Three key letters that make up a beautiful thing called a monogram, that’s what!

Some might call me a bit overboard with my favorite three letters, but I think you can never have enough.

Here are some of my favorite things that I have monogrammed:

1. Return Address Stamp

www.psaessentials.com

These are great self-inking stamps that come in a handful of different fonts and styles.  There are several on-line vendors, but the one I liked the best was www.expressionery.com.  Keep an eye out for a discount code at checkout!

2. Tote Bag

This was a bridesmaids gift from one of my best buddies.  It actually has an insulated interior and zippered top.  And how cute that she monogrammed each one with our names?!

I’ve put this bag to good use on road trips and picnics.  My sis-in-law has one too and she uses hers to keep her baby’s food and drink cold while they travel!

3. Note Pads

This set found at www.stationerystudio.com offers 7 different sizes of notepads with each one having a different tag at the top.  It makes a great gift because who doesn’t love extra notepads to keep in your purse or in your car?

4. Hand Towels

This is probably one of the least expensive ways to monogram something.  All you have to do is pick up an inexpensive hand towel at Marshalls or Target and then take it to your local embroidery shop.  For about $11 bucks you can pick your own design and thread color and viola, your very own personalized towel.

Do you guys share the same passion I do for monogramming?

What is your favorite thing to get monogrammed?

This past weekend I headed back to my good ole Alma Mater, Mary Baldwin College, for my 10 year College reunion. 10 years.. YIKES!

We all stayed at the Historic Stonewall Jackson Hotel and Conference Center in downtown Staunton.  The original hotel was built in 1924 and under went a full renovation in 2005.  One of our well organized classmates, broke out her clipboard of fun, and made sure we all booked our rooms early.  It was the perfect spot for us all to stay, as it was in walking distance to both campus and all the hot-spots downtown.

For those that aren’t familar with Mary Baldwin College, it is a all Women’s Liberal Arts College located in the Shenandoah Valley.

It was great being back on campus and seeing all those familiar faces.  The friendships I made in those 4 years will be with me forever. Much love to all my squirrel girls!

And got the Hudson Console table I posted about in an earlier blog. A big thank you to my mums and daddio for getting it for me as an early BDAY gift!

As always with “build it yourself” furniture from places like Ikea and Target, I fret over the exterior of the box to make sure the cardboard isn’t ripped or dented.  There is nothing worse than getting home with your new piece of furniture, to open the box, and find a big old gash in the leg or door of the piece.  So after I made the nice man at Target pull out multiple boxes, I thought I had scored with the perfect box. No dents, no rips, no nothing.  So how may I ask, did the leg unit that was neatly tucked in the center of the box get the big old ding in the side of it?!? UGH!!  And we didn’t notice it until half way through the build.  HOW ANNOYING!!

Anyways.. with a little help from some wood blending sticks that we picked up from Lowe’s you can barley tell the ding ever existed!

And what a nice addition to the living room our new console table makes!

Also check out the great lamp I had been eyeballing at the “secret Marshalls”. (You might wonder why I keep referring to some stores as “secret”  and it is a good question.  My friend Sauce and I think like to think they are off the beaten path, but I know they aren’t.  It just makes us feel like there is always a deal waiting for us!)  But back to the lamp!  It originally came with a HIDEOUS shade, but thanks to good ole Target I was able to quickly get a new shade that fit it perfectly and at a nice price!

I’m pleased with how it all pulled together.  Let’s just see what Mr.vB thinks when he gets home from his business trip!

For our Patio Furniture that is.

Mr. vB and I inherited these chairs from a good buddy who was moving up to NYC and didn’t have room for them.

I had always enjoyed the natural color, but thought they could use a a bit of a face-lift.  So this past weekend I hit up my local Lowes’s to check out the selection of spray paint.

I was envisioning a nice turquoise, or vibrant pink- but apparently these aren’t colors often found in a Lowe’s spray-paint display.

So instead I opted for a nice Pistachio color.

And three cans later… Viola!

Pretty cute if I do say so myself.  I also purchased a new smaller table to put between the chairs, hence the tag you see still attached to it. (I think I am 99% ready to commit to it, but need another day or so to decide.  Until then the tag stays on!)

I am also envisioning a nice little pillow in each chair.  Maybe some of that nice Sunbrella outdoor fabric.

We shall see- I will keep you guys updated!

Okay- so I will admit I have been to 3 Targets in the past 24 hours, but I was on a mission.  And on the final visit, at the “secret target” (what-up Sauce?!)  I found these:

How cute is this?

Now I searched the Target website and found nothing, because apparently this designer collection isn’t suppose to debut until March 29th.  So you can say you saw & heard it first here.

Felix Ray for Target..

As soon as the collection goes live on the Target site I will make sure to link it to this post!  Happy Shopping.

So I was planning on just showcasing one shoe a month, but I stumbled across a super cute pair today that just could not wait until April 1st to be shared with everyone.

The Blowfish Sherbert Shoe… www.blowfishshoe.com.

I found mine at Macy’s in a quite sassy yellow color called Yellow Captain.  I couldn’t find them on the website, so maybe the yellow was last year’s big color.

Price tag is $39.  Not bad for a fun flat that you could wear with just about anything!

Thought I would try to inspire a little “green” in everyone today on this very dreary, rainy Richmond day.

I have gotten very into the 3 R’s over the past several months. I’m speaking of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle of course.

And apparently it has not gone unnoticed. Mr. vB gave me this handy pocket guide for Valentine’s day..

Green Living for Dummies- Pocket Edition

I have also been very conscious of taking my reusable cloth bags into the grocery store so I can help limit the number of plastic and paper bags that I bring home.  I just leave the bags in my car so they are there when I need them.  It’s quite easy!  In case you aren’t on this bandwagon yet, here are some cute reusable bags that might just inspire you to start!

I found these online at Garnet Hill (garnethill.com).  These are great bags because they are super light weight, collapsible and you can fit a TON of groceries into them.  And they don’t have to be used just for groceries.  You could use it for a picnic, a trip to the beach, oh the possibilities are endless!

They appear to be abit pricey at this site, but I found multiple other vendors online by just googling Collapsible Grocery Basket.

I even found the one I use at TJMAXX for just $10 buckaroos!  Now that’s a steal.

This is another cute reusable bag I found in my latest issue of Rachel Ray Everyday.  It is from www.funktionhome.com.

How cute are all these patterns?  They even say Reduce, Reuse, Recylce on them!

Feeling green yet??

Thought I would leave you with a quote from my handy little pocket guide.

Small Steps, consistently taken, will make a difference.

Go For It!

Nothing says Spring more than daffodils.

Thought you might enjoy some before and after photos to inspire the warm weather to stick around!

Here’s the before photo of part of the front border.  A bit out of control with a mixture of weeds and a hearty vine like plant.  And when I say hearty, I mean more like indestructible.  Mr. vB would take the weed whacker to that border and level it all.  Then in about 2 weeks it would be back to out of control.

So while Mr. vB was out of town one weekend I thought I would clean up the border a bit.

Looks a lot better don’t you think?

Then this past xmas my father in law gave us a slew of daffodil bulbs.  I think they make a nice addition.  Won’t it really be gorgeous in a few years when the whole border is filled with them??

I am true to my addiction.  While traveling for work today out in Western Virginia I hit my “onstar” button and asked the polite lady on the other end, ” Can you tell me if there is a Target in Abingdon, VA?”  Sure enough the polite lady told me there was and then she downloaded the directions to my car.  How sweet is that?!

So as I sit in my hotel room I thought I would do a quick list of the different Target locations that I have visited:

Richmond, Charlottesville, Williamsburg, Fredericksburg, Newport News, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Roanoke, Danville, Blacksburg, Bristol, and Harrisonburg

Still to visit- Waynesboro

**Disclaimer**

** No squirrels were hurt in the making of this post, just relocated to someone else’s attic**

Yup, that’s right.  To our surprise today Mr. vB caught sight of a furry scoundrel sneaking into our attic.  We were outside talking with some friends, when he looked up to see the squirrel go into a hole above one of the attic windows. (see arrow below)

So off to Lowe’s we went to look for a humane animal trap but came home empty handed.  Apparently they don’t sell them. We did, however, score some new recessed light fixtures for the upstairs bathroom!  It didn’t quite occur to me though that we were going to have to get into the attic to do the wiring part for these new lights. Mr. vB went up first to fight off any squirrels but they must have been all out to lunch because the coast was clear.  Mr. vB got to work on wiring the new lights and while he was at it, decided to finish venting out the exhaust fan up through the roof.  So up to the roof we went.

As he was busily working on the vent, I was sticking my head over the ledge to see what was going on in the front yard.  That was when I came eye to eye with the squirrel.  He was back and wanted in our attic.  I think my scream probably ran him off and that’s when Mr. vB got the idea to straddle, yes, straddle the dormer window, lean over and fix the hole from the outside.  I so wish I had taken a photo of this for you all to see, but I was scared to death that he was going to plummet to his death any moment so I didn’t dare leave his side.  Instead I photo-shopped this to help your imagination.

Now the hole is fixed, and our squirrel friend is looking for a new place to live.  We are just hoping he didn’t leave his girlfriend or kids behind in the attic.  We’ll keep you posted!!