Thursday, November 15, 2012

A little dose of Christmas Past - Our First Home Christmas Decorations 2009


Hello Everyone!

To get the Christmas Decorating Spree started, I'm kickin' it off with an oldie but goodie.

This is a video I made back in 2009, before I got hooked on blogging, I think even before I got addicted to Facebook! This was taken in our very first home in Morton Grove, IL - watching this made me miss this home a lot... :-)



Hope you enjoyed this small tour! Take note, that I still use almost ALL of these decors in our home now, just goes to show again, that if you like something, you will always find a place for it - especially if it has something to do with Christmas!

Watch out for my upcoming Christmas Home decor Bonanza next week!

Have a Wonderful Weekend!!!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

When things are just not meant to be...

You know how it is when things just don't work out for you one after another? Sort of like the Bermuda Triangle instersecting? Well, I had such an experience recently, and with my decorating  issues no less!

CASE #1 WRONG RUG X 2



Remeber this pic? This is my Fall Living room.

I actually ordered a BLACK VERSION of this rug from RUGSUSA.COM. I was hoping this rug would work since it was beautiful, see..

WRONG RUG

But in the end, I had to return it because after all it was the wrong color and it really did not work-out for me. So, RUGSUSA then sent me a replacement, of course, without any charge. But again, THEY SENT ME THE WRONG RUG - Same white color!! This time, though returning was harder I had to take several pictures to prove to them I wasn't lying that they sent me the WRONG ONE AGAIN! And now, after a month already, I still have not recieved my refund!!!! AAAAAGGGHhh! (Disclosure - I have recieved my refund finallyy Yesterday November 7).


CASE #2 RETURN HEADACHE

Remeber, I was looking for a rug for our library?

Utility rug not working at all - all the dirt become attached to it
No amount of vacuming or sweeping can make it come off!


I was leaning more on getting the Dash and Albert rug in sprout color, but I had to see what the color looked like first since adding green to this space would either make or break this space all together. So I ordered the smallest size from RUGSTUDIO.COM



It arrived on time, But, the color was really not working for me and did not look like the one online.

More of AVOCADO color than lime green -not
great for our space

So, I had to return it. You know how long it took me to get a Return Authorization number? Almost 1 month!!!!! This is not for lack of trying, I called them almost weekly, a lot of excuses like manager not there, it was noted but we're still waiting. UUUGGGGHhh! But even with this picture I sent, they didn't even give me a free return shipping?! I paid $11++ to send this back to them. Only good thing was, I got my refund right away.

CASE #3 FAILED EXPEDITION

On our trip to Dallas recently, the ONLY place I wanted to go to was WISTERIA. I am a huge fan of this online store so I was really excited to finally see their brick and mortar store!

We arrived in Dallas Friday, tired from the drive (10 hours),   we chilled out and helped prepare my cousin for her wedding the following day. Saturday, we had the wedding, wonderful and fun. Come Sunday, I was so giddy, because after seeing some of the sites with our kids we would finally be heading off to WISTERIA!

And so....
Ta-Da! FINALLY!


So excited, I was taking pictures of the entrance already..

AAAAAAGGGGhhhhhhh! Finding out about my stupidity the hard way! LOL!

Stupid me!!!! I did not check if they were open on SUNDAYS!

I felt weak on my knees, knowing Monday, we had to go drive back home already early in the morning. I was so sad initially, but hey, there was no one to blame BUT ME! Good thing the day did not end so badly since we spent more time with family at "Amazing Jake's" for my son's birthday!

CASE #4 BROKEN TABLE = BROKEN HEART

Remeber how excited I was when ZARA HOME came out?

I fell in love with this..


Wooster Table
I ordered one right away. Got it on time, and then this....



It arrived broken... WAAAAHH!

It's still gorgeous see?



I was "heart-broken" because I was soo excited. Luckily, this was a happy ending for me.
 Return was a breeze and they sent me a replacement really FAST! Here it is now...

Light and airy side table



I guess we all go thru something like this once in a while. It was just one after another for me that got me blogging about it.

I still feel VERY LUCKY inspite of and despite of, since I AM LUCKY ENOUGH to be ABLE to order and buy things relatively Freely and easily.  How about you? Any mishaps with any online orders or shopping trips recently? I guess it happens to all of us, I just hope it doesn't happen too often!


Hope your week will be great!














Sunday, November 11, 2012

A Tween Halloween Birthday

Transitions are always difficult. Wether your moving from one place to another or going thru a new phase in life, it always brings it's own certain challenges.

Particularly, the transition from a child to teen, a.k.a. TWEEN YEARS.

Yes, I have to accept that, my 12 year old is in such a phase. And for a mom, I walk the fine line of treating everything about him, to be not too child-like and not too teen-like yet.

And so when he suddenly blurted out 3 weeks ago that he wanted to "hang-out" and have a "small party" for his friends and classmates, I had to treat the matter delicately just like him and his "transition".

Here is what I eventually came up with...

THE DECOR


Subtle Halloween Birthday

With just purple lights on



Party Crepes on the wall with wall stickers from TARGET

Party Place

Dance/Party/Hang-out area

Lighted balloons from WALMART

Guest table simple centerpiece
Spiders on the wall

Pre-party game
THE FOOD
Cupcakes instead of Birthday Cake






Edible jelly creatures
We also had pizza and whole bunch of fruits!

THE GAME PRIZES AND LOOT BAGS


Prizes appealing to tweens??!!

Goody Bags still welcome no matter the age

THE PARTY GOERS



It was a successful party overall since all the kids had a blast most especially my son. He thanked me at the end of the party while I was cleaning up, I knew then, I was able to give him the kind of party he wanted - fun, happy, and fit for a tween!

Have a Great Week!

P.S. All bragging aside, I did this in 1 day - I was in post-Madonna mode ( just saw her the night before and got home at 3 am - was like a walking zombie by nightfall)  and I guess it gave me the "groove" to just Do it! LOL!!!!