Monday, Monday

Hellloooo Friends! Well hasn't July just flown on by?  I  sure have missed you people! I had a computer problem and I thought it was gone forever, but I played with it until it I got it working again and now it is back in commission! Whoop-whoop! I do have an IPhone, but evidently all I know how to do is check Facebook, Pinterest, Vine and play Family Feud.  I really should get with the program.

So, now my dilemma is what to talk about first! My nieces, cupcakes, thrifting, the great youth retreat I went on last weekend, the Royal baby?  Ha, ha, I don't really need to discuss the royal baby, it just seems like all the bloggers did, I just didn't want to be left out! ☺

 

My nieces have been here a couple of times this summer and most recently they came for a week of bible school.  They are cute, they are sweet, they are awesome...I'm not partial or anything ☺

Cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes!

 I love cupcakes.  I made some that looked like popcorn for bible school (It was a roller coaster/amusement park theme.) 
 

Later that week I made birthday cupcakes for Miss T and Miss A's combined July family birthday celebration.  They each got to pick what kind of cupcakes they wanted. Three year old Miss T chose orange cupcakes with purple monsters on top.
 

Eight year old Miss A ordered chocolate cupcakes with pink and blue icing.
 

Thrifting-I've done a bit here and there when I had time.  July has been crazy busy, but I found a little time to thrift. 

Last but not least, I spent last weekend at this beautiful Christian retreat with a wonderful group of kids from our youth group.  (I will post more about that later.)

 

I hope everyone had a magnificent Monday! I will be back later this week to share...something! Lol

 

Later friends! ☺

Thrift Store Saturday

Helllloooo Friends!  I hope everyone had a great weekend!

 

My mom had things to do Saturday. I had things to do Saturday.  No worries, we did our stuff, went out later, had lunch and did a little end of the day thrifting.  Still fun.

 

The very first thing that caught my eye was this.  I'm not sure where I will use it (I'm thinking at work or the craft room) but I was sold when I saw the price tag...

$ .50!!! Fifty cents! Whoo-hoo, my fifty cent streak continues!

 

Also for $ .50 I scored this paperback and some sparkly mint green yarn.  ($ .50 for both!)

 

I picked up another skirt, this khaki colored one with great detail.  I paid a dollar for this one!

 

That's right, a big file organizer, a book, sparkly yarn and a pretty skirt all for two dollars!

 

That closes out my thrifting treasures for the week.   Till next time my friends! ☺

Linking this post up with Sara at
It's Good To Be Queen

Patriotic Outdoor Decor

Hellloooo Friends! I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!

 

 Barbecue ✓ Fireworks ✓ Family & Friends ✓ Great Day! ✓

 

I also got to sleep in and do a little housekeeping and laundry before I spent the afternoon/evening celebrating.

 

There are a few things working on the day after 4th of July taught me.

 

1.  Most people don't work the day after 4th of July (when it falls on a Friday)  This is evident by the lack of cars in the parking lots (we have five or six lots, not even two were totally full)

 

2. Evidently everyone in my office also have neighbors who shot off fireworks until well after midnight (and by midnight I mean 2 am.)  Everyone must live near one of "those" people. If you don't live near one of them, you might be one of them.  Ha Ha! ☺

 

3.  I can not function on 4 hours of sleep. (Thank you my patriotic, celebrating neighbors!)

 

Anyhoo, I am hear today to show you how I changed my outdoor decor from this: 

 

  To this:

 

 Not quite as colorful as before, but properly patriotic.☺ I have also added mulch so that I don't have to weed as much, but obviously that cuts down on color.

 

I made my Uncle Sam outdoor decor from four thrifted items.  Wouldn't you know that I realized after I arranged and glued everything on that I didn't take any picture of the pieces by their self!?!  Ugh, oh well!

 

The Uncle Sam part was originally a door hanger but since I already have a door decoration I had other plans for him. 

 

I scored Uncle Sam for $ .75.  The cute ladder was $1.50 and the rustic looking American flag and Liberty Bell were $ .25 each.  I arranged them all on the ladder, fired up my hot glue gun and

Ta-Da! 

 

A new addition to my patriotic decor for less than $3. I like that! ☺

 

I also would like to wish my sweet niece, Miss A, a very happy 8th birthday today!!

 

Miss A is beautiful inside and out and I am so blessed to be her Aunt!  

(Miss A being photobombed by Miss K-haha!)

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I will be back Sunday with my thrifted treasures from Saturday! Hope to see you then! ☺

 

Linking this up with the awesome ladies at  

The Creative Connection

and

Thrift Monday Store Musings

Hellllloooo Friends!  I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! Welcome to my "Thrift Store Saturday/Monday Musings"  mash-up! (On a Tuesday...confused yet? ☺)

 

So this is what I have been doing instead of blogging: 

hanging out with these two sweethearts!

 

 

My two middle nieces, Miss K & Miss T came to visit for a few days! Oh I love these girls! (and their sisters; Miss A, who didn't come because she was busy celebrating her upcoming birthday, and Miss G because she is still too little to leave Mommy for very long.)

 

 

Saturday morning my Mom got to sneak away for a bit (Thanks Dad!) and we met for our weekly coffee/thrifting date.

 

(Worth every point...yummmm!)

I got this awesome little rolling cart...I'm thinking about putting it in the pantry, but really it could go so many places...between the washing machine & dryer, in the bathroom, in the craft room...For $5 I couldn't pass it up.

 

A Swiffer for $1. 

 

This lantern that I have big plans for, $2.

 

 

And a dress that I was going to show you but the picture makes it look ugly. It's not. Maybe you will see me wearing it someday and I will tell you about my $2 dress ☺

I love thrifting.  I think I say that every week.  True Story.

 

On Sunday after church we met my sister at the zoo so she could pick up the girls. It was an awesome, fun afternoon. The weather was fantastic!!

 

We even got to see the new baby elephant!

We said good-bye to my sister and her girls and then topped off our lovely afternoon/weekend with a stop at Trader Joe's.  (When you live 2 hours from a Trader Joe's you always make time to stop when you are there!)  I wish they would bring one a little closer to me...fingers crossed ☺

I am linking my Thrift Monday Store Musings on a Tuesday (haha that's a mouthful) up with Sara (It's Good To Be Queen) again at her Thrifted Thursday Linky Party

 

Thanks Friends! Come Back Soon!☺

Thrift Store Saturday

Hello Friends! I am back today with something I am calling "Thrift Store Saturday."  I have been thrifting for ages, way before thrifting was cool.  Seriously, 20 years ago (ack, can I really be that old? Don't answer that! Lol) I thrifted almost all of the furniture for my first apartment.  I still have my $60 table and chairs.  I just can't seem to part with them.  That was a great investment for 18 year old me. ☺

 

Almost every Saturday my Mom and I have coffee and go thrift shopping.  It is a sweet tradition we started a few years back, and have continued.  It is so nice to have that time with my Mom each week, and I really look forward to it.  When my sister visits from Illinois we bring her along too!

 

I decided to start this weekly thrift store post after Sara at It's Good to be Queen started her "Thrifted Thursday" posts.  I sent sweet Sara an e-mail, told her about Mom & my thrift store Saturdays, and asked if she minded if I did this post.  She is such a sweetheart; she thanked me for asking her and told me to go for it! She also told me she was starting a "thrifty link party" Yay!! I love parties!☺

If you have never read Sara's blog you really should. She is one of those people that you just know you would love to be friends with in real life.  She has super cute kids, a heart for Jesus & great eye for vintage/thrift.  I was so super excited when she e-mailed me back, I adore her! ☺

 

So now I have babbled on and on ( um, I tend to do that in real life too...if you are my real life friend I know you are shaking your head right now, "yes, yes, she does that." Lol ☺)  it is time to show you my thrift finds for the week.

 

Let's start with these colorful baking dishes.  I loved the colors and the sizes.  You can see on the picture how much these set me back, $4.00.  Score!

Next I found this super cute, seventies looking basket for a quarter.  I plan on using it somewhere in my ever-evolving craft room. I love it.♥

 

Speaking of quarter finds, I found this cute wicker letter holder. It is really sturdy and a nice size.  I haven't decided what to do with it yet, but I will think of something soon!

 

 

I thrift most of my clothes anymore, especially since I have started losing weight.  I can't justify spending a lot on something I am only going to wear a month or so.  It pains me to buy retail anymore.  My favorite clothing find recently was this skirt.

 

 

I took it home, washed it and wore it to work already!  I love the detail on it.

 

I try to stay within a budget every week. Sometimes I am right on budget and sometimes I go over.  On rare occasion I am under, but that is very, very rare. Lol ☺My budget for this particular week was $5 and I spent a total of $6. Not too bad. ☺

 

I am very excited to be linking this post up with Sara (It's Good to be Queen) at her Thrifted Thursday Linky

 

I hope you've enjoyed my thrifted finds this week and will join me every Saturday for "Thrift Store Saturdays"  to see what treasure I have found that week! ☺

 

I will be back Monday with a new post, have a great rest of your weekend my friends! ☺

 

Welcome...Back Friends! A Before & After

Welcome......Back!

 

Hello friends! I hope everyone is having a fabulous start to summer! I am back to share a cute before and after project that I whipped up to bring a little sunshine to my front porch area.

 

I picked up this sign while thrifting. Yes, that is a $.50 sticker.  Score!  I took advantage of one of our few summer days without rain and got started on my project.

I started by giving the sign a good sanding and followed with a coat of primer.

 

I followed the coat of primer with two coats of white spray paint.

 

When I went outside to check on the paint, I caught two large rabbits sitting on my makeshift tarp (hey when you get a sunny day when all you have had is rain for what seems like weeks, you use what you have...plastic tablecloth anyone?) :) Anyhoo...rabbits...they were huge! I caught one with my camera as it was running away.

 

 After the paint dried, I moved inside to paint the trim and the letters. I found this cute little tester in a yellow color at my local Wal-Mart for less than $3.  I only needed a little bit, so this was perfect, it even includes the brush! ( Yes, I am easily impressed!) :)

 

 

My little thrift sign, before & after:

 

 The bright, cheery welcome sign inspired me to "cute up" (I'm sure that's an official phrase) my front entryway.

 

I like it. I had a piece of lattice in the garage.  Why you ask?  Good question. If I knew I'd tell you. :) I thrifted the lady bug rock for $  .50 (that seems to be my magic number!) and I splurged and added that cute little gnome. 

 

I love how $ .50, a vision and some paint can take something bla and make it beautiful.
 

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous weekend my friends!
 

Sharing my before & after welcome sign with these fabulous friends:
 

 

Creative Headquarters Keep Calm & Link Up

 Sunny Simple Mondays @ Sunny Simple Life

 

Tatertots & Jello

 

A Basket, A Bracelet and a Winner!!

Hellooooo Friends! I hope you are having a fabulous week. I know I am! I started my new job this week and I am really liking it...yes, I know it has only been a few days...but sometimes you just know ! :) 

 

I would like to thank everyone who entered the giveaway for the $25 Hobby Lobby gift card.  I really appreciate everyone who has supported me, my friends, my family, my blog friends, my new friends...:)  Welcome to all my new friends! I am so happy you are here! Thank you!! And the winner is........ :)  Congratulations Barbie!!!!

 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/51503e1/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

So first let me show you my blanket basket.  I started by thrifting (of course!) my basket.  I paid $3 for it at my favorite thrift store. Then I picked the little wood frame up at Hobby Lobby when it was half off. I paid less than $1 for it. :)

 

 

I painted the outside of the frame turqoise.

 

 

Then I added my handy dandy most favorite stuff ever aka chalkboard paint to the inside of the frame.  I put some brown yarn through those holes, and attached it to my basket. My cute little basket cost less than $4 total. Yayyyy!

 

I like. :)

 

The second thing I whipped up this week was a knock-off Pandora bracelet that I saw at Happy Hour Projects.  Adrianne has an awesome blog filled with great tutorials and lots of cute jewelry ideas.  When I saw THIS bracelet I knew I wanted to make one!

 

These were my supplies

 Sorry about the fuzzy-far away pic, I don't know what happened-I need camera lessons! Lol
 

 I picked green because lately I have gotten a lot of green clothing  (like enough to justify owning green shoes-which I don't have yet ) but I didn't own any green jewelry. I do now!

 

This is my version of Adrianne's DIY Pandora knock-off bracelet. 
 

 I love it!

 
Happy a fabulous Friday friends & a great weekend! :)  Thanks again for celebrating This Little Light's first birthday with me! I plan on making this next year the best! :)

Linking my basket up (well and I guess the rest of the post...but mostly my basket lol)  with the ladies at
Keep Calm & Link Up :)

A Wreath & Some Randomness

Has September flown by for all of you too?  Mine has been a whirlwind!  Not the whole month, but the last two weeks seem like it!

 

I will start by sharing with you the one and only yarn wreath I will ever make. Seriously.
 

  This was not my favorite project. I have seen a hundred (maybe thousands) of these on blogs and Pinterest.  I loved them, I wanted to make one. So I did...or I tried to.  

Let me tell you, a lack of patience partnered with a case of perfectionism made this a hard project for me.  I had never tried rosettes or rolled flowers (whatever you call them) and it took me quite a few tries to get something semi- presentable. :)  I love how the wreath turned out, but that being said, it will be the only yarn wreath I ever make. If I say I want to make another one, someone please remind me! Lol :)

 So let me share some other things  I have been doing.

 

I attended a Christian Women's Conference. It was wonderful, just what I needed. God is pretty awesome like that. :) Three days with my Mom, my sister and other sisters in Christ was amazing. I met women from all over. Wonderful ladies from Minnesota, Texas, Oklahoma, California, Illinois, and London! :)  Friday night was awesome, 27,000 women singing and praising God!  It still gives me goosebumps.  The whole theme of the conference was hope. 

 

Here I am rocking my leopard print in front of the hope sign. :)

 

I have also been super busy getting everything together for my daughter's birthday party this weekend.  If you happen to know me in real life then you know how much I love birthday parties!  My love of parties and themed parties started long before I blogged  What started out as necessity (DIY because of money!) turned into a passion. I prefer to DIY now.

 

My daughter has had a slew of theme parties, I think the best ones were the Harry Potter party, the rock star party and the Amazing Race Party (which was her 15th birthday.)  After the Amazing Race party she told me she was too old for themed parties so we have just had low-key friends out to eat parties for her 16th & 17th.  I was thrilled when she told me what she wanted for her 18th birthday.  A theme! I think I jumped up and down!

 

Any guesses what the theme is ???? :) 

 

And one last thing! I have been looking for chairs for the craft room/studio (aka as the current garage-it's a work in progress!) I spotted these chairs the other day and they were $3 each, score! You can only imagine my surprise and delight when I found out it was half price day at the thrift store! I almost hugged the cashier. For real. $1.50 each! :)  Have I mentioned how much I love thrifting? 

 

 

So this weekend is jammed pack, full of lots of friends, fun and birthday stuff.  We do birthdays big around here! :)

 

I'll be back with lots of birthday on Monday!  Have a fabulous weekend friends! :)

I'm linking this post up with Jen at Four Marrs and One Venus for her Stinky Linky Party! Ha Ha! (you know, for my pain in the neck wreath!)