Top Ten Target Summer Favorites

Women's Rolled Short Sleeve Boxy Cropped T-Shirt

Buttery yellow with a modern cut? Absolutely. 

Women's Ruffle Short Sleeve T-Shirt

Super cute!! I also love these little bright satchel bags from Target.  I use them everyday and get tons of compliments on them all the time.  It is such a perfect color combo too. 

Women's Two-Tone Slip Dress - CUSHNIE for Target 

I have a ton of these dresses.  I basically loved and bought every Cushnie dress I saw on Target. I adore her designs and was so excited to be able to actually own them!!

Women's Sleeveless Ballet Dress

I love this cut.  I really feel like a dancer in this.

Women's Long Sleeve V-Neck T-Shirt

I used to buy a ton of these at J. Crew and Boden for like four times the price.  They are so practical.  I love that you can dress them up or wear them with jeans or shorts.  Plus, my arms have been getting fried! Especially when just out driving.  I really suck at wearing sunscreen so I majorly prefer to just wear a long sleeve shirt.  

And, of course, it's even better because I have a sale for you!! 

Women's tees and tanks from $5, shorts from $12 and dresses from $12. Valid 06/28 - 07/04.

Camille Rose Curl Maker

This stuff is the absolute best.  I have tried so many different things over the years.  

I read all the blogs.  I tried the "all natural baking soda" method for a while. 

 I had so much build up.  My hair was gross. 

I was determined to not let the same thing happen to my daughter.  She has super curly hair.  I really didn't know what to do for her.  Oil, sure.  But I wanted her to have some way to manage it.  I tried to cut out Sulfates and Silicone.  That was hard, it's in everything.  

Then I found this brand and have loved it for years.  I use it on both of us now and I love it.  Her curls get definition and shine and my stick straight hair can actually make ringlets now.  Plus, it is a Black-owned company so it is pretty much the best stuff ever. 

Spend $20 get a $5 gift card on beauty & personal care

Aquaphor Baby Advanced Therapy

This is really my favorite baby cream. It's in a tub, so it's not diluted with water like regular lotion.  It has really helped my baby stave off any signs of excema.  I still get excema flare ups from time to time, as do my older kids.  I am so glad I started using this on him when he was young, because it has really helped keep his skin healthy from the very beginning.  He is 15 months now and still has buttery soft skin. 

Get a free $20 gift card when you spend $100 on baby care essentials with same-day order services. Valid 06/28 - 07/04.

Kids Cloud Bookcase

This bookcase is basically the cutest thing ever.  It comes in four colors and I kind of want them all.  I bought six bookshelves at the start of quarantine.  Now I want to return them all and buy this instead.  I mean, it's like Pottery Barn or Land of Nod quality and design for Target prices.  

Plus, there is a deal on it too..

Save up to 25% on furniture.
Valid 06/29 - 07/01.

Toy Doll Farmhouse

Speaking of cute kid stuff.  Hearth and Home Toys are like my favorite thing.  I was so excited when I saw their big Toy Doll Farmhouse on major sale!  It even comes with furniture!  My kids got this for Christmas and they play with it so so much.  

I guess that doesn't make it exactly summery, but where we live, any toy that keeps them playing when it is too hot to go outside is a win in my book. 

Five tips for shopping Christmas in July, Target-style.

This is my third time going to the Target Christmas in July toy sale. I skipped it last year because we still had so much stuff. With two kids in preschool now the number of birthday parties I need to buy toys for has doubled so I decided to stock up again this year. I have tried having 'please no gift' parties in the past but sadly it is a trend that does not seem to be catching on.

I've been going to Target a few times a week waiting for the clearance to start. I've also gotten in the habit of checking the #targetclearance hashtag on Instagram. I found some great baby deals that way. I got an adjustment for some shoes I bought Nandini that way as well. 

I finally heard last night from my friend Kayla Aimee that the markdowns were rumored for today. We didn't get to target until about ten (and swim lessons started at 10:20, oy.  We were only fifteen minutes late.  Oops). 

We got a ton of stuff. There were a lot of cute baby toys. I bought a few kinexts building sets for Avi and birthday gifts. I also got Nandini a new dolly. In the car the whole way to Target she kept asking, "I get that black dolly at Target". When we got there she found it in the end cap herself. It was marked down to $6.88 from 23 so I let her put it in the cart.

Here is a picture of my awesome haul.  I counted at least 15 things and I paid less than $90 for all of it.  That works out to about $6 per item.  These are mostly bigger items too as I don't like tiny knickknacks that just clutter up our house.  They are kind of like gremlins and seem to multiply on their own anyway.

I'm still waiting for the patio and garden stuff to go in sale. The furniture was on sale a few weeks ago but I really want to get some of the solar powered patio lights. The outlets are no where near our pergola where I want to strong the lights and I love that they don't add up our electricity bill. (NB. If anyone sees these on clearance please let me know!).

You can see my tips for using the Shopkick app to get free target gift cards here.

A few of my Target sale shopping tips:

1. Keep an eye on social media.  This is how I discovered this sale in the first place.  It also helped me see things that were on sale but maybe hadn't been marked yet in my local Target.
2. Don't stress about not getting their early.  They were still putting on the markdown stickers when I got there at ten.
3. Check the end caps first then swing through the aisles.  Most of the 70% off toys were not in a special section so we went through each row.
4. Don't be afraid to return stuff! Yes you got it on clearance, but if you don't need it or have space for it just take it back. With the red card you can return stuff for upto 90 days. Or better yet, find someplace awesome to donate your extra stuff. We are big fans of goodwill. 
5. Shop with your kids!  It may seem crazy, but it was fun shopping for toys with them.  They helped me look for red stickers and we talked about how most of the toys are for giving away.  The 'specialness' of today helped to reinforce that they don't get toys every time we visit Target and that not all toys we buy are for them. 

Nandini's third birthday: Oh joy.

Planning a birthday party a few weeks after having a baby is not necessarily the easiest thing in the world.  Nandini really really wanted one. She even composed a song about her party surprise and her love for her family.  Who could say no to that? Well played Nandini, well played.

So, I set out to put together a party for her, but keep it easy and low key.  Cute, but low key. She had a few wants too. Yellow cake. Yellow balloons. Her family. 

We chose the wildflower center as the setting.  There is a small grove of oak trees with rope swings hanging from them.

For the decor, I got majorly lucky.  The Oh Joy collection from Target just came out so I picked up some awesome pieces from that line.  It seems that other older lines of their party decor was on clearance so I picked up a ton of plates, napkins and honeycomb balls for cheap to supplement everything.  The table cover was some kraft wrapping paper that was on clearance.

I got the Happy Day banner, party flutes, goblets and bowl from the Oh Joy collection.  Enough color to give everything just the right touch.

The most important thing was that Nandini had such a blast.  She loved swinging with her friends.  She was pretty much too excited to eat cake but I didn't think she was going to let anyone else have any donut holes. We had a pie fight, which was more amusing to Avinash, and probably better for five year olds than three year olds, but he loved it.  We had Holi colors and face painting with us, but skipped it.  The kids were having enough fun playing in the flowers, leaves and going on the swings.

Tips to keep it easy:

• Don't cook! We ordered breakfast tacos and donut holes.  It may not have been fancy, or themed, but it was good. 
• Find a setting with natural charm.  We knew the wildflowers would be out so we really didn't need to decorate much. In years past we have held our parties at a pretty gazebo in the park.
• Let kids be kids.  We didn't hire a magician or clown.  Avinash made clown noses for everyone anyway and brought them along.  I had my face paint kit with me but no one was even interested.  We had rope swings and a pie fight.  Honestly, the swings held their attention longer than the pie fight anyway. 
• Let it go. Keep crafting to a minimum.  I skipped my usual handmade invitations, banners and goodie bags this year.  We used evite.  I found a party pack of goodie bags at Target.  The whole thing was 9 dollars, princess themed and a no brainer.  I think we added gummy bears to it, but the kids may have eaten those before we handed them out.  I really didn't check. Lol.  
• Wide washi tape for water bottles.  I think that taking off water bottle labels is such a nice touch, but printing out new labels and taping them on is a pain.  This year I just used one strip of wide washi tape on each one.  Fast, easy and cheap. Score.
• Reuse handmade items. I had my chalkboard banner which I made a few years ago with me.  This was a great project because I can use it for each child's birthday. The clay letters on her cake were also a project I made years ago and are reusable.  The honeycomb balls came home with us and are hanging up in her room now.

 Linked up with the Idea Room. You can other parties I have planned here.

Halloween Dress Rehearsal | Chalkboards, bats and ghosts, oh my!

Subtitle: There is nothing safe in this house from me and some chalkboard paint. 

I came up with this theme when I was walking through Target last November and hit the 90% holiday clearance jackpot.  Avinash has an early October birthday and we love dressing them up at all whenever possible.  Also, there is nothing that other parents love more than getting their kids costumes ready three weeks early and goodie bags filled with candy to take home in the car.

DIY Crafts| 

We got a bunch of Kid Made Modern craft kits (a fantastic bargain on sale, since there is no prep work for me required) and made one every few days leading up to the party.  We made a glittered bat wreath, painted wooden haunted house and felt door hangers.  I also had a foam haunted house but that didn't get done in time. 

Avinash was also able to help me with a few other crafts for the party.  I bought a big pack of orange napkins and we created these pumpkins stuffed with candy.  Don't hate me but the triangles were cut from some leftover Hanukkah stickers.   I used one napkin to make a candy bundle and one to twist around the bundle in a pumpkin shape.  I used dark washi for the stems and to hold it all together of course. 

We also bought paper towels and made ghost pops.  The kids were truly confused by these, but I like how they each come with a handy napkin already attached.

The Food|

 I let Avinash look at pictures from pinterest and this is the cake he choose.  It was between this and meringue ghosts. 

I think I did a pretty good job coming close (with only some foam stickers and wooden skewers).  I decorated the cake with pieces from another Target craft kit.

Witches fingers - just carrot sticks, cream cheese and a tiny sliver of red pepper.  These were finished off pretty quickly.  Avinash loooved telling everyone to try a witch's finger.

A candy bar because I just like the way they look.  I try to get different colors, shapes and heights for the candy and containers.  The rock candy was by far the most popular thing there. 

I also covered the water bottles with some JBS printables.  I wanted to make some more spooky food that was easy to do so I quartered a cauliflower, spread some butter on it and roasted it for 45 minutes in the oven.  A surprisingly popular dish.  My mom also made Indian chickpeas and rice with fresh chutney.  Yum.

CHALKBOARD OBSESSED|

I made this banner for Nandini's party in the spring.  I used the chipboard sheets that come in my Studio Calico kit packaging (hoarding for the win!) and cut them into 6inch squares.  After painting, I scalloped the bottoms for a more finished look and strung them together with twine.  Because it really is chalkboard I just switched out the names for his party.  It looked really cute in the spring but it also blends in perfectly with the Halloween theme.  Score!  [I make a lot of party banners in my Etsy shop, if you are interested in a chalkboard one, just request a custom order and I will hook you up!]

The party sign is something I recently painted.  Turns out we are not super great at doing things like hanging mirrors.  This poor mirror shattered in the middle of the night.  After sweeping up the damage I decided to recycle the base into another lovely chalkboard.  I think I like it better this way. 

  I also made the chalkboard signs for the food myself by painting from chipboard sheets. You can read more of my chalkboard painting tips and ideas for furniture here.

Party Activities|

Facepainting.  I did this myself.  I used to paint faces professionally, oh, about ten years ago in New York City.  Ryan refused to get painted so he just went as himself.  Avinash choose a rainbow bird, Nandini did her own self portrait and my Dad was an awesome sport for choosing to be a lion.

Pumpkin Scavenger hunt.  This would have worked out a bit better if Austin wasn't having the worst rains and floods in years.  The backyard was soaked so we hid all of the pumpkins on our little concrete patio (mostly in plain sight).  The kids still had a blast 'finding' a pumpkin.  I pictured the kids calmly taking them home and opening them there.  They all tore right into them and picked out their favorite pieces and left the rest.  My plan to sneak in some boxes of raisins was quickly foiled.

Decorate your own pumpkin.  I bought bags of mini pumpkins and set them out in the playroom with black markers, googly eyes, stickers and glitter glue.  More glue ended up on the table and very few pumpkins were actually decorated.  I tried to make sure everyone at least got to take one home. I guess five is still too young for craft time at a party?  The number one favorite activity was chasing each other and screaming while holding on to a stick of rock candy. 

Are you tired yet?  The key for me was doing it piecemeal and making the crafts a part of our regular activities.  Crafting with a purpose is much more fun for me anyway.  My mom helped a lot with the food so that was easy (for me anyway).  The hardest part was getting our house clean and ready to go.  We only moved in like six months ago, so it is still a work in progress, ha!

linked up with Paper Issues' Halloween Issue.

CHALKBOARD OBSESSION: TARGET FURNITURE DIY PAINT UPCYCLE

source.

I love chalkboard paint.  I must have seen that pin on pinterest about how to make your own like a thousand times. 

Thing is, I never was going to really make my own. 

Then I saw all these cute little bottles of Martha Stewart Chalkboard paint lined up at Micheal's.  For only 5.99 (minus my trusy 40% off coupon), it was too good to pass up.  My love took on a level.  I am totally obsessed.  It took a lot of restraint to not buy every single color they had.  I kind of want to paint my patio with it even though it is already a good surface for chalk. I did paint the panels on the train table blue with pretty good results.

 

 I also feel like we have been drowning in toys lately.  I can no longer keep the majority of them in Avi's room.  The kids just don't play there much and their kitchen and doll house are in the living room now anyway.  So, when I saw this Target circo shelving on sale (similar to the Ikea Expedit), a lightbulb went on in my head.  Buy shelves, organize toys and get to paint one more thing with chalkboard paint.

Thing is, the shelves are laminate.  Internet tells me that to paint laminate requires sanding and priming etc.  Not gonna happen.  But, the shelves have these lovely (not so lovely) chipboard backing pieces that get nailed in to place on the back.  Perfect!

I used the unfinished side, wiped it down with windex, primed it with some gesso (I'm a crafter, it's all I had), and then painted on two coats of chalkboard paint.  I did this all in one night, including putting together the shelves.  I just had to wait 24 hours for them to fully dry.  Curing them with chalk afterwards was so much fun. 

 
 

After nailing them in place I added labels for the shelves.  I love how it looks, plus it reminds me of the room makeover in the Berenstein's Bears book Messy Room.  I have always wanted that room.  Maybe I should get a peg board too? 

The best part? Nandini and Avinash have actually be en using toys they hadn't looked at it months.  Can't tell you how much time she spends making calls on that little phone. 

Hmmm, is the Christmas tree still up back there?  Somebody should really take that down soon...

ETA: Target now sells chalkboard paint too.  Because why go anywhere else when you get everything you never knew you always wanted in one handy store?  And, they sell it in a lot of lovely colors.  I think these shelves would look awesome painted with teal blue chalkboard paint too, don't you?