luxe v. low-cost: baby crib

While I was pregnant with my daughter, I found the Netto nursery collection. Their beautiful modern designs were just the kind of thing that I wanted my little princess to wake up in every morning. But, the $1,490 price tag just for the crib was more than a little prohibitive. Especially for a piece of furniture that you don't use very often or for very long. I wound up buying a much cheaper plain white crib.

So, imagine my surprise when I flipped open the WalMart circular over the weekend and spotted a truly beautiful modern nursery collection. And, the Roxanne crib goes for just under a cool $300. Nice.

lace 'em up

Today I've been watching the huge, potato-chip-size, snowflakes drifting lazily toward the frozen ground, and it's finally put me in the mood for winter...and large amounts of rich, creamy hot chocolate.

If you're lucky enough to live in West Michigan, head over to the Rosa Parks Circle ice skating rink for some cheap family fun. It costs just $1 to enter the rink and skate rentals are free. And, yes, they have hot chocolate.

decor-a-phobia (noun) -- fear of decorating

I watched hour upon hour of HGTV, flipped through countless decorating magazines, and surfed the web until the wee hours of the morning on more than one occasion. I had ideas. Tons of 'em. I ripped out pages and saved websites, but when the time came to actually start decorating our new home -- I froze. What if I made a mistake? What if we spent a fortune and then couldn't stand it in a few months? What if I bought something now and then found something better? I had decoraphobia. And I had it bad.

After eight months in our new house, I'd only painted two bedrooms and done nothing else. Then it came -- an invitation to a progressive dinner party through our neighborhood. The basic premise was that each house chose a country and prepared an appetizer and a drink from that country, then all the couples trekked through the neighborhood from house to house. It sounded like great fun and we've been meaning to meet the neighbors (yes, I suffer from neighboraphobia as well), but there was just one catch -- joining the dinner party meant that all of our neighbors would be coming to our house! In two weeks!

I looked around the house and noticed all the things we'd been putting off. The unpainted walls, the empty rooms, the moving boxes (!), and I realized it was time to overcome my fear of decorating. I took the first giant leap yesterday and ordered the Farmhouse table from West Elm, then I ordered the Morocco Window Rug, and some throw pillows from Tonic Living in rapid succession. Then I hit a wall.

I'm having a dining chair dilemma. I want black chairs to go with our limed blonde table. I'm thinking of having four of one kind and two of another. And I'd like something somewhat modern. Any suggestions? Please save me from my decoraphobia!

luxe v. low-cost: dining table

Last summer in Philly I fell in love...with a dining table. The Big Sur table at Crate and Barrel is incredibly gorgeous, with it's big, rustic, natural cracks and knots. And it's big price tag. $1,300 may not be a lot for some people, but with a new house and a new baby it's more than we can afford.

Luckily, I found another great table at West Elm. The Farmhouse table has similar strong, hearty proportions (I love the chunky legs), but priced at just $650 it's a good deal. And, on sale right now for just $350, it's a steal!

Yet, my favorite part of the Big Sur table is that each leg is made from a single, core piece of wood so the inner rings are visible. Unfortunately, the Farmhouse table doesn't have this.

cute felt pilliows?

I'm looking for a cute felt pillow to go in the rocking chair in my baby girl's room. I'm thinking maybe something with a cutout bird (chick,maybe?) or another animal. Does anyone have any suggestions of where to find one that isn't uber-expensive?

delicious dish

With a new baby and a full-time job, when I get home from work the last thing I want to do is worry about dinner. Now, the folks at Main Dish Kitchen do it for me. Main Dish is one of those popular places where they have all the recipes, ingredients, and dishes and you just pick the meals you want and make two weeks worth of freezer-stable meals in one afternoon. But, if you're like me the idea of spending even one afternoon cooking is just this side of torture.

Now, for the month of January, the nice ladies at Main Dish will even prepare the meals for you at no additional cost. All you have to do is pick it up. Now that I can do!

If you have a small family, get the six meal package and have them divide it. You'll get plenty of food to feed two to three (or even four, these are generous portions) people 12 meals and still only pay the six meal price. If you're feeding two people, it breaks down to less than $5 per person per meal. What a deal!

diy: custom bedding without the price

I'm totally in love with monograms right now. How else can a mass produced item be one-of-a-kind? But there's no reason a monogram has to be traditional. These beautiful shams from West Elm were monogrammed with 'him' and 'her'. Putting a nickname or sleep-inspiring words like 'slumber,' 'beddy-bye,' or 'dream.' West Elm has a three letter limit, but the Company Store has several fonts that allow up to 11 letters.

luxe v. low-price: Lotta Jansdotter

I absolutely adore Lotta Jansdotter's designs. Her simple, yet elegant contemporary organic designs are pure art. She achieves her signature look by turning her sketches into designs using her copy machine. How cool is that?

For now, I sate my appetite for Lotta's designs with the adorable sticky-notes. One day, I'd like to reupholster a Scandinavian-style chair in one of her gorgeous fabrics. For a low-price fabric similar to Lotta's luxe designs, check out Ikea's Hannela fabric.

travel on the cheap

Don't have the time or money for a real vacation? Check out WikiMapia. Just click a box anywhere on the map and you'll zoom in on that part of the globe. Click another box and you'll get the inside scoop on that spot. Often it's just-the-facts-ma'am, but you'll occasionally find some local flavor, which means it's also a great way to plan your next vaca.

WikiMapia currently has info on more than 2 million places around the world with more being added every day. Know a little something about a place on WikiMapia or disagree with a comment about your hometown? It's a wiki site, so it depends on users to add and edit content.