MoMo Monday- Fathers Day Gift

MoMo has just been soooo busy lately.  Between the naps, playing with string, snoozing, and eating.....she just didn't have time to shop for a Fathers Day gift last weekend.  She's a busy feline.

So we celebrated Fathers Day a week late.  Here she is giving her daddy his gift

Close up......

Not bad for not having thumbs huh?

And in case you wanted to make one yourself here's how

*Clean a mug (I got mine from the dollar store) with rubbing alcohol
*Decorate with paint pens NOT Sharpie (using Sharpie is a common Pinterest fail)
*Let cure for a few days
*Place in a cold oven
*Bring to 375 degrees and bake for 30 minutes
*Turn off oven and let mug cool in the oven

So easy even a cat can do it!

Happy {MoMo} Monday!

Bra Pong

 When I first presented the idea of a poolside Showerette to my sister (more details on the full party to come)  she text me a few days later asking if she could make one request

I instantly started to sweat and assumed she had changed her mind and hated the entire idea...but of course I replied "sure"

Here one request:  Can we please play bra pong!?!?

Wheew! Sigh of relief....and of course!

I instantly began researching it all over Pinterest and Google. There were a TON of pictures....but nobody had any real directions on how they actually played it.  And considering my severe emetophobia I have never been to a house party in my life where beer pong was being played....I'm a complete rookie.

That's where I had to consult The Boy.  He explained to me that the actual rules wouldn't work at all so we made up our own rules from scratch....but we''ll get to those later on in the post.

First I'll show you how we made the board.  I hit up Goodwill on 50% Saturday and bought all the bright colored bras I could find

Then I bought a display board.....the first one I've bought since my 8th grade science project. Talk about a walk down memory lane.

I stapled the bras to the board but then later they started to fall out little by little so I hit them with a little hot glue action too.  I put the smaller bras at the top of the board and the bigger ones toward the bottom with the idea being that they are worth more points at the top and less points working down.  It was at this point that I packed it up before finishing and schlepped it over to my sisters house where the party was being held.

We picked up her kids from school and dropped them at the house before running up to the store for the last few things.  That's when my sister got this  text from my niece

I guess a board of bras would be an odd thing to find on your kitchen table as a kid. Haha! 

When we got back we got started on the decorating of the board.  Put the rules for the game on one side and some fun doodles and decorations on the other side.  It was The Boy's genius idea to make the "B" look like a bra.  He's pretty smart sometimes....

Now for the rules.  I always think rules sound waaaaay more complicated when they are written. It always sounds so wordy.  But once you get it you realize it's not that complicated it all

Here goes:

*The game is played tournament style so make a bracket of everyone playing

*Each match between 2 people has 3 turns - 1 throw per person per turn. 

       -Each turn also has a shot. So there are 3 shots per match

*Each player takes a turn. The person with the highest score per turn wins and the loser takes a shot

*In the event of a tie (whether it be scoring the same number of points or both people miss) the shot from that turn gets moved to the next turn, so the stakes get higher

*For example, say both players miss the shot in the first turn, that shot moves to the second turn.  In the second turn say a person scores scores higher than the other and wins that round.  The loser then takes 2 shots because the shot from the tied first turn was added to the second turn.

*The person who takes the most of the 3 shots in the match is the loser and is eliminated.  The winner continues in the tournament

Reread it a few times and I promise it won't be so confusing haha

Here's a few pictures of it all in action

Here's the bride

 The 3 shots per match all lined up ready to go

Playing....

And losing......

I think my sister Heather enjoyed losing a little too much ;)

Overall I think it turned out pretty good! It was fun and even those who didn't participate seemed content to watch and laugh at the losers haha

And I've decided I can't part with the board just yet so I have it chucked out in the garage. I'm sure I'll pull it out for a BBQ sometime 

Happy Bra Ponging!

Wardrobe Wednesday- High Waisted Bikini

I never in my life have had a bikini body.  I went straight from the body of a child...... to fat. Haha! I totally skipped over that "young, wear whatever you want and rock it" stage.  So besides the ones I have worn in my sisters backyard for tanning reasons.....I really don't wear them

For the past couple of years I've worn what I call my "Mom suits".  Not that they aren't cute.....because they totally are.  But they are much more full coverage.  One pieces with skirts and such to hold it all in and spare everyone an eyeful.

I had been eyeing high waisted bikinis but just like everything else I was convinced it could never work on me.

After looking at them in admiration for over a year I finally decided I would use my sisters poolside showerette party as my excuse to give it a try. I worked it all out in my head that I think the style would look even better on a curvier body...ya know..pin up style.  I'm curvy...it should work right? This was my way of convincing myself it was ok to try.

I had been looking at them online for a few days when my friend Niki sent me a link to a few that she thought I would like....and man does she know me well!

I fell absolutely in love with a pink and leopard one!  Even better is it was off a website called Ali Express  

Holy crap that site is awesome!.....and bad all rolled into one.  Awesome because it has soooo much good stuff for DIRT CHEAP.  Bad because that could be seriously dangerous.....but at least cheap means you can buy more...right?? ;)

I ordered the suit in a medium because that is the size I have been buying most clothes in lately.....that was a mistake. It showed up and the bottoms were cutting me off in BAD places.  My butt and thighs were puffing over the edges.....it was not cute!

I was about to throw my hands up in the air and be defeated and tell myself that I was right all long and these types of things will just never look good on me.  After pouting for a few minutes I got over it and just decided to order it again in a large.  That's what makes this site so great....I got them for so dang cheap ordering it again was no big deal.  Shipping was free both times and I got both FULL SETS for under $20.  Can you believe it??  I wouldn't be able to get a one comparable suit for that price in the stores...let alone two!

I got it in just in time for the party...the day before. Talk about cutting it close!  I wore it for the party and felt relatively comfortable with myself....as much as I could for wearing a 2 piece

When my sisters wedding rolled around I decided to wear it again at the beach and snapped this picture

Suit: Ali Express
Hat: 99c Only

There are a couple things that in my opinion make this particular bikini more successful on my body. The amount of stomach that shows is VERY important.  I've seen higher wasted bikinis that don't come up as high and are just under the belly button.  I NEEDED it to cover my belly button.  My tummy roll is right under my belly button so I needed that coverage.  Having it stop at the belly button would have only drawn more attention to my problem area.

I was also adamant on finding one with buttons.  I feel like the buttons break it up and keep it from looking like just a pair of granny panties or a big pink diaper.  It needs that detail in my opinion

Back to the money aspect of this bikini....after I bought it I ended up searching "Leopard and pink high waisted bikini" on Pinterest just to see.  My exact same bikini popped up multiple times as Etsy listings.  People were selling them anywhere from $30-$50.....when I paid under $10 for mine!  

Obviously people are buying them dirt cheap on Ali Express and reselling them themselves and making a huge profit.  Good for them!!.....but that kills me!  So word the the wise....I know on Etsy you think you find things you can't seem to find anywhere else.  But I have found multiple things now on both Ali and Ebay for cheap cheap cheap that are exact Etsy listings

If you're a frugal gal like myself always check these sites first.  I'm sure you'll find something you love at a good price

So there's the saga of me and the bikini...hope I didn't bore you too much!

Happy {Wardrobe} Wednesday!

How to Make a Mesh Wreath Without a Wire Form

So wreaths are one of my "thangs"  It's up there with  cool cups, ornaments, and shoes.  I can never have too many!

I think right now I even have somewhere over 20 wreaths posted on my blog already.....it's a situation here in our house.

I've seen so many adorable wreaths all over Pinterest....but holy crap they can be expensive to make! Just because they're homemade doesn't mean they're cheap.  And at over 20 wreaths under my belt it would add up to a small fortune.  That's why I like to keep my wreaths $10 and under....sometimes they only even cost me a few bucks.

I keep the costs down by not ever using the typical forms that people buy like the foam or wood ones. I always cut mine out of cardboard boxes....which are free....which is perfect for a cheap ass like myself.

I love the look of deco mesh wreaths but had never made one before because

 1. the mesh itself is expensive 

 2. they are made with wire forms = $$

My sister Bree found a bunch of mesh on clearance that perfectly coordinated with the color scheme we had for a party coming up.  So problem #1 was solved but there was still the issue of the wire form

After researching alternate ways I realized there wasn't one.  I'm sure there is somewhere out there.....but it definitely isn't well known enough that I could find anything.  Every single tutorial I found required the wire form. So that meant coming up with a solution myself

Here's what I did.......

Cut your mesh into strips.  I had the long rolls of mesh so I kept the length the same as it came and cut it maybe 6-8inches wide.  (Just a guess, I didn't measure)

 

Fold it down

Do the same to a different color and pair them together. Fold up some of the loose bottom parts and rubber band them in the middle to create what I was calling "bouquets"

Keep making these bouquets in different color combinations

The reason I folded the bottoms up was so create a sort of flatter bottom so they would be easier to glue down and also to make a messier less perfect look.  I like the raw edge poking out randomly around the rounded bouquets

Take your bouquets and glue them onto your cardboard circle.  It took me about 15 of these to fill mine the way I wanted

Before I started I debated wrapping the cardboard in some of the mesh or painting it a coordinating color.....but I got lazy and just went for it.  It turned out ok....you could only see the cardboard through if you got super close.  But next time I'll try not to be lazy and see if it makes a big difference or not

And that's it! Decorate it as you normally would and your done!  

Not too shabby for on the cheap

MoMo Monday- Update

Well hello there strangers!

We've been a little MIA....life has been pretty hectic.  But we're back at it and wanted to keep you up to date on a few things

MoMo is still grey

She's still furry.....

Being little is still her thing....

And she's still the cutest thing ever

In case you were wondering.


Happy {MoMo} Monday!

Wardrobe Wednesday- Floral Dress

Back in February while making one of my normal trips to Ross to browse I cam across this floral dress.  I liked it, it fit, and for $22 it seemed like a perfect solution to my attire dilemma for my friends wedding in April.  I put it in my closet and didn't think of it much more

Dress: Ross
Shoes: Guess

Until........

About a month or so later I was at the mall with my sisters and niece shopping for wedding shoes.  As we walked through the Juniors section at Macy's my eyes were instantly drawn to my same dress.

Now I always knew that the reason Ross has such good prices is because they take all the "leftovers" and extras from big stores.....but I guess I always thought of it as being sold sort of after the fact....if you know what I mean.  Not being sold at the same time as the big chain stores like Macy's.  Even funnier that I got it at Ross so much earlier too.  I'm sure this big revelation is nothing new for most of you.....I don't go to the mall much so I wouldn't often see my exact clothes being sold simultaneously at the big stores/

And why don't I shop at the mall?  This is why.....

The exact same dress cost almost $70! 

Heeeeeeelllll  nawww!    I mean I like the dress and all......but it sure as hell isn't worth that!  I almost didn't even buy it for the $22 because I'm used to spending around $15 on dresses.  I could get a whole new wardrobe for $70.  Ok not really......but I could get a few Ross priced outfits for the same amount.  I just can't even wrap my head around it.....why even shop there if you can get it somewhere else at the EXACT same time for more than half the price?? 


This experience single handedly solidified my devotion the the almighty Ross.  Love that place!

And now I hate malls even more.  Except of course for the mini pretzel bites with cheese.....the malls only saving grace.

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MoMo vs. The Fly

With the summer heat already here in AZ we have had an influx of flies. I hate flies!  Especially when I have spend an hour of my time trying to kill them after I get home from work. 

MoMo is usually completely uninterested while I go on my killing rampage.  In fact....she is generally asleep throughout the entire process. That is until the other night.....

I found her sitting under the kitchen table staring at a dead fly.  Just staring.  I called her name and her focus could not be broken

(Sorry for the blurry photo, it was dark and I had to take it far away and zoom in so that she wouldn't move if  I got any closer)

The even funnier part is that she kept lowering her head to look at it even closer

This fly had her completely baffled.  Or maybe she's just surprised to finally see something smaller than herself.  Either way her amazement with it was adorable