TGIF!  Tonight when I was perusing the Ikea website for some furniture items that I hope to be purchasing in the near future, (more to come on this soon) I was surprised to see TOYS as an available search option at IKEA.  Am I the last person to realize that Ikea sells toys?  And I'm talking colorful, delightful, and wooden (not plastic) toys...for less than $10!  Call me a sucker because I have been buying toys like this on Amazon for upwards of $20!  Here are just a few toys from Ikea that caught my eye that I would love to scoop up for my little one...

Have you ever bought toys at Ikea?  If so I would love to hear your opinion on their quality and durability!

Hello!  So sorry to be gone for so long...we were away last week and I have been totally consumed with preparing for trips, settling back in at home, only to be getting ready for the next trip with the baby soon.

But in between our summer fun I have still been trying to keep up with my summer beauty routine, and one of the ways I'm trying to save on my beauty regime this summer is by doing my own pedicures.  I know getting your toes done is a true summer pleasure, but at close to $30 a treatment it can really add up fast!

To get started on perfecting my pedicures I consulted this article from Instyle, 10 Ways to Get the Perfect Pedicure, and it was so helpful.  I would have never thought of dipping a makeup brush in nail polish remover to clean the polish around your toes but it works!

So what am I using to paint my toes this summer?  I'm currently loving the Julep line of polishes, but at $14 a bottle these 3-free polishes are a splurge.

That is why I was so excited when I read about the Julep Maven program...

Julep Maven is a monthly beauty program in which you are sent $40 of a Julep polishes and products for half the price - $19.99 a month!  You also receive perks like free shipping on all orders and 20% off all products in the Maven boutique.  Another fun part of the Maven program is that you can take their beauty style quiz before enrolling to be a Julep Maven.

I'm an American Beauty - and I'm not complaining!

But what really drew me in to sign up for the Julep Maven program is the special promotion they are offering now which basically gives you one month of the Maven program for free!  Just use the code PENNYINTRO and you can sign up for one month of this program for a PENNY!

Do you have a favorite polish this summer?  Happy painting, sunning, and swimming this weekend!