Trendy Tuesday...For The Utility Closet!

Fact is, EVERY household must include an ironing board and a broom (unless you're living in a bachelor pad!)~right? Well, going along with my '09 "renew" theme I found this fabulous ironing board cover at TJ Maxx {$12.99} the other day. Passed the shoes, only took a quick peek at the accessories and came home with something fairly practical. Practical???~you may be asking. Yes! For me this one replaced a nasty blue plaid one that had been living on my board since my college days. Stained, torn and begging to be retired. And as silly as this sounds, as I performed the dreadful ironing deed, I have to say my new cover made it a bit more refreshing. Pair it with pretty smelling spray (BTW: TJ Maxx carries lots of yummy smelling sprays as well!) and the gruelling task, well still sucks but... smells pretty! Feeling extra crafty? Go HERE to make your own cover. OR drop in to Target and pick yourself up THIS.

A fashionable ironing board for a fashionable diva.

I guess if I were a true diva I wouldn't have to do my own ironing!
THIS is the cutest little iron I've ever seen!

My favorite laundry tools:

Bleach~Fresh Meadow & Bleach Pens

Three Tips I've used to remove stains from my FASHIONS...

Chewing Gum~ To remove chewing gum from clothing, start by scraping away as much as possible. Rub the stain with ice. The ice will harden the gum and you should be able to pick the gum from the fabric. Treat any remaining gum residue by placing the stained item between white blotting paper. Iron over the blotter and change the blotter as it becomes soiled. Use a sponge containing a spot remover and blot the area.

Crayon Stains~You can use WD-40 to remove crayon stains from fabric or walls. Simply spray WD-40 on both sides of the crayon stain and allow the solution to sit for 5 minutes. Rinse the item thoroughly then rub dishwashing liquid into the stained area with a clean cloth. The crayon stain should bleed away. For fabric stains, wash the item in the hottest water that the stain can tolerate. And...buy "washable" crayons next time!


Permanent Marker~ (on any surface) Spray with aerosol hairspray. It's a miracle! On clothing, repeat and wash several times until gone. Lucy hit one of her shirts pretty bad with permanent marker. This totally worked!

The Fun Broom!

If I were a witch I'd totally be digging this!

TJ Maxx {$6.99}

What's next? New dishtowels...ICK!

Conclusion: A spicy utility closet and/or laundry room can be fun! They get used all the time so why not make it pretty?! You deserve it! Mine's eventually going to be pink and black! The one in my old house was lime green polka dotted with watermelon colored trim. CRAZYISH!

P.S. I did a 3 garbage bag Goodwill dump, a 2 bag neighbor hand-me-down dump AND a 5 bag consignment shop dump. Feels great! However, I haven't organized my stink'n coat closet yet. Another day I guess.

Mrs. Princess Pookie's Social Calendar

Welcome To The WORLD!

Princess Sophia Tyne Van Leuven

1.1o.09

My sister-in-law had a baby this weekend and oh what a pretty little princess she is. PERFECT complexion and the little peanut didn't make a single peep during our whole visit. Good Girly!

Princess Laura (mommy) may you have many sleepFUL nights in the days to come!

CONGRATS!

Weekend FaShIoN Feature:

Looks like I had to think a bit about this one. What was the grand prize winner of this outfit? The RED PATENT RUFFLE shoes. Many of my dearest church going friends commented on them {THANKS!}~I enjoy them too! Colored shoes...so much sassier than boring BLACK.

Bow Tie Shirt: Target clearance rack~ $12.58

Black Pencil Skirt: Target~$19.99

Textured Legwear: Target (I think)~$5.99

Girly Shoes: Marshall's~$34.99

Red Bracelets: Princess Pookie Exclusive~handmade by moi!

SEE...it doesn't take a $million dollars$ to look like a million bucks!

That's all I got for ya. It's been a crazy weekend, it's currently way past my bedtime and I "get" to teach an early morning Pilate's class tomorrow. PEACE out princesses!

It's FFF (Fabulous Fashion Friday)

{Orla Kiely~designer}
What's In The BAG? The fashion world is on the brink of breaking into the new spring season and what an excellent time it is to reinvent your handbag department. Personally, I am a fan of shades of bright grass greens and yellows and canvas fabrics. They make a statement and add freshness to any outfit. Target, Old Navy and American Eagle carry fun and extremely affordable versions of spring totes. I'm enjoying the looks of THIS and THIS. Which one do you think I should consider~in my dreams?

Hint: If you find a designer handbag you like there are a lot of discount websites out there. I have EXCELLENT success with e-bay.

Click on the "HERE"s below and maybe you'll discover a spring tote to consider for yourself!

HERE ~I have one of these, love it!
HERE

HERE

HERE

This is a fun option HERE
or, if you've just won the lottery you could go with THIS version.

THIS is a great place to pick yourself up a unique bag you'll be sure to enjoy for the season. Have I mentioned that I LOVE Anthropologie? If I haven't...I LOVE Anthropologie. It says "You're a lovely little lady" to me. Handbag conclusion: There is absolutely NO reason for any princess out there to be toting a boring grandma handbag. If you are, couple it with Mom jeans and you're sure to feel great about yourself. AND, for those of you princesses out there who think you're too old to carry around a darling little sassy stylish bag...you're right~Bad Attitude Gal. You're only as old as you think you are!!

Do something for yourself this weekend. My Prince Charming always says "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." Ain't that the truth.

TAKE CARE!

Giggle Girly

One of my very favorite things to do is laugh. Not only laugh but laugh really hard! If this doesn't make you giggle then you've got serious problems!

(Remember, scroll to the very bottom of my blog and hit pause on the music player.)

Laugh Out Loud today princesses. It will make you feel a whole lot better!

Have a marvelous day! See you tomorrow for FFF!

Mrs. Princess Poopie

January 1st was official potty training launch day at our house. First on the potty training agenda~ bribery. A pretty little jar of Jelly Bellies placed directly in front of my princesses eyes as she tinkled. How did our potty training morning start? See for yourself.

STRIKE #1

So, on New Year's Eve I made a little shopping trip to Nordstrom Rack and 5 pairs of shoes later and a Juicy Couture RED jacket (all at amazing prices I might add) I was on a shoppers high. However, that night as I rummaged through my purchases and walked down my own runway with giant fans blowing my hair at all the perfect angles of course, the Ya Right buyers guilt began to sit in. BUT I did find THE 2008 bargain (comparatively speaking that is) of the year. And the award goes to...

Leap'n Leopards, these babies are freakin cute!

I first spotted these drool causing works of art at Nordstrom Rack around Mother's day. They are hand made in Italy by a beautiful designer and seriously princesses, they are totally comfortable~really! The original price was $395.00. (It's okay, pick your jaw up. I would NEVER spend that kind of money on a pair of shoes. I'm pretty sure. :D) At the time they were 235.90. I tried the lovelys on, walked up and down the isle pretending like I was "thinking" about buying them or I should say calculating everything I could take back to justify these amazing shoes and then cried as I waved good-bye and placed them back on the rack. I LOVE you little leopards, I'll miss you. Well... I discovered them again around the end of June for the 199.90 price. Working through the heart palpitations I tried them on again and yes, once more I kissed them good-bye and wished them well. See you in shoe heaven. I hope your new owner is as cool as me. Yes, there's more to this stupid story if you were wondering. So, I guess third time really is a charm because there they were, sitting all alone on New Year's Eve, staring directly at me begging me to take them home for a mere $100.00. 50% off princesses~hot diggity! Let me repeat 50% off! How could I not take them home? $400 down to $100. They wanted me so bad!

Meanwhile back to the potty training saga...

As I was rinsing out poopies Jan. 1 I said to myself, "Self, you will NOT take your new leopard friends back because you are currently touching pooh and anyone who has to touch pooh deserves an amazing pair of "gigantic flower on the toe" leopard shoes! RIGHT?

The END.

{photo shoot}

Nighty Night...don't let the bed bugs bite!

Help me princesses, I am truly pathetic!:)

Have you cleaned out that underwear drawer yet??

P.S. Aside from 2 minor pooh pooh accidents,(at home praise the Lord!) I'm happy to report that Lulu is successfully potty trained. I think! I'm pretty sure I deserve another pair of shoes to celebrate. Don't you?

It's Trendy Tuesday...Do You Dare?

PATENT! Trendy or Timeless? My vote? Trendy AND timeless. I absolutely adore anything patent. From purple, to hot pink ,to red and of course the classic black, patent is a feminine stick of fashion dynamite. My favorite place to wear patent is on the feet. Especially red patent on the feet! The greatest feature of patent I think is it's the one type of material you can truly get away with fake'n it. Fake leather=cheese-o-rama. Fake patent leather=Yep, I'm hot! However, my advice when it comes to the shine: keep it to the shoes, handbags or belt. Stick it on a jacket and you'll look more like a futuristic raver or garbage bag rather than a trendy chic. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER wear head to toe patent! Patent rule of safety: wear subtly with a TON of confidence!

Here's a little article I found on mystyle.com.
Fear not. "Patent leather will be on the forefront through 2008 and into 2009," handbag designer Tammilynn Carlisle reassures us. "There is still a lot of patent leather being shown, but it has a new and fresh look every season, like new textures or colors." Anooshka Zakarian, owner of Rumor, a boutique that sells luxury handbags from Parisian designer Gerard Darel and other high-end lines, agrees, predicting that patent will stick around through at least the fall of this year. So we all agree on a key point: If you love the bag and its glorious shine, and you can afford it, by all that is holy, buy it! If you get a sudden case of the willies while queuing in front of the Coach cashier, Carlisle suggests, "stick with a neutral color, such as black, chocolate, taupe or gray. Color can be fun too, but think about it carefully before plunking down a lofty sum."But really, dear, as they say, art is long, life is fleeting. Treat yourself to a light-bright patent bag in a sunny yellow or tomato red Dooney patent, something that will give you joy whenever you look at it. That's what high fashion is all about.


My favorite line in the above article: "Something that will give you joy when you look at it. "

I want THESE little babes for spring. And the red patent Dooney & Bourke handbag pic. right. Hmm...if only. :D

Purple patent! Lucy thought she needed these.

Seriously princesses, go by yourself something patent. It's an excellent reward for yourself AFTER you've cleaned your undie drawer.

Edit Update: This is my next "life editing" project. The coat closet~yikes. I swear this disaster happened due to the Holidays. Yes, I will admit, it's never in great condition but this is just embarrassing. It's almost to the "heads up" stage when you open the door. Better get on this one before a board game falls on my head and causes me to wear a neck brace. Ew!

P.S. Cleaned my undie drawer yesterday? Did you?

New Year New You!

Live with what you LOVE~and get rid of the rest.

(Cover of CountryHome magazine)

This is the theme I have chosen for myself for 2009. I wouldn't consider myself to be a pack rat, I don't buy things just because they are on sale (mostly), nor am I a home organizer FREAK. However, I have come to the conclusion (Finally!~says Prince Charming) that my life is surrounded by too much stuff aka JUNK. From magazines, to sweatshirts, to house decor, to crafting crap, and YES, even shoes (hope I don't regret listing that one!) it's time to dig out, donate and recreate my surroundings.

As much as I enjoy the Holiday decor (but DESPISE cleaning it up) I treasure the sense of calm that comes with it's departure. It's like I suddenly have a new canvas to play with. A canvas that gives me the motivation to organize (sorta), rearrange and pitch those things that I don't love. I am determined, slowly but surely, to edit my life. However, I will leave the the garage for hubs!:D

This Weeks Assignment

Where can you start? Your underwear drawer! If you've got undergarments from 2005 hanging out in there, it's time princesses, it's time. Anything with the hint of a hole needs to be retired RIGHT NOW...TODAY! On your mark, get set, PITCH! It will take you 10 min. tops!

Weekend FaShIoN Feature...

Classic pieces every closet should include:

black skirt (Anthropologie-SALE!), white shirt (Nordstrom-1/2 yearly sale...has ruffles!), investment boots (Nordstrom-Anniversary sale)

Trendy {eventual} throw out:

argyle knee socks, zebra watch

Just For Fun: (Every closet needs these pieces~right?!)

hot pink cardigan

The NEW and improved black skirt. The Tulip Skirt. High waisted, baby gathers and blooming bottom. So fragrantly sweet.

Black skirts to peek at.
HERE
"Pencil Me In"
HERE

"A+ Baby"
HERE
"Ruffle Richness"

Whatever your new year brings you, I wish you many successes in all that you do. Remember...A new year=a new you!