Instagram Love

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Sorry folks, I am out of town and was sick before leaving so posts will be slow this week and next!

Here are some favs from my week on Instagram!  I love how Instagram makes any person an instant photographer- and I need all the help I can get!

Too cool for school

Tulips on our daily walk

Scallops with a strawberry salsa

Baby proofing- all this was on floor in a bowl, now added to a vase, so no chewing can be had!

I think in May, I will take on the challenge of a Photo A day!  Anyone else do the challenge?  Do you enjoy it?

Follow abubblylife on Instagram

Tangerine Tango- Etsy Finds Inspiration Board!

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Tangerine Tango is the PANTONE color of 2012.  I do not rock wearing orange much, so instead of my usual fashion board decided to fill an inspiration board with Etsy household finds!

I love featuring Etsy products in all my boards to give attention to small businesses and handmade sellers, and Etsy is SUCH a large marketplace, it is fun when someone else does the hunting for you!

1) Tangerine salt & pepper bowls Love, love, love...

2) Heart Pincushion  Just too cute not to include in the inspiration board even if I do not sew...

3) Tangerine & White Nesting Bowls Set of 4 porcelain handmade bowls. Etsy has so many great pieces of pottery that are not your typical mass produced finds in a kitchenware store.  (see Number 1 as well!)

4) Coco & Bubbles Sparkling Mandarin &Tangerine Candle - 100% pure soy, hand poured, eco friendly candle.  The look of a boutique candle without the boutique price.

5) Handmade Tangerine & Aqua Hippo Journal  Yes, I have a notebook addiction.  My husband finds it a bit ridiculous, but I cannot resist cute notebooks.  I need them around to jot recipe ideas, meal plans, blog posts, To do lists-  you name it, I write it down! So, you can find them scattered throughout our house & car.  This design is so cute and colorful- I am sure it would inspire some great blog posts!

6) Tangerine Owl Planter Just when I think I am tired of the owl trend, I see something this cute and think it would be a great pop of color in our home...

7) Tangerine Book Collection- I sort my books by color, this cutesy collection would be a great staging or photo prop!

8) Dining Accent Chair- I have dining chairs on the brain, been searching for a set I like. Why not a pop of tangerine for your dining room?


Have you found any great Etsy stuff lately?  Let me know in the comments! I love finding new Etsy items!

5 Minute DIY- Color Code Your Keys

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A Bubbly Life is on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, would LOVE for you to join me there!  

On Leap Day, I announced A Bubbly Life's Pinterest Project- One Pin At A Time

I chose one I desperately needed- coding my keys so I can identify them!  I do not know if this will prevent the discussion-  Where are My Freaking Keys?! between my husband & I, but the keys are now looking prettier!

My Pinspiration was a post from the lovely blog Happiness is...To Each Their Own. who did a glitter key- But I did not have glitter or glue and did not want to buy any, so I decided to use my new Spring colors set of nail polish I had!

I did two coats on each side. The only task that took up time was waiting for one side to dry before painting the other side.

I had to include one of the outtakes- my little helper kept grabbing my props & knocking them over, thank you for your patience cutie!

Kalia wanted to play & eat the keys (which, she of course, was not allowed to do)

I look forward to working on more Pinterest Projects,  join A Bubbly Life on Pinterest for more inspiration!  And if you like this DIY, please pin it, I love getting pins!  

More easy DIYS!
Glam Mousepad in 5 Minutes
Paper Bag Flower Vase
No Sew Ruffle Tablecloth

Glitter Vase

Where are My Freaking Keys!?

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A common argument (or, as I like to call them- a loud discussion) in our household begins with- "Where are my freaking keys?"

The question is usually aimed towards me.  The other day my husband got more than his usual average "annoyed-ness" at me regarding it, thus it led to a discussion that went along the lines of:

Nick: Why don't you put your freaking keys in the bowl by the door?

Me:  When I walk in the house,  I have Kalia, 3 or 4 bags and tons of other crap in my hands and teeth- (doesnt he read my blog?)  I just drop everything when I walk in!  (I may or may not have used my outside voice to say this)

Nick: Well, maybe if you put them in the bowl, we wouldn't have this discussion nearly everyday.

Me:  Aww, thank you honey, I am not sure what I would do without you- the KEY bowl, that IS a helpful tip.  (I may or may not have said this with complete sarcasm)  

I proceed to ignore him, muttering something about getting organization tips from the man who strips when he walks in the door leaving a trail of his clothes from the garage door to wherever he ends up in the house.  He, unfortunately, overhears-

Nick- I leave a trail in case you need to find me! If you left a trail for your keys, you would never lose them. (he, too, is well versed at sarcasm)

I find my keys, leave and decide not to tell him that instead of the bowl, I have a really GREAT spot to put my keys (that may or may not include his ass)

Two Days Later-

I, am again, looking for my keys. However, Nick had just driven my car to take Kalia to pick out her Easter Bunny and grabbed my keys.

By the way, she chose this guy:

Image via my Instagram

It is not a bunny, it is holding a candy cane and I think those eyes are peering into my soul *shudder*

Anyhoo, new discussion begins:

Me: Nick, where are my keys?  They are not in the precious key holding bowl. (sarcasm is a dear friend in our house)

Nick: Did you see me when I walked in?? (outside voice) All the bags I was carrying and Kalia...

He trailed off and got quieter til he was silent, because I was staring at him with a huge grin...

You know what doesn't suck?  Being the other half in the argument who is RIGHT! 

Since I am not one to say I am right, I just kept smiling, found my keys, left on my errands and dedicate an entire blog post to my rightness.

Love you honey!

Awesome photo via someecards

Linked to Yeah Write! The most fun, interactive writing party on the net!

Hot In Pink

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Pink- I am definitely girly girl when it comes to pink clothing and accessories!  

Follow my Ooh La La Board on Pinterest for all my fashion inspiration finds!

1) Hot Pink Earrings Etsy Seller Ostara
2) CC Skye Bracelet
3) Belle Poster Etsy Fifi du Vie
4) Handcut Acrylic Ring Etsy

5) Aviator Sunglasses
6) Pink Romper
7) Rebecca Minkoff Clutch
8) Flat Sandals Alexander McQueen

Linked to Fashion Friday over at Lady and the Blog!

I Speak With A Bad French Accent & Other Things I Have Learned Since Becoming A Mom

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An ongoing feature on the blog will be lessons I have learned about myself since becoming a mother.  I hope you enjoy the first batch!

1)  If my baby is napping and-  
A UPS guy bangs on my door,  a dog barks (usually mine),  telephone rings, or any miscellaneous outside noise occurs-- I react with an all consuming, intense anger I did not know I was capable of having.
Picture The Hulk- but 5 foot 4, not green and I keep my shirt on.

I totally would rock purple pants though

2) From angry Hulk to a puddly wuss of emotions-
Since giving birth, I cry. Easily.  I am hoping it is hormones since I am still nursing, but other Moms tell me it is here for the long haul.  Not that I was a pillar of strength before- I cried when watching a sad movie, anytime the Sarah Mclachlan ASPCA commercial came on tv (Please STOP playing that commercial)  and other reasonable scenarios where crying was appropriate.
 
Fast forward to birth of my daughter...
- Songs on the radio- Pink's song Perfect- one look at Kalia and I cried my eyes out.
- Kalia farts and then laughs- I cry (and giggle a bit).

An Infantry Army wife for 8 years with stories that would and should make others cry, now I cry because of a baby fart.  Oh, how my past Army wife self would slap me.

3) Worry- I am not that much of a worrier- I normally worry when there is something to actually be worried about and try not to make up crazy scenarios in my head.

Then I became a Mom.  I still am fairly relaxed for a first time mother (so I am told- probably by kind, lying friends) but I worry much more than I ever did.  And worry begets worry.

Example- My daughter refused to eat new foods- purrees, chunks, veggies, fruits, etc!!
I envisioned myself nursing a teenager.  Then, after a 3 month effort, she- without reason, started eating carrots without spitting them back up.  Awesome! Yeay! Celebration!

The celebratory feelings lasted a short time-  Now it has been a few weeks and carrots are the only thing she will eat!  Mental image of nursing a teenager is now replaced with image of an Oompa Loompa orange baby girl. Sweet.

Seriously! Scary orange baby!

4) Two hands are not enough, but my teeth make a great third.  Don't tell my dentist (who I no longer have the time to see anyways) but I carry stuff with my teeth all the time now! Baby, purse, keys, cell phone, sunglasses, reusable totes, baby toy, dry cleaning have all been at one time or another carried to the car by my mouth.  Well, all except the baby of course, although that would be extremely helpful if it was at all possible.

5) I occasionally speak with a BAD French accent and think it is hilariously funny... This is more along my blog post on Secret Mom Behaviors- Embarrassing Things We do Only Around our Kids.  However, I forgot all about this quirky behavior (cuz there are SO many) and would like to include it here.

Every time I feed Kalia her solids (3 times a day) I say all snort, huff french-haughty-like while putting on her bib- "Mademoiselle, are you ready to enjoy your (freaking) carrots"   I swear, if Kalia could roll her eyes- she would.

The look I am going for when feeding her

What have you learned?

Yeah write!
Finding The Funny- Motherhood is hilarious, read more funnies!

Linked to Mommy Brain Mixer Hop!

Vintage Trunk Before & After- Kalia's Nursery

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Kalia's vintage nursery is the first house decor project I put all my effort into and I love the way it turned out!

One of the last additions to her room and probably the easiest project I worked on was painting a vintage trunk to use as additional storage in her room.  The hard part was finding a vintage trunk I liked!

Some points I was a stickler on-
1) Smell- all vintage, antique items will have some sort of odor to them, but I did not want one that was smokey, or so overpowingly "old" (for lack of a better word) smelling that I would be unable to get the smell out.

2) Inside intact- this was a bit difficult to find, I preferred having the inside material intact, I did not want to figure out how to fix it!

The trunk makes a great roomy storage piece and since it is not "babyish" can grow with her or it can be moved easily into other parts of our home.  We currently store blankets in it  (why smell was important!) but can use it for toys and more as her toy collection grows!

I aired the trunk open outside for a bit to get rid of the musty scent then thoroughly cleaned it. Painting was easy (no sanding!), I used a small roller brush to prevent brush marks and some tiny foam brushes to get around the locks.

I felt bad getting rid of the history!

Classic Pooh was a well behaved model

Will share more of the nursery projects on the blog soon!

I linked up the Thrifty Before & After Party & Mommy by Day Crafty by Night
Hubby Made Me