I again ordered from this awesome company, and really, I can’t get over how great they are.  I placed on order on Tuesday afternoon to get thank you cards for Will’s birthday (I know, a tad late, but better late than never).  First, there was so much to pick from it was hard to decide. Once I picked a card, I was even able to pick how many photos I wanted in there and what way they were facing (landscape or portrait). I only wanted three photos, and I even had a couple of choices from there. Now, if i was in the pictures, I would have wanted to take a little Orovo detox first. However, it was just him, so it turned out super cute. Including shipping, I paid less than $20 for custom thank you cards. How can you go wrong with that?  It took me about 15 minutes to design my cards, and they were ready for pickup at my local CVS Thursday afternoon.  A Tuesday to Thursday turnaround in awesome!

I would highly recommend Kodak Gallery to anyone looking to make some custom cards.  They even have custom gifts that you can do too!  The prices are right, the quality is excellent, and the turnaround can’t be beat.  Here’s a sneak peak at the card we did:

Pretty awesome is all I have to say.

Devils Advocate is one my favorite all time movies. This movie is about the choices we make and how they can effect every aspect of our lives. It is amazing how something as simple as buying cabinet knobs can change the outcome of someone’s life, but it is true. Devils Advocate has an all star cast with Al Pacino, Keanu Reeves, and Charlize Theron. The story is about Keanu Reeves and the choices he has to make in his life. We are able to see that every choice has a consequence — some consequence worse than others. It is a great “what if” story. Without giving too much away, Al Pacino play Satan aka lawyer John Milton. I love the hat tip to the English poet who authored Paradise Lost (the poem detailed Satan’s fall from heaven as well as Adam & Eve’s fall from the Garden of Eden). This is rated R and definitely should not be watched with little ones around. However, once you get them to bed, enjoy!

Both my kids loved their baby swings. The one we had with Madison has a crank on it which stinks to use. When we went to buy one for Will, we had a few ideas of what we wanted. Most of all, it could not be crank. The swing we ended up buying was the Fisher-Price Open-Top Cradle Swing.

I love this swing and so does Will. It rocks two different directions. The seat itself has several recline positions too. The swing will swing at 6 different speeds. On the very top, there is a mobile. You also can play music and there is two different music choices. The colors on the swing are very neutral, so they blend in quite nicely with your living room.

We have been using this swing since Will was born. He likes to nap in it. I love it, because it allows me to get things done around the house. Pricewise, it was middle of the road. It wasn’t the cheapest swing, but it wasn’t the most expensive either. If you are in the market for a swing, I highly recommend this one.

Even though this store is farther away from me than Menards and Home Depot, I think Lowe’s is my new favorite store. As far as prices go, I think they are pretty much in line with everyone else. However, there are some very specific things that stood out for me when we made a trip out to Orland last week.

First, we were looking for a very specific vanity. I only have room in my bathroom for a 24″ one, Bill wanted oak, and I wanted it to have drawers. That does not sound too picky. However, to get a vanity that small, it was very difficult. I was able to go onto Lowe’s website and see what choices were available. It also allowed me to enter my zip code. It told me what stores were the closest to me. The part that I was impressed with was that it told me that my local store had the inventory for what I was looking for. Nothing is more frustrating than either having to call or go to the store to find out that they don’t have any (just happened with Home Depot). They also had way more choices for vanities there (not in the size I needed but in general). We were also able to pick up a medicine cabinet that we did not find anywhere else.

Their customer service rocked. Once we were there, we did not have to search someone down to help us. They immediately asked us if we needed help. Also, Bill even loved the next thing I am going to talk about. On every display, they listed where in the store you could find the item. It told you the row, column, and shelf to look on. I cannot tell you how much time that saved. I loved it!

Overall, this was a great shopping experience. Lowe’s got a good chunk of our money last week, and we will be heading out there again this week to pick up a few more odds and ends that we need to finish the bathroom. I would highly recommend Lowe’s for your home remodeling needs.