Looking For New Headboards

As some of you know we are closing on our house next week. We are selling all of our bedroom furniture except the mattresses and will be buying new bedroom furniture once we arrive in our new home. The cost to ship everything was so expensive so we have decided to ship minimal things ourselves with a Uhaul and I am not dealing with loading and unloading bedroom sets. plus to be honest I am excited to pick out all new furniture for our new house.

The big problem I am having is everyone wants something different so we are looking at more Headbords this week in hopes to agree on something. I want to look at wood queen size headboards. I have always like wood. I think it looks classy and it is easy to match.

My husband wants to look at leather queen size headboards and for the guest room we are arguing about metal queen sized headboards.

My husband loves the leather he says it look masculine but wood is a sturdier and I think it has a more master bedroom feel to it. I worry about leather getting ruined or ripped quickly. plus its is harder to match the rest of the bedroom furniture to it.

I don't want to spend a lot on the guest bedroom and I think a metal headboard is a great idea I just wish we could agree as to which one.

I like this one and hubby says its plain looking. I think it has a nice design to it. What do you think?

New Kitchen Table and Formal Dining Set

As we are getting closer to moving I am getting more worried about what furniture we will need for our new house. I know the move itself is going to be pretty big and a bit stressful, so if I can have some of my furniture picked out, that would be a huge help when we are trying to set up our new house.

Given that we will be purchasing a larger house (around 3,000 square feet). I am pretty sure we will have an eat in kitchen area that will need a kitchen table and chairs as well as a formal dining room.

I always liked the high top table and chairs for eat in kitchen and I am not to picky on those so I think I will let hubby pick out the one he likes best since I will have the final say it most everything else.

Since there will be 5-6 people living in our house we will be looking at 7 piece dining sets. That way everyone can sit together for dinner and there will still be room for a guest or two as well.

So far I really like this set

It is formal enough to go into a formal dining room yet very modern which is very much my style.

My husband has suggested we get an antique buffet table. He knows how much I like to entertain and says it would be a really nice place to store all of our nice tableware we received at our wedding shower.

He likes this one

He says it matches to the dining room table I picked out above but I'm not to sure.
I never really thought how much work it would be to furnish a house. I want to pick out things that will last a while that I won't get tired of and that are not overly expensive.

BBQ SEASON

This week the weather has been in the 90's with lot of humidity. There is no way I am turning on the oven or even the stove in this heat. My air conditioner is already working at maximum capacity. I am already ready to pass out even with the air on. I can't imagine adding to the heat with the stove or oven.

I still do need to put dinner on the table for my family. Having a home cooked meal on the table when my husband comes home from work is something I pride myself on and that is why bbq season is in full swing here. I am really hoping our small older portable grill will make it through the rest of the summer. I plan to use it a lot if this heat continues.

When we originally bought our current portable grill I had thought we would have been to Arizona by now so I didn't buy one that I expected to last a few years. I bought the cheapest portable one that I knew would get us through a year till we moved. Little did I know the move would take much longer than I expected.
It makes me wish I would have thought harder and purchased a nicer grill. I really like hibachi grills and charcoal is a must. Nothing beats the taste of food grilled on a Charcoal grill. Gas has its advantages also but I just have to have charcoal.

This grill would be perfect about now

and while I am dreaming about a better grill I would really love a nice Bradley Smoker. Another great way to give your food amazing flavor.

can you see how much cooking has taken over my life. I think I am bordering on obsessed. LOL

In need of new exercise equipment

So our treadmill is on its last leg. We have gotten some really good use out of it but its definitely time to replace it and get some new exercise equipment. Since hubby and I have a difficult time sharing anyways I have been looking at both treadmills and exercise bikes. I figured that if we get one of each there will be no fighting and we will be able to work out together which will be really nice and motivating.

I really love many of the features my current treadmill has. It has a nice incline, measures pulse, calories burned and distance. It also folds up really nice to make room when we are not using it. One of the features it doesn't have that I would really like in our new treadmill is an mp3 jack and speakers. I really enjoy listening to music when I workout and It would be great to be able to connect my ipod to the treadmill.

I found this BH Fitness one on clearance that looks like it has everything we are looking for and is very similar to our current one.



As for a new exercise bike after some research I keep coming back to this recumbent exercise bike by Stamina Magnetic Fusion.



I have never owned an exercise bike before and the choices have been quite overwhelming. I think I might go to our local gym and talk to a few of the trainers there to get their opinion on if the Stamina Magnetic Fusion would be a good option for us or not. It is just one of those decisions that I need help with by someone who has some experience with exercise equipment.

Baby Gear

Since we hope to be pregnant here soon with baby number 2, we have been looking at what baby gear we can keep from Shane and what baby gear will need to be replaced.

Most of our baby stuff is in great condition. It is even gender neutral. one of the baby items that need replacing is our Travel System. The car seat is expired and the stroller has taken quite a lot of abuse. In fact the travel system stroller has been run over by my car. Hubby left it in the driveway and I backed up on it on accident.

I think I would also like a new Umbrella stroller so we have been spending a lot of time looking at and researching baby strollers. Surprisingly we both have agreed that it is important that we narrow it down to light weight strollers.

I don't fin it fun to lift a heavy stroller in and out of the car especially when recovering from a c-section.

I really like this iCandy Apple Lightweight Stroller.



I love that it is Lightweight, corrosion-resistant aluminium chassis, has 3 position forward facing and rearward facing seat modes and still functional with an Extra large shopping basket.

As for travel systems we both really like the Graco Flip It Travel System.
Like this one but in a different print.



I really like having baby facing me when he or she is so young and then having the option to turn him or her around as they get older, so he or she can see what is going on around him or her.

What travel system or stroller do you own that you love?

Helping with a Backyard makeover

One of my really good friends just moved back to Michigan due to a job transfer. She didn't bring any outdoor furniture because everything was so expensive to ship. She has a really nice backyard and has been looking to get it furnished and decorated so she can enjoy it with her friends and family. I guess she was getting pretty overwhelmed with all of her options because she called last week and asked for my help and input. I love shopping and decorating so I was very excited to help her make her backyard a great gathering space.

I knew we needed to start with SunDeck Furniture. If you are going to have family and friends over for bbq's and gatherings you need seating and a place to eat. A dining set is a really important piece that I think is a must for any backyard space.

I suggested this beautiful Dining set
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I also felt that this wood club sofa in white




and two of these wood adirondack chairs would be a perfect fit for her patio space in her backyard.



I am a big fan of wood. Wood is a sturdy and very attractive option for outdoor spaces.
I know she is getting the wood adirondack chairs and club sofa. Who doesn't like adirondack chairs? I am still working on convincing her to get that wood dining set.

I also had to suggest she look at gazebo kits. I know they can be quite expensive but they are so beautiful and functional. They really make a backyard look sophisticated and are a great option for providing Shade.

What do you think of my suggestions? What furniture do you have in your backyard?

Baby Cribs

We have decided to Start trying for baby #2. When I was pregnant with Shane I had looked at many Baby Cribs. after many weeks of looking and research I feel in love with and bought a crib that I thought would last through all my children.

Boy was I wrong. Around the Time Shane turned two the crib I picked was recalled. The bottom rails that hold the mattress were collapsing and babies were getting limbs stuck inside and injured. I was so Mad.

The positive that came out of the situation is that I was given a full refund for my crib.

Because we are going to start trying my husband and I have been discussing crib options. We really liked the convertible feature in Shane's crib and have decided to try and find a few convertible cribs that we like and then do research and narrow it down from there.

I really like this DaVinci Parker


It seems really well built and I like the curve in it. I am not very tall so I would think that would help me bend over the crib easier to lay the baby down more safely.


My husband on the other hand really likes the DaVinci Kalani


First he is a big fan of the cherry wood. He said the front and back look very thick and sturdy and he loves that there is a Metal mattresss support that can be adjusted to 4 levels.

I have to do some research still before we make a final decision. Do you have a crib you love that you would recommend?

New Bunk Beds for Shane

We are going to be moving in the near future across state to Arizona. After looking at the cost of shipping and almost passing out in shock, we have decided not to take any of our furniture.

It will be cheaper to buy all new furniture. A lot of our furniture is old and needs replacing so it is not really a bad thing. Shane also needs new bedroom furniture. He has outgrown his toddler bed and has been asking for a bunk bed. One of his friends has wooden bunk beds in his house and shane wants the same.

I don't want to spend a lot on a bunk bed for him because I know how kids are and I know in a few years the furniture will be destroyed. At this age he just doesn't understand the value of money and the importance of how to treat your furniture.

I was looking at Pine bunkbeds and really liked this one. It looks sturdy and strong and the storage underneath is a huge plus. The price is also within what we wanted to spend.



But now I am confused on what to do because hubby found this Young America loft bunk bed that comes preassembled which for him is a big bonus because he claims he will have enough with all the moving and assembly of the other furniture. It still has all the features of the first bed including the underbed storage.



It is more expensive but I think I have to agree the extra price is worth it to save us the hassle of assembly.

I Need a New TV Stand

Having a kid that takes up much of our family room with his millions of toys we are looking for ways to add space so our family room doesn't seem cluttered and small. Right now with all the toys and TV and furniture there is not a lot of room to walk.

My husband had the great idea of looking at new TV stands. Our TV stand is old anyways and very outdated. It has broken drawers and it definitely needs to go, so I am very excited to be getting a new one. After looking around online at different stands and much thought, we have decided to look at Corner stands only, as a corner stand would be the best for Space Saving in our family room. There are so many great corner stands it is hard to pick just one. After looking for several hours I have narrowed it down.


Right now I have narrowed it down to these 2 stands




The only problem I am having is I prefer dark wood like cherry but my husband says a TV stand in Oakis a must. I guess oak would match better with our other furniture but I really like the look of dark wood. I have tried to convince my husband to give the dark wood a chance but he won't agree to it so I Guess I'll be starting my search over again and finding an Oak Stand!