their amazeballs product, they are

providing a special code just for our friends here at A Lived in Home!

With the code:

STMMMS31274

You will receive $10 off your My Memories Suite Software. That's such a great deal!www.MyMemories.com

Good Luck!!

Our Weekend in Instagram

This was our last week of fresh produce delivery which I'm kind of sad about! We've been spoiled by having all these fresh items brought to us straight from the farm. Now, I'll be hitting up the farmers market on Saturday mornings to get my cucumber and tomato fix. I've seriously been eating that every day with a bit of Balsamic dressing. Delicious!

Friday night the hubs and I had date night. We hit up Kenichi before the Coldplay concert. We go every time they are in town and it seems like each time is better than the last if that's possible. This year they handed out these cool bracelets that lit up different colors at the same time. It was a sight to see as we jammed out like high schoolers!

2 birthday parties on Saturday. Ava wore her party dress.

One of the parties was at the Science Musuem. The kiddos loved all the animals!

Ava hung out at Grammy's house. We braved the 100 degree temps and went swimming yesterday. Funny thing is that there is bird poop all over the bench she's sitting on so right before I snapped this pic she said, "Mama, I sit on poop!"  Funny, but gross!

Splash time in the new itsy bitsy bikini. Her bottoms kept falling down too.

More splash time!

It was a great weekend!! Hope yours was equally as enjoyable!



Birthday Planning

Some little smarty pants has a birthday coming up. Yep, bring on the terrible two's! I feel like she should wear a shirt with a number 2 on it to explain her poor behavior when we are out in public. She sure is cute though when she's screaming "No, Mama" and putting her hand out for me to stop. I guess it too shall pass!

Here's what's in the works for Extravaganza numero dos:

I ordered her super cute invites from Tiny Prints to coordinate with this years Sweet Shoppe theme.

Of course there will be lots and lots of candy!

And punch with cute straws!

I gave my friend Melissa this pic. She is the most amazing cake artist! I can't wait to see how it turns out.

As if cake isn't enough, I'm making cupcakes with this homeade icing recipe. It's so delicious!

Since her party is only a week away I better get crakin' cutting out labels, painting mini art easels, finishing her banner, making food lables, etc, etc, etc! You get the point!

After all the prep and planning this will be me enjoying the party!

Outdoor Living

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Our outdoor living area has been in the works forever!! I'm so over waiting and ready for it to be started and finished!! I'm eyeing the above items for the new space including the polynesian fruit pillows which I already have on the porch. The navy ikat pillow will be a nice contrast!

Nursery Teaser

So, of course I can't just show you this whole nursery quite yet. There are a few tiny details to finish, then I will photograph it and you can see the whole shebang! But, for today you get some teaser shots. I'll say this little baby girl is quite lucky to have an adorable room, and 2 big brothers of course!

A Summer Soire

Summer is the perfect time for a relaxing dinner party! Here are the refreshing things I would serve.

Table Setting Via/  Blackberry Sage Cooler/ Pasta Salad/ Summer Corn Cakes/ Spinach and Black Bean Salad/ Quacamole Brushetta/ Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Cream Frosting

Summer Totes

With summer here and frequent pool visits, I have so many things to lug around. It seems there is never a shortage of cute totes to choose from. I love to throw my sunblock, hat, towel, and a good book in and go.

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 Last weekend I was at J Crew outlet and picked up the coral and white striped tote for half off! I'd been eyeing it at retail for a while, so I'm thrilled with my bargain to say the least.

So, are you a bag lady like I am? It's one of my many obsessions! 

Guest Bedrooms

When we move the guest room over to the current nursery, then my opportunity will be here to change things up and make it a proper space for guests. I want the space to be soothing and elegant just like this space designed by Caitlin Creer that we have all fallen in love with I'm sure.

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I love the mix of grays, greens, and blues she used amongst the different patterns. The Surya rug is one of my favorites too! Our room is painted a soft green which will make our cream drapes really stand out.

Here are some other spaces that have caught my eye as well.

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Who doesn't love chevron mixed with Vintage Plumes?

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Mostly white with pops of color is refreshing.

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Simple and elegant

My New Goodies

Last week I was reading another blog based in New York and saw that she scored these cream sandals. I was a bit jealous because DV shoes are some of my favorites next to Tory Burch of course. Then, much to my surprise I was browsing through the shoes at TJ Maxx and spotted both of these pairs.  Man did I swoop them up quickly. And, I didn't see a single other pair in any size because I looked for my mom some. Guess it was just meant to be!

These J. Crew necklaces my friend scored for $14.50 each!! If you read Isabella and Max, then you might have seen that her daughter found them on eBay. Since I'm lame and don't have an eBay account, my friend was sweet enough to add these to her order for me. Definitely money well spent since they retail for $150!! Crazy, right?!

Do you shop eBay? Have you scored any amazing deals lately?

On My Radar

vase/ letters/ Striped Trays/ Balloon Art/ Pillow/ Fabric

Random items I know! There is actually a rime and reason though for each thing. The vase I'm envisioning in the guest bedroom when it gets a redo along with possibly the Robert Allen pillow and Premier fabric as a detail on the drapes.

The balloon art is adorable and would look great in the new big girl room design along with the pink tray. I'll take the navy tray if I can ever find it for my baubles. If you are an IKEA shopper and you come across these trays I will totally pay you to pick them up for me. Our IKEA is under renovation and has been out of them forever!! So annoying! So, next time you hit up IKEA think of me!