Trouble Underfoot

We need a larger rug in our large living room.  Tiny knees and bums need a bigger area to tinker.  I want something a lot more simple that the one we currently have but something with a large-scale geometric design.  Last year I stumbled upon Jenna Sue’s blog, specifically this post about her new Rug from Rugs USA.  I had never heard of the company before but now longed for one of their amazing geometric rugs at their seemingly reasonable prices!   

This is the rug I really wanted:
 
But it was ‘out of stock’ for months and months and months.  (Except right at the moment…of course.)

So, this one made a great substitute, the Moroccan Trellis in tan:

Jenna used a Rugs USA Groupon to purchase her rug so starting last summer, I checked my Groupon email every single day like it was my job.  Finally, around Christmas, they came out with one for our area.  It took me 30 seconds flat to whip out our credit card and pay the $70 they were asking in return for a $170 credit.  That rug was going to be mine and it was going to be mine for cheap. 

So, more waiting ensued.  If you know me, you know I like sales.  I wasn’t just going to hop on over to Rugs USA and buy the rug immediately.  I was going to wait for one of their big sales – 60% off or more (Jenna got hers during a 35% off sale so I knew they had sales).  With all this waiting and watching, I realized that their rugs are almost always 50% off, meaning they always have some 50% off sale going on.  Finally, after waiting foreva and getting a little too close to our Groupon’s expiration date, Rugs USA had a 65% off sale so I went over and happily clicked and clicked and clicked until I had my cart as I wanted and was about to enter the Groupon when DUN, DUN, DUN…  Guess what?  You can’t use a Groupon AND get their sale!  I was mad.  Really mad and really annoyed (remember, I waited patiently for months and months).  They must’ve changed their policy since Jenna got hers.  Here’s their thing now:  You have to enter a coupon code from Rugs USA (spring65 for example) to get the 65% off and you can only use ONE code.  So my Groupon code + their sale code = no burrito.  Dumb.  In my opinion, if you’re an online store and you’re advertising this shirt is half off, you shouldn’t need to enter a code to get the half off.  You should either be advertising that it’s half off or “enter this code to get this shirt half off”.  Catch my drift?  Am I crazy?  Well, it doesn’t end there.

I knew from chucking that rug into my online shopping cart that fateful day I never ordered it that the original price was listed at $803 (8.5 x 11.5) making it $281.05 with 65% off.  After getting a promotional email from Rugs USA a few weeks after my conundrum, I went back and checked on the rug again and during a 50% off sale it had an original price listed at $669 ($334.50 with 50% off).  Hmmm…  I’ll admit I got a little excited because I thought “Wow, they lowered the price so maybe during another 65% off sale we could actually get it cheaper thinking $669 at 65% off is $234.15.  Not so fast.  THEN, a week later the fourth of July rolled around and I got another promo email saying they were having a 75% sale.  I danced over with excitement thinking I was going to get this rug for a steal when what did my eyes see but a $1123 original price on that baby ($280.75 with 75% off). 

In case I’m all over the place, here’s the price run-down:
-original price during 50% off sale = $669
-original price during 65% off sale = $803
-original price during 75% off sale = $1123
-original price during no sale = $400.98

Are they for shizzle???!!!  So basically they’re altering the price with every sale, raising or lowering depending on the percentage off, so that they get almost the same amount every time for the rug!  Is that a joke or what?  Maybe it’s some business scheme I’m not aware of (I asked my Bachelor’s in Business hubs and he said “I don’t think so.  That just seems a little ‘shieshy’”.

-With all of this said, I might mention that we did use the Groupon on a desk from Rugs USA.  It was listed at $182 so we paid $12 (plus the $70 for the Groupon) for it and it’s now in our guestroom.  I really like it but it’s the first and last thing I’ll be buying from that company.-

I know all of this is probably hum-drum and depressing and maybe you really don’t care but I just wanted to get it out there to inform those of you who are looking into a rug from Rugs USA.  Their rugs still are reasonably priced even with their shifty price changing but I just have a hard time supporting a company who’s a little lazy with their honesty.  Did you know that the same exact rugs are sold on Overstock.com.  Actually, during this whole commotion, we were actually accidentally shipped a couple of rugs from Rugs USA (I’ll spare you the details) which I sent back but the return address on them was from Overstock.  Weird…

Aaanyway, back to my house and our rug.  We’re still planning on upgrading and I’ve found the perfect way.  Lowe’s sells 8 x 10 carpet remnants for around $90 so my plan is to go scoop one of those up once I find one in a color I like and use this pinned rug…
 
(via)
for inspiration to paint some simple zig-zag lines on it.  I’m not sure how painting a large, semi-plush rug will take to vacuuming so that’s why I’m going to go with a super-simple design just in case.  Stay tuned.  :)

.           .           .

Anyone else realized this little “thing” Rugs USA has going on?  Am I crazy for thinking it’s madness or is it just common business practice?

Zoomba

And we’re back with the next installment of “How to Conquer the World Pregnant and Raising Twins “.  Miss the first installment?  Probably.  That’s because it doesn’t exist.  It’s all a lie and a ploy to get you back and reading.  It’s just not possible folks.  What is possible though is spending the week at the beach with family like we did all last week.  It was wonderful…besides the 40748 minutes it took to lather up the twins with sunscreen and bathing suits before every pool/beach outing and all the sand they consumed like it was candy.  Sadly, at the end of our little beach excursion, Daddy had to skip out and take a bus load of teenagers to a Steubenville conference, leaving this mom and her three under two a.l.o.n.e. for a whole five days.  Know how tough that is?  You don’t want to, trust me. 

But moving on to greener pastures, we’re back, Daddy’s back, the twins are asleep, and the laptop is cracked open.  It’s about time we get back to sharing our personal lives via zee blog.

There hasn’t been much action in the DIY department due to our recent absences but I do have a post all about rugs coming up this weekend and I’m praying for some motivation to start sewing or or painting  or something cause the line is getting long. 

Today though, let’s skip back a couple of weeks to that lovely day our eldests turned the big “ONE”.  They’re both mesmerized by animals so what a better way to foster that mesmerization and turn their excitement up a notch by taking them to the New Orleans Zoo.  The fab Party of Five came too!  Four adults, five kids (well, technically six)…who knew being outnumbered by little people was so much fun?  :)

[Four out of eight eyes where they’re supposed to be…]

[Who wants to look at seals when Mr. Stud Muffin is near?]

[Ooh, ooh, ah, ah!]

 
[Personal chauffeur.]

[I asked for a feather.  He (she?) declined.]

[OMGsh!!!!]

[Completely different reactions to the howler monkeys – completely unsure and fascinated beyond her wildest dreams.]

[We did manage one nap.]

[At the end of the day, we decided to take our animals home.]

It was lots and lots of good, sweaty, stinky fun and we can’t wait to go back!  Two and under are f-r-e-e so we’ll be milking that for the next two summers.  #cheapatheart

X, Y, Zipper

Zippers scare the he** out of this amatuer sewer (maybe seamstress would be less of a stink?) but I finally put the fear aside and whipped up (and when I say “whipped up” I mean turtled through because it took me a few hours more than I had over a couple of days) a couple of pillow covers for the pillows on our porch that were in dire need of clean ones.  Plus, I found this amazing outdoor fabric at JoAnn’s and had to have it so have it I do. (Stolen from our Instagram feed)

I’m not here to give a full tutorial however, after a little more pillow practice maybe I’ll type out all the teethy ‘tails but if you’re hankerin’ to make your own zippered covers, I recommend this tutorial.  It got me through and has really good visual aids and my resulting pillow covers are functional and not falling apart (yet).  There are a few spots where I could’ve used a little more explaining but, like I said, it got me through. 

(Our wicker is in obvious need of repair and our porch in obvious need of a sweep but let that glorious geometric take you to better thoughts.)

I’m a sucker for being able to change my mind on a whim so of course one side is one fabric and the other, the other.  They’re not the most coordinating when it comes to the relative science of fabric marriage but they’re both super-cool, geometric, and invisible when the other shines.  Today it’s the navy, yesterday was the yellow, tomorrow?  Well, let’s just hope this pattern doesn’t continue because the girls scream and cry when I walk out the front door and I really don’t want kids with PTSD so…

What’s your fave side?

Anyway, like I mentioned above, the fabric is from JoAnn’s.  I happened upon it during a 50% off outdoor fabric sale with an extra 10% coupon in my hand so when all was said and done I walked out the door with two half-yards of each for a total of 10 beans.  The zippers cost me $1.50 at Wal-Mart bringing my grand total to $13.  Just like I like it…small and virtually unnoticeable to the budget nazi, me.  I love that the covers can easily be removed, washed, and replaced.  My relationship with zippers is still “complicated” moving towards “like” but you know I’ll keep you updated on that one.  It’ll be better than the Bachelorette right now, I can tell you that much.



So, about pesky zippers.  What’s your relationship status?  Do you prefer them only pre-inserted and from stores, is your fear holding you back, or have you mastered them?  If you’re a zipper master, what’s your fave tutorial or are you one of those greats that just figured them out all by your lonesome?  Let me in on it and then go out and have a great weekend! 

.           .           .

P.S.  I’m still planning on pounding out a whole series on twins and how we’ve survived along with a few other things (beware or come read and have fun) – a day in the life, cloth diapering, you know, I’ve mentioned it before – so if you’re up for that sort of thing, stay tuned.  :)

It’s Not Just For Wrapping Meat

My household sister, Jerilyn, recently introduced me to the wonderful world of freezer paper .  In particular, the wonderful world of freezer paper stenciling.  Way back when, when we announced sprout numero three was on his/her way, I used this technique to get the numbers 1, 2, and 3 onto some onesies and a tee.

 

First, I traced the numbers by placing a piece of freezer paper over a Word document on which I had picked out a 1, 2, and 3 in a font I liked.  I trace really, really lightly so as not to damage our ancient computer’s screen (heaven forbid) and I also lay the screen back and flat so that I wasn’t tracing while holding the paper up.  Make sense?

Then I cut out each number and number sign with an exacto knife.  Remember that any pieces that are unattached/floating, like the inside of my number sign or the insides of a’s, e’s, o’s, etc, will need to be saved and set in place before ironing!!

Next up I whipped out the ironing board and it’s kin, laid the stencil over each article of clothing I was doing (a onesie in this case), and ironed it on by pressing on each area of paper for about 7 seconds or so.

Oh yeah, and I made sure to stick some wax paper in between the front and back of the onesie/tee so the paint didn’t seep through!

Once the paper cooled, I made sure it was completely stuck to the onesie and sponged some gold paint (Martha Stewart from Home Depot – the same paint I used on this mirror) onto the stencil.

I did all three numbers at once and ripped the stencils off right after I was done sponging the last one, while the paint was still wet.

The marvelous thing about freezer paper stenciling is that the options are ennndlesssssss…  For real yo.  And, the finished product is washable (assuming you use permanent paint).  So cool.  I’ll never use iron-on designs again.

Here are some outtakes of our little announcement photo shoot just for a giggle and to show-off those freezer paper wonders:
[What that “sexy” toss of the hair looks like mid-action.]


[Somebody forgot to tell C she was supposed to be involved in a staring contest.]

Turns out that pressing the self-timer button while holding a baby and then running to the scene of the pictorial in a maxi skirt in time to make a lasting shot isn’t my strong suit, Cecilia has two…nope, one facial expression (getta loada those cheeks!), and lighting DOES make a difference.

.           .           .

So, anyone else have some freezer paper stencils goin’ on?  If so, on what?  Clothes, curtains, bags, hats…the medium and design options are endless and that my friends, is awesome.  :)

P.S.  The twins are ONE!!!  We went on a birthday excursion to the zoo because they are absolutely enamored by animals and it was oh-so-fun!!!  I’ll get a post up all about it asap!

Multiple Personalities?

Self-contradictory?  Hypocritical?  Mood swings?  Liar?  Just plain crazy?  Apparently it’s any and all for me since today I felt AWESOME (sing it)!  But didn’t I just get down and low with my woes and complaints to you all yesterday?  Yes, ‘twas me.  Funny thing is, that girl isn’t this girl today.  I’m owing it all to plain greek yogurt because that’s the only explanation this 360 degree spin has.  Maybe I’ve stumbled upon a new pregnancy sickness remedy?  Or maybe you all knew greek yogurt was key and just forgot to tell me?  Or maybe it’s all in my head but either way, today I could’ve conquered the world.  Let’s see, where to start…

I got up at the usual hour of seven-ish, awoken from slumber by one and then two girly cries coming from down zee hall.  Anthony was the martyr this morn, getting up first to change and out the girls from their white cages.  I lumbered in a few minutes later, put the tots in the living room amidst their pile of toys always strewn about, and sipped up the coffee Anthony brewed up.  It’s all pretty boring from there – breakfast for us, breakfast for them, more playing and making toy messes, dot dot dot.  Before he left for work, Anthony helped me carry our massive filing cabinet outside so I could give it a spray paint thrice over and during nap time is when all the motivation appeared, just like that.  I gave myself a goal to at least get the thing halfway painted but here I sit with it fully d.o.n.e  in our living room.  Not only did that get done, we’re having VIP company in next week and some furniture movage is necessary so my 14 week old womb mate and I moved one large club chair approx. 20 ft, moved a desk from one end of the house to another, disassembled a large box filled with a new desk, cleaned under our bed, purged our closet, messed around with blog design, did the girls laundry, washed cloth diapers, ate two more meals and various snacks in-between, made four pint-sized meals for the offspring, and I’m now sitting down to write a blog post.  What now?  Repaint the house?  Sheesh.  Pregnancy is a crazy thing it is. 

I don’t know why I feel the need to type this all out but maybe I’m hoping that spilling my brain guts will ensure that tomorrow and the next day will be the same.  Here’s to hoping, right?

Either way, I’ll keep you posted because I know you want to know ALL about my life. 

And just because I don’t believe in blog posts without pictures, even blurry ones:

In process:
 

The palette I’m envisioning for a forthcoming master mini-makeover:

A pow-wow we three had after nap time today:

Cheers to tomorrow!