Day 4: 31 Days of Shopping at Goodwill Better

Well today I'm actually building on some of the amazingness that I posted yesterday.  Day 3 was a fantastic series about 31 Days of Decorating on a Shoestring Budget all about how to decorate and design on a minimal budget, some items (like using nature to decorate) are even free.  Well today builds on that budgeting theory for GREAT things and is definitely a super favorite series!!!!!!!!

I love this series because its not just about great stuff the author found...it's about how to plan a Goodwill trip and how to decide whether or not a purchase is worth it.  I mean, let's be honest, this is the PERFECT place to make someone else's trash YOUR treasure!  I have a feeling that I'll be hitting up my local Goodwill very soon...probably today because what I learned reading the "Lots of Goodwill Basics" post on day 3 is that the whole Goodwill store is 50% off the 1st Saturday of the month...and that's TODAY!!!! So you know where I'll be during afternoon nap time!  

So hope on over to "Dear Mushka" and start out by reading her top 10 reasons for writing this series - then get ready to dig in! 

So GO!!!

GO NOW!!!!! and read this whole series!!!

Then go hit up your local Goodwill today and tell me ALL about your new treasures!!!!!!

Day 3: 31 Days of Decorating on a Shoestring Budget

Well today is Day 3 of my 31-day favorites, and today is another great series called "31 Days of Decorating on a Shoestring Budget" by Kate over at "Chic on a Shoestring Budget."

Y'all, this series is just fantastic!  And if you're like me at all, you enjoy decorating, but don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on it.  These tips and tricks that Kate gives are for everyone!  Probably one of my favorite posts is about her printable art work that she gave her dining room a makeover with - it looks like she spent hundreds when she really only spent about $30! 

 Or the post when she talks about using nature as artwork and centerpieces!

I'm telling you - you have got to go through her series (even though there are only 23 posts - I know you'll love every single one!)   I'm pretty sure I'll be using some of these ideas VERY soon!!!

Five on Friday

So, I never did post about my kitchen facelift, nor have I posted anything in almost 3 weeks....but I'm still here!  Life has just been a little busy - preparing for baby, moving Emmalee into a big girl room, going on vacation...oh, and did I mention preparing for baby???

But today is Friday, and everybody say "Praise the Lord for a 3-day weekend!"  So for today's Five on Friday, I thought I would post a few things that I am working on preparation of baby, which includes some of the project I want to do in Emmalee's new big-girl room!

We decided to leave the nursery as is, and move Emmalee to a big girl room because it was just an easier "plan," in my opinion.  But creating a whole new room on a budget is not the easiest thing.  The biggest problem I am running into with Emmalee's room is simple, but cute decorations, and I could use a few to spruce up the nursery, too.   Each of the ideas below are different things that I have now stuffed in my "book or ideas" for cute, but simple, craft or decoration ideas for the girls' rooms. 

So, without further ado, here is my Five on Friday!!

{ONE}

I am IN LOVE with this idea!  Let's be honest - paint samples are FREE!  You can get them at any home improvement store, and just a few of them gives you a ton of color options!  

This is also a great idea for holiday decorations!  Get a circle cutter & use hues of yellows, oranges, and other fall colors. Use some twine or raffia as your string, and you have an adorable Halloween or fall banner for any room of your house!  Heck, do the same for Christmas!  

If you have other paint sample projects that you have done, tell me!!!  I love these type of crafts because they are cheap and simple, but absolutely perfect for any room or occasion!  

{TWO}

 

This is another idea that I just love - button projects!  I actually plan on doing this on Monday with Em.  I thought it would be a fun project for her and I to do together for her new room.  On the wall with the window, the window is in the middle, but I need something on either side.  Since these projects can incorporate MANY colors, I love the idea of doing these (probably in a bit larger scale) on either side of the window.  I'll take pics and tell you how they turn out!!!

{THREE}

 I love this idea for an arrangement over a dresser.  Em's walls are light blue, and all of her furniture is white.  The dresser is long, like this pictured here, and I have been struggling with what to put above it.  I do have a mirror that I considered painting and putting up, but I'm worried about the scale of the mirror vs. the dresser.  So, I love the idea of making a wall arrangement like this one here.  

{FOUR}

You may have seen something similar to this before, because I know I have seen this style of door-hanger done many ways, but I was thinking this may be a great door-decoration for the girls' rooms.  My local Micheals has started carrying the thick cardboard frame in all these great boutique styles for just a few dollars.  I think I'll get some, paint them, then get a big "E" and "M" and put them on the front of the frames.  Then I can hang them on the doors to give a little added "somthin'" 

{FIVE}

I have fallen in love with this idea, too!!!  Emmalee has red curtains in her room, but they are simple and somewhat boring.  Madeline's are a little more "fru-fru", but they are still a solid pink, so I could do this in her room too.  But I love the pennant idea to put over the curtains just to add some pizzazz!  

I don't know about you, but each of these projects are so fun and simple, and I cannot WAIT to try them!  I promise to do a post next week of all the new things in the girls rooms!!! 

So what are your plans this weekend?  Can you guess what mine are????

Randomness

Oh "good gravey Marie" it has been a busy week!  I feel like the past few days have flown by and I havne't gotten a thing done! 

Last week I said I was going to participate in Tricia Nae's 30 day photo challenge - well I'm sure you can see how well that is going.  Maybe if I was a SAHM I would have more time to take pictures, but I'm not and I don't! 

And speaking of Tricia Nae, she and I FINALLY met!  Ever since we "met" in the blogsphere we have said we were going to get together - I mean we live pratically around the corner from each other, went to the same university, both love digital scrapbooking and blog designin...I mean seriously we have to be kindred spirits!  So we finally met last Thrusday and had dinner - its was FABULOUS!  I love meeting new friends.

Friday we went out of town to see my grandmother in Shreveport.  She recently had surgery so we thought it was time for a visit and she was dying to see Emmalee.  We had ag reat time and Emmalee loved getting to see her Meme.  We headed home Saturday night so we could teach our Sunday School classes on Sunday morning.  After church, Em and I took a nice 2 hour nap together, but then I had to clean the house and get ready for the week.

Monday night was Mason's last 7th grade football game so we had to go see it.  He is such an awesome kid and his team is so great!  they had their first loss Monday night, but they are still district champions!  Go Tigers!!!!  As soon as the game was over Sister brought the kids over to my house so everyone could go trick-or-treating.  We live in a big, older neighborhood with tons of kids so it is really great for trick-or-treating.  I stayed at my hosue to hand out candy while Mom and Sister took the kids around.  They took Em in her stroller simply because she loves to be outside.  She was zonked out when they got back. 

I've been obssessed with leg warmers lately!  I don't know about you but I love being in my comfy "play" clothes - we called them play clothes when I was a kid and I guess I never got the term out of my head.  So I figured Em is probably the same way - so lets be comfy in a onesie but I hate for her to get cold legs...so I got leg warmers.  They are so perfect for her since she is all over the floor and trying to crawl.  I found these at Hobby Lobby, of all places, and she HAD to have them!!! 

Then I found a new FABULOUS website, TDazzled - ever been there?  Well I found these adorable crib shoes.  My sister has been giving me grief lately for Emmalee not having a lot of shoes.  So, I have been looking for some but I'm not a huge fan of sqeaky shoes...so finding shoes that are versatile but comfortable has been harder than I thought.  But I found these precious things for only $3 on TDazzled.  Too cute! 

I might have also gotten some new leg warmers from there and some zebra boots and a crochet pink hat!  They have a ton of different stuff and for great prices - go check it out!  They have hats, bows, tutus, shoes, lega warmers...and the list goes on and on! 

On Tuesday I was looking on FB and Twitter at everyone's Halloween pictures and saw this.

I just LOVE it!!!!  Y'all know my addiction to CFA so I was just in awe of this.  So I begged Brant to let Emmalee be a Chick-FIl-A cow next year and he agreed! My word I can't wait !  She is going to be so stinkin' cute!  Love it! 

Ok - well I guess that is enough of my randomness for the day.  Back to work! 

Sally the Seamstress

Ok, so my name isn't Sally and I'm no seamstress, but I want to be!  Several months ago, actualy it was before Emmalee was even born, I saw this fabric remnant at WalMart for only $2 - seriously, how could I not buy it?  I had inteneded to give it to my friend Kristen (who make the Em's Halloween dress) for her to make something cute out of it but I never got around to giving it to her.  So last night, I decided that I would make something out of it! 

So Em and I ran to Hobby Lobby so I could pick up a few sewing necessities...like thread!  We came home, Daddy gave Em her bottle, I rocked her for a few mintues, then she went to her bed.  As soon as she was in bed I started my master plan!  Within an hour and a half, this was the result! 

I'm not going to lie - I was totally proud of myself!!!!!!  Of course, I did take a bit of a shortcut because I just used Stitch Witchery to attach the ribbon and then just sewed the ribbon where it met the seams.  I'm not a perfect straight-line seamstress yet, so I figured this would work! 

And this morning, here is my darling girl! 

Just love, love, love this sweet face!

I love FREE Shipping

Click on the picture below or click HERE to take advantage of FREE shipping!

GREAT Bargain Shopping!

A good friend of mine sent me an email today about the Children's Place.

Free Shipping today only! And they are offering an additional 25% off sale prices. PLUS get an additional 15% off your entire order when you enter the code E2D7Z2622C at checkout.

They have some GREAT bargains on Easter dresses for girls and outfits for boys! This is definitely something you DO NOT want to pass up!

Personality

Well if in-utero movement is any indication of personality, then I have a feeling Ms. Emmalee Caroline with be ALOT like her father - calm and laid back. Every 2-3 hours I might feel a little movement and a kick or two, but that's about it. Now she does have a sassy side to her, just like her Mama, but those "episodes" are few and far between. Maybe she will be just a calm as this picture, or at least I pray she will be!

Like much of the nation, we here in North Texas have been iced in for a few days. I am finally back at work today, but only because of a husband who drives a big 4x4, off-road-type of truck and who graciously drove me in. But the past two days have been spent working from home, watching movies and TV w/ the hubs, cooking and getting some things done in the nursery. I also might have found a few great online boutiques for baby clothes!

• Born Fabulous

(I am LOVING this little outfit - I definitely think this belongs in her closet!)

• Stoller Blanket Mom (an Etsy store)

(This is who I bought EmC's John Deer dress from and definitely plan on a few more purchases - Great stuff for GREAT prices)

• SheShe Made

(LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her stuff! She is making Em's coming-home-from-the -hospital outfit!)

• My Miracle Baby
• Hollywood Kids
• Bella Jake Designs - Cute, Cute, Cute dresses!
  

Baby Bargains

Monday night Brant and I went to dinner at one of our favorite sushi spots in town. It happens to be right beside a Kirklands. When we were walking into the restaurant, I glanced in the Kirlkand's window and saw this great white mirror. All though dinner I kept thinking about how cute it would be in EmC's room. Her room is a shabby chic decor - nothing really "matches". She has a color scheme - but not really a room theme.

So after dinner, I asked Brant if I could run into Kirklands and take a look. I fell in love - and it was on sale for $59.99! But I didn't get it - remember, I just asked Brant if I could LOOK at it!

Well yesterday in my email, I received a Kirkland's $10 off coupon! So I just called the store to see if they had any left and they had the display, and one in a box! So last night after dinner, I begged Brant to go back to Kirklands, and of course he said "yes". He can't deny his daughter anything already! Look what is in baby girl's new room!


Well why we were there, I saw this precious little lamp. It was on clearance for $9.97, then 25% off that...so it was only $7.50! It was just perfect for her room!!!! I loved how the color is worn around the edges - very shabby chic - don't you think???

Well as soon as her room is closer to being finished I promise to have pictures for you! I really think it is going to be precious!!!!!

Fabulously Frugal Fashion

One of the great things about working in Downtown Dallas is that there are people selling stuff all throughout the tunnels! (FYI - the tunnels are just that...an underground system of passages that take you to different buildings) Each day there are different vendors with all sorts of different things to buy.

Well today, there just happened to be a jewelry lady and she was having a huge sale on fashion rings!

These are my fabulously frugal fashion rings for only $2 each!!!!!!!! Can you believe that - only $2!!! I was so excited!

Raspberry Road Designs

One of my favorite digital scrapbook sites is Raspberry Road Designs - she had great inexpensive kits, and great freebies too! Well Raspberry Road just began its new Raspberry Road Shoppe and is having its Grand Opening Event!!!!

The entire Raspberry Road Shoppe is 50% off Saturday, November 1-Monday, November 3rd!

If you are a digital scrapbooker, or if you are new to the digital scrapbook world, this is a FANTASTIC time to stock up on great kits, elements, quick pages and alphas!

And - for every $10 purchase, you get this new Birthday Bliss kit FREE!!!!!

Great new site...

In this economy, i am trying to learn more ways of being frugal (but please don't tell me I have to get rid of my new car :) ). But anyways, I found this new site called SuperCook. This is a website that helps you throw together a recipe with the food you have on hand.

I entered that I had chicken breasts, stewed tomatoes, onion and bell pepper. It then asked me if I had Italian Seasoning, and I do. It came back with a simple recipe for "Easy Chicken Cacciatore. After I entered my ingredients, it listed many recipes that may only need an extra items that I have not listed (i.e. paprika, vegetables oil, flour, cheese, butter, etc.) What a great way to use some of those un-used canned goods or other items in your pantry. I can't wait to use this site on a regular basis.


I also read an article today about how to save money this holiday here. I think one of the greatest ideas that I try to do every year is to buy a little at a time...spread out the buying. There is nothing more stressful than spending half of your paycheck on gifts, then living off the rest. But if you spend $50 one paycheck and $50 the next for several pay periods, the spending doesn't hurt as bad. For more money saving tips this season, check out the article.

If you have some great tips for being frugal in a questionable economy, let me know! I love saving money!!!

Shopping at Sears

I was just reading on the Bargain Shopper Lady website and found out about THIS amazing deal from Sears: buy $100 in men's Docker's apparel, send in your receipt, and Sears will mail you a $75 gas gift card. This is perfect for Father's Day - my dad will get a new shirt, Brant's dad will get a new shirt, and if that doesn't equal $100, then Brant will get a new shirt too! Not only will they send you a $75 gas card, but they will throw in a $10 coupon for Sears retail stores as well - that's $85 back!

Way to go SEARS!!!

All in a Day's Work

Saturday was a FANTASTIC day! At 10, Kate had her 4th birthday party...check out Sister's blog for pictures. It was a wonderful Princess party with a HUUUUGGGEEE bounce house - the kids loved it!

After the party, Jessica (bestie who I've posted about several times) and I began the most wonderful adventure...fabric shopping for my new curtains! We headed out to Harry Hines to check out the fabric warehouses and wholesale shops. After 2 hours of shopping through MASSES of fabrics and fringes, we were finished. Next stop, Wal-Mart for all of our "stuff" to make this all happen! Last stop...HOME!!!


PROJECT #1 - Formal Dining Room

My first priority was really my formal dining room...I have three beautiful windows, but they stretch across the entire wall, so a curtain rod has been difficult to find...not to mention I haven't really found a great fabric or color I wanted to put up there. To have "something" on the windows, I put there simple panels up about 6 months ago...so we first began by taking these down (but remember them for later). Next, we pinned up the new floor-length panels on each of the end-windows. The fabric is a sheer and light-weight dark brown (by the way, only $2 a yard!!!) Sorry the picture is a little dark, but you can somewhat see them.




For pins, we used Upholstery Tacks that I found in the Hardware department at Wal-Mart...only $.97 per package! Great advice from the Nester.




Then we took our valance fabric and folded it until we reached the desired size. The fabric I decided on is a great paisley pattern with blends of red, khaki, chocolate brown, and black in it. It beautifully pulls together the formal dining and living rooms. anyways, we folded the fabric to the size we wanted. To hold it together, we used Bonding Tape...you place it where the fold will be, iron it, and the heat bonds the fabric together...similar to double sided tape, just better. Once we were finished folding and bonding, we pinned the valance above the wall panels.





To hold back the all panels, I bought metal tie-backs at Wal-Mart for less than $10.00. We measured where these should be, then screwed them into the wall.






Then, in less than 2 hours, our mistreatment was COMPLETE, and absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

This is a close-up of the fabric so you can see the print. I just love it!!!

This Finished Product! What a difference window treatments make. Look how the treatment makes the room look much wider than the picture with the red panels.

PROJECT #2 - Master Bedroom

This room was our toughest. I choose rich, textured chocolate brown fabric (for only $4/yard). Similar to the dining room, we folded the fabric to our liking, then bonded it together with the iron tape. Instead of fringe, I found a great "woven" khaki and red stitching that I hot-glued onto the fabric to add in a few additional colors from the room.

After "stitching up" our fabric, we played with different treatment effects...we tried Nester's idea here, and we "gathered" the bottom...but nothing seemed quite right. We had such a rich fabric, that using what we had made the space look very small. So, we trimmed the fabric, then went back to Wal-Mart and got a hook rod. We folded the fabric over, and I hot-glued the fabric down and made a "loop" for the rod. Then we hung the rod, then the valance...and VOILA!

My beautiful new bedroom treatment!

PROJECT #3 - Kitchen Plant Window

The plant window is above my sink in the kitchen, and since we were out buying fabric already, I decided to pick some up for the kitchen. I found this great red and cream striped material ($3/yard)that make a great, simple mistreatment. I then of course added some fringe to add a little personality! We folded it, bonded it with iron tape, hot-glued the fringe, then pinned it up across the window.

In less than 30 minutes, I added some color and "pizazz" to my kitchen!

How cute is this?

After we finished this, we took the red treatments from the formal dining room and hung them on a tension rod in the breakfast room, which also didn't have any treatments before today. What a difference it makes in this room...

So within a 12-hour period, Jessica and I created three fabulous window mistreatments, and spruced up the breakfast room. My total out-of-pocket with 4 different fabrics, 2 curtain rods, hot glue gun, glue sticks, upholstery tacks, lots of bonding tape, fringe, and tie backs was only $100. I fell like I've had an entire home-makeover just by window treatments!

So "thank you" Nester for great inspiration and "thank you" Jessi Mae...I could NEVER have done this without you. I have GREAT friends!

SHOPPING!

Ok, so I did some shopping at Coldwater Creek online Clearance Center,
and here are my finds... I got these denim, cropped cargo pants for only $19.99... I know they look old-mom'ish, but in my minds, that signals comfort. I thought they would be great for the spring and summer to throw on with a tee and just be comfortable!!! My motto is that I would rather be ok-cute and comfortable, than super cute and uncomfortable!


Then I saw this dress...and I thought it was cute for a summer night out...only $24.99!

Then I put pictures of the 4-piece

outfit I wanted...but they didn't have it in my size, so, I went with one similar.This 4-piece outfit was only $54.99 instead of $61.99, and the only difference is the jacket! I really liked the other jacket better, but this was still a GREAT deal!

To make things even better...if you purchase more than $100, you can use coupon code WXP2134 and get $25.00 off, so I paid less than $100.00 for all of this!!! I love shopping!

Much Love,
Ashley