KimberlyMichelle » Uncategorized

my favorite sale at philosophy! 3 shower gels for $33

Kim — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:09:00 +0000

Whenever this sale pops up, I always JUMP to act on it on philosophy.com! You get THREE 16 oz shower gels for $33… and since they’re usually $16 each, it’s essentially a Buy 2- Get 1 free sale!

If you’ve never tried them, I dare you to give it a go! They seriously make you excited to get up and going in the morning, and definitely act as my “pre-coffee” caffeine to get me out of the house!

code: june3for33

The sale goes until June 29, 2011.

[p.s. you’ll get free shipping on orders over $50, so you can stock up on easy presents for friends for the year… or get ready for !)

outdoor inspiration courtesy of Pier 1

Kim — Tue, 03 May 2011 04:01:01 +0000

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pier 1 for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

The arrival of May marks my favorite time to spend around the house… and by “around the house,” I actually mean outside of the house. It’s the time of year that the weather hasn’t hit 100 degrees yet, but the evenings are still so warm that you can enjoy a drink outside on the porch or in the backyard.

Miss L sat out on the front porch this weekend and was simply enamored with the fountain waters and all of the flowers. And when we grilled in the back last night, she was happy to be hanging out with everyone outside as well.

It made me realize how much I want to make both the front patio and the backyard more of an outdoor room than just some seating areas on concrete. But, you know when you open up most of those lovely catalogs from certain home store, that idea flies away when you see the prices on their “outdoor room” set-ups. So instead of a massive makeover, I’m thinking that some little touches here and there will help add some dimension to both spaces.

So I went to Pier 1 on Sunday to see if I could find some answers… but instead just found more and more inspiration…

I fell in love with color pops and flower-power…

Pier1 Outdoor – 1 by Kim_Michelle on Polyvore.com

But then I saw this pagoda umbrella, and even though it’s entirely impractical for our windy backyard, I wanted it desperately along with candle lanterns hanging off the back fence…

Pier1 Outdoor – 2 by Kim_Michelle on Polyvore.com

And even though I am totally not a bird person at all, I suddenly wanted peacocks and parrots somewhere in our yard…

Pier 1 Outdoor – 3 by Kim_Michelle on Polyvore.com

So… um… yeah… Looks like I found a whole lot of awesome stuff, but just have no idea still what I want…

Except it looks like I want something bright and colorful though? And not orange? Hmm…

I’d highly suggest a trip to Pier 1 if you’re looking for ways to make your outdoor space a bit more colorful and inviting… and you might want to check and see if any Pier 1 Tweetups are coming to your area in the near future!

more than a hallmark holiday

Kim — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 22:16:06 +0000

I’ll admit that I don’t put Valentine’s day on any sort of special holiday platform. Mr. M and I exchange gifts and “celebrate” the holiday, but we don’t put any added pressure on the day. Lots of people I know like to bash it with the label of “Hallmark” holiday and refuse to acknowledge it as any sort of celebration.

And I wouldn’t be too opposed to that idea, if I hadn’t ever seen Valentine’s Day in South Central LA. [side note: I taught middle school in "South Los Angeles" in the early 2000's]

If you don’t have an image in your head of what South Central is like from its depictions in the media and popular movies, I’ll give you two words: dull and gray. The buildings are washed out and old, nothing has new paint on it, and people are scared to wear any bold colors that would bring notice to themselves. There’s just a whole lot of concrete, not much green, and a lot of life hidden in that neighborhood. There were glimpses of green in the spring on the few trees there, or the parks that I would drive by, but in the winter it was just gloomy and gray.

And then Valentine’s Day hit!

[source: Fire Monkey Fish]

Every street corner and intersection had a vendor, if not 4 of them. There were balloons and flowers and stuffed animals everywhere the eye could see. And people were out on the street carrying handfuls of gifts and buying things for everyone they knew in their life. Kids came to school with endless amounts of “stuff” to give to their friends. They bought us, the teachers, gifts of every shape and size. (Seriously… ask me about the awesome baby-faced tiger I got… ) Everyone was happy and joyous and there was color everywhere you looked. And students loved being at school and seemed to like each other and their families and just life in general. The neighborhood was alive and happy… something that doesn’t happen too often there.

That’s when I realized that Valentine’s Day is whatever you choose to make of it. It can be a day to celebrate love in every single form… from family to friends to your partner in life. And you can celebrate with chocolate or roses and everything in between. But it can really truly be an amazing jubilant day of just love… if you make it that way.

I hope you have a chance to share some love and bring a little extra “color” to your world today through the holiday. Send a text, post on someone’s Facebook wall, make a call, or just simply shout, “I LOVE YOU” to the world. It’s the one day where the world taps you on the shoulder to remind you to do it… and don’t miss that chance!

what’s in season 365 days a year

Kim — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:47:37 +0000

Krank Press has created a wonderful 2011 calendar sharing both what to plant and eat based on the season and your location! They have a Bay Area, Southland, and Northwest edition ($23 each) of their letterpress calendar for online order!

…and we’re back from that world they call Disney

Kim — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 01:03:18 +0000

Hi there! Can I just tell you how wonderful it is to take the first week of the new year off as vacation? Especially after you’ve had short work weeks because of the other two holidays immediately preceeding it? When everyone else is moaning about going back to work… you get to leave on a trip! It’s truly fabulous and I definitely recommend it!

Well, if you didn’t know, we headed to Walt Disney World for a week… well, at least Mr. M was there for a week. Baby M and I were a different story. You see, some lovely daycare buddy of hers decided to infect her with the plague on the 28th of December, leaving her incredibly sick with her first major cold. You know, the full phlegmy sneezy coughing icky head cold that would paralyze any adult let alone a 10 month old baby. And while the Dr. didn’t rule out travel completely, we felt it was best not to submit her to the torture of flying while sick (along with the rest of the redeye passengers on board). So, I sent Mr. M off on a plane to meet Mom L and his mom and dad in Florida, while I stayed home and played nurse for 2 more days and tried my best to get as much amoxicillin in her as I could (this little girl has quite the gag reflex when it comes to pink gooey liquid I soon discovered!).

[poor little feverish/pink baby!]

And in spite of all of my worries and small anxiety attacks, our flight to ATL and then MCO was completely and totally uneventful! Baby M decided that the airport was her new playground, and stayed awake the ENTIRE time we were there (9pm – 12:30 am due to a flight delay), but then fell asleep 10 seconds after she finished her “don’t let the pressure kill my ears” bottle. And she slept the WHOLE WAY. And when we had to make a connection in ATL? Well, wouldn’t ya know she took yet another nap. Awesome.

And guess where we were only 2 hours after we stepped off the plane? If you guessed the Magic Kingdom.. you’re right! We rode Dumbo, the Jungle Cruise and even messed with some pirates (Arrrrgh!) on our first few hours of fun in the sun… and we didn’t let up from there on out!

I’ll be sure to download some photos tonight and wrap up the trip quickly… and also provide a few travel tips as well. But I had to just rush in and leave this message before I neglected the blog for too long…

Happy 2011 everyone!!!

pier 1-ing the dining room table

Kim — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 19:00:39 +0000

This post brought to you by Pier 1 Imports. All opinions are 100% mine.

For the past two years, we’ve had an empty spot where the “dining room table” should be. A completely empty and void spot in our front room. But this year, we’ve got the table and chairs where they are supposed to go. But what we didn’t have… any decor for the table!

So Mr. M and I took a short drive over to Pier 1 to see if we could find something that special holiday something that could fill the niche!

The first thing I gravitated to was the “gold/rattan” section of the Christmas decor. I mean, how adorable is this gold Santa? I figured it would fit perfectly with the decor of the room (orange orange orange!), but Mr. M said we needed more color and it shouldn’t blend in.

That led me straight to this wildly colorful section… with dreams of neon circus ornaments hanging from the chandelier! But alas, Mr. M took one look at my dancing eyes and shook his head from side to side. I guess he thought this might be more of a “clash” than a “pop” ?? I have a feeling my Aunt Gloria would adore anything from these shelves though on her Christmas tree!

But then we found exactly what we were looking for. Something classic, something with a pop of color, and it was simple enough not to overwhelm the table… and it was under $60 for all of it.

Some people came into the store as we were going to check out, and literally jumped for joy when they saw the Angel in my basket. “Oh my goodness! They have angels this year! We have to have one!” I thought it was so cute, because obviously this family has made shopping at Pier 1 part of their holiday tradition… and they were in to collect a little bit more for their collection this year.

So how did the tablescape turn out? Well, you’ll have to wait with baited breath for me to share pictures of all of the holiday decor with you!

And in case you do want to head over to Pier 1 to find some decorating lovliness or last-minute holiday gifts, know that you can drop off your unwrapped toys for your local Toys for Tots campaign while you do your holiday shopping there!

#reverb10 – day 9

Kim — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 21:46:00 +0000

December 9 – Party

Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

(Author: Shauna Reid)

Oh parties. What are those again? Because we’ve now moved from the “that party was rockin!” phase of life into the “did you see that kid throwing rocks?” phase. So parties happen, but it’s usually between naptimes instead of extending your bedtime.

But… the social gathering that rocked my socks in 2010? I’m going to head away from the conventional “wedding” answer that was the biggest party of the year, and go with a smaller fete held in honor of a birthday. Our friend Webb had a gathering of his close friends for his birthday, many of whom flew in just for the day/night to celebrate! It was the perfect amount of people, with copious amounts of food (crabcakes and Korean BBQ!) and alcohol, as well as gigantic cupcakes and great conversation. . Mr. M helped out by firing up the BBQ in back and cooking up the short ribs, while I decided to fancy up the cheese plate and help with décor a few hours early.

It was a night filled with some racy stories, hilarious Adam Sandler movie moments and the chance to meet some new friends. I heard the phrase, “I want some mommy milk!” for the first time. I learned that LV luggage sucks and that Paris Hilton returned most of her order this summer after she used it in South Africa. And I swapped silly stories about Lady Gaga and old basketball/athlete groupies in college

Do you know what I remember vividly? Getting dressed up. Like, actually prepping and full make-up-ing and up-do-ing myself for the occasion. Wearing my Tommy Bahama silk skirt with my blue velvet Kate Spade flats and my J Crew cotton cardigan. Casual fun, but dressed up. It was nice, because normal dress up only happens for a nice dinner out or a special occasion, and usually not a trip to a friend’s house.

It was really the perfect grown-up party all-around.

—————————————————————

Other readers who are playing along: Michelle at See Michelle Blog, EmilyB at A Leap Begins, Ali at His Birdie’s Nest, Koritsimou at The Pale Wisconsinite, Charmi at Life on Minden, Kelly at Glamour This!, Katie at She Likes Ruffles, He Likes Truffles, Liz at e.louise, Nodakademic, Kasia at Good Finking, Kate at Marsh Mellow Goodness, Lydia atNothing Rhymes with Lydia, Jenni at Moonlight & Magnolias, EP at Oh Baby!, Jen at Living a Brighter Life, Holley at Dead Flowers, Tara at Two Wishes, Marissa at marissamakes, Kinzie at KinzieSays, Maggie at A Long Far View, Nellie at Wired, Witty and Well-Dressed and Jen at A Tale of 2 Monkeys. (am I missing you??)

If you’d like to join, just visit www.reverb10.com/participate to sign up! It’s not too late!

sprucing up the baby (photos)

Kim — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:02:59 +0000

Yesterday, Baby M and I had a playdate at the in-house photo studio. While that may seem like a glamourous playset, it’s really just a white IKEA bedsheet draped over the West Elm console table in our living room. But I’m pretty sure, that if you asked Baby M, she was definitely on trial for becoming America’s Next Top Baby Model. Except that photographer (aka. mom/me) was awfully demanding of her cuteness while the afternoon light was fading!

Luckily we got in all of the photos we needed (and all the naps as well!), and I was able to edit them last night with ease in Lightroom. But before the shoot, Baby M had done a number on herself with her fingernail, scratching her cheek from end to end in the middle of the night. And her cradle cap had loosened a bit more get a little chunky in the middle of her hair line. Oh, and you can definitely tell which photos were taken RIGHT before nap, or right after I stopped her from crawling into the kitchen to play with the dog.

But did I edit those out with Photoshop? Not one bit! Baby M isn’t a perfume model, she’s a baby! Now did I pick out the photos that captured her the best? Why I certainly did! And I think that’s the difference… choosing your highlights is a different process than modifying yourself digitally. You can find a photo that looks awesome without creating a reality that doesn’t exist. It plays well in the magazines, but I think that I’d like to remember what my family looked like as I saw them, and not as digitally cleaned up.

[EDIT: Here's the original NYT article that started the conversation on Saturday: No boo-boos or cowlicks? Only in school photos (thanks Maya for the reminder... I forgot to put that in!)]

Today there’s a little bit of a debate going on about kids and photoshopping their photos between Mom-101 and Gwen Bell (see the comments). I wonder where you fall in the discussion? Does photoshop help us put our best foot forward or does it take things a bit too far? And does it differ between adults editing themselves and adults editing kids? What do you think?

giveaway: crazy about cookies book!

Kim — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 21:00:57 +0000

And the winner is…

Teale!

(and it was her extra tweet’d entry that won!)

Thanks to everyone who entered… and the amazing list of yumminess that you produced in the comments!

My favorite cookie of all time? Grandma’s Monster cookies! Mmmm… I can smell that peanut buttery M&M oatmeal goodness right now!

—————————————————————–

I just got done flipping through Krystina Castella’s newest cookbook Crazy about Cookies (she’s also the author of Crazy About Cupcakes, Booze Cakes, Pops! Icy Treats for Everyone, and A World of Cake) and I’m so happy to find out that it really delivers what it promises: occasion based cookies that you really want to eat!

The book is divided into 6 sections: Basic equipment and tips, Everyday cookies, Party cookies, Occasion cookies, Holiday cookies and Christmas cookies. And within it, there are endless ideas for cookie treats for any occasion! I really like the amount of “creative” options there are in the book, as compared to say, Martha’s compendium of a Cookie book. The Smores cookies look scrumptious, and I desperately want to find the time to make Snowglobe cookies as presents for friends and co-workers!

Anyhow… while you might want to take a glance at this book on your next trip down the Recipe aisle at B&N, I’m going to give someone the opportunity to win a copy of the book for their own holiday fetes!

Before Friday (11/12), just leave a comment here on this post sharing your favorite cookie of all time! Don’t be ashamed if you love OREO’s over grandma’s chocolate chip cookies… just share and you’re entered to win!

And for this contest, you can tweet to win as well! Just tweet “I’m crazy about cookies and that’s why I’d love to win this book! http://kimberlymichelle.com/NAxr “ and leave an additional comment saying you tweeted and share your twitter handle!

The winner will be randomly selected from all entries on Friday at 3pm PST. Good luck!

p.s. it was also photographed by the super awesome of Teri Lyn Fisher FishFood!

disclaimer: I was provided a review copy of this book by the publishing company and have chosen to give it away to my readers. I was not compensated in any way for sharing this information by the author or the publishers.

flashback: adult halloween

Kim — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:05:41 +0000

I’ve been slowly uploading all of my digital photos on my hard drives to a safe place on FLICKR… and I figured I’d share a few random memories here using them as inspiration!

Halloween is a very different holiday as an adult than as a kid. Costume contests take place at big house parties, at the workplace, or at a bar instead of at school, and candy is inevitably replaced by spirits with just as much sugar. And for some reason, most of my Halloween costumes fall into certain categories instead of being totally random year after year:

1) Look-alikes/Celebrity/Movie Character Costume

[DISCLAIMER: I'm not trying to pretend I look anything like Kiera Knightly]

Here, I decided to dress up like Domino Harvey, in that super blockbuster movie Domino. When dressing like a celebrity, it’s best to choose something REALLY obvious, or else people won’t appreciate your creativity and won’t even bother to ask what you dressed up as. I quickly found out that no one had seen the movie, and that I pretty much ripped up my jeans for nothing, because people thought I was just being some crazy girl wearing camo’s.

Example #2 — Fairy wings almost always = Tinker Bell. This one was nice and clear last year!

2) Wear normal clothes…. but add a hat and you’re suddenly someone else!

Sometimes it’s cold on Halloween… even in California! And sometimes you just want to go out, but you don’t want to spend $50+ on a bad costume store costume. So, you look in your closet, figure something out, go to the store to buy a hat, and you’re done! And if you couldn’t guess… I was BLUE from Blue’s Clues (left) and the Statue of Liberty (right). And I was comfy, warm, and cute

3) Nerdy costume

If all else fails, just dress as someone that all the nerds will know. In this case: Homestar Runner. You get awesome nods of appreciation and recognition and you feel like you succeded at adult Halloween. This does only work when you’re in areas with high density nerd populations (i.e. this area of town was filled with aerospace and software engineers)

And this year? Well… our family costume (Mr. M, Baby M and myself) falls under Category #1 once again… and those who saw my preview tweet might have a hint at what it will be!

Do your Halloween costumes fall into certain categories year after year?