We now return you to regularly scheduled programming: baby shower planning

But first, a quick update-

Day 2 with the mini:

I don't love it,

but I don't hate it.

And yes, those open-with-the-push-of-a-button doors have already come in handy twice since A) it was pouring rain when O and I got to school yesterday and we were able to hop out and make a run for it while the door shut itself, and B) I took both girls with me to Target last night and not once did I have to let go of E's hand before getting in the car since I had that uppity key fob in my other hand which was also holding a babe and two grocery sacks.

Press button,

help E into mini all the while holding her hand,

throw grocery sacks from other hand into all that empty space back there,

put other babe gently into her car seat,

buckle both girlies,

press button,

go home.

And before I leave the subject of Target completely, I must tell you why we were there in the first place. We went there (for the 4th time this week) solely for the purpose of buying the Wizahd, which in Eliza-speak means,

The Wizard of Oz.

Ever since watching it a couple weeks ago on TBS, she hasn't stopped talking about it, which I don't mind one lil' bit. In fact, I kind of LOVE it. It is a musical, after all. And so, while we were there to buy the Wizahd on DVD, (we only have the VHS and there are currently zero working VCR's at our house) we also just happened to find ourselves in the women's clothing department, and more specifically, at the clearance racks in the women's clothing department.
And do you know what we FOUND there?

Hmmmm?

Tons and tons of Missoni for Target goods which are now 50% off.

Did you hear that?

Clothing items that flew off the racks quicker than turkeys fly out of grocery stores on Thanksgiving were now BACK ON THE RACKS, and I'm wondering-

how?

Where had they been?

The long-sleeved floral blouse was there, along with several black cardigans and long navy dresses and black and white zig-zag dresses along with tons of little girls zig-zaggies as well.

It is a mystery.

But I totally took advantage and brought two more zig-zag numbers home with me. How could I not?

All of this rambling to say- if you're local and you missed out on the Missoni goods, specifically clothes, get thee to Target.

Moving on.

I wanted to share a bit of what I have planned for the shower on Sunday, which is rapidly approaching and yet- my house is no cleaner than it was 2 days ago. At the moment, I'm way more excited about the decor than about the fact that I'll actually have to clean up before I can get to the decor.

Ah well...

I blogged about these cute vintage alphabet cards several months ago and thought this shower would be the perfect opportunity to pull them out-

They're a freebie over on the Handmade Home blog, and while my initial reason for printing them out (which cost $0 since I already had plenty of cardstock on hand) was to use them in the girls room somewhere, I think they'll look fabulous strung up in the dining room where all of the shower food will be.

I'm wanting everything at the party to give off a vintage vibe, which is another reason why those alphabet cards are so perfect. I'm also planning to use lots of chalkboards (which I've also got plenty of) like this:

Source: thesweetestoccasion.com via Mary Kathryn on Pinterest

Pretty sweet, right? I made 4 more mini-to-medium sized chalkboards over the weekend (just like the big one I made for the kitchen) from frames I'd purchased at the thrift store.

 So simple.

Here's both of these ideas tied together in a vintage schoolhouse baby shower I pinned several months ago-

Source: designmom.com via Mary Kathryn on Pinterest

 Love the chalkboard on the buffet,
love the vintage flashcards,
love it all.

I'll be sharing how I made the invites for free in another post, but for now, I have to give you a hint of what was on them just cause they're so stinkin cute...

Itty-bitty chevron onesies which I'm planning to use in other aspects of the decor as well. Can't wait. So excited.
Now if my house would just clean itself like those magic doors on the mini...

HAPPY THURSDAY EVERYONE!

thrifty finds

did a lil' thriftin' last week.

no huge haul to speak of, but a few prizes worth braggin' about...

1 set of fab green wooden beads- 1.04

1 new white platter for my dining hutch- 1.48

1 small blk dish with turquoise middle- .99

1 mini guitar- 1.48

3 chick-lit books- 1.98 each= 5.94

5 frames of varying sizes ranging from .99- 2.98

I plan to spray paint these soon and turn them into fabulousness that I'll be sharing with ya. In the meantime, let's zoom in on that bear in the shower cap and think about the person crazy enough to have staged this photo...

Stuffed bear? check

shower cap? check

bath towels with lace trim? check

basket of fake flowers? check

soaps in the shape of sea shells? check

shower scrubber to stick in the bear's paw? check

 all items placed around the stuffed bear and posed as if ready for a shower and extremely excited about it?

check

Once I take these frames apart, I won't need the pics inside anymore-

so Mr. Shower Bear will be up for grabs.

In other non-crazy-thrift-store-pic news...

I also picked up some thrifty goods from Target.

Did you really think I could go a whole 2 days and not mention the bullseye?

Do any of you shop the clearance racks?

I mean, really dig into those things for the good deals?

Because I climbed in one last week.

No joke.

I found so many smokin' hot deals that I basically blocked anyone else from getting near me and the 75% off rack with my red buggy. Smokin' hot deals like tops + skirts for 1.49- 2.49 and dresses for 5 buckaroos.

yes, I know this is end of the season clearance,

but we're in AL here folks.

It's been above 80 every day this week.

Plus, I bought sizes that will fit next year as well.

I came home with this: 

14 pieces of cuteness...

yes, that's 3 of the same skirt in the pic above.

didn't really mean to do that, but it's 3 different sizes and they were only 1.49, so expect to see my girlies in those striped beauties for the next 4+ years, mmmkay?

Cinderella was E's fave, and at less than 2 bucks it was well worth it for a Christmas-morning-type-squeal from her.

The moral of today's post?

Get thee to a Target if you have younguns and would like some discounted duds,

and,

if you've always wanted a picture of a stuffed bear in a shower cap,

I'm your gal.

Happy Thursday!

I've linked to:



The day Missoni crashed Target

If you shop at Target,

or watch tv ads for Target,

or keep up with the designers who've partnered with Target,

chances are you might have known about a little partnership between the designer label Missoni, and the bullseye.

The collection of this famed fashion house was set to debut yesterday (9.13.11), and debut it did. The launch of the line, which included everything from housewares to clothing to bikes, was SO successful that it not only caused many a stampede of ladies through those big red doors, but also a complete crash of Target's website, causing those who'd chosen to stay home and avoid the crowds by shopping online great distress. There's a great article about the whole shebang in the Chicago Tribune HERE.

What was the big deal, you may ask?

Well I'll tell you.

Just as with other designer partnerships in the past (such as Isaac Mizrahi, Zac Posen, and Liberty of London), Missoni for Target offers up high runway fashion without the hefty pricetag.

For example:

This dress from the Missoni label is sold at Saks Fifth Avenue and retails for $1375.00

This dress & cardigan however, are from the Missoni for Target line and retailed for $49.99-$64.99

This dress at Saks = $1045

But this one at Target = a steal at just $54.99

If you're not a fan of the zig zag variety then you're in luck and won't have to look at any of it since most of the stores sold out of almost every item within the first hour. If you are, however, a fan and weren't able to grab any Missoni goods at your local Target or online, there are currently 16,900 Missoni for Target items listed on ebay. Some are selling with starting bids at or below retail, and some are selling with starting bids of $100 or higher for items which cost only $25-$65 in stores. While I was able to make a quick run to my local Target yesterday and pick up several items (thanks seester for zipping through like a mad woman and throwing the goods into your red buggy), the one item which eluded me was this:

the fabulous signature zig zag throw.

I've heard through the grapevine that most stores were only sent 2 of each of the color choices, and lucky for me, I just happen to have an Aunt in TN who went to her local Target and was able to grab this one for me:

A few items made it home with me, including these cutie-patootie shoes for E:

and a zig zag cardigan for myself.

So...

I'd love to know-

what's your opinion of the zig zags.

Love it or leave it?

Anyone else join in the madness at their local Target today?

Anyone out there cursing Target.com under their breath for failing to handle the demand?

Anyone else out there craving cheesecake?

No?

Just me then?

******

And HOW could I not have mentioned the finale of Design Star??

So glad I was able to watch with my friends Jamie and Tim-

we sat through almost every episode together!

Not gonna lie,

never would have picked Meg to take home the prize when the season began,

and...

anyone else remember her hot mess of a white box?

Or how about the HGTV'd home where she didn't finish her spaces which were the ENTRYWAY and LOFT for goodness sakes! Not even rooms! Just quasi-rooms!

Ah well...

Congrats to her, and -

will YOU be watching her 'Great Rooms' show on HGTV?

Do tell...

Instagram Friday

Happy Friday friends!

I am oh.so.thrilled. to be heading to Birmingham today so that I can visit the

Hob Lob.

If you're new here, there was a hob lob 3 minutes from my house, but a little something happened to it. This will be my 2nd time to drive almost an hour (with my friend Kara) just to walk around in and purchase some crafty goodness from one of my favorite places.

Totally worth the drive.

** And if anyone out there affiliated with the hob lob happens to find themselves reading this little blog-

please rebuild in the same spot.

And quickly.

We need our hob lob back.

Please and thank you.

Sincerely,

Mary Kathryn

Moving on...
It's instafriday over at

  

so here's a little taste of what the Mathews have been up to over the past week via instagram-

Super super super good mail day on Monday...

The Barbie Collector magazine for Summer 2011

Pretty new necklace from the etsy shop Sparkle Tree, thanks to a tip from April about a new site with daily deals from etsy sellers called Heartsy.

Anyone else buy Groupons? Or GroopDealz? Or subscribe to any other 'daily deal' type sites like Peachy Cheap?

Heartsy is like that, only the daily deals are from etsy shops.

Love it.

And...last but certainly not least, look at the Gussy goodies! If you don't know Gussy, a.k.a. Maggie, you are missing out- she's a great gal who makes pretty awesome things. You can check out her blog HERE, and browse her shop HERE. She also gives out discount codes pretty often on her blog and twitter. (I snagged my goodies at 20% off!) Isn't that houndstooth fabulous? Would make the perfect gift for someone who lives in my town....

Tuesday-

caught E looking through my new Barbie catalog. For those of you that don't know, I'm a HUGE fan of all things Barbie, and the mere thought that one of my offspring could possibly have a thing for her too makes my heart go pitter-patter.

No joke.

If she ever utters the words, "Mommy, I'd like a new Barbie", I'll have to resist the urge to buy her every single doll that Target sells.

No joke.

And speaking of jokes...

this is actually not one either.

No joke here- just the hubs modeling some new hockey gear that came in the mail.

He likes to pose.

Took a little trip to Target on Wednesday-

found this cute onesie that I'm sure my seester will be purchasing any minute since she loves to clothe my kiddos in anything that says the word, "Aunt" or in this case, "Auntie".

These were $3.24.

Good grief, how I love Target.

Also picked up new swimsuits for the kiddos.

My girls love them some tutus.

Raise your hands if you love Target!

This magazine came in the mail yesterday and the hubs is already planning his next tattoo....

and-

because it's Friday,

I'd like to leave you with a laugh...

My hubs is playing the role of a carnie at a friend's birthday party tonight and this is his costume (minus the fanny-pack that he'll also be sportin')

I'm so proud.

Happy Friday!