Month: September 2011

by Allison

shoes!

You know how much I love the Pinterest right?  I can’t get enough.  In fact, if my iPhone could track the traffic on my screen, all roads would end at Pinterest.

I thought it would be fun to corral some of my favorite finds from Pinterest about once a week and highlight them here.  This week?

SHOES!

heels

 

riding boot

Do you want every pair of boots as much as me?  I want them all right now, right here, ASAP. 

Please.… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

What’s in your purse series week sixty five

This week’s What’s in Your Purse Series is from Gina.  Thank you!

If you love this series and want more of it, submit your purse.  If you want to submit your purse to the series take two photos of your purse {nice, clear, non-blurry ones} one of the outside, one of the inside, along with a listing of the contents to allisonATpetitelefantDOTcom

kate spade purse
purse contents

I seems as if there is more than that in my bag.  All of the paper and receipts that are stuffed in my purse are tucked inside my agenda.  A lot of the time my iPad and point and shoot camera are thrown in for good measure.  The bag is Kate Spade.

Contents:

  • Bolle sunglasses
  • Agenda (I keep a paper and electronic one!  I can’t decide which one I like better.  What does everyone else do?)
  • Nook
  • iPhone (My life is on that phone.)
  • Keys
  • Pocket knife
  • Flashlight  (Believe it or not the knife and flashlight have come in handy.)
  • Wallet
  • Altoids mints
  • Cleaning cloth for electronic devices
  • Clear make-up bag (eye-drops, chap stick, lip gloss, hand cream, tampons & disposable toothbrushes)

    • … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

how to make wood shutters for your house

You want to learn how to make wood shutters for your house?  Today I’m your gal.

We live in a super windy city, and over the summer a particularly vicious storm ripped off what was left of the plastic window shutters on the front of our house.  The plastic cheap-os have been driving Viktor crazy forever, so he decided to take action and make some wood shutters on his own.

You cannot BELIEVE how easy this project was.  Peasy.

shutters for the house

The new wood shutters on the front of the house make the curb appeal so much greater, and they took literally one afternoon to make.  In fact, we loved the new version so much we plastered the entire house with wood shutters over the course of a slow weekend.

And as always, when I say “we” I mean Viktor and the children.  I usually sit inside the air conditioned house working and come out to approve the final project.  We’re a good team Viktor and I.

Here’s how it went down:

Step 1:

Buy fence slats from Home Depot.  {this is not sponsored; we spend half our earnings at that bloody store, including the supplies for these wood shutters}… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

back to school paper organization

I love back to school.  I love the school supplies, I love that my kids are so tired they fall into bed at 8:00 pm, I love my children’s teachers, I love that I have all day to work alone.

What I don’t love so much?  All the !%#$ paper that comes with it.

There’s an obscene amount of paper coming home every day, and it’s enough to overwhelm my entire household.  So here’s what I do to tame the nonsense.

back to school paper organization

I designate a folder for each child, write their name on it, and use it for the entire year.  For every 50 papers that come in, I keep one.

ONE.

I’m ruthless about thinning out the trail of paper streaming into my house.  I keep a recycle bin next to my desk and at the end of every day I go through the backpacks, sign papers, recycle what we don’t need and look to see if there’s something special.

abc's

When I see something that needs to be saved I write the name, age of the child, and the year on the back.

paperwork

Then I slip the paper into the appropriate folder, and I’m done.

back to school paperwork
At the … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

whitening teeth at home: results

Last week I showed you my manky yellow teeth {and wrinkles, but that’s neither here nor there} before I used some whitening strips on them.

whitening teeth at home

They were manky and yellow {or brown some say}, and now:

how to whiten teeth at home

What do you think?

I put them on while I worked for two hours and no one noticed.  Sure, I work at home, but I was able to do a whole bunch of phone calls without anyone telling me I sounded 12.  With braces.  My gums were a little sensitive, but not much.  And can you believe what happened in two hours?  That was only using one strip and there are three more in the box.  I’m super stoked.

The other thing I was really happy about is that the actual teeth whitening strips are way stickier these days.  They didn’t slide around at all and I had to peel them off my teeth when I was done.  Huge bonus.

What would you whiten your teeth for, in only two hours?  Wedding?  Just for you?  Reunion?  Trip with your significant other?

–This is a One to One Network sponsored post.  The now white teeth belong to me.–… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

Crock Pot giveaway

What’s better than a Crock Pot giveaway to celebrate the start of Fall?  A day off work?

Maybe.

But I don’t have an in with your boss, so I’ll help you with the next best thing.

A crock pot. 

crock pot dinners

Seriously, is there anything better than coming home from work to the smell of dinner already cooking?  I think not.

Relish, the sponsor of this giveaway, is chock-a-bloc full of menus and shopping lists to help you streamline dinner.  You totally want to check them out.  Basically you sign up to have Relish hook you up with a menu plan for your week along with a shopping list for the week.  For $7 a month someone else will help you figure out what to have for dinner.

I don’t know about you, but that’s always my trouble.  Someone has to cook.

Eventually anyway.

You might as well have someone give you a list for the grocery store and a handful of recipes.

Giveaway Details:

  1. Leave a comment to enter
  2. Crock Pot giveaway valid from Friday 9/23 to midnight, Friday 9/30
  3. Winner will be announced on this post Monday 10/3 and will have 48 hours to respond. If the

    4. … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

What’s in your purse series week sixty four

This week’s What’s in Your Purse Series is from Allison, who happens to be a rock star.

If you love this series and want more of it, submit your purse.  If you want to submit your purse to the series take two photos of your purse {nice, clear, non-blurry ones} one of the outside, one of the inside, along with a listing of the contents to allisonATpetitelefantDOTcom

leather white purse
what's in your diaper bag

What’s in the purse:

  •       A Baptismal bonnet (baby was Baptized Sunday)
  •      Two Soothie Pacifiers
  •      One Diaper
  •      Wipes
  •      One Cloth Diaper
  •      A pair of pants for baby
  •      A t shirt for baby
  •      A nursing cover
  •      Four lip colors (two lipsticks, one lip plumper and one NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream which is the most amazing ever)
  •      Vitamin pill box (with a multi and chromium inside)
  •      Aromatic Oil sample that was given to me
  •      Six plane tickets (I travel a lot, I guess)
  •      Two gate check tickets
  •      My Wallet (which is really a clutch and has a ton of things inside including my phone and keys)

    • … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

whitening teeth at home

I’ve officially lost any vanity I might have ever had.  I mean, I share all kinds of personal information with you, but I never show you actual photos of me in bed for weeks at a time, or pictures of me un-showered with bedhead.  But today?  I’m showing you a photo of my yellow teeth.

I know. 

teeth bleaching

Never mind the wrinkles.  I’m an unapologetic sun worshiper, and I have the laugh lines around my eyes to show for it.

Anyway, we’re talking about my teeth.  They don’t look as manky here as they do in real life, but I promise you, my teeth are not my best feature.  Just last week Charming politely asked why my teeth were so “brown” and if there was a way to fix it.

Duly noted little Jedi.

crest white strips

So I’m taking action.  This week I’m going to use some teeth whitening strips to see if they can really make these yellow {“brown”} teeth look a little less manky.

teeth bleach

The copy on the box swears they brighten your teeth in 2 hours, so I’m going to give it a go and see what happens.  I can get a lot done in 2 hours with these bad … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

what you should be buying at the $1 store part III

This is the last in the What You Should be Buying at the Dollar Store.  Here’s part one of What You Should be Buying at the Dollar Store in case you missed it.

There are all kinds of things you should be buying at the $1 store, and this post is all about sundries you should buy for your home.

dollar store
candles
dollar store gifts

Household supplies to buy at the $1 store:

  • Epsom salts
  • foam curlers
  • toothpaste
  • toothbrushes
  • shaving cream
  • bath bubbles
  • books {seriously! I’ve gotten some amazing books at the $1 store}
  • coloring books
  • fake flowers
  • Christmas ornaments
  • paper plates
  • decorative napkins
  • birthday candles
  • grosgrain ribbon
  • craft supplies
  • baby powder
  • name brand floss
  • hand soap
  • teen deodorant
  • mouthwash
  • hand sanitizer
  • wax for braces
  • wrapping paper
  • gift bags
  • band-aids
  • pregnancy tests
  • bows for little girls
  • wax for braces
  • kids night lights
  • liquid allergy medicine
  • aspirin

What else do you buy at the dollar store?  Once in a while I find something completely awesome that seems like it shouldn’t be there.  One of my readers found some M.A.C. makeup in the beauty section of the dollar store. and I can never seem to leave without spending at least $20.

Who’s found something awesome lately?… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.