Anthropologie Inspired Tee

 

I don't know about you, but I love Anthropologie...it's probably my favorite store. The problem is that I have never even bought anything there because it's way too expensive.  I would never pay $50 on a t-shirt...I rarely pay even $20 for a t-shirt! So, when I found a  long sleeved tee at Old Navy for $6, I decided to diy my own Anthropolgie inspired shirt for a fraction of the price!

I found an old collared shirt that I never wear and decided to use it for my "new" shirt.  It's perfect because it's made out of a woven fabric, which will not curl up once washed.  If you try this with an old knit shirt, it won't work as well.

I just cut out a few circles from my old shirt:

Then, I layered them on top of each other and hand stitched a little "X" in the center.

 

 After layering and sewing down a few circles, the end result was pretty cute!! And you can't beat the price!

I love free stuff

I've been out of blogging commission for a few weeks due to lots of craziness around here. My oldest brother, Adam, just recently had open heart surgery. You can read about it on my sister-in-law's blog here and my mom's blog here.  Thankfully the surgery went well and he's recovering at home.

I've also started back at work after taking 8 weeks off.  I'm also doing a little more photography and hope to continue to do more as a business in the future.  Hopefully I can incorporate a photography element into the blog soon.

In addition to this, I'm also in charge of "creative activities" at our MOPS group at church.  I've had a fun time coming up with crafty projects for about 50 women, but it's been a little time consuming.  I plan to share what crafts we've done so far on the blog!

Enough with excuses, I just wanted to share about how I love getting free things. Here are 3 ways that I've been using the internet to score some great deals!!

Groupon
I know pretty much everyone knows about Groupon, but just in case you don't...check it out!!  You basically buy coupons which end up saving you lot's of money.  You can get a daily e-mail with a Groupon for the day for something in your area. There is usually a time limit on the coupon, so you have to act fast. I scored a very cheap Moby wrap (which I LOVE) at our local cloth diaper store using a Groupon.  We also got one for the Gap and got some cheap jeans for Reid. The other great thing about Groupon, is you can check out other cities. So, if you know you are going on a trip, you can check for Groupons for local restaurants and shops in that area. Pretty sweet!  Oh yeah, and if you refer friends, you get $10 when they purchase their first Groupon!

Ebates
 I have yet to use this website, but as soon as I need to buy something online, I will.  Basically, you get cash back when you shop online.  If you are wanting to buy something from a certain store, go to ebates and see if you can shop at that particular store through them.  Most stores are listed.  Then, buy what you need to buy and you will get a certain percentage cash back depending on where you shop! And yes, you also get perks for referring people.  So, when you shop online, why not go through Ebates and earn a little extra? Pretty cool.

 Swagbucks 
I know I've talked about Swagbucks before, but I've now earned $30 at Amazon.com for literally just searching the internet using Swagbucks instead of Google.  There is no catch, a potty chair and a pair of cute shoes for Lula are in the mail right now free because of Swagbucks. (The potty chair is for Reid. just kiddng.)  Maybe you already use Swagbucks but just don't seem to be earning enough to cash in for a giftcard. I will share my secrets.  Basically you get swagbucks randomly awarded for doing searches.  You can cash in those bucks for rewards, I like to spend them on giftcards. Usually Swagbucks rewards you within the first 5 searches for that day.  So, if I'm going to my gmail account, instead of just going to gmail...I go to swagbucks and do a search for gmail and then click on the link.  I do this for every website now, it's just a habit.  Also, make Swagbucks your homepage, then you will use it more.  Another way to earn more bucks, is to participate in their surveys. These take a little time, but you can earn some major swagbucks if you are serious about getting those free giftcards.  Lastly, refer people! You will earn the bucks that they earn, up to 1000. It's really pretty awesome if you like free things and want to save money on Christmas shopping this year!

Do you have any websites you love that help you earn free things? Please leave a comment and share!

the kapple twins

The past two months have been total deja vu for me.  Lula had a unique and rough start to life.  I never thought I'd be repeating almost every detail of those first few months with Jane. She is definitely following in her big sister's footsteps.  Here is a little photo journey to compare these girls who are basically twins 2 years apart.

It all started with my "going to the hospital" attire.  I guess I really liked that shirt. Here I am on my way to have Lula (left) and Jane (right).  My pregnancies with both girls were identical except for the fact that Jane was born early. Lula was breech and then turned at the last minute.  Jane was also breech and also turned at the last minute.

We should have known something was up with skinny red-headed baby girl #2 (a.k.a. Jane) was born.

                                                                                                          

Jane

Lula

                                                                                                              



















Both girls were delivered by Dr. Ray at Overland Park Regional.

lula

jane

Lula thought it would be cool to refuse to nurse for 3 entire months.  Jane apparently also thought that was a great idea, so far at 2 months she will only take a bottle-and both are/were very lazy little eaters...I guess that is how they keep their slender girlish figures.


                                                                                

jane-1 day old

lula-1 day old

Here they are with Daddy's frisbee in the hospital...very random, but Reid wanted to carry on the tradition with Jane.

                                                                                                                

lula

jane

In addition to not nursing, Lula loved to spit up constantly.  At first, we thought Jane would be different....but she now is constantly a fountain of milk.


                                                                                        

lula-2 weeks

jane-2 weeks

The ultimate similarity, though is that BOTH girls have hip dysplasia. We were so sad when Lula was diagnosed with it and never thought we'd be going through this again.  The Dr wanted to screen Jane for hip dysplasia just in case because apparently it's hereditary.  We found out a few weeks ago that she does indeed have it.  On Wed, Jane was fitted with a Pavlik harness.  This is the device that will fix her hips.  Lula had to wear hers for 3 months and it's looking like Jane will have hers on for 3 months as well.  Although it make life a little complicated and it's not the cutest thing in the world, it solves the problem, so we are blessed that there is a somewhat easy solution to the hip dysplasia and for wonderful Doctors that caught it early in both girls!!

                                                                                  

lula-8 weeks

jane-8 weeks

They are actually different in personality.  Jane is a bit more laid back and although she is about 1 lb smaller than Lula was at her age (she's up to 8 lbs 11 oz!), she looks a little chunkier. Even though our life is a little difficult right now, we love Jane and it's totally worth it!!

                                                                                                      

lula-8 weeks

jane - 8 weeks