Style Lush

H&M Clothing for Kids

By Tara

I'm pretty sure it's toddler law that clothing is not allowed to last longer than a month or two, at least in my house. Three wearings into a pair of jeans, and the knees are shot. One trip to preschool, and whatever t-shirt I've put on my kid will be stained beyond repair. Those sweatpants that fit last week are capri length this week.

It's obnoxious.

So, I'm pretty happy that H&M, my favorite trendy/disposable clothing store, makes an adorable children's line.

Pink Knit Dress

Tulle Skirt

Knit Dress

Ruffle Collar Jersey Dress

Twill Pants

Most of the items fall in the $10-$15 range, which I appreciate. And they also have an impressive selection of tights and leggings in the store, of which my daughter is now the proud owner of something like six pairs, mostly because I can't say no to cute tights or leggings. And really, why would I want to?

Nothing on the site is available for online purchasing, which is sad for me, since I do my best work online, but, still...I can make it worth my time to hit the mall every once in awhile, I guess.

Currently Coveting: A Visit to Frontgate

By Tara

I absolutely adore visiting the Frontgate store any chance I get, even though everything in there is well beyond my price range. But when has that ever stopped me from creating a wishlist before, huh?

I think this carousel is absolutely gorgeous, and since it can be set to play either Christmas carols or year-round songs, it's almost a steal at $400. Or not. But still...so pretty!

My husband looks at me funny every time I try to bring up this idea, but I think having a life-sized nutcracker or two on my porch during the holiday season would be amazing. Unfortunately, at $400 for a five footer and $900 for a six footer, I'd kind of need him on board with this idea to make the purchase, so that's probably not going to happen any time sson.

I love the idea of drinking champagne in style, but I can't quite get behind $379 for a single champagne flute. When I win the lottery, though? I'm buying a whole set of these for Christmas entertaining.

I love new Christmas pillows. I just don't think I could justify filling my couch with $129 satin pillows with a toddler in the house and a newborn on the way.

And maybe a bit off of the topic of holiday decorations (but absolutely in line with Christina's post last week), I am in love with this particular cart. I was thrilled when I saw it in the store, because there was a tag on it for $129, and I have been looking for one of these FOREVER. Then I realized the $129 was for a wine bucket, and the cart itself was $800, and I cried myself to sleep that night.

And then...there's Holiday Mae. I'm actually a little scared of Mae, here, so $1400 or not, I don't think I'll be adding her to my dream list any time soon.

Everything else, though? Yes, please.

Wedding Favor Win: Georgia Waterford

By Tara

One of my former college roommates was married in Atlanta this past weekend, and as a play on her new last name of Ball (as well as our adopted state of Georgia's 'redneck' reputation), she went with these adorable 'Georgia Waterford' wineglasses as her wedding favors:

And since I have Christmas on the mind, all I can think about are the decorating options for these, because seriously...how cute would these be filled with mini red and silver ornaments? Like say, maybe these from IKEA? Which I just already happen to own? Because I have an obsession when it comes to Christmas decorations, and couldn't pass up buying a couple of boxes of mini ornaments at $2/12?

The glasses can be found on Amazon, EBAY, and all over Etsy, should you be in the market for a set of your own.

{photo credit: me and my trusty phone}

How I Clean My Granite Countertops

By Tara

When we moved into our current house, I was suddenly introduced to the maddening process of trying to keep a dark granite countertop clean, without leaving streaks behind when the cleaning process was over. My mother-in-law suggested dish soap and water, and I thought she was crazy, because it couldn't be that simple, could it? Not after I'd tried every other cleaning product, ever.

Turns out, she was right. I add a little dish soap to a spray bottle, fill it with water, spray down my counters, dry it all with a dish towel, and call it a night. Clean, shiny, no streaks.

And then...my Williams Sonoma outlet had a sale on their dish soaps, and I got creative.

While I understand that it's only October, and it might be a little early in some corners of the world for Winter Forest scented countertops, that's not the case for me. I love the scent of pine and cedar and cinnamon, and it actually makes me HAPPY now to clean my counters, because the smell is just that awesome. But again, if winter woods aren't your thing, there are other options available, too.

Of course, I wouldn't recommend this if you are, say, cutting raw chicken on your counters on a regular basis, because I don't know how great it is for killing germs, but for the everyday messes of bread crumbs and peanut butter smears? It's kind of perfect. Happy cleaning!

Interested in all things kitchen? You may want to check out our sister site Food Lush for more, including specific cleaning tips.

{photo credit: williams-sonoma.com}

My New Cheap Trick: Wax Warmers

By Tara

I haven't been on Pinterest recently, because real life keeps getting in the way of my Internet time, but one of the Pinterest tricks that has stuck with me over the last few months involves freezing those three-wick Bath and Body Works candles to remove the last layer of wax that always remains when the wicks burn out, in order to reuse the glass containers. And, I love that trick, because I've spent a ridiculous amount of money over the years on various glass containers, while throwing out perfectly good options that I already owned.

Then, because (right or wrong) Pinterest seems to thrive on never throwing ANYTHING out, I started to wonder why I wasn't doing something with the leftover wax that I was freezing out of the candle container while I was at it. So, I bought this wax warmer from Amazon:

And I now use it melt what's left of the wax after I'm done with my candles. And I think that officially completes my transition to a Pinterest-aided hoarder, yes?

{photo credit: Amazon.com}

DIY Advent Calendar from IKEA

By Tara

I am well aware that talking about Christmas related things before Halloween is something that really shouldn't be done, but I can't help that on a recent trip to IKEA, the entire area right by the cash registers was decked out for my favorite holiday. I also can't help that with a due date of December 7th, I am bound and determined to have my Christmas fully shopped, wrapped, and decorated by the middle of November.

One item on my December to-do list for this year is an Advent activity calendar (this seems to be a Style Lush staple, as you can see here from Jennie, here from Elisabeth, here from Elizabeth, and here from Jen), and while I think I will most likely just use the pockets on the large embroidered advent calendar that I picked up from Lands' End a couple of years ago (and that doesn't seem to be on the website anymore), I still can't stop looking for other cute and inexpensive possibilities.

Enter the 24 pack JULMYS gift bags from IKEA:

For $7.99, the kit comes with the 24 bags and numbered stickers, and I can just picture how excited my three-year old would be 'unwrapping' each day's activity. I'm also imagining putting a little something in each bag to reference the activity of the day, beyond just a little slip of paper, like maybe a few of the pieces we'd need for the daily craft project, or a couple of ingredients for what we might be baking, or a bookmark on the day that she gets her new Christmas book. And it would even be a little something fun she could do with Grandma or her aunt, if her new baby sister doesn't show up in November, like I'm hoping she does, and I have to sit out a few days of activities. Because nothing says 'thanks for watching my kid' like forcing pre-planned activities on the sitter, right?

{photo credit: IKEA.com}

Favorite Toddler Gifts: Disney Wood Puzzle Set

By Tara

My daughter's third birthday party was this past weekend, and a couple of weeks before the party, my mother-in-law called to tell me about this awesome Doc McStuffins puzzle set that she'd found at Toys "R" Us. It included four separate puzzles, in one box, for $12.99, and she was thrilled to have found it.

In a case of great timing, she caught me just as I was going to order a set of the puzzles for myself, having found them while looking for a big sister gift to send to a friend's daughter (That friend being Style Lush's own Jen, who is currently out snuggling the cutest baby boy, ever. Hi, Jen! We miss you!), and while I thought she'd just saved me $13 at the time, she may have actually cost me money in the long run. Because not only do I want the one we already have, but I want all of the other character versions they sell, too (including Cars, Minnie's Bow-Tique, and the requisite Disney Princess grouping).

The puzzles come in a decently solid wooden box, with four slots to keep the various pieces separate. But if you can't seem to make that work? Each of the four puzzles has a different shape on the back, too, so you can sort it out if everything gets mixed up (which I kind of think is a GENIUS move by the puzzle makers, myself), AND! The very best part is that the box is the exact size of the puzzle when it's put together, and the bottom of the box has a lip around it, so you can just do the puzzle on the box! Anything that prevents the usual crazy-making task I face of trying to put a puzzle together on the carpeted floor of my family room, while all of the pieces separate because they just KNOW I'm not doing the whole puzzle project on a hard surface is something I can enjoy.

Oh, and you know, my kid likes puzzles, too. So everybody wins!

{photo credit: toysrus.com}

Reader Help: I need a strapless bra

By Tara

So...I have a problem.

See, one of my very favorite people/former college roommate is getting married on November 3rd. And way back in March, she asked me to be in the wedding. And I said yes, because...of course I want to be up there with her when she gets married!

And then, a couple of weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. With a due date of December 7th. Which will make me all of 35 weeks pregnant at her wedding.

(I did give her the option of demoting me to something less...involved...in all of the pictures, with no hard feelings on my part, but she's too awesome for that.)

She even found a gorgeous version of her chosen bridesmaid dress in maternity form, so I'm all set. Except...

Well, the dress is strapless.

And when I'm not pregnant? I run a pretty solid D-cup. So, while I avoid strapless dresses at even the best of times, I do have an emergency, corset kind of contraption that I love because it has enough support to keep everything where it should be, for as long as it should be there. Unfortunately, that's not an option right now, given how big my stomach is.

So, my question is, what do I do?!?!? Does anyone have a go-to strapless bra for the DD+ size I am showcasing right now? The bride-to-be's sister suggested that I get cups sewn into the dress, just to make things easier. But, is this a thing? A thing that will work? And do I have to have the cups with me when I go to get the alterations, or is this something the tailor should have on-hand? And why do bras have to be so complicated?!?!

Help!

Fall Activities: Apple Picking

By Tara

I know I've mentioned this before, but one of my favorite things about living just north of Atlanta is our proximity to so many cute little towns and activities in the North Georgia Mountains. I really do feel like I have the best of both worlds, with museums and theaters and restaurants to the south of me, and forests and lakes and mountains to the north.

I love it.

One of the things that has been on my fall to-do list for the last few years, but that we've never quite made it around to experiencing, is apple picking. Anything that can be made with apples is something that I will eat or drink, but my husband isn't quite as overly enthusiastic about the fruit as I am, so a trip to the orchard always gets dropped below our other activities (pumpkin patch, county fair, annual fundraising event at the historical cemetery in town, etc) (yes, cemetery. it's historical and gorgeous and just the perfect trip for the month of Halloween). But we made it happen this year, and I would definitely love to make the trip an annual event.

If you happen to live in the Southeast (or even if you don't, but you still want a weekend away...), I'd recommend the Georgia Apple Festival in Ellijay, GA. It's held the second and third weekends of October (which would be the 13th-14th and the 20th-21st this year), and there are hundreds of vendors on hand and craft demonstrations throughout the weekend, along with seven orchards in the area to choose from for apple picking purposes. The festival itself has been around for 41 years and even got a mention in the October issue of Southern Living magazine as something you should do if you're looking for fall activities. And I would NEVER argue with anything Southern Living says, so you know it has to be good...

{photo credit: my husband}

Amazon Prime: Worth the Money?

By Tara

My husband signed us up for an Amazon Prime trial subscription awhile back, then conveniently forgot to cancel it before the trial subscription ran out, THEN went ahead and ordered something using that Prime membership that we never meant to have. So, now we're stuck with it, I think. And for $80 a year, it's probably not the worse mistake we've ever made, as we order off of Amazon, a lot.

Since we're stuck with it, I spent the weekend looking into what else we get with the membership, in addition to the free shipping on Prime eligible items, and now I'm kind of jealous that this is assigned to my husband's account, and not mine. Did you know you could borrow books for free for your Kindle? It's only one per month, but still, I am all about as many free books as I can get. However, that only works for Kindles attached to the Prime account, which would be my husband's Kindle, not mine.

(So, I fully intend to switch the membership to my account when this first year is up, of course, if we decide to keep it.)

Also, we spent the weekend testing out the Prime Instant Videos library, and it isn't as bad as I thought it would be, when it comes to choices. There are a ton of kids shows to choose from, and since we are WAY behind on movie viewing, anyway, quite a few movies that we haven't seen, yet. (We watched Iron Man 2, if that's any indication of where we stand on the movie front...)

And with all seasons of The West Wing and Dawson's Creek available for free, I absolutely know what I will be doing with my upcoming maternity leave. I have lofty goals, I do...

(logo from Amazon.com)