During my Google session for birthday party ideas this recent weeks, I found some really awesome websites and vendors that I want to share. I have been stalking their blogs and get really inspired that I can be crafty myself.

Chickabug - super cute printables and some are even free! Her invitation designs are awesome and there's even coordinating labels for bottled water, cupcake toppers and all sorts of other fun stuff for your little one's party!

She's {kinda} Crafty - "crafting made simple"! I truly hope so because I plan on making some ribbon topiaries that I saw on her blog for centerpieces. There are tons of other crafts on her blog that I want to try also. The wreaths are super preppy and cute!

Polka Dot Market - I love polka dots! I used polka dotted balloons last year for Kayla's birthday. But this website has an array of products from balloons to stationery! You can search for items for theme, color or products. They also have a blog with real party pictures from their customers.

Blooming Babies Boutique - I haven't decided if I'm buying a birthday shirt this year but this is where I got it from last year. The first shirt she sent me had a little snag. I couldn't even see it but she was not happy with the product that she sent me another one.

And if you haven't discovered these sites, here you go...Party Like A Kid, Pizzazzerie, Sara's Party Perfect - just to name a few. A simple Google search will give you a lot more.

Let the party planning begin!

I realized in the beginning of the month that baby girl's second birthday is right around the corner. I panicked for a little bit. J had mentioned once that maybe we should have it in Richmond but that's just not happening. We live here now and even if I'm not that big of a fan of the area it's just too much - not only is it a holiday weekend but it's also a big beach weekend and sitting in that traffic is not fun.

The internet is my obsession. I find all sorts of fun stuff on a daily basis but for some reason this second birthday party research is not going very well. First, I'm stuck on what theme to do this year - J said beach theme but I want it to be girly and the colors are too bright for that to happen. Perhaps I can put a bow on everything. I thought maybe a princess theme. Pink galore and bows. That got shut down.

I had a no-Elmo-rule (and Barney, too!) when I got pregnant. I just thought that he was too obnoxious with his tickle-me-Elmo laugh and Elmo's world song. But, this party is about baby girl and what she likes and my child is all kinds of obsessed with Elmo! I'm pretty positive that every almost 2-year old out there knows and loves Elmo. We have books, a piano, a cup, plate, bowl and even socks. And you can't forget about the DVDs that she watches at least once a day. J and I even know some of the words to the songs 'cause it plays that much!

So yes, it's going to be an Elmo party but I am not plastering Elmo on everything. I'm sure he'll be on the cake and maybe balloons. I might even get napkins with him on it. But that's it. Everything else will either be plain or polka dots.

My next post will hopefully be an inspiration board and/or vendor list that I have found so far.

Amazon has let me down

I've been an Amazon user for years. I can't say that I was a big supporter of the site until a couple of years ago. My first purchase from them were skins for my then Blackberry. They have books, furniture, diapers and even screws!

A big chunk of my day is spent in front of a computer at work. It's quite easy to just jump on the site, browse around and buy things. I did more than half of my Christmas shopping on Amazon this year. The convenience factor has really made me a loyal fan. I can't even remember the last time I walked into a store and came out with a box of diapers. Not only does Amazon have everything but their prices are pretty amazing. They also put out coupons in magazines and offer free 2-day shipping if you join the Amazon Mom program (free also!).

I've told moms and moms-to-be about this wonderful site. It's my go-to place even for pens! But that might have to change pretty soon.

I was browsing one night on my Amazon iPad app this past week for some blue ink pens and every time I would add an item to my wish list I kept on getting an error. I brushed it off, came to work the next morning and tried it again. I had to change my password 'cause it wouldn't let me log in. When i finally did I realized that my account information was all gone - address, my maiden name is back, order history gone and prime membership gone.

I called customer service and was told that they might be doing some site updates but she wasn't really sure. I even gave her a recent order number and it wasn't showing up in the system. She told me to wait it out and try back a little later. I logged out and logged back in hours later and it was still the same. I did an online chat with a cs rep. The gentleman who helped me still had no clue. He said he was going to escalate my case over to tech support and they should contact me.

This was on Friday and as of today I have yet to hear from anybody. I really want Amazon to get this figured out. Not only is it really strange but it's quite annoying that a company this big can't figure out what happened to my account.

Saturday Morning Scene

I'm linking up with Katie from Loves of Life for the 1st time.



Kayla and I went out to Chick-fil-a for breakfast.





Yes, she's smiling there! I believe over-smiling is the right description here :)

We then hit up Target for some necessities. I'm loving all the summer stuff they have out right now. I wish I knew what theme we are going with for her birthday party so that I can start buying things for it.

iPhone photo dump

This little toddler is 3 months away from turning 2! Where did the last 21 months go and how can I make time slow down?!

Obsessed!

I have a slight obsession with designer jeans. Before I had Kayla, I had over 20 pairs of jeans where the cheapest pair, retail, was more than $100 a pop. Now, I never paid retail, although J did for a couple of pairs he bought me for presents. eBay, denim forums (slight obsession, remember?) and online retailers with super duper sales were/are my sources for cheap designer jeans.

I'm a whole lot better now. The last time I bought a pair was during my work trip to Massachusetts. 7FAM was having a huge sale and I could not NOT buy a $180 pair of jeans for less than $50! Lately, I've been searching for a pair of white jeans. Of course they had to be designer. I don't know why. So I searched all over eBay but couldn't find a pair cheap enough for me. I was getting ready to put an offer in for a pair of 7's until I remembered reading a couple of blogs raving about LEC's white jeans.

With my luck, by the time I was ready to buy a pair, the jeans were nowhere to be found on their website. I went on their Facebook page and whoever is responsible for their page told me that the stock is very low but I can call their CS department and they will help me. I don't like calling people so I did the second best thing and did an on line chat with a rep. Five minutes later, the rep sent me a special link with a special order form and I was able to place my order.

I'm super excited for these jeans to come in the mail! The closest I came to owning white jeans were my cream maternity pants. I figured I was already huge and since white is supposed to make you look bigger than you really are, then why they heck not!

A to Z

Saw this post from Virginia Belle and I'm jumping on the bandwagon.

{a} Age: 30
{b} Bed size: Queen, but we really need a king since Kayla refuses to sleep in her own bed.
{c} Chore you hate: Cleaning the bathroom. I'd rather do dishes by hand any day than clean the bathrooms!
{d} Dogs: Used to. But we gave them up to J's grandpa before we moved.
{e} Essential start to your day: Coffee! A lot of it.
{f} Favorite color: Pink & Blue
{g} Gold or silver: Silver
{h} Height: 5'7"
{i} Instruments you play: I played the piano when I was younger but not anymore.
{j} Job title: Event Services Manager
{k} Kids: Kayla Marie
{l} Live: Hampton Roads and I don't like it.
{m} Mom's name: Florisa
{n} Nicknames: Gie
{o} Overnight hospital stays: Yes, when I gave birth to Kayla.
{p} Pet peeve: Drivers who speed up when they see a merge sign.
{q} Quote from a movie: "We're going streaking" - Old School - I'm not good with remembering movie lines and it's really sad that this is the best one that I can come up with.
{r} Right- or left-handed: Lefty
{s} Siblings: Older sis - Kathryn, younger sis - Iya
{t} Time you wake up: 6:20 on weekdays and 7-ish on the weekends
{u} Under your bed: Shoe boxes
{v} Vegetables you dislike: Olives
{w} What makes you run late: My husband and my child
{x} X-rays you've had: My teeth
{y} Yummy food you make: Spaghetti and pot roast - not together.
{z} Zoo - favorite animal: Monkey!