Stroller Success!

Several weeks ago, Jan, my Mother and I trekked to Atlanta in search of the perfect stroller for Miss Abigail. The whole stroller choosing/buying experience seemed overwhelming to me because:

1) I had no idea what I really needed.
2) There were too many to choose from.
3) Every person I asked had an opinion but they were ALL different.
4) Strollers are expensive and I didn’t want to make the wrong decision.

We began the day bright and early, picking my Mother up around 9:00 a.m., and headed north. Atlanta is only about 1 hour from my parents’ house, but we were actually going to Alpharetta, so it took us about 1.5 hours to get to our destination. Of course, I had to immediately check out their restroom (one of the many pregnancy pleasures) and then Jan and I headed in one direction while my Mother leisurely headed the opposite way. Jan and I knew we were about to embark on a few hours of frustration but my Mother was just along for a laid back shopping trip.

As you can see in the picture above, the store had TONS of display models to play with (and break), hence why we went to Atlanta in the first place. At the time this picture was taken, I was thinking, “Great…I’m officially in stroller hell!”

Well, after a few hours of consulting, breaking down and unfolding strollers, walking the aisles and carrying seats, we agreed upon our final purchase and couldn’t be happier. And yes, considering my Mother had 5 children, we did ask for her opinion.

Abigail’s New Ride

For us, this stroller satisfied all our criteria. Since Jan and I both drive small foreign cars where trunk space is extremely limited, we needed something light-weight and small when folded. This stroller weighs in at about 15 pounds (excluding the carrier) and takes up about half as much room as most other models we viewed. The company that makes the stroller also makes car seats (carrier and base), so we were able to get an interchangeable system. We left the store with two carrier bases (one for each car), one carrier, one light-weight stroller and one more item checked off “The List.” Mission accomplished…Woo Hoo! Btw, we chose the neutral color of brown with hopes that we will be able to use this again in the future (i.e. if the next baby is a boy, we didn't want to drive him around in something pink and girlie). 

We rewarded ourselves with a late lunch/early dinner at Pappasito’s, my favorite Mexican place. We ended up with nothing short of a Mexican fiesta at our table and enjoy every bit of it. As a side note, I lived about one mile from this restaurant for 4 years and visited it at least one a week…I really miss it!

Friday Fun

I saw this on another blog and thought it was fun. Enjoy!

The ABC's of Lori Greeff:

{A} age; 32
{B} bed size; King
{C} chore you hate; Ironing
{D} dogs; 1 – Daisy (English Bulldog)
{E} essential start to your day; Coffee
{F} favorite color; Red
{G} gold or silver; Silver
{H} height; 5’5”
{I} instruments you play; None
{J} job title; Communications Manager
{K} kids; 1 on the way – Abigail Suzanne Greeff
{L} live; Columbus, GA
{M} mom’s name; Rebecca (Becky) Bradshaw Booth – cool initials: BBB
{N} nicknames; None
{O} overnight hospital stays; 1 – I had my tonsils removed when I was a child.
{P} pet peeve; Grocery carts randomly left in parking lots – would it really kill anyone to walk a few feet to the designated grocery cart parking area?

{Q} quote from a movie; “I’m funny how, I mean funny like I’m a clown, I amuse you?” - Goodfellas

{R} right- or left-handed; Right
{S} siblings; 6 – 3 brothers and 3 sisters, only 1 is older
{T} time you wake up; Around 7 a.m.  (and yes, even on the weekends)

{U} underwear; I wear it!
{V} vegetables you dislike; Beets
{W} what makes you run late; Multi-tasking – folding laundry and making the bed when I should be drying my hair

{X} x-rays you’ve had; Not too many, dental and a chest x-ray
{Y} yummy food you make; Guacamole.
{Z} zoo – favorite animal; Elephants!

Happy Friday everyone!

My new purchase!

Last night I purchased an item that I’m really excited about. Could it be this? 

 

Or these beauties?

Nope, it’s this…a Brother SE 400 sewing and embroidery machine!

Now for those of you that know me pretty well, this should be funny. I think it is HYSTERICAL! I have never claimed to be domestic and I have absolutely no desire to become a ‘Domestic Goddess.’ I keep a clean house and I have a little OCD when it comes to organizing, etc. but I consider myself an average cook, I do not iron and I am not crafty. However, I am VERY excited about my purchase and can’t wait to put it to use (more to come in the future).

You may be wondering what started this crafty phase in my life, and it all began with $20 letters. That’s right, $20 letters! When designing Abigail’s nursery, I knew I wanted to incorporate her name in pretty wood letters, so I went searching the internet for a place to buy them. My friend, Jennie, bought some really cute ones for her daughter’s room off Etsy, so I looked there and fell in love with some. The problem…they were $20 a piece. Now this wouldn’t be a huge problem if her name was JO but since her name is ABIGAIL (seven letters!), these particular letters were too pricey. I am extremely picky and couldn’t find any other letters that I liked as much, so I decided to try to make the letters myself. Honestly, I figured this project would be an epic fail but knew that I would never know if I didn’t try, so I forged ahead. Jan, being the ‘Frugal Freddy’ that he is, thought it was a fabulous idea and supported me 100%. He said he thought it would be nice for me to hand make something for the nursery, especially since he had worked very hard painting the walls and putting up the chair rail (which looks professionally done and amazing). I agreed with him but I also know that he realized he could save $140 too!

I went to every craft store in town twice (we only have 3) and eventually found the wood letters that I liked and seven scrapbook paper patterns that looked good together.

I painted the edges of the letters and used mod podge to apply the entire piece of paper to each letter face. Note: I did a lot of research before beginning and several tutorials will tell you to trace the letter onto the scrapbook paper, cut out and then apply to the letter face. I tried applying the paper both ways, already cut out and whole. I definitely prefer the whole page method better. After the page dried to the letter, I used an exacto knife to cut each letter out. 

Once the letters were painted, covered and cut out (see above picture), I decided to jazz them up a bit with clear glitter and attached ribbons for hanging.

I am very happy with the result and it only costs about $25 for all seven letters! Woo Hoo! Score one for me! Since this project ended in success, I have a list of other projects that I am working on and will share once completed. And to bring this blog full circle…yes, the new sewing and embroidery machine will be working overtime once it arrives. It excites me more than the Burberry clutch and Jimmy Choo shoes. Who am I?

From the Greeff Video Vault...

Hi everyone, happy Friday! We found out today that two of our friends, Wesley and Neely, are expecting their first child, due in November. Wesley is South African (like Jan) and came over to the States on a golf scholarship (Jan came over on a tennis scholarship) and Neely is American and was raised in the South, like yours truly. Their upcoming arrival will share a similar heritage with Abigail and we are excited for them and wish them the best.

I mention their exciting news not only to say congratulations but also because they posted a video on Facebook today of their parents’ reaction to the news, which reminded me of my parents’ reaction. Jan was smart enough to capture our big reveal on video and we both love to watch it and LOVE their reaction. To preface the video, we told my parents via a ‘gift’ on my Mother’s birthday.

Hopefully my Mother doesn't kill me for posting this, but like I said earlier, we think it's great! For those interested, the onesie says 50% South African, 50% American = 100% Me!