Few Fun Adult Events This Weekend

If you're lucky enough to have a sitter this weekend, there are some really fun adult events happening in Richmond. One starts today but i'm a little late in posting!



The Virginia Wine Expo begins today February 26th and goes through Sunday February 28th. "The Virginia Wine Expo is simply THE best way to sample and purchase Virginia wines and to taste gourmet food from the region's finest restaurants and specialty food purveyors."
Tickets prices start at $15 and go up to $75 for the "Virginia Governor's Cup Grand Tasting event tonight. There are various events throughout the weekend or you can purchase a ticket for a "Walk Around Tasting". I know i'll be there at some point. All you can "taste" ;) wine and gourmet food under one roof? H E A V E N!
Look for the $5 off coupon in the Richmond Times Dispatch for the Sunday Tasting!

You can purchase tickets at the venue or in advance on their website: http://www.virginiawineexpo.com/
ALL EVENTS WILL BE HELD AT THE GREATER RICHMOND CONVENTION CENTER.



Another fabulous event, The Richmond Blues Festival, will be held tomorrow night (February 27th) at the stunning Landmark Theatre, "one of the best known and most striking buildings in Richmond." Scheduled to appear are Bobby Bland, Marvin Sease, Roy C., Theodis Ealey, Calvin Richardson and Shirley Brown.

Tickets: Tickets available at the Landmark Theater Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets including Stony Point Fashion Park, Regency Square Mall and participating Ukrop's and Macy's, charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online: Ticketmaster

Tickets range from $43.50-$50.50

For more information go to
http://www.landmarktheater.net/default.asp?landmark=38&objId=521
Show begins at 8pm


There are two additional culturally enriching events this weekend.

Support your state filmmakers at the Virginia Independent Film Fest being held at the Byrd Theatre in Carrytown. The Festival will include, "an all day three-part screening series of Virginia independent features, shorts and documentaries featuring Q&A with filmmakers and Audience choice voting."
Tickets $2-$10 Shows begin at 1pm.

For more info including the specific film schedule go to: http://www.film.virginia.org/News/ScheduleFilms2010PDF.pdf



Get your Bluegrass and philanthropy fix at the Marathon Bluegrass Jam Fest held at Grandpa Eddies BBQ on Three Chopt Rd.
100% of the contributions will benefit The Richmond Fisher House which provides housing to families of soldiers that are recuperating at The MCGuire Veterans Hospital. All donations are tax deductible. You're also welcome to join in the fun if you're a you were blessed with the picker or singing talent. All abilities will be included.
My daddy is a vet & spends a great deal of time at these hospitals so this is another definite on my list! I will probably take my kids to this one too so not necessarily an "adult only event".

http://www.grandpaeddiesbbq.com/

February 27th 12pm-12am

Have a fantastic weekend!

Decorating Sense- Change It Up With Ease

I love this website I found which I posted about earlier this week in my countertop makeover post.

In addition to contact paper this website deserves another shout out for its fabulous removable wall art. You'll never have to be worried about being married to a design or theme again. You can enhance any space in your home and effortlessly remove when the winds of change blow through! They have tons of designs and while this isn't an innovative idea on my part, the reason i'm posting is because the prices are rock bottom compared to other's i've researched.

They also have full size wall mural's if you really want to make a statement and which would be great for a commercial space!

These are also a great way for your budding little artists to help you decorate their own room. My 3 year old has been dragging any visitor that stops by up to his room to show the dinosaurs that he put up that also protect him at night. (so I got a double whammy out of the deal!)

Since there are so many different selections, i'll just post the basic site so you can peruse to you hearts content!

http://www.berlinwallpaper.com

Fun Family Event This Weekend!

If you haven't already heard, this weekend the Richmond Kid's Expo is coming to town.
It is the "largest children's expo showcasing products and services for children ages pre-birth through pre-teen. With a blend of great products to see and buy, fun hands-on children's activities, contests, prize drawings, family-friendly entertainment and information workshops."


I know i'll be there. Weather looks a little better for this weekend but still not super warm so if you're looking for something fun & inexpensive to do indoors with your kids, this looks great. See you there!

http://www.richmondkidsexpo.com/
Tickets are $6 for adults $2 for kids 3-12. Kids under 2 get in free!

Best Mini Sucker Out There!

Like many others i'm sure, I have to clean my floors (esp. my kitchen) several times a day due to the wild Indians (3 kiddies) - Heathens really, as my father so adoringly used to call myself & 3 siblings when we were little! :) So I began looking for a product that would make my life easier & cleanup much quicker. I tried the standard Swiffer & electric Swiffer Sweeper and they just didn't do it for me. Great for some dust but not powerful enough to handle my messes.

Over the years i've had several hand held vacs that never quite met my expectations so when I started looking at them again, I truly felt like this would be another huge disappointment but I was desperate. I had been either sweeping or lugging out my standard vacuum to help with the job. I am a Huge fan of user reviews so I went on Amazon.com and started my research. Immediately I found this product but wasn't too sure about the fact that it wasn't cordless. After hours of research however, I decided that the extremely strong ratings (4.5 out of 5 stars from 642!! purchasers) had to say something about how good the product is and none seemed to mind the cord, in fact it seems to make the vac much more powerful for a much longer period of time vs. the standard rechargeable hand held's. Their batteries weaken significantly over time.

So I took the plunge and ordered the Eureka 71B Hand-Held Vacuum. At the time I paid about $60 but the price has since come down to $49 on Amazon. Amazon offers free shipping on most of the products sold by them if the purchase price is over $25.

Now I pride myself on my vacuuming skills. I always have thousands of piles of clean (needing to be folded) laundry everywhere but i'm a little obsessed with vacuuming. So as soon as the vac arrived I took it out of the box and tried it on my relatively newly carpeted stairs- I forgot to mention that it has 2 settings. One for wood floors and revolving brush for carpet. Let's just say I was both amazed and disgusted by how much dirt this little sucker pulled up. And the cord reached the entire length of my stairs so it wasn't an issue. This is by far the most powerful hand held i've ever used! The detachable hose allows you to pick up larger items, can be used in your car and fits many of your standard vacuum cleaner attachments like a brush or crevice tool. The revolving brush is also great for auto carpets.

At the risk of looking like a slob, i've attached a pic of what I picked up today from an area rug that I vacuum obsessively.

When you're finished using you simply slide open and dump out the dust cup. No bag changing but you do need to change the dust filters when they get extremely dirty. The frequency depends on how often you use. I use this thing every day so I have changed about once a month or so in the few months i've had it. You can also wash with soapy water if you want to extend for a few more weeks.

This is by far one of my favorite household buys so I had to share. I have 3 friends who have already purchased this and LOVE theirs just as much as me.

Happy sucking!

Resources

Eureka 71B Hand-Held Vacuum
http://www.amazon.com/Eureka-71B-Hand-Held-Vacuum/dp/B0006HUYGM/ref=pd_bxgy_k_text_b

You should also order a few extra filters while you're at it so you don't have to later. http://www.amazon.com/Single-Belt-Eureka-Part-60957/dp/B000GTRM60/ref=pd_sim_k_2


If you like to see something in person before you buy or if you want to be able to take back without having to deal with shipping, (even though I know you won't return this!) both Office Depot and Sam's Club sell this in their stores. Call before you go to make sure your local store has it in stock.


This is a great product for all you apartment dwellers as well as it works just like a powerful full size vacuum but such a great size for storage!

Bling Bling Watch - On the Cheap & Safe!

So I know I said I was only going to post once a week but i'm too much of a Do Do Bird to remember my fab ideas so I need to post at least some of them while they're hot. And this one's def. hot to trot! My hubby had redeemed himself (at least for a few weeks) And I guess set himself up for some extra attention if you know what i'm sayin'. ;)

Since i'm not able to afford some of (let's be honest, most of..) the baubles I used to pick out, i've had to resort or let's just say alter my tastes to suit the current (temporary!!!!!) times...

I do have some pretty fancy watches but those just aren't practical while trying to juggle 3 kids and all that entails.. poopy, mud, ketchup, spit out gum.. you know the drill. So I have basically destroyed my most fancy watch in a matter of 2 years and have been forbidden to wear it unless it's for special occasions ect...

Valentines day came & went without so much as a card!! Very much unlike my sweet (to a fault) hubby. I told him I wanted 2 carat diamond studs and he thought I was kidding. Well I was sort of (for now....) but I meant the ones from http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.J138053.desc.Diamonique-100-Facet-Cushion-Cut-270-ct-twStudEarrings-14K

I'll save that little recently discovered secret for another post...

So this afternoon my hubby drops a Fossil bag in my lap. Fossil? Has anyone even heard of them since 1990? Are they still in business?

Not only are they in business but man have they adapted to the times!
Their website is truly impressive and the watch I got is FABULOUS! It's glamourous and functional without looking cheap! I know now i'll feel comfortable wearing it every day knowing that it's safe if God forbid I lose or break it. And the best part... $95 bucks!!


Fossil has tons of different designs and the one I got truly feels to me like it could be worn dressed up or down. They also have a very cute clothing and accessory line and have a new feature where you can build your own watch if you don't see one in their collection that suits your taste. Those look pretty boring to me though.

Here's the watch I got. http://www.fossil.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product____22141184_211502?departmentCategoryId=30000&N=0&Va=108&Ns=p_wsc0%257c0%257c%257cp_weight%257c0&rec=17&pn=c&imagePath=ES2456
I knew hubby bubby would come through!
He has a heart attack every time he sees me scrubbing a tub or cleaning up God knows what with the good stuff on.

A girl has to feel like a Queen no matter what she's doing or where she is in her life at the time, right?

On The Cheap, Countertop Makeover

Ok, So I have been living in this rental home for close to a year now and the one thing that has driven me absolutely crazy were the dark green 1982 design laminate countertops in the kitchen. Many people love that look. I'm not one of them! Of course i can't find a pic of the countertop before but will have one by the end of the day I promise!

I have practically driven my husband to drink nagging him about trying to finagle ways to get the landlord to change them. Now that we've just renewed the lease, and our wonderful landlord sprung for new appliances, I knew my plan for new countertops probably wouldn't fly... at least not soon enough. Being the voracious researcher and cheapster aka Queen of frugal luxury that I am, I went online in search of a solution. I found this amazing (looking- have not tried it myself yet) product called Giani Granite Paint http://www.liquidstainlesssteel.com/giani/index.html

The website also has a paint product that turns solids like your refrigerator or dishwasher into a stainless look-alike. I would try that too if I was trying to match one stainless appliance to others and couldn't afford to purchase a new one yet. Luckily I just got those!

If you cant spring for granite yet and have laminate counters, (and own your home!) I would try this. It's a muliti step paint process that turns your laminate countertops into granite lookalikes! It looks easy and looks like it would really work. Also has good feedback. If it were my house, I would have but it's not so my husband nixed that idea. He didn't want the responsibility. Then out of my sweet hubby's mouth came the simple words, (that would have saved him weeks of headaches from my nagging) what about using contact paper? I had it in my apartment in NYC.

Well why didn't you mention it before!

We needed at least 26" in order to refrain from having an ugly looking seam and to make it look authentic. That was hard to find. In fact, I only found one role that was the width I personally wanted and I liked the pattern well enough. (see below for resources)
It looks just like my mother in laws real granite countertops in her amazing home in NY. The pattern, not my kitchen! :)

There is a huge variety of patterns though ranging from granite to wood and even leather in various colors, so if you don't mind the seam (which wouldn't be horribly noticeable but hubby & I are perfectionists) or if your countertops are less deep, some of the other patterns could also work for you.

If I'm being honest, it was not the easiest thing to apply but hubby and I took our time, measured meticulously, lined up the seams perfectly and voila... for $79 bucks we have a new kitchen! We still have a good amount left over too if it ever tears or begins to unstick.

Tips:

After we had finished laying it all down I took a plastic spatula and mashed or rubbed in a line pattern the entire space including the backsplash to ensure good adhesion. Not too hard though! You don't want to rip your masterpiece

Try to get the paper lined up as closely as possible of course. However, in a few areas I had a little of the green sticking out despite my perfect measuring. I just patched up underneath a small cut out piece.

Never Cut or place hot items on the countertops. Pain but I never really did this before so i'll just have to be extra careful now. Remind your friends & family to never put a hot pot or cut either.

If taken care of properly, it should last you a few years while you save your pennies for the real thing!

It's up to you whether you want to share our little secret for your kitchen transformation. They will not know the difference!


Resources:

Here's the where I got the paper. At the lower part of the page is where the various patterns are. Be sure you measure meticulously to make sure you order the correct amount and avoid more that one shipping fee! http://www.berlinwallpaper.com/dcfix/

Here's the paper I chose:
http://www.berlinwallpaper.com/dcfix/Brown-Granite.htm