Year of the Dragon

Before my coworkers and I met up over a work lunch to celebrate Chinese New Year (Year of the Dragon), we briefly discussed and planned our hair do. My girlfriend had mentioned pinning her hair up with real chopsticks.  Of course, I jumped on board and told her I wanted the same up do.

Shortly after arriving at the restaurant, we walked to the bathroom and whipped out her chopsticks from her purse.  It was such an easy and fast fix that I had to share!

She merely secured my hair in a high ponytail, twisted it and wrapped it in a bun before piercing it with two chop sticks. Voila!

I loved my hair style. As another co-worker playfully mentioned, it was very James Bond’ish hairstyle. Note to Self:  If ever I’m in a situation where I needed to defend myself, I could throw the chopsticks from my hair at my attacker.

My Up Do with Chop Sticks

Lashes for My Car

Eyelash extensions seem to be all the rage in the Dallas area lately. In fact, I’m tempted to join the crowd. But, at $250 (for a full set), my eyes can wait.

Rather than getting them for myself, I got these lashes for my car.  I got a kick out of them after spotting these lashes in a national magazine. I figured, why not get these for my car? She deserves a day of pampering too!

After receiving them in the mail, I prolonged putting them on. I was fearful that they’d fly off once I was on the highway. Worse yet? They’d land on someone else’s view while driving.

A short visit to my sister’s changed my mind. I put the adhesive tape on my cars and took pictures with my girls before driving off.

Yes, we garnered A LOT of attention from other drivers. In fact, it was funny watching them point and stare (with my hubby driving my very girly car). The lashes were adorable and my work peers couldn’t wait to see my car in person (after posting the picture on Facebook).

Unfortunately for me, the lashes scratched my paint. I took them off once I parked my car in our garage.

This was one costly beauty mistake.

 - Cool Playground Mommy

Found My Long Lost Bracelet!

Every other month, I rearrange our house furniture. It motivates me to clean the house. In fact, it makes it fun.

My hubby begs to differ. He loathes moving furniture; especially if I end up moving it to the original location months down the road. However, I’ve always been this way. I find great pleasure in rearranging furniture (in lieu of buying more or painting walls). In fact, I consider it one of my hobbies!

Unknowingly, our older daughter encourages my hobby. She loves stepping into her room and finding new bedroom furniture placement. With each and every compliment she pays me, she unwittingly fuels my desire to rearrange the rest of our house.

Imagine my excitement upon finding my lost diamond tennis bracelet while rearranging furniture two weekends ago! I thought I lost this bracelet at work. I never imagined I’d find it ever again. Another plus? We found the jewelry I purchased for my sister’s August birthday too (never mind I ended up buying her a gift card after losing all hope I’d find it)!

In essence, I saved my hubby money (from purchasing me another bracelet) though the bruises on my legs (the downside to moving your own furniture) beg to differ.

Not only am I finding lost items, but I feel like I’m giving my house a thorough cleaning and burning calories (now if I could only stop posting about dessert). I am vacuuming and dusting in places where furniture used to be. A total win-win situation, right?

- Cool Playground Mommy

Our Dirk Shirts

We truly are beaming with Texas pride in our household with the recent Mavericks win and parade. What better way to showcase our pride than with cute t-shirts? I purchased all four of our licensed shirts on the corner of our local gas station. They were a bit pricier (about $20 each) than what I was comfortable paying for, but they were so darn cute and we were really rooting for the Mavs (this was before their NBA win).

Since purchasing our shirts, I discovered these shirts are also sold via the internet and can be found on www.amazon.com.

- Cool Playground Mommy

My Daughter Helping Put Together the Redbook Magazine Party Bags for Guests

Two weekends ago, I hosted my first Redbook magazine party sponsored by both Redbook magazine and Suave. After applying online to host this party with Suave goodies for guests, I was uber pleased to have been selected and started my party planning right away.

With the suggestion of a co-worker, I decided to do a red carpet theme (to tie in the theme of Redbook magazine) and encouraged guests to wear black dresses and hats. My daughter and I had fun shopping at Party City for decorations and laid out snacks (fruits, veggies, mini-cupcakes and Straw Hat Pizza) for guests. To boot, my younger sister brought her strawberry cake pops – which were absolutely yummy –to  solidfy the theme.

My co-worker assumed the role of party photographer and snapped pictures of us with our cute Redbook bags. We spent the rest of the time hanging out being “Chatty Cathys.” It was a fun night and am looking forward to hosting my next Redbook Happy Hour party with the theme “Tea Party with Karaoke” (I can’t carry a tune, but it won’t stop me from belting out a song).

Pre-Party Decorating Our Stairway with a Red Carpet

Look for us in an upcoming Redbook edition. We may just be in it as we were asked to upload our pictures from the party.

Trying Out Our Suave Hair Products

-   Cool Playground Mommy

Before you purchase a designer pair of jeans, do yourself a favor and try on a pair of Wal-Mart jeans.  You might find yourself walking away with a bargain!

As I was shopping one early weekend morning, I was drawn to one particular corner within our local Wal-Mart store — the recently marked down racks.  Not one to pass up a bargain and to sate my curiosity, I ended up purchasing a pair of loose fitting $7 jeans. I justified my purchase by telling myself that at the very least, I could use them when running weekend errands.

Who would’ve thought those same pair of jeans would get so much attention? During yesterday’s normal frenzied routine to work, I scrambled to my closet, grabbed the jeans, quickly pulled the tags off, and wore them for Casual Friday. Not only did I receive compliments from my peers but for a moment, I could’ve sworn their expressions were momentarily frozen in a perplexing state of “shock and awe”.  I’m proud of my meager $7 Wal-Mart purchase.

In the words of one of my Facebook friends, “the older we get, the wiser we become in our shopping choices”.

My Latest Bargain Find - $7 Jeans at Wal-Mart

- Cool Playground Mommy

Two of my favorite private sale shopping sites are Zulily and Totsy. Both have lots of great products for kids and for Moms, too! All products are from well-known brands at discounted prices- how cool is that? Members have opportunities to earn credits by sharing the site with their friends- when a friend makes a purchase, you get a credit!

Right now Zulily is having their “Winter Blow-out Event” and Totsy is having a “Toy Extravaganza” – just in case we haven’t all shopped enough this holiday season!

Check it out here- and if you’d like an invite, here you go:

http://www.zulily.com/invite/jliberman554
http://www.totsy.com/join/julieliberman

In the time that I’ve been writing here at Today’s Mama, you might have noticed my love for photography.  And if you haven’t, well, I love photography.  I recently wanted a new and updated family picture, but I’ll admit it, I’m picky.  I usually know what I want and that’s a lot of pressure to put on someone!  I’ve known Mike Simmons, the face behind S & B Photography, for about 15 years.  I called him up and, as you can see, he did an awesome job!

I asked Mike to tell us a little about he got started in photography.  I think you will find his answer both interesting and fascinating.

“I didn’t start out as a kid loving the camera or spending much time using one but oh how the times have changed.  About 5 years ago I went to South Africa with some friends of mine from Texas.  We were going there to work and serve the orphan children who were left to fend for themselves.  While I was on that trip, I had a simple point and shoot camera and I found myself wanting to take pictures more and more while I was there.  It was great being there and helping but I wanted to take back images with me so that I could remember the trip and everyone’s faces.  While we were there, we took a day off from work on Saturday and went to Kruger Park.  This was a huge wildlife sanctuary where I would soon find myself looking at the wildlife and the landscape not with my own eyes but through the view finder of my point and shoot!  I spent the entire day there taking in the beauty that was Africa and did it while shooting everything in sight.

Upon my return home, I looked at and cherished those images.  I immediately began saving for better camera gear!  Before long, I was able to purchase my first digital SLR and a couple of lenses.  The fun and passion ensued.  I hoped I would one day be able to return to Africa because I had a new passion for Africa and a new passion for photography and knew I could use that passion over there.  I was able to return in April of this year and needless to say, I was back at my photographic birthplace and became a kid in a candy store.  My goal was to capture the images of why we were there and all of the children and the mission that Ten Thousand Homes lives by.  I wanted to bring those images back and show them to anyone who would listen.  I want to promote Ten Thousand Homes and raise money so that one day, I will return, live there, and shoot away!”

The thing I love about Mike is, not only does he put his whole heart into his work, but his humor can relax and bring smiles to even the most stubborn kids who refuse to crack a grin.  (And how would I know this?  Oh, only because my two sweeties immediately decided once we arrived at our photographic destination that they weren’t smiling.  I think it’s the universal idea of kids across the world actually.)

If you live in the Dallas area, and would like some fresh family photos, a wedding photographer, or a special event photographed, contact Mike at S & B Photography!  He can be reached by email at TexasLongHornFan@mac.com or by phone at 469.867.0302.  You won’t be disappointed!

All family photos taken by S & B Photography and are used by permission.  For more posts written by me, visit my personal blog, I Believe In Love.