It wasn’t until I purchased these from Anthropologie that I realized for the very first time that measuring cups can bring a woman to tears.

Seriously – even this gorgeous photo doesn’t do these things the justice they deserve. I realize $35 is a bit steep for measuring cups. But it is a teensy-tiny price to pay for the decadent feeling I get when I use them every morning. It is a drop in the bucket compared to the sheer joy I feel when I look at the delicate hand painted details. These measuring cups make me want to cook all day long. They make me want to completely remodel my kitchen so that I can feature them prominently to family and friends (ok, I admit I wanted a kitchen remodel before I got these). But they do make me feel like my existing kitchen is nicer than it really is (as long as I am looking at them and not my 30 year old cabinets!).

But for real – this is my absolute favorite indulgent purchase I have made in many, many months. And for $35, it only barely makes it into the ‘indulgent’ category.

Find the Izmir Measuring Cups on Anthropologie

When we moved into our house 4 years ago, the previous owners left behind gorgeous hardwood floors – accompanied by large areas of piss stains and a wonderful dog smell.We are total DIYers and thought it would be no problem to get the place looking awesome.

At first we tried sanding and refinishing the floors.

This worked for the front room and dining room. But the stairs and upstairs hallway were an absolute disaster. Sanding would not, could not, get those piss stains out of the wood.

So then we tried putting a laminate over the hallway and the stairs. This was an uber disaster. The stair noses started falling off in less than 3 months. You couldn’t sweep them because the dirt got trapped in the stair noses because they laid on top of the step like this:

They became downright dangerous because soon most of the noses were so loose they threw you off balance if you put your weight on them. The laminate is in the garbage, and now the stairs look awful. Worse than ever. Worse even than before we moved in.

So now we are on plan C.

Since we really don’t want to pay thousands of dollars for rebuilt all-new stairs, our only choice is to paint them. At first, I thought I couldn’t pull it off. I’m not a fan of painted floors. Then tons and tons of Googling turned up this gorgeous inspiration:

I don’t think I can get away with the very dark stain on the stairs – I really think I am going to have to go for true black paint. And figuring out how to transition to the hallway and bedrooms will be… well, interesting. But this project has been simmering in the back of my mind since November and I want this done before spring is here. The hard part is that because the stairs were previously varnished, I have to paint with oil-based paint. UGH. Hate that.

So here is my very ugly stairs and front entryway “before” shot:

And now that this post is up, I’m going to have to be accountable and get going on this project.

Found on the ever-wonderful U-Handbag blog, I bought this calendar on Etsy a few weeks ago. I certainly thought it was cute, but in real life this thing is freaking adorable. It’s printed on thick water color paper, the colors are super-saturated, and the little Kokeshi dolls are to die for. I’ve got one pegged up with some mini clothespins for now, but I think I am going to put up a magnetic strip on my shelves to put up more than one at a time!

Illustrated by Stephanie Fizer. YUM!

My kids actually love doing worksheets year-round, especially when they are fun worksheets or have lots of cute pictures on them. I am even able to sneak in plenty of skills review in the summer by giving them worksheets mixed in with their coloring pages.

And on the days that my kids forget their homework, I’ve found alternative worksheets for them to do so that they don’t think they can get out of doing their class assignments! The thought of having to do MY homework in addition to their regular homework usually motivates them to check their homework folders before they leave school!

We have a big collection of printable worksheets on Animal Jr. and on our newest Woo! Jr. Network addition, Classroom Jr.!

Teacher Worksheets to Print

Language Arts Worksheets

Synonyms and Antonyms Worksheets

Fun Math Worksheets

Seasonal and Holiday Worksheets

Spring Math Worksheets: Counting Money

Spring Math Worksheets: Addition Color by Number

Christmas Math Worksheets: Addition and First-Then Logic

Christmas Math Worksheets: Addition and Subtraction

Winter Themed Printable Multiplication Worksheets

Printable Valentine’s Day Multiplication and Fractions Worksheets

You might also like these “How Do Plants Grow?” activities, free paper crafts, or this collection of Where the Wild Things Are lesson plans and activities.

OfficeMax is having a back to school sale! Last year they had a $.01 penny sale which they sadly aren’t repeating again this year. But they still have some great deals happening!

I try to stock up at this time of year on school supplies, because you can’t find this stuff cheaper at any other time of the year. My kids go through things like crayons, pencils, and folders so quickly that I’m usually buying them again or dipping into my stash before fall is over.

Office Max Back to School Coupons

7 Days of SAVINGS on School Essentials, This Week at OfficeMax.com Good through 8/7/10

Buy 2, Get 1 FREE on select Supplies + more SAVINGS at OfficeMax.com Good through 8/7/10

Sales Tax Discount Days on Select Back to School Supplies, details at OfficeMax.com Good through 8/15/10

OfficeMax Deals That Do Not Expire

Free Shipping on Orders $50+

Daily Deals at OfficeMax.com

Check out the OfficeMax Deals of the Week

My kids are just on the brink of not believing in Santa Claus anymore. Every year I think it’s the last one, and then they surprise me the next year. Last year I left letters from Santa for them to find on Christmas morning, which sealed the deal for this year’s continued belief in the jolly old elf. We’ll see if these letters from Santa do the trick this year as well!

A Personal Letter From Santa

A LIVE Phone Call From Santa

A Personal DVD Message From Santa

You might also like these free Santa coloring pages, too!