Dear Shoe Retailers,

I understand the nature of seasonality business.  I know that, in the interest of profit, company's must sell thru the majority of their goods before marking them to clearance... and before the season ends and the goods are worthless.  Don't forget that I work in retail (and have worked in the shoe industry, even!)

That being said, what can I do to get just one of you to invest in any level of inventory in water socks for kiddos?  After last minute notice from the school about Splash Day (love that!).... and a 12 hour workday.... the last thing I want to do is traipse all over town in search of the elusive water shoes.  After visiting TWO different chain stores, I now have in my possession THREE pairs of water socks, NONE of which I'm confident will actually fit either of my TWO kiddos (thanks in part to that awful ranged sizing and the width of G-man's feet).  And it seems the boy-girl ratio needs to be re-analyzed.  Because did I mention that all three pairs I have are BLUE?  This is not going to fly with a 4yo who refuses to wear anything that isn't pink, Hello Kitty, purple, Hannah Montanna or a dress.  You're not making any of the criteria with this:

(Which is what I've been left with.  Times three.)

Let me know who plans to own this stuff.... for real.... and I'm a loyal customer.  Probably for at least the next 10 yrs. 
Thanks.so.much,

3 days til Vegas

And I'm wearing these!

Do y'all think they'll be okay for the damn dam tour?  Just kiddin'!

I FINALLY found a replacement to my fav.shoes.of.ALL.time.  I think one of my first blog entries was about these shoes.  And finally... at long last.... ahhh... I have them.  The wear-with-everything, perfect-height-heel, WEDGE.... and at less than $100!  Where have they been for the last 2 yrs?  ;)

The Easter Bunny is (finally) ready!

Well, it's about an hour away from Easter.... so, what better time for the Easter Bunny to be finishing up at the Semi-Homemade House?  Right?  ;)

Just a quick sneak peek into what the kiddos will wake up to tomorrow morning - y'all know how much I love this stuff!  Look at these fun eggs!  I got a few football eggs for G-man (filled with matchbox cars) and some Hello Kitty for Big Sis (filled with hair things and jelly beans!

How cute are these Lilly P animal crackers?  (I didn't figure G would appreciate all that girliness... so I got him the manly man ones.)  ;)

Tomorrow will be Family Movie Day for the Semi-Homemades!  Big Sis gets The Princess and the Frog and G-man gets E.T.  (I realize that might sound strange, but trust me when I say that both my kiddos like that movie.  What's not to like?)

This part of the Easter basket is Semi-Homemade family tradition!  (You may remember that from last year.)  SWIM SUITS!  :) Lobster trunks and an anchor rash guard for G-man... a pretty pink paisley one piece for Big Sis.  Can't wait for summer!

And to go with them?  New flip flops!

I don't want you to think mr. fix-it got left out of the fun!  He's getting The Blind Side (one of the very few movies we saw in the theater last year.  We both L-O-V-E-D it!), his fav Easter treat (those disgusting egg yolk-y Cadbury eggs), and a couple small things.

And don't worry about me either - the Easter Bunny always takes care of me.  The Oklahoman Bunny has already sent me a Sonic GC (via my sweet momma!)  And tomorrow there will be a new Scentsy warmer (appropriately named Faith) with some new scents (Mrs. Everything and I went "smelling" today). 

Hope the Easter Bunny is good to you, all my sweet blog friends, and that you have a blessed Easter.

Semi-Homemade Treasures from Canton!

Well, in some ways we were right. When we headed out to Canton a couple weekends ago, Mrs. Everything was all set with her list and measurements.... I was just along for the ride. And while we both found treasures, we did NOT succeed in crossing off the things on Mrs. Everything's list... but we had tons of fun, lots of girl talk, and enough retail therapy for both of us!

So... what did I find? So glad you asked! ;)

I was really looking for 2 things:  stuff to decorate my home (y'all know that's my fav hobby!) and stuff to dress up my kids.  I scored on both!

$2 hair bows - seriously, I couldn't make 'em myself for that!  Got Big Sis 4, including OSU orange....

What blew my mind... was that I got MYSELF a few things to wear!  (That usually only happens a few times a year.... like a couple weekends ago when my mom and sis came to town.  We went to the mall - took 3 kiddos with us - and I swear it was like a game show.  See how many decent things you can find - that fit and don't look horrible - before the kids melt down.  Repeat again in about 5 months.)

Got this cute burnout tee..... 

Got Big Sis this tshirt (not from Canton, but from the Canton of the internet... Etsy!)  It's from one of my FAV kiddo clothes shops... Punky Monkey kids.  You might remember the rocker tee I got G-man for his 1 year pics... same place!  Anyway, Got Big Sis this design, in a black tee (you shoulda seen the horrified look on her face when I let her help pick this out... she thought she was getting a onesie)

That tee (and black converses!) will go with this pettiskirt (which I DID get in Canton - and for $15!!!!) ... for the pics we're doing this weekend.  They're G-man's 18 month pics (shut up, I know he's 20 months!)... and we're going with a rocker/punk princess theme.  At the Dallas Arboretum, among all the sweet tulips.  I hope the juxtaposition of it all happens just as I see in my head... :)

G-man will be wearing his coolest jeans (duh) and either HIS Punky Monkey tee or this burnout shirt from Canton.  And no, I didn't realize - until I got home and got everything out - that I basically got my son and I matching tshirts.  Yep, just start his therapy sessions now.... ;)

Then another treat for ME!  One of Mrs. Everything's friends has opened a shop at Canton with her mom (talk about a dream - how fun!)   So we stopped by... and I found this cute & cas denim strapless dress.  Excuse the awful pic and just know that it's cute!  I wish I could remember the name of the shop - if you're interested email me!  Or maybe Mrs. Everything can leave it in the comments - they had cute stuff!

So the pics this weekend (which are with Kristie.  Of course.  I'll come back and show you her amazing work and you'll be begging me for her info.  I promise.  Just tell her I sent ya!)

Anyway, in G's pics by himself... he'll be wearing jeans, a white button up, and this funky little tie we found in Canton.  It's tooooo cute!

Okay, so when I think of Canton, what REALLY comes to my mind is stuff for my HOME! (And you know how obsessed I am with our house!) And there's no better place to shop than Paul Michael!

I've been wanting to put together a new semi-homemade centerpiece for spring.  Last year, I did lemons.  This year, I was thinking... GREEN. 
So I took these....  mossy rocks... moss covered vine... and some green (moss again?) spheres...

+ my trusty (and empty!) hurricane....threw it all together, and done.  

This centerpiece was almost as easy as last year's lemon one.  And I love how it can live right up until summer.  Or until I come up with something better.  ;)

Hope y'all enjoyed a peek into Canton, TX! If you ever get the chance, GO! (And if you need a shopping buddy.... holler at me and Mrs. Everything!  I'll bring my new giraffe tote that I got there for $10!)

Canton Bound!

I'm about to head out the door with Mrs. Everything for a trip to Canton! There's no telling how many treasures we'll find.... I'm hoping to get inspiration for decor for the new house, as well as Big Sis and G-man's new rooms! I plan to go back this fall or next spring, but it never hurts to start thinking ahead! Mrs. Everything has a more immediate shopping list, and she means business! She's even measured walls and she's ready to go!

After a day of girl talk, Starbucks, and lots of laugh.... I'll be back to share any treasures I couldn't live without! :) Happy weekend!

New Year, New.... SHOES!

Mr. Fix-It and I actually had a sitter Sat evening... and wanted to do a little shopping at the mall (without kids, it's so enjoyable!) before my birthday dinner!

But I didn't get THESE shoes.... (this isn't the greatest pic, but these are seriously cute shoes!)

Nope, instead, why did I end up spending way too much time at Stride Rite, trying to make an exchange for some shoes that would actually fit G-man? (Apparently, size 7 extra wide are elusive.) The store had one pair of shoes in his size, in the whole store. And they were ugly. ;)

So.... shoebuy.com and ebates to the rescue! I was able to score these shoes:

for $30, by the time it was all said and done! I had a $10 off coupon... AND they have free shipping (I seriously hate paying for shipping... and usually won't!).... AND I got 10% back thru ebates. Haven't heard of ebates, the site that PAYS YOU TO SHOP??? Email me and let me give you my personal email addy... and when you sign up and make a purchase, they'll give us both an extra $5! It's so easy!

G-man could literally wake up any day and his current shoes won't fit, so it's a good thing these new kicks are on the way. And hopefully he'll outgrow this EXTRA wide thing.... before he needs his 3rd pair of shoes! (I'm positive that, by this age, Big Sis had worn at least 20 pairs of shoes!)

A Quick Pick-Me-Up

Because it seems like we could all use a little break....

OMG, I LOVE these!!!

First off, I'm a heels girl..... I know flats are all the rage, and I've really tried to get into that. I even bought a cute pair and wore them (a little) this fall. But... I'm a tall girl in a short girl's body. ;)

Secondly, these are metallic. As in, goes-with-anything, a neutral!

Thirdly, wedges are my fav. It's so easy to walk in them, to me, it's LIKE wearing a flat - that easy!

Then it doesn't hurt that they're Coach. I have a pair of Coach slides that I've had since right after Big Sis was born and I STILL love 'em! Hmmm, I just wish I could find a slightly dressier black version of this!

All the cute sandals are coming out, so you'll probably hear more from me on this topic. But I've got a HUGE meeting tomorrow (Coach just happened to email these to me - so sweet, dontcha think?).... so now back to work!